Man Of Steel
Steel is one of the strongest metals.
Superman! The newspapers report, describing the man who does impossible things - flying without assistance, stepping between a firing assault rifle and unprotected innocents, without harm.
To make steel, it takes heat and the right combination of elements - iron and carbon.
Born on Krypton, his cellular structure absorbs the energy from the sun at a much higher level than those born on earth. Every Kryptonian’s body absorbs the rays of light and heat with less loss than humans from earth.
If he’d been raised on Kryptonian, Kal-el would not have been special - he would have been just one of a million. Nothing different than the hordes of other children raised and trained on their home-planet. Only his parents, thus, his linage would have allowed him to stand out.
Transported to earth as an infant, Kal-el is seen as just one more child without parents.
Kal-el is too young to speak, too weak to fight back. All the babe can do is wait, wait for the humans to adopt him as their own, or discard him and leave him as someone else’s burden.
Heat removes the slag, creating a purer element - anything that is not iron or carbon in this mixture weakens the entire piece.
Kal-el, known as Clark Kent to the townsfolk, is odd, and strange, yet he is one of them - it didn’t take the saving of Pete Ross from the river for the old folks to know this. But, by refusing to let his schoolyard tormenter die, he shows his inner strength and moral code.
It takes time to shape the cooling alloy. Right out of the furnace, it can be poured into molds, or pounded with brute strength.
Clark Kent’s childhood might have been strenuous, might have been one filled with hardship and loss, might have been filled with fewer things and material possessions than others, but it was rich in love.
Clark Kent always knew his parents loved him. It did not matter that they were not his birth family, not biologically related to him, but they - Jonathan and Martha - still raised him as their own.
Clark Kent remembered ever day with them fondly - even the times Jonathan had to give him a stern talking to, or when Martha had to discipline him for slacking off or disobeying house rules.
Even out of the mold, even after the first shaping is done, Steel is not finished. Well, the metal is, but it is not the final product. Not yet.
Saving Pete Ross from the river had not been a choice - he had the ability to save him, and could not watch the bully die. Not when Clark could make a difference.
Yet, staying behind, under the bridge as his father had been pulled away from them by the tornado … He had the ability to save his dad, but his dad told him no.
It had been a hard lesson to bear, but one he took to heart. Clark Kent could not save the world, could not save people from their own choices, and could not save everyone he loved for - but he could save one person, and make a difference in that one life.
Once shaped, sculpted, and engraved, one might think ‘ah, it’s finally finished!’. Almost, there is still a few more steps to go through.
Clark Kent explored the world, saving those he could. It was not everyone, it was not all the time, but he could save one man, or a crew from fire, rescue individuals and families as they lay buried beneath rock and snow.
“A guardian angel” some might say, when describing their rescuer. “A miracle” others might say upon hearing of how they were plucked from the jaws of certain death. Those descriptions were true, but they weren’t the entirety. “Superman” would be coined and used later.
Steel, heated to the proper temperature, made with the right combination of iron, carbon, and other elements, then shaped, pounded, molded, and formed under the ideal circumstances, is one of the strongest metals around. It is not the strongest thing known to man, but it is stronger than bronze, stronger than iron.
Kal-el, as the Kcryptonians call him, is astonished to find he is not alone. He prefers being called by the name his parents gave him, but where Clark Kent is a normal human, Kal-el can stand out, stand above the people and do the things he was afraid to do before.
Saving people and not having to hide his face, or run off before some one could identify him, yes, that appealed. Kal-el preferred hanging around to make sure those he rescued did, in fact, survive.
Steel retains its shape and its property under extreme heat and pressure. Remove the heat, remove the pressure, and it is unaffected.
Zod asking Kal-el to join him was tempting. But turning his back on earth? To become ruler over humans? His father and mother had taught him all humans are created equal - that only God rules absolutely over men. Sure, Clark Kent could become mayor of the city, the state senator, the state representative, or even run for president one day, and that was all fine and good.
But to declare himself above all mortal men because he could do things they couldn’t?
Kal-el could not join Zod or support the man, since he wanted to destroy all that was kind, good, and pleasant.
However, under the right conditions, even steel grows brittle.
The vertebrae bones snap, and Zod falls down, dead.
Superman! The newspapers report, describing the man who does impossible things - flying without assistance, stepping between a firing assault rifle and unprotected innocents, without harm.
To make steel, it takes heat and the right combination of elements - iron and carbon.
Born on Krypton, his cellular structure absorbs the energy from the sun at a much higher level than those born on earth. Every Kryptonian’s body absorbs the rays of light and heat with less loss than humans from earth.
If he’d been raised on Kryptonian, Kal-el would not have been special - he would have been just one of a million. Nothing different than the hordes of other children raised and trained on their home-planet. Only his parents, thus, his linage would have allowed him to stand out.
Transported to earth as an infant, Kal-el is seen as just one more child without parents.
Kal-el is too young to speak, too weak to fight back. All the babe can do is wait, wait for the humans to adopt him as their own, or discard him and leave him as someone else’s burden.
Heat removes the slag, creating a purer element - anything that is not iron or carbon in this mixture weakens the entire piece.
Kal-el, known as Clark Kent to the townsfolk, is odd, and strange, yet he is one of them - it didn’t take the saving of Pete Ross from the river for the old folks to know this. But, by refusing to let his schoolyard tormenter die, he shows his inner strength and moral code.
It takes time to shape the cooling alloy. Right out of the furnace, it can be poured into molds, or pounded with brute strength.
Clark Kent’s childhood might have been strenuous, might have been one filled with hardship and loss, might have been filled with fewer things and material possessions than others, but it was rich in love.
Clark Kent always knew his parents loved him. It did not matter that they were not his birth family, not biologically related to him, but they - Jonathan and Martha - still raised him as their own.
Clark Kent remembered ever day with them fondly - even the times Jonathan had to give him a stern talking to, or when Martha had to discipline him for slacking off or disobeying house rules.
Even out of the mold, even after the first shaping is done, Steel is not finished. Well, the metal is, but it is not the final product. Not yet.
Saving Pete Ross from the river had not been a choice - he had the ability to save him, and could not watch the bully die. Not when Clark could make a difference.
Yet, staying behind, under the bridge as his father had been pulled away from them by the tornado … He had the ability to save his dad, but his dad told him no.
It had been a hard lesson to bear, but one he took to heart. Clark Kent could not save the world, could not save people from their own choices, and could not save everyone he loved for - but he could save one person, and make a difference in that one life.
Once shaped, sculpted, and engraved, one might think ‘ah, it’s finally finished!’. Almost, there is still a few more steps to go through.
Clark Kent explored the world, saving those he could. It was not everyone, it was not all the time, but he could save one man, or a crew from fire, rescue individuals and families as they lay buried beneath rock and snow.
“A guardian angel” some might say, when describing their rescuer. “A miracle” others might say upon hearing of how they were plucked from the jaws of certain death. Those descriptions were true, but they weren’t the entirety. “Superman” would be coined and used later.
Steel, heated to the proper temperature, made with the right combination of iron, carbon, and other elements, then shaped, pounded, molded, and formed under the ideal circumstances, is one of the strongest metals around. It is not the strongest thing known to man, but it is stronger than bronze, stronger than iron.
Kal-el, as the Kcryptonians call him, is astonished to find he is not alone. He prefers being called by the name his parents gave him, but where Clark Kent is a normal human, Kal-el can stand out, stand above the people and do the things he was afraid to do before.
Saving people and not having to hide his face, or run off before some one could identify him, yes, that appealed. Kal-el preferred hanging around to make sure those he rescued did, in fact, survive.
Steel retains its shape and its property under extreme heat and pressure. Remove the heat, remove the pressure, and it is unaffected.
Zod asking Kal-el to join him was tempting. But turning his back on earth? To become ruler over humans? His father and mother had taught him all humans are created equal - that only God rules absolutely over men. Sure, Clark Kent could become mayor of the city, the state senator, the state representative, or even run for president one day, and that was all fine and good.
But to declare himself above all mortal men because he could do things they couldn’t?
Kal-el could not join Zod or support the man, since he wanted to destroy all that was kind, good, and pleasant.
However, under the right conditions, even steel grows brittle.
The vertebrae bones snap, and Zod falls down, dead.