Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls The Clark Quiz

With all of the discussion about characterisation and incarnations of Lois and Clark and whether or not fans of incarnations other than LnC: TNAOS are *real* fans or not, I started to wonder exactly who is qualified to decide if any depiction of Lois and Clark fits the mold or not. Is it a matter of having to view all 88 episodes a certain number of times before you can be called an expert? Is it that you know one of the writers from the show and have an inner knowledge of what the creators had really meant Lois and Clark to be like? Is it that you've read every single fanfic ever written and are therefore an expert?

As far as I know, there is no Bible out there that spells out exactly what the correct answers are when it comes to characterisation of either Lois or Clark. As such, we all come at these two characters with only our memories from their actions on the show, our own personal backgrounds, and our wishes and hopes for what these characters should be when we decide what is and is not in-character. And in order to maintain a polite, friendly community, sometimes we have to agree to disagree and move on.

However, just for fun, I've come up with a Personality Quiz of sorts for both Lois and Clark. (Clark's is here. Lois's is here ). In this poll are twenty questions posed about Clark - what he might do in a given situation, what his preferences are, etc. As far as I know, there are no *right* answers (right being defined as an answer given specifically within the context of the show). These are just thrown out there for your consideration and guess as to what your idea of a correct answer might be.

Some of the questions are easy and low-level. Some are deeper and more controversial. None of the answer options are right or wrong, simply meant to generate thought. And all of the questions are asked assuming that canon is what we were all shown during the four seasons of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Because there are no *right* and *wrong* answers, I did not include an option for "Other" with each question. This is to narrow down what could be an infinite number of possible answers, so pick your best guess and then feel free to elaborate in a post.

This could be interesting! If we will never know exactly what the right answers are, perhaps this poll will give us a snapshot of what the majority of us fans imagine the right answers would be. At the very least it will demonstrate that the interpretation of what is "in-character" is highly, highly subjective, and no one person has the ability to claim absolute authority. Except Lois and Clark themselves, of course.



Lynn

WOW!! Fascinating poll, Lynn!! Thanks for putting so much time and effort into this. It looks really well thought out and I can't wait to see Lois's Quiz.

Now... I have the urge to address and/or comment on some of the questions, so indulge me.

"If Clark wasn’t a reporter, he'd most prefer to be"

This was one of the tough ones (not the toughest, by far, but still). What is it that drives Clark? Is it the social aspect of helping people (social worker)? Or is it justice (police officer)? Or is it the rescue of people in danger (firefighter)? This has really made me wonder why Clark is in journalism in the first place, and how on Earth did he survive not helping people more than surreptitiously until he became Superman?

"Superman couldn't rescue a bus full of senior citizens. At home he:"

This one was a bit hard as well. I believe that Clark has a habit of internalizing everything, not letting people know when he's upset or hurting. On the show, we got to see Lois's struggles with being a superhero when she was Ultra Woman. She cried to Clark about the stress and agony of not being able to be everywhere at once. We did get to see Clark voice his frustrations early on, when he was first learning how to be Superman, but other than that, we didn't really see this side of him. What *does* he do when he can't be enough. I'd like to say that he goes home and tries to forget about it, but it hardly works... especially if it were an earthquake that killed hundreds or a child that died in front of its parents. I think we were cheated a bit on the show that we never saw Clark cry. I whole-heartedly believe that he can and does cry, and with evidence from countless fics, I'm guessing most of us do.

"If Clark had to give up all of his superpowers but one, which would he keep?"

Interesting to see that most of us (so far) believe that Clark values flying above all else. I think that was evident in his choice of flying when Lois asked the "invisible or fly" question. Though... I do wonder... It's heavily mentioned in fanfic that Clark gets such a feeling of freedom from flying... Are our answers weighted with this? Or is it truly a part of the L&C canon?

"Does Clark believe in God?"

Now this question... I can't help but wonder if people are answering what they would like to be true, or if Clark really does believe in God. He's clearly not a religious person as we never see him go to church or mention anything of organized religion, but of course that doesn't mean that he doesn't believe in God. Interesting question.

"If Clark could only rescue one person of the list below, who would it be?"

This question actually stole my breath for a moment, and was probably the hardest to answer. We know from the series that he'd be torn to choose between friends and hundreds of innocents, Lois and the peace talks... but he always found a way to save everyone. That makes me wonder... *who* would he really choose? The issue was probably far too heavy a topic for the show, and from what I've read, I haven't seen it addressed too much, if at all in fanfic. Perhaps that's a question that no one really knows the answer to. I ended up choosing his child... I think he'd reason that Lois would want it that way. But really, I have no idea... really tough question.

"Which teenage “trouble” would Clark have most likely be caught doing?"

Now this one... I don't really see Clark getting in trouble. Not just because he was such a good kid, but because he hated to draw attention to himself. Some of the options you can clearly dismiss out of hand (I hope ), but a few others - like making out and skipping school - are a little more likely. I chose skipping school, but only with the thought that maybe Clark had discovered one of his powers or was upset by something which caused him to leave for the day.

"Would Clark make love to his wife, Lois, at the DP during business hours?"

*snicker*

Okay, I think I've gone on long enough. Really great poll, Lynn!!

Sara

Wow, that was fun. What a neat idea, Lynn. There were definitely a few times where I wanted to pick more than one answer, or wished I had a different option listed, but it was a fun quiz to take.

As I looked through the results, I saw times where I was in the majority, and times where I was the only (or one of the only) people to choose an option. I can't wait to see how it shapes up after more people have voted.

Neat, neat, neat! Can't wait for the Lois Quiz.

Kathy

Great!!

Tough, too. Gives good food for thought.

Way to go, Lynn! And thanks!

See ya,
AnnaBtG.

Very interesting questions! And yes, it needed quite a bit of thought! There a few questions that could have used more options.. the God question I was thinking "Keeping an open mind".. not a full-blown believer, but not a complete atheist, either. More of an agnostic.

Absolutely fascinating, Lynn! Like Kathy, there were so many times I wanted to choose more than one answer. And other times - such as what he would do if upset after saving people - I wanted to say that it would depend whether this was S1 or S3.

Interesting, too, looking at the results, where lots of people have selected options I'd have said 'no way!' to - which only goes to reiterate what I've said many times: that for the most part characterisation is incredibly subjective. We all know there are things Clark would definitely not do - like keep the money in that wallet or kill someone deliberately - but, at the margins, what would he do? We could all say that Clark doesn't cheat... yet he was going to cheat at poker until Lois made that comment about Superman not cheating. He does lie, if he feels it's justified. He will be snide and even hurtful on occasion. He'll even treat Lois badly once or twice and try to justify it.

Great idea! And I can't wait to see the Lois poll, Lynn.


Wendy

Interesting quiz - and I know from experience how hard it is to set these things.

Some fun questions, and a couple that we actually did see in L & C so we could go with Clark's choice - like the date question - but then what if what he'd planned was what he thought Lois would like and wouldn't be what *he* would like, and then there's the adjective "elegant" which is not the same as "impressive" or "laid-back" and since he wanted to impress Lois ... nope couldn't answer that one afterall. (Pearl Jam concert??)

Now, I know you set this as a forced choice quiz, Lynn, to elict our opinions, and with most of the questions I was quite happy to accept the fact that although maybe he would have done something different, I could chose one of the five as more llikely than the others. (e.g. the job question) and, as Wendy said, for a couple you had to chose S1 or S3 Clark. And for one it was all of the above.

But a few I just couldn't answer - the one about which relationship he would chose with Lois - one of the premises of L & C :TNAoS was that Clark was after neither the one night stand or the 'let's be friends' relationship, so neither answer was appropriate. Why only 2 choices in that question, btw? Also the god question, as has already been pointed out - why only 2 choices there also? And then the Hitler question which is based on a theory of history which ignores multiple causation ( I know, you're nodding off at this point but it is an interesting discussion - does one man shape events or do the events shape the times which in turn produce etc, etc - now I know you're nodding off

Also, wouldn't saving your child be nearly everyone's first choice, regardless of how much you loved the other people in the list?

So i finished the quiz, having left 4 questions unanswered, felt not too happy with some answers, and submitted my response, but... the quiz god would not accept my incomplete paper!

Yet, I am curious about how people are answering - love discussions about characterization.

I'm way over-analzing this, maybe?

c

Great poll, Lynn. I'd thought of doing something similar a month or so ago, so I was delighted to see you'd done this.

Some of the questions were a little hard to answer without knowing the context - were we dealing with a S1 Clark or a S3 Clark, for example. An S1 Clark, IMO, would be more likely to phone his parents than Lois, whereas an S3 Clark would be more likely to phone Lois.

But on the whole, you posed some thought-provoking questions, and I'll be back later when I've got a little more time to discuss things further.

This, though:

I imagine the intention was to avoid the obvious and clear-cut answer in favour of giving us two less obvious answers to choose from: if Clark *couldn't* have exactly what he wanted, what would his choice be?

Yvonne

Very cool poll, Lynn. Brilliant thought, and very interesting results.

I seem to be with the majority on just about every question. Not only that, but in most cases where I was really torn between two answers, I see that the votes are split between those two possibilities.

For example, the morning person question. I think Clark is a morning person, but I voted other because I don't think he's any more alert in the morning than he is in the afternoon or evening. I was also torn between Intelligence and Compassion. Although I ultimately chose Compassion, I was happy to see that my vote evened the split between the two.

I did disagree with the majority on question one, though. Flying around with the wallet seems like the most honest and straightforward choice, but I think that ultimately, it would be futile. There's no telling how far the person who lost it could have gone, in what direction, or if that person even realizes the wallet is missing. Even if the person realizes the wallet is missing, there's no way to tell unless they're doing something to make it obvious (walking or driving around actively scanning the streets, telling someone "I lost my wallet," etc), and the odds are against that happening at the moment Clark is flying overhead. Besides, who knows how many other people have lost wallets? Not to mention that scanning the city would mean peeking into people's private places (Ooo, unintentional alliteration. Cool. ). So, I don't really think it's a logical or practical choice, and I think Clark would realize that.

As for the bus question, that's where I'd really like some more options. To some degree, it depends on where we are in the timeline. Are L&C married? Does Lois even know he's Superman? I think the answer would change a lot depending on whether we were talking about early Season One, post Season Four, or somewhere in between. In any case, I'd probably have chosen "All of the above" if that had been offered.

Similarly, there's more than one kind of ideal date. I don't think Clark would want to have the same type of date over and over. I think he'd enjoy most, if not all, of the options you've listed. Frankly, I think the only real answer to this question would be "With Lois."

The one where I really seem to differ from the rest is Clark's accomplishments. I think there's a subtlety to this question that makes a big difference. I answered that he'd be most proud of teaching someone to read, but if the question had been "Which of these things would Clark most want to do?" I'd have picked something else entirely. I think, for example, that he'd very much want to put Luthor in jail, but that he wouldn't necessarily be especially proud of being the one to do it. (It's a very debatable point, I know). Similarly, I think he'd consider rescuing people from a burning building more important than teaching someone to read, but I don't think it's something he'd be particularly proud of having accomplished. It's too easy for him, too everyday. I'd be interested to see how others would have answered with the same list but a different emphasis (most proud, most want, most important, etc).

As for God, I wasn't sure what to say. The show avoided even hinting at an answer to this one, and I think that's a good thing. Ultimately, I chose yes, but mainly because I know that more people do than don't. Like others, I'd have been happier with an in-between answer. Then again, if anyone has reason to know how complicated that question can become if you let it, it would be me.

The question about saving only one of his family was really hard. I don't think there's any way to really answer it. I, like most, ended up choosing "his child," but the only thing I could think of to even start coming to a conclusion was the fact that in ATAI, he put Lois's life in danger in order to save his parents.

Like Sara, I had a hard time choosing anything from the list of teenage troubles. For me, it's the fact that I consider him too responsible to do most of the things there. I know I was at that age. What I find interesting is that one of the best reasons I can imagine for him doing something to get in trouble is exactly the reason Sara says she thinks he wouldn't -- so as not to stand out. I'm not saying he'd cave to peer pressure, but I can see him being afraid that if he was too squeaky clean and didn't at least try some things that were at least a little bit against the rules, he might stand out too much.

I think skipping school is a good example of that, with the added possibilities (as Sara mentioned) of complications arising from his developing powers. On the other hand, making out with a girl may well be a better example. Not that he'd take it too far, but it's something I can see him doing for a variety of reasons. Because he was curious. Because he wanted to test himself. Because he didn't want to stand out too much by turning her down too quickly.

I must admit, though, that I'm kind of surprised by the number of people who chose "drinking a beer." I guess it seems like more to me, since I don't drink, but I find it a little hard to see Clark getting involved in underaged drinking.

Anyway, great poll, Lynn. Looking forward to seeing the next one.

Paul

Enjoyed the quiz.

I found the one about which person he would save easy, simply because all three of the other people on that list would want him to choose his child. (Ask any mother or grandparent )

The one about making love at the office... Well, there I was going to click no. Then I thought about how I would answer that question for Lois and came up with yes. So then it became a struggle. After all, who else would Lois be making love with in the office . So the question became: 'Who would win that fight?' Well, that question seemed easy enough. Lois would win . And so my answer for Clark changed.

As for god... I have asked myself that question a lot. For Lois, it would be easy enough (at least in my opinion). Lois doesn't believe anything that she can't see and touch. So I doubt she'd believe in God. With Clark, I suspect he'd believe in a higher power in the universe. How he would actually define that power, I'm not sure. So the two options for me weren't satisfactory. I chose 'yes', but that would be 'yes' with a qualification of: 'depending on how you define god.' (Of course, that is a much larger question for a very different discussion )

But sometimes, I wished there was a 'depends' answer. I would have wanted to see the build up to the question before answering it.

And some of the questions didn't seem to be about character to me (like what type of job he would choose). That was one where I would have chosen 'depends.'

Anyway, interesting quiz, Lynn. I'm looking forward to seeing the Lois quiz.

a little correction. i voted for ice breath but didnt read the question right. my vote would be for flying then.

Interesting poll. I would consider some of the questions trick in some aspects and i dont know who clark would save. I dont think he would save his parents, but lois... i dont think he would give up on her or on their child. i think he'd die trying to save both.

It's interesting that so many people think Clark does not believe in God. (Not that I got the impression he thought about God all that much or that deeply. Rather, like many Americans (according to quite a number of polls I have seen), he believes that God exists, most likely self-identifies as a Christian, and neither attends church on any regular basis nor worries much about it.)

Serious question: if he does not believe in God, to whom is he speaking in AtAI?

Rivka, I hardly think that needs to be taken as a literal indication that he thinks he's talking to god. It could well just be a way to vent his frustration without any real belief behind it. I'm not saying that's necessarily what it is, but that's the way I'd take it, whether or not he actually is a theist.

Paul

I've never been given the impression that Clark was particularly religious, Rivka - although both of them would really have to believe in something after the appalling Mike, wouldn't they? Not many couples have their wedding certificate signed by an angel.

Which was partly why I loathed Mike with a vengeance.

And, as Paul says, I wouldn't take that example as any kind of proof. As an athiest/agnostic, I'm quite likely to say something of the same kind in similiar circumstances and I wouldn't mean it at all seriously.

In fact, I was just as surprised by how many thought he did believe in God as you were by those who didn't.

LabRat

just a quick comment on something Paul said:

Before that, though, he told Lois to get herself out of town, which by implication would be choosing to save her rather than his folks. I think the only reason he went along with Lois's plan was that it seemed to hold out hope that he could save everyone.

PJ

Isn't that what I said? Nah, it's (at least in theory) an SF show -- "angel" can simply mean advanced alien. Unconscious bias, I guess.

I think it's interesting how often we do seem to agree on Clark's choices, and both interesting and quite gratifying how often I seem to have gone along with the majority.

On the question of what Clark would be most proud of, however, I see I'm at odds with the majority. The popular choice appears to be that he'd be most proud of earning a compliment from Lois. Now, I agree that's something he would enjoy tremendously and it's something that would make him feel good. But be proud of? I'm not so sure he wouldn't feel prouder to have helped someone else better themselves (ie, helped them to read) than to have done something which plumps up his own ego. Yes, he's not a selfless angel who always puts other people's interests before his own, and he's certainly not beyond a bit of self-aggrandisement, but I just think in this case 'proud' isn't quite the right emotion to accompany receiving a compliment from Lois.

Count me in the camp who's surprised at how many people think Clark believes in God. Perhaps this is one area where it's very hard not to superimpose our own beliefs on top of Clark's.

Wow, we're evenly split on whether he'd make love to his wife during business hours! I chose no, but I wasn't terribly sure. Again, he's not a total goody two-shoes, and perhaps if you caught him in the right frame of mind, he might just misbehave.

Yvonne

If it was what you meant to say, then we're definitely in agreement. But, no. Your earlier post stated that Clark believed in God but didn't think too much about it. I, OTOH, never got the impression from the show that he believed in God at all - that's what I meant by 'particularly regligious'. That he wasn't religious at all. I was probably a little more ambiguous there than I should have been - chalk it up to Scots language. It's a phrasing we use all the time in my neck of the woods to mean 'not at all'.

But then, it wasn't made clear on the show that he didn't either. At least, racking my brains to remember and don't recall anything he said or did that definitively marked him as an athiest - I think TPTB wanted that ambiguity deliberately, so that viewers of both persuasions could read what they wanted into it and be happy.

It could, I suppose. But in the context of the show, it was, imo, made very clear that Mike was the traditional angel taking orders from God to get Lois and Clark married. I certainly never got the impression we were dealing with some alien species that had somehow, for some inexplicable reason, taken in interest in two Earthlings and their marriage problems and traveled many space miles to make sure they made it. Although, now that I think about it, it would have made as much sense as Mike did.

Yeah, I found that one quite amusing.

LabRat

Lab -

I just wanted to chime in that I also am atheist-agnostic.

You can email me and let me know if you think that sam and Jack have any theistic notions. What about Daniel? And by theistic, I mean specifically in the spirit in which they may have been raised.

Leela

Out of pure curiosity, I opened up this topic, and even thought I found myself confused about the presentation of the poll, I decided to open it up and take a stab at things.

Let me start off by saying that your opening statement is curious, Lynn, and seems to have absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand.
By posting the poll, it seems that the answer automatically becomes characterization by committee. I don't agree with that approach, personally. There IS a rubrick for how the characters of Lois and Clark should be characterized, and it's called, "Lois and Clark: the New Adventures of Superman." Ideally, fics written for this fandom should be based around the characters as presented in the show, like it or not. The only qualification to write them is to know the subject matter and to care about the characters and what happens to them.

I tend to take exception to the idea that characterization should be based on how the characters have been presented in other fics. I actually think that's part of the problem with fanfic right now - people have gotten away from the show. The last new episode aired in 1997, the last rerun aired a couple years ago. Unless you have your tapes and still watch them, then your memories of the show are probably getting a little fuzzy, and sometimes fic is your only regular exposure to the subject matter. One author may (unintentionally) take a certain characteristic of Lois or Clark and simplify it when they use it in a story. An author who reads the story may like the premise and use it in their own fic, but may in the process simplify or stereotype it further, such that you end up having a "defining characteristic" of one of the characters that was never really mentioned in the show (or was maybe mentioned briefly) and was mostly the invention of fic writers. When this happens enough times, the characters seem to become caricatures or stereotypes, even though they're "in cannon" in the fic universe.

That being said, on to the questions. A lot of these needed a "none of the above" choice. For example:
-If Superman couldn't rescue a bus full of senior citizens, I can see him escaping to some remote corner of the world to work out his frustrations. Then maybe get mopey when he gets home and dwell on what happened.
-The Lois Lane relationship question seemed bogus. Definately none of the above.
-Superpowers: where's invulnerability? That would be my (personal) choice.

A lot of these things I don't see as "Characterization", in that they are topics that aren't addressed on the shows, therefore there is no way to believe that the answer should be one of the ones given or something else entirely. I thought the God question was the most interesting, and I've addressed it in my fics. I'm not a religious person, but I really don't know how Clark could do what he does without the belief in some sort of higher power. When things don't always go as planned, there has to be some comfort in knowing that maybe it happened for some higher purpose. You don't have to be a regular church-goer or religious zealot to have the basic belief that there is a purpose in everything that happens. But that's just my belief.

Thanks for the chance to discuss these things.

AnnN.