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Author Topic: Clark Kent as a disguise  (Read 25606 times)
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Brainiac44
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« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2005, 07:28:05 PM »

Sadly, most people wouldn't recognize Clark Kent to be Superman because they don't care.  That's what's wrong with the World today - people don't care - they have a sterylized mind and only think of themselves.  That's for the people.
For Superman - let me point out (I don't think it was mentionned except for hairstyle but not specifically), in the movies, Chris Reeve parted his hair differently than Superman, and also less "heroically" (no spitcurl and more flat).

Brainiac

P.S. I won't destroy the World today!
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JulianPerez
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« Reply #9 on: September 11, 2005, 06:17:48 AM »

I always was under the impression that the reason Superman wants to spend time as Clark Kent is that he honestly enjoys being Clark - he gets a kick out of it and uses it to relax. This view is reinforced by Maggin, who says that Clark Kent is Superman's equivalent of Einstein's violin playing.

This view says wonders about Superman's inherent humility that he doesn't mind being an average Joe, and of Superman's respect for the common man.

Superman is different as Clark Kent, but I wouldn't say Clark is a "disguise." People behave differently amongst their rowdy drinking buddies than they do amongst their Mother, but this does not mean a person is wearing a disguise or being a phony. Different characteristics that one possesses are emphasized at different times and in different situations.

I don't think Superman one day put on a pair of glasses and "invented" Clark Kent from start to finish. The Clark Kent persona probably developed gradually, not all at once. Superman's own humility and lack of subterfuge probably means that on occasion, people that are not aware that he has superpowers would take advantage of him, and his refusal to get into confrontational situations where he might use his powers to hurt someone would give him the label of "meek" or "mild." Labels have a funny way of becoming reality - drill it into a kid that he's a brat over and over, guess how he'll behave? Same principle here. Clark Kent's "absences" during crisis situations would be interpreted as cowardice, an ugly insult he can never dispel because he can never explain himself. Superman would quickly learn to cultivate this characteristic of being easily frightened and sickly, probably the only part of the Clark Kent persona that really IS just acting and not a character trait that Superman possesses, only shown in a different circumstance. This would make his disappearances in dangerous situations perfectly in character.

One continuing discussion is whether Superman's persona is a "real" person or "Clark Kent" is. I would say Superman is both at the same time - both possess the most important of his characteristics, honesty, decency, and incorruptibility. At the same time, if ONE of the two persons has to be judged as the more honest to his "true" personality, I would have to say Superman is the more "real." If our true selves are revealed by the choices that we make under pressure, and as Superman, he is ultra-confident, intelligent, resourceful and always with a plan, clear-minded and certain of his courses of action, fearless, and steadfastly refusing to compromise his convictions. In fiction, the "true" self is the "heroic" self - Superman may be Clark Kent too, but saying he is Clark Kent and the traits Clark Kent represents, exclusively, diminishes Superman's grandeur as a hero.

Quote from: "Brainiac44"
Sadly, most people wouldn't recognize Clark Kent to be Superman because they don't care. That's what's wrong with the World today - people don't care - they have a sterylized mind and only think of themselves. That's for the people.


Very astute observation, Brainiac 44. It goes to prove a different and bigger point - treat every man as if he was a Superman.

Superman loves Clark Kent, I think, because Superman revels in Clark's ability to be dismissed and ignored, his anonymity - he has such respect for common people that he finds value in this. Superman doesn't want to be one of the "beautiful people" of the world. He loves the average person, and (to him) the exoticism of averageness itself - too much for that.

Why does Superman always crack a smile and wink secretively to himself when Lois says something like "You're nice, Clark, but you'll never be Superman?" Because he has FUN being Clark, he gets as much enjoyment out of these little dichotomies and ironies of his existence, as much as we enjoy reading about them.

And for the record, the recent PETER PAN was a wonderful, fabulous movie.
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"Wait, folks...in a startling new development, Black Goliath has ripped Stilt-Man's leg off, and appears to be beating him with it!"
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Uncle Mxy
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« Reply #10 on: September 11, 2005, 08:04:14 PM »

The key question on "Kent as a disguise" (vs. "Kent as a way of life") is:  Do you like Superboy or Bizarro-speaking Superbaby?  If Supes is aware of his power and heritage the moment the ship lands, that leads to a very different kind of Clark Kent than if his abilities develop more gradually.  Secondarily, do you like Ma and Pa Kent alive or dead once Supes is an adult?  How he's raised should determine what Clark Kent is to him.
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NotSuper
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« Reply #11 on: September 11, 2005, 10:34:55 PM »

Someone on a different forum suggested that Kal could alter his skin tone (due to his powers coming from Sol) to become more pale when he's Clark. I like this idea, especially when it's added to the spine compression, muscle control, and changing of the voice.
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Many people want others to accept their opinions as fact. If enough people accept them as fact then it gives the initial person or persons a feeling of power. This is why people will constantly talk about something they hate—they want others to feel the same way. It matters to them that others perceive things the same way that they do.
Captain Kal
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« Reply #12 on: September 12, 2005, 12:11:02 AM »

Is it possible?  Yes, given previous canon on the Post Crisis aura and implications of invulnerability from the Pre Crisis days, he probably should be able to alter the way his body reflects light striking it.  His indestructible matter still appears with the normal default colours it would have if it were non-super which implies he's absorbing/reflecting the same spectrum as normal matter.  He should be able to willfully alter this the same way he can willfully decide his cape/costume should stretch or not depending on the circumstances.

OTOH, this falls closer to 'baseless speculation'.  While existing canon can find ways to explain this if he ever tried it, the fact remains is that the books have no evidence that he's ever done this.  Any panels of Superman and Clark Kent show him having exactly the same skin tone.  And no textual references exist either about this effect.

But I just remembered that Byrne cribbed from Jay/Flash: Superman maintains a low-level super-speed vibration of his face to slightly blur his features.  That way, his face is subtly different from Clark's.  They look like brothers rather than the same man due to this super-speed blurring.
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Captain Kal

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RedSunOfKrypton
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« Reply #13 on: September 12, 2005, 03:58:29 PM »

A new thought; he might harness the power that I call, UtterAnonymity. I am a master of remembering faces, voices, names and phone numbers. They just stick like glue. Even if I met someone once years ago I can still remember their names just by looking at them years later. Still there have been a few people I've met over time that just refuse to have their likenesses remembered, one guy I hung around with for months and even now I couldn't pick him out of a crowd. It's like there's a mental block that prevents me from picturing him. I remember his name but not his features. Like I said, this has happened to me a few times. If it was truly a harnessable effect, it could explain part of how Clark does what he does.
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"...and as the fledgeling Man of Steel looks for the first time over the skyline of this city, this, Metropolis, he utters the syllables with which history is made and legends are forged: This, looks like a job...for Superman."
Gernot
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« Reply #14 on: September 13, 2005, 09:02:14 AM »

All right, I've held back from joining in on this discussion until I could find the photo I was looking for.  

THIS will convince anyone you EVER meet that the Clark Kent disguise works!  

Enjoy!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gernot1962/album?.dir=de38&urlhint=act...
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JulianPerez
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« Reply #15 on: September 13, 2005, 03:33:52 PM »

Quote from: "Gernot"
All right, I've held back from joining in on this discussion until I could find the photo I was looking for.  

THIS will convince anyone you EVER meet that the Clark Kent disguise works!  

Enjoy!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gernot1962/album?.dir=de38&urlhint=act...


Heh heh heh! Nice pic, Gernot.

As great as the other Superman actors were, at least for me, Chris Reeve takes the cake, not just because he was a great Superman, but also because he was a great Clark as well.

I'm filled with endless respect for good actors because acting is a skill, acting is HARD - not everyone can do it. And Chris Reeve played two characters in a movie so differently nobody could ever consider them the same man.
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"Wait, folks...in a startling new development, Black Goliath has ripped Stilt-Man's leg off, and appears to be beating him with it!"
       - Reporter, Champions #15 (1978)
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