"When you look at Clark Kent when he's working at the Daily Planet, he's a reporter. He doesn't fly through the air in his glasses and his suit"
About this Quote
The specific intent feels almost managerial. Simmons is arguing that you don’t bring your full arsenal into every room. Contextually, it fits a musician who’s spent decades toggling between grotesque stage persona and offstage businessman. Kiss is makeup, pyrotechnics, maximalism. Gene Simmons is contracts, branding, interviews. By invoking Clark Kent’s restraint, he legitimizes the idea that professionalism can be a kind of discipline, not a betrayal of authenticity.
The subtext is also a quiet rebuke to the fantasy that charisma should be constant. People want celebrities to be “on” everywhere, to deliver the spectacle at breakfast, at the office, in politics. Simmons is insisting on boundaries: you’re allowed to be ordinary on purpose. The glasses-and-suit detail is key because it’s the visual shorthand for assimilation, for choosing to blend in. In a culture that rewards nonstop self-mythologizing, he’s oddly advocating for the unsexy skill of switching modes.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Simmons, Gene. (2026, January 17). When you look at Clark Kent when he's working at the Daily Planet, he's a reporter. He doesn't fly through the air in his glasses and his suit. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-you-look-at-clark-kent-when-hes-working-at-60039/
Chicago Style
Simmons, Gene. "When you look at Clark Kent when he's working at the Daily Planet, he's a reporter. He doesn't fly through the air in his glasses and his suit." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-you-look-at-clark-kent-when-hes-working-at-60039/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When you look at Clark Kent when he's working at the Daily Planet, he's a reporter. He doesn't fly through the air in his glasses and his suit." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-you-look-at-clark-kent-when-hes-working-at-60039/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.




