History Characters / MyAdventuresWithSuperman

* LovableJock: Though it's heavily buried beneath a JerkJock exterior.

The main trio are interns at The Daily Planet and serve as the series' POV characters.

* MuggleBestFriend: Lois and Jimmy are just ordinary citizens, but they've still got Clark's back. So whenever he's busy fighting to protect Metropolis and the planet, they do [[BadassBystander whatever they can]] to protect ''him''. The series is called "'''My''' Adventures with Superman" for a reason, after all.

!!Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_3836.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I'm still piecing together who I am and what I can do. But at the end of the day, I'm here to help the people of Metropolis. ''That's'' what matters."'']]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here for his civilian identity]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clark_kent_my_adventures_0.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JackQuaid, Creator/KariWahlgren (child)

An intern for the Daily Planet newspaper and the Son of Jor-El. Honest, kind, and altruistic, Clark Kent uses his powers to fight crime as Superman.
----

An intern for the Daily Planet newspaper. Honest, kind, and altruistic, he uses his secret superpowers to fight crime as Superman.

An ambitious young intern seeking to be taken seriously by her seniors at the Daily Planet.

* AdaptationalDumbass: Downplayed; while far from being a brainless buffoon, this version of Clark is ''really'' bad at keeping his secret identity under wraps, often displaying his powers in the most obvious ways and [[BadLiar making up very unconvincing lies]] when he needs to leave and put on his Superman costume. Lois very quickly deduces that Clark and Superman are the same person once she knows what to look for, and [[spoiler:Jimmy reveals that he figured it out a while ago thanks to Clark breaking things and coming up with very unbelievable excuses]].
* AdaptationalJobChange: In the comics and most other adaptations, Clark works at the Daily Planet as a reporter. This show depicts Clark as a new intern along with Jimmy and is just expected to perform duties like scanning papers and getting coffee.
* AdaptationalWimp:
** This Clark starts off as significantly less powerful than prior incarnations of the character, being nearly overwhelmed and even bruised by a single HumongousMecha that other versions of him would easily handle. Along with being [[AgeLift younger]] and less experienced than most incarnations, it's implied that he's [[WillfullyWeak subconsciously reining in his power]] because of his uncertainty about his origins and his place in the world, since in his desperation to save Lois, he "unlocks a power-up" with an energy field manifesting around him, his injuries heal instantly and he totals another one of the robots with a single MegatonPunch. [[spoiler:He has a better showing against the robots in Episode 5, helped by the fact that his heat vision is capable of one-shotting them, though having to deal with them alongside Heat Wave and Deathstroke quickly wears him out to the point that Slade only doesn't kill him because he's ordered to back off so Superman can save civilians endangered by their fight.]]
** Episode 7 also reveals he's not TheNeedless or immune to the effects of caffeine, as his newly developed super hearing combined with an unhealthy amount of coffee and energy drinks keeps him awake for several days and leaves him both physically and mentally exhausted.
* AdoptionAngst: He's brought to tears after finding out that he's an alien and wondering if he's really Jonathan's and Martha's son. His parents assure him that he is their son, but they don't know what to say when he asks them if he isn't human. He seems to have gotten over this by the present day, as he clearly loves Jon and Martha and still considers them his parents [[HappilyAdopted even after learning they adopted him]].
* AffectionateNickname: Lois continues to refer to Clark as "Smallville" as her prior comic book and television series incarnations have done. Except this time, she reserves it strictly [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2leO6QPozQ for moments of intimacy]].
-->'''Lois''': You know, when I was getting ready, I kept wondering if this counted as a date.\\
'''Clark''': ''[drapes his jacket over Lois' shoulders]'' Aand... what did you decide?\\
'''Lois''': ''[pecks Clark's cheek]'' Walk me back, Smallville.
* AfraidOfTheirOwnStrength: Has moments of this, particularly when he wonders where his powers came from and doesn't want to crush someone's hand the way he can crush a sink faucet. When Lois asks him to pick her up so she can look through a window, he very gingerly lifts her in the air while looking away because of how nervous he is. In "Hearts of Our Fathers", it's revealed that Clark started drifting away from other people after discovering his powers because of how afraid he is of hurting them.
* AgeLift: Clark is normally portrayed in his late 20's/early 30's, whereas here he's about 22-23 years old (based on information given in Episode 6 about when the alien tech fell to Earth).
* AllLovingHero: Naturally. From saving cats to saving Livewire as her powersuit overloads, Clark's first inclination is always to help others. He even does this despite trying to hide his powers, as shown when [[ChronicHeroSyndrome he saves a cat from a tree on his first day to work in spite of insisting he was trying to be as normal as possible]].
* BadassAdorable: He's the mighty Superman, and is cute as a button and quite the awkward dork.
* BadLiar: Clark continually makes bad excuses to leave and change into his Superman uniform. He fakes illness or claims that he needs to go get a bagel or that he forgot the cream cheese. While his friends take him at his word at first, it becomes increasingly obvious that he's hiding something and won't tell them. [[spoiler:In fact, Jimmy has been well-aware of Clark's superhuman abilities ever since Clark destroyed the door handle to their room in college while trying to pass it off as faulty screws. He just kept quiet for Clark's sake.]]
* BarbieDollAnatomy: In Episode 6, all of the clothes on his upper body are burned off by laser fire, leaving him shirtless, he has no visible nipples.
* BetaOutfit:
** The first episode has Clark grab an emergency disguise in the form of a hoodie to hide his face and wearing no glasses in order to save Lois and Jimmy, and he leaves it behind but Lois recovers it, hoping to meet this "superman" again.
** Jor-El's hologram gives Clark a Kryptonian suit that will become the Superman costume, but Martha feels there's something missing and adds trunks and a belt.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Clark is a kind, gentle man who wouldn't hurt a fly, but people -- particularly Task Force X -- are terrified of him because of the sheer amount of power he has. It's also heavily implied that Clark is constantly restraining himself so he won't seriously hurt his opponents; each member of the Suicide Squad caused him serious trouble in their debut appearances, but when they push him far enough he's able to knock them all out with ease.
* BigEater: Implied; while he has yet to be seen eating onscreen, his mom mentions that with him around leftovers won't be a problem, and a bakery owner believes he wanted to eat three dozen doughnuts himself (he actually ordered them for the Daily Planet staff). In an interview from some promotional material before the show aired, he admits he likes to eat but tries to downplay how big his appetite is and [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial claims he's "a normal man" who eats "the normal amount"]].
* ButHeSoundsHandsome: With ''both'' of his identities.
** After Superman has a short interview with Lois, he comes back as Clark and asks Lois what she thought of the superhero. He calls Superman a "pretty awesome guy" and is taken aback when Lois calls Superman a liar.
** In Episode 5, after Lois asks Superman if he knows Clark Kent, he describes him as "quiet, but thoughtful, upstanding" and that he likes him.
* BlessedWithSuck: In the eighth episode, Clark develops his [[SuperSenses Super-Hearing]]. Great for figuring when people are in trouble, awful when it turns out that ''so many people are in trouble''. Clark quickly runs himself ragged responding to every single call for help due to his own ChronicHeroSyndrome, not sleeping for days and staying awake solely because of an unhealthy amount of caffeine.
* CannotSpitItOut: In the fifth episode, he declares that he likes Lois and wants to tell it to her face. But when they're alone together, he can't bring himself to say more than he "cares" about her. [[spoiler:And his confession comes too late, as the reveal that he's been hiding that he's Superman destroys Lois' trust in him. Finally subverted in episode 7]].
* ChronicHeroSyndrome:
** Despite his desire to live a "normal life", Clark instantly jumps into action when others are in trouble, despite the risk of other people seeing him. The first scene of the show has a young Clark discovering his powers when he races after a car spinning out of control to try to stop it from crashing. Even while trying to be a "normal guy", he gets a cat out of a tree on his way to buy donuts, while the store owner thanks him for repairing her back door the other day. [[spoiler:The compulsion to save others really becomes an issue when his super-hearing starts to develop in "Zero Day, Part 1"; ''constantly'' hearing people in distress leads Clark to become a nervous, exhausted wreck as he tries to respond to everyone that he can.]]
--->'''Clark:''' I can do this... I'm gonna hide my powers and be a normal man having a normal day, starting... now. ''[sees a cat stuck in tree and rushes it to its owner]'' Okay, I had to save the cat. I had to save the cat. I'm a normal man, having a normal day, starting... now.
** There's also the implication that Clark has been helping people for years even before he arrived in Metropolis. Tabloids in the Daily Planet's newspaper morgue mention the intervention of an "angel" saving a professor four years prior to the story (when Clark would have been in college).
* ClarkKenting:
** As is typical for Superman, nobody seems to recognize that Clark is the mysterious hero who's going around saving the city, even when the only major differences aside from his outfit are that he loses his glasses and sweeps his hair back. The trope is [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] after he gets his Kryptonian outfit from Jor-El's hologram (along with shorts and a belt from Martha), and he wonders if people really won't be able to recognize him with this outfit on; Martha tells him that ''she'' hardly recognizes him because of how audacious the outfit is compared to his normal wear. The hair in particular is more than just a stylistic choice; Clark takes a moment to manually mess up his hair when meeting with Lois after defeating Intergang. [[spoiler:The end credits of "Let's Go to Ivo Tower, You Say" have Lois use a red marker to draw glasses over a picture of Superman and drawing similarities to Clark, having begun to realize Superman's true identity at the end of the episode proper.]]
** Clark makes a point of not using his normal voice when acting as Superman, [[SecretIdentityVocalShift dropping it lower]] and taking care not to refer to the people he knows with familiar terms, such as addressing Lois as "Ms. Lane". His posture is also significantly different -- he tends to scrunch up or slump his shoulders meekly as Clark, but stands upright while trying to project confidence as Superman. Just like with Creator/ChristopherReeve's portrayal, "Superman" is more than a change of clothes for Clark, and requires him to act in an entirely different manner than his actual self whilst in costume.
** [[spoiler:The entire concept is lampooned thoroughly in "My Adventures with Mad Science", when it's revealed that Jimmy figured out years ago that there was something going on with Clark thanks to his [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength freakish bursts of strength]] and realized quicker than Lois that he was Superman. Those who interact with both Clark Kent and Superman can swiftly see through his subterfuge, and the primary reason nobody else has figured it out yet is that Clark is currently BeneathNotice to Metropolis, being a newcomer to the city. Even [[AntiVillain The General]], having only interacted with Superman before, finds something [[HaveWeMet suspiciously familiar]] about Clark Kent within minutes of meeting him at the Kent farm, questioning him if he's always worn his glasses before getting interrupted]].
* ClarkKentOutfit: Clark's typical clothes include baggy sweaters and hoodies that hide his chiseled physique. While dressing himself in the bathroom, the viewer gets a brief glimpse of his six-pack abs. When Clark's blazer is torn, he takes it and his dress shirt off so Lois can sew them up. She's immediately stunned by how buff Clark is when she sees him in a t-shirt.
* ClassicalAntiHero: Clark is skittish, prone to anxiety, and struggles with his insecurities about his alien origins, but he's still ''Superman''. Absolutely nothing will stop him from saving people, and he'll always do what's right.
* CoverBlowingSuperpower: Clark's [[TheJoyOfFirstFlight first flight]] was spotted by photographers in Smallville, with the story reaching tabloids as the "Flying Boy of Kansas". [[spoiler:Finding this article and tying it to other instances of miraculous rescues in the Kansas area lets Lois deduce that Clark is Superman. She then proves her theory by stepping off the roof of the Daily Planet, forcing Clark to fly after her to save her.]]
* CowardlyLion: Due to being inexperienced and unsure of himself, Clark remains skittish in both his superhero and personal lives. He's initially terrified of having an interview with Lois and typically tries to "be normal" and toe the line. But when the chips are down, Clark will risk life and limb for others without a second thought.
* CuteClumsyGirl: Gender-inverted. Due to his inexperience-based PowerIncontinence, Clark is prone to breaking things by accident. Just by getting up in the morning, he accidentally crushes his alarm clock, breaks the faucet in his bathroom sink, and tears his sneakers while trying to put them on. He's also so stuck in his head in Episode 3 that he bumps into Lois in the hallway and nearly spills coffee in the process. This clumsiness contributes to Clark's DorkKnight personality.
* DetrimentalDetermination: In "Zero Day, Part One", Clark runs himself into the ground (literally) trying to respond to every call for help and use his new super-hearing to find the General and foil his plans. Even though he clearly needs rest, he continues to fly around doing things until he makes some destructive mistakes [[spoiler:and is too tired to avoid being captured by the entirety of Task Force X and its {{Boxed Crook}}s.]]
* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: The first episode sees him accidentally break an an alarm clock, one of the faucets in his apartment, his sneakers, and a door handle without meaning to because of how nervous he is about his first day at the Daily Planet. While rushing out the door of a bakery, it's implied that he bursts through it by accident and promises to fix it later. In the fifth episode, Clark casually picks up a box that Lois was struggling to move (not knowing it contained a 300 lb dumbbell) before tossing it on top of the filing cabinet, crumpling the cabinet in the process.
* DorkKnight: Moreso than most incarnations, especially since unlike most cases, his mild-mannered civilian personality isn't just an act to keep people from realizing he's Superman. This Clark is much less sure of himself and more socially awkward than previous versions of the character, being a stammering mess when flustered and running from Lois when she tries to interview Superman. His uncertainty and unfamiliarity with his abnormal abilities also contributes to him being [[AdaptationalWimp much weaker in a fight than past incarnations]], as he [[WilfullyWeak subconsciously suppresses the full extent of his strength]] because of his fears of accidentally hurting/killing others, even enemies attacking him.
* TheDreaded:
** {{Double Subver|sion}}ted. Clark has the [[NiceGuy exact opposite temperament]] for a being of this category, but the fact that he has the ''powers'' of one (and powers that become more varied and stronger as the series goes along) is never glossed over. When Deathstroke uses [[spoiler:a suit of PoweredArmor]] to capture and detain every criminal using the stolen technology, the criminals automatically assume that the mysterious, unstoppable red-eyed blur after them is Superman, rather than questioning if it is something else based on the ruthlessness it displays. People are [[BewareTheSuperman constantly wary of Superman's potential for widespread destruction]], especially since Alex points out that his nice temperament is the ''only'' thing restraining such a catastrophic rampage, without any possible countermeasures.
** Task Force X in particular is adamant that Superman is a dangerous threat that requires every resource at their disposal to stop, even [[EnemyMine allying with the super-criminals he faces against him]] out of fear for what he's planning under the "act" of being a hero. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that the heads of Task Force X were first-hand witness to the devastation a being with all of Superman's abilities and none of his moral restraints can bring, and [[MistakenIdentity mistakenly believed]] he ''was'' said being in a different disguise, giving further context to their antagonism towards him]].
* EndearinglyDorky: The owners of his favorite donut shop make special mention of how Clark gets sprinkles all over himself when he eats there and make a bib for him. They also pinch his cheek and congratulate him on being a BigEater when he orders three dozen donuts for the Daily Planet. He's clearly embarrassed the entire time and Lois has to stifle a laugh, but it's clear she finds this endearing about him.
* EvenTheLovingHeroHasHatedOnes: Clark is such a NiceGuy that he shows respect or at least basic decency to everyone he meets. He'll never assume the worst in anyone, and will always try to talk down the villains he fights even as they attack him or subject him to torture. There is just one exception--[[HateSink Dr. Ivo]]. Tellingly, Ivo is the first and so far only person to outright make Clark ''mad'', with Clark being so incensed by his disparaging comments towards Lois he immediately starts grilling Ivo about his criminal actions. While he initially tries to talk Ivo down in their first fight, [[spoiler:by the time Ivo threatens the entirety of Metropolis out of sheer spite towards Superman, he has come to consider his foe too far gone, and near the end of the fight declares to Ivo that while he may be inhuman by birth, Ivo is inhuman by ''choice''.]]
* EyeBeams: Heat vision is as usual his main energy emission attack.
* FlyingBrick: This ''is'' Superman, the TropeCodifier. He's {{super str|ength}}ong, {{super tough|ness}}, [[SuperSpeed super fast]], and can {{fl|ight}}y.
* GentleGiant: Clark is tall, built like a brick house, and strong enough to send a HumongousMecha flying with a single punch. He's also a teddy bear of a man who loves his parents, cares about his friends, and buys donuts for his co-workers. Even when he's confronted by a villain, he always tries to talk them down first and will only fight back as a last resort.
* HappilyAdopted: Regardless of his apprehension about being an alien, Clark clearly loves his MuggleFosterParents Jonathan and Martha with all his heart and the feeling is mutual. As a child, his first reaction to learning about his origins is fear and grief that he's not really their son, and that thought reduces him to tears. After returning from his spaceship in Episode 2, the first thing he does is fly back into Martha's arms and assure her that he is still himself and her son.
* HeroicBSOD: Clark is heartbroken and horrified when [[spoiler:the General shows him footage depicting what looks like another alien like Clark wiping out a military camp. This convinces Clark that he's nothing more than a LivingWeapon and saps him of his will to fight, not even bothering to move while Parasite is beating him into the floor.]]
* HeroicBuild: Clark is built like a house. While [[ClarkKentOutfit he usually wears baggy clothing to hide his physique]], his Kryptonian outfit displays his muscles for all to see. Lampshaded by Lois, who tells him to pick her up so she can peer through a window because he's twice her size.
* HeroicResolve: Clark is initially barely a match for one of the robots Leslie stole, tiring himself just to stop some of its attacks and rip out its core. He's soon overwhelmed when Leslie unleashes the rest of them to buy time for her escape, suffering a bruised eye and barely withstanding the rest of their attacks. But when Lois is about to be attacked by them, he forces himself to get up and his eyes glow white, healing away his bruise as he throws himself at the robot to punch it down with a single hit.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: In Part 1 of "Zero Day", Superman ends up alienated by the public after saving an invisible Mist from being hit by a truck, in the process getting hit himself--while nobody is harmed, the truck coming to a sudden halt causes a massive accident; with nobody able to see Mist, the public believes that Superman was actively endangering other drivers and begins to fear him. This is rectified in Part 2 after Superman saves Metropolis from Parasite.
* HideYourOtherness: Clark actively tries to suppress and hide his powers out of fear of being ostracized by his peers for being an alien.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Clark is visibly the tallest member of the cast and towers over just about everyone he interacts with. Lois is visibly the shortest member of the cast and is dwarfed by every other adult character they interact with. Makes for quite the visual when they're together, as he's visibly hunching over every time they interact and ''still'' visibly two heads taller than her.
* {{Hunk}}: Clark is square-jawed, buff, and handsome by every measure. He even tries to play the cool guy in front of Lois when they first meet before quickly falling back into his EndearinglyDorky mannerisms. While ranting about Clark's refusal to help her after being ordered back to the office by Perry, she calls him "[Jimmy's] dumb, beautiful coward of a friend."
* IAmNotAGun: Appropriately enough, given how the TropeNamer was inspired to his mindset by Superman comics. [[spoiler:When Clark learns about the invasion on Zero Day, he comes to the conclusion that his immense and varied powers are because he's really a LivingWeapon sent by his people to destroy Earth, aided by the fact [[LanguageBarrier he can't understand Kryptonian]] so Jor-El's hologram has to improvise with a flashback that is devoid of important context. Lois helps snap him out of this mindset with a RousingSpeech to the city and a LoveConfession to Clark in private afterwards, and he chooses to remain as Superman, the protector of Earth regardless of his (perceived) origins]].
* IAmWho: After learning that he's not from Earth, Clark becomes confused about who he is and his place in the universe. At first he tries to hide his powers so he can be "a normal man having a normal day", but his better nature soon forces him to use his abilities in front of others. Lois' pursuit of "Superman" and desire to find out what kind of person he is convinces Clark to return to his spaceship and find some answers.
* IJustWantToBeNormal:
** The two-part intro has Clark expressing a desire to be "a normal man having a normal day", with the story itself even being named "Adventures of a Normal Man". As one can imagine, his Superman duties interfere. [[spoiler:After his SecretIdentity is revealed to Lois and Jimmy by the events of Episode 5 and Episode 6, Clark admits to them that he just wants to feel included and not ostracized for being an alien.]]
** Exploited by Mxyzptlk in "Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal". Clark is so fixated on giving Lois a normal, [[spoiler:perfect date]] that he doesn't think twice when Mxyzptlk claims she's in trouble. In his rush to return to normalcy, Clark falls for Mxyzptlk's suspicious claims. [[{{Jerkass}} To kick Clark while he's down,]] Mxyzptlk tells him that he will ''never'' be normal.
* InnocentBlueEyes: Whether as a kid or as an adult, Clark's blue eyes are particularly emphasized by the {{animesque}} art style. They emphasize his naturally kind and idealistic outlook, to the point of even trying to save his enemies.
* InstantCostumeChange: Clark's SuperSpeed lets him instantly change his outfit once he's out of sight. In Episode 2, he changes back to his civilian clothes in a second while rushing to hide his outfit and clean up his apartment before Lois walks in.
* KeepingSecretsSucks: He had intended to tell Lois about his identity as Superman, but her dismissive comments ended up making him choose to keep quiet [[spoiler:until Lois realized the truth and put a strain on their relationship]].
* KryptoniteFactor: In Episode 7, [[spoiler:he receives a first exposure to kryptonite that causes the shards fired at him to sprout from his body, causing green TaintedVeins in the process. In Episode 10, momentary exposure to the crystalline form of Kryptonite causes anaphylactic shock and he drops to the ground near-instantly]].
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Versus most other incarnations of the character. Going into the show, the only thing Clark knows about his origins is the fact he's ''probably'' an alien, and his access to his spaceship doesn't help much because he can't speak Kryptonian and the Jor-El hologram in turn can't speak English (although context and the [[BilingualBonus translation captions in episode 10]] confirm that he does at least understand Clark), so the hologram can only relay information visually without context. This particularly presents a problem in episode 7, as [[spoiler:Mxyzptlk and the League of Lois Lanes readily exploit the fact they know far more about Clark - including his weaknesses - than even Clark himself is aware of. Hell, the only reason he even knows the ''name'' of his birth planet is because Mxyzptlk made an offhand reference to Krypton - Clark simply had no way of finding out otherwise.]]
* LoveAtFirstSight: Clark is immediately smitten with Lois the second he lays eyes on her at a donut shop. He can frequently be seen with a CrushBlush when their faces are close to one another. He later tells his mom that Lois is "amazing" and he gushes compliments on her after the Livewire incident.
* LoveConfession: Done near the end of [[spoiler: episode 7, when he and Lois]] mutually confess their feelings for each other.
* MrFanservice:
** He is ''ripped''. The viewer can see his six-pack abs when he gets dressed in the bathroom in the first episode, while his form-fitting superhero outfit clings tightly to his arms and shows off just how broad his chest and shoulders are. According to one of the animators, the production team deliberately sought to make him as attractive as they could in every scene.
** In Episode 6, all of the clothes on his upper body are burned off by laser fire, leaving him shirtless for the rest of the episode with all of his muscles on display. Furthermore, the lasers burn off all the dirt on his body, leaving his skin ''gleaming'' like he was freshly oiled.
* MundaneUtility: SuperSpeed is great for dodging attacks, saving people, and getting to the scene on time. It's also great for when Clark's apartment is a mess and he needs to tidy up in the literal second before guests walk in. Tellingly, despite his PowerIncontinence issues in the beginning, it's the ''one'' power that Clark seems to fully have a handle on, because it's just so ''useful'' in letting him perform his small heroics whilst staying out of sight.
* NiceGuy:
** He wouldn't be Superman if he weren't the nicest guy in the world. Whether as a hero or not, Clark is a GentleGiant of a man who is always going to do the right thing. This puts him at odds with Lois when she thinks everything Clark did can be compared with her lying to try and help people, but Lois recounts that Clark did all the nice things he did with no expectation of personal benefit or reward.
** This sadly begins to become {{Deconstructed|Trope}} as the series goes on, as numerous individuals from Task Force X, to villains like Dr. Ivo to even Lois herself at first are [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids so cynical and suspicious of others]] that they believe Clark ''must'' have an angle or a hidden agenda behind his heroics, fuelling the opposition he faces despite his good deeds. On the flip side, Alex points out that him being a nice guy is the ''only'' thing holding back [[BewareTheSuperman a potential destructive rampage from a being with such immense powers]], and all it would take is "One Bad Day" for him to decide he should ''stop'' being nice to others, further feeling concerns about Clark's destructive potential.
* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: While he starts out with the standard FlyingBrick powerset, Clark gradually discovers his other powers, classic and esoteric, as the plot needs them. For instance, he starts developing EyeBeams just as Intergang starts using a FreezeRay. Justified because of his inexperience and willful suppression of them for years.
* OfficialCouple: [[spoiler:With Lois (big surprise, right?) by Episode 7.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: {{Inverted|Trope}}, and a major plot point. Clark is ''exactly'' as old as he looks, [[spoiler:but it's eventually revealed that the "Nemesis Omega" moniker applied to him by Task Force X actually referred to a [[MalevolentMaskedMan mysterious masked being]] that lead an attempted AlienInvasion of Earth on Zero Day 22 years ago, with both the General and Amanda Waller believing Clark was said being due to the similarities between their abilities and outfits. On seeing Clark's crestfallen reaction to learning about the truth of Zero Day, the General wonders aloud if Clark's kind ages the same as humans, as that would make him too young to be involved, showing task Force X ''thought'' this trope was in play]].
* OneHeadTaller: Clark is over a full head taller than his love interest, Lois Lane, and their relationship forms the emotional core of the series.
* OnlySaneMan: Between Lois' recklessness and Jimmy's eccentricity, Clark typically serves as the main voice of reason among the main trio.
* PedestrianCrushesCar: When Clark [[spoiler: [[DivingSave pushes Mist out of the way]] of an oncoming truck]], he is unable to dodge the truck due to a lack of sleep and ends up causing a massive traffic accident.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: Clark first discovers his powers as a young boy when he races after a car spinning out of control to try and stop it from crashing. After helping to bring the car to a stop, he discovers his ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound just before outright flying.
* PowerGlows: Occasionally his eyes glow white and his body is surrounded by lightning energy akin to a BattleAura, when he unlocks his powers further and when Jor-El's hologram gives him his Kryptonian suit. The energy even manifests a glowing S-shield on his chest.
* PowerIncontinence: Clark spends much of the first episode struggling to control his strength, accidentally breaking door handles and sink faucets. He also experiences sudden bursts of power when trying to save someone, such as in "Adventures of a Normal Man Part 2" when, after getting beaten up by the first robot, he sees Lois in danger and suddenly heals, able to knock the robot out in one punch. PlayedForDrama in "Zero Day, Part 1", where sleep deprivation leads to him accidentally causing all sorts of property damage while trying to deal with the episode's plot.
* PrimaryColorChampion: As per standard, Clark's superhero outfit features deep blues, reds, and yellows that make him stand out in the crowd as a hero.
* PunchPunchPunchUhOh: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. Clark is much more durable than an ordinary mortal would be, but he doesn't have the NighInvulnerability other versions of Superman do. A combination of his fears with accidentally hurting others in a fight and lack of actual combat experience means that Clark's main tactic is to position himself between civilians and danger whenever he's fighting villains and tank the hit instead, but this often results in him getting winded and allows his opponents to press their advantage, despite said villains [[DramaPreservingHandicap being way below the weight class]] of most Superman opponents.
* PurelyAestheticGlasses: Clark has worn glasses even as a child before discovering his powers rather than wearing them purely as a disguise. But at no point is he ever shown needing them, as he hides his glasses while acting as Superman.
* RelationshipUpgrade: [[spoiler:After a rough patch over him hiding his identity as Superman, he and Lois get together at the end of Episode 6, indicated by them holding hands]].
* SecretIdentityVocalShift: Downplayed since it's not immediately noticeable, but he drops his voice slightly lower as Superman in order to hide his identity.
* SheepInSheepsClothing: A recurring theme throughout the story is how people are unwilling to accept that Superman doesn't have some kind of ulterior motive for his actions. Reporters like Lois and Vicki try to dig up dirt on him to reveal his secrets to the world. Task Force X believes he's a scout trying to soften up Earth for an AlienInvasion. Alex openly espouses a BewareTheSuperman philosophy in an interview. No one save for Clark's parents and Jimmy can wholeheartedly believe that Superman is exactly who he say he is: someone who just wants to help.
* SociallyAwkwardHero: Helping people is instinctual to him, as demonstrated by his introduction where he tries to stop an out-of-control car just before he gains his superpowers. When it comes to mundane socialization, whether it be being involved with interviews or just talking to Lois even as Clark, he trips over himself constantly.
* SuperHearing: He awakens to this power in "Zero Day, Part 1". It is acute enough to be used as echolocation to pinpoint Kyle/Mist's exact location when he is invisible.
* SuperSpeed: Clark can move faster than the eye can track, rendering him virtually invisible to all but the most careful viewers when he's in a hurry save for a streak or a blur where he once was. He can also get from Metropolis to Smallville with ease and back in time to save Lois and Jimmy from Leslie/Livewire.
* SuperStrength: Being Superman, it's only natural that he'd have one of the Man of Steel's most well-known abilities. He's able to knock out a giant robot with a single punch, and at one point he picks up a box containing a 300-pound dumbbell without breaking a sweat. Being younger and less experienced than most incarnations, however, he [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength tends to have difficulty controlling his strength]], especially when he's nervous or distracted.
* SweetTooth: He's a regular at a donut shop in Metropolis, to the point that the owners know him by name and make a bib for him because he gets sprinkles all over himself while eating there. Martha is also delighted to see Clark home in Episode 2 and is ready to pull out pie for him.
* TakingTheBullet: Clark is prone to using himself as a shield for others given his nearly unbreakable skin. Even when his powers are on the fritz in Episode 6, he throws himself in front of a laser gatling gun to protect Lois without hesitation. He later reveals he didn't know he was bulletproof, he just knew Lois ''wasn't''.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Just like in most versions, Superman doesn't kill. He even saves his enemies when their misuse of their powers and technology overwhelms them. Episode 5 shows he doesn't even like it to be implied he would hurt someone, telling Lois, who was using him as a threat to get Heat Wave to talk, that it's wrong to threaten people.
* TokenNonHuman: Since Clark is from planet Krypton (as usual), he is the only Kryptonian out of the main trio, the rest of whom are humans.
* TranquilFury: Though Clark doesn't back down whenever he disapproves of something, the first time in the series he displays outright ''anger'' is when Dr. Ivo trash-talks Lois behind her back. Clark, who had previously attempted to be professional while covering the Ivo Tower gala, proceeds to badger Dr. Ivo over allegations of criminal dealings (something he'd previously told Lois ''not'' to do), all while keeping his usual calm tone.
* TransformationSequence: Is first given his Superman outfit through a magical-girl-esque transformation sequence.
* TwiceShy: It's obvious that he fell for Lois [[LoveAtFirstSight the moment he laid eyes on her]], and it's equally obvious that she sees him the same way, but both are too shy to act on their feelings.
* UnskilledButStrong: One of Superman's defining traits is his [[SuperStrength overwhelming physical strength]], and he certainly has that. Unlike previous versions of Superman however, this version of Clark is less experienced as a fighter and [[PowerIncontinence tends to break various objects in his daily life accidentally]]. This lack of control and experience is why he acts WillfullyWeak when he gets into a fight.
* UptightLovesWild: Part of his attraction to Lois stems from this; while Clark tries to toe the line and be "normal" so he won't be ostracized for his alien origins, Lois is much more confident and willing to break the rules in order to pursue leads for a story. In "My Interview with Superman", Clark is initially uncomfortable with Lois' constant rule-breaking in order to find Intergang, but it eventually becomes clear that he's still impressed by her determination.
* UsedToBeMoreSocial: As a child, Clark was an ordinary, outgoing kid until he discovered his powers. After this, he became so afraid of hurting people that he started distancing himself from others. Some framed photographs at the Kents' house in "Hearts of the Fathers" show him standing far away from his Little League teammates and there's no sign of a girl he posed for pictures with (implied to be Lana Lang) at any point afterward. Then he stopped inviting others to his birthday parties by the time he turned 12. This pattern didn't break until he shared a room with Jimmy in college. Even after this, Clark isn't shown going out of his way to interact with anyone his age other than Jimmy (his BestFriend) and Lois (whom [[LoveAtFirstSight he's immediately smitten with]]).
* WhatTheHellHero:
** He calls out Lois for lying to him and Jimmy about being given the okay to pursue the stolen robot story. He would have been willing to help anyways if she'd only asked, though he wonders if he actually would later on.
** Clark is aghast when Lois reveals her plan to get herself and Jimmy taken hostage by Intergang in order to summon Superman and demand an interview from him. He doesn't have much time to call her out on it as ice erupts from the bank.
--->'''Clark:''' ''[to Jimmy and Lois]'' ''This'' was your plan the whole time? To find trouble, then ambush Superman when he flies in?\\
'''Jimmy:''' I mean… it worked when we did it with Livewire.\\
'''Clark:''' ''You did that on purpose?!''
* WillfullyWeak: This incarnation of Superman doesn't have perfect control over and awareness of his super strength and other abilities yet, meaning he often ends up restraining himself too much during fights where his full strength is actually necessary. For example, during his first battle with Slade, Slade's PoweredArmor gives him a decisive advantage against the Man of Steel (having two giant mechs as backup helped), but when Slade's reckless attacks threaten to collapse a freeway and kill dozens of people, Superman effortlessly punches him aside so he can focus on saving everyone.
* WorfHadTheFlu:
** [[spoiler:In Episode 6 he's affected by the Brain and Monsieur Mallah's cloaking field, which is based on red sun radiation, weakening his powers to the point where the leftover OMAC patrols from Task Force X pose a threat to him.]]
** [[spoiler:In Episode 8, he's been running around saving everyone for a few days without rest when he confronts Task Force X. He almost wins anyway, but his exhaustion combined with the Parasite suit draining his remaining strength lets them capture him.]]
* YouMonster: After Ivo accuses him of having turned him into a monster, Superman bluntly tells him that he is and calls him out on [[NeverMyFault his refusal to take responsibility for his own actions.]]
--> '''Superman:''' You ''chose'' to be a monster, Ivo.

** In Episode 6, all of the clothes on his upper body are burned off by laser fire, leaving him shirtless for the rest of the episode with all of his muscles on display.

* AdaptationDyeJob: Vicki is often drawn as a redhead or on occasion as a blonde, following her most famous media appearance in ''Film/Batman1989''. Here she has black hair.

* CatSmile: The intro shows Jimmy smugly making such a face at Lois and Clark's romantic tension.

'''Jimmy:''' ''[wearing a smug CatSmile]'' Well c'mon, Kansas! Take a risk! What's the worst that could happen?

* CatSmile: He tends to sport one whenever he's being particularly smug.

* PunchPunchPunchUhOh: {{Downplayed}}. Clark is much more durable than an ordinary mortal would be, but he doesn't have the NighInvulnerability other versions of Superman do. A combination of his fears with accidentally hurting others in a fight and lack of actual combat experience means that Clark's main tactic is to position himself between civilians and danger whenever he's fighting villains and tank the hit instead, but this often results in him getting winded and allows his opponents to press their advantage, despite said villains [[DramaPreservingHandicap being way below the weight class]] of most Superman opponents.

* AdaptationalIntelligence: PlayedWith as Lois has of course always been incredibly intelligent, but when it came to figuring out Superman's real identity most media show her being very oblivious for quite a while before putting two and two together (though historically Lois in the comics has been able to figure it out quite easily, she just couldn't prove it). Here she puts it together in only a couple episodes, albeit only after finding a critical clue Clark had hidden in his coat pocket.

* AliensSpeakingEnglish: {{Averted}}. Jor-El's hologram speaks Kryptonese with no translation or subtitles (though the caption track starts translating them in episode 10). [[spoiler:This ''really'' bites Clark down the line, because it means he can't adequately explain or refute the General's accusations of his purpose on Earth being a LivingWeapon for his kind to invade the planet. "Hearts of the Fathers" have him speaking a few words in English, implied to be picked up from the brief interactions he's had with Clark, but in other cases it's also implied to be TranslationConvention, such as his shock over detecting "[[KryptoniteFactor the poison]]" on Earth.]]

* RequiredSecondaryPowers: PlayedWith: The technologically enhanced battle suit she utilises allows her to create electrical fields or blasts she can control, or summon electricity from the environment for her use without danger of her getting harmed from the same lightning. However, despite the suit and technology seemingly getting fused into her following her first fight against Superman, Leslie is ''not'' naturally immune to electricity, getting subdued by the same ShockCollar as the rest of Task Force X's "volunteers". [[spoiler:Once she discovers that her exposure to the malfunctioning Kryptonian tech turned her into a lightning-creating Metahuman, Leslie develops these in full, enabling her to [[ManOfKryptonite tear off the shock collars]] with her bare hands]].

* CorruptedCharacterCopy: This version of Ivo seems to take a fair bit of inspiration from Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man, who is similarly a dramatic, fashionable, and flashy CEO of a billion-dollar company that develops a combat suit to protect the world from harm. He's even referred to as "Tony" instead of Anthony. However, Marvel Tony only made the Iron Man suit as a response to his experiences with war and the life-threatening heart injury he attained in the process, is very careful of who has access to the technology, and despite some narcissism, is a genuinely heroic man. Ivo is an amoral jerk more akin to Lex Luthor, who picks on anybody he sees as beneath him and intends to sell his evidently dangerous invention to anybody who can pay enough cash, despising Superman for gaining the attention and love of Metropolis. Also, before he became Iron Man, Tony Stark was clean with no criminal record or interest in making money through crime despite his flaws and was a very successful businessman. Dr. Anthony Ivo had illegal collections before he became the Parasite and was immoral enough to make money through crime, and then we learned that the board of directors of his company was going vote him out as CEO with one of the board directors telling him that he's broke, it's all the stated that he hopes that his new power suit would save his wealth and company with him being too delusional and narcissistic to see that even if his presentation is successful it will not save his company.

* AdaptationalWimp: Very {{Downplayed}}. While the usual Mxyzptlk has his godlike power without any restrictions to it, and typically needs to be beaten through wits, this Mxyzptlk, while still quite strong, needs to wear his trademark bowler hat--actually a tiara--in order to assume his godlike capabilities.

* {{Expy}}: While Mxyzptlk has usually been designed consistently in previous iterations -- an impish Caucasian man dressed in dapper suits or spandex in secondary colors, bald or balding hair and a bowler hat -- here his design evokes the [[https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Supreme_Kai_(position) Supreme Kai]] from the ''Franchise/{{Dragonball}}'' franchise.

* ForWantOfANail: He pretty much [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this, even if he's not completely certain what the outcome will be, just for the drama of it, leaving behind a shard of Kryptonite (which is apparently utterly absent from Earth in this clark's dimension) in Lois' hands along with a file showing proof of the {{Evil Counterpart}}s of Superman in the Multiverse. [[spoiler:By the season finale, this has a knock-on effect that leaves Earth in the crosshairs of in impending AlienInvasion from beings apparently as strong as Superman and being lead by Brainiac and what appears to be ''General Zod'' himself]]. An extremely dramatic outcome indeed.

* SpannerInTheWorks: In "Hearts of the Fathers", his indirect influence ''completely'' upends the status quo. [[spoiler:The Kryptonite shard he gave lois triggers failsafes within Clark's ship that apparently allow Brainiac's AI to infect it and nearly enact another Zero Day. Whilst thwarted, the event puts Earth on Brainiac's radar and has him directing the still-living Kryptaonian forces in the galaxy towards it. The Hologram of Jor-El expresses shock when the ship reacts to the presence of "the poison", indicating that an additional reason he chose Earth as a safe haven for Clark was because there was ''no'' trace of it anywhere on the planet. Given that the Kryptonite shard was provided from other dimensions]], this would never have happened if Mxyzptlk [[ForWantOfANail hadn't left a sample behind for Lois]], fitting with him self-stylising as a "God of Chaos" who lives for the drama.

* BoxedCrook: After capturing all the people that used their stolen tech weapons they conscript them in their war against Superman, keeping them in line with [[ShockCollar shock collars]]. This highlights their pragmatism to the fault of cruelty, as they could simply take back the weapons from these untrained civilians and give them to willing and obedient soldiers, but according to the General, they instead force said criminals to do their work as a warped form of "atonement" for their crimes against society. {{Deconstructed}} further as these criminals they tortured into working for them hold no loyalty and will seize any opportunity to escape, harming any soldiers on their way out and going on to continue threatening the general public, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters undermining the point of their mission statement to safeguard the public]].

*** PlayedWith. The Brain isn't exactly unbiased towards the General, and the General ultimately proves to be a better man than his cohorts, choosing to reevaluate his views of Superman after putting it together that he couldn't have been part of the Kryptonian force that invaded Earth on Zero Day. He is so intent on determining whether Superman is innocent instead of just executing him that his superiors remove him from Cadmus leadership and place Amanda Waller in charge instead.

* CantCatchUp: He puts on a good showing in combat against both Leslie Willis/Livewire and Superman himself, taking on the former with just a pair of stun batons and holding his own against her lighting-controlling battle suit, [[spoiler:and fighting Superman directly in a suit of PoweredArmour, even wounding the Man of Steel directly with a specially-designed HotBlade]]. However, over the course of the "Zero Day" two-parter, his inability to close the natural power gap gets made clear. [[spoiler:Superman easily knocks him down with an indirect AOE attack to exploit his relative frailty, even when Slade attacks him alongside all of Task Force X and Superman is [[WorfHadTheFlu off his game]]. When he confronts Leslie again out of his suit when she organises a mass breakout, her newly-developed metahuman powers enable her to [[FlashStep out-speed]] Slade and give him a [[EyeScream permanent reminder]] of their encounter]].
* {{Catchphrase}}: When asked who he is by whoever he's fighting, he typically responds with "[[KnightTemplar We're the good guys]]."

* FragileSpeedster: PlayedWith. He's a normal human going toe-to-toe with a FlyingBrick, so understandably, even decked out in a suit of PoweredArmour that allows him to match Superman in speed and reflexes, he's just not capable of withstanding the full force of Superman's blows, using hit and run tactics to fight him and getting blown away easily even with a single (pulled) punch, and temporarily knocked down when Superman catches him in a shockwave attack. Against anybody else though, the suit makes him a LightningBruiser on the field.

* WeakButSkilled: A {{Downplayed}} case, but given his usual BadassNormal credentials, he's this by default given he's being matched against the codifier for FlyingBrick. [[spoiler:When he finally does fight Superman in a PoweredArmour suit, he holds a decisive advantage against him in close-range skills, armed with superheated swords capable of burning Superman's skin, but can't quite match the Man of Steel in a physical contest. He needs to be backed up by two MiniMecha to have Superman get knocked around whilst he acrobatically engages him, and he makes sure to run clear every time it looks like Superman's winding up with the heat vision rather than risk tanking a hit from it. When Superman is able to anticipate one of his attacks, Slade is easily blown away with a single punch, and even then it's hinted that Superman still pulled the punch because he just wanted to get Slade off his back so he could help the civilians Slade endangered.]] Against anybody else, however, he's a clear-cut LightningBruiser with multiple tricks up his sleeve.

* BigBadDuumvirate: Serves as one of the two {{Greater-Scope Villain}}s of the first season with the Kryptonian Warrior, although due to his drones attacking during Zero Day and the season finale, Brainiac is the more proactive villain of the duo.

* BigBadDuumvirate: With Brainiac, as one of the two [[GreaterScopeVillain Greater Scope Villains]] of the series.

** Episode 7 also reveals he's not TheNeedless, as his newly developed super hearing combined with an unhealthy amount of caffeine keeps him awake for several days and leaves him both physically and mentally exhausted.

* BigBadDuumvirate: Serves as one of the two {{Greater Scope Villain}}s of the first season with the Kryptonian Warrior, although due to his drones attacking during Zero Day and the season finale, Brainiac is the more proactive villain of the duo.

* UptightLovesWild: Part of his attraction to Lois stems from this; while Clark tries to toe the line and be "normal" so he won't be ostracized for his alien origins, Lois is much more confident and willing to break the rules in order to pursue leads for a story. In "My Interview with Superman", Clark is initially uncomfortable with Lois' constant-rule breaking in order to find Intergang, but it eventually becomes clear that he's still impressed by her determination.

** {{Double Subverted|Trope}}. Clark has the [[NiceGuy exact opposite temperament]] for a being of this category, but the fact that he has the ''powers'' of one (and powers that become more varied and stronger as the series goes along) is never glossed over. When Deathstroke uses [[spoiler:a suit of PoweredArmor]] to capture and detain every criminal using the stolen technology, the criminals automatically assume that the mysterious, unstoppable red-eyed blur after them is Superman, rather than questioning if it is something else based on the ruthlessness it displays. People are [[BewareTheSuperman constantly wary of Superman's potential for widespread destruction]], especially since Alex points out that his nice temperament is the ''only'' thing restraining such a catastrophic rampage, without any possible countermeasures.

* BewareTheSuperman: Its attack on the American military demonstrated quite firmly how out of their element humanity was when faced against the might of an alien menace, and motivated the formation of Task Force X to prepare as best they could for a possible second invasion. It's the reason why Clark is faced with animosity from the government throughout the series, and underneath all the antagonism they direct his way, there's an unspoken concern that their best efforts wouldn't be enough to stop Nemesis when it launches a second all-out attack. Given that Superman can handle Task Force X even when [[WillfullyWeak intentionally suppressing his strength]] to avoid killing them, it's a valid fear.

* TheDreaded: Task Force X's actions throughout the series - creating super-weapons, forcing super-criminals to [[BoxedCrook fight on their side]] and one-sidedly antagonising Superman -- were all done because they believed they were necessary to combat "Nemesis" in disguise. Both Waller and Sam are implied to have gained PTSD from their near-death at Nemesis' hands, and the abundance of [[FamilyFriendlyFirearms futuristic laser technology even amongst street-level law enforcement like cops and security guards]] are implied to be because of the government distributing said tech in case Nemesis attacked again, allowing people all over the country to have a chance at defending themselves from its threat, not just their military. From what is seen of Nemesis in action, it has powers comparable to Superman with ''none'' of his moral restraints -- and given the entire series has Clark [[WilfullyWeak constantly suppressing himself]] and ''still'' curb-stomping his opponents without going all-out, it's easy to see why everybody's afraid of it returning. It's even greatly implied that Waller and Sam go so far because they're afraid their best efforts ''still'' wouldn't slow Nemesis down.

* BewareTheSuperman: Its attack on the American military demonstrated quite firmly how out of their element humanity was when faced against with the might of an alien menace, and motivated the formation of Task Force X to prepare as best they could for a possible second invasion. It's the reason why Clark is faced with animosity from the government throughout the series, and underneath all the antagonism they direct his way, there's an unspoken concern that their best efforts wouldn't be enough to stop Nemesis when it launches a second all-out attack. Given that Superman can handle Task Force X even when [[WilfullyWeak intentionally suppressing his strength]] to avoid killing them, it's a valid fear.

Clark's biological mother. She perished alongside her husband in the destruction of their home planet and appeared in Clark's vision given by Jor El.

* BigBadDuumvirate: Serves as one of the two {{greater scope villain}}s of Season One with the Kryptonian Warrior, although due to his drones attacking during Zero Day and the season finale, Brainiac is the more proactive villain.

* BigBadDuumvirate: With Brainiac, as one of the two [[GreaterScopeVillain greater scope villains]] of the series.

* JerkJock: Even though he's long out of high school, he still acts like the stereotypical jock bully. He even wears his letterman jacket to work.

* GreaterScopeVillain: Is a warlord working with Braniac who's teased as possibly invading Earth in a future season. His words about making said planet kneel hint at them possibly being Zod or someone related to him.

* MsFanservice: Although not as frequent as Clark, Lois has her moments of being just as alluring. In Episode 4, when taking off her jeogori, Clark was captivated by her tantalizing figure and exposed back. There's also a few times her butt is centred in frame and takes focus.