Clark Kent

Kal-El, the Last Son of Krypton, was born to scientists Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van shortly before the destruction of their doomed world. Aware of their planet's impending fate, they conducted extensive (but remote) research on habitable worlds within range and constructed a rocket so that their son might survive.[13] As an infant, he was introduced to his paternal cousin Kara Zor-El. In the end, they chose Earth, and managed to launch their son into space mere moments before the destruction of Krypton. Kal's rocket landed in Smallville, Kansas, where he was discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent. He was given the name "Clark Kent" and adopted as their son.

Childhood When Clark began his schooling, Martha and Jonothan were at first concerned that he wouldn't fit in with his classmates, a worry that the young Clark shared. Asking his father for advice, Jonathan simply tells Clark to tell jokes and if he gets people to laugh, they'll be his friends. Clark's first day isn't as difficult as he expects and he ends up making many friends at school, until he notices a girl, Samantha, sitting alone in the playground; ostracized for being different.

Clark decided that he wants to befriend the girl, but feared that if he did, he'd lose all the friends he'd made up to that point. Consulting with his parents, they advise him to befriend the girl regardless of his classmates' opinions. He followed through, and his example inspired others in his class to befriend Samantha.[14]

Martha's Cancer During Clark's childhood, Martha was diagnosed with cancer, and underwent chemotherapy for the affliction; Clark was not told until well into her treatment, when Clark struggled with a new student attending the school, Caleb Withers. Caleb was something of a bully, with misplaced aggression spurred on by his abusive father. Clark struggled with the urge not to respond to Caleb's behavior in kind, something his mother talked him out of, telling him that it was better to help people find the good within themselves rather than correct their behavior by force.

As they were leaving, Caleb kicked a soccer ball into Martha's head, knocking her down and inadvertently removing her wig, revealing to Clark her hair loss. Later that evening, he snuck over to Caleb's house, with the intent to destroy Caleb's bicycle in retribution, only to discover Caleb's drunk father abusing him. As Caleb's father attempted to drive off, he nearly drove into oncoming traffic, with Clark saving his life. He then brought the unconscious man to the local clinic, leaving him there anonymously. Afterward, Clark attempted to cut off his own hair in solidarity with his mother, only to discover that his invulnerability made that impossible at the time. Later, Clark was able to reach Caleb, that he wasn't his father, and that he didn't have to be him.

Caleb eventually apologized to Martha, revealing that he'd cut his own hair in solidarity with Martha as part of his apology. He left to live with his aunt in Metropolis, and one day would grow to run a community center for at-risk youth. [15]

Childhood Friends Growing up in Smallville, Clark found himself becoming best friends with Lana Lang and Pete Ross. The trio were inseparable and did everything together, including hiding from the young Lex Luthor. The first time Clark flew was on instinct; a tornado hit Smallville, and he acted without thinking in order to save Lana Lang's life.[16]

Krypto the Super-Dog Action Comics Vol 2 5 Textless Variant Clark Kent and Krypto

One evening, during a family dinner, Clark's enhanced senses noticed an object crashing from space a few miles away. He immediately set off to find it with super-speed, with his parents warning him not to touch it until they arrived. Later, all three converged on the object; a Kryptonian space-pod lodged into a dry creek bed. Clark immediately recognized it as resembling the pod he arrived in, and, reaching out to it, found that it recognized him in turn. It opened, revealing a small dog. The dog playfully jumped on Clark and began to display the same Kryptonian power-set that Clark possessed.

Clark quickly sped off to play with the dog, easily bonding with it. As he did, a holographic recording of his birth father, Jor-El, activates, revealing to his parents that the dog was a test subject for a prototype of the pod that eventually would bring Clark to Earth. The recording also revealed the dog's name, given to him by the infant Kal-El: Krypto. Approving of how happy Krypto made Clark, Jonathan and Martha allowed him to keep and raise the dog.[17]

Teenage Years One particular autumn during Clark's teenage years, the Kent farm suffered a bad harvest; in spite of this, Jonathan Kent decided to share what little they could spare with their neighbors, who had endured worse. The entire community helped each other out, surprising Clark, who had heard that some people disliked each other, and Jonathan explained that people ultimately want to be good, they just need an example to bring out the best side of themselves. Jonathan tells Clark to be that example.[18]

In a previous iteration of history, on the night of his senior prom, because his adoptive parents discouraged Clark from becoming a superhero for fear what it could do to him, he failed to save Jonathan and Martha from dying in a car accident. This was not a natural occurence; it was arranged by the fifth-dimensional demon Vyndktvx as part of a multi-pronged attack on Clark at many points across the timeline.

However, when the Justice Society of America was restored to its proper place in the timeline, they set a good example for superheroes to come in the future. With role models to look up to and no reason to stay in hiding, on the night of his senior prom, Clark saved his adoptive parents from dying in a car accident.[19]

Debut as Superman Main article: Superman and the Men of Steel

Action Comics Vol 2 4 Textless Variant Superman debuts in Metropolis

Upon moving to Metropolis, Clark took a job at the Daily Star and prepared himself to act as a vigilante at the age of 22,[7] by having several shirts printed with the S-Symbol that had come to Earth with him emblazoned on them. His attempt to rescue a young boy caused him to reveal himself before he expected to, and the city came to know of the superhuman man.[8]

Superman and Batman met for the first time while Clark was investigating a series of murders in Wayne Enterprises. The two new heroes were unexpectedly whisked to a parallel reality by Kaiyo the Trickster where they met older and more experienced versions of themselves. When they were returned back to their Earth however, Kaiyo wiped their memories of the whole interaction.[20]

During the Zero Year, Clark attempted to personally disperse Hurricane Rene as it bore down on the coastline, still unsure of the upper limits of his powers. His attempt to divert the hurricane was unsuccessful, but he did succeed in rescuing the tanker Jean-Marie, which had at the time been carrying his childhood friend, Lana Lang as its engineer.[21]

Within six months, Clark had fully revealed himself and was targeting corrupt businessman Glen Glenmorgan when General Sam Lane and Lex Luthor took an interest in him. They staged several emergencies to trap him, finally succeeding with a train crash that endangered the General's own daughter Lois.[9] In collaboration with the military, Luthor tortured Superman while his Kryptonian Rocket was studied. Upon his escape, Superman sealed his birth rocket away for protection but was too late to prevent its Kryptonian signal from alerting the Collector of Worlds to its location - and unaware that Luthor was complicit in making that happen.[22]

After the district of New Troy had been secretly shrunken down and abducted by the Collector of Worlds, Superman made a giant leap from Metropolis into outer space, catching hold of the retreating spaceship. The Collector tried to force Superman to choose between the lives of those in the city of Kandor and of New Troy, but he refused to choose, instead donning a Kryptonian suit of armor from one of the bottles and promising to protect both.[23] Defeating the Collector and returning New Troy to its original place, Superman then came out officially to the people of Metropolis as an alien and promised to remain on the side of good.[24]

Early Career Reluctantly, after encouragement from his boss at the Daily Star, he accepted a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet where he was paired with Lois Lane. On his first day, Clark saved Lois Lane's life during a helicopter crash, in the process debuting a new costume bearing red trunks and a low neckline, but clearly inspired by the Kryptonian armor Clark recovered from Brainiac's ship. Among the first villains he ever faced was the Ultra-Humanite, who developed a lifelong enmity towards him.[25] He also quickly made an enemy of his childhood bully, now grown, Lex Luthor.

Early on in his career, before the founding of the Justice League, Clark was displaced into the early 1960s during an unknown incident. While there, he operated in secret- though not secret enough that he wasn't known to the President of the United States. He met with the President, who requested that he, and others like him, come forward and use their collective abilities to make the world a better place. He offered to protect the president in Dallas; Kennedy declined, insisting that Superman assist with a manned flight to the moon. Shortly afterwards, the president was assassinated while riding in his motorcade in Dallas. Eventually Superman was able to return to his own time; when he returned, he did his best to fufill his promise to the doomed president.[26]

Forming the Justice League Clark was among the founding members of the Justice League. While the team's actual first meeting is debated, prime amongst the contenders was when the heroes who would eventually comprise the league fought off an attack by the alien Appellaxians, which resulted in them nearly being turned into trees before emerging victorious. The heroes, inspired by their victory, formed a team not unlike the historical Justice Society of America or its lesser-known successor, the Justice Experience, christening it the Justice League. One of their earliest foes was Starro the Conquerer.[27]

In original New 52 Continuity, the Justice League formed following an invasion of Earth by Darkseid. However, following subsequent changes to the timeline, this was supplanted with an adventure resembling the team's Earth-1 and New Earth origin. While Darkseid's invasion may have still occurred, it seemingly did not occur in the way originally depicted.