View Poll Results: Should the Clark Kent identity be confident or bumbling?

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  • Confident

    12 30.00%
  • Bumbling

    10 25.00%
  • Other

    18 45.00%
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  1. #1
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    Default Should the Clark Kent identity be confident or bumbling

    Confident:


  2. #2
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    Bumbling:


  3. #3
    Astonishing Member DochaDocha's Avatar
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    Well, looks like our main two options are the extremes.

    I say go for the spectrum. Many things Clark Kent does out in the open is a means to an end. He was bumbling in that clip because it was the easiest way to save that man from falling debris (that's the in-story reason, anyway; it's mostly there because it sets up a joke, which is also useful for telling the story). He's "confident" in the first clip because it's clear Lois isn't going to respect him as a reporter unless he shows some good ol' fashioned gumption.

    It's more enjoyable when you mix things up, I think. I suppose if you did pick the spectrum and asked which should get the 55% and which should get the 45%, I'd say 55% bumbling because we know it's an act.

  4. #4
    Moderator Frontier's Avatar
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    I think you can have both depending on how you play it, kind of like he's a little clumsy and goofy but he's no pushover and sticks up for his values.

  5. #5
    Ultimate Member Sacred Knight's Avatar
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    As always, a healthy middle. He should not be post-Crisis levels of cool and confident in public. He doesn't have to be an outright blubbering idiot, but he should be nerdy and assume enough an air of unatleticism and fitness as to draw away any of even the most remote comparisons to a superhero.
    "They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you. My only son." - Jor-El

  6. #6
    Ultimate Member Riv86672's Avatar
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    I voted other, as he should be a normal guy, and normal ppl go both ways in regards to being confident and geeking out.
    He can be athletic and still not want to get into a fight. Good looking but not a lothario.
    Able to hang out a bar and hang out playing video games.

    So yeah, a normal guy.

  7. #7
    Black Belt in Bad Ideas Robanker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sacred Knight View Post
    As always, a healthy middle. He should not be post-Crisis levels of cool and confident in public. He doesn't have to be an outright blubbering idiot, but he should be nerdy and assume enough an air of unatleticism and fitness as to draw away any of even the most remote comparisons to a superhero.
    This, more or less. I think he should be someone who can be cool and confident but he should really screw up sometimes too to keep it balanced. Honestly, even as Superman, his perfection is mostly perceived. I don't think you need to portray Clark as an act so much as just him unafraid to mess up because he gets to suspend the world's expectations and simply be himself, and sometimes he goofs.

  8. #8
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    Not bumbling. This isn’t the 40s, 50s, 60s anymore.

    The guy has to appear to be good and confident in his job or else how else can he be an adapt reporter in a shrinking industry in this day and age.

  9. #9
    Astonishing Member Yoda's Avatar
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    I voted confident, but I think "normal" is probably the better descriptor. He should be an excellent reporter and writer but be "normal" as far as affect and appearance. Being a bumbling idiot or coward would tend to draw more attention to himself than being just confident. Particularly where they are a bumbling coward who seemingly out of no where ends up with incredible scoops.

  10. #10
    Ultimate Member Jackalope89's Avatar
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    A bit of both. More of an everyday kind of guy, if a bit of a klutz at times. He still maintains the identity, Luthor still thinks Superman would never "lower" himself to being a human in disguise, but its not cringeworthy with Clark being an oaf and having people wonder how he functions.

  11. #11
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    I liked the Clark that was seen in New 52, ​​I think the sexy geek fits the character perfectly. but if clark becomes a sexy geek,superman would have to change,be cold to press, police, when official, be the superman we all know when it comes to saving / helping.
    Last edited by NaVi; 12-02-2020 at 04:51 PM.

  12. #12
    Superfan Through The Ages BBally's Avatar
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    The middle ground, either being too bumbling or too confident kind of hurts the secret identity concept.
    No matter how many reboots, new origins, reinterpretations or suit redesigns. In the end, he will always be SUPERMAN

    Credit for avatar goes to zclark

  13. #13
    Astonishing Member Johnny Thunders!'s Avatar
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    I voted Bumbling. I like the fact that Superman humbles himself on purpose to fit in with all of us bumblers around him.

  14. #14
    Astonishing Member Godzilla2099's Avatar
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    Technically other.

    Quiet, keeps to himself, but very polite. However, he'll definitely speak his mind if its something he's passionate about.

    Definitely not bumbling. He's Clark Kent first, then Superman.

  15. #15
    OUTRAGEOUS!! Thor-Ul's Avatar
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    Hardly a bumbling guy could be an excellent journalist. You need a minimal of interpersonal people abilities for that. I also vote other, because also, you don't need to show that confidence outside of work all the time. Keep that superconfidence for, well, for Superman, not for Clark Kent.
    "Never assign to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity or ignorance."

    "Great stories will always return to their original forms"

    "Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart; for his purity, by definition, is unassailable." James Baldwin

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