The Official Re-Imagining Clark Kent Thread

[Man of Tomorrow]

yeah, their are multiple ways to translate "mild mannered" i just prefer any that don't include "corny".

Has anyone suggest Christopher Gorham for clark/superman? I know he's too short 6' but i was thinking he's pretty much played the character in Jake 2.0. Even if you could find someone like him, i think you'd get the clark is kind of geeky, automatically, then he'd have to bulk up a lot (although he's got a good build) to portray superman accuarately. Also he's an example of skinny face/neck and buff build similar to earth one superman.

Metropolis clark

Regular clark

Superman (minus the odd facial expression and glasses)

Ew...



Just... stop

 

[THE MR. TERRIFIC]

• Clark Kent plays a dumb farmboy in the big city, but with his father's good natured sarcasm. Lois, Jimmy, Perry, Cat and Ron quickly find out he's a generally well traveled.
• Clark Kent is a good journalist, who LIKES his job. He likes Lois because of how she carries herself, and because she's an incredible person, not just out of some hero complex. He's friends with Jimmy because he finds Jimmy's bumbling amusing. We could even throw in a nod by having Clark bumble to cover for Jimmy, not to hid his supermanness. That's how they become good friends.
• Clark Kent does try to keep his cover, but not by making it so ridiculous that he'd be Superman, but by intelligently defelecting suspicion. By having airtight alibis. In reality, the visual similarity between Clark Kent and Superman would have to be acknolwedged, not just glossed over.
• To solidify his non-supermanness to other characters, having Clark sick (from kryptonite) and injured and rushed to the hospital is a good idea.
• Show him frustrated that he has no one to talk to.
• Convince Lois, realistically, and you convince the audience.

Like it!

 

[GL1]

Thanks. Clark is the easiest part of making Superman 'down to earth' imho.

 

[Webhead2006]

yea there is so much they can do with clark kent persona/character. which i hope we get a good character out of with nolans/goyer writing.

 

[Vaibow]

Like it!

I 2nd that - brilliant way to portray clark, an all round decent guy, who
has a soft spot for jimmy, and i guess a hard sport for lois - lol.

But, in all seriousness, the way the media cover superman, he's never fully in focus, or a clear shot, he doesn't really hang about, so it's not as if they have a blown up shot of superman to visually study and be able to compare to clark.

The majority of the images come from mobile phones, CCTV and tourist camera's, all shaky etc.

Picture when superman is on screen, we see it how we saw District 9 - from a news reporter, mobile, or CCTV, that way, we will understand how the crowds and population see him.

Plus, i would also have one or two supporting cast at the D.P that physically, look like clark, same short dark hair, near the same height - therefor, Clark could say, well, my money is on 'Steve' over in economics and we cut across to a large built guy. To say look, just because i am over 6 ' means nothing, there are plenty of guys in that range.

Also, where superman returns failed.. do not have clark and superman make public appearances on the same day!!!!

 

[Webhead2006]

those are good points to go with too.

 

[NotFadeAway]

Anyone who knows me knows that I believe Clark is and should be the real person. Thats why when I look for casting choices, I think Clark Kent first.

 

[Webhead2006]

me too fade.

 

[El Payaso]

At least we know now where the super-hearing comes from.

 

[Vaibow]

At least we know now where the super-hearing comes from.

haha, classic

 

[GL1]

I 2nd that - brilliant way to portray clark, an all round decent guy, who
has a soft spot for jimmy, and i guess a hard sport for lois - lol.

But, in all seriousness, the way the media cover superman, he's never fully in focus, or a clear shot, he doesn't really hang about, so it's not as if they have a blown up shot of superman to visually study and be able to compare to clark.

The majority of the images come from mobile phones, CCTV and tourist camera's, all shaky etc.

Picture when superman is on screen, we see it how we saw District 9 - from a news reporter, mobile, or CCTV, that way, we will understand how the crowds and population see him.

Plus, i would also have one or two supporting cast at the D.P that physically, look like clark, same short dark hair, near the same height - therefor, Clark could say, well, my money is on 'Steve' over in economics and we cut across to a large built guy. To say look, just because i am over 6 ' means nothing, there are plenty of guys in that range.

Also, where superman returns failed.. do not have clark and superman make public appearances on the same day!!!!

Awesome, yes. Intelligent deflection!

I like the aspect of the television, because at that point, only Lois will really be able to see the similarities up close, which makes things both simpler and more emotionally charged. Very nice.

One angle that I feel is overlooked in most modern reinventions is the Intelligence Community's ability to track and identify individuals.

Anyone who knows me knows that I believe Clark is and should be the real person. Thats why when I look for casting choices, I think Clark Kent first.

That's pretty important, and I don't think I've heard that before. Cast Clark Kent and then build Superman as "Clark Kent Unleashed" as opposed to casting Superman and then kinda building... "Superman in Disguise."

My personal angle:
Clark Kent is his personal life - He is a product of his upbringing and identifies with himself as Clark. He is the type of person who is actually very much himself at work, incidentally, which is cool.

Superman is his professional life - Superman is Clark Kent in the same mindset that a Soldier, Policeman, Firefighter or other life-and-death professional has when doing they're job. They are themselves, but they are a specific part of themselves, even when around friends and family, if they're in uniform, their mind is set differently. It's not unlike what any of us experience when working in corporate America. There are rules, and your personality is filtered.

Kal-El is his true identity, or spiritual life - At some point Superman is more than human, not in the emotional sense, but in the sense that he experiences things beyond comprehension without being broken. It is Kal El who takes the transcendent journey into Krypton's history, it is Kal El who, 200-500 years from now, reflects on his life on Earth. Clark Kent, despite how formative he is for Kal-El, has no perspective to lend to Krypton. It is as far beyond Clark as it is Martha because Clark is, in all ways but physically, a human. Kal-El does not come to work at the Daily Planet, the lessons learned about his biological heritage are applied much more abstractly. Kal is always put on hold so that Clark can just be himself. Kal-El is not a personality, or an alter-ego, but rather a journey and a purpose type of identity.

 

[Webhead2006]

yea if we are getting a fresh to the scene type of superman it should be no full clear looks on the guy for awhile. To jimmy is first able to snap a full on photo of superman in action.

 

[glofty726]

Clark Kent should behave pretty much the way Dean Cain & Tom Welling's Clark Kent did/does on both L&C & Smallville (& TNAS to a degree). Moving away from the whole Reeve/Routh complete goofball stage, but not losing it completely.. moments of brief geek or goofball-ness are ok, just not overdone like Routh/Reeve's where at times.

I don't want Clark to be shy in the reboot either, I want him to be able to speak with Lois on her terms like Smallville/L&C/TNAS rather than what happened in Supes 1-4 & SR where it felt like Lois is always talking down to Clark rather than with him.

Part of the thing that will make a successful 'non-total goofball' Clark in this film with be the chemistry between the actor/actress with Clark/Lois, it has to be just spot on.
Teri Hatcher/Dean Cain, Tom Welling/Erica Durance ooze great chemistry & it showed/shows with their witty/flirty banter. I personally didn't think Christopher Reeve/Margot Kidder had particularly great chemistry.. it was quite average, but it worked. Brandon Routh/Kate Bosworth's chemistry just was non-existant.
Anyway, getting sidetracked good chemistry is needed between the two.

This film should focus probably more about Clark Kent/Kal-El & less about Superman persay. Too much Superman in costume can ruin the effect it has when it appears I personally feel..

AGREED! This is why the Superman movies are ultimately unsatisfying, because there isn't a real story about Clark

 

[Webhead2006]

yea this next one should be a good balance of clark kent stuff and superman stuff.

 

[Panthro]

I really don't want to watch the "bumbling stupid nerd" stereotype again. I'd much rather see a more assertive Clark Kent, albeit understated & soft spoken.

 

[raybia]

Awesome, yes. Intelligent deflection!

I like the aspect of the television, because at that point, only Lois will really be able to see the similarities up close, which makes things both simpler and more emotionally charged. Very nice.

One angle that I feel is overlooked in most modern reinventions is the Intelligence Community's ability to track and identify individuals.



That's pretty important, and I don't think I've heard that before. Cast Clark Kent and then build Superman as "Clark Kent Unleashed" as opposed to casting Superman and then kinda building... "Superman in Disguise."

My personal angle:
Clark Kent is his personal life - He is a product of his upbringing and identifies with himself as Clark. He is the type of person who is actually very much himself at work, incidentally, which is cool.

Superman is his professional life - Superman is Clark Kent in the same mindset that a Soldier, Policeman, Firefighter or other life-and-death professional has when doing they're job. They are themselves, but they are a specific part of themselves, even when around friends and family, if they're in uniform, their mind is set differently. It's not unlike what any of us experience when working in corporate America. There are rules, and your personality is filtered.

Kal-El is his true identity, or spiritual life - At some point Superman is more than human, not in the emotional sense, but in the sense that he experiences things beyond comprehension without being broken. It is Kal El who takes the transcendent journey into Krypton's history, it is Kal El who, 200-500 years from now, reflects on his life on Earth. Clark Kent, despite how formative he is for Kal-El, has no perspective to lend to Krypton. It is as far beyond Clark as it is Martha because Clark is, in all ways but physically, a human. Kal-El does not come to work at the Daily Planet, the lessons learned about his biological heritage are applied much more abstractly. Kal is always put on hold so that Clark can just be himself. Kal-El is not a personality, or an alter-ego, but rather a journey and a purpose type of identity.

I really don't want to watch the "bumbling stupid nerd" stereotype again. I'd much rather see a more assertive Clark Kent, albeit understated & soft spoken.

Well said guys! I agree.

Doesn't anybody know how Clark was portrayed originally in the comics? Assertive wasn't he?

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

Dean Cain's Clark Kent Later copied without as much charisma on SV. That is the best modern way to portray him. Definitely get away from the bumbling act. If they modernize the characters it does two key things to get people behind the film.

1. More relatable to an audience of today/as well as bringing in a new audience of today.
2. Clearly differentiates itself from Donner's efforts. If you don't have a bumbling Clark, no reason to compare it.

 

[raybia]

Dean Cain's Clark Kent Later copied without as much charisma on SV. That is the best modern way to portray him. Definitely get away from the bumbling act. If they modernize the characters it does two key things to get people behind the film.

1. More relatable to an audience of today/as well as bringing in a new audience of today.
2. Clearly differentiates itself from Donner's efforts. If you don't have a bumbling Clark, no reason to compare it.

Loved that show and I agree. Cain's Clark was who he was, Superman is what is did.

 

[raybia]

yeah, their are multiple ways to translate "mild mannered" i just prefer any that don't include "corny".

Has anyone suggest Christopher Gorham for clark/superman? I know he's too short 6' but i was thinking he's pretty much played the character in Jake 2.0. Even if you could find someone like him, i think you'd get the clark is kind of geeky, automatically, then he'd have to bulk up a lot (although he's got a good build) to portray superman accuarately. Also he's an example of skinny face/neck and buff build similar to earth one superman.

Metropolis clark

Regular clark

Superman (minus the odd facial expression and glasses)

Bulimia nervosa: The untold tales of Young Clark Kent.

 

[Panthro]

Dean Cain's Clark Kent Later copied without as much charisma on SV. That is the best modern way to portray him. Definitely get away from the bumbling act. If they modernize the characters it does two key things to get people behind the film.

1. More relatable to an audience of today/as well as bringing in a new audience of today.
2. Clearly differentiates itself from Donner's efforts. If you don't have a bumbling Clark, no reason to compare it.

Agreed 112%.

 

[Bad Superman]

I think the reason why Christopher Reeve played Clark as bumbling and as a klutz was to contrast him as much as he could from Superman. I loved it when at times he acted acted clumsily and when no one was around you saw the Superman "prescence" come out (The alley scene in Superman The Movie after catching the bullet).

For the next CK I would like to see something that contrasts him from Superman, but a bit different to what Reeve did. I think Routh did a nice job. He was an awkward Clark, but not bumbling. It's going to be interesting to see how they'll portray him this time.

 

[raybia]

I think the reason why Christopher Reeve played Clark as bumbling and as a klutz was to contrast him as much as he could from Superman. I loved it when at times he acted acted clumsily and when no one was around you saw the Superman "prescence" come out (The alley scene in Superman The Movie after catching the bullet).

For the next CK I would like to see something that contrasts him from Superman, but a bit different to what Reeve did. I think Routh did a nice job. He wasn an awkward Clark, but not bumbling. It's going to be interesting to see how they'll portray him this time.

I believe that Cain's portrayal came from Byrne's re-imagining of Superman where Clark was the real person and Superman was his public persona.

I remember Byrne saying something to the effect that his Clark doesn't act timid and mild mannered because not only does no one suspect him of being Superman but no one suspects that Superman has a secret identity because he doesn't wear a mask. There was even an issue where Luthor's computer deduced that Clark Kent was Superman and he rejected that because he felt no so such powerful entity would mock his power in such a shameful way.

 

[Bad Superman]

I believe that Cain's portrayal came from Byrne's re-imagining of Superman where Clark was the real person and Superman was his public persona.

I remember Byrne saying something to the effect that his Clark doesn't act timid and mild mannered because not only does no one suspect him of being Superman but no one suspects that Superman has a secret identity because he doesn't wear a mask. There was even an issue where Luthor's computer deduced that Clark Kent was Superman and he rejected that because he felt no so such powerful entity would mock his power in such a shameful way.

I would like to see something like that. BTW, I loved Byrne's MOS.

 

[Webhead2006]

totally we dont need to have a goofy/clumsy clark any more. He should act normal and all that, sorta like how cain played his clark, or to a degree how welling is as clark. Normal all around good guy and that.

 

[NotFadeAway]

I wrote this in the casting thread:

This is where I re-invent Clark Kent to a point. I re-invent Clark Kent as more of a true, 21st century-esque "nerd/geek". The witty, dramedy style humor, pop culture knowledge, being a natural klutz just because as Clark Kent he does have to watch what he does physically. Realistically speaking, Clark never would have been able to play sports or really get involved as teen, which is why I always hate incarnations that showed him as some Smallville High stud. He always would have had his guard up, akwardly trying not to stand out. Clark would have turned to activities like writing, hence Journalism, and other "nerdy" nuances. It makes sense this way.

As for Clark Kents look, ditch the over-sized doofus glasses from the movies and apparently Smallville now. It's just cheesy in 70's camp way. One thing Smallville did that I loved was the normal glasses Clark wore in an episode during season 3. I'd go that route. The glasses could be dark rimmed, but normal sized and normal looking. My Clark Kent would wear his hair down. Neat, but down. It's illogical for his hair to be off his forehead as both Clark and Superman. As for clothes, button downs and polo shirts tucked into khakis will do, in any color EXCEPT red, blue, or yellow.

God, I can't go through stumblin, bumbling, campy Clark again. The older I have got, the harder it is to watch that Clark in the movies. Although I would have Clark show up on his first day at the planet stuffy and overdressed, in which Jimmy would make a remark along the lines of "get this man a fedora".