(no subject)
And fire did rain from the sky, lo, the end of the world draws nigh…
We need to start with a couple of premises. A. Smallville is a reverse-engineered show that had to arrive at a destination that is Superman and Lex Luthor as we’ve all known them for sixty years, and B. Superman is a ginormous dickwad much of the time in comics canon, and even when he’s not, he’s still self-righteous and believes that he knows what’s good for people-their own desires be *edited because Superman does not cuss*.
Evidence, independent of my assertions, that Superman is a prick: http://www.superdickery.com/dick/1.html
I tend to think that Clark on Smallville is actually far more sympathetic a character than Superman in the comics. We see him go from completely oblivious small town boy to damaged young man who’s been hurt physically and mentally time again. Yet, he still tries to see the good in people. Usually not the people he knows, but people in a general sense.
He’s been kidnapped, possessed, beaten, hit by cars, betrayed, drugged, emotionally crushed, stifled by his parents, and yet he still wants to believe in people. He wants to; he’s not always so great at following through. If we judge him like we’d judge a person we know, then he’s actually a very good guy, and I’d want him in my life-just not in my neighborhood because then my house might get burnt down. I’d love to have Clark on speed-dial for when I get myself into sleep-walking related disasters and accidentally set my yard on fire. I’d like even more to get access to Martha’s cooking.
Does Clark treat Lex fairly? Now, that depends on what you think of as fair, and if you think in terms of words like fair, then why don’t you love Clark, because you have something in common? Let's shift the debate a little. If you consider that Clark has been inculcated from his first days with the Kents that the Luthors are evil, then the fact that he was willing to even give Lex Luthor a shake proves that he's really a good person, a loving, trusting, compassionate person, at heart. Clark overcame a lot to be friends with Lex at all. Then bit by bit, Lex did shifty-seeming things, and Clark’s up-bringing reasserted itself. Keep in mind, also, that Clark’s up-bringing by the Kents becomes the most integral part of who he becomes as Superman. He sees, eventually, Martha and Jonathon as shining examples of all that’s good about being a human being, and he follows their example-including their prejudices and mistakes.
Does Clark jump to conclusions and act like a bad friend to Lex? He always jumps to conclusions; that’s who he is. Does that make him horrible and evil and Mr. Poopypants? Really, it makes him human. He is not perfect; he’s GOOD. There’s a very large difference. Righteousness does not mean you can’t make mistakes. Righteousness also does not mean you can’t be an asshole about being righteous. Clark does both from time to time. He enjoys being right on occasion. If he didn’t, then he wouldn’t take up heroing as a career.
Clark is often a bad friend to Lex, however, he is often a good friend to him, too. Does he fail more now than he did in S1 or 2? Well, yes, but this is a mythic arc that is moving closer and closer to the traditional story. Clark is a black and white sort of guy. His reality is that he has a very big secret. This secret is central to his life. He must protect this secret at all costs. His parents taught him this. His natural impulse was to tell everyone about his secret, but his parents triumphed in this battle within his own mind as they eventually will over his entire psyche. Clark is not fearless. This is one of the facets of him that makes him a hero, The Hero. One of Clark’s major fears is of betrayal-something he’s experienced (or thinks he has, it gets way worse, Clark). Lex seems very likely to him now-with Jonathon’s voice whispering in Clark’s mind, Lionel’s example, and Lex’s OWN ACTIONS-to betray him. Clark can not risk that. Especially since Lex shot himself in his own foot. Until he only had a tiny foot-stub thing.
Lex’s own sense of betrayal towards Clark does not factor into Clark’s worldview. Clark thinks he went above and beyond ever befriending Lex, only to have Lex stab him in the back. Does Clark understand the nuances of Lex’s emotional issues, his own crippling self-doubt, his self-destructive streak, his unquenchable need to know someone down to their molecules with no secrets at all between them? Of course not. For one thing, he’s a small town kid from flipping Kansas without the life-experience to even begin to understand the complex system of human interaction that constructs a person like that. For another, that sounds very shady to Clark, why can’t Lex just love people for who they are? Clark is emotionally stunted. He will always be. He thinks people should be nice and good and follow the rules and be happy doing it. Except for him, who needs to save people from themselves. He tried to save Lex from himself. This didn’t work out so well. He will get more practice at it, but in the meantime, Lex is becoming his greatest failure, and he blames Lex for that. Because that was what he was taught to do.
At heart, Clark truly believes he does the right thing when he lies, when he covers things up for people he loves, and when he makes hard choices that people will hate him for. He does not pick the easiest path-which is to just throw up his hands and scream “Do you know what I do for you people? Do you know what I’ve gone through to keep you safe and ignorant of all the horrors in the world? Oh my god!” *emos*
Lana and Lex do not deserve to know Clark’s secret. But that’s not even how he looks at it. He thinks he’s protecting Lana, and in the beginning he thought the same with Lex. He does it with the very best intentions. Now, you say the road to hell, but that’s a cynical view, and not at all one that Clark could ever understand. He is pure of heart; you are Lex.
*
This was written for all the Clark fangirls who feel marginalized by the Lex fans who want to woobie the fuck out of Lex and forget that, though he's the hero of OUR story, he's not the hero of The Story.
We need to start with a couple of premises. A. Smallville is a reverse-engineered show that had to arrive at a destination that is Superman and Lex Luthor as we’ve all known them for sixty years, and B. Superman is a ginormous dickwad much of the time in comics canon, and even when he’s not, he’s still self-righteous and believes that he knows what’s good for people-their own desires be *edited because Superman does not cuss*.
Evidence, independent of my assertions, that Superman is a prick: http://www.superdickery.com/dick/1.html
I tend to think that Clark on Smallville is actually far more sympathetic a character than Superman in the comics. We see him go from completely oblivious small town boy to damaged young man who’s been hurt physically and mentally time again. Yet, he still tries to see the good in people. Usually not the people he knows, but people in a general sense.
He’s been kidnapped, possessed, beaten, hit by cars, betrayed, drugged, emotionally crushed, stifled by his parents, and yet he still wants to believe in people. He wants to; he’s not always so great at following through. If we judge him like we’d judge a person we know, then he’s actually a very good guy, and I’d want him in my life-just not in my neighborhood because then my house might get burnt down. I’d love to have Clark on speed-dial for when I get myself into sleep-walking related disasters and accidentally set my yard on fire. I’d like even more to get access to Martha’s cooking.
Does Clark treat Lex fairly? Now, that depends on what you think of as fair, and if you think in terms of words like fair, then why don’t you love Clark, because you have something in common? Let's shift the debate a little. If you consider that Clark has been inculcated from his first days with the Kents that the Luthors are evil, then the fact that he was willing to even give Lex Luthor a shake proves that he's really a good person, a loving, trusting, compassionate person, at heart. Clark overcame a lot to be friends with Lex at all. Then bit by bit, Lex did shifty-seeming things, and Clark’s up-bringing reasserted itself. Keep in mind, also, that Clark’s up-bringing by the Kents becomes the most integral part of who he becomes as Superman. He sees, eventually, Martha and Jonathon as shining examples of all that’s good about being a human being, and he follows their example-including their prejudices and mistakes.
Does Clark jump to conclusions and act like a bad friend to Lex? He always jumps to conclusions; that’s who he is. Does that make him horrible and evil and Mr. Poopypants? Really, it makes him human. He is not perfect; he’s GOOD. There’s a very large difference. Righteousness does not mean you can’t make mistakes. Righteousness also does not mean you can’t be an asshole about being righteous. Clark does both from time to time. He enjoys being right on occasion. If he didn’t, then he wouldn’t take up heroing as a career.
Clark is often a bad friend to Lex, however, he is often a good friend to him, too. Does he fail more now than he did in S1 or 2? Well, yes, but this is a mythic arc that is moving closer and closer to the traditional story. Clark is a black and white sort of guy. His reality is that he has a very big secret. This secret is central to his life. He must protect this secret at all costs. His parents taught him this. His natural impulse was to tell everyone about his secret, but his parents triumphed in this battle within his own mind as they eventually will over his entire psyche. Clark is not fearless. This is one of the facets of him that makes him a hero, The Hero. One of Clark’s major fears is of betrayal-something he’s experienced (or thinks he has, it gets way worse, Clark). Lex seems very likely to him now-with Jonathon’s voice whispering in Clark’s mind, Lionel’s example, and Lex’s OWN ACTIONS-to betray him. Clark can not risk that. Especially since Lex shot himself in his own foot. Until he only had a tiny foot-stub thing.
Lex’s own sense of betrayal towards Clark does not factor into Clark’s worldview. Clark thinks he went above and beyond ever befriending Lex, only to have Lex stab him in the back. Does Clark understand the nuances of Lex’s emotional issues, his own crippling self-doubt, his self-destructive streak, his unquenchable need to know someone down to their molecules with no secrets at all between them? Of course not. For one thing, he’s a small town kid from flipping Kansas without the life-experience to even begin to understand the complex system of human interaction that constructs a person like that. For another, that sounds very shady to Clark, why can’t Lex just love people for who they are? Clark is emotionally stunted. He will always be. He thinks people should be nice and good and follow the rules and be happy doing it. Except for him, who needs to save people from themselves. He tried to save Lex from himself. This didn’t work out so well. He will get more practice at it, but in the meantime, Lex is becoming his greatest failure, and he blames Lex for that. Because that was what he was taught to do.
At heart, Clark truly believes he does the right thing when he lies, when he covers things up for people he loves, and when he makes hard choices that people will hate him for. He does not pick the easiest path-which is to just throw up his hands and scream “Do you know what I do for you people? Do you know what I’ve gone through to keep you safe and ignorant of all the horrors in the world? Oh my god!” *emos*
Lana and Lex do not deserve to know Clark’s secret. But that’s not even how he looks at it. He thinks he’s protecting Lana, and in the beginning he thought the same with Lex. He does it with the very best intentions. Now, you say the road to hell, but that’s a cynical view, and not at all one that Clark could ever understand. He is pure of heart; you are Lex.
*
This was written for all the Clark fangirls who feel marginalized by the Lex fans who want to woobie the fuck out of Lex and forget that, though he's the hero of OUR story, he's not the hero of The Story.