Clark Kent's Secret - SirJeffCena

Clark Kent's secret has shaped their personality over the years, forcing them to hide the truth about themselves to almost everyone close to them.

## The Secret

Clark's secret is made up of a combination of four (at times varying) truths:

* He was born as the Kryptonian Kal-El, an alien from the planet Krypton.
* As a Kryptonian under a yellow sun, he has extraordinary powers.
* He has weaknesses: kryptonite and magic.
* Clark Kent uses his powers to save people and fight crime: first anonymously in Smallville, then later in Metropolis under the guises of the Good Samaritan, Red-Blue Blur, The Blur, and finally Superman.

In addition to his own secret, Clark tries to conceal related information as much as possible (his spaceship, other Kryptonitans, Brainiac, the Phantom Zone, phantoms, the meaning of the cave writing, his Fortress, the crystals, others with (including his dog), time travel, parallel universes, etc.). He also tries to conceal his feelings for Lana and Lois whenever he feels that their safety and/or happiness are at stake. (For example, as long as he thinks that Lana loves Whitney, he doesn't interfere).

## Learning Clark's Secret

It often takes time for someone in Clark's life to learn his full secret, if they ever do.

### Clark discovering his powers

Clark himself and his parents Martha and Jonathan learned Clark's secrets over time:

* Clark displayed **super strength** as a kid, although his parents taught him that he shouldn't tell anyone else about them.
* He discovered his **super speed** at the age of 6.
* At the age of 14, Clark discovered his **Invulnerability** when he was hit by Lex Luthor's car.
* When Clark asked his father about his strange powers, Jonathan told him that Clark had landed in a **spaceship** on the day of the meteor shower.
* Clark encountered **kryptonite** and felt sick while playing near Creekside Foundry with Pete Ross and Greg Arkin as a kid. He was also weakened by Lana's necklace, but he didn't know why until Coach Walt Arnold trapped him in a sauna with meteor rocks and he figured out that **those made him weak**.
* Clark discovered his **X-ray vision** after a football training in the boy's locker room.
* Clark discovered his **heat vision** while watching a sex-education video in the biology class.
* Clark used his **super leap** ability for the first time to jump from the Daily Planet skyscraper to the LuthorCorp Plaza skyscraper where Martha and Lionel were held hostages.
* Clark learned from Dr. Swann that he had come from the planet **Krypton**.
* Clark discovered his **super hearing** when he was blinded by a reflection of his heat vision at green kryptonite.
* When re-programmed as Kal-El, Clark showed the ability of **flight**. Back to his normal self, he was not able to use this ability again until *Finale, Part 2* (the jump onto a nuclear missile in *Hidden* was rather a super-leap than a flight).
* When Clark had caught a cold, his sneeze blew the barn door off its hinges. This led Chloe to suggest he might have a **super breath** which proved to be true when he blew down a steel door.
* The voice of Jor-El told Clark further details of his **origin** and his **destiny**.

### Clark disclosing his powers to other people

Clark generally hid his abilities from other people except Martha and Jonathan, with very few exceptions.

* Clark showed his powers to **Pete Ross** after Pete had found the spaceship, as well as he told him about his alien origins. At that point in season 2, Clark himself didn't know where he came from, telling Pete that "I don't know where that ship brought me from." Pete discovered Clark's weakness later in that same episode, when Clark told him that he's "allergic to the meteor rocks." Pete's difficulties in keeping Clark's secret, leading to his decision to leave Smallville prevented Clark from disclosing his secret to further people, even from telling it to Lana.
* Under the influence of red kryptonite, Clark showed off his invulnerability in front of **Ted Palmer** and **Lionel Luthor** by firing a gun into his palm and then dropping the bullets. Even if Lionel was blind at this time and Ted Palmer was later killed, it is shown that Lionel has collected the deformed bullets.
* Clark uses his heat vision in the presence of **Cyrus Krupp**, who believed himself to be an alien, in order to save him from attackers.
* Clark used his powers in front of **Alicia Baker** to prevent an elevator accident. She overheard him talking with his parents about his vulnerability to kryptonite, as well as later used both green and red kryptonite against him. It is unlikely that she ever learned about his alien origins, as she repeatedly told Clark how similar they were, since they both had secret powers that other people didn't understand.
* Clark told **Chloe** the rest of his secret, especially his alien origins, when she told him that she knew already about his super strength and speed.
* Clark showed **Lana Lang** his powers and proposed to her in the Fortress of Solitude. But then, Lana was killed in a car accident and Clark used a crystal to go back in time to change it. In doing so, Clark decided not to tell Lana his secret so that Lana neither learned the secret nor was proposed to. After Lana had secretly witnessed Clark's powers at the day of her marriage, Clark told her he was an alien as she decided to finally leave Lex.
* Clark used his heat vision to help **Oliver Queen** in his Green Arrow suit to escape from Lois who was about to unmask him to learn his identity. He then stopped Oliver who rode away on his motorcycle and said he owned him one from which Oliver learned about Clark's super powers.
* Clark showed **Javier Ramirez** his super speed to save him from the police.
* Clark showed **Richtor Maddox** his Invulnerability to be admitted to his underground fight club. Maddox was shortly after killed by Titan.
* Clark disclosed his secret twice to **Lois Lane** in an alternate timeline before disclosing it in the main timeline:
	+ Clark used his powers in to prevent Lois from being arrested when he was taken by Jor-El to an alternate universe in which he never had arrived at earth. Lois's immediate reaction was to assume that he was a meteor freak and she said "Pretty handy having a meteor freak on my side." Clark corrected her misunderstanding, saying, "I'm not a meteor freak."
	+ Clark told Lois his powers and his alien origin so she could write an article about him instead of Linda Lake. When Clark reversed time, this never occurred.
	+ Clark finally told Lois that he was the Blur in the main timeline after she had already reckognized him by a kiss. Clark said the only way they can share a life together is if she knows his secret and that there's no one else he'd rather take that chance with. Lois, overjoyed, pounces on Clark in a romantic embrace and asks what took him so long to reveal it to her, whereupon Clark is shocked by her already knowing the truth. Clark told Lois about his alien origins in the following episode.
* Clark told **Jimmy** he was the Red-Blue Blur after Jimmy had witnessed his wound healing instantaneously. He referred to the episode *Identity* when Jimmy connected the Blur with Clark based on photos and Clark threw off this suspicion by getting Oliver Queen to dress up in a red-and-blue costume and save Jimmy from a mugging.
* Clark used his powers in front of **Alec Abrams**, who temporarily was converted into Warrior Angel, when he saved Chloe from falling off a skyscraper's rooftop. Alec, converted back to his boy shape, gave him an image he had painted of the red-blue Blur with "RBB" on his chest, but stated he would like the "S" better.

### Other people discovering Clark's powers

Other people in Clark's life also tended to learn his secret over time, some of them have yet to even learn his full secret:

* **Sam Phelan** accidentally saw Clark stopping a bus that went out of control. He kept the secret and used it to blackmail Clark until he was shot during a robbery.
* **Kyle Tippet** saw Lex, who was under the control of Bob Rickman's handshake, shooting Clark with an automatic weapon, while Clark dodged the bullets. He promised to keep Clark's secret.
* **Ryan James** learned Clark's secret due to his telepathic abilities because he read the minds of Martha and Jonathan. He even went to see the spaceship in the cellar where Clark found him. He promised to keep the secret and did so until he died from a brain tumor the next year.
* **Roger Nixon** spied upon Clark, discovered his secret and even found the spaceship. He was shot before he could publish his discoveries.
* **Bart Allen/Impulse**, who had the ability of super speed, discovered that Clark could run almost as fast as he himself.
* **Chloe Sullivan** discovered Clark's super speed and strength when Alicia Baker tricked Clark into stopping a moving car while Chloe was watching (unbeknownst to him). She learned about Clark's vulnerability to kryptonite when Jonathan used kryptonite to subdue a possessed Clark (Jonathan thought that Chloe was unconscious at the time). An amnesic Clark showed her his other powers although he didn't remember it later. Clark then told her about his alien origins when she was in a Yukon hospital. She presumably deduced that Clark came down during the first meteor shower shortly after, although Clark mentioned his spaceship to her. When Brainiac went back in time to murder baby Kal-El, Chloe knew right away that Brainiac was trying to prevent Kal-El from getting into his spaceship.
* **Kevin Grady**, **Lois Lane and** Sheriff **Nancy Adams** learned Clark's secret after watching him save Chloe by catching two falling columns. However, all the three women had their memory wiped by Kevin. Since he only took them away a few minutes of memory, Chloe still remembered what she learned of Clark's secret months ago and earlier that day.
* **Arthur Curry/Aquaman** saw Clark absorbing the explosive force of a bomb with his body. He later became a member of the Justice League.
* **Linda Lake**, in the form of water in a bathtub, overheared a conversation between Chloe and Clark from which she learned that Clark was an alien. She prepared an article, but her computer was destroyed by Chloe and she was run over by a car before she could publish it. Two years later, she re-appeared and published her article. However, Clark went back to the past using the Legion ring and succeeded in preventing the publication.
* Before Clark told **Lana Lang** he was an alien, she had thought he was infected by kryptonite. She assumed Tobias Rice identified Clark as a meteor freak, but he actually identified Chloe Sullivan and told her Clark was a normal person. She tricked Clark into displaying his powers just before she got married to Lex Luthor. She had already found out about Kryptonians' weakness to kryptonite from Lionel Luthor.
* **Ben Meyers** secretly witnessed Clark catching a bullet intended for Rachel Davenport. He kept the secret even after he was taken to Belle Reve.
* **Henry James Olsen** found out Clark's secret when he saw Clark's cut heal instantaneously before his eyes.
* **Sebastian Kane** who could read minds by touch learned Clark's secret when he touched Clark just before Clark knocked him out.
* After Clark had disclosed his secret to **Lois Lane** twice in an alternate timeline, she finally learned the secret in the main universe after Clark kissed her as the Blur and she recognized the man she loved.

## Known Secret-Keepers

People have discovered Clark's superpowers several times, but Clark rarely trusts people with the full secret of his alien origins, his indirect role in causing the meteor showers, as well as his vulnerability to kryptonite.

The only people who know Clark's full secret are:

Friends and Family on Earth

* Clark's adoptive parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent, knew Clark's secret since they found him, as well as found out about his powers and weaknesses as he did.
* His childhood best friend Pete Ross was the first friend to learn Clark's secret in season 2's *Duplicity*: Pete discovered Clark's ship after it was lost in the tornado and Clark was forced to reveal the truth to stop Pete from telling anyone else.
* His best friend during his college years, Chloe Sullivan, learned Clark's full secret by season 5's *Arrival*, but had already discovered his powers in season 4's *Pariah* when she witnessed Clark catching a car after Alicia Baker took Chloe to a position where she could see him in action. In season 4's Blank she further learned of his X-ray vision and heat vision. In season 8's *Abyss*, Chloe's memory of Clark's secret was wiped and Jor-El, at Clark's request, did not restore it. In season 8's *Legion*, Chloe regained her memory of Clark's secret after the Legion of Super-Heroes removed Brainiac from her body.
* Clark's girlfriend Lana Lang didn't learn Clark's full secret until the end of season 6, in *Phantom*, but she had already secretly witnessed his invulnerability in *Crimson* and his strength, speed and heat vision in *Promise*.
* His friends and fellow superheroes in the Justice League are all aware of Clark's alien origins.
* Jimmy Olsen finds out Clark's secret in Doomsday after witnessing Clark use his abilities, but suspected his identity as the Red-Blue Blur in *Identity*.
* Chloe's assistant at the Watchtower, Emil Hamilton, seems to display knowledge of Clark's secret throughout season 8 and season 9.
* Alec Abrams, a 12 year old boy, discovered that Clark was the Blur after Clark revealed himself to calm him down and talk about heroes. He knows Clark has powers, but not the full extent of his secret.
* Lois Lane learned Clark's secret in season 8's *Infamous* but after Clark altered time, this event never happened. Then after traveling to an alternate future, she learned it again, although she only remembered basic visions of the future. She subconsciously remembered in season 9's *Idol* and tried to prove to herself Clark was the Blur, but she later believed she was wrong. After a passionate kiss, she finally realized he is the Blur in season 9's *Salvation*. Clark later admits to Lois on his own that he's the Blur in season 10's Isis, where Lois joyfully reveals she already knows.
* The members of Justice Society of America knew Clark's secret since the events in *Absolute Justice*.

Kryptonians

* Clark's birth parents Jor-El and Lara-El knew that the yellow sun will give Clark powers.
* Other Kryptonians, including Kara, Raya and Dax-Ur. Clark revealed his identity to them shortly after meeting each of them.
* Evil Kryptonians such as Zor-El, General Zod, Faora and the Disciples of Zod.
* Davis Bloome found out Clark's secret in *Eternal*.
* Conner Kent, a half-human/half-Kryptonian clone of both Lex and Clark, found out that Clark was the Blur when Clark demonstrated his abilities to stop him from leaving the farm in *Scion*.

Aliens

* The Kryptonian computer Brainiac knew Clark's identity as Kal-El immediately.
* Martian Manhunter, who was friends with Jor-El on Krypton.
* Bizarro, who received all of Clark's memories after cloning a whole body from Clark's DNA.
* The Kryptonian monster Doomsday knew Clark's secret as he was programmed to be able to sense Kal-El.
* The Legion of Super-Heroes knew Clark's secret since *Legion*, having learned of his legend from history books.
* Additionally, Booster Gold, also from the future, also knows Clark's secret from historical records.
* The alien force Darkseid learned about Clark's secret and attempted to make Clark his puppet and use him as a weapon against mankind.

Veritas Members and Associates

* Lex Luthor discovered Clark's secret after activating the Orb and journeying to the Fortress where he confronted Clark. Lex learned that Clark was the Traveler from Brainiac (disguised as Kara) at the end of season 7, in Arctic. Lex had discovered parts of his secret several times before this event, but each time concluded in a circumstance that caused him to either forget or in one instance, the timeline was reversed as if it had not happened at all. When he was brought back to life by Darkseid, Lex confronted Clark, still bearing the knowledge of his secret, but after he confronted Tess and murdered her, she infected him with a neurotoxin that took away his memories of everything that happened over the preceding years, including Clark's secret.
* Lionel Luthor discovered Clark's secret when he became the oracle of Jor-El during season 5.
* Dr. Virgil Swann contacted Clark when he saw Kryptonian symbols burned onto Clark's barn, as well as taught Clark about Krypton.
* Dr. Bridgette Crosby was a colleague of Dr. Swann, as well as knew about black kryptonite.
* Patricia Swann inherited her father's journal, as well as met Clark after Lionel introduced them.
* Edward Teague learned that Clark was the Traveler when Clark showed up at St. Christopher's Cathedral in Montreal, as well as used kryptonite against him.
* After months of suspicions, Tess Mercer finally found out about Clark's origins after reading Lionel Luthor Journal and she destroyed the black crystal so Clark could fulfill his destiny.
* Dr. Helen Bryce seems to be suspicious that Clark Kent is not human when she analyzed his blood when he became fatally ill.

Alternate Reality beings
* Clark Luthor as an alternate version of Clark Kent knows of his counterpart's origins, abilities and weaknesses and vice versa.
* Tess Luthor as Clark Luthor's adopted sister had at least some level of knowledge of his origins, powers and weaknesses. She was also aware that he was Ultraman (feared as a vicious murderous tyrant). However she blamed Lionel for Clark's villainous ways.
* Earth 2 Lex Luthor as Clark Luthor's adopted brother was aware of his origins, powers and weaknesses. He was also aware of how he used his abilities and acted to oppose him and was eventually murdered by his adopted brother with their own father's approval.
* Earth 2 Lionel Luthor as Clark Luthor's adopted father had full knowledge of his origins, powers and weaknesses. It was Lionel who set Clark on the path to becoming Ultraman. When Earth-2 Lionel came to Earth-1, he had full knowledge of his adopted son's alternate counterpart's origins, powers and weaknesses.
* Earth 2 Oliver Queen: While not clear whether he knew Clark was an alien, he had some knowledge of his powers and weaknesses (courtesy of Earth-2 Chloe Sullivan in part). He eventually learned that Clark was the murderous tyrant Ultraman.
* Lois Queen: While not clear whether she knew Clark was an alien, she had some knowledge of his powers and weaknesses (Courtesy of Chloe and Oliver of Earth-2). She eventually learned that Clark was the murderous tyrant Ultraman.
* Earth 2 Chloe Sullivan: Witnessed Clark Luthor's murder spree at Smallville High on her graduation day. Nearly became a victim herself but was saved by her kryptonite necklace which made Clark retreat. Eventually became aware of Luthor being the murderous tyrant Ultraman. Not clear whether she knew Clark was an alien being.
* Earth 2 Jonathan Kent: Whether he ever met Clark Luthor is unclear. However, he did become aware of his identity as Ultraman as well as weakness to Green Kryptonite, after Earth-2 Oliver Queen exposed these facts to the city of Metropolis on Earth-2. He eventually met Ultraman's counterpart who was his adopted son from an alternate reality and the two eventually formed a bond with one another.

## Notes

* Clark's guilt over indirectly causing the 1989 meteor showers was behind his greatest fear: he feared that Lana would reject him once she realized "his" meteors had killed her parents. This part has not been fully explored in Clark and Lana's relationship: by the time she discovered the rest of his secret at the end of season 6, Lana had presumably already dealt with the death of her parents and was ready to move on.
* Clark's secret is sometimes perceived of as a burden by those who bear it. Pete told Clark that, "I walk around every day afraid that I'm gonna slip up." Pete moved away to Wichita, as he couldn't live with the risk that he might slip up and reveal Clark's secret. After Jonathan passed away, Martha was glad to learn that Chloe shared Clark's secret.
* Both Chloe and Lionel found a sense of purpose after finding out Clark's secret, as well as were willing to do anything to protect him, including sacrificing their lives. Chloe refused to give up Clark's secret even while she was tortured and almost killed by Agent Vanessa Webber in *Sleeper*, Lionel refused to reveal the identity of the Traveler to Lex, who killed him in anger in *Descent*.
* Clark Kent is not willing to sacrifice people's lives to protect his secret. He tried to save Dr. Steven Hamilton even though Dr. Hamilton had learned his secret.
* Federal government agents have twice tortured Clark's friends, seeking to discover his secret. Chloe was tortured by Agent Vanessa Webber of the Department of Domestic Security, while Pete was tortured by FBI Agent Frank Loder.
* In *Infamous*, federal agents interrogated and shot at Clark in his house: they later started a manhunt for not only Clark but also Chloe, his best friend.
* Clark has revealed his secret and then "taken it back" three times. The first two times were with Jor-El's help. In season 5's *Reckoning*, he told Lana his secret: after she died, he used Jor-El's time crystal to reset time. In season 8's *Abyss*, Chloe's memories are removed by Brainiac: Clark asks Jor-El not to restore her memories of Clark's powers or of Krypton. The last time, he revealed his powers to planet Earth, but then later went back in time using the Legion ring.
* After Clark's secret was revealed to the Earth (temporarily), Martha was forced to step down as Senator for the state of Kansas (until he undid the reveal of his secret via time travel.
* It's interesting to note that by the end of season 8, every character in the opening credits, except for Lois, learns Clark's secret. Lois learns the secret in the Season finale of season 9 and retains that knowledge to herself in season 10 (acknowledging that she was "the last one to know".) until Clark tells her his secret willingly and Lois reveals that she knows. As of season 10, every main character in the cast knows about his secret from the premiere onward which is the first time in the show's history this has happened.
* The meteor freaks and human antagonists that have found out Clark's secret while trying to kill him are rumored to have told the others in Belle Reve.
* Clark has revealed his secret to Lois purposefully on three occasions. He, under the influence of red kryptonite revealed it to her. Since both were infected, she forgot when cured. In order to prevent Linda Lake from manipulating him, he revealed it to her again so she could tell the planet but had to reverse the timeline so he didn't reveal it to her. He reveals it to her in Isis on his own, knowing she needed his honesty if they were going to share a life together.
* Clark has revealed his secret to three people as they were leaving his presence. He told Pete in *Duplicity*, who was driving off angrily because Clark had been lying to him. He told Lana in *Phantom* as she was leaving the barn, preparing to leave Smallville to get away from Lex. He revealed his secret to Lois as she was leaving the basement of the Daily Planet in disappointment because Clark had just said the Blur probably wouldn't reveal his secret to Lois as long as it put her life in danger.