THE MA KENT LIVE-ACTION TOUR

As of 2024, there have been 11 actors who have portrayed the role of "Ma" Kent in television or film.  In this tour, we will take a look at each of these actors and the vehicles that inducted them into the pantheon of DC Comic's greatest superhero.

Martha "Ma" Kent's establishment was a little shaky at first.  With Superman (and eventually Superboy) appearing in so many different titles, and being written by multiple writers, no one seemed to remember what name had given the character!

When Superman made his debut in Action Comics #1 (dated June 1938), it was claimed that a "passing motorist" found the baby from another planet and handed him over to an orphanage.  When Superman was given his own title the following year, his origin was expanded upon (Superman #1 dated June 1939).  As a baby, he was found and later adopted by an elderly couple, the Kents.  Only the wife's name was provided.  That name was Mary.

Ma Kent's name would vary in comics throughout the early 1940s.  A Superman novel published in 1942 established her name as Sarah (and her husband as Eben).   A retelling of Superman's origin in 1948 (Superman #53) once again names her Mary (this tale also reveals that her maiden name was Clark... hence the first name of her adopted boy).  A Superboy tale in 1951 refers to her as Marthe.  Finally, in Superboy #18 (February 1952) her name is Martha.  At this point, I assume someone sent a memo around the DC offices telling any and all writers to get on board with "Martha"!

Ma and Pa Kent's importance in the development of the man Clark Kent and ultimately Superman would become is immense.  The many great qualities that Clark (and Superman) strives for, are almost entirely based on the lessons of fairness, justice, and empathy that the Kents provided.

So, now let us take a look at the actresses who have portrayed the Earthly adoptive mother of Superman so far!

In the first half of the 20th century, movie serials were very popular.  Patrons of movie theaters would view a single episode of several different serials each week before the main feature film would be shown.  It was a unique way of hooking patrons into attending the theater each and every week so as not to miss an episode.  When televisions became standard household items, these weekly serials died out.  

The first actor to be cast as Ma Kent was Virginia Carroll.  She played the role in the Superman movie serial which debuted in 1948.  This serial consisted of 15 episodes.  Ironically, in the serial Ma Kent's first name was Martha (Pa Kent was named Eben) even though she hadn't ever been given that name yet in the comics!

In addition to the Kents, this 1948 Superman serial also featured the first live-action portrayals of Superman/Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, and Jor-El and Lara.  The serial was well received and inspired a sequel serial, Atom Man vs. Superman, in 1950.

 


Based on the success of the two Superman movie serials and also based on the increasing popularity of home televisions, it was inevitable that a Superman television series was quickly put into production.

The Adventures of Superman is a syndicated television show that was originally broadcast from 1952 through 1958.  Its 6 seasons produced a total of 103 episodes.  The first two seasons were filmed in black and white, and the latter four were in color.  The title role of Superman/Clark Kent was portrayed by George Reeves.

The first episode of season one ("Superman on Earth"), featured Clark Kent's adoptive parents, Sarah and Eben Kent.  Sarah "Ma" Kent was portrayed by Frances Morris.

Following the premature death of George Reeves, The Adventures of Superman TV series had to cease production.  Hoping to capitalize on the success of that show, a pilot for a new series, The Adventures of Superboy, was produced in 1961.  Johnny Rockwell portrayed Clark Kent/Superboy.  The pilot also featured Monty Margetts as his mother, Ma Kent (no first name established).

Though the pilot never went into production as a series, it can be found on VHS and DVD through specialty distributors.

In 1966, a theatrical musical titled, It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theater.  The musical featured Bob Holiday as Superman/Clark Kent and Patricia Marand as Lois Lane.  Despite receiving numerous positive reviews and three Tony nominations, the show just didn't generate an audience.  It closed after only a 3-1/2 month run. 

Jump forward to 1975.  A version of the play was filmed for the ABC television network.  It aired in a very late-night slot in February.  The original script was shortened and several of the musical numbers were dropped.  Another alteration was a quick cut-away scene featuring Jonathan and Martha Kent.  Ma was portrayed by Irene Tedrow.

Superman/Clark Kent was portrayed by Kenneth Mars and Lois Lane was played by Leslie Ann Warren.  The production was critically panned.

In 1978 the world anxiously awaited the debut of the blockbuster film, Superman, starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Marlon Brando.  The movie was directed by Richard Donner and produced by Ilya Salkind and Alexander Salkind.  This blockbuster film heralded the slogan, "You'll believe a man can fly"! 

The movie starts on Krypton leading up to the events that send a baby Kal-El to Earth in a rocket ship.  When the ship lands on Earth, the little boy inside is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent.  They raise him as their own and teach him the best of human values through their own examples.  Martha Kent is portrayed by Phyliss Thaxter.

The Salkinds would go on to produce a Superboy television series.  Ironically, the Superboy series would debut in 1988, the year following the DC maxi-series, Crisis on Infinite Earths, which erased the notion that Clark had ever been a superhero as a young boy or teenager!

The series was produced for syndication and was popular enough to be granted a four-season run.  The show centered around Clark Kent and Lana Lang as they begin their college years. 

Martha Kent was a recurring character who appeared in 2 episodes in each of the show's four seasons.  Ma Kent was portrayed by Salome Jens.

In 1993, the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman provided actor K Callan the opportunity to imbue the character of Martha Kent with a rich and grounded personality.  This Ma Kent held all the values of her comic book counterpart, but she also had a mischievous sense of humor and liked to goad her adoptive son (played by Dean Cain) when she could.

In this series Ma and Pa Kent are central characters, appearing in every episode.  They offer wisdom and insight as Clark navigates his new life in the big city of Metropolis and as he enters the world of dating.  Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman aired for four seasons and featured an on-air wedding of Lois and Clark that coincided with their wedding in the pages of DC Comics.

The actor who holds the record for most portrayals of Martha Kent is Annette O'Toole.  Annette appeared in 136 episodes of Smallville during its ten-year run.  (Interestingly, Ms. O'Toole also played Lana Lang in the movie Superman III.)  Ms. O'Toole offered viewers a much younger and more vibrant Martha Kent.  She held jobs outside the home, including being an assistant to Lionel Luthor for a bit, and then running a coffee shop in Smallville called The Talon.

Smallville started broadcasting in 2001.  It was a contemporary take on the tale of a young Clark Kent growing up in Smallville, Kansas.  As Clark begins to experience having special abilities, his parents are forced to confess how they found him years ago in a crashed spacecraft.  

The network promoted the show with the slogan, "No tights, no flights".  This series did not feature a Superboy or Superman.  It was instead a coming-of-age serial drama that focused on the struggles of Clark Kent (Tom Welling), an outsider trying to fit in.  

In 2006 Superman Returns was released in theaters around the country.  This movie was intended to be a sequel to Superman and Superman II (while ignoring Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace).

Brandon Routh stepped into the Christopher Reeve role of Clark Kent/Superman and Eva Marie Saint inhabited the Ma Kent originally created by Phyllis Thaxter.  In the film, Superman has been missing from Earth for five years (he went off into space to see if there were any other survivors of Krypton).  When he returns to Earth, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) is engaged to Perry White's nephew and has a young son.  To help enhance the congruity with Superman and Superman II, manipulated footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El is incorporated into the movie.

This movie did fairly well, garnering positive reviews and earning nearly $400 million worldwide.  But it failed to generate enough enthusiasm to warrant a sequel.  

 

The next actor who was cast as Martha Kent was Academy Award-nominee Diane Lane.  She would play Ma Kent in three films... Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League.  These films were released in 2013, 2016, and 2017 respectively.  

These movies introduced Superman (Henry Cavill) and Lois Lane (Amy Adams) to a new generation of filmgoers.  They were also intended to expand the DC universe into a cinematic dynasty to compete with the success of Marvel's movie universe.  Man of Steel tells an updated origin of Superman and became the highest-grossing Superman film of all time.  Sadly, reviews for the movie were only mediocre, and the critical response to the latter two films was worse.

A more recent actor to take on the role of Martha Kent is Sarah Deakins.  Sarah played Martha Kent in a single episode of the Titans television series in 2019.  Her portrayal is in a non-speaking flashback where she interacts with Clark Kent as a young boy.

In 2021 the CW debuted another series to their primetime "Arrowverse" pantheon of superhero-themed dramas.  Superman and Lois followed DC's most famous couple as they raised their twin sons in Smallville, Kansas.  The series ran for four seasons and featured Sarah Deakins as Martha Kent in three episodes from season one.  

This tour now comes to its conclusion... for now!  With the anticipated Superman: Legacy big-budget film set to be released in 2025, we will undoubtedly be back for updates!

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