You are upsetting yourself over nothing. You don’t have to like the speculative fiction that is Smallville, and you can be upset that they changed “history” to write the story, but that doesnt change the Superman story.

They are not using Superman as a catalyst without sticking to traditions. They don’t have to. Its like any alternate timeline story in the comics (earth 2 – crisis – amalgam) and they were all appreciated for what they were.

If they cancelled all the superman comics and movies and everything and said they were starting from Scratch and Smallville is what they came up with, fine, you can have your issues about how they changed stuff. But you dont have to watch it. And having this fun “what if” tv show is just one more facet in what makes Superman interesting. We all know this isnt the comics, and they go out of their way to stand on their own with their own world.

Why would they introduce other DC staples? Why not? If they were sticking to canon it would make sense that they didn’t but in this version he does cross paths with them. So what. Its just another parallel what if story. Smallville is a story about how Clark shapes who he is and how he deals with it all. There was an Elseworlds comic called Red Son, that told a different story illustrating what would have happened if Kal-El’s rocket landed in Russia instead. It was just an interesting story to look at, but it didnt change the Superman character in “the real book” and it doesn’t hurt to have fun with the story.

Don’t like it, don’t watch. This does nothing to harm the Superman Franchise at all.

maybe i’m explaining myself wrongly. i don’t really have a problem with WB making a show about a guy with superpowers who has a lot of soap opera-ish relationships and such. that’s why i enjoy NBC’s heroes. and i’m not really trying to imply that its a bad show at all. it may very well be well written and exciting to watch. but the idea of them blatantly using an icon and then removing his past pisses me off. i just hate that they’re using superman as a catalyst without sticking to the traditions. it would be fine to make a superman show that would breathe with the comics. but in smallville it seems there are a mass amount of superheroes, taking away the status of superman. smallville makes lex and lois a part clark’s life in a timeframe that makes no sense with the comics. recently i read that lana lang apparently married lex luther in the tv show??? the whole essence of clark kent is a mild-mannered reporter that no one ever heard of before coming to a big town and developing a hero alias for the good of mankind – yet in this smallville show, it seems to an outsider like myself, that clark is some badass superkid who meets almost every character in the DC universe without even establishing the world’s most famous superhero as himself. why would the writers even incorporate characters like martian manhunter, the flash, green arrow into this smallville show anyway?

The Teen Titans Flash Jr called himself Kid Flash, but after ditching the Kid Flash name he went with Impulse. I don’t think its a copyright thing as opposed to going with a version of Flash that might have been better suited for a Kid playing him.

Cyborg is also a Teen Titans character, but they tie him to the show’s Justice Team.

I just figured if Warner Brothers decides to kick Routh to the curb, Tom Welling wouldn’t be a bad replacement,but if they choose to recast entirely then who are they going to get to play the character??

I agree with you that there’s really no need to do a complete overall, that all that is needed is for someone to make a great script and have a truely unique villain to square off against.

I can honestly say that just about everyone who has already posted responses here, can come come up with at least a half a dozen or more cool ideas for the next Superman movie, without having to do a complete reboot and keep Brandon Roth on as Supes.

I read that for next season, that 2 characters would be knocked off. Lana would make sense since she is not used as much now and Chloe would also work if they plan to wipe her out to take on the Watchtower. There has been speculation of a spin-off series since the first appearance of Aquaman. In fact the creators made a pilot for an Aquaman show with the actor that would later play Green Arrow on Smallville. You can even get the pilot on iTunes.

As far as those ragging on the show and continuity… from the premiere it was already set in its own universe. Lex in Smallville??? Come on it’s a fun show and yes it has it ups and downs but in the end it does not harm the legacy from the comics. They are separate. It’s no different than say making a movie based on comic book. When asked about V for Vendetta or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and how they would tarnish his polished works, Alan Moore said that they are not related, that his books are sitting on a shelf and stand on their own. The movies (and Smallville) are not connected to the works and interpretations from others.

Mike Mignola handles it even better (Moore hates every movie made from his work by the way). Mignola, the creator of Hellboy states that each medium (movies, novels, comics, animation, video games) stand alone and do not affect the others. That’s why he pushes form outside people to collaborate on them, so they have an individual look and feel.

I have never tuned into Smallville expecting it to connect to any of the Superman comics, past or present. I simply enjoy it for being popcorn TV programming. I do find it cool when they work in some way to cameo characters from the DC Universe.

I’m not joking in this comment :P