User:Bignole/Clark Kent

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Smallville character
Clark Kent
Location: Smallville
Creators: Character
Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster
Developed for Television
Alfred Gough & Miles Millar
First appearance: "Pilot"
Portrayed by: Tom Welling

Contents

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Television

Portrayed by Tom Welling, Clark Kent is a teen with superhuman abilities, which he uses to help others in danger, who was adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent twelve years earlier when he crash landed to Earth. He is trying to find his place in life after being told he is an alien by his adoptive father.[1] Clark's problem in season one is not being able to share his secret with anyone; he is afraid to open up to Lana for fear that she will not accept him if she knows the truth. Clark just wants to be normal.[2] In season two, 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.[3] 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.[4] Three months later, Clark is brought home by his father, [5] who makes a deal to let Jor-El take Clark when the time arrives. Clark eventually goes with this biological father when Jor-El threatens Jonathan’s life.[6]

Months later, Clark returns to Smallville, "reprogrammed" by Jor-El to seek out the three stones of knowledge so he may fulfill his destiny; Clark, with Martha’s help, regains control over his actions and refuses to look for the stones.[7] A “great evil” is awakened in space after Clark defies Jor-El’s instructions obtain the three stones of knowledge. With a new meteor shower hitting Smallville, Clark finds the remaining stones and is transported to the Arctic,[8] where the three stones create the Fortress of Solitude.[9] When Clark interrupts his training he is stripped of his powers. Human, he finally 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.[10] Clark worries about who will be sacrificed, and when Lana is killed Clark turns back time to save her, only to have Jonathan become the sacrifice.[11]

In the season five finale, Clark fails to prevent Milton Fine (Brainiac) from releasing the Kryptonian criminal Zod from the Phantom Zone. In the process, Zod imprisons Clark in the Phantom Zone and sets out to conquer the Earth.[12] Clark is able to escape the Phantom Zone—inadvertantly releases several of the prisoners in the process—and returns to Smallville to defeat Zod.[13] The Phantom Zone escapees become Clark's primary focus in season six,[14] as well as Lana's relationship with Lex, which eventually turns into marriage.[15] The last of the Phantom Zone criminals turns out to be a genetic experiment created by Kryptonian scientists. The escapee attacks Clark, cloning his DNA, and becomes Clark's doppelgänger.[16] Clark, with assistance from John Jones, defeats his double.[17] In season seven, Clark meets his biological cousin, Kara. While trying to help Kara blend in to society, Clark discovers more about his biological family, and that a secret society known as Veritas—with members included Dr. Swann, the Luthors, the Teagues, and the Queens—was aware of his landing in Smallville during the first meteor shower and that they knew of a means to control him.[18] Clark is eventually confronted by Lex at the Fortress of Solitude, who has the device and knows his secret. Lex uses the device, which brings the Fortress down around him and Clark.[19]

Throughout the series, Clark gains and adjusts to new abilities. In season one it was X-ray vision,[20] heat vision in season two,[21] and super hearing in season three.[22] Clark unofficially flew in the season four premiere, when he was reprogrammed as “Kal-El” by his biological father; upon regaining his memory he forgot how to use the ability.[7] It would be season six before Clark would gain a new ability, this time it was his super breath.[23] Clark also learns of new vulnerabilities as the series progresses. In the first season it was the “green meteor rocks” (kryptonite) that would weaken and potentially kill him.[24] Various other forms of kryptonite appeared as the show continued, each with a different effect. Red kryptonite removed Clark’s inhibitions,[25] black kryptonite separated his Kryptonian personality from his humanity into two distinct physical forms,[7] silver kryptonite made him paranoid, to the point that he believed everyone was out to reveal his secret to the world,[26] and blue kryptonite completely stripped him of all his abilities for as long as he stayed in contact with it.[27] Subsequent seasons also revealed that Clark is vulnerable to alien weapons,[28]and magic.[29]

[edit] Literature

[edit] Novels

[edit] Comic books

[edit] Casting

In October 2000, the two producers began their search for the three lead roles, and had casting directors in ten different cities.[30] After months of scouting, Tom Welling was cast as Clark Kent.[2] David Nutter was looking through pictures of actors and stumbled upon Tom Welling's image. When he asked about Welling, the casting director said Welling's manager didn't want him to do the role, because it could hurt his feature film career. After a conversation with Welling's manager, Nutter got him to read the script for the pilot, which convinced him to do the part.[31] For one of his auditions, he read the graveyard scene with Kristin Kreuk; the network thought they had "great chemistry".[32] Welling believes his lack of knowledge of the Superman mythology helps his performance because Gough and Millar have set up the series so that the previous mythology is not important.[2]

[edit] Character development

  • Welling was generally unfamiliar with the Superman mythology, so much so that when an episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman appeared on television that featured Clark learning about his Kryptonian heritage, Welling immediately turned the show off. According to Welling, he wanted to learn about Clark’s heritage at the same time that Clark was learning about it on Smallville.[33]
  • According to Welling, in season one, Clark is still learning how to handle his life, by learning to control his powers and find the best solution for everyone. Clark’s biggest ambition in season one is to fit in with his friends at school, and be “an average guy”. [33]
  • Welling’s initial fear, and part of the reason why he did not immediately jump at the chance to play Clark Kent, was that the show as going to be “Superman in High School”. After reading the script he realized that the show was not about Clark “being a super hero”, but more about the character attempting to live a normal life as a teenager.[33]
  • Welling notes that the show was not about Clark always saving the day, but more about how him using his powers, although help other people, “alienated him from others”.[33]
  • Welling believes that it is important for him to learn with the character, as it helps him be the Clark Kent that Al Gough and Miles Millar envision.[33]
  • When Welling landed the role of Clark Kent he was sent various Superman-related gifts, including books and toys, which Welling plans to leave unopened until the show is over so that he does not influence his decision making with the character.[33]
  • The Clark/Lana relationship is central to show. When Clark and Lana meet in the cemetery Clark realizes that he has found someone who understands him, and that he can talk to, even though it is not in as strong of a way that he would like.[33]
  • Clark’s biggest problem in season one is the fact that he cannot share his secret with anyone he cares about. According to Welling, “He is burdened with a lot of responsibility. He hasn’t been able to choose whether or not he has these abilities. All this responsibility has just been thrust on him, and had has to deal with it. There have got to be times when he goes home and things to himself, ‘Why me?’ He wishes it could all go away and he could just be normal. That’s part of the character dilemma which makes him interesting to play.”[33]
  • Even though Clark feels close to Lana, his fear that she will “kick him out of her life” if she learns his secret—that he came in the meteor shower that killed her parents—is strong enough to keep him from being as close to her as he possibly could be. This lack of honesty causes issues beTW1een them. The same can be said for his friendship with Lex. Both characters want to be completely honest with each other, but they know that they cannot and that inhibits their friendship.[33]
  • When Tom Welling came in to audition for the role he was not sure how to prepare. While waiting for his turn he realized that the character is one thing above all else – “a high school kid”. To Welling, simply acting like a “normal kid”, instead of trying to act like a super hero, was the perfect way to embody the character. Welling realized that by doing that, the special effects and other production elements could fill in the holes that would perfect the character on screen.[33]
  • Kristin Kreuk classifies Clark as a “kindred spirit” who is sad, lonely, but also endearing.[34]

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Pilot". Alfred Gough, Miles Millar (writers) & David Nutter (director). Smallville. The WB. 2001-10-16. No. 1, season 1. 42 minutes in.
  2. ^ a b c Simpson, Paul, (Season 1 Companion), pp.112–115
  3. ^ "Rosetta". Alfred Gough, Miles Millar (writers) & James Marshall (director). Smallville. The WB. 2003-02-25. No. 17, season 2. 42 minutes in.
  4. ^ "Exodus". Alfred Gough, Miles Millar (writers) & Greg Beeman (director). Smallville. The WB. 2003-05-20. No. 23, season 2. 42 minutes in.
  5. ^ "Phoenix". Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson (writers) & James Marshall (director). Smallville. The WB. 2003-10-03. No. 2, season 3. 42 minutes in.
  6. ^ "Covenant". Miles Millar, Alfred Gough (writers) & Greg Beeman (director). Smallville. The WB. 2004-05-19. No. 22, season 3. 42 minutes in.
  7. ^ a b c "Crusade". Miles Millar, Alfred Gough (writers) & Greg Beeman (director). Smallville. The WB. 2004-09-22. No. 1, season 4. 42 minutes in.
  8. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Commencement_ep
  9. ^ "Arrival". Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer(writers) & James Marshall (director). Smallville. The WB. 2005-09-29. No. 1, season 5. 42 minutes in.
  10. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Hidden_ep
  11. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Reckoning_ep
  12. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Vessel_ep
  13. ^ "Zod". Steven S. DeKnight (writer) & James Marshall (director). Smallville. The WB. 2006-09-28. No. 1, season 6. 42 minutes in.
  14. ^ "Static". Shintaro Shimosawa, James Morris (writers) & James Conway (director). Smallville. The WB. 2006-11-16. No. 8, season 6. 42 minutes in.
  15. ^ "Promise". Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson (writer) & Rick Rosenthal (director). Smallville. The WB. 2007-03-15. No. 16, season 6. 42 minutes in.
  16. ^ "Phantom". Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer (writers) & James Marshall (director). Smallville. The WB. 2007-05-17. No. 22, season 6. 42 minutes in.
  17. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Bizarro_ep
  18. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Veritas_ep
  19. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Arctic_ep
  20. ^ "X-Ray". Mark Verheiden (writer) & James Frawley (director). Smallville. The WB. 2001-11-06. No. 4, season 1. 42 minutes in.
  21. ^ "Heat". Mark Verheiden (writer) & James Marshall (director). Smallville. The WB. 2002-10-01. No. 2, season 2. 42 minutes in.
  22. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Whisper_ep
  23. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Sneeze_ep
  24. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Pilot_ep
  25. ^ "Red". Jeph Loeb (writer) & Jeff Woolnough (director). Smallville. The WB. 2002-10-15. No. 4, season 2. 42 minutes in.
  26. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Splinter_ep
  27. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Blue_ep
  28. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Wither
  29. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Spell_ep
  30. ^ (2002). "Metamorphosis" commentary by Al Gough and Miles Millar [DVD]. Warner Bros. Television.
  31. ^ (2002). "Pilot" commentary by Al Gough, Miles Millar and David Nutter [DVD]. Warner Bros. Television.
  32. ^ Simpson, Paul (2004). Smallville: The Official Companion Season 1. London: Titan Books, 8–17. ISBN 1840237955. 
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, Paul, (Season 1 Companion), pp.112-115
  34. ^ Simpson, Paul, (Season 1 Companion), pg.116

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