Superman Through the Ages! Forum

We all know that the reason Clark Kent wears glasses is so people won't be able to figure out that he's Superman. But in the pilot episode he's wearing glasses BEFORE anyone comes up with the idea for him having a dual identity. The origianl reason for wearing glases was never explained. Does anybody have any answers?

one of the silverage coomincs has the ecplanition that he doesn't have total control of his vision powers at first and wears the glasses because there made of kryptonian glass... sorta like scott summer's/cyclops and his ruby quartz glasses but not to the same extreme.

Ummm...maybe he just wore them because they looked good?

Dean Cain's Clark was always a bit of a fashion plate dandy for my tastes.  Just the sort of self-absorbed pretty boy who'd wear non-prescription glasses to draw attention to his eyes.  If not for being invulnerable to needle punctures, I'm sure he'd have worn an earring, too.

Throw in an eye patch and peg leg, and you'd have Pirate Clark.

"Arrr! It be time to frolic with frog-eatin' clones and wenchin' 'till Lois be comin' 'round!"

I think that when Martha made the suit for Clark, he only noticed that he looked like a completly differant person when he took the glasses off.

Strange thing, but Dean always looked funny in the first few episodes, didn't he?

[cK]

Why does a popular Clark wear glasses in today's day and age?  That's a hard question that goes beyond L&C.  I know folks who are darn near legally blind who can wear contacts these days, and they'd be encouraged to if they were in the public spotlight as much as Clark is.

As for L&C...  

At one point, I had a theory it was to reinforce the fiction that Clark was Ma and Pa's -natural- son.  If they all wear glasses, you won't notice Clark's skin tone being many shades darker than his parents.  Yeahhhh...  holes galore, but it could almost work.

Don't think the Byrne "natural son" bit works here---no stupid "months-long blizzard" in the show's depiction of Clark landing on Earth (seemed pretty springlike in that time-travel episode).

I assume it's either the writers not thinking about it ("Clark always wears glasses, right?") or Clark wearing them for the look. Though I'm more curious how "Smallville"'s Clark plans on handling his secret ID once he becomes Superman (given everyone's already seen him sans glasses---and guessing given the show's emphasis on the character's pretty-boy looks, him wearing glasses is probably a "no-no" <rolls eyes as a glasses-wearer>).

Uncle Mxy writes:



Yes, but I've known people with perfect eyesight who wear glasses as a fashion accessory.  So it works both ways.

I think the whole thing was more important in the old days than it is now.  The one good thing Byrne came up with (yes, those words came from my keyboard!! :shock: ) was the idea that no one should assume Superman has a secret identity in the first place.  When a guy runs around with no mask on, why would you think he had a "secret ID?"  And if you're not obsessed about who he "really is," it matters a tiny bit less that Clark looks just like him, only with glasses.  Not enough mind you, but a tiny bit.

Plus, it spares us all those stupid stories where Clark has to convince Lois he's not Superman.

Didn't Clark Kent say once or twice in past that his eyes were too sensitive for most contacts, so he didn't bother with 'em?  

That one works for me!  :)  

Also, in the mini-series World of Smallville, a former classmate asked Clark why he was wearing glasses and he said he'd ruined his eyes staring at a computer screen for years.  

That one works for me, too!  :)  

Gernot...