Aspects of Smallville you feel have improved the mythology

[Jigsaw]

This thread is not for rants about Smallville if you happen to dislike the show. It's a way for all fans to compare the show to the mythology and tell what you like that they changed, and what you haven't liked. Please keep it civil, people.

I'll start off:

Lionel Luthor - Okay, I wasn't really as huge a Superman fan before Smallville because I was just getting into comics as it was, but from research upon watching Smallville, Lionel was never too big a part of the comics, and he only had a few mentions here or there in the movies, even though he's not directly stated by name.

In Smallville they had one of the best actors of our time as Lionel, which is John Glover, and what we saw from the character was his transition from being evil to trying to redeem himself and show Clark he was a father figure. I always enjoyed watching Lionel, whether he was villain or good guy, because he always brought something interesting to the table. The fact that he died protecting Clark's secret shows he truly changed and redeemed himself, and Smallville in a whole has added a big peice of meat to the character that is Lionel Luthor.

Hopefully he'll be appearing in the comics a lot more from now on.

Bizarro - Something that always bugged me about Bizarro was that he was a villain who could go toe to toe with Superman in a fight, but he wasn't smart. Smallville took the character and made him respectable. Rather than being a clone that goes bad, he's a wraith that borrows Clark's DNA, and while they are still vastly different, they still share similarities, as they always should. I'd like to think the comics will continue this notion rather than having Bizarro be a total & complete idiot, because that version just isn't cutting it.

Meteor Shower - On other message boards, many people agree that it's better that a meteor shower came down along with baby Kal-El's ship, because in this day & age the government would be all over a spaceship landing in a heartbeat, and by a meteor shower occuring at the same time as his ship's arrival, it helped to keep him even more of a secret.

The meteor shower bringing down a crapload of Kryptonite was a great idea, as well. I don't like my heroes to be all powerful, and whenever Clark is close to saving the day, Kryptonite rears it's head, and prevents him. The writers have always had a good balance...not using it too much, but also making sure that it shows up often enough.

Lana Lang - I know I'm going to catch hell for this, but I absolutely love everything that's got to do with Lana as far as Smallville is concerned. People complain that she's annoying & what not, but it's a pretty safe bet that any woman would be the exact same way if they had to endure what she has. She's seen friends of her's die all around her....she's nearly been killed dozens of times...and even worse, she saw her own parents killed in front of her.

The character itself has matured a lot by now, and Kristin Kreuk has become a sensational actress in that she's able to show how well Lana has matured.

Pete Ross - A few people I've run across are mad because of the fact that Pete's black, not because they're racist, but because to my understanding in the comics Pete was always able to cover for Clark if something ever happened, to throw off suspicion. I don't think Smallville needs that, and Sam Jones was fantastic as Pete. It just sucks that he didn't stick around longer than he did.

Doomsday - Doomsday has to be one of the greatest achievements of the show. Aside from "The Death of Superman" arc, just about everything Doomsday has been in has been utter crap. Smallville has taken him & made him more than just a Space Hulk. They've given him depth, and I particularly like that there's a man inside the monster, but the man is just a cover up for what truly lies beneath, and the man inside is slowly fading away.

Getting Sam Witwer for the part was a great choice, because he's a great up & coming actor, and hopefully Smallville gets him the recognition he deserves. In any case, he's great at portraying the character as having a darkness within, and knowing that something horrible is inside him, but he's unwilling to accept it.

This is all I'm going to put up for right now, but there's tons more.

[WorstThingUS]

Smallville is a piece of crap. It was crap to begin with and has gotten notably worse with the departure of Mark Verheiden and the death of Jonathan Kent.

That said, I've never missed an episode and will be there until the end because as bad as it is they tend to capture the essence of Superman from time to time.

But as far as your list goes:

Lionel Luthor: Doesn't exist in the comics, period. And the idea that Lex as a child had his parents murdered to get the insurance money is still better for comics than their father-son dynamic on the show because that's a result of the exemplary efforts of Michael Rosenbaum and John Glover and not something that could be captured in the comics.

Bizarro: Yeah it was an interesting take, but the only real improvement was that he was happy loving Lana and didn't want more.

The Meteor Shower: Because you don't think Kryptonian tech allowed for a cloaking device? If anything all the radioactive mutations should have had Smallville quarrantined years ago.

Neither Pete nor Lana were improved by the show. If anything, Pete was diminished. A lot of what Chloe did he should have been doing.

Doomsday...well, when you're the rock bottom of creativity, there's nowhere to go but up. The Justice League animated series Doomsday was better than the comics creation. It's no real accomplishment to do this.

And you missed the one improvement that the show did do: Jonathan and Martha Kent helping Clark to understand and use his powers as they developed.

[Jigsaw]

I'm guessing you can't really read too well, which is why you basically went on a rant. If you're going to rant, take it elsewhere, because that's not what this thread is for. Got it? Good.

[AllisterH]

It's tricky but the one thing I would like the comics to take from the show was the Lex Luthor development.

Lex in the comics, from the age of childhood was unredeemable whereas Lex in the show was a tragic character that in a way was betrayed by Clark...

[pariah-1972]

Making his parent's younger so there is more of a tension between having to reprimand a child who couldn't feel it.
And then a teenger who is not intimidated by his father but still has to learn that he has to listen to him even when he is being reprimanded.

Ditching the secret identity and the glasses was a good idea too.
Also having his father send him to earth to be a king/conqueror seems a lot more realistic than sending him to earth to be a super-hero.


Also Jor-el checking out earth before he sent him here seems like a good idea.

Luthor having more shades of grey but feeling helpless to change himself because of his evil heredity and his fathers plans and connections for him.

Having an Oracle like person to help him out so he's not a know it all.

[Jigsaw]

Jor-El never sent him to Earth to be a King/Conqueror, he was sent to Earth to protect it so that what happened to Krypton wouldn't happen to Earth.

I think I'd have to agree with the fact that making the Kents a younger couple was a good idea. It's nice to finally have seen a version without grey hair.

I'd also like to add that the way they brought in Kara Zor-El was a brilliant idea. It's not like she just comes to Earth in a spaceship and says "Hi! I'm your cousin! Let's save people!" No, instead, she's been in suspended animation, and it wasn't until Clark's bout with Bizarro that she was released.

By far, Smallville has the best rendition of Kara Zor-El yet, and in my eyes, has made the character that much more interesting & out of the shadow of Superman.

[jamal Igle]

This thread is not for rants about Smallville if you happen to dislike the show. It's a way for all fans to compare the show to the mythology and tell what you like that they changed, and what you haven't liked. Please keep it civil, people.

\

none, frankly.

[Ilash]

Smallville is a piece of crap. It was crap to begin with and has gotten notably worse with the departure of Mark Verheiden and the death of Jonathan Kent.

That said, I've never missed an episode and will be there until the end because as bad as it is they tend to capture the essence of Superman from time to time.

But as far as your list goes:

Lionel Luthor: Doesn't exist in the comics, period. And the idea that Lex as a child had his parents murdered to get the insurance money is still better for comics than their father-son dynamic on the show because that's a result of the exemplary efforts of Michael Rosenbaum and John Glover and not something that could be captured in the comics.

Bizarro: Yeah it was an interesting take, but the only real improvement was that he was happy loving Lana and didn't want more.

The Meteor Shower: Because you don't think Kryptonian tech allowed for a cloaking device? If anything all the radioactive mutations should have had Smallville quarrantined years ago.

Neither Pete nor Lana were improved by the show. If anything, Pete was diminished. A lot of what Chloe did he should have been doing.

Doomsday...well, when you're the rock bottom of creativity, there's nowhere to go but up. The Justice League animated series Doomsday was better than the comics creation. It's no real accomplishment to do this.

And you missed the one improvement that the show did do: Jonathan and Martha Kent helping Clark to understand and use his powers as they developed.

Wait, you hate the show and still watch it every week. Wow, that's some kind of commitment... I guess.

[Darrell D.]

Umm, let me think. What aspects of Smallville has improved the mythology?
Lois Lane as a stripper.
Aquaman as a surfer dude, in orange and green(subtle!!)
Green Arrow just a tad older than Clark, and was with Lois before Clark (must make for interesting banter on the JLA satellite)
Jackie Chiles as The Martian Manhunter.
Lex Luthor, who will inevitably have to have his memories erased when Clark does become Superman, because the Lex I know isn't stupid.
Jor-El being a dick.
Pa Kent sometimes being a dick.
Clark sometimes being a dick.
Kryptonite causing people to mutate.

In other words, not a thing.

[pariah-1972]

Umm, let me think. What aspects of Smallville has improved the mythology?
Lois Lane as a stripper.
Aquaman as a surfer dude, in orange and green(subtle!!)
Green Arrow just a tad older than Clark, and was with Lois before Clark (must make for interesting banter on the JLA satellite)
Jackie Chiles as The Martian Manhunter.
Lex Luthor, who will inevitably have to have his memories erased when Clark does become Superman, because the Lex I know isn't stupid.
Jor-El being a dick.
Pa Kent sometimes being a dick.
Clark sometimes being a dick.
Kryptonite causing people to mutate.

In other words, not a thing.

Thats funny i like all those things.

[Darrell D.]

Thats funny i like all those things.

I can understand liking those things, but do they improve the mythology of Superman?
No.

[WorstThingUS]

I'm guessing you can't really read too well, which is why you basically went on a rant. If you're going to rant, take it elsewhere, because that's not what this thread is for. Got it? Good.

It was a joke, genius. You know, that I'm devoted to a show even though I think it sucks. Got it? Good. Because until this becomes jigsaw.com your ability to dictate content is severely limited.

[suttercain]

Smallville is a piece of crap.

'Nuff said.

[Tracer Bullet]

The Kents being younger
Lex being somewhat redeemable


everything else is gahbich

[CBikle]

I suspect that characters like Chloe and Lionel Luthor might be getting incorporated into the "Smallville/Superboy" part of Geoff Johns Secret Origin story (it would explain why the breaks were put on Busiek's plans to incorporate Chloe into the book when he was writing it).

Maybe other parts of Smallville too, like the Meteor Freak stuff.