Kal-El (Earth-96: Pre-Crisis)

"Hope is the light that lifts us out of darkness."

- Clark Kent to Lois Lane

Clark Kent (born as Kal-El) was a reporter for and later editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet. In secret, he operated as the vigilante known as Superman and was identified as the Paragon of Truth during the Crisis before being written out of existence by Lex Luthor using the Book of Destiny.

Evacuation from Krypton
Kal-El was born in 1948 to Jor-El and Lara on the planet Krypton. Shortly after his birth, his father discovered that Krypton would explode within thirty days. He brought this information to the Kryptonian Science Council who debated on whether or not to evacuate the planet but eventually decided against it, believing Jor-El to be mistaken. They then accused him of insurrection but withdrew this accusation in exchange for a promise that he and his wife would not leave the planet.

Jor-El then began to construct a pod, made from holographic crystals that stored information from twenty-eight known galaxies and a shard of green kryptonite, in which he would place his son. He plotted a course for Earth but his wife was uncomfortable with this action due to the planet being thousands of years behind in technological progress, with Jor-El countering that his powers and the information within the pod would keep him safe. Jor-El then placed Kal in the pod and said his final goodbye before sending it on its course moments before Krypton began to collapse.

Arrival on Earth
Kal's pod travelled across six galaxies in the span of three years, with messages from his father playing from the holographic crystals that formed the pod before eventually arriving in Earth's atmosphere which caused the pod to warp inward and crash to the surface. He landed in Smallville, Kansas which caused a tire to pop in Jonathan and Martha Kent's truck which was driving nearby. They got out to see what the cause was and found Kal and his pod. Martha, believing him to be a gift from God, wanted to adopt the child whereas Jonathan wanted to alert the authorities. During the discussion, the truck almost fell on Jonathan before Kal lifted it which likely saved his life. This made the couple fear what the government might do if they were alerted to his existence and so they adopted him under the name, Clark Kent.

Daily Planet Attack
At some point, the Joker gassed the Daily Planet office in retaliation for the newspapers perceived lack of coverage of him which killed his wife, Lois Lane, and countless of his friends and co-workers. This eventually led Clark to modify his suit to have a black and red crest instead of a yellow and red crest which symbolized his belief that hope would shine through the darkness.

Powers

 * Kryptonian Physiology: Clark's Kryptonian physiology gave him various superpowers when exposed to a yellow sun.
 * Solar Energy Absorption: Clark's powers came from exposure to yellow solar energy.
 * Flight: Clark was able to propel himself at near limitless speeds which allowed him to fly.
 * Levitation: Clark can levitate using his flight abilities.
 * Freeze Breath:
 * Heat Vision:
 * Invulnerability:
 * Enhanced Durability:
 * Heat Resistance: Clark was able to survive exposure to magma with no injuries which was demonstrated when he was inside the San Andreas Fault.
 * Longevity:
 * Memory Manipulation:
 * Molecular Reconstruction:
 * Self-Sustenance:
 * Superhuman Hearing:
 * Superhuman Speed:
 * Superhuman Agility:
 * Superhuman Reflexes:
 * Superhuman Stamina:
 * Superhuman Strength:
 * Superhuman Vision:
 * Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision:
 * Microscopic Vision:
 * Infrared Vision:
 * Telescopic Vision:
 * X-Ray Vision: Clark was able to see through almost every object with the exception of lead.

Abilities

 * Investigation: Clark was an exceptional investigator with him having been a reporter for and later the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet.
 * Hand-to-Hand Combat:
 * Indomitable Will:
 * Multilingualism: Clark was able to fluently speak English, Russian and Italian.

Weaknesses

 * Kryptonite: Various forms of kryptonite had negative effects on Clark.
 * Green Kryptonite: Clark was vulnerable to green kryptonite with short exposure causing discomfort and a loss of his powers and prolonged exposure proving fatal.
 * Synthetic Kryptonite:
 * Lead: Clark cannot see through lead.
 * Red Sun Energy:

Former Equipment

 * Superman Suits: Clark wore a series of protective suits when operating as Superman.
 * Glasses: Clark wore a pair of glasses to conceal his identity.