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Description
Clark Joseph Kent is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , he debuted in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman .
Over the decades there has been considerable debate as to which personality the character identifies with most. From his first introduction in 1938 to the mid-1980s, "Clark Kent" was seen mostly as a disguise for Superman, enabling him to mix with ordinary people. This was the view in most comics and other media such as movie serials and TV (e.g., in Atom Man vs. Superman starring Kirk Alyn and The Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves ) and radio. In 1986, during John Byrne 's revamping of the character, Clark Kent became more emphasized. Different takes persist in the present.
In the earliest Superman comics, Clark Kent's primary purpose was to fulfill the perceived dramatic requirement that a costumed superhero cannot remain on full duty all the time. Clark thus acted as little more than a front for Superman's activities. Although his name and history were taken from his early life with his adoptive Earth parents, everything about Clark was staged for the benefit of his alternate identity: as a reporter for the Daily Planet , he receives late-breaking news before the general public, has a plausible reason to be present at crime scenes, and need not strictly account for his whereabouts as long as he makes his story deadlines. He sees his job as a journalist as an extension of his Superman responsibilities—bringing truth to the forefront and fighting for the little guy. He believes that everybody has the right to know what is going on in the world, regardless of who is involved. [2]
To deflect suspicion that he is Superman, Clark Kent adopted a largely passive and introverted personality with conservative mannerisms, a higher-pitched voice, and a slight slouch. This personality is typically described as "mild-mannered," perhaps most famously by the opening narration of Max Fleischer 's Superman animated theatrical shorts. These traits extended into Clark's wardrobe, which typically consists of a bland-colored business suit, a red necktie, black-rimmed glasses (which in Pre-Crisis stories had lenses of Kryptonian material that would not be damaged when he fired his heat vision through them), combed-back hair, and occasionally a fedora .
Fellow reporter Lois Lane became the object of Clark's/Superman's romantic affection. Lois' affection for Superman and her rejection of Clark's clumsy advances have been a recurring theme in Superman comics and movies and on television.
Clark wears his Superman costume underneath his street clothes, allowing easy changes between the two personae and the dramatic gesture of ripping open his shirt to reveal the familiar "S" emblem when called into action. Superman usually stores his Clark Kent clothing compressed in a secret pouch within his cape, [3] though some stories have shown him leaving his clothes in some covert location (such as the Daily Planet storeroom [4]) for later retrieval.
In the Pre-Crisis comic book title Superman Family , Clark is featured in a series of stories called "The Private Life of Clark Kent" wherein he solves problems subtly without changing into Superman.

Adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent from the Kansas town of Smallville , Clark (and thus Superman) was raised with the values of a typical rural American town, including attending the local Methodist Church (though it is debated by comic fans if Superman is a Methodist). [5]
Most continuities state that the Kents had been unable to have biological children. In the Golden and Silver Age versions of his origin, after the Kents retrieved Clark from his rocket, they brought him to the Smallville Orphanage and returned a few days later to formally adopt the orphan, giving him as a first name Martha's maiden name, "Clark." [6] [7] In John Byrne 's 1986 origin version The Man of Steel , instead of adopting him through an orphanage, the Kents passed Clark off as their own child after their farm was isolated for months by a series of snowstorms that took place shortly after they found his rocket, using their past medical history of various miscarriages to account for their reasons for keeping Martha's pregnancy secret.

Superman's secret identity as Clark Kent is one of the DC Universe 's greatest secrets. Only a few trusted people are aware of it, such as Batman and other members of the Justice League , Superman's cousin Supergirl , and Clark's childhood friend Lana Lang (In pre-Crisis stories, Lana did not know, but their friend Pete Ross did, unbeknownst to anyone, including Clark). Lex Luthor, other supervillains, and various civilians have learned the secret identity several times, though their knowledge is usually removed through various means (the boxer Muhammad Ali is one of the very few to deduce the identity and retain the knowledge ).
Traditionally, Lois Lane (and sometimes others) would often suspect Superman of truly being Clark Kent; this was particularly prominent in Silver Age stories, including those in the series Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane. More recent stories (post-Crisis) often feature the general public assuming that Superman has no secret identity owing to the fact that he, unlike most heroes, doesn't wear a mask. In "The Secret Revealed," a supercomputer constructed by Lex Luthor calculated Superman's true identity from information that had been assembled by his staff, but Lex dismissed the idea because he could not believe that someone so powerful would want another, weaker identity. [11] In post-Crisis continuity, Lois Lane, feeling that someone like Clark could not be Superman, never suspected the dual identity beyond one isolated incident before Clark finally revealed it to her. In "Visitor," Lois finds Superman at the Kent farm with Lana Lang and asks him point-blank if he is Clark Kent. Before he can answer, the Kents tell her that they raised Superman alongside Clark like a brother. [12] In the 2009 retcon of the mythos, Lois Lane is fully aware from the beginning, along with Perry White , that the meek, pudgy, and bumbling Clark Kent deliberately holds himself back: however, still far from associating him with Superman, they simply believe he's hiding his qualities as a good reporter. [13] In the current continuity established by DC's New 52 relaunch in 2011, Lois Lane remains unaware that Clark is Superman until she discovers it as part of an elaborate plan by a new villain to blackmail Superman.
In the future of the Legion of Super-Heroes , his secret identity is historical fact, with exhibits at a Superman Museum depicting the hero and his friends' and family's adventures.

Description
Clark Joseph Kent is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , he debuted in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman .
Over the decades there has been considerable debate as to which personality the character identifies with most. From his first introduction in 1938 to the mid-1980s, "Clark Kent" was seen mostly as a disguise for Superman, enabling him to mix with ordinary people. This was the view in most comics and other media such as movie serials and TV (e.g., in Atom Man vs. Superman starring Kirk Alyn and The Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves ) and radio. In 1986, during John Byrne 's revamping of the character, Clark Kent became more emphasized. Different takes persist in the present.
In the earliest Superman comics, Clark Kent's primary purpose was to fulfill the perceived dramatic requirement that a costumed superhero cannot remain on full duty all the time. Clark thus acted as little more than a front for Superman's activities. Although his name and history were taken from his early life with his adoptive Earth parents, everything about Clark was staged for the benefit of his alternate identity: as a reporter for the Daily Planet , he receives late-breaking news before the general public, has a plausible reason to be present at crime scenes, and need not strictly account for his whereabouts as long as he makes his story deadlines. He sees his job as a journalist as an extension of his Superman responsibilities—bringing truth to the forefront and fighting for the little guy. He believes that everybody has the right to know what is going on in the world, regardless of who is involved. [2]
To deflect suspicion that he is Superman, Clark Kent adopted a largely passive and introverted personality with conservative mannerisms, a higher-pitched voice, and a slight slouch. This personality is typically described as "mild-mannered," perhaps most famously by the opening narration of Max Fleischer 's Superman animated theatrical shorts. These traits extended into Clark's wardrobe, which typically consists of a bland-colored business suit, a red necktie, black-rimmed glasses (which in Pre-Crisis stories had lenses of Kryptonian material that would not be damaged when he fired his heat vision through them), combed-back hair, and occasionally a fedora .
Fellow reporter Lois Lane became the object of Clark's/Superman's romantic affection. Lois' affection for Superman and her rejection of Clark's clumsy advances have been a recurring theme in Superman comics and movies and on television.
Clark wears his Superman costume underneath his street clothes, allowing easy changes between the two personae and the dramatic gesture of ripping open his shirt to reveal the familiar "S" emblem when called into action. Superman usually stores his Clark Kent clothing compressed in a secret pouch within his cape, [3] though some stories have shown him leaving his clothes in some covert location (such as the Daily Planet storeroom [4]) for later retrieval.
In the Pre-Crisis comic book title Superman Family , Clark is featured in a series of stories called "The Private Life of Clark Kent" wherein he solves problems subtly without changing into Superman.

Adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent from the Kansas town of Smallville , Clark (and thus Superman) was raised with the values of a typical rural American town, including attending the local Methodist Church (though it is debated by comic fans if Superman is a Methodist). [5]
Most continuities state that the Kents had been unable to have biological children. In the Golden and Silver Age versions of his origin, after the Kents retrieved Clark from his rocket, they brought him to the Smallville Orphanage and returned a few days later to formally adopt the orphan, giving him as a first name Martha's maiden name, "Clark." [6] [7] In John Byrne 's 1986 origin version The Man of Steel , instead of adopting him through an orphanage, the Kents passed Clark off as their own child after their farm was isolated for months by a series of snowstorms that took place shortly after they found his rocket, using their past medical history of various miscarriages to account for their reasons for keeping Martha's pregnancy secret.

Superman's secret identity as Clark Kent is one of the DC Universe 's greatest secrets. Only a few trusted people are aware of it, such as Batman and other members of the Justice League , Superman's cousin Supergirl , and Clark's childhood friend Lana Lang (In pre-Crisis stories, Lana did not know, but their friend Pete Ross did, unbeknownst to anyone, including Clark). Lex Luthor, other supervillains, and various civilians have learned the secret identity several times, though their knowledge is usually removed through various means (the boxer Muhammad Ali is one of the very few to deduce the identity and retain the knowledge ).
Traditionally, Lois Lane (and sometimes others) would often suspect Superman of truly being Clark Kent; this was particularly prominent in Silver Age stories, including those in the series Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane. More recent stories (post-Crisis) often feature the general public assuming that Superman has no secret identity owing to the fact that he, unlike most heroes, doesn't wear a mask. In "The Secret Revealed," a supercomputer constructed by Lex Luthor calculated Superman's true identity from information that had been assembled by his staff, but Lex dismissed the idea because he could not believe that someone so powerful would want another, weaker identity. [11] In post-Crisis continuity, Lois Lane, feeling that someone like Clark could not be Superman, never suspected the dual identity beyond one isolated incident before Clark finally revealed it to her. In "Visitor," Lois finds Superman at the Kent farm with Lana Lang and asks him point-blank if he is Clark Kent. Before he can answer, the Kents tell her that they raised Superman alongside Clark like a brother. [12] In the 2009 retcon of the mythos, Lois Lane is fully aware from the beginning, along with Perry White , that the meek, pudgy, and bumbling Clark Kent deliberately holds himself back: however, still far from associating him with Superman, they simply believe he's hiding his qualities as a good reporter. [13] In the current continuity established by DC's New 52 relaunch in 2011, Lois Lane remains unaware that Clark is Superman until she discovers it as part of an elaborate plan by a new villain to blackmail Superman.
In the future of the Legion of Super-Heroes , his secret identity is historical fact, with exhibits at a Superman Museum depicting the hero and his friends' and family's adventures.