Clark getting Punked (for plot)by Knite, Magic, superpowers, etc

[tippership commander]

I'm a bit late in making this but anywayz

I remember early seasons when pebbles of Knite smaller than a penny, or wedding ring would have clark about to die, even though he's 10-20 feet from it.

After time, he built up a realistic resistance over the seasons- as we saw when he held a piece of Knite in his hand to cut himself- fair enough- also nowadays he only winces when Knite needles are used on him for purposes(like the zombie event in SV a while back)

And then, Smallville started growing Knite out of trees and the ground and the air turned into knite..

what's been bugging me- is the plot having Clark get continously punked by his weaknesses here- and even beyond that


See, up until about Season 7-9, Clark was punked a LOT- every jo blo with Superpowers , when they first met him, made him their....punching bag in some manner..

bart...Aquaman.....numerous random meteor freaks-

Granted, he had a small share of happening to not be so vunerable, but...
prime example: Aquaman throwing him for a loop with water balls- (at least Clark was fast enough to catch him in a tail end chase wit both usign vast superspeed)

All this season, from the constant Blue K to the Magic , it seems his weaknesses are appearing more and more-
it seems to me this ...sets up Clark to appear demeaned a bit by his capability,

Here you have a Kryptonian who, when zero hour comes and things are doomed- his indomitable will grants him power no other can match- and yet suddenly story after story has him running into Kryptonite, or magic..

What I'd like for DC/Warner Bros to do, is start having Supes not need to have Plot-induced Stupidity work in a way that brings his weaknesses into the game.

In other words- i really, really think that we're at a point where Clark should not be THAT difficult to write challenges for witout explict use of his weaknesses.
(There is a minor way to do this- I'll get to option #2 in a second)

Supes has been weakened by a lot of writers, and has been getting stronger again since the late 1980's - but you'd think he'd be able to remind people that he IS bulletproof, that he is FASTER than a speeding bullet, or photon, or whatever- and able to Jump as high as he wants-and sometimes, nothing you do can hurt him, but He's strong enough in character to deal with whatever is really causing the trouble in a situation- and can output excess when it comes to power- all under the fine control he has, to solve the problem..

Admittedly, sometimes you need to take a beating to win, but...the way it's done.


Option2
They're putting a lot of his weaknesses into play so he becomes not-so-vunerable.

I had a bad case of deja vu when i saw Clark getting washed off the walkway -

However, I WILL give them credit where credit is due.
Something that I remembered- while his weaknesses have been spammed to no end, and everybody and their grandmother has Kryptonite, Magic, conveniently available , at the same time they have remembered that he doesn't lose his powers in prox to Knite actually/ given him showings like the Freeze breath against the knite cauldron/the survival against Blue Knite/The ability to overpower Isis' magic ropes in a direct fight of sun-powered Kryptonian vs Magic/ managing to finally have enough resistance to somewhat be allright in the cage on the oil rig.

So to their credit- perhaps they are doing this to do the showings that he is growing more resistant and invulnerable to weaknesses that seemingly are so common they make you think he'd be dead against just one person using them.


So my appeal is this:- I simply LOVE each time he shows his character and we're reminded- how he IS strong enough to always believe in good -that indomitable will that is his strongest attribute(couldnt have him without it) - but don't forget to remind the audience that sometimes- he IS Superman, and he is the man of steel- and that he;s NOT a pushover/punching bag/bully magnet , and that he can hold his own , respectably, when it comes to comparisons with other heroes, villans, etc..

[old guy]

I think it is lazy writing.

If Clark were accurately portrayed with his actual power levels, even at his current stage of development, it is difficult to create true challenges for him. It takes thoughtful writing to do this. Thoughtful writing takes time and effort, as well as talent obviously. Given the crunch to produce story lines, it is easier to take the lazy way out and just start use kryptonite, magic, or unrealistic situations (villains with power levels that should not be anywhere close to a threat to Clark's power levels being able to hurt him) to create drama. I understand that, but frankly I am fed up with the ever common prevalence of kryptonite or magic. I'd much rather see good story writing instead, but that's just my own preference.

[DJ Doena]

The problem is that without such things as Kryptonite every fight would look like the one between Clark and the whip lady in Abandoned.

[SnowBird]

The problem is that without such things as Kryptonite every fight would look like the one between Clark and the whip lady in Abandoned.

True...With Kryptonite and magic being the only thing that will make Clark vulnerable, it gets used more especially green K. He wouldn't have any trouble cleaning up Dodge and even that could get boring if a stumbling block isn't added.

[Ritza]

What I didn't like here was Tom's acting when he's in the Kryptonite cage. He was in pain for about a second and then it was almost like he forgot that green K was supposed to at least bother him. He looked constipated but not hurt by the green k and that was just weird.

It kept me from enjoying the scene, tbh, because it was so stupid the way Clark was just standing there, basically unaffected by all that green kryptonite inches away from him.

[SnowBird]

What I didn't like here was Tom's acting when he's in the Kryptonite cage. He was in pain for about a second and then it was almost like he forgot that green K was supposed to at least bother him. He looked constipated but not hurt by the green k and that was just weird.

It kept me from enjoying the scene, tbh, because it was so stupid the way Clark was just standing there, basically unaffected by all that green kryptonite inches away from him.

Sometimes people see things differently so let me refer you to a different opinion of the same scene.

http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6914905&postcount=181

[TECHWON]

The problem is that without such things as Kryptonite every fight would look like the one between Clark and the whip lady in Abandoned.

it would and would be cool on one end but then he'd be non believable, at the same time why do you think superman was nerfed in the comics for a while espeically in the late 80's where he was strong he could move planets don't believe me check the dc ***** page and READ IT

[Cloisdestined]

What I didn't like here was Tom's acting when he's in the Kryptonite cage. He was in pain for about a second and then it was almost like he forgot that green K was supposed to at least bother him. He looked constipated but not hurt by the green k and that was just weird.

It kept me from enjoying the scene, tbh, because it was so stupid the way Clark was just standing there, basically unaffected by all that green kryptonite inches away from him.

Agreed.

[protector91]

Maybe it's just me, but it didn't look like Slade was using a very high dosage. It was enough to keep him from breaking out of the cage, but not enough to weaken him that he'd fall.

[ginevrakent]

What I didn't like here was Tom's acting when he's in the Kryptonite cage. He was in pain for about a second and then it was almost like he forgot that green K was supposed to at least bother him. He looked constipated but not hurt by the green k and that was just weird.

It kept me from enjoying the scene, tbh, because it was so stupid the way Clark was just standing there, basically unaffected by all that green kryptonite inches away from him.

Clark's been shown to be stoic through the pain in episodes like Jinx and Bride. In Jinx, Clark grasped a chunk of kryptonite in his hand and tried to pretend to be normal as he practiced tossing a football pass and talked to his mother. In Bride, Clark had to put on a facade of not feeling as much pain when Chloe (not knowing his secret per Abyss) whipped out his secret kryptonite stash in the loft. In short, Clark can be affected by kryptonite and fight through the pain to communicate with General Slade Wilson with the sufficient poise.

It's because Clark showed so much strength and poise at an important moment, despite the pain he was in, that I really liked the scene. I was very impressed with Tom for adding that nuance to his performance and with Clark for behaving in such a heroic manner. YMMV.

[omegadirective]

Just google "The Worf Effect." In short, this is the show's way of demonstrating how powerful the bad guy is this week. Clark is the most powerful superhuman on the show, and if a bad guy can knock him out or beat him up, then that bad guy must be really powerful.

The name comes from Star Trek: TNG; whenever a new bad guy showed up on the Enterprise, Worf (a Klingon and thus the strongest physical fighter on the ship) would attack and get his butt kicked. All just to show how dangerous the bad guy is.

[AdityaK96]

i completely agree that it is somewhat due to lazy writing....they need to invent more challenges then to just "overcome kryptonite". All to often do they throw Green K at him and say here you go this is your plot twist!

[Dyanara]

This is not new, they have been doing this for years. People complained that Clark was made dumb so Chloe would look smart. I don't know if S9 had a lot of Clark walking into Kryptonite gimmicks; it got really too idiotic for me in Committed when the jeweler just happened to have a Kbracelet or watch. That was just too far, another one I remember is moron Clark walking into the room full of Kryptonite in Justice.

[FWvidchick]

I've never been particularly bothered or feel like its stupid. Metropolis, smallville heck even Kansas have Green K all over. he needs an Achilles heel or that is just to much power IMO and not enough weakness. Walking into green K doesn't make him stupid.

and the jeweler..was a jeweler..hence thought oh pretty green stone, never imagining it would push what ever issues he had over the edge when he turned it into a nifty bracelet/wristband(whatever) and how the heck was Clark suppose to know that when went to save Lois. It wasn't the point of the ep anyway.

[ox007]

Kryptonite is a convenient plot device for the showrunners, it's becoming cheap when they're using it too often, but don't worry Darkseid won't need it when confronting Clark