by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Welcome to Cross-Platform Partners! In honor of a new movie release, I have selected a TV show to watch to pair with the movie. Think of it as a way to get hyped for the new movie, a preview of things to come, a means to tide you over if the movie won’t be released where you live for a little while, or a change of pace if you’ve run out of related movies or sequels.
For July, I paired Smallville with Superman.
On both big and small screens, Superman remains a character that draws crowds in droves. Even if the quality has been inconsistent over the last 50 years, the Man of Steel is one of the greatest superheroes we have. Although Zack Snyder had mixed results with Superman, there’s no denying that there’s still an appetite for more, with James Gunn taking over the reins. Looking at the television iterations of Superman, the one that helped me get into the character was Smallville.
The WB’s first take on Superman is a massive part of my high school history. My group of friends wanted to spend time together during the week, so we came up with the idea to watch a TV show at someone’s house. Trying to find a TV show that everyone was interested in was challenging, because we had to balance the diverse tastes of many people. Ultimately, we settled on Smallville. We even called the gathering Smallville. Even as the series petered on, the group evolved to include people younger than me who still carried on the tradition. As the show was ending, the group still called our weekly gathering Smallville until they finished in 2018.
Smallville’s humble beginnings see Clark Kent (Tom Welling) navigating the day-to-day struggles of high school life. He’s starting to discover his powers, but more importantly, his life is upended when he saves the life of local rich kid Lex Luthor (Michael Rosembaum). They develop a friendship, even if Lex is someone he just doesn’t trust. Clark’s relationship with his parents, Jonathan (John Schneider) and Martha (Annette O’Toole), is still strong, and he still has feelings for the girl next door, Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk).
At first, Smallville is a case-of-the-week style show. Each episode, the show showcases a villain that Clark has to defeat to learn something about himself. This is initially a fun, helpful way for Clark to figure out how to utilize his newly discovered powers. Some powers, like flight, were saved for special occasions only.
But as the show progresses, Smallville shifts its focus to presenting more season-long story arcs, like those involving worthy villains Brainiac and Doomsday, so this is a welcome change. Thankfully, Smallville had the foresight to adapt its format as the audience’s tastes began to evolve.
DC spared no expense in expanding the mythology of Superman and incorporating more characters from its vast roster. With all the Superman characters, Smallville does a fantastic job of showcasing their strong bonds with Clark. We see the likes of Arthur Curry (Alan Ritchson) and Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley) from before the Arrowverse. The WB owes a great deal of gratitude to Smallville for kicking off its DC shared mini-universe on television. Even a character like Lois Lane (Erica Durance) had to wait her turn before coming on the show during Season Four. It was an organic-ish way to bring her in and still balance Clark’s feelings for Lana.
Welling is the prime example of what Superman is supposed to represent. He played the character for 10 seasons and over 200 episodes, so he has a reasonably good grasp of what Superman means to the public and the world at large. I don’t think Welling gets enough credit for keeping the spirit of Superman alive, especially after the failed attempt to reboot the movie franchise with Superman Returns. Smallville’s version of Clark struggles with balance and confidence, which makes Superman one of the more relatable superheroes we see. He fails from time to time, and he also doesn’t get to do the things a typical high school kid would get to do. Welling understands this responsibility really well, and it does make me sad that he never really got to branch out much after his role in Smallville.
Lex is another character that could have been a one-note jerk of a character, but Rosenbaum gives him some dimension before he goes full-scale super villain in the later seasons. Lex and Clark have mutual respect, because, at first, they think they’re on the same side. Lex is corrupted, however, by his overbearing father and the responsibilities he bears due to his wealth and business ties. It’s a fantastic contrast to Clark’s responsibilities: altruistic versus personal purposes. There hasn’t been anyone better to represent Lex Luthor in the 21st century, even as Nicholas Hoult waits in the wings.
The respect Smallville has for the older iterations of Superman is off the charts. O’Toole played Lana Lang in Superman III. She knows what Superman means to the world, so her coming back as Clark’s mother, Martha, gave the show instant credibility. In addition, the fact that Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder made multiple appearances on the show gave Smallville the ultimate thumbs up from DC fans. Even Terence Stamp got in on the action, switching from General Zod in the first two Superman movies to Jor-El in Smallville. It’s incredible to see so many people from previous Superman movies coming in to assist with passing the baton to the next generation.
Smallville survived several attempts to cancel the series, despite its quality starting to deteriorate in the later seasons. It was only a matter of time before the jig began to get old, and there were only so many other shades of kryptonite they could use to change Clark’s molecular chemistry.
But to me, Smallville is one of the best superhero shows ever, and one that solidified the WB’s dominance with DC. There is a special place in my heart for Smallville, and there’s no overstating just how impactful it was for Superman and television as a whole.
You can read more from Mike Hilty and follow him on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Serializd