Learning to Fly: Superman's Wonder Years in Smallville

Clark Kent on the precipice of becoming Superman in Smallville.

It may have taken 12 years, but I finally finished all ten seasons of Smallville, the show about Superman's wonder years in that tiny Kansas town.  You might be asking why it took a Superman fanatic like myself so long to watch the whole series.  It's a question I often asked myself, especially considering that I watched it religiously in the beginning.  The night it aired is still crystal clear in my mind all these years later.  It couldn't have been more than a month after 9/11 and there was a palpable feeling that we needed heroes like Superman more than ever to inspire hope in those dark, uncertain days.  Right from the start I loved the feel of the show, which although inspired by the Chris Reeve films, managed to put it's own spin on many elements of the Superman story.  The first major spin answered the question of how all that damn kryptonite got here by showing a cluster of meteors loaded with the stuff hurtling towards earth along with Kal-El's ship and raining down like hellfire on the unsuspecting town.   In addition to bringing Clark to his knees, all that glowing green stuff helped spawn a slew of often psychotic, super-powered meteor freaks for Clark to battle in the early seasons.   The decision to not only have Lex Luthor in the show but have him be Clark's friend after he accidently hits him with his car and drives off a bridge, only to be rescued by Clark, was another surprising spin.  Lex is grateful to his savior, but can't shake the feeling that there's more to his new friend than meets the eye.  What's cool about this younger Lex, played to perfection by Michael Rosenbaum, is that he begins as a sympathetic character genuinely trying to do the right thing despite being slowly corrupted by his cold father Lionel, a cutthroat businessman who's only a shadow of what Lex will become.  The fact that Clark and Lex are destined to be enemies makes their initial friendship all the more fascinating to watch.  Although young, Rosenbaum's Lex showed hints of the underlying darkness characterizing the power hungry Lex who'll go on to run Lexcorp and most of Metropolis and his transformation from Clark's friend to his enemy is thrilling to watch.        

The first seasons were great because there's so much about Clark's early days that hadn't been seen in great detail.  The writers cleverly introduce Clark's burgeoning powers as if they're results of puberty.  When his heat vision first manifests, it's because he gets turned on and the spot he's looking at suddenly bursts into flames.  It doesn't help that Smallville's full of gorgeous gals, such as Clark's first love, Lana Lang and his girl Friday Chloe Sullivan and it becomes imperative that he learn to control these abilities before he starts lighting loved ones on fire.  With the help of his parents, who have a big role in the early seasons, Clark learns to master each new power.  Clark also struggles to lead a normal life after learning about his alien origins.  The show did a great job conveying Clark's sense of isolation and his strong desire to be normal.  In earlier incarnations, his abilities are seen as a gift, but in Smallville his powers begin as more of a curse making him feel all the more alien among his peers.   Those abilities come in handy when dealing with the crazy meteor freaks always targeting Clark's friends.  The early seasons are loaded with so many of these one-shot villains (dubbed freaks of the week) and after a while it got a little old.  Clark's pinning for Lana and their back and forth got tiring around season 3, crossing into teen romance bullshit because of Clark's inability to tell Lana his secret.  He always claims it's to protect her but since she and all his other friends are always in danger anyway, telling them wouldn't make a huge difference.  With beautiful girls like that around, I'd be able to keep my secret for about 15 seconds, but that's why I'm not Superman.
In season 4, the adorable Chloe Sullivan discovers Clark's secret and becomes one of his closest allies.  Season 4 also introduced Chloe's cousin to the show, a girl named Lois Lane played by the lovely Erica Durance who I had the pleasure of meeting.  Just as with Lex, I wondered how Lois wouldn't instantly recognize Clark as Superman years later if she meets him sans glasses and goofy mannerisms.  I initially expected Clark and Lois to follow the traditional dynamic, but after a while it became clear that wouldn't be the case.  Although Lois is initially dismissive of Clark as he pines for Lana, eventually the two develop deep feelings for each other.  What I came to love about Smallville is that it's a bridge between traditional Superman mythos and current, updated versions such as Man of Steel.  The show honors the past by using familiar elements such as the crystal fortress, a Jor-El based on Brando's and Jonathan Kent's death by heart attack while also introducing updated elements.  Lois and Clark's relationship for example, ultimately becomes like their relationship in Man of Steel, where Lois knows Clark's secret before he's even Superman and that makes for a deeper relationship that's refreshing.  Aside from the ongoing Lana-Clark drama, I began to lose interest when they brought in too many DC characters far too early.  Looking back now, I understand how hard it must've been writing ten seasons worth of compelling stories without falling back into old territory or delving to deeply into Superman's later adventures.  This started to fall apart after season 7, when Lex left the show and they introduced Doomsday, altering his origin to allow him to appear human and blend in only to hulk out and go on rampages.  At the time I thought it was crazy to bring in characters like Doomsday before Clark's Superman and I started to tune out.  Still, when the buzz around Man of Steel started growing, I wanted the pay off of seeing Tom Welling's Clark become Superman as well as finally tell Lois his secret.  The show had initially promised no tights, no flights but I figured after 10 years, they might've lightened up on that front.  So I picked up at season 8 with the mission to see it through to the end.  The thing about Smallville is that, especially in later seasons, it's very hit and miss.  Some episodes are downright ridiculous even for comic book lore while others are spot on and reaffirm all that's great about Superman.  Some episodes are cluttered with too many DC characters and rely too heavily on uninventive quick fixes such as reversals in time and reincarnation.  Clark for instance, dies several times in the show and is usually brought back by Jor-El, who for a dead guy is basically an all powerful god.  I understand that time travel and reincarnation have a place in Sci-Fi/fantasy but they have to be used tastefully, not overused as an easy fix when writers hit a wall.  I was also often frustrated at Clark's inability to take action when the situation called for it.  Often the fights with major villains such as Doomsday and Zod are a bit disappointing considering the buildup to them.  I know that part of what makes him Superman is his diplomacy but there are times in the show when his hesitancy to take action against villains ironically causes more innocent people to die.
I made it through seasons 8 and 9 and watched Clark establish himself in Metropolis as a vigilante dubbed the red-blue blur after appearing in one of Jimmy Olsen's photos while going super-speed.  Yes, Jimmy's in the show for a while and works with Lois and Clark at the planet.  Lois and Clark finally begin dating in season 9 and ultimately she discovers that Clark is the Blur but keeps quiet until Clark, fearing he'll lose her, tells her everything about himself.  This carries their relationship into deeper territory never really explored outside the comics, territory that's more compelling than watching Clark struggle to hide his miraculous saves again and again from those close to him.  I hope to see this deeper relationship explored further in the MOS sequel as well.   Unlike with Lana, Clark is more assertive and expressive with Lois and by season 10, she is his closest confidant and supporter. 
Overall, season 10 is a great wrap up for this early chapter of Clark's life, full of many long awaited milestones as Clark finally lets go of the guilt and darkness of his past and takes his final steps to becoming earth's greatest hero with Lois by his side.  Like Amy Adams, Erica Durance's Lois seems a perfect match for Clark and someone he can truly love.  It's easy to see what she sees in him but hasn't always been easy to understand what he sees in her.  In Smallville, Lois is tough but loving, stubborn yet devoted to protecting Clark's secret and supporting him (not to mention she's believable as a reporter).  Even with occasional blemishes, getting to the finale and watching him finally take to the skies in the iconic red, yellow and blue to confront season 10's villain, Darkseid was a tremendous, bittersweet moment that had me misty eyed.  We see him save Air Force One like he does in Superman: The Movie but this time with Lois on board, beaming as she sees her man flying outside the window.  The moving finale brought back several familiar but long absent faces, most notably Lex, who resurfaces to seize control of his empire and his destiny as Clark's greatest adversary.  After Clark saves earth from Darkseid's wrath, we jump ahead seven years to the Daily Planet where all the legendary characters are in their rightful places and Clark, hearing there's a bomb in an elevator, races up to the roof and with John Williams legendary music swelling triumphantly, rips open his shirt to reveal the S and flies off to save the day.  For Superman fans like myself, this was a beautiful culmination to a legendary hero's journey that began in a little town called Smallville.