It's Superman! - Main Characters

Main Characters

Clark Kent is the protagonist, who later goes by the alter-ego of Superman. The adopted son of farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent: Clark is a shy, quiet and insecure young man who feels "there" in society because of his alienation. He possesses "talents" such as super strength, speed, flight, and much more. No matter how many people he is surrounded by, he feels alone. This is due to the fact he feels that they can not relate to him (ironically the only person who does is his nemesis, Lex Luthor). Unlike most mythos; Clark is given a more "human" approach, much like an "everyman", that subjects him with the same humane actions and temptations that would go against his comic book counterpart, while still not astraying from his "boy scout" image. Examples include an angsty brooding nature more reminiscent of Batman than Superman; and moments where he breaks the law and uses his powers to his advantage. Also unlike the mythos; Clark is unaware about his Kryptonian origins. Instead, he at one point recalls a dream where a planet is dying of old age and a scientist and his wife send their son off to a rocket ship. Plus, he is jokingly told by his father that he came "from a "wagon", suggesting it might have been an airship that dropped a bomb (under this assumption, they do not understand why a bomb would contain a baby). But it is Clark who suggests to his denying father, that he must be an alien from another planet.

Willi Berg is a photographer, Lois Lane's ex-boyfriend, and, eventually, Clark Kent's best friend. Known for his past of getting into trouble; no one believes him when he is accused of murder, saying he was framed by Lex Luthor; New York's alderman. He is saved by the FBI, and with the help of Lois, gets a job with the WPA, where he meets Clark. It is because of Willi that Clark develops his powers, leaves Smallville, and he and Clark together create Clark's dual-identity; making Clark and Superman two separate people. It is alluded that Willi intended to use Clark and his abilities for his own purposes to get him out of the jam he was in, but went against that idea as he was starting to like Clark. Interestingly, Willi dyes his hair red while on the lam, making him reminiscent of the Daily Planet's red-headed photographer, Jimmy Olsen (who does not appear in this book, though was going to be Willi's false identity when he was on the run in the original proposal).

Lois Lane begins as a student at Columbia University journalism school, before becoming a reporter for the Daily Planet. Described as a "pistol" by the novel's reviewers; Lois will do anything to get the story, including getting the dirt on Lex Luthor, and will not let anything or anyone stop her in the male-dominated journalistic world. Her intelligence, self-confidence and beauty attract an impressive number of men, including Willi Berg and Ben Jaeger. She is an army brat; with the man she grew up being a hard-nosed retired army captain (in the comics, he is a general). She occasionally fears she will never meet a man where the relationship lasts, and she isn't put down because she is a woman. Her relationship with Clark is complicated; as she knows she can easily have him, she expresses disinterest and sometimes scorn when he asks her out. She always makes jokes about him, but she does not mean it, and she is not as coldhearted as she makes herself appear.

Lex Luthor is the main antagonist, an alderman in New York, and in charge of his company, LUTHOR Corp. Luthor is the man responsible for framing Willi Berg after he is spotted at the murder scene of a pawn shop owner. Under his respectable disguise of an alderman, Lex secretly runs a criminal empire from within Manhattan, his connections allowing him to evade the long arm of the law. Lex's criminal actions are motivated, at least in part, by trying to outrun the memory of his father, himself a fugitive who lived in fear of being caught. Lex is embarrassed by his drunken, painfully honest mother, so much so, that after her funeral he confesses to her headstone that he never loved her. Despite his ruthlessness, Lex is the epitome of social grace; no racial slurs or coarse language are tolerated in his ranks. The connection between Lex and Clark/Superman is founded on how similar the two characters are revealed to be; not only in the outward "face" each presents to the world but the feelings of isolation which motivate those deceptions.

Jonathan and Martha Kent are the owners of their self-named farm, as well as the loving parents of their adopted son, Clark. Before Clark came into their lives, the Kents could not conceive, and Jonathan felt happy about that, due to his past with his own father to whom he disrespected. Because of Clark being "different", Jonathan could not help nor understand what must have been going in Clark's mind to answer his questions, making Jonathan feel as if he had been a bad father. All evidence, however, points to him as the opposite: a patient and loving man who gives Clark his moral conscience (and a few grammar lessons); Jonathan's encouragement becomes one of the reasons he becomes Superman, and why he stays being Superman even after experiencing some fears. Martha dies early in the novel, but her presence is still felt through the minds of both Clark and Jonathan; mentioning her background, her faith, and her past as a pioneer woman. Jonathan follows suite near the end and dies too; just like his wife, it appears to be of natural causes, hastened, it appears, by the loneliness brought on by Martha's death and Clark's departure for the wider world.