Jonathan Kent
From Smallville Wiki
| |
| Jonathan Kent | |
|---|---|
| Family | Martha Kent (wife), Clark Kent (adopted son), Hiram Kent (father, deceased), Jessica Kent (mother, deceased) |
| Occupation | Farmer (Kent Farm), State Senator-elect |
| Played By | John Schneider |
| Status | Deceased (Reckoning) |
"We didn't find you, son. You found us." - Jonathan, to Clark, Pilot
Jonathan Kent (1961-2006) was the husband of Martha Kent and adoptive father of Clark Kent.
Martha was not able to conceive a child in the early years of her marriage, but that never interfered with the depth and closeness of their relationship. Their marriage was strong, molded from mutual respect and the hard work and long hours of running a farm.
Jonathan died of heart failure on January 26, 2006, around age 45, the night he was elected Kansas State Senator.[1]
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[edit] Personality
"You're starting to sound more and more like your father."
"I hope so, Dad." – Jonathan, Clark Kent, Jinx
Jonathan was a farmer his whole life. As a result, he had a strong work ethic and very high moral values. Jonathan believed people should be honest, ethical, and, like himself, upfront and sincere. He was close to his own father, but eventually, Jonathan chose to remain in Smallville because he knew that his father needed him to help run the farm. He grew to resent him and by the time Hiram died, Jonathan had many things he never got to say and lived the rest of his life regretting the breakdown of their relationship.
Despite this, Jonathan was a firm but caring father. He was extremely influential in helping Clark adjust to his abilities and cope with being different. Jonathan was strict with Clark, with high expectations and trusting him to make sound and responsible choices, but because Clark is generally well-behaved and obedient, they still had an extremely close relationship. Clark highly values Jonathan's approval and often told him that he wanted to be like him. He always considered Jonathan his "real father" and suffers great anxiety over his Kryptonian heritage and destiny, but Jonathan always assured Clark that he was responsible for his own future and encouraged Clark to choose his own path. Jonathan was willing to sacrifice almost anything to protect his family, including his own health.
Jonathan was highly distrusting of people he felt were hiding their true personality, especially Lionel and Lex Luthor. He felt great guilt in helping Lionel gain a foothold in Smallville and openly expressed his disgust for the Luthors. Jonathan was very wary of Clark and Lex's growing friendship and often told Clark that he did not trust Lex.
Jonathan enjoyed football, but managing the farm left him with little time for any other hobbies or interests.
[edit] Early Life
Jonathan was the son of Hiram and Jessica Kent. He lived in Smallville on the Kent Farm his whole life. Jonathan attended Smallville High School and was the star of the football team. During this time, he dated Nell Potter.
Jonathan met Martha Clark at Metropolis University. Martha asked Jonathan for some notes, even though she was the note-taker for the class. When Martha asked how he knew she would return them, Jonathan told her, "I prefer to believe in people," and they began dating. Later, Jonathan asked Martha's father, William Clark, for her hand in marriage, but William rejected him, saying he had raised his daughter for better things than being a farmer's wife. Out of anger, Jonathan hit William and he and Martha married anyway. He and William remained estranged until Jonathan's death. Jonathan and Martha managed the Kent Farm together and were respected members of the Smallville community.
[edit] Clark's Adoption
Jonathan and Martha were exiting Nell Potter's flower shop in 1989 when the first meteor shower struck Smallville.
On their way back home, a meteor landed close to their truck, flipping it over. Jonathan and Martha were still alive, hanging upside down in their seatbelts, when Jonathan noticed a toddler approach the truck. He was alone, naked, and appeared to be about three years old. Jonathan and Martha also found a small spacecraft in the field and assumed the boy had emerged from it. They took the boy with them and hid the ship in the back of their truck.
While fleeing, Jonathan and Martha came across Lionel Luthor, who asked them for their help because his son Lex was unconscious after the meteors hit. Lionel was so grateful for Jonathan's quick actions he offered him anything in return, which, at the moment, Jonathan declined. When Sheriff Ethan visited the Kent Farm, he saw and inquired about the little boy. Put on the spot, Martha hurriedly lied, calling the boy "Clark," after her maiden name and claimed that they just adopted him. Martha and Jonathan then needed to quickly make the story true and enlisted Lionel's help to provide fake adoption papers. Lionel drew up the papers, but required that Jonathan go to Bill Ross and convince him to sell the Ross Creamed Corn Factory to Lionel.
Despite being unsure as to whether or not he could bring up a superhuman child, Jonathan's morals and upstanding spirit enabled him to raise the child properly.
[edit] Season One
"Look, Clark, I'm your father. I'm supposed to have all the answers. It kills me that I don't, but you gotta have faith that we'll figure this thing out together." – Jonathan Kent
When Clark was 14, he began to question his strange abilities. After emerging unharmed from being hit by Lex Luthor's car, Clark stuck his arm into a running wood-chipper in front of his shocked father and demanded answers from Jonathan. Jonathan was forced to reveal the truth to him. He showed him the spaceship in the storm cellar and explained how Clark fell from the stars, but emphasized that it didn't matter to him or Martha.
Clark decided to join the football team against Jonathan's wishes. Jonathan was concerned that Clark would hurt other players, but Clark insisted that he had his super-strength under control. Jonathan's point was proven when Clark made a super-powered leap over another player during practice. They reconciled when Clark quit the football team.
When Sam Phelan infiltrated the Kents' life to gain information about Clark, he framed Jonathan by placing a body in the barn and manipulated Clark into stealing for him in order to release his father. However, Clark was able to conceal his secret and turn Phelan in and the charges against Jonathan were dropped.
The Kent Farm was plagued with long-standing financial difficulties, but Jonathan refused to accept Lex's advice or financial help, saying he did not want to owe the Luthors anything ever again. He encountered Bob Rickman, who could control people's will with a handshake, and found himself inexplicably selling the farm, but was able to get the contract voided.
When Clark temporarily lost his powers, Jonathan tried to help him adjust, but ultimately encouraged Clark to go get them back.
Jonathan was infected with the Nicodemus flower and displayed strange and erratic behavior. Normally reserved, he openly made out with Martha in the kitchen and when he learned that his loan had been rejected, he took a shotgun to the bank in an angry rage. Clark was able to stop Jonathan from entering the bank with a gun, but to his shock, Jonathan shot Clark in the chest just before he collapsed. Clark enlisted the investigative skills of his friend Chloe Sullivan and was able to find a cure.
Throughout Clark's freshman year, Jonathan and Clark frequently disagreed on Clark's budding friendship with Lex. Jonathan believed Lex to be a self-serving, destructive young man and indirectly indicated that he did not think Lex was the best influence on Clark. Despite Lex's repeated displays of kindness and thoughtfulness, he was short with Lex and sometimes even openly rude. Jonathan was furious when Dominic Sanatori informed him that Lex had been investigating the Kents since Clark saved his life. He and Clark had an argument about the friendship yet again. Clark seemed determined to show Jonathan that Lex was not like Lionel and always defended him. For his part, Lex idealized Jonathan and Clark's relationship, seeing it as something he could never have with his own father. Lex did not like being a cause of strife in their relationship and always encouraged Clark to work things out with Jonathan.
As a high-school freshman, Clark developed new powers, strengthened his existing ones, and received the unwanted attention of Roger Nixon, an investigative reporter hired by Lex. After confirming Clark's invulnerability, Nixon finally confronted Jonathan about his unusual son on the same day several tornadoes hit Smallville. When Nixon threatened to expose Clark's abilities, Jonathan exited the safety of the storm cellar during the tornadoes to track Nixon down.
[edit] Season Two
"No, I didn't shoot Lionel. But I let my anger get the best of me, I...I haven't exactly kept it a secret how Jonathan Kent feels about the Luthors. What jury could possibly believe me now?" – Jonathan Kent, Suspect
During the tornadoes, Jonathan exited the storm cellar against Martha's protests to go track Nixon down and prevent him from exposing Clark's powers. They were trapped underneath a building for almost a full day. While trapped, Jonathan received harsh criticism from Nixon, who said that Clark was a world wonder, not his farmhand. Jonathan stood his ground, maintaining that Clark was merely the son he raised. When they were rescued by Clark, Nixon incapacitated Clark with green kryptonite and tried to kidnap him, and Jonathan fought Nixon brutally. However, the matter resolved itself when Nixon was shot by Lex Luthor just as Nixon was about to deliver Jonathan a fatal blow.
When Clark suddenly developed heat vision, Jonathan was able to reassure him that he was not a danger to others by helping him learn to control it. He was also influenced by the pheromones of Desirée Atkins and almost killed Lex, but Clark was able to stop him. Shortly afterward, Clark defied his parents and told his best friend Pete Ross his secret. Jonathan and Martha were angry at first, but decided that Pete could be trusted after all. Pete's help proved invaluable when he had to help Jonathan subdue Clark when he became volatile and reckless under the influence of red kryptonite.
When Jonathan's father-in-law, William Clark, came to visit, Clark asked him to explain why they didn't get along and Jonathan was forced to reveal his and William's shaky past. In addition, when Rachel Dunleavy came to town claiming to be Clark's mother, Jonathan was also forced to reveal his role in helping Lionel Luthor gain influence in Smallville.
Martha gained the opportunity to be Lionel's personal assistant after he was blinded in the tornadoes, and the job caused friction in her relationship with Jonathan. When Jonathan broke his leg trying to repair the tractor, Martha felt extreme guilt for not being there to help and offered to quit. Jonathan told her his concerns that the Luthors come first, but knowing that she really enjoyed her job, told her not to quit if she didn't want to. However, when she and Lionel were kidnapped and held hostage in LuthorCorp, Martha learned that Lionel was investigating Clark and decided to quit. Surprisingly, Jonathan recommended she stay, in order to be close to Lionel and see what he knew.
Jonathan's issues with Lionel came to a head when he was framed for shooting him by the sheriff of Smallville, his old friend Ethan Miller. Jonathan's name was cleared, but he regretted vocalizing his distaste for the Luthors so publicly. Jonathan's perception of Lex improved when Lex was kicked out of his home and sought refuge at the Kent farm. Jonathan gave Lex strenuous and unpleasant farm chores, but Lex pulled his own weight. Jonathan admitted that he was surprised and pleased at Lex's work ethic, telling him that he would have made a fine farmer. He and Lex parted on good terms, but Jonathan was injured again by Lucas Luthor, who cold-cocked him with a gun.
Jonathan faced the reality of losing his family when Martha and Clark were infected with kryptonite spores and became deathly ill. The seriousness of the situation was heightened when Jonathan learned that Martha was pregnant. Determined not to lose his family, he broke into the Disease Control Agency warehouse to reclaim the key to activate Clark's ship and cure them both. The Kents prepared for their new arrival with hope and excitement.
Shortly afterward, Clark was contacted by Dr. Virgil Swann and learned more about his alien heritage than ever before. Jonathan supported Clark when he opened the ship for the first time and they read a message from Clark's birth father together. Clark began to panic and got upset when he realized that his biological father intended for him to conquer Earth, but Jonathan assured him that he was not bound to any fate and could choose his own destiny.
As he prepared to marry Helen Bryce, Lex asked Jonathan and Martha to sit at the table with him and Helen at the wedding. Jonathan gave Lex a pocket watch as a gift and told him that he thought he was turning into a fine young man.
When Clark encountered the entity of his Kryptonian father Jor-El for the first time, he was informed that the time had come for him to fulfill his destiny. Clark resisted and devised a plan to destroy the ship. However, Jonathan and Martha were on the way home and the pulse from the exploding ship caused their truck to roll. Jonathan was uninjured, but Martha suffered a miscarriage. Extremely guilty and upset, Clark had to tell Jonathan that it was he who caused the explosion. Faced with the burden of his and Martha's grief, Jonathan never directly blamed Clark for the loss of the baby, but he angrily informed Clark that he should consider the consequences of his actions. Clark's own guilt, coupled with Jonathan's words, caused Clark to dose himself with red kryptonite and run away from home.
[edit] Season Three
"Clark, I've always told you to take responsibility for your own decisions. Now why don't you let me take responsibility for mine?" – Jonathan Kent, Legacy
Jonathan and Martha waited anxiously for Clark to return home after he ran away to Metropolis, even as the Kent Farm went into foreclosure and they prepared to move off of Jonathan's family's land. When Pete showed them evidence of Clark's escalating crimes, Jonathan resolved to force Clark to come home. However, Martha pointed out that Jonathan could not stop Clark or force him to do anything, so Jonathan went to the Kawatche Caves, where he established communication with Jor-El. They struck a fateful deal in which Jor-El temporarily bestowed Jonathan with Kryptonian powers.
Jonathan and Clark fought until he successfully convinced Clark to smash the red kryptonite ring and return home to face his problems. Lex Luthor also returned home and as thanks for accepting him into the family, he absolved the Kents of their debt and bought their farm in their name. Jonathan's terms of his deal with Jor-El were not immediately revealed, but the consequences of his temporary superpowers began to manifest as chronic cardiac problems and Jonathan's health began to decline.
When Clark was shot in the hand and shoulder with a kryptonite bullet by Van McNulty, Jonathan and Martha successfully saved his life by digging it out with pliers and a knife. Jonathan also helped Clark adjust to a period of temporary blindness and helped him hone and control his newest ability, super-hearing. Jonathan was also one of several people affected by hypnotic e-mails and tried to kill Chloe Sullivan, but she and Clark stopped him and broke the trance.
Jonathan suffered his first heart attack in early 2004 and had an extended stay in the Smallville Medical Center. Clark was convinced that Jonathan and Jor-El's deal was the reason for Jonathan's declining health and was extremely guilt-ridden, but Martha and Jonathan tried to assure him that it was not his fault. Jonathan later admitted to Clark that Jor-El's deal is probably why he had a heart attack, but he emphasized that he did not regret his decision. Jonathan was later recommended to have bypass surgery. He was initially reluctant to undergo the surgery, but Clark and Martha reiterated how important he was to their family. However, during the surgery, Garrett Davis took the entire hospital hostage in an attempt to save the life of his brother, Vince. Clark was able to subdue Garrett and Jonathan's surgery was a success.
When Clark heard a phone call from the future in which Lana was being chased, he had Lana stay at the farm house to keep her safe. Jonathan offered to watch over her while Clark and Chloe investigated the mysterious call. Jonathan let Chloe borrow his truck, but Lana's would-be attacker, Adam Knight, used it to track Lana down. He knocked Jonathan unconscious and abducted Lana, but Clark was able to save her. When Clark began dating Alicia Baker, Jonathan caught Alicia and Clark making out in his room in their underwear. He and Martha expressed their strong disapproval of her.
In addition to his heart problems, Jonathan also began to hear the beacon noise made by the key. He fell off the roof, but Clark was able to save him from harm. Jonathan then began to display strange and erratic behavior and talked openly about how he regretted many of his life choices. He was drawn back to the Kawatche Caves where he and Lionel Luthor had an intense physical fight over the key before it flew into the cave wall and disappeared. Jonathan was seemingly returned to normal, but he could not explain what made him go to the caves and again did not tell Clark the circumstances of his and Jor-El's deal. He continued to deal with his declining health problems, expressing to Martha that he was depressed and angry.
Jonathan saved Clark's life again when he was stabbed by Jeremiah Holdsclaw and almost bled to death. Through Jor-El, he administered pressure to Clark's wound and it instantly healed. Professor Joseph Willowbrook returned to tell Clark his theory that Clark was the fabled savior Naman, and Clark talked to his dad about the anxiety he felt over his destiny. Jonathan again assured him that he had the choice to make his own future.
Jonathan and Jor-El's deal was finally revealed at the end of Clark's junior year, when Jor-El attempted to convince Clark to accept his destiny by luring him into a pocket dimension with the reprogrammed Lindsey Harrison posing as a Kryptonian, Kara. Kara appeared at the farm and pursuaded Clark to enter the dimension. She exposed the details of Jonathan and Jor-El's deal-- that he would give Clark back to Jor-El when it was time for him to fulfill his destiny. Both Martha and Clark were extremely upset that Jonathan had made such a decision without telling them. Jonathan claimed he did not realize Jor-El would demand Clark back so soon. However, he had suspicions of Kara's true motives. He asked Chloe Sullivan to run a trace on her fingerprints. When Chloe revealed that Kara was, in fact, Lindsay, Jonathan realized that Jor-El was deceiving Clark and went to the Caves to confront him and stop Clark from entering. Jor-El began to strangle Jonathan to force Clark to return to him, and Clark sacrificed himself to save his father's life. He disappeared into Jor-El's pocket dimension and Jonathan was left in a coma.
[edit] Season Four
"As much as I loved my father, I... a part of me still resents him for needing me that much. I don't want you to feel that. That's not the kind of father I... I ever wanted to be." – Jonathan Kent, Forever
Jonathan was comatose for three months in the Smallville Medical Center, during which time Clark's whereabouts were unknown. He miraculously and suddenly awakened when Clark returned as Kal-El and Martha used black kryptonite to restore him as Clark. However, his heart problems continued and Jonathan was prescribed a variety of medications to combat them.
The football issue again caused conflict in Jonathan and Clark's relationship when Clark joined the team again against Jonathan's wishes. Clark insisted that he was much older and able to control his powers, but Jonathan again thought Clark would hurt another player. However, Clark stood his ground and Jonathan allowed him to stay on the team.
Jonathan was almost run down in Metropolis by a sleepy driver but his life was saved by Bart Allen, a young man who could run faster than Clark. When Clark and Lionel Luthor switched bodies, Jonathan didn't seem concerned by Clark's strange behavior (unlike Martha), but he was injured when Lionel-in-Clark threw him across the kitchen.
During one of Clark's football games, Clark was controlled into tripping by Mikhail Mxyzptlk and caused one boy to suffer a minor injury. Jonathan told Clark to quit, but Clark was firm in his belief that the injury was not his fault. He told Jonathan that he makes a conscious decision to react normally with every physical contact, and that there was no way Jonathan could ever understand. Jonathan conceded; that year, Clark successfully took the football team to a state championship.
Jonathan and Martha were part of several victims of an airborne toxin that caused several Smallville residents to hallucinate their worse fear. Clark found them passed out and was able to help Lex create an antidote and save them. Shortly afterward, Clark reunited with Alicia Baker and Martha and Jonathan once again told Clark that they disapproved of their relationship. However, under the influence of Red K, Clark ran away with Alicia and "married" her in Las Vegas. Although the marriage wasn't legal, Jonathan was so angry with Clark for his lapse in judgment that he wouldn't even face him. When Alicia died, Jonathan and Martha were uncharacteristically smug and didn't offer Clark any useful coping advice.
Clark received a football scholarship from his parents' alma mater Metropolis University. However, when he met Met U football player Geoff Johns, Clark decided that he would not be able to play college football and conceal his powers and turned down his scholarship.
Jonathan was bitten in the leg by a kryptonite-enhanced Rottweiler, but saved by another dog, a golden retriever. Clark learned that they were products of a failed LuthorCorp experiment and Jonathan warned him that they would most likely be destroyed. Clark pleaded with Jonathan to let him keep the golden retriever. Jonathan relented and Martha named him Shelby.
Jonathan and Martha chaperoned Clark's senior prom, even though Clark didn't want to go. His presence proved invaluable when the disembodied spirit of would-be Prom Queen Dawn Stiles possessed Chloe Sullivan. As Dawn, Chloe pushed Jonathan down the stairs, but he was revived by Clark. When Dawn's spirit leapt into Clark, Jonathan forced her out with green kryptonite and restored Clark to normal.
As Clark's high school graduation approached, he revealed to his parents that he had turned down his Met U scholarship to attend a closer college. Jonathan and Clark both knew that he would be unable to run the farm without Clark, but he urged Clark to make his decision based on what he wanted, not what was best for the farm. He admitted to Clark that he resented his own father for needing him and didn't want Clark to feel the same way. However, Clark displayed the maturity and sound reasoning his parents instilled in him, insisting that he wanted to stay and help with the farm. The day of Clark's graduation, they received word of another impending meteor shower and Jonathan and Martha were forced to evacuate. Clark revealed that he would have to stay behind because he had neglected to fulfill Jor-El's task of reuniting the Stones of Power. Jonathan and Martha reluctantly prepared to leave without him, but they were taken hostage by Jason Teague who threatened to kill Martha unless Jonathan told him where Clark hid the Crystal of Knowledge. However, Jonathan managed to attack Jason by surprise, but a meteorite hit the Kents' house directly.
[edit] Season Five
Jonathan managed to survive the second meteor shower with minor injuries, but Martha was more seriously hurt. Lois Lane arrived to help Jonathan get Martha to the hospital. When Martha and Jonathan returned home, Clark announced that Jor-El had strip him of his powers and made him practically human. Jonathan and Martha were shocked, but Clark maintained that he was glad to see them go. Shortly afterward, Jonathan, Martha, and Lana were taken hostage by three metahuman fugitives
When Jonathan and Martha found out that Clark and Lana had begun a sexual relationship, he gave Clark a stern lecture on responsibility. However, the subject was forgotten when that same day, Clark was shot in the chest. He actually died at the hospital, but he was resurrected as the Kryptonian he truly is once again by Jor-El. With his powers restored, Clark saved the entire town again and Jonathan told him that he was very proud. Jonathan asked if Jor-El wanted anything in return, but Clark denied this. He seemed skeptical, but they were no doubt so glad to see him alive again, they did not press the issue.
Jonathan's oldest friend, Kansas State Senator Jack Jennings came to visit the farm in the fall to ask Jonathan to drum up support for his campaign. However, it was soon disclosed that Jennings had been having an affair with a stripper, Melissa Paige, who turned up dead.
While deciding to run, Jonathan was approached by Lionel Luthor, who offered financial support against Lex, claiming that it would be dangerous for Lex to win his first foray into politics. However, Clark had become infected with silver kryptonite and hallucinated that Jonathan was planning to turn him over as a test subject in exchange for Lionel's money. In a rage, he assaulted Jonathan and Martha before he was subdued by Chloe. Jonathan and Martha learned that Chloe had learned Clark's secret a year ago. When Clark was restored to normal, he urged his father to make his decision on what he thought was best and to not let fear of his secret being exposed run their family's life.
Clark's deal with Jor-El was revealed when Martha contracted a strange Kryptonian illness. Clark admitted that Jor-El predicted that his life-force would be exchanged for one of his loved ones. Worried about Martha's deteriorating condition, Jonathan was angry that Clark had not told him and instructed him to handle the situation. However, the illness was caused by Professor Milton Fine. Clark defeated him temporarily and Martha was cured. Jonathan approached Clark again and in softer tones, advised him not to dwell on Jor-El's warning and live life to the fullest.
Jonathan's campaign was in full swing by Christmas of 2005. He hired Lois Lane as his campaign manager and she and Martha managed his finances. However, Martha was approached by Lionel Luthor, who again offered to finance Jonathan's campaign. Not wanting him to lose simply because they were out of money, Martha accepted his offer. When Jonathan found out, he blamed Lois, but later had to apologize when Martha admitted responsibility. Jonathan decided to mortgage a sizable portion of the farm, known as the "Back Forty" to pay Lionel back. When Samantha Drake, a deranged fan of Lex Luthor, began stalking Jonathan, she and her henchmen beat him up and tied him from the rafters of the barn. He was not seriously injured, so Samantha hatched a new plan to force Lois to shoot Jonathan during a speech. However, Clark and Lois were able to stop Samantha and Jonathan was saved. It was revealed, though, that the stress the campaign was beginning to affect Jonathan and he began to have heart trouble again. The attack bolstered Jonathan's popularity even more, and on January 26, 2006, Jonathan defeated Lex in the election and won the race. They held an election party at the Talon in his honor.
Unfortunately this night, Jor-El's prediction came true. The night of the election, Jonathan received a telephone call asking for a meeting at the barn. He left the party to meet the caller. Newly-engaged to Clark, Lana was hit and killed in a car accident. Clark was devastated and Jonathan drove by the scene and stopped to comfort him. Clark begged Jor-El to reverse time so he could prevent Lana's death. In the altered turn of events, Jonathan met the caller, who was Lionel Luthor. Lionel asked for a partnership in his term and showed Jonathan a photograph of Clark emerging unscathed from an explosion. Jonathan reacted with anger and declared that the Luthors would not ruin his family. He beat Lionel up and told him to stay away from them. Martha and Clark arrived home to find Jonathan staggering out of the barn. He collapsed into his family's arms and died that night.
The entire town of Smallville attended Jonathan's funeral, including both Luthors. Clark confessed to Martha that he blamed himself, but she tried to assure him that there was nothing he could do.
[edit] Post Mortem
Sometime after Jonathan's death, Clark was injected with the Limbo drug, a kryptonite-based serum that gave him the chance to "cross-over" and see his father. Jonathan informed Clark that he will become a symbol of peace and justice on Earth, and that Lionel knew his secret. He "pushed" Clark back to life, vowing to always be with Clark.
On his nineteenth birthday, Clark saw Jonathan's spirit at his gravestone and was surprised and confused when Jonathan instructed him to kill Lionel. Jonathan also appeared to Martha, urging her to convince Clark to kill Lionel. However, the apparition was revealed to be a trick by Brainiac. Lionel had been chosen to be the oracle for Jor-El, and Brainiac attempted to manipulate Clark into eliminating him. Clark discovered Lionel's meeting with Jonathan the night of his death, and almost succeeded in killing him, but Lionel successfully talked him out of it by pointing out that Jonathan would never want Clark to take a life.
In an alternate universe where Clark never arrived on Earth (seen in Apocalypse) Jonathan is alive and still lives on the farm with Martha. They have an adopted son that they have also called Clark.
[edit] In the Comics
The differences between Jonathan's character on the show and how he is in the source material are relatively few. After Smallville began airing and was deemed a success, the Kents in the comics began to resemble the actors in the comics quite a bit. This younger portrayal of the Kents has persisted in the regular DC Universe since Superman: Birthright was published; it has not been explained, but is thought to be one of many consequences of the sweeping events of Infinite Crisis.
As it currently stands, Jonathan loves his son very much, but had a more strained relationship with him. Jonathan was critical of Clark for "showing off" by playing football with his human peers, and the strain in their relationship is such that the father and son barely spoke to each other in Clark's late teens.
Jonathan had 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. Jonathan was not particularly encouraging in the formation of Clark's Superman identity or mission, although they eventually reconciled.
Of course, major differences do exist. Unlike the series, Kent has no political ambitions. He is consistently portrayed as a man with a strong moral focus, who is simply happy with living his life on the family's farm with his wife by his side.
The other major difference is the character's mortality: in current comic continuity, Jonathan is alive and well, and has seen his son become Superman. The character's death is a staple of the Silver Age of comics, as well as in Superman's feature films, but the character staying alive has proven to be an interesting addition to Superman's supporting cast.
[edit] Trivia
- In "The New Adventures of Superman", Jonathan is still alive and well.
- Jonathan was almost named after the singer Gene Autry.
- Jonathan's favorite book was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
- Jonathan built Clark's loft in the barn and called it his "Fortress of Solitude".
- Jonathan played football for the Smallville Crows and helped them win their first state championship for the 1979-1980 school year under Coach Walt Arnold. His son Clark also led the team as quarterback to a state championship in 2004.
- Jonathan earned a full scholarship to Metropolis University.
- Jonathan was good friends with Sheriff Ethan Miller before he framed him for the attempted murder of Lionel Luthor.
- Jonathan was frequently seen drinking out of a yellow cow coffee mug.
- Jonathan and Clark went on an annual fishing trip from the time Clark was 7 until he was 14 when Clark admitted he did not like fishing anymore.
- Jonathan sometimes wears eyeglasses.
- Jonathan was born around 1961 or 1962, and graduated from Smallville High School in 1980. He turned down his scholarship to Metropolis University, but Hiram's death date (seen in Legacy) means that he died when Jonathan was around age 19. Presumably, after his father's death, he attended Met U anyway, since he met Martha there.
