Canon For the Deluded: Just Clark I
I think generally we (and canon) agree that the character "Superman" is made up of three parts: Kal the alien, Superman the hero, and Clark the guy.
Golden and Silver Age Superman was pretty much all Superman, with a little bit of Kal mixed in here and there. "Clark Kent" was pretty much entirely an act, in the same way Bruce's fop persona is pretty much entirely an act. But as the Bronze Age arrived and progressed, more and more writers started to see "Clark" as the most authentic persona, although all three are always in balance and in tension.
The first One Year later Superman arc, "Up, Up, and Away," pretty much states explicitly that Clark sees himself first and foremost as Clark Kent of Smallville. Hal Jordan gives the still-powerless Clark a Lantern ring. Clark puts it on and manifests his Green Lantern power.
The results are...somewhat underwhelming.
Aw, his first thought is that it's cool to fly again. *hugs*
Hal and Hawkgirl are a little taken aback by Clark's lack of...razzle-dazzle, but they take it in stride. Later, though, Lois, in a relatively less annoying moment for her, shows some insight:
In part it's that Clark is still reluctant to pick up the mantle again. But in my deluded canon it's also that he doesn't, in some deep part of him, see himself as Superman. Just like I have my "teacher persona" that I have to put on before I head into class to try and impress young minds with critical theory, Clark has a "hero persona" that he uses to work. He's great at it, but it's not him.
"A Superman for All Seasons" is one of the best explorations of this "Just Clark" idea around. The fullest version of it will be in part 2, but two snippets here.
There's something about slipping scraps to the dog while everyone chatters around him that seems so very small and kind and Clark.
Later, we get a great scene of Clark in his apartment in Metropolis. The details, and what they reveal about the heart of the "ideal man" man Lois is rhapsodizing about, are fascinating:
Clark fumbling for his keys, balancing groceries...the starkness of the apartment. And I just die at the jar of peanut butter with the knife sticking out of it. Clark in his stockinged feet, absent-mindedly chewing on a peanut-butter sandwich. At this particular moment, just a good guy with a really tough job.
It's safe to say I adore Clark and I'm endlessly fascinated by Kal. Superman? Him I could take or leave, but of course he's the persona that makes the others possible.
Golden and Silver Age Superman was pretty much all Superman, with a little bit of Kal mixed in here and there. "Clark Kent" was pretty much entirely an act, in the same way Bruce's fop persona is pretty much entirely an act. But as the Bronze Age arrived and progressed, more and more writers started to see "Clark" as the most authentic persona, although all three are always in balance and in tension.
The first One Year later Superman arc, "Up, Up, and Away," pretty much states explicitly that Clark sees himself first and foremost as Clark Kent of Smallville. Hal Jordan gives the still-powerless Clark a Lantern ring. Clark puts it on and manifests his Green Lantern power.
The results are...somewhat underwhelming.
Aw, his first thought is that it's cool to fly again. *hugs*
Hal and Hawkgirl are a little taken aback by Clark's lack of...razzle-dazzle, but they take it in stride. Later, though, Lois, in a relatively less annoying moment for her, shows some insight:
In part it's that Clark is still reluctant to pick up the mantle again. But in my deluded canon it's also that he doesn't, in some deep part of him, see himself as Superman. Just like I have my "teacher persona" that I have to put on before I head into class to try and impress young minds with critical theory, Clark has a "hero persona" that he uses to work. He's great at it, but it's not him.
"A Superman for All Seasons" is one of the best explorations of this "Just Clark" idea around. The fullest version of it will be in part 2, but two snippets here.
There's something about slipping scraps to the dog while everyone chatters around him that seems so very small and kind and Clark.
Later, we get a great scene of Clark in his apartment in Metropolis. The details, and what they reveal about the heart of the "ideal man" man Lois is rhapsodizing about, are fascinating:
Clark fumbling for his keys, balancing groceries...the starkness of the apartment. And I just die at the jar of peanut butter with the knife sticking out of it. Clark in his stockinged feet, absent-mindedly chewing on a peanut-butter sandwich. At this particular moment, just a good guy with a really tough job.
It's safe to say I adore Clark and I'm endlessly fascinated by Kal. Superman? Him I could take or leave, but of course he's the persona that makes the others possible.