[Superman Mythos]
 

I would like to make a semi comprehensive list of (changes/additions/yet to come) pieces<br> in the Superman Mythology that Smallville has touched on or will touch on.
<br>
One easy thing would be his powers.<BR> Flight obviously doesn't seem like it will be used in this show. <BR> His freeze breath is another power I don't beleive he has used yet. <BR>What else?

Anything else that the avid readers of the comics could share. <br> About his powers, the characters or things that <br>have/will/should happen. I know some such things <br>have been discussed in previous threads, I was just looking <br>to get them in one place and see what the different incarnations<br> of the comic books, movies, Lois and Clark and now Smallville keep <br>static or change in the whole scheme <br>of the Superman universe.

In the movies, Jonathan (the dad) dies, sparking Clark to leave and ultimately go to Fortress of Solitude to become Superman.

In Lois & Clark, Jonathan was alive and well.

I have no idea what happened to him in the comics.

Jonathan was alive until Doomsday hit town.

On Smallville, Clark hasn't turned back time yet. ;)

So far I think they've shown laser vision, xray vision, superhearing, superspeed, superstrength, superjump, superdurability, and problems with kryptonite.

Besides flying, they haven't shown:

Super Ventriloquism
Holding breath for long time (for travel in space)

comic book geek
 

I don't watch Smallville, but I am a Superman geek. It's going to be hard to do this, a little. Without getting into too many technicalities, there was a major revision of Superman in 1985, in which a whole bunch of things were changed wholesale and the comic character, essentially rebooted, so that continuity was started from the beginning again.

This is not to mention that before then, and even now on a possibly lesser scale, minor tweaking was made to the character along the way as different writers gently changed things. For instance, it was strongly implied when the character first showed up that he had started his career as an adult in Metropolis (which was itself unnamed for awhile, and was actually Cleveland in at least one issue, if I remember correctly). Then, in the 40's, it was decided that Superman was actually active as a boy, named "Superboy" in a town called Smallville.

Take Jonathan Kent as another example already mentioned. Pre-1985, both of Superman's parents died before he became Superman. However, in the revision of the character, it was decided that Superman should have both parents living. In addition, in the rebooted continuity, Superman was never Superboy.

So when you talk about plot threads that have or may happen, we have different continuities we can look at.

I realize, reading your question again, that you probably don't care about any of this and doesn't even address your question, but I enjoyed geeking out for a few minutes, and decided to post this anyway. Enjoy!!?!

Seinfeld: "I really do think he had 'Super Humor'."

In the comics, Pete is white instead of invisible. -smile-

s u p e r m a n
 

Quote:

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Originally posted by Laertes
I don't watch Smallville, but I am a Superman geek. It's going to be hard to do this, a little. Without getting into too many technicalities, there was a major revision of Superman in 1985, in which a whole bunch of things were changed wholesale and the comic character, essentially rebooted, so that continuity was started from the beginning again.

This is not to mention that before then, and even now on a possibly lesser scale, minor tweaking was made to the character along the way as different writers gently changed things. For instance, it was strongly implied when the character first showed up that he had started his career as an adult in Metropolis (which was itself unnamed for awhile, and was actually Cleveland in at least one issue, if I remember correctly). Then, in the 40's, it was decided that Superman was actually active as a boy, named "Superboy" in a town called Smallville.

Take Jonathan Kent as another example already mentioned. Pre-1985, both of Superman's parents died before he became Superman. However, in the revision of the character, it was decided that Superman should have both parents living. In addition, in the rebooted continuity, Superman was never Superboy.

So when you talk about plot threads that have or may happen, we have different continuities we can look at.

I realize, reading your question again, that you probably don't care about any of this and doesn't even address your question, but I enjoyed geeking out for a few minutes, and decided to post this anyway. Enjoy!!?!

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No...uhhh...that was...great. Geeking out is cool, every now and again...
Seriously though, that is what I am trying to sort out, in a way. What happened where and what is common for the different incarnations and what is totally out of left field.
I guess the retooling that Smallville is doing is not that big of a deal for the most part, but it still has some of the more drastic changes of any Superman story out there IMO

It's me, the Superman Geek.

Another thing, since someone mentioned Pete Ross, in the pre-1985 continuity, in which Clark was Superboy in Smallville, while on a camping trip, Pete Ross saw Clark change into Superboy. Pete never told Clark what he saw and that he knew, and instead helped him by creating excuses or distractions whenever Clark needed to change into Superboy to avert a disaster.

Yes, Pete is white in the comic book, but I kind of like him being a person of colour now. And, even though I don't watch "Smallville," I understand Clark told Pete about his powers, so I thought that was nice echo of the pre-1985 continuity.

If I remember correctly, and I haven't read a regular Superman comic in about 9 years, in the post-1985 continuity (in which Superman was never Superboy while in Smallville), Pete and Lana end up married.

In a weird plot turn, Lex Luthor becomes president of the USA, and IIRC, Pete Ross is his VP.

Also, in the comics, Lana is a redhead, not a brunette who stares aimlessly alot into the distance...

Lex was very recently "removed" from power. I don't remember reading if that now means Pete is president.

We haven't seen the super mass hypnosis yet either.

If we combine the 3rd movie with Smallville--we know that Lana Lang becomes Clark's mom.


;)

The original Superman(30's) didn't fly...he leaped. Hence the "leaps tall buildings in a single bound" right?

I thought I heard that somewhere....

Yes, that's true. He gradually started to be able to fly. That's the slight tweaking I was talking about. There was no specific instant where they seemed to decide he could fly, it just gradually started to happen.

Originally he was able to leap 1/8 of a mile, run faster than a locomotive and nothing less than a bursting shell (something like that) could penetrate his skin. By the time of the revision of 1985, he had become able to fly fast enough to travel through time, strong enough to juggle planets, etc. DC Comics, by 1985, had come to think he was too powerful to be interesting, so his powers were taken down a peg for the re-boot. I hear that his power levels have been slowly creeping up in the years since then, however.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Laertes
Yes, that's true. He gradually started to be able to fly. That's the slight tweaking I was talking about. There was no specific instant where they seemed to decide he could fly, it just gradually started to happen....

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Wasn't it explained as a limited form of telekinesis?

Yeah, it was a pretty lame attempt at explaining how people didn't figure out that Superman was Clark Kent with a slightly different haircut and no glasses. Things like that are better left unexplained, as that comic showed. It was never mentioned before or since.

Yeah DC did get wild with his powers by the time of the Crisis. But to be honest I've always thought of DC heroes as Gods anyway. Not simple mutants. :p

Still waiting for the show to introduce:

Bizarro (about the same age as Superman from an alternate universe)
Mixylplyk (spelling may be incorrect)

Even another Superman in another timeline entering the show briefly