Superman / Clark Kent - who is the secret identity

I'm bored at work, and when I'm bored I argue with one of my friends who gets equally as bored and is even more easily distracted than I am...

Look! That dog has a fluffy tail!! :w00t:

Er... anyway... :blink: This morning we have been arguing about which is the real person and which is the persona taken on. My arguement is that Bruce Wayne is Bruce Wayne. Even when he puts on a mask and skin-tight all-in-one body stocking he's still Bruce Wayne underneath. Superman on the other hand is Superman and puts on the mask of geeky glasses and nerdy clothes to become Clark Kent - it's still Superman underneath it all.

My friend says that Clark Kent once said "I am Clark Kent. Superman is just something I do" or words to that affect, and so Clark Kent is the real person and Superman is all in the costume. Does that make it so?

Superman is actually a type of extra terestureal, and Clark Kent is the name that he was given when he was found by his Earth mother and father. And Superman doesnt wear a mask, just a skin tight suit and a red cape.

And be expecting a NEW Superman series, if not even a mini-series cause of this new movie and thie new one in the making of being written....

I meant that Superman wears a mask of sorts - it is the clothes and glasses of Clark Kent that mask his identity, not a physical mask over his eyes or something like that. The cape and the 'S' symbol is made of the cloth that he was wrapped in when his baby-escape-pod-ship-thing landed from Krypton, it has always been his clothing.

The answer is... neither.

Superman's real identity is Kal-El, Son of Jor-El, of the planet Krypton.

Your poll does not ask a black or white question, yet people are expected to answer one or the other.

Anyhow - Superman becomes Clark Kent. he was born Kal-El and becomes Kent to disguise that.

I dunno, I've always thought that Clark Kent was the real identity. Sure, they're both boyscouts, and sure, Clark is hiding awesome powers, but his attitude never veers much. I suppose one could make the argument that Clark is the secret identity, and Superman is the real one because Superman's just a nice, aww-shucks farmboy, but I don't think I've ever seen Superman presented that way. He's always come off as it's Clark Kent, Superman's just a side job. Well, not really a side job, but not as significant.

Yes, yes...I know...Superman...blah blah blah...significant...snore...

And, I dunno, Cooch. I think Bruce is the disguise for Batman. I mean, Bruce is that bumbling, dry wit playboy...and the Batman is just creepy. I mean, what do you expect from a guy that can make even Superman take a step or two back?

Kal-El is his birth name, but he is Superman. Clark Kent is a nerdy alter-ego which he has to assume to fit in with the rest of life.

Yeah, Kal-El is his real name, and since Superman is just our nickname for that then that's his real identity, and Clark is the disquise.

I see Superman and Clark Kent as basically two sides to one personality. Neither persona is really "him"..both are an act in some fashion or another. The real person lies between those two personas.

As for the Bruce Wayne/Batman thing...he's Batman. The persona of Bruce Wayne is the act, and that's been proven time and time again. He is 100% comfortable as Batman, but needs to be Bruce Wayne just for public appearances.

You make it sound like multiple personality disorder or something. Clark kent is an alter-ego. He was born Kal-El, which, to us, is Superman. He dresses like a nerd so he can function without getting bombed by the bad guys in his sleep, killing thousands.

It's not multiple personalities...it's a consious act on his behalf. He knows he has to act one way as Kent and one way as Superman. But neither act is his true personality.

Halc - isn't Superman his true identity, and not an act. Why does he have to put on an act as Superman. Surely that is when he can live as he wants to, show whatever aspects to himself as he wants. It's Clark Kent that is an act, having to hide all of those aspects that make him different to the normal mere mortals around him. Superman was what he was supposed to be - that's what his father says to him in that Fortress of Solitude or whatever it's called, isn't it?

As for Batman, you could say that about all superheroes. Peter Parker isn't the most comfortable of people, but Spiderman's a cool MoFo. Putting on the mask is a way of escaping what is usually expected from a person. You can get away with being sarcastic if no-one can see your face. Which is why I can tell you that you stink of piss with no fear cos you can't see what I look like. Batman was Bruce Wayne when he was born, Peter Parker was born as Peter Parker, not Spiderman. What they turned into had to do with outside influences later in life. Superman, as Kal-El, was predestined to be sent on his way before he had a chance to grow any personality traits that could be Kryptonian. But does Superman putting on drab clothes and glasses mean he can escape from what is expected of him living his normal life?

What I suppose I meant in the grand scale of Superman type things is that Superman is the real person. Kal-El being sent off into the radiation from our yellow star Sun bacame who people on Earth called Superman. He was Superman (of a sort) as soon as his little gay escape pod entered our atmosphere. He was Superman when it landed on Earth, and (according to the first Christopher Reeves movie) when he picked up the Kent's broken down car, before the Kents had adopted him and given him a human sounding name. Kal-El was sooo last year, after all.

But as time went by Clark Kent said he was the real deal, not Superman - "Superman is just something I do". Should we agree with him just cos he says it, and not just cos he'd kick our heads in if we didn't agree. When Mr Rhaub Aghasett puts on a dress, wig and a bit of slap on a Saturday night and temporarily changes his name to Miss Rhauberta Aghasette, just because he says he's a woman doesn't make it so.

(At least have a shave, Rhaub...)

I beg to differ, sugar. My stubble gives great backrubs.

superman was born as superman, he needed to dress up so he could be normal...though really...batman uses a huge latex mask while superman uses a pair of glasses...c'mon!

Clark Kent isn't rich, famous, cool, or well-to-do at all. He's a nerd in a newspaper building. People think that someone like Superman would want to use his power, get rich and famous. The fact is, not many people can connect a nerdy little guy in a paper publishing corporation to a guy that catches falling planes and bounces bullets off his eyes. Bruce Wayne is the best-known dude in Gotham, so he needs more than a pair of glasses to keep people from sneaking in and shooting him. Besides, Batman has no powers. He needs a disguise to live. Superman just isn't a fan of the press.

Superman isn't a fan of the press? Not only is he bumming Lois Lane he's a reporter himself!