Bumbling Clark

[Simba_Muffy]

They won't ask because it's fiction and the writers dictate what occurs. In real life, people would think he had neurological damage or some other catastrophic event to cause such a drastic change in behavior.

----- Added 4 Minutes later -----



Clark Kent was revised in the 80s. This CK had never been Superboy. His dad did not die when he was a teen. He wasn't nearly as powerful. He was birthed on Earth, not Krypton. He was actually a star athlete as a youngster, a stud. It was changed during the Man of Steel miniseries.

That's my point. It is always changing.

----- Added 2 Minutes later -----

Truthfully, I've never thought the buffoonish bumbling act contributed to the (admittedly poor) disguise. How does drawing unneeded attention to yourself help?

I do give credit to Lois & Clark for addressing the disguise issue in, what I consider, a believable manner.

They twice had Clark Kent and Superman appear together in public. Once using a hologram, and once using a CK from an AU.

Once that was done, no real disguise was needed. Clark Kent just became a guy that looked like Superman...

I don't like Cain's Clark or Superman(Cain was the worst) and I don't really care for that show. I would perfer to watch Perry, Lex and Cat than Clark and Lois.

----- Added 3 Minutes later -----

I do see a difference in L&C. When Clark is Superman, he is more aggressive acting, standing with arms crossed. Changes his voice and his hair is laid down like he had a ton of grease in it.

No change at all. IMO

[morrigan01]

I actually believe that it is much more their personal preference (bumbling Clark) than anything else. In the Comics Geoff was the one that reintroduced that aspect. And AlMiles wanted to do it, originally, as well.

I don't like it any more than you do, but it is not about being "mythos". It is about the story they wanted to tell.

This.

Honestly, I think if Al & Miles had still been around - and it had gotten to this point - we still would have gotten "bumbling" Clark. Because, when it came to Superman, all those two knew about it were the Donner movies as well. It's why Lana was alway seen wearing pink early on, why the FOS looks like it does and why, more than anything, Jonathan Kent got killed off. When he died in Reckoning, the character was still very much alive in the main comics mythos at the time. The only reason Al & Miles killed him off was because the character died in the movies before Clark went off to train.

So they were as guilty of this Donner-movie focus/worship (because that's really what it is - Donner worship, not mythos worship) as Geoff Johns is.

[uncaged]

what does pink have to do with the Donnerverse Lana? (I never saw a Superman movie past II)

[morrigan01]

what does pink have to do with the Donnerverse Lana? (I never saw a Superman movie past II)

During her first interview with Superman (in the first movie) Lois asks Superman if he can tell what color underwear she has on (trying to test his X-ray vision). He can't tell because she's standing in front of a lead pot with a plant in it. When she moves from behind it, he's able to see that she's wearing pink underwear and tell her.

The interview goes on for a bit more before Lois, rather shy/coy asks "Do you like pink?"

And he replies, with a smile, "I like pink very much Lois."

Hence, because Al & Miles never liked Superman anyway and all they knew about his universe were the Donner movies, the decided to have Lana dress in pink during the first few years all the time.

A joke on this moment from the movie was also done again in the season 9 episode Idol where Clark makes the comment to Lois - who says they should try and get to know each other better - that she tells him the color of her underwear every day, and wondered what else was there for them know about each other.

[nate-dog1701d]

They won't ask because it's fiction and the writers dictate what occurs.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Someone theorized around the time of Homecoming that Future Clark could swoop in and cover the story of Clark's debut as Superman. I think that would have been a great idea* (though a better one would be to have Martian Manhunter or someone in the present do it), and there would be no real need of excessive bumbling. Once people see Clark and Superman in the same room, they're not really going to think they're the same person.

*One could argue that having to depend on his future self is a bad idea, mainly because it creates a time paradox. But we've already had a few time paradoxes, so another wouldn't be too painful. I wonder what Clark's transformation into Superman looked like before the Legion, Brainiac 5, and Booster Gold came back and altered it.

[Vergon6]

I thought Tom did well as the bumbling Clark. Although I have to admit I would preferred more mild-mannered and less bumbling. There is still the question of when someone happens to see Clark take off his glasses and if people remember what Clark looked like without the glasses or see pictures. It should be painfully obvious in that case that Clark and Superman are one in the same, regardless of bumbling.

I have probably mentioned this in the past, but I feel kryptonian tech in the glasses to trick others into thinking he looks different (as has always looked different) as Clark would be more effective. That way he could show his face to the world without anyone putting the pieces together. The hypnotic suggestion would not work on those who already know of course. But I know that explanation or something similar has been somewhat controversial (at least according to wikipedia lol).

I still don't get how Clark could make everyone forget over night what kind of man he was before that day or week, especially his co-workers (and especially Cat Grant lol). We did see Jeff come across this in "Masquerade" though. But still...it stretches believability but I guess we will just have to go with it :/.

[Ellsbury]

The scene with Cat was funny and kinda typical of bumbling Clark. TW did a good job on this one. Conversely, the interview scene was much more painful to watch because it made Clark look like an incompetent fool while he is supposed to be an effective journalist despite his clumsiness.

I think bringing the concept of Clark Kent as a disguise is a good idea. However, they should have been more subtle in their execution. 4 episodes before the end of the show, it feels a bit sudden and rushed. I believe the mild-mannered, clumsy, low-profile (whatever you want) Clark should have been brought much earlier this season. It should have started right after he told Lois is secret. We could have had a much more realistic transition from SV Clark to SM Clark.

[Komsomolets]

The scene in which I fully bought it was the scene with Ted Kord. Because Kord had never met Clark Kent before until that moment. So it was easy to believe that Kord would believe this is really how this Clark Kent person acts.

But with people like Cat Grant? It takes a massive suspension of disbelief IMO.

Agreed. The Ted Kord scene is when it became sort of 'believable' if you suspend disbelief just a little more (lets face it its already almost totally suspended), although the bumbling idiot routine should have started much sooner in his Daily Planet career and its obviously difficult, if not impossible, to hide so much strapping hunk behind a pair glasses, clumsiness and a bit of mumbling.

[Carstonio]

I strongly oppose the idea of Clark as a bumbling loser instead of a normal guy. I'm really conflicted about the last scene - Geoff Johns has Clark voice the same question I have, which is how can people believe that Lois would fall for a guy like that. I'm midway through reading Johns' Secret Origin for the first time and Lois already sees through the pose somewhat, noticing that Clark has moments of confidence and insightfulness. I'm hoping that the last three SV episodes show Clark achieving more of a balance with his new civilian identity, in part because there's no way his current personality would earn that promotion to the 8th floor.

[Ellsbury]

I really don't see the problem with Lois being in love with the new Clark. Do people really judge you based on who is your wife/husband? If he were disfigured or a criminal, I could understand but here... what if he's a dropper who wears unfashionable glasses? He is still tall, strong, reasonably good looking and he remains an effective journalist... She might seem a bit out of his league, but I don't know, weirder things happen.

[skye4376]

I strongly oppose the idea of Clark as a bumbling loser instead of a normal guy. I'm really conflicted about the last scene - Geoff Johns has Clark voice the same question I have, which is how can people believe that Lois would fall for a guy like that. I'm midway through reading Johns' Secret Origin for the first time and Lois already sees through the pose somewhat, noticing that Clark has moments of confidence and insightfulness. I'm hoping that the last three SV episodes show Clark achieving more of a balance with his new civilian identity, in part because there's no way his current personality would earn that promotion to the 8th floor.

ITA. especially with the bolded part.

[Carstonio]

Do people really judge you based on who is your wife/husband?

That was Clark's concern about Lois and it's a natural one for him to have. I suspect the greater issue is for his new personality to be convincing for their co-workers. Clark has to exhibit some endearing aspects beyond his looks, so that others can understand what Lois sees in him. If he tries too hard to be a bumbler, a co-worker who would also regularly encounter Superman (*cough* Jimmy *cough*) would start thinking things. Hell, it didn't take long for the other Jimmy to figure it out.

The bumbler personality was an artifact of the Silver Age when there was no real expectation that Clark would reveal his secret or that the two would be a couple, except on alternate Earths. Part of the personality's objective was to fool Lois, who knew both men (?) probably better than anyone. I agree with John Byrne that the era's version of Clark was a revenge fantasy for nerdy adolescents, having been one of them myself. (For any D.C. area residents reading this, I suspect that a real-life example of that revenge would be Daniel Snyder.) In the Modern era after Lois learned the secret, the civilian Clark has never had to act anything more than normal, particularly since Lois helps cover for him, and I would think the same would be true of SV this season.

[BoyScout-ManOfTomorrow]

Agreed. The Ted Kord scene is when it became sort of 'believable' if you suspend disbelief just a little more (lets face it its already almost totally suspended), although the bumbling idiot routine should have started much sooner in his Daily Planet career and its obviously difficult, if not impossible, to hide so much strapping hunk behind a pair glasses, clumsiness and a bit of mumbling.

Maybe S9 could have been a good starting point for it, dunno.

I still liked what they did in "Booster". Comedy gold... no pun intended.

[Carstonio]

its obviously difficult, if not impossible, to hide so much strapping hunk behind a pair glasses, clumsiness and a bit of mumbling.

Relevant side question - it seems to me that modern comic artists are deliberately staying away from the Silver Age lantern-jaw look. No offense to that era's legends such as Curt Swan. There are scenes in Birthright and Secret Origin where our hero looks eerily like Tom Welling. And in Earth One he looks like he's still in college. Are female comic fans generally more attracted to the old Superman look or the newer one? I've said before that SV is the only incarnation that makes an obvious attempt at presenting the hero as a sex symbol, with shirtless scenes and supporting female characters longing for him. For me, it's like trying to understand what women would see in one's brother or one's male cousin.