Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related How did Clark arrive in Metropolis?

Has it been mentioned in the pilot if he flew there himself or took the train or the bus or something else?
I tried to find out but failed to find anything.

If it wasn't mentioned, what do you think how did he travel?

I want to put it in a fic and I need Clark to step out of a bus.

Thanks in advance.

The first time we see Clark, he's stepping off a bus. So I'd say you're well within canon to have him arriving by bus.

Yes, he does step out of a bus, but why would he? (I mean, in the pilot, not for purposes of your fic.) Why didn't he just fly to Metropolis?

Protective coloration? Human interest stories about the bus passengers? Or so the TV cameramen could catch his feet stepping off the bus and then pan up to his suitcase?

But actually, when you think about it, it doesn't make sense. We know that Clark (at this time) doesn't have a lot of money. The bus costs money. Flying is free (for him.)

Oh. I have to admit I was too lazy to watch the DVD to find out.
Thanks Sue

I think Clark takes the bus to protect his secret. He arrives in broad daylight and doesn't know where to land without anyone seeing him. Perhaps he also likes to travel with others.
But you are right. If he hasn't much money it doesn't make sense to take the bus.

Part paper trail, part the experience, most likely. Along with flying into an unknown city in broad daylight. The bus would be the cheapest way to travel for any normal person.

I think, at that point in the pilot, Clark was probably in the habit of using his powers as little as possible and certainly as little as possible in daylight. This was before he had his Superman persona/disguise in place, so he would have had to be more on guard about being recognised/seen.

I think the only time - pre-Superman - we saw him flying in the pilot was at night, in the dark, wasn't it?

So it doesn't surprise me that he took the bus. I think caution was ingrained in him at that point in his life.

LabRat

Also, we don't know where he took the bus from.
It's possible that Clark didn't take a bus to Metropolis all the way from Smallville. To save money he might have surreptituously arrived at a smaller town outside of Metropolis and took the bus in from there.

Tank (who says that if this was the Smallville universe he probably could've walked to Metropolis )

I, too, think the bus is a city bus. The first time we see the bus, it says "Metropolis Rt 38". That sounds like a city bus. Also, the bus that is out of control and he stops says "Metropolis Rt 36". The interior looks like a city bus.

malu

True, the bus looks like a city bus, but his suitcase had a luggage tag. I don't know if it implies his traveling by plane and taking a bus from the airport.

Do interstate buses have luggage tags?

It could be an airport tag: it is green with the letters "DGO" on it, which, according to Wikipedia , is the airport designation for the Guadalupe Victoria International Airport, in Mexico.

I'd assume Clark probably wasn't even in the US "officially" before he moved to Metropolis. After all, he was "travelling the world" before he settled in Metropolis, wasn't he?

If he didn't take a commercial flight from (or *to*) there, it would be at least a good "excuse" for where he'd come from before arriving.

malu