Clark Kent/aliases

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Clark Kent has had a number of aliases, but the most primary of these is that which begins half a dozen episodes into Season Eight and gradually evolves into the iconic figure history will most remember him by the series finale, the sky soaring champion with a red cape unafraid to show his face whom Lois Lane names Superman.

Before the Dual-Identity

Prior to getting increasingly frequent super-saves noticed around Metropolis after getting a job at the Daily Planet, Clark Kent's 'status quo' was secretly saving people and taking zero credit in a unique attempt to hide his abilities from the world as the ultimate anonymous hero, more often than not the lucky person receiving his help simply wouldn't see him or not know him and just count their blessings (Commencement, Bizarro).

Clark's very first experience in a super-hero uniform came compliments of acting as cover for Oliver Queen when Lois Lane strongly suspected his own double-life as Green Arrow, pulling off a successful save of both her and Jimmy Olsen while convincing Lois that Oliver and Arrow were as different as night and day. Very soon after this, Clark found himself in the middle of his unofficial first mission with the Justice League (briefly bestowed the code-name "Boy Scout"), momentarily joining the team in the midst of his attempt to save Bart Allen and eventually giving them his blessing to destroy the targeted 33.1 complex. While Clark didn't go off to join the League following this adventure, he did experiment in anonymous super-saves some months later in the aftermath of Lana Lang's marriage to Lex Luthor, though primarily to vent off his own anger without getting much notice. (Hydro, Justice, Combat)

Clark's identity amongst the Veritas group was considered to be an enigmatic messiah of an alien whom, like the "Naman" figure in the Kawatche legend, was foretold to be a chosen savior destined to protect the world. Prior to Lex Luthor discovering his old friend's secret seemingly for keeps, he had a few brushes (a few direct, one indirectly) with whom he could've interpreted to be "The Traveler" as called by Veritas, in addition to whom he would eventually realize is the "Kal-El" Zod's disciples and a catatonic Lionel spoke of following the second meteor shower. Lex first glimpsed Kal-El when he stole the Crystal of Fire from his jet, when in the caves during the second meteor shower as Chloe was transported to the arctic, when this man teamed up with Green Arrow's team to take down their first 33.1 complex (all three times of which were disproven to be Clark), and a final time when Edward Teague's life was saved in Montreal. (Crusade, Commencement, Justice, Quest)

The Red-Blue Blur/The Blur

Upon getting a job at the Daily Planet, Clark decided to totally immerse himself in the resources presented by the paper which helped him learn where to save mere strangers and overall start making a difference in the big city. Though he wouldn't wear his actual first suit until after the ordeal with Doomsday, Oliver's assistance in giving the general public what they believed to be their first look at this alias helped cement what Clark had already been building on for a couple weeks, a symbol of hope. The following two and a half years would entail much for the Superman legacy which includes the character's first encounters with several DC mythos villains, the entire Clark/Lois/Kal-El love-triangle, and even a couple hazy glimpses of his face in-suit (Lazarus, Masquerade).

Clark's alias played out through three unique incarnations prior to his mastering of the power to fly and being rewarded the red and blue suit by Jor-El. While being coined a "Good Samaritan" at first, the first article about him by Ron Troupe began using the "Red-Blue Blur" term, that which was eventually dropped to simply "the Blur" after Clark exchanged his colorful street clothes for the black suit. He would continue to be called this term nearly halfway into the year 2011, until the day Apokolips was pushed away from Earth to which Chloe Sullivan alludes in 2018 was the day Clark Kent's alias was officially named Superman.

• Blur 1: Due to Clark's constant red-jacket/blue-shirt look (at times blue-jacket/red-shirt) at the start of his super-saves in Metropolis, Jimmy's first photo of him gave the general public the perception of a super-speeding man in red and blue. Unwilling to don a 'suit' just yet, though also seeing the notion on how a costumed hero watching over the people of the city can give them some hope, Clark sought Oliver to give the city a single clear view of his seeding alias. As confirmed by later notions, like kids' views of "the Red-Blue Blur" resembling what'll be Superman ( Bulletproof, Warrior), as well as Martha adapting a yellow belt and Clark's red cape given to him by Rachel Davenport, the general public perceives this first guise of the proto-Superman "Blur" to be mostly donning blue, a yellow belt, and heavy red cape.
• Blur 2: Though still giving off a mostly blur-like perception to the public, Clark decided to notch up his continually seeding proto-Superman alias, with the events of Doomsday persuading him to drop the red/blue colors in favor of a pure black look. This actual 'suit' includes a cape-like trench coat, in a way continuing on from the perception Oliver gave Metropolis back in Identity, and the actual House of El symbol proudly on his chest. Because he isn't letting the citizens still fully see him yet, though there are exceptions from time to time with allowing Lois and a few citizens to glimpse him, Clark emphasizes the use of his family's crest by burning it at areas of his saves. Though it was at a great distance, thus mostly obscuring his face from the general public, he did let them fully see him for the first time during his last super-save in this suit as he caught the Daily Planet globe. This costume is very similar to the one General Zod adopted when he possessed Lex Luthor and appears to be an adaptation of what Superman wears in the "Return of Superman" comic arc.
• Blur 3: Clark's truly final transition from the seeding alias that has been building for two years. This was in response to Cat Grant's emphasis on the continuing paranoia from certain sections of the general public and even the U.S. military toward costumed heroes, now forever dropping the black in favor of returning to the more American-friendly red/blue. Though unable to keep a cape-look due to Jor-El confining the full-fledged Superman suit Martha made for him, Clark opted to don a 'suit' more familiar with Oliver and the Justice League's; a red leather jacket with the iconic 'S' embedded—two halves of it on the left and right sides—of the front chest section, as well as an underneath blue shirt from his first Blur look. Clark used this last contribution to his proto-Superman "Blur" far less than the prior two at first, taking what could be considered a five-episode sabbatical before he finally started performing public super-saves in it.

After the arrival of Booster Gold, the "Man of Steel" nickname is officially dubbed unto the Blur by Lois Lane, hence explicitly linking up this era of Kal-El's heroic legacy to the following.

Full-Fledged Superman

Following his final trial in fully learning to fly, this present and future era of the iconic incarnation to Clark Kent's alias officially begins once he is rewarded the technicolor-'S' bearing suit by the spirits of his two fathers. Made by Martha Kent one year prior, it apparently takes key inspiration from the first two looks of Clark's super-hero identity (being created before the costume worn through Season 10), much as Alec Abrams' drawing did. The costume's mostly all-blue look, yellow belt, and red color for the cape come from what the general public believed "the Red-Blue Blur" to look like in most of his first year protecting them, while the continuing presence of a caped look in general and 'S' on the chest can be considered inspiration from Clark's black suit.

(Also considering the cape Rachel Davenport gave the Kent family is never seen in a separate form after Season 9's penultimate episode, the idea seems to be that cape and the iconic costume are one and the same, simply with an all-yellow 'S' added on the back by Martha)

Taking on the mantle of this suit, Kal-El of Krypton soars through the roof of his Fortress, saves Lois Lane with the United States President on Air Force One, and saves the entire world from the crashing threat of Apokalips. According to Chloe Sullivan some years later, this is the day for which the transition in names comes about, insinuating that Lois Lane made the bestowing a year after first consideration (Shield). In a potential vision Clark had for the year 2013's start, he foresaw himself protecting the Daily Planet from an astray plane and compliments of a following time travel trip to the year 2017, saw his future self save the whole city from a nuclear catastrophe. In the year 2018, though Clark's alias has been in action for about 10 years, he's now been going by the name Lois gave him for 7 of those as Superman heads off to prevent the explosion of an elevator.

All Known Aliases

• Lex Luthor refers to Clark as "Atticus" after the "To Kill a Mockingbird" character, Atticus Finch, because of his decision to remain objective concerning Kyle Tippet even though it put him at odds with Lana and Whitney. (Hug)
• When Clark runs for school president, he uses the name "The Man of Tomorrow" which he picks up from his friend, Lex Luthor. (Drone).
• When Clark visits Metropolis University, he is referred to as "The Golden Arm," and Chloe calls him "The Quarterback" (he later corrects her and others, by saying, "former quarterback.") (Recruit).
• Lois Lane often refers to Clark as "Smallville" and she nicknames the blur as the "red and blue superdude". (Gone, Identity). In Season 4 Episode 14 (Krypto) she suggests that Clark change his name to "Skipper" to avoid confusion with the dog's proposed name of Clarkie (because the dog, like Clark, annoys her.) In Season 6 Episode 2 (Sneeze), she teasingly calls Clark "Clarkie" when asking him if he has a cold. In Season 8 Episode 2 (Plastique), she referred to him as "Houdini" because of his quick exit while they were at the hospital. In Season 8 Episode 5 (Committed), still teasing him, she uses the endearing terms "Pumpkin", "Poodle", and "Cupcake".
• Since working at the Daily Planet, Lois Lane has often referred to Clark as "The Mild-Mannered Reporter" (Apocalypse). She even referred to him as "The Mild-Mannered No-Show" (Absolute Justice, Part 2).
• Jimmy Olsen abbreviated his name by calling him "C.K." and when he saw Clark use his powers he thinks he is some kind of "superguy." (Zod, Doomsday)
• Edward Teague and Doctor Fate referred to Clark as "The Savior". (Quest, Absolute Justice, Part 2)
• Lex Luthor and Tess Mercer seek "The Traveler", Clark's name in Kryptonian legend. (Arctic, Eternal)
• Garth Ranzz is the first character of the series to almost call Clark "Superman". He was cut off by Cosmic Boy before he got past the first syllable. Unbeknownst to Clark, he passes by a newsstand full of papers in the year 2017, whose headline article reads "SUPERMAN SAVES THE DAY!" (Legion, Homecoming)
• Clark's codename on Oliver's team of pro-active heroes was "Boy Scout." (Justice) Pete Ross also called him "Boy Scout" while under the influence of the parasite found in the Kawatche Caves. (Rush) Brainiac also referred to him as such. (Persona)
• Joseph Willowbrook has referred to Clark as "Naman" (Talisman)
• Arthur Curry referred to Clark as "Superboy" (Aqua)
• Chloe called him "Carlos" when they went undercover in the Tri-Psi sorority to investigate what had happened to Lana (Thirst)
• Aldar refers to Clark as "Krypton Man". (Static)
• Clark has been given headline pseudonyms: "The Good Samaritan", "The Red-Blue Blur". (Identity, Stiletto)
• Clark has rechristened his superhero alias, calling himself "The Blur". (Savior)
• Clark's red kryptonite persona and the nickname the Legion of Super-Heroes give Clark is "Kal". (Exile, Legion)
• Jor-El, Dr. Virgil Swann, as well as most friendly aliens refer to Clark by his original birth name, "Kal-El". (Rosetta, Exodus)
• Some of the Zoners refer to Clark as "The Last Son of Krypton". ^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Fate When describing Lois's inevitable entwined destiny with Clark refers to him as "The Savior" and "The Sentient power" in Absolute Justice, Part 2.
• A few times Clark is referred to as a "Man of Steel," most notably on billboards posted around Metropolis ("The Real Man of Steel") by Lois Lane in response to Booster's shameless self-promotion (Booster).
• Clark Kent had to pose as Clark Luthor the first time he visited Earth-2. (Luthor)
• Darkseid refers to Clark as "The Light" in Finale, Part 2.
• Chloe Sullivan is the only person to use the word "Superman" to refer to Clark. (Finale, Part 2)