| “ | Each power comes with its own burden. It's not just what you do, but it's also what you don't do. | „ |
| ~ Clark Kent. |
| “ | Mom, I, uh, you know, I do have a responsibility to the world as you-know-who. | „ |
| ~ Clark to his adoptive mother, Martha. |
Kal-El, also known on Earth as Clark Kent and his superhero moniker Superman, is a fictional character in the CW's Arrowverse. He was the overarching protagonist of the Supergirl series and a supporting character in DC's Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash and Batwoman. In Supergirl, he serves as the unseen overarching protagonist in the first season, a supporting character in the second season and a minor character in the fifth season. His Earth-TUD25 counterpart serves as one of the two titular main protagonists (alongside Lois Lane) of the CW TV Series, Superman and Lois.
The Kryptonian son of Jor-El and Lara-Lor Van, Clark was sent to Earth before the destruction of Krypton, where he was adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent. Becoming a superhero, Clark would become an pivotal ally to his cousin, Kara Zor-El, and later married his girlfriend Lois Lane. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Clark assisted his allies in attempting to stop the Anti-Monitor, but was killed before being resurrected in a new multiverse.
In the first season of Supergirl, he was portrayed by Kevin Caliber in silhouette, as Tyler Hoechlin (who who also played Derek Hale in the MTV series, Teen Wolf) portrays the character from season two onward. Dylan Kingwell played the character as a teenager, Daniel DiMaggio played the character young, and Lennix James played the character as an infant.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
In the original multiverse, he was born on the planet Krypton in 1979 as the son of scientists Jor-El and Lara-Lor Van. Additionally, Kal-El is the maternal half-brother to Tal-Rho, which he would learn in his adulthood, and also the younger cousin to Kara Zor-EL. Due to Krypton being near destruction, Jor-El, Lara-Lor Van, and Kal-El's uncle and aunt, Zor-El and Alura Zor-El, decided to send their children away from the planet to Earth. Alongside Kara, Kal-El was palced in a rocket and sent to Earth as Krypton was destroyed due to his core exploding. Kal-El landed on a field in Smallville, Kansas, where he was discovered by the farmers Jonathan and Martha. The two decided to take the infant in as their own son, and named him Clark.
During his youth, Clark learned of his extraterrestrial abilities, but was imbued with moral values by Jonathan and Martha, thus giving him a compassionate outlook on life. Once learning how to use his powers, Clark decided to start helping others with the assistance of his friend, Chloe. In his twenties, Clark befriended the scientists Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers, who assisted him on understanding his powers. During his time, Clark also found the Fortress of Solitude and learned more about the House of El and his Kryptonian heritage, and preserved the fortress to honor his family's name.
Becoming Superman[]
Clark moved to Metropolis and became known the superhero "Superman" after stopping a plane from crashing, thus becoming a well known figure to the public. He then became a reporter at the Daily Planet, where he befriended Lois Lane (whom he began a romantic relationship with), Cat Grant and James Olsen, who became one of his best friends and one of his trusted allies with his alter ego. During his early years as a superhero, Clark became an enemy to numerous supervillains, such as General Zod, who became his greatest and most feared archenemy, Darkseid, Doomsday, and Reactron. Superman would also go on several adventures, such as traveling to Warworld and meeting the Sun-Eaters.
While becoming more beloved superhero, Clark met the vigilante Batman, whom became his close friend and "frenemy" as the two became known as the "World's Finest". He later befriend the billionaire Lex Luthor, whom he assisted in stopping alien invasions, but started to see that Luthor's methods were cruel. Superman tried to defend Lex at first so he could atone, but saw that Lex was cruel and evil in nature, and ended his friendship with him. Lex then declared war on Superman, and the two have been enemies since then, and even created an armored suit to even his odds against the Man of Steel. Additionally, Superman also encountered Martian Manhunter, who would become one of his close allies, and the only person at the time to know his secret identity as Hank Henshaw.
In 2003, Superman reunited with his cousin Kara after he pod landed on Earth, with her still being thirteen since she was trapped in the phantom zone for twenty four years. Seeing that Kara needed to be protected and raised, Clark decided to take her to the Danvers, knowing they would assist her in understanding her powers.
Myriad[]
Due to him being raised in Earth, he succumbed to Myriad, which made people lose their free will.
New Multiverse[]
In the history of Earth-Prime, which incoporated elements from Earth-38, Earth-1, and Earth-TUD5, Clark's life remained mostly the same, landing on Earth and being raised by "Pa" and "Ma" Kent in Smallville. As a teenager, Clark defeated Brainiac.
During Clark's first day at the Daily Planet, he had to rush out of a staff meeting to save Lois, who was in a plummeting news helicopter. Sometime after that, Lex Luthor kidnapped Lois and threatened to kill her. Clark tried to fight Lex, but was overwhelmed by him due to Lex seeing through his insecurities and his usage of a Kryptonite supersuit. Clark and Lois were then saved by J'onn J'onzz.
However, in the new timeline, Lex was never arrested by Clark, as he did on Earth-38, and was instead seen as a beloved and respected humanitarian. At some point, Clark also married Lois and had two sons instead of one. Clark also worked with Bruce Wayne, who he came to trust, and eventually gave him a piece of Kryptonite.
Final battle against the Anti-Monitor[]
The day after the new Earth was created in early 2020, Clark had his Earth-38 memories restored by J'onn and immediately went on Star City to join the final battle alongside Wild Dog, the Dreamer, Spartan, the Flash, White Canary, Martian Manhunter, Batwoman, Alex and his cousin, to stop the resurfaced Anti-Monitor from destroying everything once more.
During said battle, the villain enlarged himself and despite all of the two Kryptonians effort at hitting him with their heat vision he remained almost completely unfazed. After a while, the enraged cosmic entity grabbed Superman and began to crush him with his giant hand. However Ray Palmer shrunk him, allowing his escape and subsequently gave Supergirl a special bomb designed by him, Barry, Nash Wells, and Ryan Choi to lock the Anti-Monitor in a perpetually shrinking state. After the villain's defeat, Ray restore Superman to full size.
A few hours later, while Superman was on patrol, Lois called him to inform him that he was needed in Metropolis to deal with an issue regarding their sons, shocking him as he had no memories of having more than one child.
Possible future[]
He retired to the Kent Farm in Smallville.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This iteration of the character marks his eighth live-action appearance in television.
- He was planned as one of the protagonists of Superman & Lois alongside Lois Lane, but the versions appearing there turned out to be doppelgangers from another Earth.
