Post by Clark Kent on Jan 12, 2012 17:10:46 GMT -4
The person behind the character:
Name/Nickname: Mel
Age: 16
Experience: 5 years
Contact information: PM preferably
Character basics:
Real name: Kal-El ( human name: Clark Joseph Kent )
Code name: Superman
Date of Birth: June 18,1980 according to his forged birth records
Place of Birth: Krypton
Age: 31
Known family:
Biological father: Jor-El, scientist, deceased
Biological mother: Lara-El, scientist, deceased
Biological cousins: Supergirl and Power Girl
Adoptive father: Jonathan Kent, deceased
Adoptive mother: Martha Clark Kent, 62
The Reflection in the mirror:
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 225 lbs
Legal Status: Adult
Occupation: Journalist for the Daily Planet
Affiliation: Justice League
Abilities:
Flight: Clark’s favorite ability is defying gravity. It is perhaps Superman’s most recognizable power. He developed the power in his teenage years, and though he had trouble learning to harness his power at first, flight has now become a formidable asset. He can fly faster than a speeding bullet due to his super-speed, and can also outfly the world’s best aircraft.
Super Strength: Being more powerful than a locomotive, Clark can lift objects far heavier than his own body weight, such as cars, boulders, and even larger things such as planes and trains. If necessary, he is able to throw said objects like toys. With his strength, he can also smash heavy objects without breaking a sweat. His physical strength allows him to dominate his opponents in combat, despite having virtually no training in the art of fighting.
Invulnerability: Clark is harder to hurt than the average human. Bullets, knives, and fists simply bounce off of his skin without leaving a mark. He can bleed, but only as a result of being hit by someone or something ( like a large volt of electricity, for example ) as strong as himself. The most prominent thing that he is vulnerable to is kryptonite—radioactive remnants of his home planet. The glowing green rock causes his blood to boil, and prolonged exposure can kill him. Blue kryptonite can strip him of his powers, and red kryptonite strips him of his conscience. He is also vulnerable to magic, which renders him as strong as a normal man. His powers originate from yellow sun radiation, so radiation from a red sun would weaken him.
Super-Hearing: Clark’s super-sensitive ears can pick up sounds from miles away. At first, it was hard for him to control this power by tuning out unnecessary noises. By concentrating intently, he can focus on individual sounds without being overwhelmed.
Heat Vision: Clark possesses ocular heat vision, which grants him the power to emit lasers and flames from his irises. This heat can melt or ignite anything from paper to metal.
Arctic Breath: By inhaling and letting out a deep breath, Clark can release a gust of cold wind capable of freezing most objects in his path. This ability is particularly useful to him when putting out fires.
X-Ray Vision: Clark’s eyes, in addition to emitting heat, can also work like an x-ray machine. He uses the ability not only to check for broken bones, but also to see through walls and doors. In fact, Clark can see through any solid object save for lead.
Super Speed: The ability Clark is most comfortable with besides his strength is his super speed. As a kid he’d been a fast runner, and had very much wanted to join the football team, but had been forbidden by his father. Instead he raced trains on the way home from school. Now he can move at speeds that render him unable to be clearly seen by the human eye, making him resemble a blur.
Clark has somewhat of a photographic memory. Whenever he enters a new environment, his writer’s mind takes everything in and remembers each and every detail. This skill has served him well in his education, as he has been known to make excellent grades. It’s also a very useful skill when he’s out and about performing his duties as a superhero.
Clark is a gifted writer, and has always wanted to use his gift to help other people. He wrote on his school paper and also the Smallville Ledger ( the town newspaper ) in high school. He traveled the world after college writing as a freelance journalist for different newspapers, and currently works for the Daily Planet.
Clark has somewhat of a photographic memory. Whenever he enters a new environment, his writer’s mind takes everything in and remembers each and every detail. This skill has served him well in his education, as he has been known to make excellent grades, as well as in his career as a journalist, since details are everything. It’s also a very useful skill when he’s out and about performing his duties as a superhero.
What's hidden behind the mask:
Personality: What a lot of people don’t realize that underneath his powerful exterior, the Man of Steel has fears just like everyone else. Clark’s greatest fear is not being able to save someone. Soon after his eighteenth birthday, his father died of a heart attack. He blamed himself for the action, telling himself that somehow he could have saved him, and continues to do so to the present day. Another one of his fears is letting down the people who depend on him. Ever since he began doing his good deeds, people have looked up to him as a hero, and even some sort of modern day messiah. He realizes that this is a huge responsibility, and constantly fears not being able to live up to their expectations. He knows that there are some things that he can’t change, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel a sense of responsibility for being unable to prevent things such as natural disasters. He’s frustrated over the limits of his powers at times, wishing that he could do more to help the people around him.
Clark is at heart, the archetypical ‘innocent farm boy’. Even though he’s lived in Metropolis for six years and traveled the world after college, expanding his view of the world outside of the limited range of Smallville, Kansas, he still believes that deep down people are inherently good, and that everyone deserves a second chance. That’s not to say he doesn’t believe in prosecuting criminals, but he refuses to resort to violence unless innocent people are in danger. Some would call this perception of the world naïve and a weakness, but Clark himself considers it a strength. A viable weakness is that sometimes Clark tends to rush into situations without thinking. He can be very impulsive, and when someone needs his help he won’t hesitate to rush to their aid. He’s rushed into burning buildings and jumped in front of speeding cars without a second thought. He rarely plans ahead for these rescues as most of the time they simply happen. His desire to help other people is both a strength and a weakness. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to save a life, even put himself in danger. Powers or no powers, he gladly lay down his life to save that of another person.
Although Clark, as stated above, in some ways fits the ‘innocent farm boy’ archetype, there’s far more to him than that. In fact, that aspect of his personality is sometimes over-exaggerated to hide his alter ego. Dubbed ‘Superman’ by Lois Lane, Daily Planet reporter, Clark is known to the world as a mysterious messiah dressed in red and blue that flies around saving people. But to them his thoughts, feelings, and motivations are a mystery. He considers Superman a persona—partially made up by him and partially fabricated by the press—that he has adopted for times when it’s necessary for him to conceal his true identity. Ever since he was a child, Clark’s parents instilled in him a sense of duty to other people. His father always told him that he was put on this earth for a reason. He said that it was every man’s duty to do his best to benefit the community. Clark took the idea to heart, but he expanded the philosophy by arguing that one man can change the world for the better. Naturally he is determined to do his part.
He cares deeply for not only his closest friends in family, but for everyone around him. He will go out of his way to help others in whatever way he can, whether it’s replacing a stranger’s tire or running into a burning building to save someone’s life. His parents had always taught him to put others above himself, and he continues to do just that each and every day, both as Clark Kent and Superman. From an early age, Clark kept a journal. Although he’s always been polite and personable, he enjoyed expressing himself through words. Whenever something exciting would happen, he’d write it down. Even on an ordinary day, he would be careful to record the events that occurred. He has always had an eye for details, and can describe a room down to the color of the ceiling tiles and still make it a riveting piece of writing. He no longer keeps a journal ( partially out of fear that some nosy reporter might find out about both it and his secret identity ), and instead finds solace in his Fortress of Solitude that was built soon after his eighteenth birthday. There he speaks with an artificial recording of his biological father, Jor-El, to seek advice. However his main confidant is his mother, one of the few people who knows of his secret.
Clark struggles with maintaining a caricature of himself to dissuade people from realizing he’s Superman. He hates lying to people’s faces, especially his partner at the Daily Planet, Lois Lane. Beginning their partnership as rivals, the two have grown to be both friends and mutually respected colleagues. Since the day he met her, he had been intrigued by her, and over time has grown to love her. However he’s hesitant with revealing the truth because he fears the repercussions concerning her safety.
He purposely makes himself appear clumsy and shy at times, but doesn’t refrain from showing his intelligence. Often he can be very witty and has quite the sense of humor, but when the situation requires him to step up to the plate and get the job done, he’s willing to work hard in order to do so. Although as Superman he maintains an aura of self-confidence, as a child he felt insecure, thinking that for some reason he didn’t belong in Smallville, or on earth for that matter. His powers made him feel alienated from the rest of the world, and sometimes they still do. Because of his gifts, he can never truly live a normal life, but he doesn’t curse his abilities. His father encouraged him to see them as just that—gifts, and he shares that belief. Deep down, more than anything he does want a family and some sense of normalcy someday, but he knows better than to think that his desires outweigh the needs of the world.
History:
Clark Kent’s real birthdate is unknown. The birthdate on his forged birth certificate is the day he celebrates his birthday. What is certain is that he was born during the earth year of 1980. His real name is Kal-El, and he was not born on this planet, but on the planet Krypton to Jor-El and his wife Lara.
Jor-El was Krypton’s most brilliant scientist, revered and respected by all who knew him. However he was criticized by his contemporaries and the Kryptonian Science Council on his views of two things—Brainiac and the impending doom of their planet. Brainiac was designed and built by Krypton’s leading scientists. It was a computer used to help maintain the planet and make life easier. As time went on, Jor-El feared that the computer was becoming too powerful, and was developing a mind of its own. What’s more, he suspected that it was keeping information about Krypton’s strangely changing geothermal conditions from the people. Upon further investigation, Jor-El discovered that the planet’s surface was being infected by excess radiation from Krypton’s red sun, and the effects were spreading to the planet’s already unstable uranium core. It was only a matter of time before the planet itself exploded. When Jor-El reported his findings to the Science Council, they simply laughed, but ordered him and his wife not to leave the planet. After discussing it with Lara, Jor-El decided that he would build a rocket ship in order to allow their infant son to escape Krypton’s destruction. It was decided that their son would be sent to Earth, a primitive planet compared to Krypton. Because of the yellow sun that nutured earth, Kal-El would be considered a god among men because of the abilities the sun would give him. Yet he would still at least appear humanoid. He would be different, but at least, they reasoned, he would be safe.
Placing crystals preserving his image as well as information about his homeworld and its collective knowledge aboard the ship, Jor-El prepared to bid his son farewell. He and Lara watched from afar as Kal-El’s ship hurtled into space just as Krypton exploded. Kal-El landed right in the heartland of the United States—in a wheat field in Smallville, Kansas. Jonathan and Martha Kent were in their pickup truck, heading back home from dinner at a neighbor’s house, when they saw something fall out of the sky. Thinking it was a meteor, Jonathan wanted to pass it, but Martha insisted they take a look. The couple found the space ship, which suddenly opened, revealing an infant child wrapped in blue and red blankets. Jonathan insisted that they find out if the boy had a family, but Martha, knowing that this was probably not the case, desired to keep him and raise him as their own. It took some convincing, but Jonathan finally agreed. The Kents could not have children of their own, so they were more than willing to welcome the child into their family.
They named the baby Clark Kent, after Martha’s maiden name. He was a good child, bright and eager to learn. But from an early age, it became clear that Clark was not like other children. One day when he was four, he was playing with a ball outside the farmhouse. When the ball rolled underneath the tractor outside, he simply lifted the vehicle like a toy and retrieved the ball. There was another incident when he was ten—as he was walking home from school, one of the neighbor’s bulls had gotten loose and charged into him from behind. But it wasn’t him that fell down. The bull slammed into him like it had been running into a brick wall, and fell to the ground unconscious.
The incident scared both Clark and his parents, but the former more so. Jonathan and Martha assured Clark that they loved him no matter what, but at times he still felt like an outsider. In high school he felt like even more of an outcast. His father refused to let him partake in any sports. He was angry at first, but soon he began to realize that it was for the best. Instead he joined the newspaper club and developed a passion for writing. His skills became so impressive that the Smallville Ledger—the town’s newspaper— offered him a part-time job, which he gladly accepted. Clark devoted himself to both his budding journalistic career and his schoolwork. After school he’d help his father on the farm. Jonathan would use simple actions like lifting a bale of hay to teach his son how to control his abilities. When the chores were done, they’d also play catch to help Clark learn to limit his strength.
Despite all this hard work, Clark wasn’t without friends. He met his closest friends—Lana Lang and Pete Ross—in the schoolyard in elementary school. The three would go out for ice cream at the general store or see a movie whenever Clark had spare change. Clark had had a crush on Lana for quite some time, and when he turned seventeen they began dating. Most people thought that the happy couple would eventually marry sometime after college, but fate had other plans.
It was a Sunday night, soon after he graduated from high school, and eighteen-year-old Clark was playing catch with Jonathan like always. But then Jonathan suddenly grabbed his left shoulder, seemingly in pain. He collapsed and was dead within the hour. He had suffered a heart attack. Clark was devastated. Over the years he’d become faster, stronger, and more powerful than anyone he knew. Yet he couldn’t save his father. It was something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
The night of the funeral, Martha revealed that Clark wasn’t their son by blood. She then showed him the rocket. Clark wasn’t as surprised at the adoption part as he was at the ship. As he took a step toward it, he heard a strange voice in his head, repeating an unfamiliar word over and over—“Krypton”. The sound was overwhelming, and he ran from the shed that held the rocket. He kept running in spite of his mother’s calls. He didn’t want to be a freak—an alien if that was what he was. He wanted to be Jonathan Kent’s son. He hadn’t been paying attention to where he was running, and he soon found himself sprinting off a cliff. But to his surprise, he wasn’t falling. He was floating in midair. After flying back to the farm—to his mother’s surprise and relief—Clark opened up the rocket and found a package containing a group of crystals. They almost called to him, urging him to travel north. He told his mother this, and after a long talk she agreed that if doing this meant learning about his heritage, then it was for the best. His mother kissed him goodbye, telling him to always remember her and Jonathan.
Clark decided that it was best to break up with Lana. At this point, he didn’t know where his life was headed, and he was in no way ready to take their relationship to a higher level. He told her this, as well as the fact that he was searching for a purpose in life. He knew she was saddened, but she still wished him the best. He was guilt-ridden as well as disappointed, but he also knew that he couldn’t stay in Kansas forever.
So Clark followed the crystal’s call to the Arctic, landing near an ice cap. The crystal urged him to throw it forward, and he did. As soon as it landed, ice began to rise from the ground. In a matter of minutes, it had formed a sort of castle. He walked inside and found a station of sorts with slots resembling the crystals’ shapes. He inserted one into a slot, and a hologram appeared before him. it was the face of a man who had his jet black hair, except streaked with gray, and piercing blue eyes like his own. The man introduced himself as Jor-El, his father. He told him his true name, his mother’s name, and of the fate of Krypton. He explained that the reason he’d sent him to earth was not only to save him, but in hopes that he’d use the life he’d been given to save earth from a fate lie Krypton’s.
As he returned home from the Fortress of Solitude as Jor-El called it, he thought of how he could do as his birth father suggested. Of course he’d always wanted to help people, but how was the big question. He eventually decided that he’d become a journalist as he’d originally wanted, since it was something he was good at.
For the next four years, he studied journalism at Kansas State University, paying his way with a job at the Smallville General Store. For the four years after college, he traveled around the world, writing freelance articles. He’d traveled to just about every continent, doing human interest stories. All the while he acted as an anonymous ‘Good Samaritan’, saving people from close encounters with death. He’d come into contact with murderers and other criminals, and thwarted many schemes. And yet after seeing this, he still believed in mankind’s capacity for good, and continues to believe in it. All the while he’d return to the Fortress to learn of his Kryptonian heritage with Jor-El, as well as how to harness his powers.
Eventually he gained enough experience to be offered a job at America’s greatest newspaper ( in his opinion at least ), the Daily Planet. He had taken great pains to make himself appear as inconspicuous as possible. He wore thick glasses and slouched, appearing rather mild-mannered. His reasoning for this was to protect his identity once he adopted his new persona.
On a recent visit to Smallville, he and his mother had crafted Kryptonian garments emblazoned with his family crest out of the blankets he’d been wrapped in. he would wear the outfit as a costume and fight crime in Metropolis as Kal-El, and would report the news as Clark Kent. The move to Metropolis wasn’t difficult, but rather exciting. Although he’d visited big cities before, this was entirely different. He’d dreamed—like other young journalists—of working at the Daily Planet, but he’d never expected the dream to come true. Unimpressed by his gawking nature was his assigned partner ( or babysitter as she put it ), Miss Lois Lane. He’d become quite taken with the reporter, as he’d written home in his letters to his mother, and not just because of her beauty. He admired her for her spirit, her no-nonsense attitude, and her passion for discovering the truth. At first she only saw him as competition, but eventually the two colleagues became friends.
But on his first day of work, Lois Lane was by no means impressed by him. Editor-in-chief Perry White gave them the assignment of covering the LexCorp rally, in which the company would reveal its newest creations. The company had developed an advanced helicopter, and the Daily Planet had been allowed to have two of its reporters tag along for the flight demonstration. Lois had gone on ahead of him to the helicopter pad on the LexCorp tower roof, insisting that it would save time, but in reality she wanted to byline to herself. Thanks to his super-speed, Clark was able to catch up quickly enough. However by the time he reached the base of the building, the helicopter was dangling over the side of the roof with Lois hanging onto the door for dear life. Without a second thought, he removed his glasses, ducked into a nearby building and changed into his costume.
Observed by a speechless crowd, he leaped into the air and soared up toward the aircraft. Lois’s hands slipped from the door, sending her free falling back to the ground. Luckily he was able to catch her, and the helicopter that—seconds later—dislodged itself from the edge of the roof. He was able to fly both Lois and the helicopter back to the safety of the roof. That day’s headline chronicled his debut, reading: Superman Saves the Day. The author was none other than Lois Lane.
Over the past six years, Clark has gone through many trials in his fight for truth, justice, and the American way. At the beginning, he wasn’t sure what people would think of him, and had trouble coming to terms with his new celebrity status. After much deliberation, he decided to reach out to Lois as Superman for an interview, in order to establish exactly why he was here and what his purpose and goals were. Her brilliant reporting has helped shaped the public’s view of him, though there are some—like Lex Luthor— who absolutely despise him. Nevertheless, Clark will stop at nothing to serve humanity, and to make his adopted home a more peaceful and safer place to live.
Code word: Armageddon
Name/Nickname: Mel
Age: 16
Experience: 5 years
Contact information: PM preferably
Character basics:
Real name: Kal-El ( human name: Clark Joseph Kent )
Code name: Superman
Date of Birth: June 18,1980 according to his forged birth records
Place of Birth: Krypton
Age: 31
Known family:
Biological father: Jor-El, scientist, deceased
Biological mother: Lara-El, scientist, deceased
Biological cousins: Supergirl and Power Girl
Adoptive father: Jonathan Kent, deceased
Adoptive mother: Martha Clark Kent, 62
The Reflection in the mirror:
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 225 lbs
Legal Status: Adult
Occupation: Journalist for the Daily Planet
Affiliation: Justice League
Abilities:
Flight: Clark’s favorite ability is defying gravity. It is perhaps Superman’s most recognizable power. He developed the power in his teenage years, and though he had trouble learning to harness his power at first, flight has now become a formidable asset. He can fly faster than a speeding bullet due to his super-speed, and can also outfly the world’s best aircraft.
Super Strength: Being more powerful than a locomotive, Clark can lift objects far heavier than his own body weight, such as cars, boulders, and even larger things such as planes and trains. If necessary, he is able to throw said objects like toys. With his strength, he can also smash heavy objects without breaking a sweat. His physical strength allows him to dominate his opponents in combat, despite having virtually no training in the art of fighting.
Invulnerability: Clark is harder to hurt than the average human. Bullets, knives, and fists simply bounce off of his skin without leaving a mark. He can bleed, but only as a result of being hit by someone or something ( like a large volt of electricity, for example ) as strong as himself. The most prominent thing that he is vulnerable to is kryptonite—radioactive remnants of his home planet. The glowing green rock causes his blood to boil, and prolonged exposure can kill him. Blue kryptonite can strip him of his powers, and red kryptonite strips him of his conscience. He is also vulnerable to magic, which renders him as strong as a normal man. His powers originate from yellow sun radiation, so radiation from a red sun would weaken him.
Super-Hearing: Clark’s super-sensitive ears can pick up sounds from miles away. At first, it was hard for him to control this power by tuning out unnecessary noises. By concentrating intently, he can focus on individual sounds without being overwhelmed.
Heat Vision: Clark possesses ocular heat vision, which grants him the power to emit lasers and flames from his irises. This heat can melt or ignite anything from paper to metal.
Arctic Breath: By inhaling and letting out a deep breath, Clark can release a gust of cold wind capable of freezing most objects in his path. This ability is particularly useful to him when putting out fires.
X-Ray Vision: Clark’s eyes, in addition to emitting heat, can also work like an x-ray machine. He uses the ability not only to check for broken bones, but also to see through walls and doors. In fact, Clark can see through any solid object save for lead.
Super Speed: The ability Clark is most comfortable with besides his strength is his super speed. As a kid he’d been a fast runner, and had very much wanted to join the football team, but had been forbidden by his father. Instead he raced trains on the way home from school. Now he can move at speeds that render him unable to be clearly seen by the human eye, making him resemble a blur.
Clark has somewhat of a photographic memory. Whenever he enters a new environment, his writer’s mind takes everything in and remembers each and every detail. This skill has served him well in his education, as he has been known to make excellent grades. It’s also a very useful skill when he’s out and about performing his duties as a superhero.
Clark is a gifted writer, and has always wanted to use his gift to help other people. He wrote on his school paper and also the Smallville Ledger ( the town newspaper ) in high school. He traveled the world after college writing as a freelance journalist for different newspapers, and currently works for the Daily Planet.
Clark has somewhat of a photographic memory. Whenever he enters a new environment, his writer’s mind takes everything in and remembers each and every detail. This skill has served him well in his education, as he has been known to make excellent grades, as well as in his career as a journalist, since details are everything. It’s also a very useful skill when he’s out and about performing his duties as a superhero.
What's hidden behind the mask:
Personality: What a lot of people don’t realize that underneath his powerful exterior, the Man of Steel has fears just like everyone else. Clark’s greatest fear is not being able to save someone. Soon after his eighteenth birthday, his father died of a heart attack. He blamed himself for the action, telling himself that somehow he could have saved him, and continues to do so to the present day. Another one of his fears is letting down the people who depend on him. Ever since he began doing his good deeds, people have looked up to him as a hero, and even some sort of modern day messiah. He realizes that this is a huge responsibility, and constantly fears not being able to live up to their expectations. He knows that there are some things that he can’t change, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel a sense of responsibility for being unable to prevent things such as natural disasters. He’s frustrated over the limits of his powers at times, wishing that he could do more to help the people around him.
Clark is at heart, the archetypical ‘innocent farm boy’. Even though he’s lived in Metropolis for six years and traveled the world after college, expanding his view of the world outside of the limited range of Smallville, Kansas, he still believes that deep down people are inherently good, and that everyone deserves a second chance. That’s not to say he doesn’t believe in prosecuting criminals, but he refuses to resort to violence unless innocent people are in danger. Some would call this perception of the world naïve and a weakness, but Clark himself considers it a strength. A viable weakness is that sometimes Clark tends to rush into situations without thinking. He can be very impulsive, and when someone needs his help he won’t hesitate to rush to their aid. He’s rushed into burning buildings and jumped in front of speeding cars without a second thought. He rarely plans ahead for these rescues as most of the time they simply happen. His desire to help other people is both a strength and a weakness. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to save a life, even put himself in danger. Powers or no powers, he gladly lay down his life to save that of another person.
Although Clark, as stated above, in some ways fits the ‘innocent farm boy’ archetype, there’s far more to him than that. In fact, that aspect of his personality is sometimes over-exaggerated to hide his alter ego. Dubbed ‘Superman’ by Lois Lane, Daily Planet reporter, Clark is known to the world as a mysterious messiah dressed in red and blue that flies around saving people. But to them his thoughts, feelings, and motivations are a mystery. He considers Superman a persona—partially made up by him and partially fabricated by the press—that he has adopted for times when it’s necessary for him to conceal his true identity. Ever since he was a child, Clark’s parents instilled in him a sense of duty to other people. His father always told him that he was put on this earth for a reason. He said that it was every man’s duty to do his best to benefit the community. Clark took the idea to heart, but he expanded the philosophy by arguing that one man can change the world for the better. Naturally he is determined to do his part.
He cares deeply for not only his closest friends in family, but for everyone around him. He will go out of his way to help others in whatever way he can, whether it’s replacing a stranger’s tire or running into a burning building to save someone’s life. His parents had always taught him to put others above himself, and he continues to do just that each and every day, both as Clark Kent and Superman. From an early age, Clark kept a journal. Although he’s always been polite and personable, he enjoyed expressing himself through words. Whenever something exciting would happen, he’d write it down. Even on an ordinary day, he would be careful to record the events that occurred. He has always had an eye for details, and can describe a room down to the color of the ceiling tiles and still make it a riveting piece of writing. He no longer keeps a journal ( partially out of fear that some nosy reporter might find out about both it and his secret identity ), and instead finds solace in his Fortress of Solitude that was built soon after his eighteenth birthday. There he speaks with an artificial recording of his biological father, Jor-El, to seek advice. However his main confidant is his mother, one of the few people who knows of his secret.
Clark struggles with maintaining a caricature of himself to dissuade people from realizing he’s Superman. He hates lying to people’s faces, especially his partner at the Daily Planet, Lois Lane. Beginning their partnership as rivals, the two have grown to be both friends and mutually respected colleagues. Since the day he met her, he had been intrigued by her, and over time has grown to love her. However he’s hesitant with revealing the truth because he fears the repercussions concerning her safety.
He purposely makes himself appear clumsy and shy at times, but doesn’t refrain from showing his intelligence. Often he can be very witty and has quite the sense of humor, but when the situation requires him to step up to the plate and get the job done, he’s willing to work hard in order to do so. Although as Superman he maintains an aura of self-confidence, as a child he felt insecure, thinking that for some reason he didn’t belong in Smallville, or on earth for that matter. His powers made him feel alienated from the rest of the world, and sometimes they still do. Because of his gifts, he can never truly live a normal life, but he doesn’t curse his abilities. His father encouraged him to see them as just that—gifts, and he shares that belief. Deep down, more than anything he does want a family and some sense of normalcy someday, but he knows better than to think that his desires outweigh the needs of the world.
History:
Clark Kent’s real birthdate is unknown. The birthdate on his forged birth certificate is the day he celebrates his birthday. What is certain is that he was born during the earth year of 1980. His real name is Kal-El, and he was not born on this planet, but on the planet Krypton to Jor-El and his wife Lara.
Jor-El was Krypton’s most brilliant scientist, revered and respected by all who knew him. However he was criticized by his contemporaries and the Kryptonian Science Council on his views of two things—Brainiac and the impending doom of their planet. Brainiac was designed and built by Krypton’s leading scientists. It was a computer used to help maintain the planet and make life easier. As time went on, Jor-El feared that the computer was becoming too powerful, and was developing a mind of its own. What’s more, he suspected that it was keeping information about Krypton’s strangely changing geothermal conditions from the people. Upon further investigation, Jor-El discovered that the planet’s surface was being infected by excess radiation from Krypton’s red sun, and the effects were spreading to the planet’s already unstable uranium core. It was only a matter of time before the planet itself exploded. When Jor-El reported his findings to the Science Council, they simply laughed, but ordered him and his wife not to leave the planet. After discussing it with Lara, Jor-El decided that he would build a rocket ship in order to allow their infant son to escape Krypton’s destruction. It was decided that their son would be sent to Earth, a primitive planet compared to Krypton. Because of the yellow sun that nutured earth, Kal-El would be considered a god among men because of the abilities the sun would give him. Yet he would still at least appear humanoid. He would be different, but at least, they reasoned, he would be safe.
Placing crystals preserving his image as well as information about his homeworld and its collective knowledge aboard the ship, Jor-El prepared to bid his son farewell. He and Lara watched from afar as Kal-El’s ship hurtled into space just as Krypton exploded. Kal-El landed right in the heartland of the United States—in a wheat field in Smallville, Kansas. Jonathan and Martha Kent were in their pickup truck, heading back home from dinner at a neighbor’s house, when they saw something fall out of the sky. Thinking it was a meteor, Jonathan wanted to pass it, but Martha insisted they take a look. The couple found the space ship, which suddenly opened, revealing an infant child wrapped in blue and red blankets. Jonathan insisted that they find out if the boy had a family, but Martha, knowing that this was probably not the case, desired to keep him and raise him as their own. It took some convincing, but Jonathan finally agreed. The Kents could not have children of their own, so they were more than willing to welcome the child into their family.
They named the baby Clark Kent, after Martha’s maiden name. He was a good child, bright and eager to learn. But from an early age, it became clear that Clark was not like other children. One day when he was four, he was playing with a ball outside the farmhouse. When the ball rolled underneath the tractor outside, he simply lifted the vehicle like a toy and retrieved the ball. There was another incident when he was ten—as he was walking home from school, one of the neighbor’s bulls had gotten loose and charged into him from behind. But it wasn’t him that fell down. The bull slammed into him like it had been running into a brick wall, and fell to the ground unconscious.
The incident scared both Clark and his parents, but the former more so. Jonathan and Martha assured Clark that they loved him no matter what, but at times he still felt like an outsider. In high school he felt like even more of an outcast. His father refused to let him partake in any sports. He was angry at first, but soon he began to realize that it was for the best. Instead he joined the newspaper club and developed a passion for writing. His skills became so impressive that the Smallville Ledger—the town’s newspaper— offered him a part-time job, which he gladly accepted. Clark devoted himself to both his budding journalistic career and his schoolwork. After school he’d help his father on the farm. Jonathan would use simple actions like lifting a bale of hay to teach his son how to control his abilities. When the chores were done, they’d also play catch to help Clark learn to limit his strength.
Despite all this hard work, Clark wasn’t without friends. He met his closest friends—Lana Lang and Pete Ross—in the schoolyard in elementary school. The three would go out for ice cream at the general store or see a movie whenever Clark had spare change. Clark had had a crush on Lana for quite some time, and when he turned seventeen they began dating. Most people thought that the happy couple would eventually marry sometime after college, but fate had other plans.
It was a Sunday night, soon after he graduated from high school, and eighteen-year-old Clark was playing catch with Jonathan like always. But then Jonathan suddenly grabbed his left shoulder, seemingly in pain. He collapsed and was dead within the hour. He had suffered a heart attack. Clark was devastated. Over the years he’d become faster, stronger, and more powerful than anyone he knew. Yet he couldn’t save his father. It was something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
The night of the funeral, Martha revealed that Clark wasn’t their son by blood. She then showed him the rocket. Clark wasn’t as surprised at the adoption part as he was at the ship. As he took a step toward it, he heard a strange voice in his head, repeating an unfamiliar word over and over—“Krypton”. The sound was overwhelming, and he ran from the shed that held the rocket. He kept running in spite of his mother’s calls. He didn’t want to be a freak—an alien if that was what he was. He wanted to be Jonathan Kent’s son. He hadn’t been paying attention to where he was running, and he soon found himself sprinting off a cliff. But to his surprise, he wasn’t falling. He was floating in midair. After flying back to the farm—to his mother’s surprise and relief—Clark opened up the rocket and found a package containing a group of crystals. They almost called to him, urging him to travel north. He told his mother this, and after a long talk she agreed that if doing this meant learning about his heritage, then it was for the best. His mother kissed him goodbye, telling him to always remember her and Jonathan.
Clark decided that it was best to break up with Lana. At this point, he didn’t know where his life was headed, and he was in no way ready to take their relationship to a higher level. He told her this, as well as the fact that he was searching for a purpose in life. He knew she was saddened, but she still wished him the best. He was guilt-ridden as well as disappointed, but he also knew that he couldn’t stay in Kansas forever.
So Clark followed the crystal’s call to the Arctic, landing near an ice cap. The crystal urged him to throw it forward, and he did. As soon as it landed, ice began to rise from the ground. In a matter of minutes, it had formed a sort of castle. He walked inside and found a station of sorts with slots resembling the crystals’ shapes. He inserted one into a slot, and a hologram appeared before him. it was the face of a man who had his jet black hair, except streaked with gray, and piercing blue eyes like his own. The man introduced himself as Jor-El, his father. He told him his true name, his mother’s name, and of the fate of Krypton. He explained that the reason he’d sent him to earth was not only to save him, but in hopes that he’d use the life he’d been given to save earth from a fate lie Krypton’s.
As he returned home from the Fortress of Solitude as Jor-El called it, he thought of how he could do as his birth father suggested. Of course he’d always wanted to help people, but how was the big question. He eventually decided that he’d become a journalist as he’d originally wanted, since it was something he was good at.
For the next four years, he studied journalism at Kansas State University, paying his way with a job at the Smallville General Store. For the four years after college, he traveled around the world, writing freelance articles. He’d traveled to just about every continent, doing human interest stories. All the while he acted as an anonymous ‘Good Samaritan’, saving people from close encounters with death. He’d come into contact with murderers and other criminals, and thwarted many schemes. And yet after seeing this, he still believed in mankind’s capacity for good, and continues to believe in it. All the while he’d return to the Fortress to learn of his Kryptonian heritage with Jor-El, as well as how to harness his powers.
Eventually he gained enough experience to be offered a job at America’s greatest newspaper ( in his opinion at least ), the Daily Planet. He had taken great pains to make himself appear as inconspicuous as possible. He wore thick glasses and slouched, appearing rather mild-mannered. His reasoning for this was to protect his identity once he adopted his new persona.
On a recent visit to Smallville, he and his mother had crafted Kryptonian garments emblazoned with his family crest out of the blankets he’d been wrapped in. he would wear the outfit as a costume and fight crime in Metropolis as Kal-El, and would report the news as Clark Kent. The move to Metropolis wasn’t difficult, but rather exciting. Although he’d visited big cities before, this was entirely different. He’d dreamed—like other young journalists—of working at the Daily Planet, but he’d never expected the dream to come true. Unimpressed by his gawking nature was his assigned partner ( or babysitter as she put it ), Miss Lois Lane. He’d become quite taken with the reporter, as he’d written home in his letters to his mother, and not just because of her beauty. He admired her for her spirit, her no-nonsense attitude, and her passion for discovering the truth. At first she only saw him as competition, but eventually the two colleagues became friends.
But on his first day of work, Lois Lane was by no means impressed by him. Editor-in-chief Perry White gave them the assignment of covering the LexCorp rally, in which the company would reveal its newest creations. The company had developed an advanced helicopter, and the Daily Planet had been allowed to have two of its reporters tag along for the flight demonstration. Lois had gone on ahead of him to the helicopter pad on the LexCorp tower roof, insisting that it would save time, but in reality she wanted to byline to herself. Thanks to his super-speed, Clark was able to catch up quickly enough. However by the time he reached the base of the building, the helicopter was dangling over the side of the roof with Lois hanging onto the door for dear life. Without a second thought, he removed his glasses, ducked into a nearby building and changed into his costume.
Observed by a speechless crowd, he leaped into the air and soared up toward the aircraft. Lois’s hands slipped from the door, sending her free falling back to the ground. Luckily he was able to catch her, and the helicopter that—seconds later—dislodged itself from the edge of the roof. He was able to fly both Lois and the helicopter back to the safety of the roof. That day’s headline chronicled his debut, reading: Superman Saves the Day. The author was none other than Lois Lane.
Over the past six years, Clark has gone through many trials in his fight for truth, justice, and the American way. At the beginning, he wasn’t sure what people would think of him, and had trouble coming to terms with his new celebrity status. After much deliberation, he decided to reach out to Lois as Superman for an interview, in order to establish exactly why he was here and what his purpose and goals were. Her brilliant reporting has helped shaped the public’s view of him, though there are some—like Lex Luthor— who absolutely despise him. Nevertheless, Clark will stop at nothing to serve humanity, and to make his adopted home a more peaceful and safer place to live.
Krypton—the world of tomorrow. The crystal spires rose above even the highest buildings of Metropolis. It was an entire planet dedicated to learning and science. The Kryptonians, unlike the humans, had grown weary of war, and had sworn off the abomination years ago after the last civil war. It was a peaceful planet, one fit to raise a child on for a bright future. He himself might have been raised there, if not for the planet’s destruction.
But the destruction of Krypton was not on Jor-El or Lara’s mind at the moment—or else it didn’t seem so. They were eating dinner with their son—with him—but he couldn’t recognize what the food was. However he did recognize Jor-El’s careworn but jovial face, and his mother’s beautiful smile from the holograms in the rocket. He reached out to touch them, to embrace them, but all he could feel was empty space.
He awoke with a start, falling back down onto his bed. He’d been floating in the air—as he usually did when he slept peacefully. This hadn’t been the first time he’d dreamt about Krypton. He’d had similar dreams ever since he found the rocket ship. Sometimes he wondered what life would have been like had his home planet never exploded. Would he have been a scientist like his father? Or a reporter ( granted Krypton had reporters )? He knew a great deal more about his home planet than he did fourteen years ago, when he first discovered he was an alien, but he still felt distant from it. Of course it was a part of him, but not as much as Earth was. Everything he’d ever loved was here on Earth—Ma, Pa, the League, Lois--but Krypton seemed so foreign to him. It was supposed to be his home, but he hardly remembered it. The way he saw things, it was Krypton that made him Kal-El, and Earth that made him human—that made him Clark Kent. Of course no one really knew the real Clark Kent other than his mother and the League, as he wasn’t keen on sharing his secret identity. Clark Kent as the world saw him was just a mild-mannered, socially awkward reporter. Every now and then a bit of the real him came out in his life at the Daily Planet, but not often enough to connect Clark Kent to Superman. At first he didn’t know what to make of the name Lois had given him, but after a while it sort of stuck.
He doubted that he could go back to sleep—even if he was supposed to report to the Planet’s D.C. office in the morning—so he stood up and changed from his nightclothes into his Kryptonian garb. He looked in the mirror and smoothed his hair back, allowing a single raven curl to fall over his forehead before opening his apartment window and stepping outside, taking flight only after pausing to close the window. When insomnia took over, he found the best solution to be patrolling.
Of course the first place he went was the most troublesome part of town. After all, from experience and his senses, most people weren’t out at this time at night—except in this neighborhood. Opium dealers, muggings, and gang violence were all too common. Clark considered it his duty as Superman to put a stop to it wherever he saw it, but even he couldn’t completely wipe out crime.
”You got the tommy guns?”
”Yeah…they should be coming up this street any minute.”
”Then will be ready for ‘em. Last time them idiots mess with us.”
As he suspected—some sort of a confrontation was about to go down between to rival gangs, or at least that’s what he could glean from his supersensitive hearing. He descended slightly as he followed the sounds to the gang he’d heard, and landed not far from where they’d formed their ‘battle line’. “Good evening, gentlemen. I couldn’t help but overhear.”
The group, almost simultaneously, turned around, pointing their weapons at him. “Now now, I wouldn’t be too careless with those, someone could get hurt.” His voice raised slightly at the end of his sentence, as two twin beams emitted from his eyes headed straight toward the leader’s gun. He dropped the weapon and let out a cry as it fell, red-hot, to the ground. “I’d advise you boys to head home. I don’t want there to be any trouble.”
“Look at that, Boy Scout wants to tell us what to do! What do we do, Johnny?”
‘Johnny’, obviously the leader, removed his sore fingers from his mouth to grunt, “Pelt him with lead.”
But the destruction of Krypton was not on Jor-El or Lara’s mind at the moment—or else it didn’t seem so. They were eating dinner with their son—with him—but he couldn’t recognize what the food was. However he did recognize Jor-El’s careworn but jovial face, and his mother’s beautiful smile from the holograms in the rocket. He reached out to touch them, to embrace them, but all he could feel was empty space.
He awoke with a start, falling back down onto his bed. He’d been floating in the air—as he usually did when he slept peacefully. This hadn’t been the first time he’d dreamt about Krypton. He’d had similar dreams ever since he found the rocket ship. Sometimes he wondered what life would have been like had his home planet never exploded. Would he have been a scientist like his father? Or a reporter ( granted Krypton had reporters )? He knew a great deal more about his home planet than he did fourteen years ago, when he first discovered he was an alien, but he still felt distant from it. Of course it was a part of him, but not as much as Earth was. Everything he’d ever loved was here on Earth—Ma, Pa, the League, Lois--but Krypton seemed so foreign to him. It was supposed to be his home, but he hardly remembered it. The way he saw things, it was Krypton that made him Kal-El, and Earth that made him human—that made him Clark Kent. Of course no one really knew the real Clark Kent other than his mother and the League, as he wasn’t keen on sharing his secret identity. Clark Kent as the world saw him was just a mild-mannered, socially awkward reporter. Every now and then a bit of the real him came out in his life at the Daily Planet, but not often enough to connect Clark Kent to Superman. At first he didn’t know what to make of the name Lois had given him, but after a while it sort of stuck.
He doubted that he could go back to sleep—even if he was supposed to report to the Planet’s D.C. office in the morning—so he stood up and changed from his nightclothes into his Kryptonian garb. He looked in the mirror and smoothed his hair back, allowing a single raven curl to fall over his forehead before opening his apartment window and stepping outside, taking flight only after pausing to close the window. When insomnia took over, he found the best solution to be patrolling.
Of course the first place he went was the most troublesome part of town. After all, from experience and his senses, most people weren’t out at this time at night—except in this neighborhood. Opium dealers, muggings, and gang violence were all too common. Clark considered it his duty as Superman to put a stop to it wherever he saw it, but even he couldn’t completely wipe out crime.
”You got the tommy guns?”
”Yeah…they should be coming up this street any minute.”
”Then will be ready for ‘em. Last time them idiots mess with us.”
As he suspected—some sort of a confrontation was about to go down between to rival gangs, or at least that’s what he could glean from his supersensitive hearing. He descended slightly as he followed the sounds to the gang he’d heard, and landed not far from where they’d formed their ‘battle line’. “Good evening, gentlemen. I couldn’t help but overhear.”
The group, almost simultaneously, turned around, pointing their weapons at him. “Now now, I wouldn’t be too careless with those, someone could get hurt.” His voice raised slightly at the end of his sentence, as two twin beams emitted from his eyes headed straight toward the leader’s gun. He dropped the weapon and let out a cry as it fell, red-hot, to the ground. “I’d advise you boys to head home. I don’t want there to be any trouble.”
“Look at that, Boy Scout wants to tell us what to do! What do we do, Johnny?”
‘Johnny’, obviously the leader, removed his sore fingers from his mouth to grunt, “Pelt him with lead.”
Code word: Armageddon