Smallville, although the show has ended over 10 years ago, I still love it. I bought some of the DVD’s back then and it is unfortunate that I don’t own a DVD player anymore or I’d have watched them all over. Maybe I can find a streamer somewhere where I can just watch all seasons. Especially in the silly season where there are hardly any TV shows that I find worthwhile
Smallville, the best Superman show ever?
At this point, without having watched Superman & Lois yet, I would say yes! The show was quite unique since it didn’t portray a Superman but an adolescent Clark Kent who just found out the truth about his alien origins.
Another thing that was unique about the show was the fact that the show’s rule was no flight, no tights and they managed to keep that going for 10 seasons! Can you believe a Superman who isn’t flying? I thought that the “no flights, no tights” rule was a gimmick but in retrospect, I think they made the right choice.
It was the right choice because Superman didn’t fly for a long time. Just like in the comics. A little fun fact about the flying was that Superman originally only jumped for 1 mile. But when Superman hit the big and the small screen, done by the honorable Max Fleischer, they couldn’t make him jump because it was too expensive and it looked horrible on the small screen. Instead they made him fly. What a solution! The comics soon followed and since 1940, they made people believe a man could fly!
The ability to fly however came suddenly and writer’s explained that as Superman’s powers weren’t fully grown yet so he could only jump before he could fly. Kinda like learning to walk before you can fly.
Powers that developed over the course of the show
Clark Kent started out with superspeed and invulnerability. Over the course of the show the following powers were added:
- Jump – Clark could jump very high and very far. The comics say it is per mile as I said before but it was never specified on the show how high or how far he could leap. I understand that it gives the writers of the show a lot of freedom and I agree with it.
- Heat vision – Clark learned that he could shoot heat out of his eyes. The adding of heatvision was a brilliant move and gave the show extra options for special effects.
- Superhearing – Who wouldn’t want to hear what criminal activities are happening all around town? It was a nice addendum but it wasn’t like I was jumping for joy. Who would want to hear people moan and bitch anyway, am I right?
- Super Breath – The ability give big gusts of wind. Interesting power but very underused over the course of the show. I was never a fan of it. The special effects looked a bit lame. Especially in the era of the show.
- Flight – Only in the final scene we got to see Clark Kent be Superman in a flash forward. All we saw however was a blue / red / yellow blur. Which fit the spirit of the show.
Ofcourse flight was used by General Zod in later seasons and when Clark became Kal-El in season 4 using the artificial black kryptonite he could fly. Clark Kent however was still earthbound after the effect wore off.
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The use of Kryptonite on Smallville
Green Kryptonite – Radioactive for Kryptonians. It is Clark / Superman’s weakest spot and prolonged radiation could kill him.
Red Kryptonite – This one ‘s dangerous because Clark loses his moral boundaries. He robbed banks, hit on several girls and cheated on Lois Lane hitting on Lana Lang. Not the best one to have on a bad day I suppose.
Blue Kryptonite – Takes away the powers of Kryptonians. Exposure is temporare and when a Kryptonian is out of range , he or she regains their powers.
Gold Kryptonite – It takes away the powers of Kryptonians permanently. There is no turning back from this.
Black Kryptonite – This is an artificial one and made from superheated Green Kryptonite. It basically splits your personality.
Gemstone Kryptonite – Gives you +10 persuasion and will persuade people. It can be counteracted by Green Kryptonite.
Silver Kryptonite – Induces paranoia and is created by BRIANIAC. Brainiac is an invention by Clark’s father, Jor-El. He turned out to be a twisted supercomputer who’s on the hunt for Kryptonians and worlds.
Clear Kryptonite – Green Kryptonite rendered useless. Lana Lang’s necklace was made from it.
Most of the effects of Kryptonite was rendered useless by using a lead shield.
Favorite Episodes to Re-watch
Run – episode 5 of season 4: Bart Allen steals Jonathan Kent’s wallet and Clark goes into pursuit. Clark is outrun and is amazed. It was the first episode with a known DC heroic character and it is my favorite because I love The Flash.
Crusade – Episode 1 of season 4: Clark touches Black Kryptonite and turns into Kal-El. It is an epic episode because it was the first time we saw how the showrunners what flight would look like in the Smallville Universe.
Lois Lane – The first appearance of Lois Lane was fun. She is an iconic character and always appears on Superman / Clark’s side. She is by far the best portrayal of Lois Lane on TV so far. And I loved the way the writers treated her and portrayal by Erica Durance. Who I rate highly to this day. Not just on Smallville but also on Supergirl as Kara’s mother in later years. I hope to see her again somewhere in the Arrowverse.
Smallville on Comic Cons
To this day Smallville actors and actresses attend comic cons for Q&A’s and Meet & Greets. They are still very popular. I watched a few of the Q&A’s and it is always nice to reminisce on old times with the cast. And I have followed some of the actors to different TV shows. Such as Kristin Kreuk, who played Lana Lang, on Burden of Truth. It is a great TV show so please give that a shot. Plus Kristin still looks fabulous. She always has.
Laura Vandervoort on V , the remake. Loved her performance on that show. Furthermore Tom Welling on Lucifer. And I still want to watch Erica Durance on Saving Hope.
The reason I wanted to let you know about the great show was after I watched a Comic Con on Youtube during these crazy times. It was a much needed boost for morale for me. Ofcourse I wouldn’t want to deny you the experience and will post the Q&A right here:
Comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome so please let me know what you think by dropping a bomb in the comment section.
