Clark Kent (Smallville)

Clark Joseph Kent, born Kal-El, is a fictional character and the main protagonist on The WB/The CW television series Smallville. The character of Clark Kent, first created for comic books by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 as the civilian persona of DC Comics' Superman, was adapted to television in 2001 by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. This is the fourth time the character has been adapted to a live-action television series. Clark was continually portrayed by Tom Welling during the series' ten seasons, with various other actors portraying Clark as a child. The character has also appeared in various literature based on the Smallville series, all of which are completely independent of the television episodes. As of 2011, Smallville's Clark Kent has appeared in eighteen young adult novels. Welling reprised the role in 2019 for the Arrowverse television crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths".

In the series, Clark attempts to live the life of a normal human being, and struggles with keeping the secret of his alien heritage from his friends. He has an on-again, off-again relationship with childhood friend Lana Lang through the first seven seasons, the trials of which are based on his lack of honesty about his secret, which eventually gives way to the traditional relationship with Daily Planet co-worker Lois Lane. In contrast to previous incarnations of the character, this Clark starts out best friends with Lex Luthor, whom he meets after saving the latter's life.