What do you prefer,Clark as the real person or Clark as the disguise?

[LP22]

Latly I noticed that new-52 Clark Kent feels more like a disguise for superman rather then the real person,where in pre-flashpoint Clark felt more like the real person and superman was the disguise,so my question to you is what do you preferClark as the real person or Clark as superman disguise?

[The World]

Clark/Superman are names, the real person is the guy who saves people, fights the bad guy, and does crazy stuff. Whether that person calls himself Clark/Superman/Kal-El is up to the writer.

[DieHard200904]

Latly I noticed that new-52 Clark Kent feels more like a disguise for superman rather then the real person,where in pre-flashpoint Clark felt more like the real person and superman was the disguise,so my question to you is what do you preferClark as the real person or Clark as superman disguise?

I prefer Clark as the disguise. Philosophical statement to be had with that.

[Crawford Crow]

The stuff I always enjoyed in The Silver Age was when Clark Kent performed super stuff without anyone noticing.

[Sacred Knight]

In regards to his "real" personality, he embellishes his aloofness and awkwardness as Clark Kent in public. When he's in full Superman garb doing his thing, that's who Clark Kent/Kal-El really is.

[Carabas]

Both.

There is the actual guy who self-identifies as Clark Kent.
And this guy has two secret identities: Superman, and a toned down version of himself he pretends to be in public.

[Tra-EL]

Only speaking for myself, I don't necessarily describe one or the other being his disguise. There's a certain number of traits in both Clark and Superman that come through in many of his adventures and morality to who he is. When it comes down to it though, I naturally associate Superman with his natural ability to care for humanity with the understanding what it's not only like to be human, but hold this unmistakable backbone for the common man and the voice's that were taught upon him. It was the Kents, let alone his deep love for Lois Lane in his gut, where he finds most of his strength regardless of his powerful biology. Both "disguises" are an extension of who he is at his foundation. I always boil it down to Clark being who he truly is at heart and Superman what he choose's to be, if that makes sense. Both identities need one another in a very complex way in how he functions as a character.

[MajorHoy]

I wonder how much emphasis on "Clark" was lost by not having his Earth-parents still alive in the New52. The post-CoIE decision to have them alive grounded "Clark" so that it didn't feel as much as a "disguise" as it comes off post-Flashpoint.

[Sacred Knight]

Not much to none. Pre-Crisis had more than a fair share of emphasis on Clark, it was just done in a different manner. Superman doesn't need grounding. If that's the only reason to keep the Kents alive then its just another example of why they're better off deceased.

[DieHard200904]

Not much to none. Pre-Crisis had more than a fair share of emphasis on Clark, it was just done in a different manner. Superman doesn't need grounding. If that's the only reason to keep the Kents alive then its just another example of why they're better off deceased.

I don't know, but if I can go to school and brush my teeth and carry on a basic routine as a decent student, without my parents holding my hand, it sounds pretty rediculous if an 18-year old Superman can't also do it with or without one or both Kent parents. I like to think of him as an adult who handles his own business when it really comes down to it.

[Ascended]

Latly I noticed that new-52 Clark Kent feels more like a disguise for superman rather then the real person,where in pre-flashpoint Clark felt more like the real person and superman was the disguise,so my question to you is what do you preferClark as the real person or Clark as superman disguise?

Neither.

I think the idea that one "personality" is the "real" one while the other is a mask is a mistake. Superman's psyche is much more complex than that.

But if I had to pick one that was more "real" than the other....well, only one of them wears a mask, and it ain't Superman.

[Last Son of Krypton]

Well, I follow the modern take for which all identities are real. Clark, Kal-El, Superman... all parts of the same person.

[Adekis]

They're both "real", but I think that's sort of a cop-out answer to avoid the question. Fundamentally, I always prefer to think of Superman as "Kal" if he's not "in-character" as Clark Kent, or talking to his parents. There are exceptions: Byrne's Superman was so Clark Kent that I often call him that regardless of what he's wearing- but generally, it's Kal all the way.

The way I see it, Kal asked himself two questions: What would I do if I was the strongest man in the world, and what would I do if I wasn't? The secret identity allows him to have it both ways, but he fundamentally has the same answer to both questions: help people with whatever means are at his disposal. For Clark that means his writing ability and his mundane detective skills, occasionally aided by enhanced hearing or see-through vision of course, and for Superman that means leaping in the way of bullets, catching out-of-control trains before they can crash, and getting corrupt businessmen and politicians out of powers through potentially less-than-legal means.

I've never liked the idea of the "Smallville Clark" / "Metropolis Clark" distinction, because I've never liked the idea that Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter, isn't fundamentally who Kal-El is. He backs down more than Superman does, but Superman never has to back down; Clark is like everyone else. "Metropolis Clark" is "Smallville Clark", or as I like to think of him, "Kal". He's just got his guard up a bit more, and has a few more affected traits, like slouching, wearing clothes too big for him, pitching his voice as a tenor instead of a baritone, etc. I feel much more strongly about Superman being a disguise though- I think Superman, like Clark, is Kal "on guard"- but significantly less so than Clark is. I always liked the idea that Superman would be very relaxed.

I basically cut "Superman" out of my conception of how the secret identity works- our hero has two names, probably thinks of himself as both "Clark" and "Kal", gets called "Superman" and answers to it (and, I suppose, likes it), but when he had to say his name backward fighting Vyndktvx, he said "lE-laK! tneK kralC!", which indicates to me (and I like the idea) that of Kal's three "selves", "Superman" is the one that's just a nickname, and there isn't really a third identity. Just Kal and Kal "on guard" and in-character as Clark.

[bat39]

They're both "real", but I think that's sort of a cop-out answer to avoid the question. Fundamentally, I always prefer to think of Superman as "Kal" if he's not "in-character" as Clark Kent, or talking to his parents. There are exceptions: Byrne's Superman was so Clark Kent that I often call him that regardless of what he's wearing- but generally, it's Kal all the way.

The way I see it, Kal asked himself two questions: What would I do if I was the strongest man in the world, and what would I do if I wasn't? The secret identity allows him to have it both ways, but he fundamentally has the same answer to both questions: help people with whatever means are at his disposal. For Clark that means his writing ability and his mundane detective skills, occasionally aided by enhanced hearing or see-through vision of course, and for Superman that means leaping in the way of bullets, catching out-of-control trains before they can crash, and getting corrupt businessmen and politicians out of powers through potentially less-than-legal means.

I've never liked the idea of the "Smallville Clark" / "Metropolis Clark" distinction, because I've never liked the idea that Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter, isn't fundamentally who Kal-El is. He backs down more than Superman does, but Superman never has to back down; Clark is like everyone else. "Metropolis Clark" is "Smallville Clark", or as I like to think of him, "Kal". He's just got his guard up a bit more, and has a few more affected traits, like slouching, wearing clothes too big for him, pitching his voice as a tenor instead of a baritone, etc. I feel much more strongly about Superman being a disguise though- I think Superman, like Clark, is Kal "on guard"- but significantly less so than Clark is. I always liked the idea that Superman would be very relaxed.

I basically cut "Superman" out of my conception of how the secret identity works- our hero has two names, probably thinks of himself as both "Clark" and "Kal", gets called "Superman" and answers to it (and, I suppose, likes it), but when he had to say his name backward fighting Vyndktvx, he said "lE-laK! tneK kralC!", which indicates to me (and I like the idea) that of Kal's three "selves", "Superman" is the one that's just a nickname, and there isn't really a third identity. Just Kal and Kal "on guard" and in-character as Clark.

That's an interesting way of looking at 'Superman'...and it actually works well with the idea I expressed in my earlier thread about how he acquired the name. I really don't think Clark, at least modern versions of him, self-identifies as 'Superman'. Superman is what the world calls him, a symbol of hope and an ideal which he feels he must live up to...but he doesn't think of himself as 'Superman'. Now IMO, he thinks of himself as Clark Kent, but there's also a part of him which thinks of himself as Kal-El, especially when he finds out more and more about his alien heritage and also meets other Kryptonians and generally deals with alien stuff more.

In terms of the people he's close to...I'd say that with the Kents (provided they're alive), Lois Lane (if she knows the secret), Bruce, Hal, Barry and other 'human' members of the Justice League (who're in on the secret), he's Clark. With J'onn J'onzz, Diana (possibly, especially in the New 52), Kara, Connor and other alien, supernatural or Kryptonian allies he's Kal-El. To the world at large, he's Superman.

As far as the 'public' Clark Kent identity goes, IMO it works best when its just Clark being himself...albeit wearing a disguise and acting like a normal human being would rather than a superhero and demi-God (which would naturally make him 'mild-mannered' compared to Superman). This notion of Clark just being a disguise is something that was taken to an extreme with Donner's film and now there are a lot of people who believe its the 'true' interpretation of the character. But as Cavill rightly pointed out, that hasn't always been the case and most certainly not with modern interpretations.

[David Walton]

I don't know, but if I can go to school and brush my teeth and carry on a basic routine as a decent student, without my parents holding my hand, it sounds pretty rediculous if an 18-year old Superman can't also do it with or without one or both Kent parents. I like to think of him as an adult who handles his own business when it really comes down to it.

You can brush your own teeth and do your homework without thinking your parents' wisdom and advice are irrelevant just because you turned 18.

In my experience, it's not until people hit their early twenties that they really start to listen or reflect on their parents' wisdom. Once you're out on your own, you suddenly realize they were right about a lot of things you never gave them credit for.