Kryptonian names aren't like English names...

[DrNewGod]

It's petty of me I know. But the whole idea of peeps referring to Superman as "Kal" is like a pebble in my shoe.

I'm not sure when it started. At least as recently as 20 years ago (oh phooey, did I really just call A Whole Generation Back "recently"?) , if Clark got called by his Birth Name, it was "Kal-el".

Now I know we're a First Name Society here West of The Urals. But seriously, this is ridiculous!

Yes, his daddy's name also ended in "-el". And yes, writers have made "House of El" A Thing.

That does not mean super-advanced space-alien names and customs work like ours. Make it alien.

Kal-el. Period.

<end rant>

[Sacred Knight]

I've always seen it more of a shortened nickname. Admittedly because the character who always seemed to use it the most was Wonder Woman, so it was easy to see it as a familiar shortening for those personally close to him.

But I would agree when it comes to those unfamiliar with him or antagonistic, if they were to call him by his birth name it should be the full Kal-El. Like it would strike me odd if Zod called him Kal (which off the top of my head, I can't recall if writers have had him do).

[DrNewGod]

I've always seen it more of a shortened nickname. Admittedly because the character who always seemed to use it the most was Wonder Woman, so it was easy to see it as a familiar shortening for those personally close to him.

Right. That's the way it works here. "William" = "Bill". That's not the way it worked on Krypton. For A Princess to be leading the charge makes it worse.

I'll grant, Clark is the least stuffy guy you'll ever meet. Still, this about all he's got left of His People (y'know...aside from that army of psychopaths in The Phantom Zone).

To me, it's like being addressed as "Frankie" when your name is "Francois".

[Jim Kelly]

It's a personal pet peeve with me, as well. But when I've looked at it before, I believe I've found examples of him being called Kal that go way back in the comics. Still, there are lots of other countries in the world where you wouldn't do that with a person's name--so it helps make the Kryptonians seem like a different culture if they don't shorten it to Kal. I imagine that the full name has a meaning for other Kryptonians that Kal wouldn't. The -El part is important because it announces what house he's from and leaving that off would be disrespectful.

[Sacred Knight]

Right. That's the way it works here. "William" = "Bill". That's not the way it worked on Krypton. For A Princess to be leading the charge makes it worse.

I'll grant, Clark is the least stuffy guy you'll ever meet. Still, this about all he's got left of His People (y'know...aside from that army of psychopaths in The Phantom Zone).

To me, it's like being addressed as "Frankie" when your name is "Francois".

I just don't think he would care so am fine with it. I want him to have a deep caring for the memory of his home planet, but I personally don't go this far to really want him to scoff at the application of an Earth cultural norm to to his Kryptonian name. Hell if anything its symbolic of his dual nature.

But, that's just my take. I'm certainly not trying to convince you. I have small things that bug me too. Everyone's welcome to them as far as I'm concerned.

[HeroVladimir93]

I've always seen it more of a shortened nickname. Admittedly because the character who always seemed to use it the most was Wonder Woman, so it was easy to see it as a familiar shortening for those personally close to him.

But I would agree when it comes to those unfamiliar with him or antagonistic, if they were to call him by his birth name it should be the full Kal-El. Like it would strike me odd if Zod called him Kal (which off the top of my head, I can't recall if writers have had him do).

I never really understood why Wonder Woman calls Superman "Kal." It's understandable that Supergirl and General Zod would refer to him as such, but why would Wonder Woman do it?

[Lightning Rider]

I never really understood why Wonder Woman calls Superman "Kal." It's understandable that Supergirl and General Zod would refer to him as such, but why would Wonder Woman do it?

I always saw it as appropriate because she herself doesn't have a dual identity and relates to his Superman side more than his Clark side (not that I think they're clearly distinct). She was destined to be Princess Diana of Themyscira, he was born Kal-El of Krypton. Whereas I think Bruce likes to tap into his human side by calling him Clark for amicable and psychological reasons.

[Superfly Frankenstein]

I would think he would be more comfy being called Clark...I mean, if I was adopted at birth and my new parents named me Tom, then I found out my birth mother wanted me to be Jim, in my mind, I would still go by Tom...

[Toreador]

I never really understood why Wonder Woman calls Superman "Kal." It's understandable that Supergirl and General Zod would refer to him as such, but why would Wonder Woman do it?

Probably because she has a more personable relationship with superman, more friend than co-worker. She seems like that with the rest of the league as well, calling Flash 'Barry' or Batman 'Bruce' in private talks. Out in the open she likely calls Superman 'Kal' instead of 'Clark' because there are/were so many rumors/theories of Clark Kent being Superman for his protection of his non-super friends and family.

Superman himself has called himself 'Kal' when trying to make a more personable relationship with people. Superman is his title, Kal-El is his name which is can use freely without revealing his secret identity.

[Kuwagaton]

Calling himself that could signify that he approaches his own name like an American.

I just think it's as easy and effective a solution that can be found for say, Kara calling him "Superman" in her private thoughts. "Kal" carries a lot more understanding imo. I think "Kal-El" makes more sense for the JL though.

[Jim Kelly]

Which Zod are we talking about. They all seem to go by their house name. Isn't Dru-Zod the enemy of Kal-El? Why would he call him Kal unless that's meant as an insult. But it seems more likely he'd call him Kal-El if not El, since he has beef with Jor-El, so by using the El name he's stressing that connection.

Wonder Woman being non-American and having some connection to Ancient Greece isn't the most likely person to call him Kal. In Greek, they would have hypocorisms (Greek form of a pet name), but these aren't usually shortenings of the given name but alternatives to the given name. To use an English/Scottish example, in the case of a name like James, a hypocorism would be Jimmy--it's not really a shortening but a hypocorism that's associated with the given name James. It's common to call Apollo by the hypocorism Phoebus. Man of Steel is a kind of hypocorism for Superman. In Latin, a hypocorism for Diana is Omnivaga.

The spoiler in all this is the female names on Krypton. In the past, they were usually only called by first names--like Lara and Kara. The exception being Lyla Lerrol. But that's because E. Nelson Bridwell hadn't invented the naming convention yet. So maybe it's more proper to use Kara Zor-El and Lara Lor-Van. And I'd suggest that it ought to be Lyla Ler-Rol.

[Jon Clark]

I only had an issue with it when Diana started using it Post-Crisis and then only because she was the ONLY one to do it. At the time we were still in the "Clark is who I am, Superman is what I can do" era and it seemed ridiculous to address him by a name he didn't even identify with.


As for using just the first half of Kal-El, Supergirl had been doing it for decades Pre-Crisis ("Cousin Kal") which pretty much cemented the idea that Kryptonians viewed it as Kal (personal name) and El (House/family name). I figure the girl raised in Argo City has a better idea how Kryptonian names are handled than any of us.

[Jim Kelly]

I like how Kal-El sounds, better than Kal. I mean that certain actors say it in a way that's quite musical--K'LeLL. Sounds more exotic than Cal.

And you're hardly shortening the name that much. A lot of nicknames really aren't shorter, at all. Jimmy is longer than James. Peggy is about the same as Margaret. In German you add chen and in Austrian-German you add el to make a name a diminutive, such as Hanschen or Hansel (little Hans). So people don't always use nicknames to save time.

If I was a super-hero hanging out with the Justice League, I'd call him Supes.