Among the pantheon of comic book superheroes, Superman is the greatest and the first. Indeed, prior to Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster’s super creation in the spring of 1938 (in Action Comics number 1, DC Comics), comic books were decidedly ordinary with characters like private detective Slam Bradley and Scribbly the boy cartoonist. Nothing wrong with old Scribbly! But those early titles lacked the pizzazz and punch of the hero age.
Superman changed all that. The world had never seen anything like him, and his popularity took off like a runaway locomotive. The character’s popularity quickly led to the emergence of a star-studded lineup of other DC universe heroes: Batman, the Flash, and Wonder Woman, among them. Not to mention a collection of villains such as Lex Luthor, The Prankster, and Mr. Mxyzptlk. The Man of Steel’s superhuman power and abilities, coupled with his otherworldly adventures, mesmerized readers every month, providing needed entertainment and relief as the 1930s bled into the war-ravaged 1940s.
But what truly made Superman so memorable? What enabled him to transcend time and place? How did he remain so popular decade after decade, despite changing styles, new generations, new worldviews? I would argue that his alter ego, Clark Kent, had a lot to do with it.
Clark is the complete opposite of Superman. Where Superman is brave, bold, daring, strong, Clark presents himself as hesitant, soft-spoken, bookish, and gentle. Obviously, he does this as a guise, to conceal his identity as Superman. (Incidentally, I have always thought it hilarious that Clark’s only “disguise,” when out of costume, is a pair of thick glasses. As if observers wouldn’t be able to discern that Clark and Superman are one and the same merely on account of a pair of spectacles. But, this, too, is part of Clark’s enduring charm.)
Clark, of course, is a reporter for the newspaper the Daily Planet, where he consistently acquires the best stories and photos–obviously because he is Superman and therefore is right in the middle of the action. But no one ever figures this out. Clark has his super intelligence, of course, and he is always one step ahead of those who would discover his legendary secret.
Clark Kent is a study in quiet, in calm introspection, in everyday blandness, in hominess. He is the antithesis of the action hero. He is milk and cookies at 8:00 p.m. while settling in to watch PBS. He is a quiet evening in front of the fire reading Dickens or Austen or Montgomery or Hardy. He is a weekend at home, writing in his journal, making a homemade meal, sipping hot chocolate, tending to his garden, walking to the mailbox, and heading to bed early. He represents our home self, our quiet self, relaxed, in contemplation, at rest, still, taking a step back and allowing the world and its noise to slip on by.
And we need that. Action stories need pauses. Novels need moments of introspection, where characters reflect and where we get to know them better, settling in beside them as they sit back, recline, and let their guard down. If Superman were only, well, Superman, all action and fighting and saving the world, it would be too nonstop, too frenetic, too loud.
We need Clark Kent to hit the pause button, ground us, make us smile, and charm us with his quiet, steady presence. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll always be a Superman fan. The Man of Steel’s adventures never disappoint.
But if it weren’t for Clark Kent coming onto the scene from time to time, those adventures would surely be less enjoyable.
Thanks so much for reading!
–Mike
Eye-Dancers 