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Thread: Kal or Clark?

  1. #16
    Astonishing Member Yoda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sacred Knight View Post
    I can't recall any writer ever going into the specifics of it. I've always had the feeling it was just something that became her "thing" over the years for no reason in particular. Just something that happened a few times then stuck. In my head canon though she calls (or used to call, she calls him Clark more nowadays, unfortunately) him Kal for the reasons Ascended stated.
    That makes sense. I didn't know if there was a specific reason they ever gave for it.

    At least in their first meeting in Rebirth's continuity he tells her his name is Clark Kent and Kal El. So that may explain why she doesn't use it as prominently now.
    Last edited by Yoda; 02-09-2019 at 07:32 PM.

  2. #17
    Father Son Kamehameha < Kuwagaton's Avatar
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    Granted most people only call him how they know him, like Perry wouldn't call him anything other than Superman while in costume, and Zod would never regard him as Clark. But still, I think of it like how other languages may address an individual:

    Kal is polite/formal and personal
    Kal El is impersonal and foreign
    Clark is informal and personal
    Superman is impersonal and of course situational
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  3. #18
    Astonishing Member stargazer01's Avatar
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    Kryptonians and cosmic beings like Darkseid call him Kal-El. Gen Zod called him Kal in Man of Steel. Kara should also call him Kal because that's the first name he knew him as.

    Diana calls him Kal cause she likes it, it's his birth name.

    His human friends call him Clark. I consider the core JL members his friends. I mean, if they fight and risk their lives together all the time, he should trust them with his human name and vice versa.

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jackalope89 View Post
    So, Ma and Pa should just call him Superman or Kal, despite naming him and raising him as Clark? Because before he knew he was "Kal-El", he was Clark Kent. Until his powers started to emerge.
    I expect that when he's at home with his parents, he's not pretending to be Superboy and he's wearing civilian clothes and doing Clark Kent kind of things. If he's doing super-hero stuff, then he's clearly Superboy/Superman, so Martha and Jonathan shoud address him as such. It's not going to hurt their feelings.

    This is one of those things that bugs me--not in a big way but as a minor annoyance--if the characters are going to go to all the trouble of constructing these separate identities, then they shouldn't be carelesss. The worse thing is when they call each other by their other identities in front of regular civilians, stupidly revealing their secrets to the public.

    I also like the nicknames. It's a perect chance for the writers to work those nicknames into the stories. I liked it in the old Teen Titans when Robin was Short Pants, Kid Flash was Twinkle Toes and such like.

    In the Justice League, nicknames would be Hothead for Firestorm, Reddy for Red Tornado, Batty or Bats for Batman, Featherface for Hawkman, Sea King for Aquaman, Pretty Bird for Black Canary, Big Red S or Supes for Superman, PS for Phantom Stranger, GA for Green Arrow, MM for Martian Manhunter, Mighty Mite for the Atom, Speedster for the Flash, Ringslinger for Green Lantern.

    Nicknames are better than proper names because it establishes the kind of relationship that the characters have with each other.

  5. #20
    The Man Who Cannot Die manwhohaseverything's Avatar
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    Clark for people that like the human. Kal for people that like the alien/god.

  6. #21
    Invincible Member Vordan's Avatar
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    Clark would be for his human friends/allies and enemies who know. Kal for alien friends/allies and enemies who know. Kara should call him Kal and I’m partial to Diana calling him Kal as well. I think I’d be ok with the GLs calling him Kal, as well as people like Adam Strange.

  7. #22
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frontier View Post
    I think Orin Aquaman would probably call him Kal.

    Arthur Curry Aquaman would probably call him Clark.
    That's probably true.

    I dunno man, I kinda struggle with "Arthur." I got into Aquaman with the PAD run so that defines a lot of how I see the character, and since Arthur's "return" I cant quite seem to get a read on the guy. He's Orin, but often a little less obviously broody and sometimes happier, or at least less angsty, but other times.....I dunno, I can't quite place him, if that makes any sense?
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  8. #23
    Invincible Member Vordan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    That's probably true.

    I dunno man, I kinda struggle with "Arthur." I got into Aquaman with the PAD run so that defines a lot of how I see the character, and since Arthur's "return" I cant quite seem to get a read on the guy. He's Orin, but often a little less obviously broody and sometimes happier, or at least less angsty, but other times.....I dunno, I can't quite place him, if that makes any sense?
    He got Johns’d like Kon did. But to give credit to Johns, his Aquaman was my first time reading Aquaman, and I consider that to be “my” Aquaman.

  9. #24
    The Man Who Cannot Die manwhohaseverything's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vordan View Post
    Clark would be for his human friends/allies and enemies who know. Kal for alien friends/allies and enemies who know. Kara should call him Kal and I’m partial to Diana calling him Kal as well. I think I’d be ok with the GLs calling him Kal, as well as people like Adam Strange.
    Hal doesn't call him Kal. I have never seen that

  10. #25
    Savior of the Universe Flash Gordon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    That's probably true.

    I dunno man, I kinda struggle with "Arthur." I got into Aquaman with the PAD run so that defines a lot of how I see the character, and since Arthur's "return" I cant quite seem to get a read on the guy. He's Orin, but often a little less obviously broody and sometimes happier, or at least less angsty, but other times.....I dunno, I can't quite place him, if that makes any sense?
    Orin is basically a different character from Aquaman. A product of the extreme 90s stuff.

    Arthur Curry/Aquaman would call Superman, Superman or "Clark" (if he's aware of/cares about Superman's real name). He's a fairly working class kind of guy. A hero for the people, who finds himself in charge of a nation (well sorta, Mera does most of the actual governing).

  11. #26
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    Here's an interesting thought. How much does the public know about Superman's real name being Kal-El, and his birth parents being Jor-El and Lara?

    If its publicaly known that Superman is Kal-El from Krypton...then it might actually make sense for, say, senior political leaders and/or military figures, and journalists and scientists in formal settings, to address him as such.

    This is kinda how they did it in the MOS movie. They all referred to him as Kal-El...at least until the 'Superman' name was coined.

    As far as the League goes - Bruce, Barry, Hal etc. call him Clark. Diana may call him either Clark or Kal. Arthur...well, as someone said, the 'Orin' version would call him Kal but the 'Arthur Curry' version would probably go with Clark. It makes sense, IMO, for J'onn J'onzz to call him Kal-El. Probably other heroes with an alien origin as well.

    Kara should call him Kal-El. But interestingly, in the TV show, she calls him Clark. Of course, there it kinda makes sense, since she arrived on earth as a kid, and sorta grew up knowing him as 'Clark Kent' for about a decade. But in the comics, where she's typically arrived on Earth in her late teens and become Supergirl immediately, Kal-El makes more sense.

  12. #27
    Black Belt in Bad Ideas Robanker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    That's probably true.

    I dunno man, I kinda struggle with "Arthur." I got into Aquaman with the PAD run so that defines a lot of how I see the character, and since Arthur's "return" I cant quite seem to get a read on the guy. He's Orin, but often a little less obviously broody and sometimes happier, or at least less angsty, but other times.....I dunno, I can't quite place him, if that makes any sense?
    See, I'm the other way around. I got in with Silver Age reprints and can't get a feel for Orin. He doesn't work for me.


    I feel like most would call him Clark, as it's the name he grew up with, but Kal is a nice way of his colleagues showing a personal connection to him while in the field. I can see some characters preferring Kal to Clark (those who put a lot of stock into his Kryptonian heritage), but Diana is the most interesting. You could argue it's his truest name, given that it's what his birth parents bestowed upon him, but one could also argue Clark is as since '86, Clark has been the dominant personality in the mix. It can go either way, but if I had to hazard a guess as to Diana's reasoning, it's because it's likely how he first introduced himself to her ("Nice to meet you, Diana. My name is Kal-El, though I am better known as Superman" or some such) and it stuck after she learned his secret identity, much as old friends don't update their nicknames, and she doesn't need to reaffirm his humanity with "Clark" the way, say, Bruce might.

    The real question is does he like the nickname "Supes?"

    Quote Originally Posted by bat39 View Post
    Here's an interesting thought. How much does the public know about Superman's real name being Kal-El, and his birth parents being Jor-El and Lara?
    Some retellings of his origin have him give Lois a detailed recount of his, well, origin during his first interview with her. I imagine he'd use his birth name for the same reason he doesn't wear a mask: to be seen as open and trustworthy. Not to mention it would throw people off Clark Kent's trail since they already have a second ID for the Man of Steel.
    Last edited by Robanker; 02-10-2019 at 12:52 AM.

  13. #28
    Astonishing Member Soubhagya's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    I think, of the few people who know the secret identity (and it really should be damn few who know), most of them would call him "Clark" since that's the name he grew up with. However, for a few people where culture is more formal and/or family names are more important, they'd likely go with "Kal" since it's his real, actual, given name.

    Bruce and Barry call him Clark. Diana and Arthur (who's names give them the right to rule vast, powerful nations) call him Kal.
    That's good enough for me. I am a big fan of Post Crisis. I always dig it when i hear Clark. But how good was it hearing from Gal Gadot in Justice League?
    Last edited by Soubhagya; 02-10-2019 at 07:40 AM.

  14. #29
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    I have nothing against the name Cal or Kal (with my last name, how could I), but that just sounds like a regular American name and nothing special. Kal-El on the other hand sounds alien and distinctive. It seems like a waste of a good science fiction name to always call him Kal when there's a chance to call him Kal-El. Just like I'd rather see Kara Zor-El than Kara.

    How many people in comics or in the movie ever call Aquaman by Art or Artie? Never, I think. It's always Arthur.

    Being royals, Arthur and Diana should be used to people with multiple names. And depending on the occasion, they'd have to address them by different names or honourifics to show respect or familiarity according to their station. Kal-El recognizes the house name of Superman, so it shows respect to the Man of Steel's heritage.

    But I'm not sure how many people should know the origins of Superman or Supergirl. I think they should keep that information secret, so super-villains and hostile governments are kept in the dark about the Supers.

  15. #30
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robanker View Post
    See, I'm the other way around. I got in with Silver Age reprints and can't get a feel for Orin. He doesn't work for me.
    He's basically "grumpy King Arthur." I think all the basic building blocks of Aquaman's personality are still there in Orin, just mixed a little differently. A little less humor, a little more brooding. The temper seems about the same, honestly.

    I dont think the differences are all *that* huge, especially when you make allowances for the era, but I can't quite figure out exactly how much "brooding" should be there, how much "humor" etc., like I know the recipe and all the ingredients, but I'm not 100% sure how much of any of them should be in the mix now.

    and she doesn't need to reaffirm his humanity with "Clark" the way, say, Bruce might.
    This is well put. I honestly think Diana is more comfortable with Kal-El, the alien superbeing, than with Clark Kent, Metropolis peasant. Its not that Diana has any kind of a problem with regular people of course (certainly not!), its just that she isn't one of them and she's been raised to understand that that is both proper and right. Diana's always been separated from other people by her station and duties, and I think it strikes her as being a little odd that Clark, who in her eyes appears to be a "royal" in nearly every sense, pretends to be a regular, normal person. As much as Di might respect and value everyone, no matter where they come from, at the end of the day she's still a noble born ruler and that keeps her a little apart. I think she "gets" Kal-El more than she "gets" Clark Kent.

    The real question is does he like the nickname "Supes?"
    Ha! I suppose it might not be something he was happy about when it started but I dont think he cares much.
    "We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."

    ~ Black Panther.

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