Superman’s disguise — a simple pair of glasses and a business suit — has been mocked for as long as the character has existed. The joke writes itself: sure, glasses can change how someone looks at a glance, but after repeated exposure? After daily contact? Surely anyone with functioning eyesight would notice that Clark Kent and Superman are the same man.
The ridicule has become so ingrained that it’s often treated as a fatal flaw in the character rather than a narrative conceit. Entire jokes, sketches, and comics are built around it. I especially enjoyed this recent comic, which leans fully into that shared cultural assumption.
And yet, Christopher Reeve quietly dismantled the entire argument with a single performance. And this is just so good.
There’s one scene in Superman (1978) that says everything. Clark Kent visits Lois Lane for a promised date. While there, he decides to finally tell her the truth. What follows isn’t a costume change, special effects, or dramatic music. He simply removes his glasses and stands up straight. Only then do we notice that he had been hunched the entire time. He straightens his posture. Then straightens even more. His smile changes. His presence fills the room. Before his voice drops into that familiar, resonant Superman register, the transformation has already happened. He has become SUperman before our very eyes.
This doesn’t “solve” the logical problem, of course. Repeated exposure would still raise questions. The films themselves acknowledge this, most directly in Superman II, and even more explicitly in the Donner Cut, where Lois figures it out on her own. The story confronts the issue head-on instead of pretending it doesn’t exist.
But that was never the real point. Reeve demonstrates that the disguise was never about fooling the audience with glasses. It was about behavior, self-presentation, and the assumptions people make. People assume Superman wouldn’t be hiding as a mere mortal, so they wouldn’t even be looking for him in Clark, especially not in this meek hunched over wimp. Clark Kent isn’t Superman hiding. He’s Superman withdrawing. Smaller. Quieter. Less confident. Less there. No one sees him because no one really even looks at Clark Kent.
With a little acting, and a lot of understanding of human perception, Reeve makes the idea believable. Not airtight. Not perfect. But believable enough.
But what do you think?
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David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Bluesky. |
