For most of his nine decades in comics and in other media, Superman’s parents were dead while the hero was active. The modern continuity after 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths left both Ma and Pa Kent alive to provide a sense of “home” for Clark outside of his Fortress of Solitude. While Martha isn’t seen in the Superman teaser trailer, there is a moment between Clark and Pa Kent that’s clearly emotional. Clark is seen putting his arm around his father’s shoulder, and there is a heaviness in just the visual. It’s possible that Gunn will continue the tradition of killing Jonathan Kent in a given version of Kal-El’s story. Yet, fans of the comics and television series know Pa could’ve merely just said something that Clark needed to hear. While this relationship is very important and has been done well in other adaptations, Superman: The Movie nailed the importance of Jonathan Kent in one powerful scene.
In One Single Scene, Richard Donner and Glenn Ford Defined Jonathan Kent
Losing His Father Became a Formative Moment for Clark Kent in Future Adaptations
In the Richard Donner Superman film, Glenn Ford plays Jonathan Kent for less than ten full minutes of screentime. He and Phyllis Thaxster’s Martha show up as Kal-El’s ship crashes into a Kansas cornfield. He stops to fix a flat tire, in which the young boy shows off his strength by lifting a truck. Only it’s when Clark shows off in a more deliberate fashion that he delivers the perfect distillation of who Pa Kent is supposed to be, and how he influences Superman.
Facts About Jonathan Kent Actor Glenn Ford
Born in 1916, died in 2006, Ford was credited with 110 acting roles in his career.
A naturalized U.S. citizen and veteran three times over, he served in the U.S. Coast Guard, the Marines during World War II and the U.S. Naval Reserve until the 1970s.
Superman: The Movie is one of five films featuring Ford preserved in the National Film Registry, the others being Gilda, The Big Heat, Blackboard Jungle and 3:10 to Yuma.
The film skips ahead to Clark Kent in high school. He is the football team’s equipment manager and the butt of their hazing. Using his super-speed, he races home faster than some football players and the cheerleaders can drive there. Pa Kent sees this, and Clark talks about the burden of hiding his gifts. “I mean, every time I get the football, I can make a touchdown,” he tells his dad. Pa understands and empathizes with Clark and only offers him some perspective.
Pa tells Clark they kept his abilities a secret because they were afraid people would take him away from them. He doesn’t tell Clark what to do, only that he believes his son was sent to Earth “for a reason” and “it’s not to score touchdowns.” This scene imbues Pa Kent with a paternal sensitivity and wisdom not common for that time. He teaches Clark restraint and responsibility without bashing him over the head with the concepts. Then, as he and his son playfully race to the barn, Jonathan has a fatal heart attack.
Smallville Had the Longest-Running Jonathan and Clark Kent Relationship
Pa Kent Was Made More Complex and Suffered Slightly Because of It
Successive live-action Superman shows and films usually give Pa Kent more time to teach Clark these lessons. In Man of Steel, for example, Kevin Costner’s Jonathan expresses many of the same ideas over multiple scenes. Yet, the version of Pa Kent viewers (and thereby Clark) got to spend the most time with was John Schneider’s Jonathan in Smallville. The show — which focused on Clark’s coming of age — delivered the most complete depiction of the Kent family.
John Schneider left Smallville in Season 5 but returned to the series a few more times to share important moments with Clark Kent on his journey to becoming Superman.
One reason that Ford’s Jonathan is so idyllic is that he’s on-screen for such a short time. Smallville needed to give the characters larger arcs, which also meant they needed flaws. In fact, Lex Luthor wasn’t evil in Smallville‘s early seasons. Viewers who watch the series knowing his heelturn isn’t inevitable could actually see Jonathan Kent as much the reason for it as Lex’s own terrible father. Along with his prejudgment of Lex, he is sometimes brash, fearful and even violent (with those threatening Martha or Clark).
While still a good father, Jonathan Kent made a lot of mistakes in Smallville. Arguably, it was only after death (either as a ghost or Clark’s memory) where Pa Kent had his strongest influence on Clark. The complexity of their relationship makes for a good, authentic story. It also allows Clark to take the lessons Pa Kent taught him and become a better man than his father. The relationship between Clark and Jonathan in Superman: The Movie is more mythic. Pa tells him what he needs to know, then cements Clark’s commitment to his view by dying immediately after.
The Most Controversial Jonathan Kent Moments Come in 2013’s Man of Steel
From His Talks with Young Clark to His Death, Pa Kent Was Still Important
In Man of Steel, Pa Kent’s scenes make Zack Snyder emotional when he rewatches them. Many Superman fans also feel strong emotions, but not always pleasant ones. Like Ford’s Pa, Costner’s character talks to young Clark about being afraid of losing his son if his powers are discovered. He teaches Clark restraint when he’s being bullied by other kids. In Batman v Superman, Clark Kent has a memory of Jonathan telling a story that puts being a hero in perspective. Yet, even with this extended screentime compared to Ford, Costner’s Jonathan simply doesn’t land with a lot of fans.
Also, like Ford’s version of the character, Snyder killed off Costner’s Jonathan as well. The major difference here, of course, is that Clark could have saved his father from that tornado, whereas in Superman: The Movie not even Kal-El could stop the heart attack. The major change here is that while Ford’s Pa acknowledged his fear, he let it go and allowed Clark to make his own choice. Costner’s Pa didn’t, and he even infamously second-guessed Clark’s decision to save the bus full of his classmates. Clark asked if he should have let them die, and Costner’s Pa, painfully, said, “I don’t know.”
In a way, Jonathan Kent’s death doomed DC’s Extended Universe, because it was a reflection of the larger fears and suspicions of humanity on that Earth. In both Superman: The Movie and Man of Steel, Clark has regrets over his father’s death. Only in the latter film, those regrets are valid because he could have saved his father and chose not to, respecting Pa’s wishes. This reinforces Superman’s decision to keep the rest of humanity at arm’s length because their wishes about his place in their world are unclear.
James Gunn’s Superman Trailer Showed a Brief Moment Between Clark and Pa Kent
The Relationship Between Father and Son May Be the Toughest to Land in the Film
From just the teaser trailer, Gunn’s Superman has what recent reboots have been missing, beyond just a sense of fun. The shot of Clark and Jonathan Kent on their porch has no real context, but it does provide a sense of emotion in their relationship. It’s possible that, like Ford’s Jonathan, Pa is telling Clark something very important and is facing his own mortality. With all these past versions of that story ahead of them, it will be difficult to make it feel unique and special.
“Pa Kent…will be played by Pruitt Taylor Vince (an actor I’ve wanted to work with since I saw him in James Mangold’s Heavy in 1995),” James Gunn on Threads.
To reiterate, there are plenty of great versions of the Clark and Jonathan Kent relationship. Eddie Jones’s Pa in Lois and Clark was another good one. He and Martha were constantly on the phone with Clark, rushing to Metropolis every other episode. Schneider and Costner both gave Clark a more complicated father who still helped his son became the world’s greatest hero. Pruitt Taylor Vince’s Jonathan will surely build on that foundation. Yet, it’s hard to match the minimalist perfection of Glenn Ford in Donner’s film.
The decision to include only a single scene between the father and his son was surely done because the film was already long, especially in 1978. However, something about its simplicity makes it perfect. The scene tells audiences exactly what they need to know about what kind of man Jonathan Kent was. It then allows them to imagine their larger relationship for themselves, perhaps coloring it through their own experiences with their fathers, both positive and negative. Just like there’s a Superman for every fan, there’s a Jonathan that works, too. But Glenn Ford accomplished so much with mere minutes of screen time.
