Clark Kent (Smallville)

Clark Kent (born Kal-El) is the main protagonist of the CW television series Smallville. He is a young man who is from the planet Krypton who is saved by his biological parents, Jor-El and Lara. After coming to Earth, he was adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent. He is destined to become Superman, one of the greatest heroes in the world, called the Man of Tomorrow, the Man of Steel and the Last Son of Krypton. 
During his early career as a vigilante Clark has been called the Red and Blue Blur before becoming the Blur. In 2011, Clark was temporarily the Green Lantern. He is the husband of Lois Lane, the ex-boyfriend/close friend of Lana Lang, the best friend/cousin-in-law of Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan, and the best friend of Pete Ross. 
He is portrayed by Tom Welling, who reprises his role as Clark on Crisis on Infinite Earths. 
==Biography==
===Early life===
====Destruction of Krypton====
Kal-El was born in the dying world of Krypton to the scientist Jor-El and his wife, Lara. He was only a few weeks old when the planet was on the verge of destruction after Zor-El, Kal-El's uncle ignited Krypton's core and General Zod's war on Krypton. To save their son, Jor-El and Lara placed their son in a rocket and jetted him off to Earth. As their son escaped, Lara wondered if the people of Earth world loved and accepted him. However, Jor-El assured his wife he would, as his pod was sending him to the family Lara and their niece, Kara had once observed when they were on Earth. Everyone in Kal-El's biological family was killed except for his cousin, who was also rocketed to Earth. 
====Adoption by the Kents====
Kal-El crashlanded in Miller's Field in Smallville, Kansas, on October 16, 1989, after coming from a meteorite shower. Due to the distance between Earth and Krypton, Kal-El had grown around two to three years old when he emerged. 
He was wandering around the small town when he found a couple trapped in their car when it had been flipped on its hood, using his super strength, Kal managed to help the people trapped in it: Martha and Jonathan Kent. The couple carried Clark to the field where his spaceship landed, unaware that Doomsday (as a child) was watching them. They found one of their friends an unfortunate victim of the recent disaster and used his truck to drag the ship out of the field. The Kents came across Lionel Luthor who tagged them down. He told Jonathan that he couldn't move his son but fortunately, Jonathan pulled Lex out of the rubble and drove the Luthors to the hospital. 
Unable to have children themselves,  the Kents adopted the orphaned Kal-El, mostly because their friend, Sheriff Ethan had come to check on them and Clark raced out to meet him. Martha came up with his name on the spot, thinking her maiden name Clark would make a great first name. Because he was owed a favor by Lionel Luthor, Jonathan allowed him to produce forged paperwork that made the adoption look official. Lionel, however, blackmailed Jonathan with threats of exposing baby Clark if he didn't convince the Rosses to sell their land to build his plant. To protect his newly adopted son, Jonathan did exactly this. However, his hatred of Lionel Luthor was cemented and was only the beginning of a longstanding rivalry between the Kents and the Luthors.
Kal-El was rechristened as "Clark Kent" (named after Martha's maiden name) and given a fake birth date, May 13, 1987. As Clark grew, he had trouble fitting in with the other children. He wasn't allowed to join sports or other activities because of Martha and Jonathan's fears of his powers being exposed. 
Clark always wondered why he had these powers since he was three years old. He discovered his super strength for the first time when Clark accidentally broke his family's dining table. At age six, Clark later discovered he had super speed, after finding himself a mile away from the house. However, Martha comforted her son when she and Sheriff Ethan found him. Even though Clark knew he was adopted, he still loved Jonathan and Martha even though they weren't his biological parents. 
In the third and eighth grades, Clark became best friends with Pete Ross, who formed a friendship with him likely due to their fathers being well acquainted with each other. They eventually became best friends when Clark defended Pete from a bully. The boys were also close friends with another boy named Greg and they would often play together near the foundry. However, Clark would always become ill whenever they were near there because of the presence of the kryptonite lined in the rocks. After Greg's parents divorced he cut off ties with Pete and Clark and never responded to their phone calls. Instead, they just resorted to "hi's" and "bye's" in the hallway.
In the eighth grade, Clark befriended Chloe Sullivan, who had just come from Metropolis to Smallville when her dad was transferred to the LuthorCorp plant there. Clark took her to his locks where he gave her a book titled "For the Weird and Unexplained." Chloe then kissed Clark on the lips, insisting they just get it over with because Clark had been thinking about kissing her all day. Soon, Chloe, Pete, and Clark became an inseparable duo. However, Clark also has a crush on popular girl Lana Lang but always falls down wherever he is within five feet of her, mostly due to Lana's pendant from her necklace being made of the kryptonite that killed her parents. 
=== Season 5 ===
In "Mortal," Clark attended a barn-raising event with Lana, whom he was now dating, and his parents, in their attempts to rebuild the town after the second meteor shower. After the barnraisers ran out of nails, Clark and Lana volunteered to go to the barn and get some more. Before departing, Clark and Lex are optimistic about rebuilding the town and their friendship. Upon Lana and Clark's arrival at the barn, Clark quickly located the nails, but Lana insisted they shouldn't rush and took the moment to be alone for a change. Lana and Clark ultimately decided to engage in sexual intercourse in Clark's loft.  Of albino twins who could create force fields together. Tommy threatened to kill Lana and then held her hostage, as well as Jonathan and Martha when they came to the Kent farm if Clark didn't recover a Kryptonite serum they craved from LuthorCorp Level 3.
Clark tried calling Lex about the situation, but the office "informed" him that Lex was en route to Washington, DC. Instead, he had Chloe join him and help bypass the security door by deactivating the power for a second. As Clark snuck into level three through the vents, he accidentally revealed to Chloe that Pete gave better advice when on these missions, with Clark inadvertently revealing to Chloe that Pete not only knew his secret but also saw Clark's spaceship.
After getting into the room, Clark helped Chloe indoors. The teachers locate the serum in the facility, but they cannot get through the room in which they are stored because the lock is only activated with Lex's thumbprint. Chloe remembers that Lex picked up her flashlight during their confrontation in the caves. She and Clark lift a fingerprint off of the flashlight. As they find the serum, Clark tries to grab it, but because he is powerless, he is burned by the security beam holding the serum in place.
Without his powers and Chloe not having enough time to break the lasers, Clark used other methods. He used his wit to defeat Tommy Lee and the albino twins by rigging a suit with Chloe's flash bomb. After Tommy opened the briefcase, he and the twins were suddenly blinded. He dodges out of Tommy's energy blast so that it hits the twins. Clark took a hammer and struck the fuse panel, taking out the electricity and cutting Tommy off from his electrokinesis. The sheriff's men arrested them. This act made Sheriff Adams have a newfound respect for the teenager after previous grievances.
Clark and Chloe find out that Lex is watching them retrieve the kryptonite serum. This was the final straw for Clark, who ended his friendship with Lex for good after Lex's actions put his parents and Lana in danger. When he went to confront Lex at his mansion, Clark punched him in the face for the incident he caused. Soon, the two men began physically fighting each other. As Clark bled, he sarcastically asked Lex if he was satisfied yet before the young Kryptonian left the mansion and sought comfort with Lana at the Talon apartment, where the two lost their virginity to each other.
In the next episode, Clark is shot and killed by a former classmate of his, who threatened to nuke all of Smallville in an attempt to kill the Kryptonite-infected metahumans. However, his body mysteriously disappears, much to Lana, Martha, and Jonathan's frustration. Jor-El, while possessing Lionel Luthor, took Clark's body to the fortress of solitude, where Jor-El told Clark that Lionel was now his vessel since he touched one of the Triumbric Stones. He warned his son that it took a lot to bring Clark back and that his resurrection came with a price; one of Clark's loved ones' lives would be taken in exchange for his. Afterward, Clark stops the missile from hitting Smallville, and he shares an emotional scene with Lana and his parents. 
Chloe discovers Clark in his loft and accurately deduces that he has regained his powers and once again rescued Smallville. Clark, somber and reserved, confides in Chloe about the recent events and reveals his complete healing from the gunshot wound. Chloe argues that Clark cannot pursue a relationship with Lana without being honest about his abilities, but Clark believes Lana may not react as understandingly as Chloe did. He expresses his reluctance to imagine a life without Lana and his fear of losing her. Filled with remorse and apprehension, Clark acknowledges his grave error in initially relinquishing his powers.
== Other versions ==
=== Earth-Two ===
Kal-El landed in Smallville, Kansas, and was adopted by Lionel Luthor, raised as Clark Luthor, alongside Lionel's children, Lex and Tess. He was a serial killer and this world's Ultraman. 
=== Earth-Majestic ===
=== Earth-167 ===
==== Crisis on Infinite Earths ====
After Smallville was retroactively added to the Arrowverse franchise, Clark's world was identified as Earth-167. It is revealed that Clark gave up his power to be with Lois and raise their daughters on the Kent farm. Welling reprised The role when he was approached by Earth 38 Superman and Lois Lane's daughters. 
== Personality==
As Smallville acts as a prequel before his time Superman, Clark is just a teenager and, has not developed his stance as the seasoned hero he is today. However, he is still optimistic and has his older counterpart's need and will to protect the humans on Earth. The show depicts his character development and maturity in the coming-of-age version of the Superman storyline. 
Over time, Clark embraces himself as a full-fledged hero. Before this, Clark didn't want anything to do with his Kryptonian heritage because of what others expected him to be. After his encounters with Brainiac, bonding with Kara, Lana's departure, and Lex's death, Clark embraced his destiny as a hero, culminating in Jimmy Olsen's published photograph of the super-powered "Red-Blue Blur" on the Planet front page and the citizens adopting that name for their vigilante.
During his time as the Blur, he was publicly acknowledged but made sure no one noticed him. Instead, he left a burnt etching of his "House of El" symbol after coming out victorious of saving people from a crime. However, after Jimmy's death at the hands of Doomsday's human self, Clark was filled with extreme guilt when he was unable to save his friend. He fell out of touch with humanity, began wearing darker clothes, trained vigorously with Jor-El's A.I., and buried his previous relationships, believing these were tying him down. After embracing his Kryptonian heritage, Clark became more violent and less emotional. He put a witness in the hospital, lifted Tess off the ground by the throat, and threatened to destroy Zod and the Kandorians if they didn't stay away from Lois. However, Clark was taken aback by the Wonder Twins' well-intentioned but reckless actions to "help" the Blur and unwittingly tarnish his reputation.
However, everyone believes in the future Clark will one day have. Before his death, Jor-El gave a cryptic message that said he would be a god among men with his powers and to "rule" humanity with his greatness. However, in truth, Jor-El meant Clark should use his powers for good and instead of "ruling" humanity, he meant to protect it due to the younger status of the human race. Jonathan's spirit once told Clark that his actions would one day cause him to be a symbol of peace and justice. Additionally, both Lionel Luthor and Tess Mercer have supported the idea that Clark's destiny as Superman will one day, save the world.
=== As Kal ===
When under the influence of red kryptonite, Clark's darker persona "Kal" appears. It removes all his inhibitions, practically turning him into an "Evil version" of Clark: greedy, lustful, and selfish. Martha (correctly) assumes that while the green kryptonite affects him physically, then the red meteor rocks must affect him emotionally. His personality evolves every time Clark embraces his Kryptonian half. He became more rebellious, such as ditching Lana with Jessie and disobeying both Martha and Jonathan. When he first met Lionel Luthor, Kal insulted him, showing himself to be downright rude. Lionel was surprised by this, finding it unbelievable that a son raised by Jonathan and Martha would be an "unruly" offspring. He also likes to prove he is the "strongest person in the room" when he shoots bullets into his hands. However, this (unintentionally) ignited Lionel's obsession with him. He is also sexually attracted to many females, including Jessie, Lana Lang, and Lois Lane. This involved buying a two-thousand-dollar long coat and wanting to become more involved with Lex, a "bad boy" who resents his father. After failing to appeal himself, Clark went to Lex and wanted to run away to Metropolis to stay in Lex's penthouse.
However, this personality once again emerges when Clark's guilt for causing his mom to suffer a miscarriage and seeing Jonathan's disgust resorts him to becoming Kal again by putting on the Red-kryptonite infected ring again. He became far more rebellious and gained a reputation as being a cold-hearted and ruthless person. He coldly rebuffed Chloe with anger and violence when she attempted to convince him to return home and ignored both Lana's and his mother's pleas. Without thinking of the consequences, "Kal" stole money from other people and unwittingly revealed to Morgan Edge he had powers. However, Jonathan was able to restore Clark when he destroyed the red kryptonite after acquiring Clark's powers from Jor-El. 
However, as an adult, "Kal" becomes more ruthless and violent. He has, surprisingly, newfound respect for Zod and teamed up with his clone to destroy loads of Chloe's Kryptonite arsenal. However, Clark was turned to normal when he was stabbed with green kryptonite by John Corban, who was sent by Tess Mercer and Chloe Sullivan to turn Clark to normal.
 
==Powers and abilities ==
* Kryptonian Physiology 
** Solar energy absorption: When being exposed to the radiation of a yellow star, Clark is granted certain powers and abilities. However, if Clark strains himself over his power usage, he will temporarily lose them and need a couple of days to replenish his cells. He is graced with the following powers and abilities. 
***Superhuman Strength
***Superhuman Speed: Clark can move at Incredible speed and velocity. His super speed is described as being a red and blue blur (which is how he got his name).
***Superhuman Stamina
***Superhuman Endurance
***Invulnerability
***Super senses: Clark's senses are greatly enhanced. This includes
****Heat Vision
****X-Ray Vision
****Telescopic Vision
****Micro Vision
****Super Breath
****Frost Breath
****Super Hearing: During a robbery, Clark's super hearing first activated when Kryptonite particles were sustained in his eyes, leading him to be temporarily blinded. Because of this, Clark's other senses were heightened instead. 
****Super Leaping
****Super Memory
***Healing Factor
***Flight
***Longevity
===Temporary Powers===
* Telepathy: The power to communicate to other people through mind links. Clark temporarily had this power when his father's A.I. gave him the power to read minds so Clark could hear every human's thoughts. He used this power to read Lois' mind and learn her true feelings for him. The power disappeared when he had to help his friend, Oliver, saved from the Toyman. 
*Persuasion: The ability to dominate subjects' thoughts and actions, via verbal commands; however, this only happened when Clark was infected with jewel kryptonite. After he was cured of it, Clark lost this ability. 
*Telekinesis: Clark used to have the ability to move objects or people with his mind. 
===Abilities===
*Intellect: Clark has shown an inhuman ability to process information despite his occasional over-reliance on his powers and frequent tendency to be impulsive. 
** Deduction: Being an investigative reporter, he is skilled at detective work. After building up a reputation in Metropolis (especially after going undercover), the police department seemed to acknowledge him as they allowed him to go to crime scenes. Later, when Eric Summers accidentally acquired his powers and began behaving out of control, a normal Clark figured out that Eric acquired his vulnerability to kryptonite. He begun exploiting his other weaknesses of blind rage and vast inexperience with Kryptonian powers compared to Clark himself. Sometime after that, Clark had managed to come to the right conclusions concerning Lex's history with Club Zero and to figure out how Lana developed her visions after a pipeline exploded in addition to the fact that her kidnapper was a police officer. He was also instrumental in deducing that it was Sheriff Ethan Miller who framed his father and formulated a successful plan to lure and catch the corrupt lawman. He also figured out that a phone call concerning Lana's death was made from the future based on recent weather forecasts and sporting events.
** Skilled Tactician/Master Manipulator: When he was 14, he managed to outsmart corrupt veteran cop Sam Phelan twice. The first is by making it so he has a confidential file and leaving him for the oncoming police when he intentionally tripped the alarm. Though Phelan forced Clark into a tricky position after this when he framed Jonathan for murder, the young Kryptonian managed to ultimately outwit him a second time by throwing a priceless breastplate out of the museum window for the authorities to find, noting that it would be impossible for Phelan to avoid any charges that time due to his DNA being on the artifact. Clark was also able to outdo Van McNulty when the latter learned his weakness to kryptonite by building a lead vest and also While struggling against Zod's fighting skills in Season 6, Clark ultimately out-thought the general by tricking him into getting absorbed back into the Phantom Zone and later tricked Zod into confessing to murdering Faora and her unborn baby to the Kandorians (who were listening in on his confession to Kal-El with their super hearing. He was also able to formulate a plan to separate Doomsday from Davis Bloome to bury the former underground and to coordinate with Oliver Queen to subdue Zod to escape the Phantom Zone.
*Fighting Skills: At first, Clark had no formal combat training but his superhuman physical abilities still made him extremely formidable, with even the most powerful of metahumans often being no real threat to him. While easily outclassed by more skilled and stronger (or equally strong but much more experienced) opponents, Clark showed himself to be not entirely powerless in close combat when without his powers, as he has developed a very powerful "right hook" and his regular physical condition can still easily equal and even surpass that of a highly strong human man, mostly due to his already muscular shape and peak-developed body; even displaying some intuitive fighting skill. 
**Martial Arts: Clark exploits the fact that no one expects him to fight back to land blows capable of instantly knocking his opponents out, which was surprisingly effective, as shown when he managed to subdue three metahumans, knock out any human opponent he fought with a single blow, and deal with many opponents during his time in the Phantom Zone.
**Hand-to-Hand Combat: After fully immersing himself in his Kryptonian training, Clark became very proficient in hand-to-hand combat, which allowed him to equal, if not defeat, an adversary who would have previously easily outclassed him. This is later emphasized when he can defeat Alia, a highly trained Kryptonian soldier, relatively easily. This is emphasized even more when Clark can fight on par against Major Zod for an extended period despite Zod wielding a Kryptonian Knife, whereas the original Zod completely outclassed Clark before. He is also able to take out several of Zod's Gladiators as well as compete with Oliver Queen, a master hand-to-hand combatant, and almost defeat him while powerless in the Phantom Zone.
**Swordsmanship: Clark has proven that he's capable with a sword and shield. During his time within the Phantom Zone, he fought Oliver Queen in a Gladiator Match for Zod's amusement.
==Relationships ==
===Family===
Clark was born into the noble House of El, where he was loved by both his biological parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van. They loved their son very much, enough to save Kal from Krypton's destruction.
As a 3-year-old, Clark was adopted by two humans, Martha and Jonathan, who loved him as if they were his own. He has no biological siblings but later adopted his and Lex's clone, Conner, as his brother. He was also estranged from his maternal adoptive grandfather William Clark due to his dislike of Jonathan. Clark's paternal adoptive grandparents Hiram and Jessica Kent, had encountered Jor-El in the 1960s.
In season 7, Clark learns he has a paternal uncle, Jor-El, and a cousin Kara Zor-El. He also has a biological, paternal grandfather, whose name was never revealed. During her time on Earth, Clark was protective of her and acted as a mentor for her. He disapproved of the way Lex was taking advantage of her amnesia.
Being married to Lois Lane, Clark is the son-in-law of General Samuel Lane and the late Ella Lane, the brother-in-law of Lucy Lane and the cousin-in-law of Chloe Sullivan and Oliver Queen. By Crisis on Infinite Earth, Clark has produced two daughters with her, both of whom are unnamed. He has given up his powers to be with them. 
===Romances===
Clark's biggest crush in the first seven seasons was Lana. They had an on-and-off relationship mostly due to a lack of trust between them because Clark refused to tell her his secret. However, Lana realizes the truth when she witnesses him rip a door off its hinges to save Chloe when she is trapped inside. Realizing Clark was keeping this a secret to protect her, Lana realized she loved him and wanted to break off the engagement with Lex to be with Clark. However, Lionel forces her to marry Lex and threatens to kill Clark if she does not go through with her promise. 
In season 2 it is revealed that Clark's best friend Chloe develops romantic feelings for him. However, she eventually came to accept they were better off as friends.
===Friends ===
===Mentors===
===Enemies===
Clark tends to show sympathy for his enemies and even tries to find alternatives that don't involve killing them. However, his greatest threat is his former best friend, Lex Luthor. 
==Trivia == 
*Clark has had several love interests, which went both ways: Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan (who had a crush on him before it dissolved in Season 6), Kyla Willowbrook, Alicia Baker, and his ultimate love, Lois Lane.
**Mandy, Maxima, Zatanna, and Vala have all displayed romantic attraction to Clark however, all women tried to seduce him.
***Mandy gave Clark a kryptonite-enhanced love potion no. 9 that caused him to become infatuated with her until he sweated when Jason attacked him in his barn.
***Maxima came to Earth searching for Clark and claimed they were soulmates. She failed to seduce him.
***Zatanna later did so not out of maliciousness but to reawaken his need for fantasy and love. Zatanna told him to make sure Lois knew how lucky she was before leaving.
***Vala also had a major crush on Clark but her sister discouraged her because Zod personally disliked him and Clark was infatuated with Lois.
*Legally, Clark was born on May 13, 1987. In fact, he admitted to Lana that he hated celebrating his birthday because it was just a day his parents chose when they adopted him. 
*Clark is one of the main characters who appeared in almost every episode of the series. 
*Ironically if you count the comics, both Lois and Clark have a "J" Middle name (Lois Joanne Lane and Clark Joseph Kent). 
*In stark contrast to his comic book counterpart, Clark never (permanently) wore glasses until the 200th episode and the latter half of Season 10.
*Martha named Clark after her maiden name.
*Clark has addressed Pete, Chloe, and Lex (before his descent into villainy) as his best friends. He later extends this to Oliver Queen and Lois Lane (prior to her becoming his girlfriend and eventual wife.,)
*The character often wears colors associated with Superman, especially red and blue. In the first few seasons, Clark often had a blue shirt with a red jacket on. 
**To carry on the tradition, the school colors of Smallville High are, officially, red and yellow
*Clark was three years old when he arrived on Earth in October 1989 because according to Kara, it takes three years to travel from Krypton to Earth. This means that the planet was destroyed in 1986.
* In stark contrast to his comic book counterpart, Clark hardly called Jor-El's A.I. "Father" until it helped cure Chloe.
*Most of Clark's father figures died protecting him. The only parental figure Clark has who is still alive is his Adoptive mother, Martha Kent. 
**Jor-El was killed during Krypton's destruction in order and send his son in a rocket to Earth to ensure Kal-El's survival
**Jonathan died of a heart attack after attacking Lionel when he revealed he was aware of Clark's powers.
**Lionel Luthor died protecting Clark from Lex.
*He was named "Kal-El" by his Kryptonian cousin Kara. It means "star child" in Kryptonian ("Kara").
* Several notes foreshadow Clark and Lois' future relationship. 
**In the first two episodes, Martha and Lois talk about relationships, where Lois wants a "nerd with glasses" over a farm boy. Martha answers back by saying falling in love with a farm boy "happens to the best of us." This is rather ironic because Lois marries Clark, who is both a farm boy and a nerd with glasses. 
**Lana was the first to mistake Lois and Clark for having romantic feelings for her.
**When Clark talks to Martha about his relationship with Lana, he has doubts about ever finding someone who will get him. A few minutes later, Lois drives up.
**Additionally, Lois is often seen wearing blues and reds, colors associated with Superman and ones that Clark often wears. In Smallville, characters wear colors associated with the superhero.
**This was further alluded to in Season 6:
***Oliver also noted Clark and Lois being together in the future. He stated he knew what it was like to hide romantic feelings by masking them in sarcasm, much to Lois and Clark's disappointment.
***When Clark pretended to be the Green Arrow to exonerate Oliver from Lois' suspicions of Oliver being the arrow, Lois admitted to Chloe that the Green Arrow (meaning Clark) was a "good kisser."
***Shortly after Lois breaks up with Oliver, Jimmy attempts to set Clark and Lois up. She ended up using red kryptonite lipstick that enhanced Lois' (hidden) romantic attraction towards Clark.
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