History ClarkKenting / Superman

* ''Series/SupermanAndLois'': In the Pilot Episode, Clark and Lois decide to reveal to their teenage sons Jonathan and Jordan that Clark is Superman. Their sons say they have seen Superman before and Clark is nothing like him. Clark calmly removes his glasses, and they do a JawDrop as they finally see the resemblance. Clark further proves it by picking up their truck and rising into the air. To be fair, they don't say they've seen Superman ''up close''; they could be referring to footage of his heroics on TV.

** ''Film/ManOfSteel'' {{deconstructed|trope}} and {{reconstruct|ion}}ed the trope. Clark goes through a number of different disguises and identities, including copious facial hair, slouching, many a hat, and different names. In a couple of scenes with Lois, Clark is actually walking around in the background but is not part of the conversation and is so inconspicuous viewers themselves may not catch it at first, suggesting a BeneathNotice approach. All this doesn't prevent Lois from figuring out his secret, via use of investigative journalism she tracked him down by his heroic deeds directly, which took his exact appearance out of the equation. By the time Clark starts working at the ''Daily Planet'' and adopting the classic Clark Kent glasses-and-bad-suit disguise, he's keeping it a secret from everyone ''except'' Lois, who won't tell anyone anyway.

** This [[http://textsfromsuperheroes.com/image/178298646777 text conversation]] between Lex Luthor and Metallo suggests that Superman's RoguesGallery at large knows about his secret identity, but they don't think there's any way to take advantage of it; after all, if he’s busy with his day job, that’s more helpful to them than anything.

** In the WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction, Plastic Man points out how ridiculous his civilian disguise is.
-->'''Plastic Man''': How'd she[Lois Lane]find out?

-->'''Luthor:''' Can you imagine a better world, Kent? That's all I've ever asked. In a world without Superman, the unattainable Lois Lane might have noticed good old Clark, pining away in the corner.\\

** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in [[http://www.superdickery.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Lois_Lane_63.jpg this comic]], where Superman finally reveals his identity to Lana and Lois -- and dumps them both for being too dumb to see through the disguise.

*** In Sergio Aragones' "A MAD Look at Batman" (done when the ABC show was white hot) there is a panel of Batman spray-painting "Superman is Clark Kent" on a fence. Possible a foreshadowing of the tense partnership between the two later.

** Kerry Callen's *[[http://kerrycallen.blogspot.com/2011/07/super-antics-2.html Super Antics #2]]* plays with this by having a mother in a supermarket panic when her child is replaced by a complete stranger while she had her back turned (he grabbed a pair of reading glasses and put them on) with Superman using his X-Ray vision to solve the mystery and then flicking the glasses off of the child's face.

** In the popular ''{{Elseworlds}}'' series ''Justice League: ComicBook/TheNail'', Kal-El was found not by Jonathan and Martha Kent (whose car got a flat tire from [[ForWantOfANail running over a nail]]) but by an Amish family. After his adoptive parents were killed by the book's big villain, Kal took on the identity of Superman and joined the Justice League. In the sequel, "Another Nail", Kal is encouraged to take some time off. The Kents put together a disguise so he could blend in with the public. Their costume includes a false beard and mustache that make him look rather creepy. Lois Lane then helps Kal with his disguise, suggesting a "less is more" approach; glasses, loose-fitting clothes, and a slight stoop to the shoulders. The disguise is essentially the classic Clark Kent look, prompting Kal to say, "You don't seriously think this is going to fool anyone?"

** ''ComicBook/SupermanAmericanAlien'' discusses this and even points out the obvious: sometimes Clark Kent will ''have'' to take off his glasses. Clark's answer as to how he maintains the disguise is that most people just tell him that [[IdenticalStranger he looks like Superman]].

* Teri Hatcher, appearing on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' during the run of ''Series/LoisAndClark'', got the opportunity to mock this during her opening monologue. She starts by telling the audience about the teasing she gets for playing the clueless Lois Lane, but explains that it's just part of the show and nobody is really that dumb. Then Will Ferrell comes on and asks if he can make an announcement. He puts on a pair of reading glasses... and Teri starts panicking, asking "Oh my God, who are you?! Where's Will?!" Teri would later pull the same joke when she appeared as a guest panelist on ''Series/{{Qi}}''.

** The assassin Deathstroke (no, not [[ComicBook/TeenTitans ''that'' one]]; this guy had magnetic powers) donned a pair of glasses when he and his wife socialized with Lois and Clark in their civilian identities and neither he nor Superman recognized each-other, despite having given the Man of Steel a serious beating earlier, which proves even Superman can be fooled by a pair of specs.

* In the Arrowverse ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019'', even after Lex Luthor has got hold of the Book of Destiny and discovered other universes where Clark Kent is Superman, he still refuses to believe this could ''possibly'' be true in ''his'' universe, because Clark "can't see past the end of his glasses".

* In the Arrowverse ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', even after Lex Luthor has got hold of the Book of Destiny and discovered other universes where Clark Kent is Superman, he still refuses to believe this could ''possibly'' be true in ''his'' universe, because Clark "can't see past the end of his glasses".

** A Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica book had a parody of ''Spy Magazine'''s "Separated at Birth?' feature comparing Clark Kent and Superman.

** Most ComicBook/PostCrisis comics suggest that nobody even knows Superman has a civilian SecretIdentity to begin with (as opposed to [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks in the Silver Age]], when everyone assumed he did). People just accept that Superman is an alien named Kal-El who escaped his planet’s destruction and lives in his Fortress of Solitude. And since he doesn’t wear a mask, nobody suspects he has anything to hide (Franchise/{{Batman}} even [[HidingInPlainSight gave him kudos for that one]]).

* Several incarnations of Franchise/{{Supergirl}} have tried [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} her]] hand at Clark Kenting. In order from bad to better: