Clark Kent

[Source]

"*I'm here to fight for truth, justice, and the American way.*"
―Superman[src]
**Clark Kent** (born as **Kal-El**, and also known as **Superman**), was a legendary Kryptonian male who worked as a reporter at the *Daily Planet* as well as a founding member of the Justice Society. He was also the husband of Lois Lane.

Born on Krypton around 1945 CE to brilliant scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara Lor Van,

## Biography

### Early life

Clark Kent was born as Kal-El on the planet Krypton alongside his twin-brother Mon-El to Lara Lor Van and the scientist Jor-El. Like his father, Kal-El was a very astute and intelligent boy who learned to speak and read in his native language by the time he was three years old.

At about the same time, Jor-El and his brother Zor-El as well as their colleague Jax-Ur learned that Krypton was doomed to explode due to it's unstable core, and he brought this to the attention of Krypton's ruling leaders, "the Science Council." Fearing the worst for his planet, Jor-El advised the Council that these use the Council's secret fleet of space ships to carry the population farther away from the dying planet. Disbelieving Jor-El's prediction, the ruling council refused to warn their fellow Kryptonians, and forbade Jor-El to do so. Soon after Jor-El's failed attempt, Dru-Zod, a general in the Kryptonian military, learned that the Kryptonian scientist was actually correct and that the Science Council had lied to him. Zod and his lieutenants Ursa and Non then defected from the council and joined with Jax-Ur in his quest to warn Krypton's civilian populace of their penultimate fate.

The Kryptonian Science Council believed that Zod and his growing movement was causing uncivil panic and moved to have them destroyed. In response to the Science Council's attempts to quell the riots, Zod tried to enlist the aid of Jor-El in a bid to wrest control from the Science Council, but Jor-El refused, citing that violence was hardly the solution. Zod reminded Jor-El that the Science Council were the ones that started the violence and to defend themselves Zod felt that violence was the only answer at this juncture. He and his followers then invaded the Science Council chambers the next day attempting a coup, and in the process, murdered five council members before they were stopped. In response, the Council put the entire planet on lockdown as civil unrest continued to increase. Jor-El used the last bit of influence he had with the council to convince them not to execute the terrorists for treason. This would unfortunately prove to be an unwise decision by the father of young Kal-El.

Soon thereafter, Jor-El realized that his original prediction about the planet exploding in months was off and now believed that it was only days at most due to the Council's decision to use nuclear weapons against various cells of Zod's terrorist movement which affected Krypton in an exceedingly adverse way. Jor-El planned to sneak into the facility where the spaceships were located and leave Krypton with his family immediately after Zod's trial. Meanwhile, the planet's increasingly hazardous condition soon became obvious to the general populace, and seeing Zod as their best option to save them, a mob broke into where he and his followers were being held as prisoners on the day of his hearing. After being rescued, Zod held Jor-El hostage and forced the scientist to bring him to where the secret fleet of spaceships were being held. Once they arrived at the location, Jor-El, Zod and the others would meet Lara and the boys outside the facility. Zod would soon broadcast the whereabouts of the shipyard to the entire populace, causing a massive flooding of people to the location. In the panic, Jor-El attempted to leave on one of the small ships with his family but had only managed to set the course to Earth before Zod betrayed him in revenge for his part in the general's guilty verdict. The two fought in a fateful contest as Jor-El pleaded with Lara to escape with their son's. Lara placed young Kal-El in the ship and was about to place Mon-El inside when Ursa prevented this, and in their struggle, accidentally closed off and launched the ship into orbit.

Jor-El had held Zod off long enough that most of the ships had now been taken. This soon became apparent to Zod and as he prepared to strike the killing blow, Jor-El tricked him and his cohorts into stepping on the very device that was intended for them all along which transported them into the multidimensional null reality known as the Phantom Zone but not before grabbing young Mon-El at the last second and sealing him inside as well. Jor-El spent his last minutes alive embracing his wife before the planet exploded.

### Adopted by the Kents

"*Remember us, Clark. Always remember us.*"
―Martha Kent[src]
 File:Young Kal-El.jpg
After traveling through space for an indeterminate amount of time, his ship eventually did make it to the planet Earth as intended and crash-landed in a small farming community called Smallville, Pennsylvania, which caused Jonathan and Martha Kent to pull over and investigate. They saw the young child emerge from the wreckage unharmed. The Kents discussed what they wished to do with the child when the truck fell off the jack, almost crushing Jonathan who was working underneath it to change a flat tire. Kal-El easily lifted up the truck, making the Kents wonder if the child really came from outer space somewhere. Martha became attached to young Kal-El while Jonathan elected to have the child's true family found. Martha, however, persuaded Jonathan to keep the boy as their adopted child and given the name Clark, Martha's maiden name.

Jonathan and Martha instilled in him a good sense of right and wrong but also a healthy appreciation to try to fit into society as a positive being using his talents for good. The young Clark took the advice to heart and started secretly helping out local people. But he never fully forgot his Kryptonian heritage which at times lead to some frustrating moments between him and his foster parents such as when Krypto, Kal-El's superpowered puppy from Krypton, first arrived in Smallville. Clark formed a friendship with another farmer's son, Pete Ross, in his early childhood. Clark was also close friends with Lana Lang for most of his early life and a relationship blossomed between them. Eventually, both of his friends learned of his abilities. At age 18, Clark heard the call of a mysterious green crystal hidden in his parents' barn. He realized that it was time to discover his purpose, and would bid an emotional farewell to his Earth parents. Before leaving, Martha gave Clark his familiar costume that she had unraveled and reweaved from the blankets that were inside his spaceship. Clark continued to use Martha's design throughout all of his costume career. He soon departed on a journey to the Arctic and used the crystal to build the Fortress of Solitude, a majestic crystal palace in the architectural style of his home planet, Krypton. Inside, Kal-El learned the reason he was transported to Earth from holographic recordings of his father. After a few years of education and training within the Fortress of Solitude, he emerged garbed in the red cape and blue body suit made by his mother but now include was the El family symbol on the chest.

### Becoming Superman

**Lois**: "*I mean, why are you here? There has to be a reason for you to be here.*"
**Superman**: "*I'm here to fight for truth, justice, and the American way.*"
**Lois**: "*You're gonna end up fighting every elected official in this country!*"
―Lois Lane and Superman[src]
Clark soon returned to civilization, arriving in New York City. During this time he pursued his education at Cornell University while seeking out a living to put himself through school. While in college, Clark met the mermaid Lori Lemaris and the two became briefly involved. After learning each other's secrets, Clark even proposed to her, though Lori would decline as they were from too different worlds. He was hired as a staff reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper by its editor-in-chief, Perry White. While there, he met the teenage photographer Jimmy Olsen and the paper's star journalist, Lois Lane. Clark became immediately infatuated with Lois, but was unable to properly gain her affection while in the bumbling guise of Clark Kent. It wasn't long before Clark's true nature was unveiled when, in his blue suit and red cape, he publicly rescued Lois from a helicopter accident atop the Daily Planet building. Following a series of incidents in which Clark in his yet-unnamed guise came to the rescue and saved the day, Perry White issued to all his reporters to find out as much information as possible about the mysterious hero. Lois received an invitation to meet someone at her place, signed only "a friend." Following a perfunctory interview with the Man of Steel, Lois joined him on a flight over the city, ostensibly to see how fast he could go. After their romantic flight, the costumed hero flew off and Lois said to herself, "What a super man", then paused, and said "Superman!" thus giving the mysterious man his name.

With Superman's fame rapidly spreading, the media coverage would eventually attract the attention of corrupt business mogul Lex Luthor, who perceived him to be a serious problem and tried to get him on the villain's payroll by withholding support during a terrorist attack. Mayor Frank Berkowitz deputized Superman so he could arrest Luthor, and Luthor swore his revenge. Soon after, the super criminal was intent on committing "the greatest real-estate swindle of all time", with the unwitting aid of the U.S. government and the test launching of two ICBMs. To accomplish this, Luthor hoped to cause a major earthquake in California by using the missiles, one of which he programmed to hit the San Andreas Fault (the other had been programmed to head east to detonate in Hackensack, New Jersey, providing a diversion for the westbound rocket). The quake would cause most of California to slide into the ocean, killing millions of people while simultaneously making the vast tracts of worthless desert land that he had quietly purchased skyrocket in value when it became the new West Coast of the United States.

Luthor later lured Superman to his lair with a phony threat to gas the population of Metropolis. Having succeeded in attracting his attention, he trapped the superhero with a nodule of kryptonite — the only thing to which he was vulnerable. However, Superman effected an escape with the help of Luthor's assistant, Eve Teschmacher, who was both attracted to Superman and frightened for the fate of her mother, who happened to live in Hackensack. Superman kept his promise and diverted the path of the Hackensack missile first, forcing it into space. In the meantime, the California missile hit the San Andreas Fault, triggering the massive earthquake Luthor had intended. The length of the fault was devastated by the initial quake, but Superman prevented the catastrophic landslide Luthor intended by plunging deep into the earth to shore up the fault line. However, the quake's violent aftershocks still caused massive damage that created multiple disasters. He prevented the Hoover Dam burst, and fixed the fault line in such a way that the crevasse didn’t reach Lois’ car. He then flew back to Lois, who was alive and well. Superman bid farewell and flew off, with a task to finish. Jimmy Olsen then mentioned that it was unfortunate Clark was never there to see Superman, and it was this moment only that Lois suspected that Superman and Clark may be the same person, only to dismiss it as "the silliest idea". Superman captured Luthor and Otis and delivered them to prison. The prison warden thanked Superman for his efforts, while Superman modestly demurred, insisting that "we're all part of the same team" before flying off.

### Batman

When Clark and Batman meet each other for the first time, Batman is on the trail of the criminal known as Magpie. He is interrupted in a lead by Superman who regards him as an outlaw. Rather than risk capture, Batman informs Superman that should the latter make any attempts to come near him, a signal will be activated that will trigger a bomb and kill a person somewhere in the city. The two are forced to work together and eventually capture Magpie. In the end, Batman reveals to Superman that the endangered person is Batman himself. Superman departs cautioning Batman against crossing any further lines. Batman admits to himself of a respect for Superman’s innate goodness and wonders if, in a different reality, they could have been friends.

## Personality and traits

"*And there will be peace. There will be peace when the people of the world, want it so badly, that their governments will have no choice but to give it to them. I just wish you could all see the Earth the way that I see it. Because when you really look at it, it's just one world.*"
―Superman[src]
Kal-El was characterized by his idealism, restraint, fairness, and compassion. Clark would be known by these same traits in his professional life as a reporter as well. He was kind, caring and had a heart of gold who was more than willing to stand by his friends and family. He maintained friendships and acquaintances, both with ordinary citizens like photographer Jimmy Olsen and fellow superheroes like Batman and Wonder Woman.

Kent was very brilliant, most notably with math and science. He was extremely kind, strong-spirited, courageous and always kept his word with people. Superman expressed such a resolutely noble personality that others found it hard to find noticeable flaws in him. He was gentle, kindhearted and selfless. He was also resolute, with a firm knowledge of right and wrong and an ability to act decisively in a crisis. Superman was an extremely moral person, believing it immoral to kill under most circumstances, and would often do whatever he could to avoid it. Clark's upbringing largely contributed to this, as his adoptive parents raised him to do the right thing. He had high moral values and strongly believed in abiding by the law and using the gifts you had responsibly. Superman was raised to believe that his abilities were gifts not to be abused.

However, he was not without his flaws. During a period of time in the mid to late 1980's, what Lois perceived as an increased arrogance led to their separation. Clark would also show signs of great anger several times, especially when a villain was threatening the lives of not only his wife Lois, his family and friends, but the whole planet Earth. After the birth of his son, he was seen as a great father.

Kent was a big gridiron football fan and on some level had wanted to play the sport since high school. He was known to collect mementos of his adventures and his life in the Fortress of Solitude, and had even been known to have wax statues of many of his friends there.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

**Solar Energy Absorption**: Under the effects of a sun, Kal-El possessed the same potential powers as an average Kryptonian.

**Superhuman Strength**: Superman possessed a truly extraordinary strength level. It was perhaps impossible of being precisely measured but it certainly was well within the range of being able to press or lift millions of tons.
**Invulnerability**: Superman's body was virtually invulnerable to all forms of mundane and ordinary harm. Neither bullets nor bazookas could even faze the nigh-invincible Man of Steel. However, while it might be said that it was next to impossible to defeat Superman in one-on-one combat, it was still just that: next to impossible. Indeed, there were a number of reliable ways to damage Superman's highly durable form. The one that was most often employed, was Kryptonite, radioactive soil from Superman's home-planet. Superman was also vulnerable to psionic attack and could be incapacitated psychically. Lastly, the most difficult means of dealing harm to Superman physically was simply to apply a force or energy so potent and intense that it could rival force within Superman's own capacity to exert. This could be managed through a level of brute strength comparable to Superman's, or even exceeding it, or it could be accomplished through the utilization of an extremely powerful energy projection attack.
**Healing Factor**: In the extreme event that Superman was harmed, he had been shown to have the ability to heal almost instantaneously from any wound, assuming that the process was not impeded from some outside factor i.e. Kryptonite.
**Superhuman Longevity**: Superman like all other Kryptonians, weren't immortal, they just aged at a far slower pace.
**Superhuman Stamina**: He had the ability to maintain continuous physical activity for an undefined period. Although not unlimited, Superman's stamina was indeed considerable. His resilience in the face of perils that could potentially annihilate planets, galaxies, universes, and even him was tremendous.

**Flight**: Superman was capable of manipulating graviton particles to defy the forces of gravity and achieve flight. This ranged from hovering to moving in any posture, in any direction. Combining his superspeed with this power, Superman could fly at unbelievable speeds. On another occasion, he used this ability to escape a black hole, although the gravity well dislocated his leg in the process.
**Superhuman Speed**: He was capable of moving, reacting, running, and flying at superhuman speeds. While not as fast as the Flash, Superman was considered one of the swiftest beings in the universe. He could use this power to disarm opponents, catch bullets or shrapnel, cross vast distances in seconds, and move himself and other objects at incredible speeds.
**Superhuman Hearing**: Superman had the ability to expand his hearing range, which gave him the ability to hear sounds before the sound waves actually reached him. This also gave him incredible hearing at extreme variances of sound and pitch frequency, allowing him to pick up noises from across the globe. He had shown enough control to block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source/frequency.
**Super Vision**: Superman also possessed telescopic vision, enabling him to see objects from great distances away, and X-ray vision, which enabled Superman to see through objects via the emission of X-ray radiation optically.
* **X-Ray Vision**: The ability to see through anything except lead. Opponents sometimes used lead-lined constructs in an attempt to hide things from Superman. He can see things behind a wall as if the wall were not there, or can "peel back" layer after layer of matter in his mind. Kal-El is able to focus his vision past layers of matter, literally seeing "through" them -- possibly perceiving x-rays, cosmic rays or other forms of energy invisible to normal human vision which pass through Earth's atmosphere (and solid objects) after emission from stars. Since it is passive, this ability would not generate harmful radiation in the same manner as a focused projection of hard X-rays.

* **Telescopic Vision**: The ability to focus his vision to see something at a great distance, without violating the laws of physics.

* **Microscopic Vision**: The ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the sub atomic level.

**Heat Vision**: Superman could fire beams of intense heat from his eyes, a product of his capacity for optical release of electromagnetic radiation along a range of wavelengths. Though quite potent, some enemies were powerful enough to stand up to it and not even wince, such as Brainiac, whose Ultra-Force Shield Belt protected him from harm on a level even greater than Superman's invincibility, and Darkseid, who withstood the full intensity of Superman's heat vision after being hit with it point-blank.
**Super Breath**: Superman could create hurricane force winds by blowing, and also exhale supercooled gas to freeze a target. He could also breathe in large amounts of air to dispel clouds of gas by exhaling it.
### Abilities

* **Master Combatant**: He had been trained in Kryptonian combat set forth by Jor-El and both Wildcat and Batman in advanced martial arts techniques.

* **Leadership**: Superman proved many times over his ability to command respect and inspire others with his charisma, ardor, and idealism. He often served as the primus inter pares of the Justice Society.

* **Indomitable Will**: Superman was shown to have a powerful spirit, free of nearly all corruption and temptation. Having been raised by a kindly farmer and his wife, he was taught to protect life and help others. He was very optimistic and never gave up, even when things looked bad. Superman eventually learned a Kryptonian discipline that was meant to focus ones mental discipline to help fight adverse effects such as mental domination. He once used this against a group of cloned alien children.

* **Multilingualism**: He spoke several languages, such as English, Kryptonian, Russian, Italian, Greek and Norse.

### Weaknesses

* **Magic**: Superman's biomatrix was his most powerful asset, but the strength of this field was also its greatest weakness. It's permeability to certain wavelengths makes Superman vulnerable to certain radiations, particularly magical energies whose chaotic electromagnetic or extradimensional signatures disrupt this forcefield. Superman's vulnerability to magic varies on the special effects of the magic. No magic seems to be able to directly destroy him unless it comes from a semi-divine or divine source. He can be injured and worn down by magical entities. Magic can have powerful and unpredictable effects on Superman and his magical enemies have often proven to be the most dangerous.

* **Kryptonite**: Since the destruction of Krypton, its remains (rendered radioactive by the explosion) have been spreading throughout the universe as Kryptonite, a crystalline substance whose specific radiation is lethal to Kryptonians native to this reality. The most common form of Kryptonite is Green Kryptonite, and its effect is directly poisonous. Superman was able to survive inside a Red Sun that was surrounded by Kryptonite. We can guess that it doesn't affect him as much as we think.

* **Lead**: Superman could not see through lead with his vision powers.

## Appearances

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