Superman Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Clark Kent (Smallville)
SmallvilleCK
Debut Smallville, Season 1-10
Created by Smallville producers
Portrayed by Tom Welling
Statistics
Classification Kryptonian
Abilities Invulnerability, superhuman strength, speed and hearing, super breath, heat vision, X-ray vision, and flight
This article refers to the version of Clark Kent as seen in the television series, Smallville and related media. For the character in general, see Superman.

Clark Kent (born as Kal-El) is the Earth's greatest hero. Hailing from the now-destroyed planet Krypton, Clark an alien being with superhuman abilities which he uses to help others in danger.

He resided there until his early adult years, in which he then moved to Metropolis. He works at the Daily Planet and is engaged to Lois Lane.

He has been portrayed by Tom Welling in the television series Smallville.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Clark was born as Kal-El, the only son of Jor-El and Lara, on the planet Krypton. Kal-El was a few weeks old when Krypton was about to be destroyed after his uncle Zor-El ignited Krypton's core and also due to General Zod's attempt to conquer its people, Jor-El placed Kal-El in a spaceship, to send him to a good family on the planet Earth where he visited years ago. Though Lara wondered if the people of Earth would accept and love him, Jor-El reassured her that the family he chose would be good to him.

Season 1[]

Twelve years later, trying to find his place in life after being told he is an alien by his adoptive father, Clark saves the life of billionaire Lex Luthor , and the pair become quick friends. Clark struggles with the burden of keeping his powers a secret from those close to him; he is afraid to open up to Lana Lang for fear that she will not accept him if she were to learn the truth about him.

Season 2[]

Clark learns of his Kryptonian heritage, including his native language, his birth name "Kal-El" and that his birth father Jor-El intends for him to rule the world. The fear that he will not be able to control his own destiny forces Clark to run away to Metropolis, leaving Lana, whom he had just started to develop a romantic relationship with, alone.

Season 3[]

Smallville301 054

Clark in Metropolis

Three months later, Clark is brought home by his father, who makes a deal to let Jor-El take Clark when the time arrives. When a girl, referring to herself as "Kara", arrives at the Kent farm and claims to be from Krypton. After Kara predicts that Clark's friends will all either leave or betray him, Clark decides that it will be best for everyone if he just left Smallville. When Jonathan attempts to intervene, Jor-El threatens to kill Jonathan if Clark does not leave; to save Jonathan's life Clark agrees.

Season 4[]

598px-422Smallville1328

Clark is transported to the arctic by the crystal

Clark returns to Smallville, "reprogrammed" by Jor-El to seek out the three stones of knowledge so he may fulfill his destiny; in the process, the reprogrammed Clark meets Lois Lane, who is investigating the supposed death of her cousin, and Clark's best friend, Chloe Sullivan. Clark, with Martha’s help, regains control over his body and refuses to look for the stones. A "great evil" is awakened in space after Clark defies Jor-El’s instructions to obtain the three stones of knowledge. With a new meteor shower hitting Smallville, Clark finds the remaining stones and is transported to the Arctic, where the three stones create the Fortress of Solitude.

Season 5[]

556px-Reckoningclark

Clark begs Jor-El for a do-over to prevent Lana's death, which has equally-tragic consequences.

Clark interrupts his training to return to Smallville, but when he fails to return to the Fortress before the Sun sets he is stripped of his powers. Clark begins an honest relationship with Lana, but is killed trying to save the town from a resident who hopes to kill all of the "meteor freaks". Jor-El resurrects his son, but warns him that someone he loves will eventually have to take his place. Clark worries about who will be sacrificed, and in the episode "Reckoning" Lana is killed, so Clark turns back time to save her. This results in Jonathan becoming the sacrifice, when he suffers a fatal heart attack.

Clark battles Brainiac, a Kryptonian artificial intelligence in the form of a man, in his attempts to release the Kryptonian criminal Zod from the Phantom Zone. Clark fails, and Zod imprisons Clark in the Phantom Zone, while he sets out to conquer the Earth.

Season 6[]

Smallville622 641

Clark faces Bizarro.

In the season six premiere, Clark is able to escape the Phantom Zone, inadvertently releasing several of the prisoners in the process, and returns to Smallville to defeat Zod. The Phantom Zone escapees become Clark's primary focus in season six, as well as Lana's relationship with Lex, which eventually turns into marriage by the season six episode "Promise". The season six finale reveals that the last of the Phantom Zone criminals is really a genetic experiment created by Kryptonian scientists. The escapee attacks Clark, cloning his DNA, and becomes Clark's doppelgänger.

Season 7[]

546px-Normal arctic0946

Clark is confronted by Lex Luthor in the Fortress

In season seven, Clark discovers that a secret society known as Veritas was aware of his landing in Smallville during the first meteor shower and that they knew of a means to control him. In the season seven finale, Clark is confronted by Lex, who has the device and has discovered his secret, at the Fortress of Solitude. Lex uses the device, which brings the Fortress down around him and Clark.

Season 8[]

In the season eight premiere, it is revealed that the orb does not allow anyone to control Clark, but merely strips Clark of his powers. Wandering the globe with Russian gangsters, Clark is eventually found and rescued by Oliver Queen and John Jones, the latter of who flies Clark to the yellow Sun and restores Clark's powers. At the end of the episode, Clark takes a job at the Daily Planet, sitting across from Lois.

SmallvilleIdentity

Jimmy Olsen takes a picture of Clark.

During season eight, Clark uses his new job at the Daily Planet to gain access to information and stop crime around the city. In "Identity", Jimmy Olsen takes a photo of Clark in which he is moving so quickly one can only see a red and blue blur; Clark in later episodes adopts the name "Red-Blue Blur" as his own superhero moniker. In the later half of season eight, Clark wrestles with the idea of having to kill Davis Bloome, who is revealed to be Doomsday in the episode "Bloodline", a genetically engineered creature created by General Zod to kill Clark and destroy Earth.

541px-Clark vs doomsday

Clark vs. Doomsday

With Oliver Queen and the other Justice Leaguers pressuring him to kill Davis/Doomsday in the season eight finale, Clark ultimately decides to separate Davis's personality from the creature's, and bury Doomsday a mile underground. When Davis subsequently kills Jimmy, Clark tells Chloe that his human-learned emotions have caused him the most trouble, most recently resulting in Jimmy's death, and vows that "Clark Kent is dead".

Season 9[]

598px-Clois crossfire

Clark and Lois fall in love.

At the start of season nine, it is revealed that Clark has begun his training with Jor-El, and while he rescues people around Metropolis he wears his family crest on his chest to remind him of what his true destiny is. After realizing there are other, powerless Kryptonians on Earth, who are being led by Zod (Callum Blue), Clark decides to try and help them adjust to living as humans. When Clark uses his own blood to bring Zod back to life, after being shot, Zod is renewed with his full Kryptonian powers.

545px-Salvation -1244

Clark falls after being stabbed with blue kryptonite

Zod then provides the other Kryptonians with their powers and sets them out to destroy the world so that they can turn it into a new Krypton. This season, Lois and Clark officially begin a romantic relationship, while Lois also begins assisting "The Blur" in his heroic endeavors. Lois's trust in Clark is shaken when she thinks Clark is jealous of her relationship with "The Blur", and that he does not understand her need to find value in her own life's work. Ultimately, Clark kiss Lois, while he is "the Blur", in the season nine finale and unknowingly reveals to her the truth. Afterward, he convinces the Kryptonians to leave Earth for a new, uninhabited planet. Clark then sacrifices his own life to send Zod through a portal and off of Earth.

Season 10[]

545px-Homecoming 1682

Clark seeing his future self

Season ten begins with Clark stuck in the afterlife, where Jor-El informs him that a great darkness is coming to Earth. Clark is unknowingly resurrected by Lois, who is now aware that he is the Blur. Jor-El also informs Clark that he is not ready to be Earth's true savior, as there are inner demons that Clark must deal with first. In the episode "Homecoming", Clark is visited by Brainiac 5, who shows Clark how his past has shaped his present and will one day shape his future; this includes showing Clark his future self and what he will be capable of when he has fully embraced his destiny.

Clark reveals his secret to Lois, who explains that she already knew, in the episode "Isis", he later proposes marriage in "Icarus". In the episode "Masquerade", Clark realizes that in order to be the hero the world needs he will have to step out of the shadows and into the light. As a result, Clark makes the decision to turn "Clark Kent" into his real disquise, opting to wear eye glasses and alter his mannerisms to be more mild mannered—so that the Blur does not have to hide his face to the world.

Smallville finale clark superman

Clark as Superman

By the series finale, the darkness, which is revealed to be Darkseid, arrives to Earth to enslave all of humanity. After realizing that his entire life has been one big trial by Jor-El, Clark accepts his true destiny and gains the ability to fly. He then receives the costume Martha made for him and saves Earth from Darkseid's coming Apokolips. Moving into the future seven years, Clark and Lois are finally getting married and Clark has embraced his new identity as "Superman".

Smallville: Season 11[]

Season 11 Superman

Superman's updated costume.

Six months later, Clark lives with Lois in their Metropolis apartment. He is no longer known as The Blur to the public, instead he is known by the name of Superman which was dubbed to him by Lois after he had saved humanity from Darkseid's Apokolips. At some point, after his public debut, Clark updated his Superman costume. Recently, he saved a Russian space station from a mysterious explosion. Later, in his mild-mannered disguise, Clark met Lex Luthor on the street. Lex introduced himself to Clark, because he doesn't remember Clark. Luthor only knows from the video clips that they were friends when they were young. He hardly recognized Kent. Clark is suprised that Lex knew that they were friends years ago. Lex doesn't understand how they could ever have been friends. Clark responded with: "As you said, we were younger."

See also[]

Versions of the character Superman
Historical Versions William DunnThe SupermanKal-El
Alternate Universes Earth-OneEarth-TwoEarth-31Red SonTangentCalvin EllisUltramanInjustice
Future Versions Kingdom ComeSuperman XWilligigKalebSuperman of the 30th CenturySuperman of the 67th CenturySuperman XIISuperstarSuperegoKal KentSuperciliaTitanoKanLaynaSuperman of Xudar
In Other Media Serials ContinuityAdventures of Superman TV Series ContinuityFilms ContinuityDCAU ContinuityLois & Clark ContinuitySmallville ContinuitySuperman Returns ContinuitySuperman of TokyoMan of Steel Continuity
Advertisement