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VACELTS
Brookie L. Crawford
Articles Posted: 329; Links Seeded: 707
Member Since: 3/2007Last Seen: 9/07/2009
Member Since: 3/2007Last Seen: 9/07/2009
51 Comments
PrintIs it time for Clark Kent to Don his Cape on 'Smallville?'
News Type: Opinion — Fri Feb 8, 2008 9:59 AM EST
One hero has embraced his destiny; the other is still fighting it.
Photo courtesy of CW.
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For seven years now, I have enjoyed Smallville's tales of a young Clark Kent coming into his own as he's trying to balance his alien abilities and the responsibility that comes with that power with his human life. But isn't it about time that Clark grew up already and became Superman?
I've always enjoyed Superman stories – the movies with Christopher Reeve and now Brandon Routh, the TV series Lois & Clark with Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher, and even the cartoons when I was a kid. I know the basic mythology, but not all the comic book details.
But when the pilot for Smallville promised us a look at Superman before he became the great hero, when he was just an awkward teenager, I was hooked.
Over the years, we've seen Clark (Tom Welling) grow up, he's graduated from high school and even did a stint at college, but for the last couple of years he's kind of stalled.
Sure we've seen him learn about his heritage, struggle with his identity, and battle evil, but is he any closer to donning his cape and tights than he was in, say, the fifth season.
Others in Smallville have moved on to fulfill their destinies.
Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) has transformed from a spoiled rich kid with daddy issues to a full-fledge bad guy scheming to rule the world, going from Clark's friend to nemesis in the process.
No longer the sweet girl next door, Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) has developed a dark side of her own. She's taken self-defense classes and now has enough money to run her own business that includes side projects of spying on Lex. Does she still really need Clark to protect her? More importantly, is everyone else as tired of her on-again, off-again relationship with Clark as I am? Isn't about time he pursue other interest?
Speaking of these interests, the inquisitive Lois Lane (Erica Durance) is now on scene and well on her way to fulfilling her legacy. She's got a job at the Daily Planet and her nose for news will surely move her up the food chain despite Lex's ownership of the paper and, of course, get her into trouble along the way.
Even Clark's best friend Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) has grown out of her crush on him and gotten her own boyfriend, Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore). In fact, she's also got her own job and a meteor power which she's already learned to embrace.
Heck, even Clark's mom, Martha Kent (Annette O'Toole) has moved on. A widow now, Martha moved to Washington, DC at the end of the last season to take a seat in Congress.
Isn't it about time that Clark embraced his destiny too? I'm very interested in seeing how he transforms from mild manner Clark Kent to Superman, especially when so many people in Smallville already know his secret (Chloe, Lana, Oliver Queen) and others suspect (Lex).
As I watched last night's episode "Siren" I couldn't wait to discover another hero – Black Canary (Alaina Huffman). But even more I was thrilled about the return of Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley). Why?
Well besides the obvious detail that he's cute, there's the fact that he has accepted his destiny. He has adopted his Green Arrow persona, was key in forming the Justice League and is not only fighting evil, but pursuing it.
For me, Clark Kent's development has stalled while Oliver and the rest of the Justice League have new lives as crime fighters that are in full swing. It has added dimension to their characters.
How do they handle their double life? How is their love lives affected? We got a glimpse of that last night when Lois gave Ollie the boot. How do they work with each other? How do they find evil? I loved that Chloe has a part-time gig as Queen's sidekick.
I miss seeing these things in Clark. Therefore, I think it's time for Clark to suit up, to become the hero we all know he can and to leave Lana in the dust.
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3.9
{"commentId":1448223,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
What do you think? Are you ready for Clark to become Superman already?
{"commentId":1448223,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"vacelts"}
- 1 vote
#1 - Fri Feb 8, 2008 10:00 AM EST{"commentId":1448362,"authorDomain":"thevineofhob"}
I've always though that Superman was a bit boring. He was too good and too perfect and Clark Kent was too boring. Though I really do live the first two Christopher Reeves movies, plus the third one is great for the unintentional comedy. However, I thought Smallville really allowed for some depth. Superman is only boring after he dons the cape and fights for Truth, Justice and the American way. But while he is a teenager still trying to find his place in the world, there are some great stories to be told, and Smallville did a great job at it.
That said, I really haven't followed the show since the forth season. I watched the fifth season on DVD, but I really don't remember any of it. Even the forth season I though was getting a little our of there.
To me, the show "jumped the shark" when they brought in Lois. She just never fit the series to me. But I really lost interest after they killed off Jonathan Kent. I think they needed to do so, it was part of the mythology and the way in which they handled it was perfect. And yet I think he added so much to the show that they just weren't able to ever properly replace afterward.
As to Clark becoming Superman, I've read more than a few articles that said if the studio really wanted to reboot the Superman movie franchise, they should have extended Smallville to the big screen. Considering how bad Superman Returns was, that may have not been a half-bad idea.
Side note: I'm currently in the middle of Lois and Clark from Netflix. I'm on season two now. The show is both god-awful and yet still so enjoyable.
{"commentId":1448362,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"thevineofhob"}
- 2 votes
#2 - Fri Feb 8, 2008 10:38 AM EST{"commentId":1448406,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1448488,"authorDomain":"thevineofhob"}
I think the problem with Smallville is that the later season were over the top as well. It's like they didn't trust their own writers, so instead they kept having to go for gimmicks like Lois and now Supergirl.
Season 1 was a bit awkward, they were still figuring out the characters and did a bit too many monster of the week stories. Season 2 and 3 were solid. Parts of Season 4 and 5 were even better, but other parts were far worst, which is what is annoying. You can tell the writers were doing a great job, but some network hotshot probably forced them to do certain things for ratings grabbers.
{"commentId":1448488,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"thevineofhob"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1448530,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1448549,"authorDomain":"thevineofhob"}
I did like that they were friends at first. But I left the series when they were still sorta friends, but they just didn't trust each other at all. So I guess it was still in transition. I'm sure I'll come back and re-watch the entire series at some point. Maybe after it's finished and they release the complete series on DVD.
{"commentId":1448549,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"thevineofhob"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1448612,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1457478,"authorDomain":"finalcut"}
Ahh, well my younger brother and I both enjoyed the addition of Lois and Supergirl - but that could just be the fact that they are hot.
I have watched this series from the get go - it is one of the only shows I watch that gets DVR reservation time; however I do agree it either needs to move on or go away.
My first real problem with the show is Lana. I was SO happy when she "died" because (while she too looks good) her character got pretty tiring with her insistence that Clark share every aspect of his being with her just to be her boyfriend. She really started to grate on my nerves.
My second problem is the seemingly endless supply of Kryptonians that seem to be on Earth. Sure, the escaped prisoners were sort of interesting and they helped Clark develop his powers a bit more but sheesh; I thought Clark was supposed to be the only survivor (though, obviously, Supergirl has been in the comics for a long time). But when Clarks genetically cloned Kryptonian Mom and evil Uncle reappeared I was severely disappointed. I won't even get into the whole issue with the Kryptonian scientist who created Brainiac.
However, with all that said, I still like the show. I still want to see Clark develop into Superman, I still want to see how the Justice League develops, I want to see if Batman ever arrives on the scene, I want the Green Lantern to appear.. And I want the Legion of Doom!
{"commentId":1457478,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"finalcut"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1458565,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1449062,"authorDomain":"cypher3378"}
Great article. And while I agree with you 100% that it's time for Clark to become the superhero and not just the hero, that would mean the end of the show. It's been stated a few times by Al & Miles they are not allowed to create things on Smallville that are being done in the movies. Hence, no Batman/Bruce Wayne or Wonder Woman appearances. As soon as Clark dons the cape, he becomes "off-touch" in TV land.
So, for me it's a hate/love issue. I hate that Clark seems to be stuck in limbo, when he really should be moving on, but I love watching the show and I'm not in too much of a rush to see it end.
{"commentId":1449062,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"cypher3378"}
- 2 votes
#3 - Fri Feb 8, 2008 2:01 PM EST{"commentId":1449174,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1449134,"authorDomain":"Chris-236736"}
Great article! I totally agree. I've been a fan of the show for a while now. Started WAY after the show started and used DVR and Netflix to watch all of the episodes. I think that over the last couple of seasons, they've really been pushing Clark to the back burner, and it seems to me that they obviously just want to stretch the pre-cape story line out as far as possible. I imagine the last episode (problably at the end of next season) will have Clark pulling open the shirt with the S logo underneath and a "To Be Continued..." message and then a movie would come out a year later. The problem, I think, is that with the Brandon Routh movie(s) and now a possible Justice League movie (without Tom Welling), the Smallville movie will not come to fruition because they can't stretch the show out that far and won't have the budget to have Clark in costume on TV. A hope I'm wrong, though, because Tom Welling would be AWESOME as supes on the big screen, especially with his age, physique, and familiarity with the character.
{"commentId":1449134,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"Chris-236736"}
- 1 vote
#4 - Fri Feb 8, 2008 2:21 PM EST{"commentId":1449209,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1449223,"authorDomain":"vwong0360"}
Have to agree with Jason T.: the episode when Tom Welling dons the blue longjohns will be the last episode of the series, whenever it happens.
And I have to think that this current season will have to be the last one. I think they've pushed the Clark character as far as they can without him actually adopting the suit, and seven years is really tempting episodes produced after burnout.
{"commentId":1449223,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"vwong0360"}
- 1 vote
#5 - Fri Feb 8, 2008 2:40 PM EST{"commentId":1449619,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1449573,"authorDomain":"shalla"}
But isn't it about time that Clark grew up already and became Superman?
Yes, very much yes. I think part of the problem is that the creators of the show weren't prepared for the show to be this popular or go this long. One fairly well known quote from them in the first season I knew would get them in trouble eventually was that Clark was never going to fly on the series. Smallville has so completely jumped the shark in terms of the overall Superman mythos that it's just basically unwatchable for me anymore.
Also, Lana needs to go away. She's annoying the crap out of me lately. Bring on Clark/Lois!
{"commentId":1449573,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"shalla"}
- 1 vote
#6 - Fri Feb 8, 2008 4:07 PM EST{"commentId":1449599,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1449650,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
The second that Lana touched Lex, I got grossed out, I could hardly watch her after that, her whole image changed. I kinda assumed that she would be gone within the next few episodes. I feel it was a mistake to keep dragging her around.
{"commentId":1449650,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1449793,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1449828,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
She once was sweet little Lana, but I agree, bump her off....
{"commentId":1449828,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1452115,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
I was kind of hoping they could dump Lana and sneak katherine heigl into the script somehow. But I think she got a little too "big time" for Smallville, maybe it might have happened back in the days she was in Roswell.
{"commentId":1452115,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1452473,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1452602,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
Thats a tough one as that would be some script changing. But maybe for a season or two, Clark for once could have a real girlfriend while Lana is off doing something cultural lets say in Paris, Clark just gets to be a normal teenager :-).
Or...Katherine could be like (now my brain fade just kicked in) that other survivor from their home world, and be Clark's best buddy as they both discovery their new superpowers together.
{"commentId":1452602,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1452701,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1453178,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
Might be a good way to sneak a few more seasons out of it and whoa what a catfight Katherine and Lana could get into :-)
{"commentId":1453178,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1454348,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1454437,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
"cough" Comment 7.3
They should have killed her at the end of last season when they had a chance.
What better way to get rid of the dark and evil Lana ? Clark's best buddy (and part time sweety-pie) Katherine with her superpowers gets into that nasty catfight with Lana and opps !, gee hit her just a little too hard.....they dump the body in Lex's Mansion and you get rid of two rotten tomatoes in one scene !
{"commentId":1454437,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1454502,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1454523,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
I am not sure there is a future in romantic sci-fi comics....
{"commentId":1454523,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1454545,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1454559,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
oh....so it would be a flop....Tedd the AMC Gremlin or Ford Pinto of the Comic Book world ?
{"commentId":1454559,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1454575,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1449589,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
Excellent article., Surprised I missed it. However I am still hanging out hoping that maybe, just maybe someday Clark and Chloe Sullivan will finally figure it out and be happy forever after :-)
{"commentId":1449589,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
#7 - Fri Feb 8, 2008 4:10 PM EST{"commentId":1449609,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1449614,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
Yeah they are cute, but its still breaking poor Clark's heart....
{"commentId":1449614,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1449625,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1449667,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
Those early days of those two talking in the barn and Clarks long gazing looks are her especially when she walked away ? Or his huge smiles everytime she popped her head in and said hi ?
Teenager in love....No question !
{"commentId":1449667,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1449746,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
I cannot beleive that I actually admitted to the world that I am a dedicated fan of Smallville...Yikes I must be slipping...:-)
{"commentId":1449746,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1449802,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1449832,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
Well OK, then "My world" :-)
{"commentId":1449832,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1449849,"authorDomain":"thevineofhob"}
I've already filed it away to be used against Tedd at a latter date :-)
{"commentId":1449849,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"thevineofhob"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":1449905,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1450394,"authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
Dear Calvin, I think that Adam guy has a scam going on with his NFL Picks, something about SEO marketing and steroids, think you need to check it out
{"commentId":1450394,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"TeddRi"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":1449971,"authorDomain":"bigmama"}
I love Green Arrow! Bring on Justice League in any form!
{"commentId":1449971,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"bigmama"}
- 1 vote
#8 - Fri Feb 8, 2008 5:34 PM EST{"commentId":1450013,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1450028,"authorDomain":"bigmama"}
I think we can all band together and save the world from boring TV!
{"commentId":1450028,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"bigmama"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1450059,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1450713,"authorDomain":"RTMiggy"}
I think it's time for the show to evolve into Superman, but more into a JLA show then anything else. Green Latern needs to come into play and the producers need to propose this idea again. Brandon Routh played a great Superman but they should have a death of Superman movie. Really. Bring in doomsday and have the epic Battle. Just a huge fighting Hand to Hand combat movie. Lex Luthor is boring. Home recker Superman is done.
The Movie should be three 2 hr flicks with Brandon Routh playing Superman and it should be directed by the same guys who did the Matrix. Bring in DC Comic writers to keep to the story line. 1st Movie he dies, 2d Movie the Aftermath, bring in all the comic book Superman. Third Movie the Rebrith of Superman. Everyone is sick of Lex Luthor. Even bring in Darkside.
{"commentId":1450713,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"RTMiggy"}
- 1 vote
#9 - Fri Feb 8, 2008 9:34 PM EST{"commentId":1451818,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":1456869,"authorDomain":"omac"}
i agree, but suspect that the direction they are going to take is to do a justice league spinoff of the series. Perhaps in such a show you would see superman as a recurring character.
{"commentId":1456869,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"omac"}
- 1 vote
#10 - Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:30 AM EST{"commentId":1457383,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
{"commentId":4810841,"authorDomain":"maraphalla"}
Hi clark kent,
how are you doing today? I want to become a superman just like you and brandon routh. I went to your website all the time and I like it alot.
Thank you
Sincerely,
Maraphalla Chan
{"commentId":4810841,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"maraphalla"}
#11 - Wed Jan 14, 2009 3:13 PM EST{"commentId":4810869,"authorDomain":"maraphalla"}
Hi clark kent,
how are you doing today? I want to become a superman just like you and brandon routh. I went to your website all the time and I like it alot.
Thank you
Sincerely,
Maraphalla Chan
{"commentId":4810869,"threadId":"215864","contentId":"1286972","authorDomain":"maraphalla"}
#12 - Wed Jan 14, 2009 3:15 PM EST{"canLink":false,"threadId":"215864","isPrivate":false}
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