On Clark Kent

Being the alter ego of Superman cannot be an easy role to play. Designed to be the outward disguise of a superhero, Clark Kent was, is and always will be much more than that. Klutzy, slow, a little witless, he is supposed to an Everyman who goes to work everyday, does his working man thing, then goes home at the end of the day. One supposes that Clark only wants the things and relationships that we all want so we are not bored or lonely: a roof over our heads and a companion with which he might share his time and emotions. Yet, Clark Kent is really none of those things because he is Kal-El, he is Superman and superman, both the hero and iconic ubermann who is superior in all ways to those around him. His very role as hero with exceptional powers prohibits him from having a normal relationship with others, so his pretend public persona must appear inferior in a variety of ways to other men so that he might fit in. The existence of Clark Kent presents a strange paradox between the ideal man and a real man, with all his failings, faults, and problems. His ineptitude is magnified and enhanced by the strange problem of trying to date a woman who is in love with his "super" self and uninterested in his fallible human alter ego. Lois Lane only has eyes for Superman, but couldn't be less interested in the bumbling office mate who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is very un-super of him. In other words, being Superman has no real benefits other than being able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, a skill most can do without. Being Superman is, then, a bittersweet situation: you can impress the ladies with your physique, but the tender side of your personality has to stay locked up and caged. Superman is not just Superman, he is also Clark Kent, and vice versa, which means that both characters are facades for a larger character that has seen fit to split his personality, a la Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in order to function in a larger society. No one wants a tender and caring Superman, but Clark is supposed to be less than graceful, even weak. Eventually, the integrated character Superman/Clark Kent must come to terms with their existential conundrum of who they might really be, a character that is neither Superman nor Clark Kent. The general public craves the presence of Superman with all the ethical and moral burdens implicit in that relationship, making Clark Kent an interesting mask behind which the superhero might hide without being asked to save the world: no one expects Mr. Kent to do anything but bring Lois a fresh cup of coffee and sharpen the pencils--a primitive analogue for keeping the computer booted and running. Clark Kent must even feign a reserved masculinity in order to deflect interest from himself as if his own sexuality inhabited a liminal non-sexual space that is neither male nor female, almost a eunuch as it were, the complete opposite of "the man of steel." Nevertheless, Kal-El does not permanently go around as a superhero because that persona is more sustainable than Clark Kent. The brooding super-human character of the hero must suffer constantly from an existential anxiety of purpose, ideals, identity, future, ethics, and violence. Perhaps it is that last things that so divides him from his alter ego, a peaceful, non-fighter who eschews violence while seeking non-violent solutions whenever possible. The internal battle between the hero and his non-heroic alter ego is constant, ongoing, and unresolvable, creating an ethos of melancholy and resignation as he tries to integrate into a society that will never either accept him as an equal or even give him a chance to be a whole person.