Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Aug 20, 2018 2:06:00 GMT -5
Q: Is Clark Kent or Superman the true identity? A: Yes. Errrr...no, Kal-El/Superman is his true identity. That's what he was born as. Clark Kent is just his cover story, which allows him to better function in our society. It's the polar opposite of many other superheroes, in that Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne are the character's real identities, but Spider-Man or Batman is their cover for fighting crime.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Aug 20, 2018 3:39:00 GMT -5
I don't think it's that clear-cut, esp. once Superman was retooled after Crisis. Reading the Man of Steel mini-series and the early issues of the relaunched Superman solo series at the time, I very much got the impression that he thought of himself as Clark Kent first, which is the only identity he knew until roughly his mid-twenties (when he first learned he was an alien) - if I'm remembering that last issue of MoS correctly.
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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 20, 2018 6:17:27 GMT -5
Q: Is Clark Kent or Superman the true identity? A: Yes. Errrr...no, Kal-El/Superman is his true identity. That's what he was born as. Clark Kent is just his cover story, which allows him to better function in our society. It's the polar opposite of many other superheroes, in that Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne are the character's real identities, but Spider-Man or Batman is their cover for fighting crime. I think both personas have pretty much the same personality except when Clark has to play the coward. Or does he still do that these days?
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 20, 2018 7:33:24 GMT -5
His real name is Kal-El, but he was adopted as an infant by the Kents and grew up as Clark Kent. Would you tell an adopted child that he really isn't the person he thinks he is? That they aren't his family? No. He has everyone call him Clark, even when he is Superman other heroes will call him Clark at times. I think Kill Bill got it wrong. (or where ever Tarintino got that bit)
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Post by rberman on Aug 20, 2018 7:44:47 GMT -5
His real name is Kal-El, but he was adopted as an infant by the Kents and grew up as Clark Kent. Would you tell an adopted child that he really isn't the person he thinks he is? That they aren't his family? No. He has everyone call him Clark, even when he is Superman other heroes will call him Clark at times. I think Kill Bill got it wrong. (or where ever Tarintino got that bit) Perhaps the distinction is more that Batman is an identity which Bruce Wayne adopted, whereas Kryptonian heritage is an identity which Clark Kent discovered. Like all good Campbellian heroes, Clark Kent is an orphan with a secret past that makes his heroic destiny inevitable (see also: Arthur Pendragon, Luke Skywalker, etc.), whereas Bruce Wayne already starts at the top of society and then leverages his privileged position to become a paragon by sheer force of will.
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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 20, 2018 8:06:24 GMT -5
Well, the kill bill bit was from a vantage point of a terrible assassin that had a cynical view of life.
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Post by String on Aug 20, 2018 9:57:17 GMT -5
Q: Is Clark Kent or Superman the true identity? A: Yes. Errrr...no, Kal-El/Superman is his true identity. That's what he was born as. Clark Kent is just his cover story, which allows him to better function in our society. It's the polar opposite of many other superheroes, in that Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne are the character's real identities, but Spider-Man or Batman is their cover for fighting crime. Hm, I'm not so sure. Batman's identity could be equally complex depending on your POV. For I've read some instances (I want to say O'Neil in the novelisation of Knightfall being a huge example) wherein the Batman persona is his true self while Bruce Wayne is the mask. That may depend though on your views on how far they sometimes take his obsession over his mission.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,069
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Post by Confessor on Aug 20, 2018 10:43:16 GMT -5
His real name is Kal-El, but he was adopted as an infant by the Kents and grew up as Clark Kent. Would you tell an adopted child that he really isn't the person he thinks he is? That they aren't his family? No. Yes, I would if he was a different species to them. Kal-El is Kryptonian, with obvious differences in his strengths and abilities to his foster parents. Kal-El is of Kryptonian descent, therefore his Kryptonian identity is his real identity. You are of Human decent. It doesn't matter if you were raised by wolves, you would still be Human, not wolf. Same thing goes for Kal-El having been raised by Humans.
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 20, 2018 11:05:16 GMT -5
His real name is Kal-El, but he was adopted as an infant by the Kents and grew up as Clark Kent. Would you tell an adopted child that he really isn't the person he thinks he is? That they aren't his family? No. Yes, I would if he was a different species to them. Kal-El is Kryptonian, with obvious differences in his strengths and abilities to his foster parents. Kal-El is of Kryptonian descent, therefore his Kryptonian identity is his real identity. You are of Human decent. It doesn't matter if you were raised by wolves, you would still be Human, not wolf. Same thing goes for Kal-El having been raised by Humans. Point of Information: Are Kryptonians not humans? I ask this only as an interested bystander, not as someone trying to build an argument.
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Post by rberman on Aug 20, 2018 11:16:30 GMT -5
Are Kryptonians not humans? I ask this only as an interested bystander, not as someone trying to build an argument. Well, that opens a can of worms! I wouldn't think Kryptonians are a kind of human, despite their outward appearance. But as to whether DC ever canonically addresses this topic, I have no idea.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,069
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Post by Confessor on Aug 20, 2018 11:27:45 GMT -5
Yes, I would if he was a different species to them. Kal-El is Kryptonian, with obvious differences in his strengths and abilities to his foster parents. Kal-El is of Kryptonian descent, therefore his Kryptonian identity is his real identity. You are of Human decent. It doesn't matter if you were raised by wolves, you would still be Human, not wolf. Same thing goes for Kal-El having been raised by Humans. Point of Information: Are Kryptonians not humans? I ask this only as an interested bystander, not as someone trying to build an argument. Good question, but the fact that Ktyptonians go through physiological changes, such as increased strength and invulnerability, the closer they get to a sun like ours, would mean that they are clearly different to Humans. Despite outward appearances, they were a species that evolved on a world light-years away from Earth, so I don't see how they can be human. I've always assumed that it's like Corellians in Star Wars (such as Han Solo): they might look Human, but they aren't.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2018 11:28:56 GMT -5
Superman Identity Kal-El is Starchild Superman's Identity on Earth is Clark Kent -- Correct, adopted by the Kents and had to give him a Earthly Name to give him a civilian identity to work with and for employment at the Daily Planet and/or WGBS (Galaxy Broadcasting System). Superman's identity on Planet Krypton is both Kal-El and Starchild -- Correct, and to me both names applied -- Technically Speaking -- Kal-El is his correct name and Starchild is the meaning of Kal-El and that's why I shared these two pictures to illustrate it.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 20, 2018 12:19:47 GMT -5
My take is based on how he was treated by his closest confidants, in the stories of my youth. To them, he was Clark. When the revamp came and the Kents were alive, he was Clark. Superman is the name he adopted as a cover. Kal-El was the name given to him by biological parents he barely (pre-Crisis) knew or only later discovered (post-Crisis). In his mind, he is Clark Kent, adopted son of Jonathan and Martha. They were the people who raised him and shaped him into the man he became. That is his identity.
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Post by comicsandwho on Aug 20, 2018 13:01:34 GMT -5
Point of Information: Are Kryptonians not humans? I ask this only as an interested bystander, not as someone trying to build an argument. Good question, but the fact that Ktyptonians go through physiological changes, such as increased strength and invulnerability, the closer they get to a sun like ours, would mean that they are clearly different to Humans. Despite outward appearances, they were a species that evolved on a world light-years away from Earth, so I don't see how they can be human. I've always assumed that it's like Corellians in Star Wars (such as Han Solo): they might look Human, but they aren't. Doesn't 'humanoid' basically mean, "Not human, but resembling one"?
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 20, 2018 13:21:30 GMT -5
Point of Information: Are Kryptonians not humans? I ask this only as an interested bystander, not as someone trying to build an argument. Good question, but the fact that Ktyptonians go through physiological changes, such as increased strength and invulnerability, the closer they get to a sun like ours, would mean that they are clearly different to Humans. Despite outward appearances, they were a species that evolved on a world light-years away from Earth, so I don't see how they can be human. I've always assumed that it's like Corellians in Star Wars (such as Han Solo): they might look Human, but they aren't. Not being a science guy, however much I love reading about it, I looked for some on-line help and found www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2016/04/04/alien-superman/#71ac52841c4b form Forbes, of all places. There are a batch of others, too, but I just grabbed this one b/c I had the time. My guess is that Terrans and Kryptonians have some common ancestor, or at least evolved under similar conditions, though obviously taking slightly different pathways, given the differences in their physiologies. (Talk about layman's terms!) The same probably holds true for the LSH members who are not Terran, but are nigh identical to them: Mon-El, Star Boy, and the like.
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