Smallville season 6-8 Clark more proactive attitude:lightswitch or not?

[ironman29758]

I know this is 4 years too late but I didn't know the proper place to put it honestly so I decided to put my thoughts here. I remember during season 8 and 9 claiming that Clark being more proactive and joining the Daily Planet was a "lightswitch". I remember one poster saying that "S7 to s8 he went from moping around on the farm as college drop out Clark with no direction to his life to suddenly, Daily Planet Reporter saving lives as The Red Blue Blur!!! That's a lightswitch. And having Green Arrow, one of the more cynical and anti-hero's of the DC comics give the future Superman lessons and lectures on being a hero???? That goes a long way to show how wrong this series has Superman and his younger self. " , " The writers of SV have Clark progress and then backslide constantly in order to keep the show going...thats not good writing and makes the character come off as stupid.

He sat on the farm for 7 seasons moping around for lana wishing he could be normal, whining, showing NO interest in journalism being nothing but a reactive hero and suddenly, he gets a job at the DP and is zooming around proactively saving people as the Blur in S8. That's lightswitch.", etc.

Watching every episode in the series, paying close attention to seasons 5-8 I was thinking about season 6/7 Clark and what led to what him being more proactive season 8 and if it really was a lightswitch that some people claim or not:

Season 6:

Fallout"

Clark: Mom, I know how much you love me, and how much dad... But I've always felt different. Its because I am. And Raya was the first person I ever met who could really understand that. And I don't think I ever really thought about what I lost. A family, a whole race of people, who were just like me. For the first time, I'm ready to stop running from who I really am, from my destiny.

The death of Raya who helped shined a light on a people he never really knew that much about so he was accepting his training but first he had to take care(which he even had to make priority even with problem with Lana and Lex. See "Rage" for example) of the Prisoners who escaped from the Phantom Zone. He was even willing to join the proto-Justice League to take down Lex's 33.1 bases if it wasn't for the phantom zone escapees and Lana upcoming nuptials with Lex as well as his lone wolf attitude which he had at times.

Season 7

Bizarro:

Martian Manhunter: You've learned a lot from your time in Smallville. These people have made you who you are.

Clark: They won't always be here. Losing Lana has made me realize no matter how close I get, someday they'll all be gone. And all the time I've spent ignoring my destiny, trying to be something I'll never be: human.

Loosing Lana twice(the marriage to Lex and her "Dying") made him realize his flaws and he was ready to do his training which acording to Fortress Jor-el was watch Kara but when Lana came back and he wanted to have a normal life but even then he was focused on the mission which was finding the blue crystal before Kara and then he met his Kryptonian mother and incidentally lost his powers. He was proactive in a way but not on a season 6 or 8 level of proactive hero because of Lana.

Season 8

Odyssey:

Martian Manhunter: The healing effect of the sun brought you back from death. I promised Jor-El that I would only be a watchful guardian. But I could not stand by and let you die.

Clark: You shouldn't have had to.

Martian Manhunter: Jor-El knew he was sending you on an impossible odyssey. To be given the power of a god, yet exist among humans.

Clark: Sometimes I feel like I need to be two separate people. Either way, I can't keep expecting you to keep saving me.

Martian Manhunter: Well that was the last time. The burning sun may strengthen you, but it has the opposite effect on me. It stripped me of my powers. We both know, that yours is a greater Destiny But with the fortress destroyed, you'll have to do it without Jor-El's guidance.

Clark: Or anyone else's. When I was dying, I saw my dad, he was right there in front of me. I saw my mom and Lana, they were there too. So close, it was like I could reach out and feel them. I've written eulogies, I've seen people walk away from me. But I've never really said goodbye, I've been holding onto a life on this farm that hasn't existed for years.

Martian Manhunter: So what are you going to do?

Clark: Let it go. It's the only chance I have of finding a new one.

It was similar yet different to what happened in season 6 and 7 when Clark lost Lana (her not realizing Bizarro was Clark, her camatouse caused by Brainiac and her break up video among other reasons) only with season 8 she left for a longer time than she did in the previous three seasons.

-seeing what a world without Clark Kent would be like

-Kara being lost or dead somewhere(Phantom Zone)

-JL (or just Aquaman and Black Canary) basically disbanding and going underground since some LexCorp employees found out their identities so Clark couldn't really join them

-Realizing that every father figure he had(Lionel Luthor season 5-7, Jor-el and Jonathan Kent) died protecting his secret and alot of people sacrificed themselves to help him on his journey.

-Chloe loosing her job at the Daily Planet and almost her life and being arrested by the DDS. With Chloe not working at the Planet anymore and Lex technically not in charge of the Planet anymore new proactive Clark needed to find a way to learn about information to help prevent crime and disasters from happening so he chose to join the Planet to be closer to the news.(similar to Andrea Rojas reasoning in "Vengeance":
Chloe: That's why you work here, isn't it?Because nothing happens in Metropolis without going through the Daily Planet.

Andrea: Way to put the pieces together, Brenda Starr.

"Arctic":
Lois: Big news. An intern just got promoted to Chloe's old desk.

Clark: Am I supposed to be happy that someone took my best friend's job?

Lois: Absolutely. 'Cause it opens up a spot in the bullpen, and guess whose name is written all over it. Clark Kent. Got your application right here.

Clark: [ Chuckles ] That's never gonna happen. Now, if you would excuse me, I have chores to do.

Lois: Seriously, Clark, don't you think you're destined for greater things in life than working on a farm?

Clark: Even if I wanted the job, Lois, I'd never work for Lex Luthor.


"Plastique":
Clark: Well, that's why I'm there -- so I can be around to help more people. Working at the Daily Planet, I'll hear about every crisis as it happens. I just wish that you were there with me. You know, now that Lex isn't running things...

)

Okay admittedly Clark wasn't that interested in working as a reporter for the Daily Planet(Fade, Arctic) and I don't know how he got the job the first(maybe use the secret origin and earth one route ) but even though he had the Daily Planet job and enjoyed it he still viewed it as a means to an end and viewed his Superhero life and saving people as more important(doomsday to Metallo, Hostage proved that) and he started off as a
reporter/copy boy and only did obituaries and bylines with Lois.

-The lost of his powers and being stuck in a Russian camp for weeks.

-His former best friend/worst enemy finding out about his powers and disappear somewhere knowing who he is

-The Fortress was destroyed thanks to him worrying about Lana's coma and not being more active in pursuing the Veritas keys leading to the Fortress so he couldn't really complete his Kryptonian training (but when he did when he recreated the Fortress when he takes down Doomsday he'll take up his training again just like he said in season 6 with the Zoners and he did in both at the beginning of season 7 as well in season 9).


-Clark since freshman always wanted either a normal life, find a way to not hide who he is since season 1 to 7 and admitted the way he felt in season 8 through "Odyssey ", " Plastique ", " Prey", "Identity", "Infamous", "Turbulence", etc. Clark's season 8 personality to me was largely the same as his personality(we especially seen it when early season 10 Clark meets 30 year old fully Superman Clark and when Clark met/lost Lana in season 8 ) he only decided to be more proactive. He decided to take it even farther in season 9 by completing his Kryptonian Training and wear the House of El symbol not only as a way of accepting his Kryptonian heritage/destiny, remind himself that he has a different destiny than others and use it as a symbol of hope(in a way Clark wasn't lying when he said the Blur was the true identity in "Masquerade" because not only has he been saving people since he was young he embraced the hero life whether he wanted to admitted it or not and his reporter life was in a way always the mask and the way he acted in season 5-9 about embracing his alien/hero life you and thinking he wasn't human and he should stop pretending to be one, yes Clark was as much the mask as much as he was the real identity

- working in the Russia for weeks without talking or seeing to his friends

-His near death experience seeing his parents and Lana realizing he was holding onto something that didn't exist for years.

-Martian Manhunter lost his powers to save Clark's life made him realize:

A. He was holding on to a life that hasn't existed for years so when Lana disapeared that was basically a way for him to stop wishing being normal as well as living a normal life on Smallville(the rest of that thinking disappeared in episodes like Odyssey, Plastique, Hex, Doomsday, Savior, Homecoming, etc in season 8-10) away and ready to start his training and be more proactive but when Lana came back in his life(Action, Fierce and Power-Requiem are a few episodes proving my example) he still wants to have a normal life on the farm or as a reporter. When Clark sent Zod back to the Phantom Zone, he spent the whole episode unseen helping the clean up of Metropolis. When Lana married Lex he was fighting meteor infected beings and stopping criminals. When Lana was presumed Dead and he took care of the last Zoner/Bizarro, went after Lex in rage and went to complete his Kryptonian training at the Fortress which part of it was to take care of and watch Kara until Lana came back leading him to want a normal life.

B. He realized he let Lex get the veritas keys instead of doing more to stop him which could have prevented alot of what happened including the destruction of the Fortress

C. Clark should have done more and can't expect someone/Martian Manhunter or the JL to save his life when he made a mistake(Martian Manhunter loosing his powers)


and this could be seen similar to JLA: The Nail/JLA: Another Nail Superman whose Amish parents were killed because of Jimmy which he blamed himself for which lead him to become more proactive and started to become superman or any comic where Clark decided to accept being a hero be it the death of someone close to him, learning his alien heritage or an alien invasion in Earth One and Birthright, Clark in It's Superman novel, etc.

In conclusion: it wasn't really a lightswitch but just a prolonging of what could have happened in season 6 or 7.

Sorry for long post. What are your thoughts on this? Any dispute or anything to add. I want to hear your opinion about Season 7-8 Clark character growth and becoming more Superman like."

 

[ironman29758]

Sorry for the double post

 

[vantheman77]

I don't know if it was a lightswitch, but my issue was moving Clark towards his destiny to become Superman and that mean working at the Daily Planet, training at the Fortress, developing a superhero identity, and joining the Justice League, all of which we see in seasons 8-10. Seasons 5-7 saw little to none of that - he trained at the Fortress against his will in Arrival and we never saw him train again until the 9th season; In Justice, he didn't join the Justice League and in Siren, he still hadn't. He also refused to learn how to fly twice in season 7. If there was an episode where the show did sway from the mythology, it was Apocalypse because the alternate reality was closer to the comics than the actual TV show itself. The only development in season 6 or 7 was Clark developing superbreath.

 

[ironman29758]

I don't know if it was a lightswitch, but my issue was moving Clark towards his destiny to become Superman and that mean working at the Daily Planet, training at the Fortress, developing a superhero identity, and joining the Justice League, all of which we see in seasons 8-10. Seasons 5-7 saw little to none of that - he trained at the Fortress against his will in Arrival and we never saw him train again until the 9th season; In Justice, he didn't join the Justice League and in Siren, he still hadn't. He also refused to learn how to fly twice in season 7. If there was an episode where the show did sway from the mythology, it was Apocalypse because the alternate reality was closer to the comics than the actual TV show itself. The only development in season 6 or 7 was Clark developing superbreath.

I'll admit I felt the same way at first but then I realized the simple reason we don't see these saves on Onscreenville is because it would cost money for the FX without being important to the actual plot of the episode(which was mainly the characters) and part of it was shown at times through lines but we couldn't see all of it and every time we see Clark help someone it was a loved one's problem which he put first at times. But that didn’t mean we never saw any character development (slow character development but development nonetheless). I will give you flight(part of it was because of his fear of heights, part of it was he felt like the moment he flies he would completely be alien and there are no human traits.&#8221 and like Bryan Q. Miller said “I think where we got to with the show, which was something of a natural progression, was that the first half of the series was pure Smallville. It was him as a teenager in his hometown dealing with all the trials and tribulations of what that means...including meteor-affected bad guys. Season 6 and 7 were kind of the transition years where once we hit Season 8 and Clark moved to the big city, suddenly it was a whole different world. You realize that as complicated and difficult as your world previously felt, the change of going to college or getting a career or whatever suddenly makes you a small fish in a very big pond. That led to sci-fi conceits with the Earth 2 stuff, magic conceits with Zatanna and Fate and heroic stuff with the JSA. The later seasons were all about making that world bigger while also seeing that growth and exploration through Clark's eyes. And that also kind of explains why no one ever really talked about the JSA before because it really wasn't on Clark's radar. The show was so focused on teenage issues” Clark accepted his Kryptonian training, being shown the Justice League, seeing more aliens including Martian Manhunter, Zod, Kara, clones of Lara and Zor-el, Bizarro, etc. but in a way a part of it still yearn being normal and having a life on Smallville even during season 8 before Hex happened. The same went for characters like Lois, Lex, Jimmy(Henry Jimmy), etc they were transitioning from the characters started off as into their iconic characters( Apocalypse to me was more or less the 2017 future we saw in Salvation, Homecoming and the Finale as well as the comic universe without Clark).
But that's the thing:
With the training in the Fortress, although we didn't fully see it until season 9 doesn't he wasn't fully reluctant. Yes there were moments
But he realized the importance of his training in season 6 in Fallout and was close to accepting his destiny but their were complications
(
.Clark: I haven't started my training. Now the Fortress is damaged. Jor-El tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. I mean, how could I trust someone who brought so much pain into my life?
Raya: Pain is a part of anyone's journey, Kal-El. You can't escape it. You must accept your destiny.
.
Clark: Mom, I know how much you love me and how much dad... but I've always felt... different. Because I am. And Raya was the first person I ever met who could really understand that. And I don't think I ever really thought about what I'd lost... a family, a whole race of people who were just like me. For the first time, I'm ready to stop running... from who I really am... from my destiny.
Martha: Your training with Jor-El -- you want to go.
Clark: But I can't... not yet... not until every prisoner that I released from the Phantom Zone is returned... or destroyed.
and Abyss
( Jor-El: Welcome home, my son.
Clark: Home?I wanted to see it that way, Jor-El. I wanted to learn more about my family, about my destiny. And then you tore it all away.
Jor-El: I programmed the fortress to remove your powers and self-destruct if you became a danger to the planet.
Clark: When you sent me here, you had no way of knowing how I would use my abilities. You trusted me. When I betrayed that trust, you were willing to sacrifice your only son to save this planet. But now I know what it truly means to protect people, not just my family and friends.
Jor-El: You've made great progress, my son.
Clark: One thing needs to change. You call me your son, but you treat me like your enemy. I think it's time you stop punishing me and start trusting me again.
Jor-El: You've grown up, Kal-El. Your trials have matured you.
Clark: My trials are not over, Jor-El.)
But he did start his Kryptonian training in season 7 in the second episode after he took care of the last phantom(
Kara
Clark: Lois, I'm leaving Smallville... after Lana's funeral.
Lois: Wow, didn't see that coming. Where are you running away to?
Clark: Up North. There's something I need to do.
Jor-El: Kal-El, my son, you have finally chosen to start your training.
Clark: A Kryptonian girl showed up at my doorstep. Her name is Kara. Last time that happened, you were behind it.
Jor-El: I know nothing of her arrival.
Clark: She says she was sent here by her father, Zor-El. You might remember him, since he's your brother. Care to tell me why you ignored that branch of the family tree?
Jor-El: Whatever Zor-El wanted with you, it was not for the greater good of Krypton. He could not be trusted, and neither can his daughter.
Clark: You can't blame Kara for the actions of her father. She's not here to cause any harm.
Jor-El: That is an emotional, human reaction. Be careful of your feelings, Kal-El. They can betray you.
Clark: My feelings are part of who I am, whether you like it or not. Now, what about my training?
Jor-El: Your training starts with Kara. Watch over her, Kal-El. She poses a greater threat than you believe.)


As for Clark developing his superhero identity in a way, what he said in “Masquerade” was very much true “Unfortunately, I've lived my entire life up until this point without needing one. That's why I've been so reluctant. I mean, this is the face that my parents raised. It's the face of the man that you love. And I don't want to deny who I am when I'm out there doing what I was born to do.” and “When I'm out there in the red and blue, and I'm saving people, that's who I really am. And I know this is gonna sound weird, but it's not what I'm called that should define who I am. It's who I am that should define what I'm called. Clark Kent - it's...it's just a name. It's just a word. I am The Blur, and I always have been.” because even though he hasn’t worn a superhero costume didn’t make him a hero of his own right.(heck even before he knew his true Kryptonian destiny, he always had a desire to help people in fact that was the main reason he became a reporter. He's spent pretty much about 10 years coming to terms with and accepting his Kryptonian heritage and family. All long before he fully has become Superman. IMO, he's as much Kal-El as he is Clark Kent. Being "the Blur" ISN'T just "what he can do." It is very much a real part of who he is, just as much as Clark Kent is a part of who he is. The Blur/Superman is who he is because he is able to use his powers to save people. But as Superman, his personality that we've grown to love as Clark is still there. What Clark meant with the disguise angle is that he'll have to distort how other people perceive the man they know as Clark Kent in order to protect himself from being discovered. I didn't see it as an abandonment of his personality, rather that he was in a tough position with people seeing his face as the Blur and he was forced to change his Clark persona because the damage had already been done. All of the Clark aspects of him are there in Superman - the powers, the good heart, the farm boy tendencies. He's in a costume, but nothing's changed about him. When he officially become the Blur/Superman he is doing what Clark's been doing since he started saving his friends and his community as a child in Smallville. Clark was simply saying that he's always been the "hometown hero" or hero, more specifically, but Clark Kent, or "Mr. Kent" as this episode suggested, needs to disguise that better to avoid any association with the Blur (soon to be Superman).

In fact the red jacket and blue t-shirt(and blue jacket/red t-shirt) had become very much Clark’s superhero outfit even before he started treating as such in episodes like Identity and Turbulence in a lot of ways(the amount of times when he saved someone or an important moment like jumping from the Daily Planet to LuthorCorp in a single bound he was in that outfit combo, when he went on his first Justice League mission and they were all side by side with the Leaguers in their superhero outfits with Clark in that outfit combo. and becoming a Daily Planet reporter, like I said he.

As for the Justice League (which in Post Crisis comics like Legends and JLA: Year One and cartoons like The Batman Superman was reluctant to be a member of the Justice League at first until one mission which leads either to join the League or agree to be a part time member/help out if they ever need him) Clark admitted he wish he could join the JL in taking down 33.1 bases but he had to deal with the free Zoners. He was a lone wolf who taught to help (
Justice
Chloe: Oh, come on, Clark. It wasn't your fault. Even with all your powers, you can't be everywhere at once.
Clark: I have to be. I'm the only one who can round up the prisoners from the Phantom Zone and stop Lex from experimenting on people with abilities. What did you find out from Casselli about 33.1?
Bulletproof:
Clark: I guess going solo has really caught up with us lately, huh?You know, for everything Danny's crew did wrong, I have to say... knowing there's always someone there who has your back... that kind of brotherhood can make you feel like you could do anything.
Checkmate:
Clark: I'm sure it's fine. Just because he doesn't check in--
Chloe: You know, unlike some people, Oliver actually follows protocol.
Clark: What protocol?
Chloe: Exactly. He and everyone else dial in with Watchtower while they're on patrol. Clark, you spend so much time watching everybody else's back, you forget that we need to watch each other's backs too.)
Even when he was working closer with the League and acting like more of a member in season 9 and 10 he was acting like a lone wolf and can you blame him. Someone as powerful as Clark and been working by himself for most of his life so he wasn’t used to someone watching his back until stuff like meeting with the JSA, THE VRA, Kandorians and Checkmate among other things which cause him to realize how working with and help inspire them to evolve from just worrying about 33.1 bases to taking down Alien threats like Doomsday and Zod to eventually protect the world and inspire hope and lead by example.

 

[Indy Flash]

I'll admit I felt the same way at first but then I realized the simple reason we don't see these saves on Onscreenville is because it would cost money for the FX without being important to the actual plot of the episode(which was mainly the characters) and part of it was shown at times through lines but we couldn't see all of it and every time we see Clark help someone it was a loved one's problem which he put first at times. But that didn’t mean we never saw any character development (slow character development but development nonetheless). I will give you flight(part of it was because of his fear of heights, part of it was he felt like the moment he flies he would completely be alien and there are no human traits.”) and like Bryan Q. Miller said “I think where we got to with the show, which was something of a natural progression, was that the first half of the series was pure Smallville. It was him as a teenager in his hometown dealing with all the trials and tribulations of what that means...including meteor-affected bad guys. Season 6 and 7 were kind of the transition years where once we hit Season 8 and Clark moved to the big city, suddenly it was a whole different world. You realize that as complicated and difficult as your world previously felt, the change of going to college or getting a career or whatever suddenly makes you a small fish in a very big pond. That led to sci-fi conceits with the Earth 2 stuff, magic conceits with Zatanna and Fate and heroic stuff with the JSA. The later seasons were all about making that world bigger while also seeing that growth and exploration through Clark's eyes. And that also kind of explains why no one ever really talked about the JSA before because it really wasn't on Clark's radar. The show was so focused on teenage issues” Clark accepted his Kryptonian training, being shown the Justice League, seeing more aliens including Martian Manhunter, Zod, Kara, clones of Lara and Zor-el, Bizarro, etc. but in a way a part of it still yearn being normal and having a life on Smallville even during season 8 before Hex happened. The same went for characters like Lois, Lex, Jimmy(Henry Jimmy), etc they were transitioning from the characters started off as into their iconic characters( Apocalypse to me was more or less the 2017 future we saw in Salvation, Homecoming and the Finale as well as the comic universe without Clark).
But that's the thing:
With the training in the Fortress, although we didn't fully see it until season 9 doesn't he wasn't fully reluctant. Yes there were moments
But he realized the importance of his training in season 6 in Fallout and was close to accepting his destiny but their were complications
(
.Clark: I haven't started my training. Now the Fortress is damaged. Jor-El tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. I mean, how could I trust someone who brought so much pain into my life?
Raya: Pain is a part of anyone's journey, Kal-El. You can't escape it. You must accept your destiny.
.
Clark: Mom, I know how much you love me and how much dad... but I've always felt... different. Because I am. And Raya was the first person I ever met who could really understand that. And I don't think I ever really thought about what I'd lost... a family, a whole race of people who were just like me. For the first time, I'm ready to stop running... from who I really am... from my destiny.
Martha: Your training with Jor-El -- you want to go.
Clark: But I can't... not yet... not until every prisoner that I released from the Phantom Zone is returned... or destroyed.
and Abyss
( Jor-El: Welcome home, my son.
Clark: Home?I wanted to see it that way, Jor-El. I wanted to learn more about my family, about my destiny. And then you tore it all away.
Jor-El: I programmed the fortress to remove your powers and self-destruct if you became a danger to the planet.
Clark: When you sent me here, you had no way of knowing how I would use my abilities. You trusted me. When I betrayed that trust, you were willing to sacrifice your only son to save this planet. But now I know what it truly means to protect people, not just my family and friends.
Jor-El: You've made great progress, my son.
Clark: One thing needs to change. You call me your son, but you treat me like your enemy. I think it's time you stop punishing me and start trusting me again.
Jor-El: You've grown up, Kal-El. Your trials have matured you.
Clark: My trials are not over, Jor-El.)
But he did start his Kryptonian training in season 7 in the second episode after he took care of the last phantom(
Kara
Clark: Lois, I'm leaving Smallville... after Lana's funeral.
Lois: Wow, didn't see that coming. Where are you running away to?
Clark: Up North. There's something I need to do.
Jor-El: Kal-El, my son, you have finally chosen to start your training.
Clark: A Kryptonian girl showed up at my doorstep. Her name is Kara. Last time that happened, you were behind it.
Jor-El: I know nothing of her arrival.
Clark: She says she was sent here by her father, Zor-El. You might remember him, since he's your brother. Care to tell me why you ignored that branch of the family tree?
Jor-El: Whatever Zor-El wanted with you, it was not for the greater good of Krypton. He could not be trusted, and neither can his daughter.
Clark: You can't blame Kara for the actions of her father. She's not here to cause any harm.
Jor-El: That is an emotional, human reaction. Be careful of your feelings, Kal-El. They can betray you.
Clark: My feelings are part of who I am, whether you like it or not. Now, what about my training?
Jor-El: Your training starts with Kara. Watch over her, Kal-El. She poses a greater threat than you believe.)


As for Clark developing his superhero identity in a way, what he said in “Masquerade” was very much true “Unfortunately, I've lived my entire life up until this point without needing one. That's why I've been so reluctant. I mean, this is the face that my parents raised. It's the face of the man that you love. And I don't want to deny who I am when I'm out there doing what I was born to do.” and “When I'm out there in the red and blue, and I'm saving people, that's who I really am. And I know this is gonna sound weird, but it's not what I'm called that should define who I am. It's who I am that should define what I'm called. Clark Kent - it's...it's just a name. It's just a word. I am The Blur, and I always have been.” because even though he hasn’t worn a superhero costume didn’t make him a hero of his own right.(heck even before he knew his true Kryptonian destiny, he always had a desire to help people in fact that was the main reason he became a reporter. He's spent pretty much about 10 years coming to terms with and accepting his Kryptonian heritage and family. All long before he fully has become Superman. IMO, he's as much Kal-El as he is Clark Kent. Being "the Blur" ISN'T just "what he can do." It is very much a real part of who he is, just as much as Clark Kent is a part of who he is. The Blur/Superman is who he is because he is able to use his powers to save people. But as Superman, his personality that we've grown to love as Clark is still there. What Clark meant with the disguise angle is that he'll have to distort how other people perceive the man they know as Clark Kent in order to protect himself from being discovered. I didn't see it as an abandonment of his personality, rather that he was in a tough position with people seeing his face as the Blur and he was forced to change his Clark persona because the damage had already been done. All of the Clark aspects of him are there in Superman - the powers, the good heart, the farm boy tendencies. He's in a costume, but nothing's changed about him. When he officially become the Blur/Superman he is doing what Clark's been doing since he started saving his friends and his community as a child in Smallville. Clark was simply saying that he's always been the "hometown hero" or hero, more specifically, but Clark Kent, or "Mr. Kent" as this episode suggested, needs to disguise that better to avoid any association with the Blur (soon to be Superman).

In fact the red jacket and blue t-shirt(and blue jacket/red t-shirt) had become very much Clark’s superhero outfit even before he started treating as such in episodes like Identity and Turbulence in a lot of ways(the amount of times when he saved someone or an important moment like jumping from the Daily Planet to LuthorCorp in a single bound he was in that outfit combo, when he went on his first Justice League mission and they were all side by side with the Leaguers in their superhero outfits with Clark in that outfit combo. and becoming a Daily Planet reporter, like I said he.

As for the Justice League (which in Post Crisis comics like Legends and JLA: Year One and cartoons like The Batman Superman was reluctant to be a member of the Justice League at first until one mission which leads either to join the League or agree to be a part time member/help out if they ever need him) Clark admitted he wish he could join the JL in taking down 33.1 bases but he had to deal with the free Zoners. He was a lone wolf who taught to help (
Justice
Chloe: Oh, come on, Clark. It wasn't your fault. Even with all your powers, you can't be everywhere at once.
Clark: I have to be. I'm the only one who can round up the prisoners from the Phantom Zone and stop Lex from experimenting on people with abilities. What did you find out from Casselli about 33.1?
Bulletproof:
Clark: I guess going solo has really caught up with us lately, huh?You know, for everything Danny's crew did wrong, I have to say... knowing there's always someone there who has your back... that kind of brotherhood can make you feel like you could do anything.
Checkmate:
Clark: I'm sure it's fine. Just because he doesn't check in--
Chloe: You know, unlike some people, Oliver actually follows protocol.
Clark: What protocol?
Chloe: Exactly. He and everyone else dial in with Watchtower while they're on patrol. Clark, you spend so much time watching everybody else's back, you forget that we need to watch each other's backs too.)
Even when he was working closer with the League and acting like more of a member in season 9 and 10 he was acting like a lone wolf and can you blame him. Someone as powerful as Clark and been working by himself for most of his life so he wasn’t used to someone watching his back until stuff like meeting with the JSA, THE VRA, Kandorians and Checkmate among other things which cause him to realize how working with and help inspire them to evolve from just worrying about 33.1 bases to taking down Alien threats like Doomsday and Zod to eventually protect the world and inspire hope and lead by example.

I agree 100%