Clark Kent

"I stand for truth, for justice, and for the future.""

- Superman to Bibbo Bibbowski

Clark Joseph Kent (born 1975 as Kal-El) is the son of the late Jor-El and the late Lara Van-El, the paternal cousin of Kara Zor-El. After being rocketed to Earth as a baby from the dying planet of Krypton, he was discovered and adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent (known as "Ma & Pa").

In his secret identity, a mild-mannered reporter working for the Daily Planet in the city of Metropolis, while secretly operating as the planet's greatest protector. Using his extraordinary abilities, Clark protects the people of Earth, the world-famous superhero known as Superman. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th Century.

His name is often stylized as the "Man of Steel", the "Man of Tomorrow", "Metropolis' Favorite Son", and the "Last Son of Krypton".

Arrival to Earth
Kal-El was born in 1975 on the planet Krypton into the prestigious House of El to his parents; well-known and renowned scientists Jor-El and Lara Van-El. Shortly after his birth, Kal-El was rocketed to Earth as Krypton was on the brink of destruction. Making it to Earth safely, the alien infant landed in a field where his pod was discovered by the Kent family; "Pa" and "Ma" Kent, a kindly human couple of farmers who decided to raise him in Smallville, Kansas as their son, "Clark Kent."

Clark's upbringing and the lessons of his adopted parents imbued him with strong moral values, so he decided to use the extraordinary powers he gained on Earth from its yellow sun to do good, fighting evil, and protecting the innocent.

Learning heritage
Although at times he felt like a "strange visitor from another planet", Clark remained proud of his dual heritage, taking both his humanity and Kryptonian legacy seriously. Over the years, he maintained a secret sanctuary known as the Fortress of Solitude at the North Pole, in order to preserve the memory of his home planet and provide himself some respite from his adventurous life.

Life in Smallville and as Superboy
"And when you show yourself to the world...it will be a different age than before, Clark. A silver age of heroism...that will start when they look up into the sky at you with hope for tomorrow. You will help everyone to embrace it."

- Saturn Girl telling Superboy what his future holds Growing up in Smallville, Clark dated a girl named Lana Lang, who was his confidante. He also became friends with Lex Luthor at a very young age. The pair met at a Smallville County Fair and later met at the Smallville Library and had a conversation regarding inventions that changed the world. When leaving, Clark asked Lex if he wants to hang out sometime; which he accepted. The two became close friends for about two years until Lex left Smallville to take over LexCorp.

Martha Kent modeled a costume after traditional Kryptonian attire for Clark, and he began operating in his youth as Superboy. Clark began his crime-fighting activities in early youth at the age of 14, while attending Smallville High School, solving various mysteries with the help of his friends. Superman also went on numerous adventures, including a journey to the future with the Legion of Super-Heroes.

In the same year, a rocket similar to his nearly crash-landed on the Kent Farm's land, but Superboy slowed down it's landing. After examining the pod, his birth-father's household pet, Krypto, jumped out and plays with Superboy. The two got along famously and the family kept it. After Clark left Smallville, he asked Ma and Pa to hold onto him for a while until he was ready to bring Krypto to his apartment.

Becoming Superman
"For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you. You can guide them, Kal, you can give them hope."

- Jor-El to his son, Kal-El

Arriving in Metropolis
As an adult, in February of 1993, Clark moved to Metropolis to pursue an education at Metropolis University to pursue a job at the Daily Planet. As a result of the move, he started to operate there as a vigilante. However, he did not publicly save people, but rather moving fast and being perceived as a "blur".

This lead to no one being able to capture a photograph of Superman as he moved too quickly for anyone to react.

Albeit, many people saw good in him. Seeing this, Superman began slowing down, so people can see him.

Still, he would not show his face or clear-shots of himself. Photojournalist Jimmy Olsen was the first person to capture a photo of Superman, which lead to him and the Daily Planet gaining recognition from the photo.

After graduating from college in 1997 with a bachelor's degree, Clark left Metropolis and begun a sabbatical to better understand himself. Not only did he intend to better understand himself, but also to understand his place in the world and where he was needed most. During his sabbatical, he kept in touch with his parents.

In early 1998, aged 23, Clark traveled to West Africa and around North America growing his journalism skills, helping others in need, and swiftly disappearing shortly afterward.

Job at the Daily Planet
In 1999, Clark returned to Metropolis and began working as a reporter for the Daily Planet, where he met Lois Lane, with whom he was paired and fell in love at first sight, Cat Grant, who developed romantic feelings for him, Perry White, his irascible but fair-minded boss, and Jimmy Olsen, a young photographer whom he became best friends with.

Shortly after, he was paired with Lois Lane to be shown the ropes. Perry White sent them to interview multi-billionaire, Lex Luthor about the new project he claims to be unveiling at his conference and tells them to have Jimmy tag along. LexCorp had called it to announce their new project, "Metallo". A project created in an attempt of bringing robotic-appeared heroes to the real world. During the press conference, reporters from various papers and companies are asking vivid questions about the project. Lois Lane, however, asks about the risks. Lex just debunks it and moves on.

After, the trio begins wrapping up the report and are preparing to head back. Although before they leave, Lois asks Clark to have some lunch with her and they can discuss it then. Before Clark can say yes, his super-hearing kicks in and he hears screams and fire. Quickly making up an excuse, he runs to a telephone booth and changes into Superman. He saved the people inside, bringing them to safety on the ground. However, John Corben was still burning after the fire. Superman helps him and John's taken to a hospital.

After changing back into Clark Kent, he returns to the planet's building and walks in on Lois and Jimmy discussing the conference. He joins them in the conference as they all get friendly with each other. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor and Mercy Graves were recruiting John Corben to be the first Metallo.

Heroic Deeds
As days and weeks pass, John Corben is being a "hero" to the public, but his mind is slowly decaying and, he's committing crimes.

Lois and Clark are in the Daily Planet's break room talking about how well they've worked as a team and would like to work together more. However, Lois brings up John Corben and suggests that he may be connected to the Metallo Project. She offers him a chance to help her, but as he's about to say yes, a cry for help is heard. He tells her they should talk another time and runs off.

It turns out that someone had just robbed Ace O'Clubs and Bibbo Bibbowski was the one shouting. Before Superman arrives, he sees Bibbo trying to hold the criminal off until the police arrive. After seeing Superman arrive, Bibbo is surprised. Superman first tries to talk to the criminal, but the criminal fires bullets at the Man of Steel. Superman tells him to put the money down and then the criminal punches him, which hurts himself instead. Superman speeds to him and grabs his gun and crushes it. He then lifts the man by the shirt and tosses him, just enough to knock him out. After picking up the money and returning it to the store owner, Bibbo and Superman have a brief moment together in which Bibbo enjoyed. He tells Bibbo to keep up the great business and flies off. After leaving, Bibbo declares himself "Superman's Number One Fan", Superman went off to patrol the city.

Meanwhile, John Corben sees a LexCorp truck shipping a load of Metallo exoskeletons heading to the LexCorp Docks. Corben was angry at Lex, his entire company. So he attacks the shipment and tears the truck apart. He murders anyone inside and outside. Guards around him tried shooting but the bullets couldn't penetrate his exoskeleton.

Superman sees this and arrives at the scene. Attempting to cool Corben down, Corben punches the Man of Steel; this punch sends him back. Superman realizes his strength and the two are fighting.

The battle is taken to the streets of Metropolis and civilians are watching. Jimmy Olsen is snapping pictures while others are hoping Superman can stop him. Superman is coming out on top and is defeating Metallo, but then he punches a hole in Metallo's chest. A green rock emitting dangerous radiation. Superman falls to his knees and Metallo uses this opportunity. Metallo starts beating Superman relentlessly, yelling about how his life is ruined, while the city watches in awe. Superman uses the power he has left to emit a blast of heat vision as a means to get Metallo off of him.

The blast burns half of Corben's skin, revealing his exoskeleton. Metallo escapes the scene. Jimmy runs to Superman and helps him up, as he's weak. Jimmy asks him if he's the "red and blue streak", Superman weakly nods and gets into the air. He flies to his Fortress of Solitude to seek guidance and heal.

Redemption
When arriving at his Fortress, Superman is healing and activates his father's consciousness. He's seeking guidance on what to do, everybody now knows he exists and he wasn't able to stop Corben. Kelex scans him and uploads the information to Jor-El. Jor-El then identifies the substance as kryptonite, material from their homeworld that affects Kryptonians in a negative way. Superman then asked Jor-El an important question, why is he "different" and what is he "really". Jor-El explains to him his heritage and the truth behind his past. He tells him he can be the bridge between humans and aliens alike. A leader, and a symbol of hope and leadership. After hearing all of this, Clark's surprised. Jor tells him words of wisdom that he has to remember, and Clark thanks him for this. Jor-El then explains to him two reasons for why he should remain to have a secret identity. Jor-El's final testament is for Superman not to punish himself for grief, control his emotions because even Kryptonians have feelings. Jor lastly adds that he wishes he could hold Kal in his arms. Immediately after this, Superman's super-hearing activates and he hears what's going on in Metropolis.

He hears that Metallo had attacked the expo and is attempting to murder Lex Luthor. Superman immediately exits his Fortress and flies straight to Metropolis. Upon arriving, he crashes through the wall and tackles Metallo, sending him flying through some displays. The two of them fight and Superman comes on top, winning. However, during this fight, numerous projects and work was destroyed as collateral damage. Lex Luthor was infuriated about this, and his hatred for Superman was growing. Along with that, even the Metallo tapes were posted to the Daily Planet.

As Superman surveys the damage, Lex confronts him and starts getting after him for the entire mess. Superman tries calming him down, but Luthor however, has no time for it. Even offering to help with the damage, Lex tells him he's "done enough.". Superman apologized then exited the building and flew away. Arriving at the Daily Planet, he changes to Clark Kent and enters the building. He's assigned to write about the Metallo incident while Lois Lane writes about the Lexpo Incident.

Publicity and acceptance
It was the fight against Metallo and Clark's debut that lead Superman to become a large public figure. He was the world's first superhero, and the world accepted him for who he was, despite not knowing his alien nature. Lois Lane's article on Superman furthermore added to the spark of Superman, and the public acceptance of heroes and vigilantes.

Lex Luthor was quick to become an enemy of Superman when he accused the hero of being an alien threat to humanity. The Daily Planet was originally the only newspaper to portray him in a positive light, with his first recorded photograph being taken by Jimmy Olsen. Superman regained popular approval by proving that he was only interested in saving lives, and the Daily Planet became the most popular newspaper in town because it retained Superman exclusives.

In the article Lois wrote about him, she was the first person to refer to him as "Superman", the name quickly caught on, and soon enough everyone had referred to him that way. Superman later officially used this name. Months after his debut and being a famed hero, Superman was nicknamed by the people of the city "Metropolis' Favorite Son". Many people also believed Superman represented who humanity can one day become in the future. Therefore he was given the nickname "The Man of Tomorrow", ironically based in the City of Tomorrow.

Friendship with Lex Luthor
Lex and Superman would later become best friends in the later half of 1999. They initially worked together to repel the threats against mankind. Though Lex initially disliked the idea of Superman, he eventually changed his perspective. Believing that if the two work together, they can bring about what's best for mankind, and also to personally prevent being outshone by Superman. However, Lex's methods were far crueler than Superman's, which set them at odds. Lex eventually began growing animosity towards Superman during their friendship; jealousy, believing Superman "too soft", Lex no longer the most powerful man in Metropolis, and above all, an alien who could turn his back against mankind. In the later half of their friendship, Lex began attempts to investigate Superman and learn more about him, even attempting to experiment on him by collecting strands of his DNA.

Although Superman tried hard to trust his friend, defending him against the accusations of others and continuing to give him several chances to atone for his wrong deeds, Lex ultimately proved unable to forever deceive Superman, who eventually realized his true nature and what he'd been doing; this consequently resulted in a falling out between the pair. Shortly after this, Lex came to believe that Superman himself was the cause of superpowered terrorism, since his presence lead the way for more and more to come out of hiding. By the third quarter of 2000, Lex and Superman's friendship ended, and Lex discreetly declared war on Superman.

Powers

 * Kryptonian Physiology: Normally, like all Kryptonians, Clark's capabilities are no greater than a normal human of his physical conditioning. However, once charged by the energy spectrum of a yellow sun, he becomes able to perform various inhuman feats. While generic for his race, having grown up essentially his entire life with these powers have allowed him to store up energy in greater quantities and metabolize it into his body with greater efficiency; this combined with a lifetime of experience and practice with these abilities allow him to use them with far greater control and an equally greater level of raw power compared to other Kryptonians. Overall, Clark is an incredibly powerful being, making Clark one of the most powerful beings in the known universe. These include:
 * Solar Energy Absorption: Under optimal conditions, this is the main source of Superman's superpowers as they are contingent upon exposure to solar radiation from a yellow sun star system. His biological make-up includes a number of organs that lack analogs in humans and whose functions are unknown. It is believed that between one or more of these and his bio-cellular matrix, "yellow" solar energy is stored for later use. This allows for the use of these powers to fade when yellow solar radiation is not available instead of immediate failure.

This umbrella ability includes the following:
 * Accelerated healing factor: Clark's solar-charged metabolism accelerates his healing and allows him to burn calories at a fast rate, making him resilient to weight gain. Upon being struck by a Green Kryptonite beam and a series of punches by a cyborg, after few minutes he healed instantly.
 * Self-sustenance: Clark's physical needs are greatly reduced or completely removed, as he does not need to eat or sleep so long as he has enough solar energy (but is still capable of doing so) and doesn't require oxygen to breathe.
 * Atmospheric adaption: While Clark does not require oxygen, his physicality allows him to survive while inhaling more harsh forms of it.
 * Contaminant immunity: Clark has an immunity to all forms of disease and contaminants on Earth. However, despite being unable to be inebriated or intoxicated by drugs or alcohol from Earth, he does not drink and has a strong dislike for alcohol.
 * Flight: Superman is able to manipulate graviton particles to defy the forces of gravity and achieve flight. By manipulating his own gravitational field to generate thrust and propel himself through the air at tremendous hyper-sonic speeds. This ranges from hovering to moving in any posture, in any direction. He is capable of flying at above supersonic and hypersonic speeds.
 * Heat Vision: Superman can, as a conscious act, fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it. He can vary the heat and area affected.
 * Solar Flare: Superman's last resort power that he'd discovered through his heat vision, was the ability to immediately expel all of his stored solar energy in one gigantic burst of explosive force. This Solar Flare utilizes all the stored energy within his cells at once, allowing for an all-out AoE attack. He cannot use it more than once or twice, however, as it drains him of all his powers until he can recharge his cells with solar energy. Give or take 24 hours, in that expanse of time, he is rendered virtually human and vulnerable.
 * Invulnerability: Due to the interaction of his dense molecular structure and supercharged bio-electric aura, Superman is nigh-invulnerable to extreme energy forces. In addition, he extends this protection against toxins and diseases.
 * His durability is considerably stronger than even the densest of Earth's metals such as steel. This has earned him the moniker of "Man of Steel" as he is both seemingly invincible to injury as well as courageous in battle.
 * Clark feels no pain when exposed to extreme heat.
 * Clark feels no pain when exposed to harmful elements like rocks, fire, electricity, and ice.
 * Their supercharged bio-electric "aura" acts as an invisible "force field" radiating within a few millimeters from their skin. They can willfully utilize their aura strengthening it's 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.
 * Kryptonians utilize their aura by expanding it around a person(s) or object(s) to enable their structural stability when lifting or traveling with them. This is shown as when Clark uses his super speed and flight to move people, such as from burning buildings/
 * Kryptonians' invulnerability has been in constant fluctuation over the years. They have been shown surviving the blast of nuclear warheads, entering the Earth's sun and emerging unharmed and surviving the impact of an exploding sun.
 * Longevity/Immortality: As a Kryptonian, Clark's lifespan is considerably longer than a normal human and likewise ages much slower. He can live longer than regular humans, remaining at his prime as long as he was under the exposure of the "yellow" sun.
 * Kryptonians can live almost indefinitely if they reside under continuous exposure of Earth's sunlight.
 * Super-Hearing: Superman's hearing is sensitive enough to hear any sound at any volume or pitch. With skill and concentration, he can block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source or frequency.
 * Super-Vision: Also referred to as "Enhanced Vision", Superman's vision processes the entire electromagnetic spectrum as well as allowing vast control over selective perception and focus.
 * Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision: Superman can see well into most of the electromagnetic spectrum. He can see and identify radio and television signals as well as all other broadcast or transmitted frequencies. Using this ability, he can avoid detection by radar or satellite monitoring methods. This also allows him to see the aura generated by living things.
 * Microscopic Vision: This is the ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the atomic level.
 * Infrared Vision: Superman can see with better acuity in darkness, and to a degree in total darkness.
 * Telescopic Vision: This is the ability to see something at a great distance, without violating the laws of physics. Though limited, the exact extent of the ability is undetermined. In function, it is similar to the zoom lens on a camera.
 * X-Ray Vision: This is the ability to see through any volume of matter except lead. Superman can see things behind a solid, opaque object as if it were not there. He can focus this ability to "peel back" layers of an object, allowing hidden image or inner workings to be observed. The exact type of energy perceived—such as x-rays, cosmic rays, or some other energy invisible to normal humans—is unclear. This ability perceives an ambient energy source though, it does not involve the eye projecting a concentrated, possibly toxic, beam to be reflected back from objects.
 * Superhuman Stamina: Superman is able to maintain continuous strenuous physical action for an indefinite period of time. This based on his body converting yellow solar radiation directly to energy, but is limited by physiological and psychological needs to eat, drink, and sleep.
 * Clark can run, fight or fly for long periods of time, without getting tired.
 * Superhuman Strength: Superman's strength is augmented by yellow solar radiation interacting with the greater than human density, resilience, and biological efficiency of his musculature.
 * The greatest display of Clark's abilities lies in his super strength - his chief superpower, with his muscles empowered by Earth's yellow sun coupled with the raw energy this conditioning causes to surge throughout his physiology, Clark's full strength is virtually incalculable.
 * His strength is more an act of conscious will on energy fields than actual physical strength. It is this act of conscious will that enables him to perform physical feats that are beyond the mere application force, such as moving a mountain top without said rock crumbling under its own mass.
 * Superhuman jumping/Leaping: Clark is able to jump several feet off the ground and leap several stories in a single bound without having to fly. He is known to be able to "leap tall buildings in a single bound", and usually when he has to fly, he jump upwards before shooting skyward.
 * Thunderclap: When Clark uses his super strength to clap his hands together, it creates a powerful shockwave that throws enemies back. It also destroys glass, pushes objects away from him, and disorients anyone nearby.
 * Superman is strong enough to create powerful sonic booms with just the clap of his hands. These sonic claps are powerful enough to be heard across states.
 * Superhuman Speed: Superman is able to move at incredible speed by sheer force of will. This extends to his perceptions and allows for feats such as catching bullets in mid-flight as well as covering vast distances in little or no time. This also confers:
 * Superhuman Agility: Superman's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to superhuman levels. This allows him to easily make sharp turns and easily maneuver while flying and moving at superhuman speed.
 * Superhuman Reflexes: Superman possesses reflexes far greater than any normal human being. This allows him to easily react to danger and events, and perceive the world in slow motion. His mind is able to process information at such speeds that he can perceive femtoseconds and attoseconds.
 * Molecular Acceleration: Superman can vibrate his molecular structure at various levels to achieve various effects. Kryptonians can learn to control their own molecular motion in order to move fast enough that their molecules pass between the spaces of atoms.
 * Vortex Creations: Superman can use his speed to manipulate airflow for various purposes. He is able to use his flight speed to funnel a toxic chemical out of the atmosphere and into space.
 * Super-Breath: Superman is able to create hurricane-force winds by exhaling air from his lungs. He can chill the air as it leaves his lungs to freeze targets. He can also reverse the process to pull large volumes of air or vapor into his lungs.
 * Super-Smell: On various occasions, Superman has demonstrated that their sense of smell is significantly enhanced to the point they can smell odors across the entire planet.
 * Super-Vocals: A Kryptonian possesses enhanced vocal/audio decibel abilities which they can access through precise muscle control. Enabling their voices to carry over incredible distances at a time, or deliver a wave of amplified sound powerful enough to shatter glass or concrete.
 * Sound Manipulation: Superman is able to alter his voice in order to affect his surroundings. He could disrupt a frequency of the machine by screaming at a certain frequency.
 * Psychic barriers: Clark is immune to immune to most forms of telepathic powers, however, if they're immensely powerful, he can be affected.

Abilities

 * Genius-level intellect/Expert tactician/Leader: He has shown incredible intelligence and computational abilities; his mind works sharply and with an extreme speed relative to earth-humans. His mind works sharply and with extreme speed far surpassing that of most, if not all exceptionally intelligent humans of Earth, Clark is one of the most intelligent individuals on Earth and in the entire universe. Superman's analytical powers enable him to read the information directly from machines (and, with careful usage of his heat vision, he can even reprogram machines). He is extremely sharp and intuitive, able to quickly analyze the situation before him to understand the true nature before him, he is also able to accurately calculate the level of power needed to defeat his enemies without kill anyone or destroying anything.
 * Journalism: As one of the best, if not the best reporter of Daily Planet.
 * Expert investigator: Both as a superhero and as a journalist, Superman is an expert at gathering evidence from all kinds of sources. Clark is an exceptional investigator, as he follows every lead and rumor to discover the truth behind any story. He also uses his talents as an investigator to a great effect as a superhero, having solved many mysteries alongside Chloe, a childhood friend.
 * Skilled engineer: Clark has displayed familiarity with Kryptonian technology.
 * Multilingualism: Superman is capable of fluently speaking English and Kryptonese, even speaking Mandarin Chinese.
 * Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Clark is proven to be a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist, as his combat skills are great enough to be able not only to fight on par against other very physically powerful experts of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts but also to defeat them single-handedly. His combat skills can even be still effectively used while he was in a weakened state or having deep hallucinations that made him not focused and much more brutal. Clark is also one of the deadliest combatants on the planet.
 * Indomitable will/High tolerance for pain: Superman has a powerful spirit, free of corruption and temptation, having been raised by a kindly Kansas farmer and his wife, he was taught to protect life and help others. He is very optimistic and never gives up, even when things look bad.
 * Superman has learned how to place mental inhibitors on his own power so that he doesn't accidentally cause a disaster. To him, they are the barriers that allow him to feel human enough to live a healthy life, and he only ever releases one of them when fighting a particularly powerful opponent or performing a difficult task.
 * Leadership: Superman has proven many times over his ability to command respect and inspire others with his charisma, ardor, and idealism. He serves as the primus inter pares of the heroes in the world.
 * Intimidation: As Superman, Clark commands an intimidating presence to the point where most humans fear him, he is also feared by most aliens and beings.

Weaknesses

 * Kryptonite: Like all Kryptonians, even while empowered, Clark is vulnerable to the exposure of Kryptonite, a radioactive mineral from his home planet Krypton. Depending on the nature of the said Kryptonite, it will cause a different adverse effect on him.
 * Red sun energy: Clark is powerless when exposed to the energy of a red sun.
 * Lead: Even with Clark's X-ray vision; he cannot see through lead.

Uniforms

 * Superman suit: Clark wears a protective suit as his super-hero alter-ego, Superman, to hide his identity from his enemies, when he goes out fighting crime. The suit is mostly blue, with a pair of leggings that resemble pants with underwear worn over them, along with a red cape and boots, featuring a red and yellow House of El emblem on the chest. It is just as durable as a Kryptonian. Clark notably is able to change into his suit in seconds with his speed, usually keeping it underneath his civilian clothing.

Other Equipment

 * Glasses: Clark wears a pair of horn-rimmed glasses in his civilian identity.
 * Items in the Fortress of Solitude: Over the course of his many adventures, Clark has recovered various artifacts mainly, but not exclusively, from Krypton, which he kept stored in his Fortress of Solitude. Many of them are dangerous and he maintains them locked up inside it, while others he used for his heroic deeds to provide help to him or his allies.

Vehicles

 * Kal-El's Shuttle: As a baby, Kal-El was placed into a small starship with multiple features and crystals, which his parents used to send him to Earth. The ship was kept at the Kent Farm before Superman had moved it to his Fortress of Solitude.