Superman made his first appearance in 1938, and has been gracing the pages of comic books as well as the silver screen ever since. There’s hardly a more iconic image than that of Superman’s red and blue suit, cape fluttering, his bold S on the center of his chest: it’s a symbol that transcends language.
Unlike other masked heroes like Batman, who see it as necessary that nobody ever see the face of the man under the mask, Clark Kent doesn’t quite have that luxury. Without him, there really is no Superman. That means, of course, that without Clark Kent being a hero, Superman wouldn’t be either. There are countless times where Clark Kent was the actual hero, not Superman, but it is sometimes hard to differentiate between the two.
10 Beating Up Superman
While Superman III was not particularly well received, earning itself a 29% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it was still the twelfth highest-grossing film in North America in 1983. This movie is largely a tangled web of confusing creative decisions, including a moment where Superman and/or Clark Kent completely breaks down. After consuming a large amount of alcohol, Superman, consumed by guilt, splits into two selves: Clark Kent, and Superman. The two halves of the man battle one another, ending with Clark winning the fight, taking over himself yet again, and becoming the hero once more, somehow.
9 Stopping Someone From Jumping
More than once, Clark Kent has saved people simply by virtue of being Clark Kent. He is a helpful person no matter what, and he always speaks from the heart. While the symbol of Superman can be overwhelming, Clark understands this, and he wants to make people feel as safe with him as possible.
This includes making himself real and vulnerable, as he does in Grant Morrison's All Star Superman, when he stops a young person from jumping off a roof. Despite being in his Superman garb, this moment feels all too human to be anything but Clark Kent at his purest.
8 Being A True Friend
Author Joe Kelly has been writing for comic books for years, and definitely knows how to include a small moment between friends among larger & more chaotic world-bending plotlines. In Action Comics #761, Kelly tackles the public perception of Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship with one another. This story explores what happens when Clark and Diana are exiled to Valhalla for a thousand years, in a bid to help Thor. Even in this most wild of storylines, Clark is the one to take the small moment to express his genuine love and respect for Diana, one of his best friends.
7 Saving A Little Boy From A Meteor
Smallville ran for nearly a decade on the CW, starting in October 2001 on what was then known as the WB. This show served to give audiences a young Clark Kent, played by Tom Welling, living his life before he became Superman in an origin story that now feels far ahead of its time. While there are countless moments within Smallville in which Clark proves himself to be a hero even before becoming Superman, the season four finale, “Commencement,” is perhaps one of the best examples of this. Clark has to leave his own graduation ceremony and risk his own life when a meteor shower strikes Smallville. He even ends up using his own body to shield a young boy from being struck in the shower, proving himself to be a hero with or without a cape.
6 Depicting His Own Stories
One of the interesting things about Clark Kent is that he actually has a job. While other heroes work full-time as superheroes, Clark’s pulling double duty: he works full time as Superman, saving Metropolis (and, often, the world), and he works full time as Clark Kent, a journalist for the Daily Planet and an author in his own right.
As it turns out, Clark even has his own books, and has won Pulitzers. The one-shot Superman: Under A Yellow Sun: A Novel by Clark Kent by John Francis Moore is intended to read as Clark’s own words about his fight for justice, in all its glory — or lack thereof.
5 Unable To Stop Helping People
After a fight with Superboy-Prime (also known as Superman-Prime or, simply, Prime), Clark Kent finds himself without his superpowers. Without the ability to become Superman, Clark simply becomes a private citizen, living his life as a civilian. In spite of his lack of superpowers, Clark manages to not only thrive as a journalist, but continuously gets involved in heroics anyways. The eight-issue arc “Up, Up, and Away!”, written by Geoff Johns and Kurt Busiek, shows readers just how powerful a powerless Clark Kent can truly be.
4 Working As A Freelance Reporter
While Superman is a hero, there are many stories that show Lois Lane or even Jimmy Olsen, the all-too-human characters in Clark’s life, as the heroes too. In “Birthright,” a twelve-issue Superman limited series written by Mark Waid, it’s clear that the same could be true for a human journalist version of Clark Kent. The Clark that appears in “Birthright” is just as much a freelance journalist as any Lois Lane story, showing that Clark can be a real hero when he’s simply doing his day job.
3 Saving His Own Bullies
Clark Kent has very recently been gracing the silver screen as a member of the ongoing DCEU. Starting with Zack Snyder and David S. Goyer’s 2013 Man of Steel, Superman has returned to the DC movie canon, now portrayed by Henry Cavill. Man of Steel reintroduces Superman to the world, presenting his origin story to audiences yet again. In this retelling, audiences see a thirteen-year-old Clark being bullied on the school bus just as the school bus’ tire suddenly blows out, sending the bus off a bridge into a river. Despite the treatment Clark received, he not only saves the entire bus, but jumps back into the water to save the life of his bully, as well, proving that Clark is a hero at any age.
2 Helping Even When He’s In A Different Timeline
Even when Clark Kent isn’t the Clark Kent, he’s still a hero. Writer Kurt Busiek was inspired in the early 2000s to write “Secret Identity,” a four-issue Superman miniseries illustrated by Stuart Immonen. In this story, a young man, Clark Kent, is so named because his parents read Superman comics and thought it would be funny.
Born into a world where Superman is merely a comics character, Clark Kent tries to help people anyways and, upon receiving the fictional Superman’s superpowers, inevitably ends up using them for good. Bearing the name Clark Kent, it seems, can be enough to make anyone into a hero.
1 Discovering He Can Help
Geoff Johns proves yet again in “Secret Origin” that he truly can grasp just what it is that makes Superman, Superman — and that a large portion of that is Clark Kent underneath it all. In Johns’ six-issue limited series “Secret Origin,” readers witness Clark on a journey of self-discovery as he introduces the world — and himself — to Superman. At the beginning of this story, Clark’s origins are revisited once more. When he realizes he has abilities beyond that of a normal boy, Clark insists to his parents that he use these strengths to help people, no matter what.