Why glasses

[MatterEaterLad]

Nah, that's totally cool...

I assume we all have our own ideas about what works in Superman...

 

Lots of Bronze Age stuff does not work for me, but that's me...

[nightwing]

I agree it's okay to add to the mythos, but some additions work and some (like this one, IMHO) do not.  It's instructive to examine the failures to see why they missed (which is why I deal with the story on my fan site).

I agree Ollie Queen's "secret" ID was a laugh riot.  I remember a story in the 70s where someone finally decides Ollie Queen is leading a double life as a superhero, and they've figured out who it is...Batman!

Then there was Mike Grell's run on the character, where the FBI showed up and asked Ollie to help on a case and the dialog went something like this:

Ollie: "Why are you coming to me?"
FBI: "Well, because you're Green Arrow!"
Ollie: (Stunned)
FBI: "What, it was supposed to be a SECRET?"

 :lol:

There's also that old Batman story where Batwoman nearly figures out his secret ID because Bruce Wayne has a sunburn only on the jaw area of his face, where it would have stuck out of the mask.  Serves him right for working in the daytime!

[Aldous]

Nightwing mentioned it in passing (he beat me to it), but you can catch some images and thoughts on The Master Mesmerizer of Metropolis on Nightwing's Superman web pages. Worth a look.

You have to remember (way back in early Action Comics) that Lois wouldn't lower herself to even spit in Clark Kent's direction (in fact, she probably barely gave the poor fellow a daily scornful glance); and that her view of Superman was the opposite: she was bedazzled, awestruck, infatuated (as was the general public, I suppose)... For all intents and purposes, Kent and Superman were two different people. Early on, neither Lois, nor any members of the general public, had a properly intimate relationship with either Kent or Superman.

Add to that MatterEaterLad's superb observation:

and its easy to not find a right answer when you aren't forming a question...

With early Superman, I don't find it a stretch to believe he could fool people.

Difference between Superman and most other DC heroes is that his civil identity Clark Kent is the fictional identity. If Superman's secret identity was revealed , Superman would go, but Clark Kent would be history.

Nonsense, Coldsam. Clark Kent is not a fiction. He is as real as Superman. Our hero is just as much Kent as Superman. He is one man made up of these two equally vital identities. Take that away, and you fail to appreciate just what a remarkable and intriguing character our supposed bland boy scout really is.

[Super Monkey]

Also keep in mind that Clark Kent's personality was Completely different than Superman, and he most likely also changed his voice when he was Clark. I believe that Christoper Reeve played it perfect in the 1st movie, and it reflected the old comics. This made it harder to make the contention. It wasn't like the horrid reboot version, where they are nearly the same thing.

Clark Kent is not a fiction. He is as real as Superman. Our hero is just as much Kent as Superman. He is one man made up of these two equally vital identities. Take that away, and you fail to appreciate just what a remarkable and intriguing character our supposed bland boy scout really is.

Yes! Remember that he was raised on a farm by human parents, he grew up being Clark Kent. Sure he was also Superboy, but why didn't he leave them when he found out he had Superpowers? Why not just be Superboy all the time? It was because he was just as much Clark Kent as he was Superboy. They are both refections of his true personality. To find his real personality, just pay attention to how he acted with his parents at home when no one was looking or with any of his friends who knew his duel identity.

[MatterEaterLad]

I can only lend my strong opinion to the observation that Clark Kent was REAL, at least to my mind...anything else would diminish the mythos that made a real Superman to my mind...

[Captain Kal]

It must be noted in Fleischer's analysis that Kal desperately wants his Clark Kent ID to be loved and accepted.  He wants to win Lois as Clark not Superman.  The only way that could make any sense is if Clark is a significant if not a major part of his true identity.

[Coldsam]

I agree that Superman needs Clark Kent and he wants to be accepted and loved as Clark. But his Clark Kent persona can only continue as long
his identity as Superman is secret. But large part of Clark Kent is not real, i.e. his pretense of weakness. Clark/Superman is like the story of the King who dresses up like an "commoner" to see how ordinary people live and to get a break from both the demands of his office and the people always telling him how great he is.

[MatterEaterLad]

But large part of Clark Kent is not real, i.e. his pretense of weakness.

Well we all have to play those games sometimes...is it really that different than holding your tongue in a meeting room filled with unimaginative dolts?