Clark Kent, also known by his birth name Kal-El or superhero alias Superman, is a superhero in the 2021 The CW television series Superman & Lois; originally developed as a part of the Arrowverse franchise of television series, first mentioned in the 2015 pilot of Supergirl, based on the character of the same name created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and adapted for television by Glen Winter, Greg Berlanti and Todd Helbing from the previous Arrowverse adaptation of the character by Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Jessica Queller. Clark Kent had been portrayed by Tyler Hoechlin in the Arrowverse since 2016 prior to the development of Superman & Lois as a spin-off of Supergirl, in which Hoechlin reprised his role as co-headliner, initially said to be playing the same incarnation of Superman he had played in Supergirl, before the series was retroactively established to be set in its own continuity, on an Earth other from Earth-Prime, in its second season finale.
As commonly depicted in most media featuring the character, Clark is a humanoid alien refugee from the planet Krypton who lands on Earth, developing superhuman abilities and becoming Superman, Earth's only superhero, while also working as a journalist for the Daily Planet newspaper journal in Metropolis, eventually marrying his colleague Lois Lane and having two children — Jordan and Jonathan — with her. In Superman & Lois, after he and Lois are fired from their jobs at the Planet after it is sold to Clark's secret half-brother Tal-Rho (under the alias of Morgan Edge), and Clark's adoptive human mother then dies of a stroke, the Kent family elect to move back to Clark's childhood home in Smallville. After subsequently realizing that one of their sons have also begun to develop superpowers, Clark and Lois reveal his identity as Superman to them.
Prior to starring in Superman & Lois, Hoechlin played various Supermen living in alternate universes depicted throughout multiple Arrowverse series, such as Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Batwoman, and Legends of Tomorrow, in particular a version from Earth-38 who has a cousin, Kara Danvers / Supergirl (the main character of Supergirl, in which Hoechlin had first portrayed Superman), a character who does not exist on the as-yet-designated Earth seen in Superman & Lois.
Concept and creation As one of the most prominent superheroes for DC Comics, Superman had previously been portrayed in TV several times and most prominently in the 2001 to 2011 TV series Smallville, with Tom Welling taking on the role of Superman. The first show about the character came in the 1950s, titled Adventures of Superman, with George Reeves portraying Superman. Two more series came in the 1980s and 1990s, Superboy and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Welling's performance was widely regarded as one of the greatest in the character's history, but after that series' finale, the character was seen only in films for several years. Meanwhile, the film Man of Steel, which was released in 2013, saw Henry Cavill take up the mantle of Superman, with the film becoming the starting point of the DC Extended Universe.
With the announcement of a Supergirl TV show, speculation arose as to whether Superman would appear. The character appeared in silhouette only in season 1, portrayed by Kevin Caliber. Eventually, Hoechlin appeared in season 2 as Superman in a recurring capacity. He would later return for the Arrowverse crossover events Elseworlds and Crisis on Infinite Earths. In 2019, a series featuring Hoechlin portraying Clark was announced, which premiered in 2021, ten years after the finale of Welling's Smallville, titled Superman & Lois. While initially announced as a spin-off of Supergirl set in The CW's Arrowverse, Superman & Lois was later established to be set on its own Earth, separate from Earth-Prime's continuity.
Characterization Hoechlin was cast as Superman on the CW series Supergirl in 2016 and was "the only choice" according to Greg Berlanti. Describing the casting as "surreal", Hoechlin said he hoped to successfully embody the optimism of the character and maintain the idea of Superman as a symbol of hope. Hoechlin, at first, didn't want to take the role, because of the weight it had. When asked about the character in his show, Superman & Lois, he said "It's really not a show about Superman, it's about a husband and a wife who are parents and the husband happens to be Superman." He added "I've intentionally stayed away [from Superman since getting the role]. I've found it more beneficial to have an impulse and trust it without the hesitation of, 'Oh, so-and-so already did that.' It makes it easier to just go do my thing without overthinking it." Hoechlin, when asked about having to play multiple characters in Superman & Lois, said that "it was tough, but he could handle it", after having previously portrayed alternate versions of Superman in the Arrowverse.
Suit design Superman's bodysuit in Supergirl is a classic design, inspired mainly by the Man of Steel one. It has many elements in common with Melissa Benoist's Supergirl's costume. After Superman & Lois was greenlit, a new suit was created. Hoechlin, commented on the new suit, "It represents everything that Superman stands for and has stood for, for almost a century now." Hoechlin commented that the new suit represents everyone who see something in the symbol of it. The costume was designed by Laura Jean Shannon, who also worked for other DC shows, such as Titans and Black Lightning, and who made many changes to the traditional look. According to popular website Den of Geek, "[The] new suit fixes all of those problems, with dynamic lines that help showcase the actor's physique, cleaning up some flourishes, and generally bringing it all together with a more classic look for the character. But it's not TOO classic, as there's still a few elements that are uniquely modern, and should look really great in action."
In earlier Arrowverse appearances, Hoechlin wore other suits, like a black one paying homage to the Reign of the Supermen comic book storyline, and a suit similar to the first one Superman wore in Max Fleischer's Action Comics #1.
Fictional character biography
Early life Clark was born in 1979, on the planet Krypton, and his pod crashed in Smallville, Kansas, and was found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, after the destruction of the planet. He attended Smallville High School, where he befriended Kyle Cushing and Lana Lang. At some point his father died due to a heart attack. A year after his father's death, Clark struggled with finding his purpose on Earth and began using his powers to help people in secret, concealing his identity by wearing a ski-mask. After leaving Smallville, he discovered the Fortress of Solitude where the AI version of his biological father, Jor-El, was waiting for him. After their discussion and a period of training with Jor-El, he returned to Smallville, where he talked to his mother about his discoveries, and she encouraged him to become a hero, wearing a hand-made suit she created for him. Clark decided to move to Metropolis and work for the Daily Planet, where he met a fellow journalist, Lois Lane. Clark eventually proposed to her and they married in Smallville. In 2007, Lois gave birth to twins, Jonathan and Jordan. Lois was also pregnant with a daughter she intended to name Natalie, but she had a miscarriage and lost the baby, an event that haunted her and Clark.
First wedding anniversary
During their first wedding anniversary, Clark makes a reservation at a restaurant to celebrate with his wife Lois. That night, he does not show up at the restaurant, due to a robot invasion of Metropolis. The next day, they agree to try again, but fail, as Lois had extra work in the Daily Planet. Clark retries to make the night happen, but is caught in a battle with Nuclear Man. They agree to try one more time, but Lois forgot about it while investigating Toyman. The next day, Lois and Clark go to a park to discuss about it, and both agree to make the night happen no matter what. That day, Lobo arrived in Metropolis, and took Clark hostage. Clark manages to escape, and defeat him, returning on Earth, having missed his date, but to his surprise Lois had too. The two meet in front of the restaurant, with Clark suggesting to Lois to take her in Hawaii, something she agreed on, celebrating there.
Battling Tal-Rho
After the death of his mother, he and Lois decide to stay in Smallville and raise their teenage sons there. He also reunited with his childhood friends, Kyle Cushing and Lana Lang Cushing. Clark took the job of coach of the local High School football team, while continuing his superhero activities. After his son, Jordan, showed signs of Kryptonian abilities, he revealed his identity, and took him to the Fortress of Solitude to meet his biological grandfather, Jor-El. Their peace in Smallville was interrupted when a stranger with a power suit appeared and battled Clark. It turned out his name was John Henry Irons, and arrived on Earth-Prime after an anti-matter wave destroyed his. Irons's goal was to kill Clark, as in his universe he killed his wife Lois Lane Irons. Eventually, Clark convinced Irons he was not a threat and the two made peace. While Clark's and Irons's conflict was unveiling, Morgan Edge was exploiting X-Kryptonite from the underground of Smallville. He eventually met with Clark, revealing that he is his maternal half-brother, Tal-Rho. He and Tal-Rho fought, with Clark losing and having General Zod's consciousness implemented in his brain through the X-Kryptonite. Clark managed to overcome Zod and took back control of his body. After stopping an invasion of Kryptonians inhabiting human bodies, with the help of Irons, he stopped Tal-Rho and sent him to prison.
Stopping the merging of worlds
After some time, he started having painful visions that weaken him. A while after, an armored being was able to escape Smallville's mines, and he and John Henry Irons / Steel, tried to stop him from destroying the town, but failed as he escaped. Later, Clark and John located him in Bolivia and attacked him, but he managed to run away. The same day, the armored man tried to kill Ally Allston, but Clark stopped him; they had a brief fight that led them to the mines and knocked him unconscious with a shard of X-Kryptonite. He took him to Lara Lor-Van's hologram, and communicated with him, revealing he is an alternate version of Clark from another universe. He also told him that he was after Ally and wanted to destroy the pendant, a weapon able to merge universes. When Mitch Anderson found an excuse to capture him, he threw him in prison, with his brother, Tal. The two managed to escape, and were just in time to fight with the alternate Clark. Mitch, who was also present, killed the Bizarro Clark. Eventually, Clark ended up in the Bizarro World, where he learned about his counterpart's life. There he fought the Bizarro versions of Lana Lang / Superwoman. He escaped it, but lost his energy. Tal helped him and took him to the Sun, where he absorbed the energy he needed and stopped Ally from merging the two worlds. Tal left his nephews some vehicles and gave Lois and Clark access to his villas and other residences for different trips. After Tal went to live on Bizarro World, Clark established another version of the Fortress of Solitude somewhere in the ocean for his family to also make use of.
Battling Intergang