Martha Kent is a retired farmer from Smallville. She and her husband Jonathan Kent briefly sheltered Superman when he first came to Earth.
History
Jonathan and Martha never had children as Martha suffered multiple miscarriages. Five years ago, Lazarus Corp began buying up all the agricultural land around Smallville to build a "superfarm". However, Jonathan and Martha refused to sell their farm, which had been in Jon's family for four generations. After that, the rain mysteriously stopped falling on their fields, although the farms just adjacent to theirs would get regular rainfall, leaving them unable to harvest any crops and facing bankruptcy. Martha believed that Lazarus was preventing the rain from falling on their property but Jonathan insisted that the stories about Lazarus being able to control the weather were put out by the company so people would feel too helpless to resist them. They were determined to hold on to their land but also didn't know how they could fight back against Lazarus' infinite money and power. Privately, Martha had already accepted that they were going to lose the farm and said that only a miracle could save them.
Suddenly, something crashed to Earth near their farmhouse. They ran out to the crash and found a ship and a teenaged boy on fire. The ship dissolved into dust and the boy absorbed it into his body. He screamed at them in an alien language and then passed out. Jon thought that the boy might be dangerous and said they should call for help but Martha believed he was an angel and the miracle she had been hoping for. She insisted that they should take him into their home. Over the next few weeks, the boy drifted in and out of unconsciousness, running a fever of a hundred-and-sixty-five and having violent spasms. Jon expected him to die, however the boy not only survived, but displayed incredible strength. Eventually he levitated up out of his bed into the air and blasted powerful beams of heat from his eyes. Jonathan was afraid that the boy would kill them by accident but Martha insisted on keeping him, telling Jon that they were certain to lose the farm, but they could still do some good by saving him.
One day the boy's fever suddenly broke and he snapped awake. He ran from them, smashing through the wall of the house and racing off into the fields at incredible speed, but then quickly returned. For the next two weeks he lived with them, using his incredible abilities to help on the farm. Although they could not understand each other, the Kents quickly bonded with the boy, seeing him as the son they had never had. Martha thanked him giving Jon something to live for even without the farm; unaware that Jonathan had said much the same to him about Martha. They each told that they could tell her was searching for something and they hoped they could find it together.
Eventually the boy's advanced armour repaired itself, and allowed him to speak English. He finally introduced himself to the Kents, telling them that his name was Kal-El. The armour also detected and remotely deactivated Lazarus weather control drones which were indeed preventing it from raining on the farm. This caused a three day downpour, which was not enough to save the crops but gave the Kents hope for the first time in a long time. Kal-El and the Kents were ready to become a family, but one of their neighbours reported Kal-El to Lazarus as an undocumented immigrant and the Peacemakers assaulted the farm to capture him. Kal-El believed that if he could speak to the Peacemakers and explain who he was then they would understand and leave, but the Kents knew they wouldn't care and told him to run and save himself. Kal-El tearfully flew away, leaving the Kents and his new home behind.[1]
By the present day, Jon had passed away and Martha was living in a nursing home in the final stages of Alzheimer's Disease. She kept a photograph of her, Jon and Kal-El on her nightstand.[2] Kal-El would occasionally come to visit her in secret and bring her keepsakes from his travels around the world.[3] Lois Lane, a Lazarus agent determined to track down Superman, came to the nursing home to speak with her.[1]
Powers and Abilities
Other Characteristics
Notes
- Martha Kent was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, first appearing in Superman #1. However, the Absolute Universe version of Martha Kent first appeared in Absolute Superman #3 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval.
Related
- 3 Appearances of Martha Clark (Absolute Universe)
- 2 Images featuring Martha Clark (Absolute Universe)
- Quotations by or about Martha Clark (Absolute Universe)
- Character Gallery: Martha Clark (Absolute Universe)
Footnotes