Ma and Pa Kent

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Martha Clark Kent and Jonathan Kent, also known as Ma and Pa Kent, are fictional characters published by DC Comics. The Kents are the adoptive parents of Superman. They live in the small town of Smallville, USA. The couple is usually portrayed agewise as either late middle age or elderly.

In most versions of Superman's origin story, Jonathan and Martha Kent were the first to come across the rocket that brought the infant Kal-El to Earth, with their adopting him shortly thereafter, deciding to rename him Clark Kent---"Clark" having been Martha's maiden name.

The Kents are usually portrayed as caring parents who instill within Clark a strong sense of morals, and they encourage Clark to use his powers for the betterment of humanity. Martha is also the one who creates Clark's superhero costume.

Before writer John Byrne's 1986 reboot of the Superman series, the Kents died shortly after Clark's high school graduation; in the current comics' continuity, the Kents are alive when Clark is an adult.

[edit] History

[edit] Golden and Silver Age versions

Although a "passing motorist" is described as having found the infant Superman in the character's first appearance in 1938's Action Comics #1, 1939's Superman #1 introduces Superman's adoptive parents to the mythos, with "Mary Kent" being the only parent given a name. The Kents' first names vary in stories from the 1940s. A 1942 Superman novel, The Adventures of Superman by George Lowther, ^[1] gave the names "Eben and Sarah Kent", which were also used in the Adventures of Superman television series, but the first extensive retelling of Superman's origin in 1948's Superman #53 names them "John and Mary Kent." Pa Kent is first named Jonathan in Adventure Comics #149 (1950). Ma Kent is first named Marthe in Superboy #12 (1951) and Martha in subsequent appearances.

Later stories,^[2] after the early 1960s introduction of DC's multiverse system, declare that the early version of the Kents are named "John and Mary Kent" and live on the world of "Earth-Two", home of the Golden Age DC superheroes, while the more modern Jonathan and Martha Kent live on the world of "Earth-One" (home of the Silver Age DC superheroes).

Martha and Jonathan Kent, as they appear in comics from the 1970s and 1980s. From New Adventures of Superboy #1, January 1980. Art by Kurt Schaffenberger.

The Kents made few appearances in Superman stories until the introduction of the Superboy comic book series in 1949. In this series, The Kents are regular supporting characters of the teenaged superhero.The Superboy stories establish the Kents' backstory. Jonathan, a former race car driver,^{[issue # needed]} is a farmer on a farm just outside of Smallville. After he and Martha find the toddler Kal-El in his rocket, they take him to the Smallville Orphanage and later formally adopt him, naming him "Clark." They soon discover that Clark possesses a fantastic array of superpowers.

Around the time Clark started school, the Kents sell their farm, and the family moves into Smallville, where they open a general store.^{[issue # needed]} During Clark's early grade school years, Jonathan trains young Clark in the use of his superpowers to the best of his knowledge while urging him to keep the use of his powers a secret. At the age of eight,^{[citation needed]} Clark begins a superhero career as Superboy. Martha creates Superboy's costume out of the blankets inside the rocket that brought him to Earth, and Jonathan helps him to create a means of making Superboy and Clark appear to be different people by developing Clark's secret identity as a mild-mannered, reserved individual. The Kents assist their adopted son on many adventures as Superboy.

In Superboy volume 1 #145 (March 1968), Jonathan and Martha Kent are rejuvenated physically and appear younger due to the influence of an alien serum. After this, Jonathan and Martha were drawn by artists as late middle-aged — as opposed to elderly — in appearance until Superman's 1986 reboot.

After Clark graduated from high school, Jonathan and Martha take a vacation to the Caribbean Islands, where they contract a fatal and rare tropical disease after handling materials from a pirate's treasure chest they had exhume; despite Superboy's best efforts, Martha dies, with Jonathan dying soon thereafter. Before dying, Jonathan reminds Clark that he must always use his powers for the benefit of humanity. Clark mourns his parents and moves to Metropolis to attend college.

[edit] Modern Age versions

[edit] The Man of Steel

Martha Kent, Superman, and Jonathan Kent. Art by Jim Lee.

After comics writer John Byrne rewrote Superman's origin in the 1986 The Man of Steel limited series, one of the changes he made was keeping Jonathan and Martha Kent alive into Clark's adulthood. The Kents have the same role as in the earlier stories, instilling within Clark the morals needed to become a strong figure.

In this version of events, after a Kryptonian "birthing matrix" lands on Earth, Jonathan and Martha find a newborn infant inside. Taking the infant in just before a major snowstorm strikes (that buried Smallville in snow for a number of months and cut off outsiders' access to the Kent family farm), the couple decides to pass the infant off as their own natural child, naming him "Clark." Clark's powers slowly develop, with his powers fully emerging once he reaches his late teens. After Clark's high school graduation, the Kents tell Clark about his extraterrestrial origins, and Clark leaves Smallville to explore the outside world. After Clark moves to Metropolis, Jonathan and Martha help Clark to create a superhero identity.

In the Man of Steel version, the Kents remain farmers through Clark's adult years, although a storyline^{[issue # needed]} features them having opened a general store in Smallville. Although Jonathan is still alive in the comics, he suffers a heart-attack after The Death of Superman storyline, and he meets Clark in the afterlife and encourages him to return to life with him. The Kents' post-Crisis history is more fully fleshed out in the late 1980s limited series The World of Smallville, with Jonathan's ancestors' history more fully explored in the 1990s limited series The Kents.

[edit] Birthright

The Kents are again altered in 2003's Superman: Birthright limited series by Mark Waid, which revises Superman's origins.[1] Jonathan is portrayed as having a more strained relationship with his son, and he and Martha are depicted as far younger at the time of Clark adopting his Superman identity than in past portrayals, appearing here to be scarcely middle-aged.

The younger, modern version of the Kents as depicted in Superman: Birthright.

The Kents' appearances were altered to resemble slightly older versions of actor John Schneider and actress Annette O'Toole, who portray the Kents in the Smallville television series.^{[citation needed]} Although now shown wearing glasses, Jonathan has a full head of blonde hair, and Martha has long red tresses.

One of the major subplots of Birthright is a rift between Jonathan and Clark. Although not unprecedented — the post-Crisis Jonathan was critical of Clark for "showing off" by playing football with his human peers, and the Smallville Jonathan is often in disgreement with Clark over the protection of his son's secret — the strain in their relationship is such that the father and son are barely speaking to each other at the opening of the series. Jonathan has conflicting feelings regarding Clark's power and decision to use it for the benefit of humanity; he seems to feel that he has lost the affections of his newly-adult son, partly due to Clark's fascination with his Kryptonian origins. Unlike most previous incarnations of Jonathan Kent, the Birthright Jonathan is not particularly encouraging or instrumental in the formation of Clark's Superman identity or mission, although over the course of the series father and son are eventually reconciled.

In Birthright, Martha Kent is sassier and more at odds with her husband over how Clark should live than in previous comic incarnations. Because Jonathan has little to do with the creation of the Superman identity, Martha plays a more prominent role in this regard. She is also far more technologically savvy than ever before, communicating with Clark via encrypted e-mail as he travels around the world.

[edit] One Year Later

Post-Infinite Crisis it is shown that the Birthright versions of John and Martha Kent are no longer in continuity. This is because in Action Comics Annual #10 the Kents are elderly just as they were pre-Birthright while raising Clark.

[edit] Portrayals in other media

Glenn Ford as Jonathan Kent with Phyllis Thaxter as Martha in Superman: The Movie (1978)

• Ed Cassidy and Virginia Carroll play Eben and Martha Kent in the 1948 Superman movie serial starring Kirk Alyn.
• Tom Fadden and Frances Morris play plays Eben and Sarah Kent in the pilot for the 1950s Adventures of Superman television series.
• Jonathan appears in the Superboy segments of the 1966 New Adventures of Superman cartoon.
• Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter portray Jonathan and Martha in 1978's Superman: The Movie. In the movie, Jonathan dies of a heart attack on the farm as young Clark approaches manhood. This version continues through the remaining Superman films, including 2006's Superman Returns. In 1983's "Superman III, it is mentioned by Lana Lang that Martha has passed away. However, in "Superman Returns", which takes the place of Superman III in Bryan Singer's "vague continuity", Martha is alive and well.
• Stuart Whitman and Salome Jens play Jonathan and Martha in the television series Superboy, which aired from 1988 - 1992 in syndication.
• In the 1988 Ruby-Spears-produced Superman animated series, Alan Oppenheimer provides Jonathan's voice.
• In the 1990s television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Eddie Jones and K Callan play Jonathan and Martha Kent. Consistent with the post-Crisis comics' version of his story, Jonathan is alive and active in the grown Clark's life. The series portrayed Martha as a lively sixty-something, interested in creative and self-improving pursuits. The activities this version of Martha pursues include taking classes at the local university extension, trying yoga, and posing for a nude study by an artist friend, leading Jonathan to think she is having an affair.
• Ma and Pa Kent makes occasional appearances in the animated series Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Shelley Fabares and Mike Farrell. Fabares and Farrell also portray the characters in the 2006 animated film Superman: Brainiac Attacks.
• In the 2000s television series Smallville, John Schneider plays Jonathan, and Annette O'Toole, who plays Lana Lang in Superman III, plays Martha. Jonathan dies of a heart attack in the series' 100th episode, shortly after beating Lex Luthor in a race for State Senate. The heart attack is precipitated by a confrontation with Lionel Luthor, who tells him that he knows Clark's secret. When Clark has a near-death experience, Jonathan informs him of Lionel's knowledge.
• In the 2006 film Superman Returns, Eva Marie Saint portrays Martha Kent.
• In the Legion of Super Heroes animated series, Martha is voiced by Jennifer Hale.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• A biography of pre-Crisis Ma and Pa Kent
• Supermanica: Jonathan and Martha Kent