Does Superman NEED to be Clark Kent Anymore?

[JackDaw]

Going back to basics.

Of course, you can have an hero with powers that doesn't have a secret identity. Or you can have a hero with a secret identity and powers who doesn't have enough love and respect for the parents who raised him to make it inevitable that his secret identity is based on their names and values.

And..if you own the appropriate character brand...you can call that character Superman. But it wouldn't be any Superman that I cared to read!

[manduck37]

I've always thought that Superman needs his Clark Kent identity. He was adopted and raised by the Kents, so being Clark is being true to himself. That doesn't mean he can't or shouldn't explore his Kryptonian heritage. It doesn't mean he can't assume different roles to different people. That's genuinely how people are. We take on different roles in different aspects of our lives. So being Clark makes Superman a bit more relatable. Being Clark isn't some kind of tribute to the Kents, unless all of us living our lives is some kind of tribute to our parents. He is Clark Kent, just like he is Kal-El and Superman. It would strike me as a little odd and kind of cold if the Clark side of Superman wasn't genuine on some level. Like being human or part of an adopted family wasn't important to him. I think it's an important part of why Superman cares for humanity so much. While he may be an alien, he grew up human. So it's natural he would connect with people on a human level. Plus it's human values that give him his moral center.

The other reason I think the Clark identity is important goes back to an inspirational aspect of the character from his creators. The idea that behind ever mild mannered, shy person there could be a Superman. Taking away the secret aspect of his identity kind of diminishes that idea. If a regular, kind of nerdy guy like Clark could turn out to be Superman then there could be something super about anyone. I'd hate to loose that idea.

It seems to me that our modern, Nu52 Superman doesn't see himself as different people. There doesn't seem to be a "Clark is the mask" or "Superman is the mask" dichotomy going on. It's just different sides of himself, all of which are the real him. The idea of his identity being outed in Truth could have been a way to really explore this concept. Though Truth seems full of wasted potential.

[llozymandias]

Your original post said nothing of the sort. This is what you said:


I thought it did. "At least part of the time living the life he would be living if they were his BIRTH PARENTS".



You do go on to discuss the Kent and Clark families, but those families would be understood as part of Superman's adoptive family with his closest family -- Martha and Jonathan -- dead. More importantly, your first few lines do explicitly state your view that Clark be Clark as a "tribute" to the Kents, which is the part of your post I struggled with. It's also not a statement that I think could be interpreted as a mere clarification that Kal-El is a Kent via adoption. Your specific point, the one I reacted to, was that Clark would uphold the Clark Kent identity as a tribute and way of remaining connected to his adoptive family. To me, Clark shouldn't engage in a lifestyle and a whole identity as a tribute that honors the dearly departed. He should do it because it's already a part of who he is, and as such it wouldn't even be a choice.

So you think that Superman's enemies would never go after the Kent & Clark families?

[DrNewGod]

You've spent a long day deciding who to save, and whose plight to ignore. Wouldn't you like to have a place to go, where you can just be an ordinary guy, with no more than ordinary problems, and people that you like who surround you for reasons that don't include what you're famous for? Even if you know it's only for a little while?

[JackDaw]

I have a theory...based on no evidence at all...that the large majority of veteran fans strongly prefer the old set-up: best friend Jimmy O, boss Perry, love Lois, etc BUT more modern fans are more likely to want Superman spend vast majority of time with other heroes.

[DrNewGod]

I have a theory...based on no evidence at all...that the large majority of veteran fans strongly prefer the old set-up: best friend Jimmy O, boss Perry, love Lois, etc BUT more modern fans are more likely to want Superman spend vast majority of time with other heroes.

I agree with you. I think it tracks against other generational differences.

[Jim Kelly]

I have a theory...based on no evidence at all...that the large majority of veteran fans strongly prefer the old set-up: best friend Jimmy O, boss Perry, love Lois, etc BUT more modern fans are more likely to want Superman spend vast majority of time with other heroes.

Well, yeah, except this is a difference between '60s Superman and '70s Superman, as well. There aren't that many differences--since it's the same Superman--but this is one of the most telling.

In the '60s, Mort Weisinger was in control of Superman--the Man of Steel was on lone to Julie Schwartz for JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, but Mort jealously controlled where his Superman would appear.

In the '70s, a bunch of editors replaced the one (with Julie having the most control) and they were apt to let Superman appear in other books they edited.

So in the '60s, there's a Superman universe inhabited by all the chraracters that the writers working for Mort had invented--for the express purpose of interacting with Superman. Batman was a kind of honourary member of the Superman family. Batman got to appear with Superman in WORLD'S FINEST--which no doubt helped his sales, until 1966 when the opposite was true--Batman fans were introduced to Superman through the Caped Crusader. Otherwise, there wasn't a lot of meetings with his fellow JLAers in Superman's books. And the guy seemed to keep to his own circle of friends.

In the '70s, it feels much different--like the lonely Superman has had a change of heart and come out of his house to play with the kids stealing into his garden. As well, Julie with other editors expands the number of friends and associates in Superman's (and Clark's) immediate world. It isn't just Supergirl, Krypto, Jimmy, Lois, Perry and Lana--there's Morgan Edge, Steve Lombard, Lola Barnet, Jenet Klyburn, Josh Coyle, all the people from Clinton Street, Vartox, Captain Strong, Gregory Reed, Johnny Nevada, Roy Raymond, et al.

It's hard to say which editorial postion is best for Superman. We've had the same deal with all the editorial regimes on Superman in the last few decades. Sometimes, editors jealously guard Superman and won't share him out to appear in the books of other editors. And sometimes, they do, recognizing that this can bring Superman more new readers.

Yet the hot house effect of being within his own world helps to create new life in that world. Those unique qualities get weakened when Superman has to rub elbows with everyone else in the DC Universe. Not only that but Superman has to adjust the rules of his universe to fit the rules of those other books. So things like time travel, Atlantis, multiple worlds, supernatural phenomenon, godly pantheons, astrophysics all have to alter to fit with the books under other editorial regimes. And you get unintended consequences like Batman now being more Super than Superman.

[Jon Clark]

Well, yeah, except this is a difference between '60s Superman and '70s Superman, as well. There aren't that many differences--since it's the same Superman--but this is one of the most telling.

In the '60s, Mort Weisinger was in control of Superman--the Man of Steel was on lone to Julie Schwartz for JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, but Mort jealously controlled where his Superman would appear.

In the '70s, a bunch of editors replaced the one (with Julie having the most control) and they were apt to let Superman appear in other books they edited.

So in the '60s, there's a Superman universe inhabited by all the chraracters that the writers working for Mort had invented--for the express purpose of interacting with Superman. Batman was a kind of honourary member of the Superman family. Batman got to appear with Superman in WORLD'S FINEST--which no doubt helped his sales, until 1966 when the opposite was true--Batman fans were introduced to Superman through the Caped Crusader. Otherwise, there wasn't a lot of meetings with his fellow JLAers in Superman's books. And the guy seemed to keep to his own circle of friends.

In the '70s, it feels much different--like the lonely Superman has had a change of heart and come out of his house to play with the kids stealing into his garden. As well, Julie with other editors expands the number of friends and associates in Superman's (and Clark's) immediate world. It isn't just Supergirl, Krypto, Jimmy, Lois, Perry and Lana--there's Morgan Edge, Steve Lombard, Lola Barnet, Jenet Klyburn, Josh Coyle, all the people from Clinton Street, Vartox, Captain Strong, Gregory Reed, Johnny Nevada, Roy Raymond, et al.

It's hard to say which editorial postion is best for Superman. We've had the same deal with all the editorial regimes on Superman in the last few decades. Sometimes, editors jealously guard Superman and won't share him out to appear in the books of other editors. And sometimes, they do, recognizing that this can bring Superman more new readers.

And I think Jackdaw's theory holds. Since Morrison left we have been seeing less and less of Superman out of costume, or off-duty,

Yet the hot house effect of being within his own world helps to create new life in that world. Those unique qualities get weakened when Superman has to rub elbows with everyone else in the DC Universe. Not only that but Superman has to adjust the rules of his universe to fit the rules of those other books. So things like time travel, Atlantis, multiple worlds, supernatural phenomenon, godly pantheons, astrophysics all have to alter to fit with the books under other editorial regimes. And you get unintended consequences like Batman now being more Super than Superman.

I think in someways we've gotten the worse of both worlds in the past decade or two.

For all Mort's reported faults the one thing he had was a consistent vision for Superman. If Superman was in a protected little bubble, Mort made sure to build a world inside that bubble. If we didn't get the JLA guesting, then we at least had the Legion, Batman and Supergirl. Julie brought in the rest of the DCU as part of Superman's world but he also expanded Clark's supporting cast. The characters he added in the 1970's had staying power (in fact many would be brought back after the Crisis).

Can anyone point to someone introduced since 1995 that has remained part of the books. You had things like the Rush Limbaugh pastiche and his blind daughter that one dropped never resurfaced. There was a brief attempt by Rucka and Azzerello to introduce some new characters, but those characters left with those writers and haven't been seen since. Johns got by largely by reviving the 1970's/80's supporting cast. Even Morrison who added a slew of ideas and characters in his Action run in the new 52 has seen those creations ignored by those who came after him. Truth has given us Lee Lambert, Kentville, and Mythbrawlers ... but we've yet to see if any of those will survive the next few years of turnovers.

[mathew101281]

I think in someways we've gotten the worse of both worlds in the past decade or two.

For all Mort's reported faults the one thing he had was a consistent vision for Superman. If Superman was in a protected little bubble, Mort made sure to build a world inside that bubble. If we didn't get the JLA guesting, then we at least had the Legion, Batman and Supergirl. Julie brought in the rest of the DCU as part of Superman's world but he also expanded Clark's supporting cast. The characters he added in the 1970's had staying power (in fact many would be brought back after the Crisis).

Can anyone point to someone introduced since 1995 that has remained part of the books. You had things like the Rush Limbaugh pastiche and his blind daughter that one dropped never resurfaced. There was a brief attempt by Rucka and Azzerello to introduce some new characters, but those characters left with those writers and haven't been seen since. Johns got by largely by reviving the 1970's/80's supporting cast. Even Morrison who added a slew of ideas and characters in his Action run in the new 52 has seen those creations ignored by those who came after him. Truth has given us Lee Lambert, Kentville, and Mythbrawlers ... but we've yet to see if any of those will survive the next few years of turnovers.

This is always my problem with creative teams that come in thinking they are going to completely replace a character's supporting cast. Two things usually happen.

A. The new characters are completely forgotten once the creative team leaves.
b. The creative team completely breaks the established consistency of the book creating a destructive ripple effect that has every creative team that comes after them trying to reinvent the supporting cast again. Perez's Wonder Woman run, as good as it was is a prime example of this. People need to realize that you're lucky if one of the new characters you create for these established franchises manages to stick. To think your going to be able to completely remake a supporting cast with at least 20 or 30 years of history behind it is naive at best and arrogant at worst.

[Agniwolf]

let me give my 2 cents on this

imho what can be done is that he (clark/kal/superman) does not need an alias anymore, in fact, if there is a contribuition at all in the mythos that happened in truth is that he can go on without having to pretend, he does not need a double life anymore, hell the reason he was a reporter back in the old times (prefp, precrisis) was for the sake of information, after all the context was all too different. and today one just needs to get a smartphone and access some live news app. not to mention how superficial and glamorous some newspapers had become to be a true reporter

however this does not mean he doesnt need clark anymore, after all he is clark. the reporter was the alias, and he enjoyed being so, but he does not need it. clark is the person itself, with the pros and cons and everything else

can he still be a reporter even with everything that happened? maybe he can (deus ex of editorial), but is more of a case of want than one of need

[ManSinha]

I would not mind seeing a different alias in every story line - he has been shown to be very good with technical skills - why not make himself a different identity every couple of years?

[RobinFan4880]

Superman needs Clark Kent because Clark Kent brings with him normal people who enrich his life and make our reading experience more interesting, varied and fun.

[Jon-El]

The image of a regular looking guy with glasses opening up his shirt to reveal the S is so irresistible to me. It may not make sense but I love it!

I wonder if part of the problem is how society views quiet Clark Kent types. Meek & mild isn't exactly in style. The workplace rewards confidence & aggression. I work in TV news & none of the top people are shy or awkward. For someone like myself who is fairly shy, the double identity is really appealing.

[SmokeMonster]

It doesn't make much logical sense for someone of his ability to be spending 8 hours a day (or anytime) doing something a human can, especially when Bruce or the govt could just pay his bills. He could be saving people, helping with construction, searching for livable words that can solve Earth's resource/poverty problems, etc, etc. Being a reporter is a selfish waste of his time.

That being said, if something happens that allows him to get his secret identity back and work at the Daily Planet, I wouldn't complain. It's fun.

[llozymandias]

It doesn't make much logical sense for someone of his ability to be spending 8 hours a day (or anytime) doing something a human can, especially when Bruce or the govt could just pay his bills. He could be saving people, helping with construction, searching for livable words that can solve Earth's resource/poverty problems, etc, etc. Being a reporter is a selfish waste of his time.

That being said, if something happens that allows him to get his secret identity back and work at the Daily Planet, I wouldn't complain. It's fun.

He could always say that he thought Clark was dead so he "borrowed" his identity. Then he stages the return of the "real" Clark Kent.