EPT![[image loading]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/438fec1c1510d3820a507acd5ae6b366/tumblr_mexmfqXTnG1s0rin6o1_500.jpg)
Papa Kent is a very confusing character and kind of a bad father. lol
It's been a few days since I have seen "Man of Steel" in theatres and I still can't stop thinking about Pa Kent. On paper he comes across as one of most vile interpretations of Superman's human father to have ever graced any form of media. This man advocates that the protection of one's secrets vastly outweighs moral obligations such as saving children from a drowning bus. Yet, there is a completely different side of him that thinks his son, Clark, is meant to do great things. This character is so complex and multifaceted that it's a shame there isn't enough discussion about him at the moment. TeamLiquid forum goers are generally pretty smart (we ban the non-smart ones), so I want to start an intelligent discussion on Pa Kent's character with you bright thinkers, in particular: What does Pa Kent want Clark to become? What kind of values is he instilling in his adopted son.
Case A: Fear
Jonathan Kent (Pa Kent) had one clear message to his son as he raised him:
-Hide your true self from others at all costs, because if they find out, they will fear and hate you.
Pa Kent believed so strongly in this message that he was willing to die for it (also to let others die for it). This seems to go against many moral teachings including those from the comic book version of Superman. It also strikes an unnerving cord with those who are LGBT and must hide who they are in fear of rejection or persecution. Fear is the underlying message: be afraid of other people because they will be afraid of you. Instead of teaching Clark that education is the elixir to ignorance, Pa Kent preaches that secrecy should reign supreme in a person's life. This message clearly fucked Superman over for much of his life: 33 years to be exact. Unable place trust in anyone, Clark ends up alone and depressed, wandering aimlessly and lost. Pa Kent's teachings presents perhaps the most destructive superhero parenting in the history of superhero parenting.
Case B: Greatness
In conflict with Pa Kent's fear-instilling didactics is the hopes that Clark would one day become a great figure in human society. Jonathan tells Clark that he believes Clark was sent to Earth for a reason and that Clark must find out that reason for himself. Mama Kent tells Clark that Pa Kent believed that he had a destiny by the end of the movie. The flashback in which Jon looks at Clark in a red blanket under the sunset reveals that Jon may have high hopes placed in his own son. But whatever hopes Pa Kent placed on Clark ultimately did not measure up to his fears. "He was convinced the world wasn't ready," Clark said of his late foster father.
![[image loading]](http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18r4duppitqy4jpg/ku-xlarge.jpg)
Pa Kent Theories.
So why did Pa Kent behave this way?
Perhaps he believed that his son had a higher purpose, a Calvinistic destiny that goes beyond just beating up school bullies and saving drowning children. Forbes Magazine's Adam Ozimek wrote of this possibility, calling Pa Kent the embodiment of cold utilitarian principles. Let the few die to save the many. If Pa Kent is so certain that Clark's destiny was to change the world, why did he want his son to just spend his life being a quiet farmer and never reveal himself?
Another theory is that Pa Kent was a character whose only purpose was to be proven wrong. In a movie about finding your own path and against predestination, Pa Kent's view of how Clark has a destiny becomes a foil to Jor-el's ideals of natural selection and choice. It is interested to note that while Clark becomes isolated out of fear, he never stopped reaching out to save others. Ultimately, Clark's choice to BE superman is not because he was born superman or raised superman but because his own moral character. Putting the story in this light has given me more reasons to respect the man of steel in this film alone than any other Superman movie to date.
But if we place Pa Kent in this villainous role, then the whole scene where he sees Clark in the red cape under the sunset comes under a different note. Pa Kent did not look to Clark with hopeful eyes, but with fearful ones.
What do you guys think? Is Pa Kent a good guy or a bad guy?
By the way, there's already a Pa Kent's Bad Advice Tumblr: check it out. lol
http://pakentsbadadvice.tumblr.com/
By the way, there's already a Pa Kent's Bad Advice Tumblr: check it out. lol
http://pakentsbadadvice.tumblr.com/
