Secrecy And A Friend Called Pete

There Will Be Time.

Jack Havig, time traveler, to Robert Anderson:

"'Uncle Jack was the ideal guide and mentor. I'd no reason to disobey his commands about secrecy, aside from some disguised bragging to my friend Pete.' (p. 39)

Clark Kent's friend, Pete Ross, accidentally discovers his secret.

"'...the necessity of keeping our secret...'" (p. 40) is a strong parallel between the biographies of those two great Americans, Clark Kent and Jack Havig. Kent inspires the Legion of Super-Heroes in the thirtieth century. Havig builds the Star Masters civilization in later centuries.

Despite their powers, Kent and Havig keep the secret because its necessity is impressed on them by their mentors, Jonathan Kent and Uncle Jack, respectively. The Smallville TV series emphasizes the deceit and duplicity involved in the secrecy which leads to a permanent conflict between Clark Kent and his former friend, Lex Luthor. Clark could have had a small team of friends, including Pete and Lex, working with him - a much better arrangement.