Comments are love.

Oooh, chilling.

So the only emotion we saw from this Clark Kent was a smile at Lois. That's either very, very good or very, very bad.

Perry is a smart man with a wife, two kids and a memory like a steel trap. Of course he had to hire him.

/me shudders.

Do you plan on continuing with this story?

I'm intending this as a one shot, although that doesn't mean I won't come back to it when some of my other pieces are finished.

This was a plot bunny that refused to ignored. (It also had sharp teeth and claws.)

Oh wow.

The weird part though? After all that, I'm not sure he's actually "irredeemably evil."

Ruthless, yes. It's like...He takes orders. He "does the dirty work", as he said. But...is he really evil? I get the impression that he was only a monster as long as he was working for monsters; he's more like a tool that can be used for good or evil, and he knows it. I also got the impression that he saw the goodness in Perry and gravitated toward it.

I dunno, I can't pontificate too much more because I have a headache. Gonna have to wrap this up and say GREAT FIC!

i liked it! I also felt so sorry for DiabloClark who never could pass more than a few words with anyone.

Well done, delightful.

Clearly this is a version of Clark Kent where the Kents died when Clark was a teen, likely in some way that angered Clark who sought vengeance thinking it equaled justice.

It is to his credit that he saw how the government was using him.

So perhaps we can see his take on the "razing of that old theater on Forty-second".

Even more I'd love to see THIS Clark Kent when he encounters Lex Luthor.

Whoa! Great fic!

And that's why we love the real Superman - he would never stoop to others' levels.

Wow! I loved those last lines. Perry's "welcome" has such undertones (a totally different spin on why Clark was hired), and Clark's last line is just so full of silky menace. Dressed up nicely, of course.

I whistled in admiration when I finished this fic.

P.S. I'd like to hope that (as the poster above mentioned) the smile for Lois means that this Clark can feel emotions, can feel love, and can possibly be redeemed. Can his love for Lois show him the way to, if not repent, at least swear to sin no more?

Considering this Clark is actually at least 20 years older that 'our' Clark - although his ID will have him born in 1966 - it's unlikely he was raised by Martha and Jonathon at all. The 'real' Clark will never be found.
Possible - or he simply appreciates Lois's fighting spirit.

Wow, this was a chilling piece of excellence! Like others, I really hope for a sequel. I mean, what is "Clark's" real reaction to Lois? What will he do with Luthor? And, will he ever become Superman? (More like the clone, I'm afraid.)

Now that I've had the chance to think about this (it's been percolating since last night), I had to come back and leave more comments. The story can absolutely stand on it's own, but it leaves so many tantalizing questions:

If El Diablo is as amoral as he's presented here, then why the disguise at all? What has he to gain from getting a normal job and acting like a human at all? Why wouldn't he just take whatever he wanted?

Since this Clark hasn't aged a day in twenty years and appeared to be an adult when Perry was in Beirut, then I had assumed that he hadn't been raised by the Kents. My assumption was that either he arrived as a baby and was found by the government and trained to be "the blunt instrument" from the beginning, or as a Kryptonian, he really doesn't feel any human emotions and therefore can't identify with them. His arguments are the logical conclusion to the evidence of his life.

Also, I couldn't help wondering what would happen if/when the New Kryptonians came to get Kal-El. Would he jump at the chance to go back to his own people to rule? This version of Kal-El definitely has the killer instinct of his race, so defeating Nor wouldn't be a problem, but would he opt to stay in a place where he's effectively a god or would he accept the mantle of power?

Great story.

This Kal-El knew how he was being used and why, but the important point was that he didn't care. It's not clear to me from his first conversation with Perry whether or not Clark has a conscience about what he's doing. As far as I can tell, he's simply doing what's expedient. And that includes telling Perry because he might need a place to go in fifteen or twenty years.

Did Clark take out the general? Unclear, but probably yes. He's still doing what's expedient for him, and now that Perry is the last one to know what he looks like, Clark is going to keep him closer than a friend. And my impression of his smile at Lois's whirlwind appearance is that he liked what he saw when she came in and what he saw when she walked out. X-ray vision, remember? I don't think it had anything to do with Lois' personality or fire or drive for the truth. In fact, those aspects of her personality will put her in danger around "El Diablo."

This is a truly scary Clark. He believes that nothing can harm him, but he prefers not to be in the center of a big hoopla over what he can do and what he's done. So the only way to make him toe the line is to threaten him with exposure, but that carries a terminal risk, too. I do not see any way for this setup to turn out well.

I'd like to see his take on the theater demolition, too. I bet he can fake sincerity as well as Perry ever has.

And I wouldn't be surprised if that plot bunny was also rabid.

Yeah, I think this was a vorpal plot bunny.


Not only can he fake sincerity, he also can take a 'long view' on his plans even further than Luthor. Luthor might make five to ten year business plans. Kal El makes twenty to one hundred year plans.

I also think Trask's helicopter will never make it to the ground once he throws Lois out of it.

Intersting premise and really, really scary. It would be interesting to see where this leads.

There are two things, though.

Concerning your title: I guess this is supposed to be German, considering the "Mann". Then it would be "Übermann" or "Uebermann" if you haven't got the u with the two little dots. Okay, I'm being picky. Sorry about that.

Secondly, I find it rather sad that anything connected to evilness gets a German name. But that's an entirely different matter. Just my two cents.

Actually, the Ubermann reference is to Nietzsche's super-man. (Poor Nietzsche, so misunderstood - so nuts.)

Wouldn't that be "Uber Mensch"?

Also, this evil Clark is a lot different from most evil Clark's I've ever seen. He hasn't tried to take over the world, and that is what gives me pause. If he has all these powers and is unharmable, then why not dominate the world? Why yield to the millitary? Why seek an alias and a job? I get the impression that Kal-El just wants to be left alone. Yes, he seems to have a cold heart, but he's not...*actively* evil.

I actually *LIKE* this guy, to be honest. Can we have more please?

And I'm sure that this Clark's ID will stand up to scrutiny. That means that Martha and Jonathan must be dead, right? He wouldn't take any chances that his "parents" could say, "Hey, that's not our son!"

I'm hoping that they were dead before this Clark took over the "Clark Kent" identity. I'm really hoping that this Clark didn't take over the identity and then decide that the real Clark, Martha, and Jonathan had to be eliminated.

See what a good fic this is? It gives me unanswered questions to obsess about when I'm trying to sleep!

Probably - but that didn't sound as good as a title.

As for taking over the world - while he could do it he'd end up spending all his time dealing with dissidents and the possibility that someone will do something terminally stupid like set off a doomsday machine on the theory that it's better to be a dead freeman than a live slave.

Taking the long view means he's got a longer term plan and may not want to tip his hand. (as I said on another board - think Red Son and Vandal Savage.)

And currently I've got several pieces to finish before I get back to this one. I kinda like it as a one shot.

And another thing....

I agree with Queenie.

And that's why I was wondering if this Clark has a hope of redemption. This Clark didn't start killing people (at least, outside his job) until they tried to kill him first (although I know that's no excuse.)

Maybe falling in love with Lois can give him the touch of humanity that he lacks. And her belief in him will make him want to be the better person, the superhero, that he is capable of becoming. Maybe someone just needs to believe in him. Maybe this version of Superman needs someone else to be the light, to guide the way.

Or, you could just leave him as the amoral, doing-what's-expedient killing machine. And frankly, from the way you wrote this fic, I'll bet that's a lot more likely to occur than redemption is. But there's still that niggling possibility....

(See! Now you've got me wondering again....)

Well, I agree with this to a point. If he was responsible for General Jenkins demise, then he is pretty evil. But if he'd been taught to be a killer that may have been all he knows.

I wondered about this, too.

Unless an English speaker / writer specifically loads the option of German characters to be used with their keyboard then we can't do the little dots. The only way I could do that without the extra programming would be to find this written online and copy it.

Yes, I agree.


I'm not sure I could agree this is an evil Superman. It more seems he's mostly just been doing what he was told to do.

Great story.

You know, the reactions of Clark Kent make me really wonder just how evil he really is. He's wearing glasses, so he probably hadn't gotten rid of Lois' clothes when he smiled. And would the real Clark Kent (if he existed and gotten offed) had the chance to travel the world so El Diablo could have this sort of resume? So, on one side you pointed out that he was irredeemably evil, on the other he seemed... pleasant. Far more pleasant than Luthor in his best philanthropist mode. This needs a sequel to make things more clear

Michael

Unless an English speaker / writer specifically loads the option of German characters to be used with their keyboard then we can't do the little dots. The only way I could do that without the extra programming would be to find this written online and copy it.

Actually, if you go to Accessories , then System Tools , then Character Map , you can find all those Characters and put them it. It takes a little work but you can do it. If you memorize the code, you can bypass the character map and put it in directly.

Ü,Å,87º,ž

There is a different code for capital and small letters. You copy the character from the character map and paste it into your document. Or input it using the ksystoke code.

To input using the character code, you need to use the numbers on the right side of the keypad. The ones at the top don't work. There is a method of using the numbers at the top of the keypad but I don't know it offhand. To use the numbers at the right side, hold down the Alt key and input the numbers for the code.

Ü = Alt + 0222
¿¿ = Alt + 0191

That will show up in Word, but not on the net. that would be Ü (Amp, pound 220 semi-colon.) And it will not render at all when converted to straight text.

sequel!sequel! sequel!

I want to know what happens next-- this is the most intriguing angle I've read in ages

Really? Wow? Thanks. There have been times I could have really used the upside down question marks. I've looked at the character map, but I guess I wasn't playing close enough attention. Okay, I have Windows XP, and I've never looked at this one. I probably haven't checked it out since a couple of versions before this. This is definitely not what I remember. But thanks again. This is great! I'm not sure about trying to use code, but cutting and pasting would be fine for me since I'd rarely use it.


I think most of these characters will not show up on the archive which uses only text files.


And, yes, Dandello, I'd like to see more, too.

I know it's almost a year later. may I submit a few thoughts on the history of the character.
It's quite possible to think of him being Clark, raised by the Kents, but his first arrival on Earth might have been in the 30's. That would mean 10 years or so raised by the Kents [and learning their morals], 10-15 years[which brings us to the late 50's],having been identified by the government as an alien and raised to be a secret weapon, about 20 years as a secret weapon, which would include the meeting with Perry [to the late 70's early 80's], and that brings us up to the 90's which gives him a few years to deprogram himself in the Himalayas and the outback which would give you a kinder Clark with some of the sharp edges filed down.I don't see him killing the taxi driver who was no danger to him, so I doubt he killed the General too.Any way there is still a possibility as presented above to maintain one Clark without the implication that that's another body that will never be found, After all you said he hadn't aged a day in 20 years, why not in a lot more than 20 years?

I think I am a hopeless optimist. When I first read it I was half hoping tha there were two kryptonians and that Clark would have to fight the other. I too would love a sequel. Great idea.

I missed this first time around,but since the thread has been bumped to the top of the forum...

Not only will such characters not show up on the Archive, but their inclusion in the story file has, on more than one occasion, caused serious formatting issues when the story is uploaded, with odd characters and symbols replacing them.

So we'd prefer they aren't used in the story file when you submit it to the Archive. Saves us having to go back later and replace the file.

LabRat

*shivers*

I'd too love to see this Clark against Luthor

I guess taking over the world could be fun, but after that? At best an administrative nightmare (or you delegate), at worst a broken world, where could you get good takeout then?

I'm with Kyla. I hope there are two Kryptonians, one that came to Earth before Kal-El and before Krypton was destroyed and became El Diablo. Then Clark can find and fight El Diablo. Maybe Zod didn't go to the Phantom Zone and came to Earth or else Earth is the Phantom Zone and the dumping ground for Krypton's criminals. Oy Veh, to the latter concept.
I'd be interested if you decided to continue the story.
regards
Artemis

For some reason I was thinking about this short fic this morning and decided to come in and reread it. I hadn't noticed the "irredeemably evil" note at the beginning before, and that put a different spin on the ending for me. I'm sure after all these years the plot bunny is long gone, but I do wonder what could have come next, and what kind of future you envisaged for Clark in his post-Ubermann years.