Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Lois & Clark Regarding Superpowers

I need to clarify something. Is there any general consensus on the sequence in which Clark developed his superpowers when growing up? Such as, invulnerable at age eight, superspeed at twelve, flying at eighteen, or whatever?

I guess the reasonable sequence to me would be superhearing, visual abilities, invulnerability, super-strength, superspeed, flying. However I know that some feel that he could only fly at eighteen, while others feel that he would float in his sleep as a child (which to me is basically the same as flying).

I'm sure there is some overlap but I'm just wondering in which order they would have appeared or developed fully.

In the show, they mention him learning to fly at age 18. If I recall correctly, it was when he lost his memory, and his mom & dad had to convince him he was Superman. They take him out to the balcony to practice flying, and he complains that he doesn't remember *how* to fly. That's when is dad(?) makes the comment about how he didn't learn to fly until age 18. (At least, that's how I remember it happening. It's been a long time since I actually saw the show!)

As to the other abilities, I don't recall the show mentioning when they came on. If there is a general consensus in fanfic, I'm unaware of it. I think you can pretty much have them appear whenever you want.

- Vicki

Interestingly, the little boy who got Superman's powers in the "Chip of the Old Clark" episode was only about 8 or so, and he apparently had *all* the powers, including the ability to fly (or, at least, float).

I don't know how accepted it is, precisely, but a lot of the stories centering around a super-family have Clark saying that their powers come in much as his did, so those will probably be a good reference for you.

That's my favorite fanfic genre, so here's a good test for my recall....

Cindy Leuch's stories have all the kids developing the beginnings of invulnerability around age 8 and getting more and more complete. They stop getting sick around then; at about 13, Jon catches bullets with his bare hands and gets serious bruises, but no broken bones. I think that story also relates an incident of Clark falling off the roof at about 12 and coming to no harm.

As for what power they notice first, Jon starts seeing through walls. CJ hasn't noticed any yet that I recall when he walks in on his older brother holding the couch in one hand while he vacuums under it.

Check also some of the later stories in Nan's Dagger arc for the development of CJ's powers -- they're far from complete by the last thing she's written there (MORE! MORE!) but they give a good picture of early power development.

There's also Jenni Debbage's Kent Family stories -- Joel (also about 12, I think) is able to do a controlled fall, but can't fly on his own.

In short, make up something plausible -- I don't think there's any exact consensus, but you might peruse some of those for an idea of the major stories already written. If I've missed anyone's Super-family sagas, please let me know!

Jude, if you want to stay in canon with the series, in "Tempus, Anyone," Alt Clark said he was "pretty fast" at 10 when his parents were killed, but not fast enough to save them. In "We Have a Lot to Talk About," Martha told Lois that Clark decided to hide his differences at 13 when he first started getting "really strong, really, really strong." Then in "Chip off the Old Clark," when Clark was asking his parents about when he first started showing super strength, Martha said he didn't start doing any serious lifting until jr. high, and then he was lifting "kitchen appliances. The freezer." And as was mentioned, in "All Shook Up," Clark said his parents had told him (while he had amnesia) that he didn't start flying until he was 18.

There may have been a mention of his not getting hurt or sick when he was younger, but I can't pinpoint the memory enough to check my tapes. However, if you showed some beginnings of invulnerability and superspeed as a preteen, followed by superstrength at puberty and flying at 18, with the vision, breath, and hearing powers appearing in between, you'd probably be pretty close.

The only reference I can think of to him not getting sick was in ... oh gosh, was it "Green Green Glow of Home" or "Home Is Where The Hurt Is"? ... when Martha said that Clark had never been sick before. So you'd probably be safe in having his parents notice fairly early on that he never got sick, even when exposed to other kids with contagious diseases (flu, chicken pox,etc.)

Kathy

The reference to Clark not getting sick was the kitchen scene after he was exposed to the kryptonite. Jonathan asks how he feels and he says he thinks he feels better. Jonathan questions what he means and then Martha says something along the lines of how would he know he's never been sick before.

I somehow recall Clark breaking his arm when he was a child and then healing much faster than a normal kid, so his parents had to make him keep the cast on to fool the doctor. I don't know if this was from the show or from a fanfic though.

Cheers,
Simba

Thank you, guys! This is really helpful.


JM