When one thinks of mothers in superhero comics, you don’t get any more iconic than Martha Kent, mother of Clark Kent, who is Superman. In every version of the story, her and Jonathan Kent find the infant Kal-el and adopt him as their own, with Martha being the one to insist and pretty much state they are taking him in, sometimes with her husband wanting to look into why they found a baby crash landing on their laps.
One reason why she bonded so much to Clark, and why her and Jon were childless is due to her fertility issues, having a long string of miscarriages, and deeply wanting to be a mother, and after hitting menopause, she had her chance to be a mother to the greatest son any mother could ever have, Superman.
She worked hard to make sure he was well grounded, and that he learned to choose to make the very best decisions, even when he doubted people, doubted himself, and confronted with difficult choices. He would often go and visit his mother when he needed to ground himself after tough journalism gigs, stressful superhero adventures, or simply because he wanted to help on the farm.
She took her role as a countryside, southern wife and mother very seriously, loving to clean the house, help her husband in the barn, and she loved cooking.
Cooking and Baking is a pastime of hers, as noted by everyone who comes across her, often having a pie of some flavour ready to take out of the oven, or even out of her freezer. She is a woman who sees cooking as a form of sharing love, something that Jon, Clark or Lois never turn down.
Her maternal and nurturing role extends to many heroes who are under a lot of stress or pressure, and need to take a step back, and recover their own mental or emotional health as they come to her and her husband for periods of time, in order to give them a “recharge” that allows them to return to their adventures.
Superheroes often live in cities, and there is always energy that might be overwhelming, and tough on mental health, even for a city slicker, so going to the countryside, and getting that Southern Hospitality can do wonders for the heroes, particularly Batman.
Yes, Bruce Wayne himself has gone to visit them from time to time, enjoying his time with them, and treating Martha with a lot of care, and growing protective of her. Not only does she share his mother’s name, but she also mothers him dearly, seeing him as a poor orphan who might need a good hug, or a nice pie to eat, calming down the often angry Caped Crusader in order to help him cope with hard times. Even at his most unstable, he treats
Martha with utmost respect, refusing to let her see him in such a fashion, as he would feel ashamed of himself over his behaviour. He might have accused Superman of many things, but never did he cause her stress, because of his respect for her, and his shame for his behaviour.
Let’s face it, it’s not just anyone who can scold Batman like he’s a disobedient child, and get away with it, in a way that not even Alfred can.
When the incredible story “Death of Superman” happened, she went through the most unthinkable thing a mother like her could go through: Her son died. A mother should never bury a child, and she did.
And what did she do? Her first instinct was to hop on a plane to Metropolis, find Lois and comfort her, making sure she was all right. As much as she was grieving, the fact that she wanted to make sure her daughter-in-law was safe and nurtured tells us a lot about how much of a virtuous woman she is, and how, in many ways, Clark took after her, putting others before her own grief.
Leading into “Reign of the Supermen”, it really got out of control, with the various Supermen that arrived, including the young, plucky Superboy. As much as it took him a while to be introduced to the Kents, waiting for after Superman’s revival, she took to him very fast, being happy to have become a Grandmother.
Having Clark back, and becoming a Grandmother to Superboy, or Conner Kent, was a dream come true for her. Yes, Lois and Clark were having troubles of their own with conception, just like her and her husband, but for Clark to bring forth a teenage boy, who had no home to return to, (Particularly after his disastrous stay in Hawaii) and was a biological clone of Superman, and his immaturity and adolescent indulgences, she then started stepping into the role of grandmother to many of the younger heroes, as her and Jon stepped into the next step of their lives.
The wiki might describe Conner as Clark’s “Adoptive Brother”, but the truth is Clark treats Conner as his son, and for many reasons, Conner’s Clark’s favourite child, because he has absolute faith in his teenage clone, as the boy embodies all of the superhero’s virtues, even considering that he was engineered by Lex Luthor.
And Martha dotes on Conner, barely needing to scold him, as he may push boundaries, and his music might leave much to be desired, and much to her relief, Conner was a far easier child than Clark, considering Clark went through a phase that many orphans or adopted children go through, which is questioning their personal history, and Clark did not have an easy time with that. Even when Kara’s position on Earth is in question, she is always welcome under Martha’s roof.
Even after Jon’s death, she is far more concerned over her son and grandson’s well-being, and she wants to ensure that they are coping well with things, and she then took care of herself, often reminded by Clark, who sometimes insists on him making supper in order to make sure that she is taken care of, something that sometimes annoys her.
People often judge the role of women in the culture she lived in, and the way people in those societies think. But they often overlook how much of a welcoming, and warm reception a Southern Mom will give, and how much they care for their family.
Martha embodies this, and represents the heart of the American Dream, who nurtures all of America’s children who may need a bed to sleep in, an escape from the stresses that haunt them, or if all they need is a bowl of chicken soup and a slice of pie (Or 5 pies if one belongs to the Flash Family.) in order to smile, and return to the battle ahead, that we must all confront.
She's definitely a very important person in the ongoing Superman media saga. She wasn't there from day one, but she brought gravitas to his story he wouldn't otherwise have. Certainly, she set a high standard for other superhero parents (including those of the ones I created).
Martha Kent needs more love