6 Times Smallville Improved Superman Mythology (& 4 Times It Failed)

[@chubbyninja842]

I was binging the series a few years back and noticed that Lex seemed to get thrown across his office and smashed through his glass coffee table just about every other episode. You'd think that maybe after the 20th time, he'd stop buying glass coffee tables and just start furnishing with bean bags. My brother theorized that getting smashed through a glass coffee table was Lex's kink and that he used his super-intellect to engineer situations that would result in him getting thrown across his office and through the coffee table.

[@rainbowmoon1461]

If opera music plays a Luthor will be hurt and if one is anywhere near that glass table, they will fall on it. 😂

[@Kakarott03512]

This comment is pure gold 😂🤣

[@Orthuzz]

:DDD

[@jayv231_]

Reminds me of the adventures of Lois and Clark when Terri Hatcher would get thrown off a building every other episode. LOL

[@astroturfmatador9119]

@@jayv231_ And the Lois of Smallville seemed to get knocked unconscious A LOT.

[@Paulafan5]

The one great thing they added was having Jor-El visit Smallville as a youth and remembering it was a safe place so him sending Kal-El (Clark) to Smallville (and near the Kent farm) intentionally kind of solves some issues with the randomness of his arrival in other lore. He was sent to the Kents on purpose, not by accident.

[@Friendship1nmillion]

I missed that episode. 😮🦸‍♂️🌏🧳👽

[@ericcollins6231]

@@Friendship1nmillion Season 3 Episode 6, "Relic"

[@pershop4950]

Yes I liked that idea as well.

[@skydreamer4225]

In season 2 finale of Krypton, Brainiac bring Jor El to Earth. Pretty interesting way to do it tho, sucked the show got cancel

[@Narutoanime16g]

I thought it was interesting how they made Jor El kinda sadistic like he branded Clark with a symbol on his chest in S3 then made a deal with Johnathan to get Clark back only to kill Johnathan later on

[@Wolveslead]

As a Smallville OG fan, I'm surprised that no one brought up Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor. He's the best Lex Luthor and I think that in some seasons, its good that (in some viewings), that Lex is the hero and Clark is the villain.

[@MisfitSass]

tbh, i personally felt john kents choice to step up in the community and run for a seat in senate was inkeeping with his character, however I agree martha's massive divergence as an espionage figure was off base and ridiculous.

[@ryandeffley7652]

I disagree because it stupidly put the Kent's in the public eye. Their main priority was to protect Clark's secret. So having them suddenly attract attention was very out of character IMO. Reckoning was the perfect chance to write Lana off the show and have Clark move on. But they chose to kill off JK instead who had way more weight to his development.

[@PhantomOfTheMall]

Except....that considering Jonathan’s guilt of helping Lionel get a “foothold” in Smallville (in first place) and seeing the damage that has caused over years, then after learning of Lex’s bid for Senate...which one can only assume would lead to even more damage...... It’s very much in Jonathan’s nature to “have to do something about it” and it’s definitely not in Jonathan’s nature to engage in a simple “smear campaign to sway votes away from Lex”. So, with no one else worthy that was stepping up to oppose Lex, Jonathan stepped up. As far as Jonathan and Martha’s duty to protect Clark...that is certainly viable, but it’s also typical of a “tough as nails old farmers” to often bite off more than they can chew.

[@openmind2161]

In Smallville Martha Kent was actually the brilliant ivy league law student ,she gave up everything to be with Kent ,considering her father was also well known lawyear so its a good calculation for her to go for that job & don't forget Lionel luthor must have some parts to play so that their secrets are kept on safe hands

[@MisfitSass]

@@openmind2161 not saying her stepping in when Kent died was wrong, just what happened after with the whole red queen nonsense and dubious moral choices

[@anthonythanghe4755]

You missed the series proper use of Christopher Reeve.

[@ferd617]

That was... odd. I had mixed feelings about all of that, TBH. It never stopped feeling a little awkward to me. Then again, I suppose we have _Smallville_ to thank, at least in part, for John Wesley Shipp ending up on _The Flash_ as as Barry's dad...

[@MonteVanVleet]

Good point, that was one of the most memorable story arcs on Smallville.

[@carebear6036]

The cameos were amazing! Dean Cain as Curtis Knox(aka Vandal Savage) and Teri Hatcher as Lois' mom (Clark & Lois from the new adventures of superman) were great imo. And my sister loved Tom Wopat as senator Jennings.(Both he & John Schnider started in Dukes of Hazzard, shes a fan)

[@harrambou9468]

@@ferd617 see that was good, and both Grant Gustin and John Wesley Shipp can act well, even if the show ain’t so good

[@DiestroCorleone]

It had its ups and downs, but those ten years of Smallville were a beautiful journey for the most part.

[@The_Keh27]

Failed: Doomsday. Good: Brainiac

[@BLACKSTA361]

Failed:Darkseid

[@jordonfletcher8166]

@@BLACKSTA361 Good: Zod

[@darricktv9857]

Season 8 is the best season, Doomsday good

[@darricktv9857]

@@jordonfletcher8166 Bad: Zod

[@stefanbre92]

didn't really like Braniac in smallville. They made him into kryptonian machine but he has no ties with krypton in comics.

[@shanejohnson6855]

Who remembered the episode when Clark had the ability to read minds. I loved Smallville

[@pershop4950]

Two of my favorite episodes are the ones with that kid who can read minds.

[@shanejohnson6855]

@@pershop4950 I bawled my eyes out during those episodes. It was so good. Smallville was so good

[@ryandeffley7652]

Clark never had that ability. You're thinking of Ryan. Also Chloe was able to get the truth out of people in S3.

[@shanejohnson6855]

@@ryandeffley7652 bro.. im 1 million percent sure he had that ability for one episode. In a season 9 episode.

[@gertha]

@@shanejohnson6855 That episode was called Echo (S9E4).

[@futuramayeah]

Smallville had a theme song that wasn't just a version of the Superman musical theme

[@tritone11]

Great Smallville finally gets some recognition. It did a LOT to flesh out the character development of Clark and Lex. Added so much to the lore.

[@Werewolf914]

I've always disagreed with everyone who says he should've become Superman earlier, the show was more of a prequel/origin and was all about his journey into becoming the Man of Steel, had he put on the suit and became Superman earlier it would've went against it being a prequel, and saving it till the finale was the only logical thing to do. Though it is weird that by that point he's already basically started the Justice League, faught Doomsday, Zod, and Darkseid sort of (which was kind of dumb tbh) and is already with Lois and all this other stuff, I didn't mind it. I loved Smallville, I'm not usually a fan of Superman but the Smallville and DCAU versions are awesome. Plus we have the S11 comic that brings Batman and Wonder Woman into the Smallville universe which is amazing.

[@sethralavode7948]

When it first came out, they said he would never wear the cape.

[@ericpeterson8732]

To that end (that this was a prequel to the Superman mythos), they should have ended the show much earlier. The longer he didn't "embrace his destiny", the more he seemed like an indecisive and wishy-washy hero, not an inspiration for heroes everywhere. But they didn't. And it put the character in a weird spot.

[@amadzbalboa]

Legal and contracts. That's why

[@OPUP]

I think having the entire Justice League before he was Superman was a clear sign the show had outlasted it's original plan. I think they should have made him Superman right after college and called it a series but it was too successful for it's own good.

[@cbjfan99]

Also, the addition of Chloe Sullivan was an improvement. Her investigative nature is one of the reasons Clark got involved in helping people. She started to notice meteor infected people and he felt responsible

[@CK8smallville]

I agree with all except the last one. They made it clear from day 1 that there would be no tights no flights, so I thought they ended it brilliantly, honouring this vision and yet still letting us get a glimpse.

[@antenna_prolly]

"The difference between modern mythology such as his and classic mythology like Achilles is that Superman adapts to the times" Gilgamesh with either King Arthur or Excalibur: Am I a joke to you?

[@futuramayeah]

although they really didn't change anything about her, I liked Smallville's version of Kara Zor-eL, or Supergirl and wanted that actress to have her own show

[@nickhydier1201]

Absolutely loved Laura Vandervoort as Smallville's Kara Zor-El/Supergirl. Her version started the whole "Protect my cousin" trope in live action which carried to the show version. Would have Truly loved for Laura to have had her own show.

[@bryany744]

How do you not mention the failure of the portrayal of Darkseid?

[@rayb7917]

They dropped the ball on doomsday too

[@Kentrc11]

I think they wrote Darkseid correctly. Darkseid's true size to scale is equivalent to a star. He has to either necromance the living/dead or adjust his size to exist on Earth.

[@Kentrc11]

@@rayb7917 Doomsday is a one-dimensional monster & Clark was not Supes yet. The season had to set up for 'Death of Superman' story by burying Doomsday under the Earth. Doomsday had not survived a power plant explosion at that point. Clark withstood many explosions during the show's run, so he was invulnerable to the power plant blast. The Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde trope was used to stretch Doomsday for an entire season because he has no depth other than causing Superman's death.

[@smackdowner]

@@rayb7917 Doomsday looked awesome for a t.v show and they built it up the entire season for the fight.To bad the fight was only 2 minutes long that pissed me off but still best show ever

[@Soron661]

@@smackdowner Doomsday in Smallville was infinitely better than in BvS(where appearance is concerned). I'm not very mad about the short fight, because fights in Smallville tend to only be 2 minutes or 3 minutes max. sad, but understandable.

[@joshguilds6284]

Fail: Killing off a Lex that learned Superman's identity only to have a clone show up towards the end that remembered nothing.

[@Soron661]

he actually remembered everything, but his mind was erased by Lutessa Lena Luthor aka Tess Mercer. An obvious combo of Lena and Mercy Graves. I like that she ended up a good guy, and I hope that Lena does in Supergirl instead of following the Luthor formula where all Luthors are evil. I also hope that Lena and Supergirl makeup and end up in a romantic relationship together.

[@richoberst9392]

Actually Michael Rosenbaum himself said hes not a clone, its the actual Lex.

[@geekinformation2687]

He did remember but Tess erased his memory

[@jibrael5705]

@@Soron661 Oh ..... On of those weird Supercorp shippers..... I hate those guys....

[@MrXon]

That was real Lex in the last episode, his body healed by Darkseid.

[@ChrisBrooksGuitar]

John Glover was a huge draw of this show.

[@lisamurphy7028]

Yep. It also makes perfect sense that the pragmatic Kryptonian we actually agree with chose Lionel as his vessel. In Season 3 of Dean Cain's Lois and Clark, 2 friendly Kryptonians visit and they (unintentionally obviously) give some pretty great insight into why Jor'el was so 'dispassionate' with Clark in this series. With thier example/dialogue in mind you could see Lionel being almost Kryptonian in his raising of Lex. Basically they choose whatever is expedient and think Earth and humans are a sloppy planet too led by thier emotions.

[@supreme84x]

1. The meteor shower: you missed that it also explains how the Kent's could adopt a kid out of no where. That his records and paper trail were destroyed/lost in the meteor shower's carnage.

[@jamesdunkerson2908]

I loved this show. I agree that the ending limply created the red and blue superman we recognize. I thought the blur was a great way of keeping his identity secret as he began to explore what it takes to be a superhero while being simultaneously easy to drop out of memory so that it doesn't interfere with who he became.

[@Kakarott03512]

This is the most perfect list whatculture comics has ever made

[@openmind2161]

I watched Smallville for the first time in 2015 & oh my god its better than all of the CW & Marvel shows .Its really another level of show ,no wonder its director later directed spiderman movies & Fox X men Quicksilver copied fast running music scene from Smallville & don't forget how music incorporated every moment in Smallville .There is nothing like that ,still its unmatched in complexity of script & really talented actors in comic shows

[@red0means0go]

Love the series to this day. I really hope Tom is in the Crisis episodes more than once and not a one shot scene.

[@raymondgerlach3148]

Saw the whole series, liked most of it. Still want to know about what happened with all those villians at the end of the show and who was The Toyman talking to on the phone.

[@OddSpaceGhost]

I finally get to watch the whole thing streaming and I do not regret watching all these spoilers.

[@roymustang877]

I watched again Smallville. I noticed now there were a lot of known actors ! Like Robin, How I met Your Mother. Stephan from vampire diaries, He was the brother of Lex ! And even Damon was here. Amy Adams, Lois from Man of Steel. Jean Winchester from Supernatural. The hero from teen wolf. Carly From iCarly. Princess Leia, star wars. And more.. Seeing all this character in one tv show made me enjoy Smallvillle even more.

[@bigstunna2049]

I always used to think supernatural was a spin off of smallville as a kid cuz jean Winchester was in it

[@mandelharvey3429]

They got royalty and princes.

[@Willpower-74205]

Don't forget Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman), Tony Todd (Candyman), Tom Wopat (The Dukes of Hazzard), Marguerite Moreau (Stephen King's Firestarter), James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Adrienne Palicki (The Orville). 😎👍

[@LincyMcGabby]

"I'M THE VILLAIN OF THE STORY!!!" -Lex Luthor

[@micronalpha]

A great show, for sure. One of the concepts the series introduced which blew my mind and got me thinking was the bullets made of Kriptonyte that could (and did) injure Super-Man. :)

[@callac]

Women in bikini and lingerie were a good reason to watch the show too.

[@jasonl1184]

Kristen kreuk 👌

[@MANJYOMETHUNDER111]

HAVE I MENTIONED I AM HETEROSEXUAL TODAY?

[@catalandustin51]

I still remember Lana messing with Clark by the swimming pool

[@92brunod]

@@MANJYOMETHUNDER111 Why did you assume their gender and sexuality? He may be bisexual or identify as a woman. Do you also respond like this to women dying over Tom Hiddleston or Tom Holland?

[@SansoHumar]

92brunod honestly. How old are you. 10? Sounds like it. Sjw

[@alunrundle162]

Smallville Superman is in the upcoming Arrowverse crossover. "Crisis on infinite Earth's" will see all the current DC shows and most of the previous ones (including Batman 1966 and Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne from "Batman Beyond") unite to survive...

[@kevin10001]

Alun Rundle as far as I know black lightning will not be in it cause this this is an arrowverse crossover and he isn't part of the arrowverse and hopefully never will be

[@alunrundle162]

@@kevin10001 Black Lightning is confirmed as being in it. Even though his show isn't. Huntress from the 2001 (or so) show 'Birds of Prey' is also in it.

[@Kakarott03512]

@@alunrundle162 I didn't know about the Huntress. That's pretty cool

[@turquoisemoon3654]

I BECAME A SUPERMAN FAN BECAUSE OF SMALLVILLE! I just watched the series for the first time this Nov. 2019 because of the hype and I became an instant fan! I started researching on Superman after that.

[@nickleo7586]

Video actually starts at 1:10

[@nickleo7586]

@@Bruh_Moment7 No problem. Always fun to start lists off after the long winded, over explained minute monologue lol

[@kunai30]

The title of the video tells you exactly what its about, yet they always have to spend a whole minute explaining what its about lol

[@nickleo7586]

@@kunai30 for sure. I'd be fine with like "hey, I'm so n so from WhatCulture and here's..." (whatever list)

[@solomongibsoniii4865]

Not a bad list. Have to say Rosenbaum was exceptional, and the scenes between he and Glover crackled. Only one real flaw in this list; the 'Superboy' comic series gave us a youthful Jonathan and Martha during the '70's. I forget the story's explanation as to the de-aging process, but it was a move by DC to make the characters contemporary and become more like parents than grandparents.

[@GabePuratekuta]

Michael and Tom always had a good thing to say about John Glover on their podcast, Talk Ville.

[@futuramayeah]

Smallville had the Kowatchi Native American caves as part of the Superman mythos added where there were cave paintings that heralded the coming of the last son of Krypton

[@pershop4950]

They totally should have kept the Kowatchi lady alive and have her show up now and then to help Clark and the gang.

[@iamthebatman6557]

I’m sorry but everytime i see the meteor hit lanas parents I laugh.

[@iriswaldenburger2315]

I am the batman you MOOOOONSTER!!! .... and yeah, me too actually :D

[@minddrift7152]

Same. They're all like "oh what's that? A meteor? It's getting pretty close huh...almost too clo--BOOM"

[@AuroraMoon2000]

The way they just stood there smiling like idiots as they got hit.... heh.

[@jorgebernardone]

Love the video. I only desagree with the last one. Though I'd love to see a Superman completely grown, I like the mistery and the idea that the story was about a growing Superman, not a grown.

[@TheHeroBleeder]

The show was never oh he's Superman it's this man can become Superman.

[@abrownx1022]

One of the reasons why they couldn't show "Superman", was mainly for Copyright reasons as they have stated at panels.

[@TJ52359]

- the Politics angle I think was solely a long term 'Gimmick' designed to write them off... Bringing Martha Back as Red Queen was over the top... - The Blur was 'ok' for a bout a season, but yes it Dragged too long - Red K going Full Drug Metaphor was New... but 'Red K Makes him lazy/apathetic/evil' wasn't (it or some K Variant had done so since the 80s) I think what Worked about Lionel is that he was essentially 'Post-Crisis Lex', with Lex II's Hair... allowing him to be the 'Evil Luthor' of the series, while like as you cite, giving Lex proper some Freudian issues allowing him to Grow into his Role as antagonist for Adult Superman

[@benihime1]

smallville is the best series about Clark Kent till date.... cos it shows his character development from being just a teenager to being the man of steel.. and Tom welling slayed the role effortlessly the other movies just jump right into the part where he becomes superman.. one minute he is entering the fortress of solitude the next minute he is flying out with a cape...

[@tornadochaser2457]

...would you say the evolution of Clark Kent was spectacular?

[@benihime1]

@@tornadochaser2457 in the show, yes yes....I'd say that

[@tornadochaser2457]

@@benihime1 ...thank you! This is wonderful news!

[@CelticVictory]

Superman needed to be revealed at the end of the series.

[@Rikarious]

yeah totally 10 years build up to nothing...at least in Gotham we got to see the lad suit up at the end

[@Soron661]

@@Rikarious Tom didn't want to wear the suit at the time. also, by then he more than likely didn't fit into what they crafted for him in the show.

[@NDTexan]

Meh. If the show had done the final reveal of Superman in his full form you probably would have found it to be a negative also because it didn't stick with the overall theme of the show

[@robertpolanco1973]

Next time, WhatCulture Comics, do a segment on the 10 great moments of "Smallville." Like the final appearance of the late Christopher Reeve of the four "Superman" movies.

[@ThatSoddingGamer]

This was one of my favourite shows back in the day. I've got all the later seasons on BD (5 through the final season). Hmmm, I decided just now, I'm ordering the first four seasons on DVD. Done and Done.

[@anikixvi]

Honeslty, After watching Smallville i never came anywhere near a Superman media ( except the animated serie) mainly because none of them had THIS Lex Luthor! my fav part was the whole Lex and Clark relationship from Friends to rivals

[@SethC0711]

The Olson death and re-brothering was what had me stop watching the show again until it came out on DVD. LOL still love the show!

[@ecliptorcalrissian5014]

Am I the only one who loved the mullet? (Also, Red K's mental effects were first seen in Lois and Clark.)

[@christianrapper]

Yes, you are

[@richoberst9392]

Yes but in L&C it made him apathetic, caused him to lose control over his powers or was used in laser form to transfer his powers. Losing all inhibition is way cooler though both shows were excellent

[@oneman9121]

The one thing I loved what Smallville did was it respected and emphasized Superman as the 'Earth's Greatest Hero', as he should be. Two great examples are the scenes with the Legion from the future, and Dr. Fate's scene with Clark. Not once in the series was the lore, the myth, and the status of Superman ever questioned or challenged. Superman is not a 2nd rate hero, he doesn't take a backseat to Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern or anyone. He's thee HERO. DC has forgotten this over the last couple years. "And when you show yourself to the world, it will be a different age than ours, Clark. A silver age of heroism that will start when they look up into the sky at you with hope for tomorrow. You will have everyone to embrace it." "You will give the people an idea to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the Sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders." Two amazing quotes that describe Superman to a T.

[@khkgjg]

I think Smallville failed in the origin/portrayal of some bad guys, like Doomsday and Darkseid, those were horrible But Lex, Zod and Brainiac were amazing in the show

[@seanmcgrath3826]

I personally liked the take they had on Metallo, too, as it was very different than the others

[@bigstunna2049]

I really liked what they did with doomsday

[@Paulafan5]

@@bigstunna2049 It's a tv show in the 2000s; they couldn't do a ton with Doomsday. Look what they did with him in BvS... He was handled way better on Smallville.

[@bigstunna2049]

@@Paulafan5 2 different interpretations of doomsday but I prefer the smallville version

[@mandelharvey3429]

To get brilliant you polish a lot of poop. Not everything was great but the great overshadowed the lesser.

[@kingcaboose2003]

And then there was the scene in crisis on infinite earths for the arrowverse which took a massive dump on this show. I remember being so excited at the news that Welling and Durance would appear. I was even holding out hope for Rosenbaum. Then the crossover aired and I literally screamed at my tv for how they did the show that the arrowverse owes its very existence to so dirty.

[@donovandelaney3171]

There's a lot more that you didn't mention. Do a part 2.

[@dylanfives9081]

One of my favourite comic book tv shows of all time.

[@falleneldor]

The biggest problem with the meteor shower is that the concentration of Kryptonite in one location means that eventually it will be really easy to know Superman came from Smallville. Would have made more sense for the shower to be less regional, that the rock broke up in orbit and spread across america. I do love the idea of the Kpowers though. Poor execution, with the freak of the week...but it makes sense as a reason for the dawn of the age of heroes that superman inspires. But they went to heavy into thTandit was making the show unbearable to watch. Two words bee girl... I understand the intent behind running against Lional for the Kansas Senate, but I agree that plot line ran away from them.

[@johnnyjrkirch4952]

The blur was great, the whole show was awesome better than any show before and after about super heros

[@sjoerdbreedveld9265]

I honestly don't care for the changes around Jimmy Olsen. In my eyes, it just made him more interesting

[@desmonddesjarlais2697]

This video is incredibly satisfying to watch.

[@kathleenhensley5951]

I have just discovered the series and bought the DVD collection. I think what I find most intriguing is how they Portray Jor-el. The Kryptonian scientist was always portrayed as a virtuous man.. at least, in my memory. I stopped reading comics in the late 1960s. I'm only beginning season 3, but I haven't quite figured out what is going on. Did he really send Kal-el to earth to conquer or was it a test. I am disappointed that they never really give us the Superman we know and love. I like Cavill's portrayal, but there is so little of it and much of it extremely dark. I pretty much ignore the teenage angst etc. I'm watching it for the science fiction.

[@TheHeroBleeder]

The whole conquest part of superman's father was more a nod to the original concept before joel and Jerry changed it.

[@ego6342]

Jimmy Olsen does come back. And it was played by the same actor. He makes a cameo in the finale

[@MissVasques]

Though I can’t deny Clark on red kryptonite was a thrill, Smallville was not the first to show this version of its effect. Louis & Clark, the tv show, also let red make Clark go chill and do what he felt like doing rather than should. I recall him being in the hunt of some villains/hench men when suddenly rather chatting up a lady nearby walking her dogs... then later starting therapy and being extra honest as red cryptonite was hidden onto the bottom of the chair.

[@LukeJFarmer]

Hopefully the crisis crossover in Arrowverse gives some answers. Smallville is being included. Hopefully we see Welling in the suit

[@ericcollins6231]

This can be summed up as: A superb and fantastic show that initially nailed the characters and improved the mythos, but then in the later seasons lost it's way, abandoned it's identity, and betrayed the fans. Truly, the only character arc that stayed true all the way too the end, was Lex's. (minus the stupid clone plot device at the very end)

[@TheStampede000]

actually,in the final episode it did show superman,i do remember that part quite well

[@alwaysxnever]

Yeeeah. I agree with all of these. Well-written piece this is.

[@user-em8bw1rq4y]

I AGREE!!! 💯% Not seeing him as the genuine Superman by end of the series is an epic fail!

[@childlikewarrior]

I disagree on 2.5 fails. 1. I thought the "Matrix-like" costume was pretty great. And apparently so did the rest of the Kandorians. 2. Whereas I agree that Martha having CIA level clearance was totally not believable for her character, I do believe Jonathan running for and being elected Senator was spot on. I mean, he was Clark's hero, and for many of Smallville fans, he was often just as much of a hero as Clark. .5: I loved Jimmy's storyline. Thought it was an improvement. Didn't even mind him dying. It wasn't ideal but I could handle it. What they did at the funeral with his brother and subsequently in the final episode with the older younger Jimmy was just confusing and weird they were both named Jimmy. It didn't work. Mine: Something that did not work out at all was the Darkseid fight, if you can call it that. That part was disappointing, anticlimactic, and lame. Also, the fight with Doomsday was waaayyy too short.

[@CamillusFly]

Biggest fail for me was making Clark responsible for horrible things like the loss of Martha's unborn baby and the cause of Jonathan's compromised health, and thus his death. Kind of bizarre to make a future superhero responsible for that much devastation in his own family.

[@jackreacherreviewsandgamin1875]

Go read the comic series that continues the story and yes it is canon with the show it is titled smallville season 11

[@robertjames9096]

Tom Welling is a total unit now. He would make an amazing older Superman now.

[@raymondaten2179]

I actually like how it ended. For 10 years Clark wasn't just an alter ego, he was the hero in the series. We had the blur, but he was a hero that no one, except those who knew who he really was and the fans watching the show, could see. I feel the way it ended gave Clark the last opportunity to be the hero in the eyes of those watching. To those people in the show see him save the day, he was still an unknown, just like the blur. But he would soon be known to the world as superman. And from that moment on, he was just the mild mannered reporter we all knew he was going to be. As the show went on, we As fans, in a way, almost forgot who he would become. So ending it the way it did gave us fans the last chance for Clark to be the hero.

[@MIGBMWLOVER]

I just realized that the luthors operated under the rule of 2 like the siths from star wars

[@Paulafan5]

Lex does still have a brother out there, somewhere. They just forgot about him (the writers).

[@ericpeterson8732]

OMG, so true!

[@Archtechnician]

if you think focusing the show on clark kent rather than a full tight wearing superman was a fail then you failed to understand what the show was about. They called it smallville and told the story before he donned a cape that what makes it stand out from all the other superman stories, a different story focus is not a sign of failure.

[@Greg87601]

Smallville had a great cast.

[@vj9021]

Best Lex & no mention of a fully dressed Super in Arrow/ Flash verse. He was good in Lucifer as well. Shame no returning Lex it wasn't as good without him, Zod was good but Blue wasn't quite Rosenbaum.

[@lordvika2526]

Well seeing as the first Jimmy we seen was actually named Henry not James , it was their way of telling us that he wasn't the Jimmy we knew in the comics, but it was his younger brother and if you remember at the end of Smallville, after Clark be Darkside , they showed James Olsen grown up and he was a photographer

[@TJ52359]

they Covered their butts... but it still felt like a Retcon meant to cover that they had written themselves into a corner... from Introduction to Death by Davis; Jimmy I was written as, treated as, and shown to be 'Canon Jimmy' (only 5 years too old)

[@lordvika2526]

@@TJ52359 well I don't t see it as the cabin version of him really. They called him Jimmy yes, but even from the start he said his name was Henry and he had a you get brother James if my memory is correct, which is why at the funeral Chole even went over and was like "your Jimmy's brother James". So it was made public knowledge that he wasn't the actual James Olsen from the comics, sure he played a similar part but that was supposed to be the insperation for James to become a photographer and so forth, it would also explain why Clark Kent was so attached to Jimmy. Because he knew his older brother and felt responsible for his death.

[@TJ52359]

@@lordvika2526 He first got name checked in the season 3 Premiere , with Chloe and Lana 'girl-talking' and she mentioned "making out with a Cute Photographer named Jimmy"... when Ashmore was cast and appeared in the flesh several seasons later he was expressly cited as that same Jimmy... There was little if any mention of a "Younger brother" until the Funeral scene

[@slimdaddy7793]

Tom Welling was killed by Lucifer in season 3 last episod of '''LUCIFER''...He also fitted on his role as Cain(the 1st worlds murderer)

[@b_a_entertainment145]

I’m pretty sure John Byrnes did the meteor shower or something close to it first. And then I think the animated series followed suit and the. Smallville did the same but more detailed. But definitely not the first to go that route

[@ShadowVisord]

Tom Welling didn't come up with no flight no tights it was the writers and producers

[@ronpetersen2317]

Ummm true ... but that goes for all TV shows. Actors rarely act as show runners.

[@LaurieHansen-h4h]

This was about Clark Kent growing into Superman, but not Superman specifically.

[@lonewander6772]

I was always kind of nonchalant about Superman. I grew up as a kid watching the Donner films and my parents were the ones who introduced him and the concept of superheroes to me and my siblings, but I was more of a Batman guy. Smallville made me appreciate Superman in a whole nother level. I didn't even know initially that it was a Superman show, but the whole green necklace weakening Clark and of course the character being called 'Clark Kent' made me suspicious. Eventually I did realize it and ended up watching it up until they moved the showtime after CW acquired it. I have since bought the whole collection of all 10 seasons and marathoned it back in 2012. I loved the Kents and their family dynamics, the Luthors were great, and the friendship between Clark and Lex was a nice arch for the story. Lana wasn't my thing, but I really liked Erica Durance's Lois Lane pre and post daily planet. The only thing I really disliked was the whole Doomsday season mainly because of how they handled Doomsday. Smallville made me feel like I grew up with Superman. If it wasn't for Smallville I'd probably be leaning towards the camp of "I hate Superman because he is too op and non-relatable".

[@harryroberts166]

I feel the worst thing the show did was lana from when she is with lex and onwards. And when she gains powers is the most ridiculous thing the show ever did

[@barrygunn8594]

I loved smallville I liked the doomsday angle smallville used but would have liked to have seen a better end battle between the to, something more fitting of the doomsday scenario.

[@blueray15]

I completely agree with them running for politics is one of the worst storylines. It was the story that wrote Martha out of the show and I feel like the show lost something at that point. One of the best parts of the show was Clark's relationship with his parents. As the video said it was made him and the show more grounded.

[@MrXon]

I just hope that Tom Welling will redeem this and put the suit on now that Smallville characters will be showing up on the CW Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover....3 Supermen will be featured in the crossover, so far Welling is the only one who hasnt appeared in costume...I think their saving it for the series

[@TheHeroBleeder]

In my eyes the "fails" are actually more successes because Senator Martha Kent gave the Martha Kent/Clark Relationship more poinency than people realize if his mom was always there Clark would have had to constantly ask his mom for answers on his personal problems.

[@maksimnikiforovski2034]

Oh God, I remember Lana... When she was plotting with Lex and stuff. It was crazy! And I liked little miss Tess. She was interesting!

[@joshuaryan5325]

One storytelling aspect that really bothered me about Smallville is having the characters being possessed by villains instead of having you know actual actors to play them

[@supermarshall2.053]

To be fair, Darkseid possessed people many times before in the comics. But yeah I see where you're going with this. We should've at least had one scene with him like what SHIELD did with the Hive.

[@joshuaryan5325]

@@supermarshall2.053 it's not just Darkseid do you remember back in season 5 when Zod was teased as the main villain coming up? As we just got a possessed Lex instead what a let down.

[@maxhydekyle2425]

For anyone that misses Smallville, DC recently released follow up comics that are pretty interesting.

[@BLACKSTA361]

Where can I read that. Please tell me

[@Willpower-74205]

​@@BLACKSTA361It's a series of collected comic books called Smallville Season 11. 😎👍

[@raphaeldelaghetto85]

At first I was totally against having Lois meet Clark before he becomes Superman but Smallville totally sold me on the idea. It works much better than the dated notion that she's in love with Superman but can't tell that he's Clark. IMO this introduction to their relationship should be adapted as canon.

[@TJ52359]

not wholly... but aspects of it...

[@jtpencils]

The one aspect of Durance’s Lois was that the writers having her go ga-ga over anyone that was considered a Super anything! First it was Arthur Curry, then Oliver Queen, and finally settling on Clark!! For awhile it felt like she was just there to be a superheroes bimbo! It annoyed me.

[@pershop4950]

No, canon is that Clark had girlfriend or relationships or at least liked some other girls, before Lois. Lois should remain as an adult love interest.

[@TJ52359]

@@jtpencils so she has a Type...

[@raphaeldelaghetto85]

@Per Shop You seem pretty attached to that... What I meant, is that they should have Clark meet Lois before Superman is revealed to the world ala Man of Steel. The whole secret identity, unrequited love thing is dated af.

[@RedDeadDevilTrigger]

Smallville is such a strange superman show

[@BboyDJFLIP]

Looking back at this show, Gotham did all the right things by ending when it did. 10 seasons of a show like this must be rough.

[@Masonicon]

This show make Green Kryptonites only as poisonus as chocolate to dogs, and make Lex Luthor religious

[@ryanhuelsmann6445]

Failure number 5 the introduction to Doomsday.

[@ergocinema]

This is spot on!

[@Jimbo893]

This show was so damn great. EDIT: what about Darkseid? For all my love of the show, that was a pretty bad fail

[@bbsy1]

It wasn’t a fail it was what he said would happen. The fail would be if he wears it in the crossover.

[@UBONME]

**SPOILER ALERT** Can't wait to see him again in the Crisis event!!!!

[@AgentProvocateur70]

Keep it safe.....Keep it secret.

[@RaccoonHenry]

do Birds of Prey next!!

[@alexishallo832]

I love smallville but it has problems. Like how lex Luther is considered a sociopathic villain but is literally the only person who reacts like a normal person and holds Clark accountable for his bullshit. Considering all the horrible things clark has done the fact that he tried for 6 years to be his friend is crazy. He put up with his constant mistrust and suspicious every time anything happens and his dad hating him. Lex tried a hundred times to help the Kent's and they shit on him at every step. And even despite this it wasn't until Clark tried to separate him and Lana before he finally stopped. Meanwhile Clark spent years gaslighting and lying to everyone and constantly commit crimes but its OK because he sometimes saved people. Lex was more a hero for half the shot than Clark

[@honkimusmaximus7477]

"Across a range of media"

[@kevinnevada5342]

The senator Kent thing is OK. Superman isn't as humble as he'd like to believe. Plus Jonathan Kent wasn't humble on smallville... He was awesome 🤘