Superman’s secret identity is crucial to his character, but at least one story showed how the Man of Steel keeping secrets was a bad idea. For as long as there’s been a Superman, there’s been a Clark Kent, as the mild-mannered reporter provides an important counterpoint to the all-powerful Man of Steel. But there’s at least one downside to Superman keeping a secret identity.
All-Star Superman #5 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely features a story in which Clark Kent is assigned to follow Lex Luthor for a day while the villain is serving time in maximum security prison. The interview goes fine – until Clark follows Lex into the general population, where the two encounter the Parasite.
The energy-feeding villain senses a massive surge of power when Clark enters the room, causing him to get a super-charge of power. Given that no one knows that Clark Kent is actually Superman, the mild-mannered reporter unknowingly puts everyone around him in danger.
Parasite Gets the Meal of a Lifetime with Clark Kent, Proving Superman’s Secret Identity Is Truly Dangerous
All-Star Superman #5 by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Jamie Grant, and Phil Balsman
Clark Kent’s secret identity winds up backfiring big time, as the prison had no reason to put any safeguards on the Parasite to prevent him from feeding on Superman’s powers. Things are further complicated by the super-charge of solar energy that the Man of Steel got at the beginning of All-Star Superman, which pushed Superman to his highest power levels yet seen. Parasite gorges on this newfound power like a pet dog who got hold of the Christmas turkey, which causes chaos at the prison.
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Clark still pretends to be the mild-mannered reporter, saving several prisoners, guards, and even Lex himself, all while pretending to look like a bumbling idiot. Lex and Clark manage to get away from the power-gorged Parasite, but the energy-absorbing villain chases after them, eager to keep feeding on his new power source. Clark manages to fake an earthquake by stomping on the floor, causing the Parasite to be trapped in the rubble, whereupon Lex savagely attacks the fallen Parasite in a pretty brutal beat-down.
Superman Shows That When Secret Identities Go Wrong, They Go Really Wrong
All-Star Superman Shows the Downside of Clark Kent’s Secret
While his secret identity as Clark Kent is an important aspect of his character, there is the undeniable fact that Superman is lying to the public. Writer Brian Michael Bendis attempted to address this snag during his run on the Superman titles, where Superman revealed his secret identity as Clark Kent to the entire world. If he’d done the same during the out-of-continuity All-Star Superman, Superman might have prevented the riot while visiting the max security prison to interview Luthor. Yet even though he was the cause, Superman winds up taking care of the problem, saving everyone while still keeping his secret identity intact.
All-Star Superman #5 is available now from DC Comics.
Superman
The icon who launched the entire world of superheroes, the last son of Krypton escaped his dying world to crash land on Earth and be raised as Clark Kent. The world knows him better as Superman, the Man of Steel, the leader of the Justice League, and the most well-known hero in the DC Comics Universe. Blessed with the powers of a demigod, Kal-El of Krypton fights enemies both small and cosmic in his endless pursuit of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.
- Created By
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Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel
- First Appearance
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Action Comics
- Alias
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Kal-El, Clark Kent, Jonathan Kent
- Alliance
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Justice League, Superman Family
- Race
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Kryptonian
Summary
The icon who launched the entire world of superheroes, the last son of Krypton escaped his dying world to crash land on Earth and be raised as Clark Kent. The world knows him better as Superman, the Man of Steel, the leader of the Justice League, and the most well-known hero in the DC Comics Universe. Blessed with the powers of a demigod, Kal-El of Krypton fights enemies both small and cosmic in his endless pursuit of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.