It’s a common joke that it is absolutely ridiculous that the only thing that makes
Clark kent hide the fact that he is Superman is a simple pair of glasses and that would
be true if Clark was wearing normal Earthling eyewear, but today, I’m going to show you
that the glasses that Clark wears are a lot more special than you might think they are
and I also want to go into all the other things that makes the Clark Kent persona an absolutely
brilliant superhero disguise.
So strap yourself in.
It’s learning time!
Let’s start our breakdown with the glasses themselves.
These bad boys are made from Kryptonian crystals used on the rocket that Clark was sent to
Earth in as a child.
When Clark started to develop heat vision, his mother crafted the glasses since the crystals
are able to absorb the heat without getting hot.
This alone was INCREDIBLY practical, but they also made Clark look like Harry Potter.
It’s also been stated that Clark’s eyes are a brighter blue than humans and that these
glasses cut the intensity down to something more natural.
Not only that, but the glasses change the overall shape of his face to the average onlooker.
So believe it or not, they serve a pretty vital role for the overall disguise.
If that wasn’t already enough, we can always turn to the delightful goofy shenanigans of
old school comics.
Okay so back in the day, Superman had a buttload of crazy off the wall powers like the ability
to shoot… tiny versions of himself…
Well one of those powers was that his eyes put out low level a hypnotic effect and apparently
the Kryptonian glasses amplify that ability.
This was one of the ways that Superman was able to make people see Clark Kent instead
of the Man of Steel when he was in his civilian attire.
Now one time, Superman used his hypnotism to… undo the effect of hypnotism on the
populace…
Because comics.
This ended up making people Superman’s inherent hypnotic powers and they just saw Clark Kent
as just Superman wearing a suit and glasses.
Well… it also didn’t help that you could literally still see his costume underneath
all that so good job, Clark.
Like I said, the glasses do play a vital role in Superman’s alter ego, but they’re still
only just a part of it.
In Superman: Birthright (which we’ve already referred to earlier in this episode), there’s
an entire segment where we get a glimpse of just what goes into crafting the Clark Kent
persona.
First off, Superman wants people to see his face so because of that, his mother suggested
that it’s Clark Kent who should be the disguise instead of vice versa which is how most other
heroes operate.
T-shirts were way too obvious for Clark since they showed off his muscles so they opted
to go with baggier clothes in multiple layers and that’s not even including the costume
underneath it all!
From this one image, Clark is wearing a button down, a sweater, AND a jacket.
That’s sure to hide all those muscles.
But if for any reason people see how muscular Clark really is, it’s actually been shown
that he keeps weights around his apartment to show that he works out.
The only problem though is that they are EXTREMELY light since Superman doesn’t know his own
strength and Lois Lane is able to knock out a few reps no problem.
Clark also makes sure to keep his hair tamed along with making his voice both higher and
softer.
Mrs. Kent even had Clark take acting classes to give both Superman and Clark different
postures, body language, and mannerisms.
So allow me to demonstrate.
Alright, despite the fact that I have distinct green hair and that I’m not muscular like
Superman, you can still see that there’s quite a dramatic difference between the two
Mes.
Now, that’s all what Clark himself does to protect his identity, but we can also take
a look at the psychology of the people around him to get some more information.
For example, Superman has talked about his Kryptonian origins and even the Fortress of
Solitude plenty of time to multiple media outlets.
Because he’s so open about his “home” in regards to both where he spends a lot of
time on Earth and his original planet as well as the fact that he doesn’t wear a mask,
many people assume that Superman simply doesn’t HAVE a secret identity.
See, most superheroes wear masks in order to hide their civilian identities, but most
of the few that opt out of the whole mask wearing thing typically have public identities
such as Arthur Curry as Aquaman or Lex Luthor as…
well…
Lex Luthor.
There’s also the fact that there’s just a LOT of people in Metropolis.
Heck, that’s one of the main reasons why Clark went to that city in the first place.
It’s also been established that the residents of Metropolis seldom look up, but I’m sure
that’s changed quite a bit since Superman started saving the day time and time again.
You also can’t discount the fact that most people don’t see Superman close up like
we the viewer can.
Most times, they’re going to see Superman flying by at high speeds from afar or while
there’s a lot of commotion happening during a fight.
So let’s recap and break it down.
Clark Kent’s glasses serve multiple vital roles in regards to hiding his identity, but
they’re only a piece of the puzzle.
What really sells the illusion is a commitment to acting and costuming by deliberately layering
baggy clothes.
Combining all of this with the psychological bias of the public and the inability to get
a good look at him and Superman’s identity is safe and sound as Clark Kent!
So what do you guys think?
Is the Clark Kent persona brilliant or is it just a stupid disguise?
Let’s talk about it in the comments below.
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