Follow TV Tropes

Following

Characters / Smallville: Kents

Go To

    open/close all folders 

    Clark Kent/Kal-El/The Blur/Superman 

Clark Kent/Kal-El/The Blur/Superman

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clark-kent_1570.jpg
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smallvilleseason11comic.jpg

Species: Kryptonian

Played By: Tom Welling

Voiced By: Luis Daniel Ramírez (Latin-American Spanish), Kenji Nojima (Japanese)

Appearances: Smallville | Crisis On Infinite Earths (cameo)

"I can do it. I can be their hero!"

The main character, hero and protagonist of the show. In the show's early seasons, Clark spent most of his time fighting meteor freaks, hopelessly pining for Lana Lang, wishing he were normal and befriending his future Arch-Enemy, Lex Luthor. In Season 8, he began working at the Daily Planet alongside Lois Lane (with whom he began to have feelings) and taking steps towards embracing his destiny as Superman.

For his counterpart on the Smallville version of Earth-2, Clark Luthor/Ultraman, see Earth-2.


  • Acrophobic Bird: Clark lacked real use of his flying powers for a long time.
  • Action Dad: In Crisis on Infinite Earths he was shown to have retired to raise a family on the farm and found a way to give up his powers. He is still able to beat Earth-Prime's Lex Luthor with one punch, and is actually amused that he is still stronger.
  • Action Hero: Clark is always involved in all of the action.
  • Adaptational Angst Upgrade: While most adaptations gloss over Clark's formative years, this show focuses on his grappling with his growing powers along with normal adolescent struggles.
  • Adaptational Attractiveness: He doesn't fully adopt the nerdy facade until the final season, and even then, he doesn't seem to slouch and wear really ill-fitting clothing like Clark does in the comics.
  • Adaptational Wimp: Unlike most adaptations, Clark's abilities develop fairly slowly, at the start of Season 1, he only has his strength and speed. He's not even technically invulnerable at the start, being covered in bruises the first time he gets shot at.
    • And of course, he doesn't learn how to fly until the final episode, which he usually has learned by the time he's a teenager in the comics, and something he mastered as a toddler in the Silver Age comics.
  • Aesop Amnesia: For the first seven seasons, he learns on many, many occasions that not everything is his fault, his powers aren't a curse, and to accept his destiny. The lessons finally begin to stick in Season 8, when he becomes more confident and proactive.
  • Alliterative Name: Although Clark's first and last name begin with a C and a K (Kent) respectively, his first and last name have the same sound.
  • All-Loving Hero: Clark is a Hope Bringer and believes that there is good in everyone.
  • Alternate Self:
  • Always Someone Better: Gets this treatment a couple times. He's got the usual Super-Speed, but Impulse is a faster runner and Aquaman is a faster swimmer. Even during Crisis out of the three Supermen to appear he was this, mainly since he had given up his powers while his Arrowverse counterpart still had them and his Returns counterpart was the Paragon of Truth.
  • Apologises a Lot: To pretty much all of his friends, but mostly to Lana, likewise she tends to apologize to him quite a bit as well. It's pretty much the definition of their entire relationship.
  • Arch-Enemy: Of Lex Luthor and General Zod.
  • Babies Ever After: Implied to be the main reason for his retirement by 2019 — to keep his children safe by no longer being a target for villains.
  • Back from the Dead: Has briefly died on several occasions.
  • Badass Adorable: Throughout but increasingly so as the show goes on.
  • Badass Cape: In the series finale.
  • Badass in Distress: Clark is the hero, but sometimes he needs saving too.
  • Badass Longcoat: In Season 9. Come Season 10's "Shield," however, he returns to his red-and-blue threads.
  • Bash Brothers: With Oliver in later seasons.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: In "Leech," he finally does get to be normal and quickly discovers that working on a farm, playing high school sports and keeping up with one's studies are all things that people who get tired and hurt and don't have Super-Strength and Super-Speed have to really work at (and become exceptionally difficult when they try to do them all once).
  • Big Brother Instinct: Notably towards Bart Allen (Impulse) and Conner Kent (Superboy).
  • Big Good: Well he is destined to become Superman after all.
  • The Big Guy: Is significantly more muscular than both the Earth-38 Clark Kent and his own teenage past self, possibly because not having his powers means his muscles are being trained through exertion for the first time. Earth-38 Lois comments appreciatively on it.
  • Bound and Gagged: Has had his fair share of moments.
  • Boxing Lessons for Superman: From Season 9 onwards, he picks up legitimate fighting skills, thus allowing him to hold his own against experienced combatants with or without his powers.
  • Brought Down to Badass: Has happened to Clark more than a few times, but permanently by 2019. Earth-38 Lex learns this the hard way that just because Clark doesn't have his powers anymore doesn't make it wise to mess with him.
    Clark: [effortlessly catches Lex-38's punch in his right hand, decks him with his left] Still stronger.
  • Brought Down to Normal: Has given up his powers by 2019 to live a normal human life.
  • Brought to You by the Letter "S": Clark wears a black-and-silver version in Season 9. In Season 10, he ditches his all-black ensemble and wears a modified version of his red jacket/blue shirt combo from past seasons, only this time, the jacket has a "S" on the front. In the series finale, Clark wears the Superman suit.
  • Call to Agriculture: By 2019, he’s back to work on the Kent Farm, retiring from superheroics. This is likely a Mythology Gag to Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, which also showed a version of Superman who chose to give up his powers to raise a family with Lois.
  • Can't Stay Normal: No matter how often he gets stripped of his powers, he'll always get them back by the end of the episode. Which likely means that his normal life shown in Crisis on Infinite Earths will end eventually and he will regain his powers.
  • The Cape: Picks up traits of it as time goes by. He's definitely there by the finale.
  • Character Development: Clark goes from a naive Farm Boy to a Super Hero who accepts his destiny.
  • Characterization Marches On: As "Kal", when affected by red Kryptonite. When he came into contact with it as a teenager, he became extremely materialistic, and would steal to get expensive things for himself. However, as a mature adult, "Kal" is far more similar to Clark, more callous in his methods, but generally with the same goals as Clark, with very little interest in material gain.
  • Charm Person: If he has Gemstone Kryptonite near him. He can even turn this power on himself.
  • Chick Magnet: Humorously, he usually either seems innocently unaware of it or, when he does realize that a girl is attracted to him, he gets extremely shy and bashful.
  • The Chosen One: Repeatedly stated by Jor-El, who knew that Clark would gain powers on Earth and, since With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility, he would need to use those powers to help people.
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome: Despite angsting about his powers, he still steps up to save the day whenever things go wrong.
  • Classical Anti-Hero: For much of the series.
  • Clueless Chick-Magnet: Clark is completely oblivious to many girls being attracted to him. Considering that Clark has only had eyes for Lana most of the time.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Clark's primary colors, against Lex's more muted or darker colors.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Clark's usual strategy seems to be "clock you from behind at 500 miles an hour." And he's willing to use weapons, especially when Brought Down to Normal.
  • Composite Character: Hilariously, Luthor-Prime thinks this Superman is one, because even with the evidence of Superman's Secret Identity right in front of him he can't conceive of the idea that his own Clark Kent might be Superman.
  • Crazy Jealous Guy: In regards to Lana. Clark got jealous and envious of every single one of Lana's love interests and boyfriends. Clark even got jealous of guys who looked at Lana.
  • Crucified Hero Shot: Clark gets this trope on occasion. It starts in the pilot when he's strung up as the Scarecrow in a very literal crucifixion; he gets another in "Hidden" after being shot by Gabriel; and in "Salvation," after being stabbed by Zod with a blue kryptonite dagger. As Superman can be seen as a Jesus allegory, this makes sense.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: In season 9, he dresses in black clothes, but remains heroic.
    • This also the case when he's under the influence of red Kryptonite. He does dress in dark clothing, is unpleasant to be around and has no issue committing crimes, but he still retains enough of his moral compass to not kill people.
    • As "Kal-El". He dresses in all-black, and shows little in the way of emotion or a conscience, but his ultimate motives are still good.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Not as much as Lex, Chloe, Lois, or Oliver, but he can definitely have a pretty dry wit at times. He REALLY dials up the snark whenever he's affected by Red kryptonite and reverts to his Kal persona, possibly enough to even outsnark Lex.
    • His only response to Luthor-38's unhinged villain rant is "Can't say I've missed these chats." His wife interprets him telling her straight-faced about the encounter with a dimension traveling supervillain as a very dry joke.
  • Determinator: Clark NEVER gives up. If it is something or someone that he is passionate about, he won't stop till he finds a way somehow.
  • Did Not Get the Girl: Lana leaves in Season 8, to protect him after her absorbing kryptonite makes her mere presence a danger to him. As per tradition, subverted with Lois.
  • Distressed Dude: Seems to be a rather easy target for many enemies and villains to torture and kidnap.
  • Doom Magnet: Meteor freaks, Corrupt Corporate Executives, Wicked Witches, alien invaders—if it can attack Clark, it has.
  • Double Standard: Rape, Sci-Fi: Has been on the receiving end of this on several occasions, though thankfully they never actually progressed to having sex and mostly stuck to kissing. The two most notable examples are in Warrior, where Zatanna (a hero and friend of Clark's with magical powers) placed a spell on Clark to make him kiss her with the only thing stopping them from being intimate is his love for Lois breaking the spell, and in Unsafe when Alicia Baker (a meteor freak who had an unhealthy obsession with Clark) used red kryptonite necklace on him to encourage him to go along with her plans to leave Smallville, resulting in them getting married and almost having sex until she removed the necklace as she wanted him to make the actual decision to be with her. Both situations end with Clark forgiving Zatanna and Alicia, though in the latter case he was still pretty angry due to having trusted her despite the fact she almost killed Lana the previous year, and he even felt guilty even though he wasn't responsible. It's especially problematic with Alicia as the subject of the episode was about sexual relationships (with Chloe giving Lana advice on whether to be intimate with her new boyfriend) and Clark's parents were disappointed with him for marrying Alicia, but while the episode was trying to portray him in the wrong he was essentially drugged and almost raped.
  • The Dreaded: At least how he appears in Lex's eyes. His clone Lx-15 firmly believed Clark wanted to kill him.
    • He is also this to the meteor freaks in Belle Reve, given that he put most of them in there.
  • Farm Boy: Adopted by farmers and raised on their farm.
  • Fatal Flaw: His Character Development over the course of ten seasons includes the acceptance that, as one of, if not THE most powerful being on earth, he cannot always blame himself for every tragedy he is involved in. No matter how clear it is to everyone else: in the end Clark is always ready to believe that everyone who died were people he let die. Sometimes it goes even further, with him thinking that he is the one to blame for the tragedies around him, coming close to the It's All About Me trope. In "Apocalypse" he openly declares that, had he never been born, the world would have been a better place, and it is only through Jor-El, who shows him a glimpse of what would have been the result of such a reality, that he realizes that this is not true at all.
  • Flying Brick: He qualifies, although he doesn't know to use flight for a long time.
  • Foil: To Lex Luthor. Both of them are young, somewhat ambitious dreamers, Lex a bit more so, who want to change the world together, who end up taking different paths. The rest is history...
  • Friend to All Children: Incredibly protective of those under 12.
  • Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Unless under the influence of Red K, Clark hardly ever swears.
  • Guilt Complex: Clark blames himself for everything bad that has happened, including the meteor shower, meteor freaks and Jonathan's death. Brainiac 5 even states in Season 10 that this is Clark's Fatal Flaw.
  • Happily Adopted: By Jonathan and Martha. Clark has boatloads of angst over his Kryptonian heritage, but he loves his parents and considers them his real family. He even explicitly says in "Rosetta" that no matter what he finds out about his people, the Kents will still be his mom and dad.
  • Happily Married: Clark is married to Lois in the Grand Finale. According to the show's producers, in the flash-forward sequence set in 2018, Clark and Lois are happily married, although they chose not to display any rings at the Planet office due to their desire to keep their professional lives separate from their personal lives. By 2019, both have left the city life to live in the Kent farm with their two daughters.
  • Heartbroken Badass: Clark has had his fair share of heartbreak when it comes to love and romance.
  • Hell-Bent for Leather: As Kal. In Season 10, he dons a red leather jacket, complete with a stylized House of El symbol on the front.
  • Heroic Build: Tom Welling has a strong jaw and very muscular body. In Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019), Lois of Earth-1 is surprised and impressed when comparing him to Tyler Hoechlin's leaner Clark.
  • Heroic Neutral: In the early seasons, he'll always do the right thing, and step up to the plate to defend the innocent, but he mainly just wants to keep his secret.
  • Human Alien: Clark is a Kryptonian, meaning he is an alien. However, he looks completely human and nobody can tell he is from another planet. When Clark admits to Chloe that he's an alien, not meteor infected, she confusedly asks him why he looks exactly like a human.
  • Human Popsicle: In Season 7, Jor-El gets sick of Clark's constant defiance and encases him in a block of ice. However, when Bizarro returns and starts to wreak havoc, Jor-El quickly lets him go to handle the situation.
  • Humble Hero: Clark is very strong, powerful and his destiny is great; however, he is very humble about what he can do. He uses his abilities for good and he uses them for a greater purpose.
  • Hunk: Clark has an impressive physique. Combining this and Pretty Boy makes him a bonafide Tall, Dark, and Handsome Mr. Fanservice. In Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019), an alternate Lois Lane and Iris West-Allen, who are both Happily Married, have given him plenty of blatant Female Gaze.
  • Hypocrite:
    • He expects everyone else to be completely honest with him about everything, but builds his relationships around lies and deceit, insisting on keeping his "secret" even among his closest friends. That's probably why he's so touchy about lies; he knows people keep secrets and that somebody can be deceiving you even when it doesn't seem like it—he does so himself.
    • Lampshaded in "Zero," where he chews out Chloe for snooping around in his past, then immediately invites her to join him in snooping into Lex's. Chloe does a double-take.
    • He admits that his reactions to things are what keep people from telling him things in "Luthor." He starts the episode off by telling Tess that all Luthors are dangerous and evil. He then is furious and offended when he finds out that she hid Lex's clone from him. He then disappears into the plot before Tess can admit to her heritage, so we don't know how he would've taken that. At the end of the episode, however, he's realized that blaming the entire Luthor bloodline for Lionel's influence is the exact reason why Tess didn't tell him the truth, so he stops being a jerk about it.
    • In "Nocturne," he peevishly comments that Lana's Secret Admirer sounds like a stalker. This, from Mr. Peeping Telescope.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: For about the first half of the show.
  • I Let Gwen Stacy Die: In "Reckoning" Lana's death causes him to go back in time to change her fate, but this only alters events so that Jonathan dies from a heart attack. This becomes a defining moment for him and he blames himself for what happened until Season 10 when he starts to accept that not everything is his fault and that he can't blame himself for the decisions made by others. Strangely he never brings up Alicia Baker, who was murdered by a Villain of the Week after framing her for several attempted murders with Clark feeling guilt over not trusting her.
  • Immortality: It's heavily implied that, due to his Kryptonian heritage, Clark will eventually stop aging and can live for hundreds, even thousands, of years. One episode had a meteor freak who was able to see people's deaths through physical contact, but with Clark all he saw was a cape flying through space implying that Clark will just live on forever. Crisis reveals that Clark gives up his powers, but it's entirely possible that he regains them at some point and this vision will still come to pass.
  • Immune to Fate: In Hereafter, he is the one thing capable of interfering with Jordan's premonitions.
  • Immune to Mind Control: Sometimes, Clark Kent doesn't even notice people trying to influence him, sometimes it works.
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: This is depicted as being intrinsic to his very being. Lionel, who once switched bodies with him and Lx-15, who shares some of his DNA, end up pulling a Heel–Face Turn in part because of this. Weaponized against Darkseid in the finale.
  • In Spite of a Nail: Despite living different lives to each other both himself and his Arrowverse counterparts from Earth-Prime and Earth-96 are parents as revealed in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
  • Ironic Fear: Even though he's Nigh-Invulnerable and has the innate power to fly, he's scared of heights.
  • It's All My Fault: He may as well be the living, breathing incarnate of this trope.
  • Jack of All Stats: He's got all the standard Superman powers. Other superpowered individuals may be superior to him in one power, but no one has them all. For example, Aquaman is a faster swimmer, but not by much. The Flash is a significantly faster runner, but Clark is still faster than the eye can follow.
  • Kryptonite Factor: As usual, Clark is vulnerable to Kryptonite and magic. At least until 2019.
  • Last of His Kind: Subverted. In the Superman mythology, Clark is frequently referred as the "Last Son of Krypton." But he isn't the last of his kind. Kara, his Kryptonian cousin, is a survivor along with him.
  • Limited Wardrobe: A side-effect of Color-Coded for Your Convenience—Clark's blue shirt and red jacket combo. Every time he wears something else, he's probably at work, it's a special occasion or he is evil/"dead." It got to the point where, in one episode, Jimmy, seeing a red/blue blur caught on camera, came to the conclusion that it was Clark going around saving people, just based on the colors.
    • That episode also included a scene where Clark gets all his clothes out to sort the red and blue ones from the rest and dispose of them, only to discover that they are all red and blue.
    • By Season 9, Clark doesn't wear any red and blue on his uniform, though sometimes in his everyday clothes.
      • Perhaps made fun of in the Season 9 episode "Warrior," where Clark goes to Metro Con (the Smallville universe's version of Comic Con). We see somebody wearing what looks like Clark's red and blue. This would mark the first time Clark has worn red and blue since "Doomsday" (the Season 8 finale, which was over eleven episodes ago)...if it weren't for the fact we see Clark bump into the guy wearing what looks like his old outfit, and is wearing his Daily Planet suit.
      • Clark was in a major funk after the episode "Doomsday," feeling responsible for the death of Henry Olsen and regretting his humanity, so he took on an all-black motif until early in Season 10 where he is wearing at least maroon and blue.
  • Love Makes You Dumb: A recurring problem for him to the extent that, in the first half of Season 8, he was finally starting to act like Superman... until Lana came back to town, causing him to lose seven years worth of Character Development.
  • Malfunction Malady: How Clark discovers his super-breath. And super-hearing too, if you think about it.
  • The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: It repeatedly sabotages his relationship with Lana at the very least.
  • Messianic Archetype: Probably the most famous example in all of Comics and American Pop Culture, with more than a few Crucified Hero Shots to continue the Jesus allegory.
  • Mighty Lumberjack: We happen to run into him in Crisis on Infinite Earths while he's splitting logs for firewood. Earth-38 Lois even comments on how much he looks like the mascot for Brawny paper towels.
  • Movie Superheroes Wear Black: During Season 9, he swaps out his red-and-blue attire for a black Badass Longcoat, black pants, and a black shirt with a silver logo, symbolizing the guilt and anger he feels for Jimmy's death at Davis' hands, and the belief that caring too much for other people inhibits his ability to save them. In early Season 10, he manages to move past this, swapping back to his trademark red and blue.
  • Mr. Fanservice: He is a Chick Magnet and shirtless scenes of him or when at least his build is emphasized are not uncommon at all.
  • Mundane Utility: Clark has been known to use his heat vision to make toast, heat up coffee and light candles. He also uses his Super-Strength to drive nails with his bare hands, plant fence posts, and lift cars and tractors instead of using a jack.
  • Mythology Gag: His appearance in Crisis establishes that he takes inspiration from two versions of Superman: the version from Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? where he gives up his powers, and the version from Superman: Secret Identity where he has two daughters.
  • Neutral No Longer: Season 8 onwards, he stops fighting his destiny, and steps up to becoming the Worlds Greatest Hero.
  • Never Gets Drunk: Unless the alcohol is magically enchanted, Clark cannot get smashed.
  • Nice Guy: Clark is kind, friendly, loyal, self-sacrificing, warm and empathic. He's the kind of person anyone would be lucky to have as a friend.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
    • In the Season 2 finale, he uses a kryptonite key to destroy his spaceship so he can get rid of Jor-El, but ends up causing an explosion that causes Martha to miscarry her unborn child.
    • In Season 4, he, through inaction, causes another meteor shower to bombard Smallville.
    • In Season 5, Clark uses a Power Crystal to reverse time and save Lana from a fatal car accident, but this results in Jonathan suffering a fatal heart attack, to repay Jor-El debt for resurrecting Clark.
    • In the Season 5 finale, he stabs Brainiac with a Kryptonian knife, opening a portal for General Zod to escape from the Phantom Zone and possess Lex.
    • In the Season 6 finale, he tries using a Kryptonian crystal against the last Phantom Zone prisoner who instead clones Clark and becomes Bizarro.
    • In Season 8 he refuses to kill Davis and spares him due to his faith in Davis is humanity, this leads to the death Henry Olsen.
    • In Season 9 he uses his blood to save the depowered Clone Zod from a gunshot wound, which restores Zod's powers.
    • And in the Season 9 finale, his use of the Book of Rao to send away Zod and the Kandorians allowed Darkseid to come to Earth.
  • No-Sell: If a meteor freak's mere presence isn't sufficient to act as Clark's Kryptonite Factor, then he will usually be completely immune to their powers. If said powers are Psychic Powers, he often will be able to shrug them off so completely that he won't even realize they tried anything on him.
    • Without his powers, he's just as immune to the effect of Earth-38 Lex's Kryptonite as Lex is.
  • Not Himself: Clark gets reprogrammed as Kal-El, complete with full access to all his powers including flight.
  • Out of the Inferno: Clark can walk through fire unscathed. In the episode "Hothead," Coach Arnold engulfs Clark in massive flames and thinks he's won, only for Clark to nonchalantly step out of them.
  • The Paragon: According to Doctor Fate in Season 9's "Absolute Justice" two-parter.
  • Phlebotinum Battery: In "Perry," solar flares/sun spots cause Clark's powers to go haywire and he doesn't have the same precision control.
  • Platonic Life-Partners: With Chloe.
  • Power Creep, Power Seep: Clark is suddenly powerful enough to shove a planet back into space in the finale (this was a planet capable of traveling under its own power, too). This is more than a little out of sync with the power level he's shown to have during the rest of the series.
    • In fairness, this is just as he accepts his legacy as Superman and develops his flight properly. This could be like Marvel's Gladiator, who varied from nigh-omnipotent to being taken out by Cannonball depending on confidence.
  • Power Loss Depression: Usually inverted. Whenever Clark loses his powers, he is often happy that he can live a normal life. If anything, regaining his powers makes him feel depressed.
  • Power Loss Makes You Strong: As often as Clark loses his powers, this happens quite a bit, most notable being taking a bullet for Lois while weakened by kryptonite.
  • Pretender Diss: We get no information about his current relationship to his own universe's Lex Luthor by 2019 other than Clark quietly dismissing Earth-38 Lex as an impostor.
  • Pretty Boy: Clark is very physically attractive to the point that, from some angles, Clark has somewhat androgynous physical features. But at the same time, Clark is also a Hunk. How is that even possible?
  • Primary-Color Champion: Clark is often seen wearing red and blue.
  • The Protagonist: Smallville centers on Clark's heroic journey and his relationships with other characters.
  • Retired Badass: Retires from superheroics and The Daily Planet some time between 2018 and late 2019 to take up farming. He's also apparently the only Clark in The Multiverse either our heroes or Earth-Prime Luthor has found who's in retirement.
  • Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Savvy Guy to Lois' Energetic Girl.
  • Second Love: Lana's after Whitney.
  • Second Super-Identity: Clark takes on a secondary superhero persona as "The Red-Blue Blur" (later just "The Blur") when Jimmy captures him on camera as a red-blue blur.
  • Seen It All: He reacts to an alternate Lex Luthor appearing out of nowhere and trying to kill him with only mild annoyance. (Fans of Smallville will remember he's already visited a Mirror Universe of his own world before on the show, so the concept of alternate Earths isn't actually new to him.)
  • Shameful Strip: The whole point of the scarecrow prank which frightened Clark and caused him so much anxiety. A 14 year old Clark Kent is chosen by Whitney Fordman to be the scarecrow. Fordman restrains him, takes him to a cornfield, forcefully strips him to his boxers, draws a red "S" on his chest and ties him to a cross to shame and humiliate him.
  • Shirtless Scene: Has quite a few of these.
  • Signature Move: The Superman Punch. He first uses it in the fight with Titan in "Combat." After that he uses at least one in most major battles of the rest of the series.
  • Silver Fox: His hair is graying in Crisis on Infinite Earths, but he still manages to be attractive.
  • Socially Awkward Hero: His shyness makes him a little less charismatic and smooth with other people like say Oliver or Arthur.
  • Sociopathic Hero: As "Kal-El". His motives are still the same as always, but to make his journey more efficient, Jor-El strips him of his attachments and emotions, leaving only an obsession with fulfilling his destiny.
  • Stalking is Love: He stalks Lana for most of Season 1, even going so far as to set up a telescope in his barn so he can spy on her when she's on her front porch.
  • Starcrossed Lovers: He and Lana, despite the two loving each more than anything, the universe seems determined to keep the two apart.
  • Stealth Hi/Bye: The number of times that someone has been speaking to Clark and then turned around to find him gone would make a good drinking game. It's practically a Running Gag.
  • Strong and Skilled: For the first eight seasons of the show, Clark is Unskilled, but Strong, relying heavily on his powers in a fight and being outmatched by more skilled opponents like General Zod. Come season 9, he begins training with Jor-El and becomes this. Even when Brought Down to Normal by exposure to blue Kryptonite, he was able to hold his own against Alia, a Kryptonian soldier.
  • Strong as They Need to Be: His powers vary depending on the plot, generally because of solar coronal activity, the fact that they're still developing, and the fact that Kryptonite Is Everywhere.
  • Stronger with Age: With every season, he gets stronger and more powerful as he ages. Just compare Season 1, when conventional bullets left visible bruises on his skin, to Season 5, when he gets up and walks away from atmospheric reentry.
  • Super Hero: He's Superman after all. Or at least he becomes Superman in the final season.
  • Superpower Lottery: Clark is a Kryptonian who possesses superhuman abilities.
  • Superpowered Evil Side: When Jor-El reprograms Clark into the callous, emotionless "Kal-El", Clark gets access to all of his abilities, including flight, which normal Clark was incapable of doing until several years later.
  • Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Lois and Lana both think so.
  • Technical Pacifist: Murder is wrong! Smacking someone over the head from behind, however, is not.
  • The Teetotaler: He doesn't drink until he's of legal age, despite alcohol obviously having no effect on him, since he knows his parents would disapprove.
  • That Man Is Dead: At the end of Season 8, he decides this for a while, embellishing himself in his training with Jor-El and declaring to Chloe that "Clark Kent is dead."
  • Thou Shalt Not Kill: He comes dangerously close to killing the guy who killed Alicia Baker and Lx-3, but pulls back at the last moment. Nonetheless, Clark believes there is always a better option than murder, and calls out the likes of Green Arrow and the Justice League whenever they cross the line.
    • Clark does not apply this rule to machines. But then again, this is Brainiac. Not even Lex went to the levels Brainiac went to. And the bastard's got a From a Single Cell thing going on, as well, so it ain't like it's ever been permanent.
    • Word of God was Clark does not kill anyone; the villains are always either Hoist by Their Own Petard or die under circumstances that Clark has no control over.
  • Took a Level in Badass: In the later seasons, after he has embraced his true Kryptonian destiny and all of his abilities.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: During Season 9. Among other things, he puts a witness in the hospital, and Neck Lifts Tess and threatens her with little provocation.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: For the first eight seasons. Best shown when he first fights Zod, a trained soldier with years of combat experience; he ends up getting curb-stomped and has to rely on trickery to win.
  • Unwanted Harem: Clark himself has had a few. Alicia started out as a welcome suitor who quickly became unwanted when she turned into a Stalker with a Crush. Maxima from Season 8 would definitely count as one, too. Chloe in the first few seasons also had a huge crush on Clark, but this apparently faded.
  • Unwanted False Faith: Repeatedly has to tell Tess (among others) to "Stop Worshipping Me!"
  • Unwitting Pawn: On occasion. He's getting better about it, though.
  • Virtue Is Weakness: The events of "Doomsday," where his splitting Davis and Doomsday from one another leads to Jimmy's death at Davis' hands, leads Clark to adopt this belief. He states to Chloe afterwards that caring too much about other people limits his ability to save them.
    Clark: I've always tried to forget I was an alien or a creature. I've always tried to pretend I was human. I was raised to believe it was my Kryptonian part that was dangerous, Chloe, but I was wrong. It's my human side. It... It's the side that gets attached, the side that makes decisions based on emotions. That's my enemy. And Davis proved that to me.
    Chloe: So, because of some psychopath, you're gonna cut the rest of us out of your life? Clark... human emotion is what made you the hero that you are today.
    Clark: They're what's stopping me from being the hero I could be. It's what the world needs now.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Lois, in Seasons 4 through 7. Converts to UST as of Season 8.
  • Weirdness Magnet: When is Clark not attracting the weird?
  • We Used to Be Friends: One of the premises of the series is asking the question, "What if Clark Kent and Lex Luthor were once best friends before becoming mortal enemies?"
  • What Measure Is a Non-Human?: In the Season 7 finale, he kills Brainiac while remarking that Brainiac is Just a Machine; thus, he's technically not violating his Thou Shalt Not Kill rule.
  • Will They or Won't They?: With Lois.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: In Season 9's "Savior," Clark refuses to go back in time to stop Davis from killing Jimmy for this reason, remarking that the last time he did such a thing resulted in Jonathan's death.
  • Younger Than They Look: Assuming that it was indeed 2019 when he appears in Crisis on Infinite Earths, then Clark looks far older than thirty-two. While a natural consequence of Dawson Casting, as Tom Welling was twenty-four when he was cast as fourteen year old Clark Kent, it is very noticeable considering the final scenes of Smallville's Grand Finale took place in 2018.

    Jonathan Kent 

Jonathan Kent

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jonathan-kent_6657.jpg

Species: Human

Played By: John Schneider

Clark's adoptive human father. In Season 5, he ran for the Kansas State Senate and won... only to die of a heart attack a short while later following a confrontation with Lionel Luthor.


  • Action Dad: Jonathan won't hesitate to jump in the action when it's necessary for him to do so.
  • Action Survivor: Jonathan survived five years of Smallville's insanity, armed with nothing more than his wits, and his shotgun.
  • Adaptational Attractiveness: Younger and handsomer than most depictions of Jonathan, who almost always looks middle-aged or elderly even when Clark is younger. Martha herself calls him more or less handsome.
  • Adaptational Badass: A former football player, and somebody who has done his fair share of fighting, unlike most versions of him that are old men.
  • Aesop Amnesia: Despite all of Lex's attempts to show that he wasn't his father, and despite the fact that Jonathan acknowledged this almost every time that he was proven wrong, he was back to blaming Lex for everything that went wrong automatically by the next episode.
  • Aggressive Categorism: In "Solitude," after Clark reveals Professor Fine AKA Brainiac is a Kryptonian, Jonathan is rather quick to judge that the Kryptonian race, as a whole, are evil and hell-bent on destruction and chaos. He immediately gets called out on this by Martha, who points out Clark is Kryptonian, only to counter that Clark is a Kryptonian raised with human values.
    • Also, considering how pretty much every Kryptonian other than Clark that appeared on-screen prior to Jonathan's death was kind of evil, with even the AI of Jor-El being a Sociopathic Hero on its good days, it's hard to dispute his point.
  • Arch-Enemy: Of his moral and spiritual opposite, Lionel Luthor. The two engage in a take-no-prisoners war for the souls of Lex and Clark, ending only with Jonathan's untimely death.
  • Badass Normal: At his best, he can go toe-to-toe with Lionel and survive anything the Monster of the Week can throw at him.
  • Doomed by Canon: Jonathan is an interesting case, as the original comics, movies and television shows had him die. Later comic books and the show Lois & Clark allowed him to live. However, Smallville returns to the original canon by having Jonathan die which granted was not due to old age, but rather trauma from being possessed by Jor-El and finally dying during a confrontation with Lionel Luthor.
  • Fatal Flaw: Despite being a great dad for Clark, he can't control his anger and lets it get the best of him several times. It was said that when Martha's father rejected him, saying Martha deserved better, Jonathan hit him. An old classmate of Jonathan remembered his anger from high school, and didn't doubt that he was guilty when he was a suspect in an assassination attempt on Lionel Luthor. It is ultimately his anger that gets him killed. When he believes Lionel is trying to blackmail him with Clark's secret, he violently lashes out at Lionel and gives him "The Reason You Suck" Speech before his heart finally gives out, when really Lionel was just trying to help him.
  • Foil:
    • To Lionel. Everything from their histories to their parenting styles is diametrically opposed. Jonathan runs a barely successful farm, while Lionel is a rich businessman. Jonathan was raised by loving parents, while Lionel's parents abused him. Jonathan uses loving encouragement and support in parenting his son, with whom he is very close; Lionel constantly criticizes Lex and keeps a distance from his illegitimate children. Both men serve as mentors/father figures to Clark.
    • He's also this to Jor-El's Virtual Ghost. Jonathan believes Clark should be free to decide his own path in life; Jor-El is hell-bent on ensuring Clark fulfills his destiny. In "Lazarus," Jor-El tells Clark he has darkness in his heart, but doesn't elaborate on what the darkness is or give any useful advice on how to overcome it, and apparently rejects his son; Jonathan openly reflects on his own flaws, demonstrates a more forgiving and gracious attitude; and assures his son he can overcome his inner darkness and still become the hero he's destined to be.
  • Former Teen Rebel: Once ran away from home to try out for the Metropolis Sharks football team and bought a motorcycle against his father's wishes. Jonathan once mentions he used to get into fights at school.
  • Gentle Touch vs. Firm Hand: Him and Jor-El, with regard to Clark's destiny. Jonathan is a Gentle Touch, whereas Jor-El is a Firm Hand. Jonathan repeatedly counsels his son that he can choose what path to take, while Jor-El constantly tries to push Clark to fulfill his destiny.
  • Good Parents: For the most part, he was supportive and kind to his foster son.
  • Happily Married: To Martha.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: He has had problems controlling his anger.
  • Hard Head: How many times has Mr. Kent been knocked out now?
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jonathan was a jerk to people he was skeptical of or people he didn't trust, notably Lionel and Lex. But again, he only acted this way towards both of them with the best intentions of protecting Clark.
  • Jerkass to One: He's generally a good man and supportive parent, but he openly despises the Luthors, especially Lionel, and is almost constantly rude to them. Justified with Lionel, since he's an openly nasty Corrupt Corporate Executive who everyone hates, but with Lex, he basically hates him and blames him for everything just for being Lionel's son.
  • Killed Off for Real: In the Season 5 episode Reckoning.
  • Knight Templar Parent: He loves Clark and would do anything for him, but unfortunately that means he is incredibly paranoid of anyone he sees as a threat.
  • Misplaced Retribution: He holds a grudge against Lionel for blackmailing him, but he mostly takes it out on Lex, even though at first, Lex hated his father even more than Jonathan and just wanted to be Clark's friend.
  • Muggle Foster Parents: As usual. Clark is a Kryptonian while he and Martha are humans.
  • Not Helping Your Case: He hated the Luthors and made absolutely zero effort to hide it... which made it easy for a Dirty Cop to shoot Lionel and frame him for the crime in season 2. Jonathan even acknowledges that his doing so has come back to bite him.
    Jonathan: No, I didn't shoot Lionel. But I let my anger get the best of me. I... I haven't exactly kept it a secret how Jonathan Kent feels about the Luthors. What jury could possibly believe me now?
  • Papa Wolf: If you mess with Clark, Jonathan will come for you. With a shotgun.
  • Parents as People: While Clark admired him Jonathan was aware of his faults such as his Hair-Trigger Temper and his pride, and as much as he loved Clark it's clear that his paranoia about every possible danger to his son is the reason Clark becomes so terrified about opening up to people. Also while he was right in the end that Lex was dangerous, how much of that was caused by Jonathan refusing to accept he wasn't his father is up to debate.
  • Pride: A big part of his character.
  • Properly Paranoid: Zigzagged. Jonathan can come off as a paranoid Knight Templar Parent, but the threats to Clark are real. Pick a person that Clark trusted and who then betrayed him; chances are, Jonathan predicted it.
    • He was right about what Lex would do if he ever found out Clark's secret. Though that can also be considered a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. In the early seasons, Lex was a flawed but well-meaning guy who, by all indications, wanted to help Clark (at first). Jonathan's paranoia might not have been misplaced on many counts, but he might have pushed it too far at times. How much of Lex's Face–Heel Turn can be attributed to the way Jonathan treated him is open to interpretation.
    • He was right about Alicia, at least in Season 3. When she returned in Season 4, he refused to see that she had genuinely reformed, and the constant attempts to turn Clark against her had disastrous consequences.
    • He was right about Brainiac. But only because he assumed that all Kryptonians are evil.
  • Secret-Keeper: He keeps Clark's status as an alien secret.
  • Silver Fox: Martha comments at one point he is more or less handsome.
  • Skewed Priorities: Minor example from one of the Smallville tie-in novels—Clark accidentally runs in front of Jonathan's tractor note , causing Jonathan to injure his shoulder. He immediately asks if Clark is all right. You know, the kid who is invulnerable to bullets, explosions, stab wounds and pretty much any other injury that's fatal by Earth standards. This is probably one instance where it's okay to be worried about yourself and not the person you just hit.
  • So Proud of You: He often tells Clark this, most noticeably as a vision in Season 10.
  • Spirit Advisor: After his death in "Reckoning," he briefly reunites with Clark in the afterlife after he temporarily dies and gives him words of encouragement regarding his destiny as The Paragon. In Season 10, he returns from beyond the grave a couple of times to impart guidance to his son, culminating with him giving Clark his new superhero costume in the Grand Finale.

    Martha Kent 

Martha Kent

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/martha-kent_1496.jpg

Species: Human

Played By: Annette O'Toole

Clark's adoptive human mother. In Season 5, Martha took over Jonathan's Senate seat after his death and moved to Washington, D.C. at the end of Season 6. Returns in Seasons 9 and 10.


    Kara Kent/Kara Zor-El/Supergirl 

    Conner Kent/Kon-El/Superboy 

Conner Kent

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/conner_kent_8739.jpg

Species: Human-Kryptonian Clone

Played By: Lucas Grabeel

A clone of Superman suffering from amnesia who struggles with his identity and his volatile relationship with the Luthors.


  • Adaptational Backstory Change: In the comics Superboy is primarily a clone of Superman with Lex Luthor's DNA added to keep him stable, but here this is reversed so that he's a clone of Lex with some of Clark's DNA.
  • Adaptational Dye-Job: As Alexander, he has a head of curly red hair, something comics Conner never did.
  • Canon Character All Along: First introduced as a young clone of Lex that Tess adopted in hopes of preventing him from following the same path. At first it seemed he was going to end up like his genetic donor until it was later revealed he has the DNA of Clark Kent, eventually abandoning the idea of being "Alexander" or "Lex" and instead bases his name on the initials of Cognitive Neuroplastic Replicant (CNR), Conner.
  • Clone Angst: When he found out that not only was he half-Clark, but half-Lex. He's over it now.
  • Composite Character: Of Alexander Luthor Jr. and Conner Kent.
  • Flying Brick: Has demonstrated Nigh-Invulnerability, Super-Strength, Super-Speed, Heat Vision, Super-Senses and other Kryptonian abilities.
  • Genius Bruiser: His quick reactions make it quite obvious that he has maintained Lex's intellect.
  • Heel–Face Revolving Door: First he was a Cheerful Child as Alexander. Then he became an Enfante Terrible demanding to be called "Lex." Then he pulled a Heel–Face Turn after he lost his memory and became Conner. Then his Superpowered Evil Side kicked in due to Red K. As of the end of "Scion," however, he appears to have settled on "Face."
  • Here We Go Again!: At the end of "Scion," Clark reveals that he has enrolled him in high school, starting next school year. Conner will be attending Smallville High. Unlike Clark, however, he's most likely going to be a lot more accepting of his destiny as Superboy.
  • Interspecies Romance: In the Season 11 comics he starts dating Miss Martian.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: He lost much, if not all, of Lex's memories.
  • Parental Issues: Throughout most of "Scion," but resolved by the end.
  • Power Incontinence: Struggles with this in Scion, since unlike Clark, Conner was a normal human up until losing all his memories, meaning every single one of his powers appeared within weeks of each other, giving him little chance to get used to them.
  • Put on a Bus: Thankfully, subverted. He's living on the Kent Farm indefinitely.
    • Though he does go to stay with Martha for a while to keep him safe while Tess continues to deal with Lionel. This ends up saving him in the finale, as when Lionel kidnaps Tess to attempt to cut out her heart, he admits that he's only doing it because he can't find Conner.
  • Rapid Aging: Like all of Lex's clones, Conner/Alexander suffers from this, going from a young child to a teenager in a matter of weeks, making it look like he's got only a few weeks left before dying of old age. Thankfully, the addition of Clark's blood slows down his aging considerably, saving him from the fate of all the other Lex clones.
  • Sanity Slippage: As Alexander, his mental state deteriorates rapidly, since he's a young boy with the almost thirty years of memories and the instability of the actual Lex.
  • Super Hero: On his way to being Superboy.
  • Superpowered Evil Side: On Red K, the "Lex" side of his personality is very much dominant. He more or less reverts to being "Alexander".
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Looks a lot more like Lex than Clark, even as Conner, although he does get Clark's black hair.
  • That Man Is Dead: Eventually comes to deny the side of him that is "Lex."

    Unnamed Daughters 

Species: Human-Kryptonian Hybrids

Clark's and Lois' daughters who were mentioned in Crisis on Infinite Earths and were the reason Clark gave up his powers.
  • The Ghost: They are only mentioned in the crossover.
  • Mythology Gag: In Superman: Secret Identity Clark and Lois (not the same characters, but two similarly named people living in the real world) had two daughters named Jane and Carol.
  • The Nameless: They are also never given any names.
  • Vague Age: Judging from the toy tractor they are presumably still young, though it is left unclear if there are any age gaps between the two.

    Shelby 

Shelby

Species: Dog

Played By: Bud

The Kent's golden retirever who joined the family in Krypto, having temporarily gained super strength from kryptonite.
  • Adaptational Name Change: Is briefly called Krypto by Clark near the end of his debut episode, but Lois quickly points out how silly that name is and Lex also questions such a odd name.
  • Adaptational Species Change: Instead of being from Krypton, this version is a regular Earth dog.
  • Composite Character: Has some similarities with Streaky the Supercat, who also got powers from kryptonite.
  • Pragmatic Adaptation: Is the Smallville adaption of Krypto the Superdog, though beyond being a dog owned by Clark and briefly having super strength Shelby has nothing in common with the character.

    Hiram and Jessica Kent 

Hiram and Jessica Kent

Species: Human

Played By: Dean Wray and Kendall Cross

Jonathan's parents who crossed paths with a young Jor-El in the Season 3 episode Relic.
  • Adaptational Name Change: A complicated example as while he was named Hiram in the pre-Crisis comics he was also named Matthew, and post-Crisis he was given the name Samuel. Jessica meanwhile was called Edith in the comics.
  • Excellent Judge of Character: Hiram was this according to Martha, with this being supported by how he believed Jor-El was innocent of the crime he was accused of.
  • For Want Of A Nail: How different would things have been if Hiram hadn't believed that Jor-El was innocent?
  • Generation Xerox: Apparently Jonathan was a lot like his father, inheriting the same headstrong attitude but also his compassion for others.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: Their encounter with Jor-El tied their family with his, as it is implied that the compassion Hiram and Jessica showed him led him to choose Jonathan and Martha to be the ones to raise his son.

Alternative Title(s): Smallville Clark Kent

Top