Clark Kent

Kal-El: 1976 - 1992
Kal-El was born on a planet not far from Earth, in Sector 2813, called Krypton. The people of Krypton lived a life of luxury under their red sun of Rao, while all unpleasant labor was carried out by mechanical servants. Kal-El was no different, except he had it even better than the average Kryptonian as he was born into one of Krypton’s noble houses, the House of El. Kal-El’s father, Jor-El was a figted engineer and a scientist of the Guild of Thought; and his mother, Lara Lor-Van, was the Councillor of the Guild of Reason.

But the House of El were not ignorant of the cost of these luxuries and they foresaw the destruction of their planet coming and after their attempts to stop the impending doom were halted, they took measures to guarantee that the House of El would live on. Just minutes before the machines of Krypton turned against their masters under the command of the central computer of Krypton known as Vril-Dox (aka: Brainiac), Lara Lor-Van loaded her young son onto a starship designed by her husband and sent him off into space, heading toward Earth.

In the midst of the meteor shower, Kal-El crash-landed in Smallville, Kansas. He was the found by an honest farmer by the name of Jonathan Kent and his wife Martha. As the couple had been unable to have their own children, they chose to take this boy in and protect him, giving him the name Clark Kent and taking steps to make it appear they had adopted the boy. As Clark grew up under the yellow sun of Earth, his alien physiology reacted and gave him remarkable strength, speed, and a variety of other abilities. Though Jonathan had instilled an honest work ethic and sense of justice in Clark, his mother Martha begged him not to use his powers, fearing that to do so would expose his secret and he would be taken from them. As a teen, Clark had a literal run-in with Lex Luthor (as in Lex Luthor hit Clark with his car). After saving Lex’s life, the two became friends, with the billionaire’s son rubbing off on Clark and making him decide it was important to be his own man. Armed with this confidence, Clark decided to find a way to use his powers to help people, while keeping his powers a secret.

Clark Kent: 1992 - 2000
Clark Kent joined forces with his schoolmates Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross at the Smallville High School to occasionally investigate crime in Smallville, in addition to their “Wall of Weird” research which focused on the prevalence of so-called “meteor freaks” in and around Smallville. The trio also studied the rising metahuman phenomenon that was still not understood and often just glossed over in 1990’s. It was during these journalistic pursuits that Clark’s secret came to light to Chloe and Pete, but due to Clark’s friendship and dedication to help others; both Chloe and Pete kept their friend’s secret and would remain solid allies to this day. Due to how Chloe and Pete reacted, Clark really wanted to share his secret with Lex as well, but his parents insisted that Lex was too much of an unknown variable and so Clark kept his secret from Lex. That added an element of tension to the two’s friendship, that would eventually sour.

Turns out that Clark didn’t need his powers to be anything special as he was also a skilled writer and journalist. Their work on the Smallville High school paper, The Torch, earned Clark, Chloe, and Pete scholarships to Midwestern University where Clark would first meet Lois Lane. Interestingly, Clark and Lois did not get along at first and the two developed rivalry that would only become more intense as their education continued, even carrying over to their first year at the Daily Planet where the pair was locked in a competitive internship.

Daily Planet editor Perry White believed that the conflict between Lois and Clark was a good thing, pushing each to continually improve, and liked to play them off each other. At the end of their internship, Perry White sent his two all-star interns to Gotham and challenged them to write a report on Gotham’s bat vigilante. Though it was Lois’ report that won, Clark still took a lot away from his time in Gotham. He found himself thinking about how much a guy in a suit could become a symbol for justice and when his father Jonathan Kent died shortly afterward, Clark’s mother urged Clark to honor Jonathan’s memory by doing what she had held him back from all this time. Clark’s journey to becoming a true hero started in the Kents’ root cellar.

Superman: 2000 - Present
After being the means to activate his starship, Clark Kent discovered that there were other Kryptonian vessels on Earth: one in the Canadian wilderness and the other in depths of the Pacific. Clark investigated the one in the north first and found an ancient ship that had intoned to be used as the palace of an old Kryptonian colony that never got underway. In his new Fortress of Solitude, Clark found much of its luxuries were still intact, including robot servants and a computer that had received updates from Krypton up until its destruction, thus allowing the system to analyze him and identify him correctly as “Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van”, even making him a suit which proudly displayed his house’s sigil on its chest.

Clark spent some time mastering his ability of flight. Once he thought he had that handled, he took a day to track down the other ship in the Pacific. Clark found this ship’s occupant wore a suit similar to his own [see “Starr, Karen”/Kara Zor-El for more info]. With the help of his rescued cousin, Clark learned more about his past and where he came from. Armed with this knowledge, a firm grasp on his powers, and the desire to be a man worthy of Jonathan Kent’s legacy: Clark decided it was time that the world met Superman.

Making his first appearance to the world by saving a plane from a fiery crash, Superman kicked off an eruption of the Superman fever. The hope Superman inspired in the human race was heart-warming and Clark capitalized on that by writing an essay that caught the attention of Perry White who quickly decided to bring the former intern back on to the Daily Planet. Years later, Brainiac would show up and Superman would play a critical role in the founding of the Justice League. Since then, he has battle alien warlords, killer robots, deranged clowns, exiled war criminals, evolutionary experiments, and even televised arguments with the President of the United States. Yes, he’s certainly lived an interesting life, but despite all that power, he’s a mild mannered reporter, husband (having married Lois Lane in 2009), and father of five (clones Conner & Mia, adopted Christopher & natural born half-human twins Jon and Laura).

Powers

 * Kryptonian Physiology: Superman's cellular structure is much more dense, resilient, and biologically more effective than human tissue. He does not possess superhuman strength levels despite his enhanced cellular ability without his cellular structure charged with yellow solar energy. Without such charging, his physical capabilities are identical to a human of his height and weight who often engages in physical exercise. As an alien, he possesses several organs whose functions are not yet disclosed or understood but are believed to be part of or the source of his biomatrix force field and reclamation aura. Superman's body also stores energy actively within his bio-cellular matrix as an energy pattern that is linked to his body's electromagnetic field. This energy powers most of his electromagnetic capabilities such as flight, heat vision and other "sight"-based abilities while supplementing his physical abilities to superhuman levels.


 * Solar Radiation Absorption: As a Kryptonian, his cells function like a super battery, hyper metabolizing specific wavelengths of radiation as fuel to enable superhuman abilities. Different wavelengths of radiation have different effects on Superman's physiology and well being, but his cells cannot absorb or utilize all types of radiation. The wavelength of his home solar system's red sun enables his body to function at a nearly identical level of a healthy human; while Earth's solar radiation in its filtered state through the Earth's atmosphere acts as fuel to enable all of his powers. Every time Superman uses any of his superhuman abilities, his body utilizes absorbed sunlight and he is capable of utilizing any of them to various degrees through controlled circumstances. The constant exposure to proven "healthy" radiation sources is not required for him to live and utilize his powers, but prolonged periods without exposure to them and/or utilizing his powers will require Kal-El to recharge in order to live and continue using his powers.


 * Enhanced Strength: The exact limits of Superman's strength are unknown, but he has demonstrated the capacity to lift nearly 400 metric tons with exertion, thereby categorizing his strength in the Class 8 Enhanced Strength Threshold as cataloged by ARGUS, making him one of the strongest beings on Earth. Different periods and intensities of exposure to Earth's solar radiation can cause his strength to fluctuate over time.


 * Enhanced Speed: He is capable of moving, reacting, running and flying at superhuman speeds. While not as fast as the Flash or other experienced Speedsters, Superman can still move at speeds on par with a novice Speedster. Superman's running speed has been calculated to be around 4,000 MPH (Mach 5) which is also his cruising speed at flying. His maximum flying speed is Mach 9 (approximately 7,000 MPH).


 * Enhanced Stamina: Superman has the ability to maintain continuous physical actions for an undefined period. Clark is shown to have unlimited stamina if he is consistently exposed to yellow sunlight, though he still prefers to sleep like a normal human as his mind can suffer the effects of sleep deprivation.


 * Flight: Superman is capable of defying gravity and flying at supersonic speeds (maximum speed: 7,000 MPH) in a planetary atmosphere and possibly faster while in space.


 * Heat Vision: Superman can fire beams of intense heat from his eyes. These beams can be made invisible, allowing him to work undetected, but when fired at full-strength the effect is displayed as an intense red burst from his ocular cavities.


 * Invulnerability: His body is nigh-invulnerable due to his superhumanly dense cellular and anatomical structure as well as his radiating bio-electrical aura. Superman, under some circumstances, is resistant or immune to different forms and levels of lacerations, blunt force trauma, energy-based assaults, falls from great heights, explosions, the cold void of space, toxins and all known diseases on Earth. His supercharged bio-electric "aura" acts as an invisible "force field" radiating within a few millimeters from his skin. He can willfully utilize his aura strengthening its power to a greater degree to provide an additional defense against certain levels of physical and energy attacks for a considerably short period of time, but doing so can endanger him should the attempted feat prove inefficient for any reason. Superman utilizes his aura by expanding it around a person(s) or object(s) to enable their structural stability when lifting or traveling with them. Superman's invulnerability has been in constant flux dependant on his levels of solar absorption.


 * Super-Breath: Superman can create hurricane force winds by blowing, and also chill his breath to freeze a target. He can also breathe in large amounts of air to dispel clouds of gas by exhaling it.


 * Superhuman Senses: All of Superman's senses are heightened to superhuman levels.
 * Hearing: Superman has the ability to expand his hearing range, giving him the ability to hear sounds before the sound waves actually reach him. This also gives him incredible hearing at extreme variances of sound and pitch frequency, allowing him to pick up noises from across the globe. He has shown enough control to block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source/frequency.
 * Smell: On various occasions, Superman has demonstrated that his sense of smell is significantly enhanced to the point he can smell odors from up to a mile away.
 * Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision: He can see into all of the EM Spectrum. Superman can see and identify radio/television and any and all broadcast/transmitted frequencies, allowing him to avoid detection through radar or satellite monitoring methods.
 * 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.
 * X-Ray Vision: The ability to see through anything except lead. Since it is passive, this ability would not generate harmful radiation in the same manner as a focused projection of hard X-rays.
 * Thermal Vision: The ability to see through the heat tracks left by a living being or object.

Abilities

 * Journalism: Clark is one of the best reporters on the Daily Planet payroll, bested only by his wife Lois Lane... though Clark is much better at spelling and grammar.


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

Weaknesses

 * Vulnerability to Magic: Superman's biomatrix is his most powerful asset, but the strength of this field is also its greatest weakness. Its permeability to certain wavelengths makes him vulnerable to certain radiations, particularly magical energies whose chaotic electromagnetic or extra dimensional signatures disrupt this force field. Superman's vulnerability to magic varies depending upon the special effects of the magic. Magic can have powerful and unpredictable effects on Superman and his magical enemies have often proven to be the most dangerous.


 * Vulnerability to Chi: Because of Superman's solar based powers, planetary based esoteric and vital forces could have an opposite effect on him. Concentrated doses of such energies could severely cripple Superman and become fatal.


 * Vulnerability to 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 radioactive wavelength is lethal to Kryptonians. The most common form of Kryptonite is Green Kryptonite, and its effect is directly poisonous to him.


 * Lead: Superman cannot see through lead with his x-ray vision powers.


 * Solar Energy Dependency: His abilities will eventually weaken without replenishing his energy reserves with normal (yellow) sun radiation, especially if he doesn't have any direct contact with yellow sunlight. When exposed to the same red solar radiation as Krypton's red sun Rao, it causes Superman to lose his powers with a large amount of exposure. Exposure to yellow sunlight will reverse this effect.


 * High-Pitched Noises: Because of his super hearing, Superman's ears are extra-sensitive to extreme noises.


 * Psionics: Superman's mind is vulnerable to psionic effects, even though he has undergone training in telepathic defense and had mental blocks installed by J'onn J'onzz to protect his identity and secrets, he still remains susceptible to telepathic coercion by powerful telepaths and mind controllers.

Trivia

 * To explain Clark's paperwork, Roy's going a convenient route that the Smallville Courthouse was hit by a meteor so when they needed to register Clark for school, they just said his adoption paperwork must have been lost. As the Kents were good, upstanding members of the community and the Kents had already been telling everyone for 3 years that they had adopted Clark, the citizens of Smallville didn't have any reason to suspect they were lying. Now, for Kara, Clark and Martha may have made some questionable deals with Lionel Luthor...
 * The five guilds in Krypton are: Guild of Thought (Everything from scientists to engineers.), the Guild of Reason (Basically the criminal justice system and lawmakers), the Guild of War (The military), the Guild of Passion (Artists), and the Guild of Labor (All the other jobs that required a sentient mind to perform).
 * Clark's actual birthday is unknown. He was about two when he landed on Earth, so Jonathon and Martha Kent made that his birthday and said he was two years old. The date he arrived on Earth was December 15th, 1976.
 * Clark Kent's favorite musical artist is Phil Collins. Rumor has it Clark got the idea of taking the name "Superman" from a line in Genesis' song "Land of Confusion". He also quotes lyrics from his songs during interviews.
 * Clark's favorite meals include Hot Dogs, Beef Bourguignon, and Rhubarb Pie. He also likes the pretzels with mustard from the pretzel vendor two blocks down from the Daily Planet.
 * In addition to his career as a journalist, Clark has written two best-selling novels "The Janus Contract" and "Under a Yellow Sun". The Janus Contract an espionage thriller. Under the Yellow Sun was about a journalist and his day-to-day frustrations with the job.
 * Clark's favorite book is "To Kill a Mockingbird".

Links and References

 * Appearances of Clark Kent
 * Character Gallery: Clark Kent