Smallville Takes on DC Comics

April 13, 2010 - Smallville is currently in its ninth season and has been renewed for at least one more. At this rate, the Smallvilleseries has to qualify as one of the most successful comic book adaptations ever. What began as a simple story featuring a high school age Clark Kent and his friends has grown into something much larger. The Smallvilleseries has showcased dozens of the most famous heroes and villains in the DC Universe. We don't expect that rend to slow one bit as Smallville DVD enters Season 10.

Naturally, some of these characters are more faithful to their original comic book counterparts than others. In this Smallville DVD Set visual guide, we've selected our favorite heroes and villains from the past nine seasons of Smallville. We compare their live-action appearance to the look of the comics, examining which characters succeed, which ones stumble, and why.

Even with as many characters as there are in this list, there are still more left to cover. Let us know who your favorite Smallville DVD boxset guest stars are, and we might just add them in future updates.

Clark Kent

It's one of the most common complaints we hear about Smallville Seasons 1-8 DVD boxset - "Why won't Clark put on the costume?". It's true that, even after nine seasons and meeting countless other costumed heroes, Clark seemingly has no desire to don the red and blue tights. In that sense alone he doesn't qualify as being very faithful to the comics.

But strictly comparing Smallville DVD's Clark Kent to Clark Kent of the comics, there are definitely many shared features. Tom Welling has the bulky, chiseled features of a Kansas farmboy in a way other live action Superman actors haven't always managed. Clark's preference for red and blue clothes is also a continuous tease for the eventual costume change they may or may not ever come.

One aspect of the Clark Kent look that was only recently introduced is the glasses. In the comics, Clark relies primarily on his glasses and subtle use of posture and body language to distance himself from Superman. The Clark in Smallville DVD Set is slowly adopting this same strategy, and thus the glasses made their long-awaited debut in Season 9.

The closest thing Clark has worn to a costume so far has been his black, Matrix-inspired look. Instead of a cape and spandex, Clark prefers a trenchcoat and a shirt with his trademark "S" logo painted on. In terms of color, this suit actually recalls the comics. Aside from the trenchcoat, the comic book Clark wore a similar "Kryptonian Life Suit" that helped restore his body after his near-fatal battle with Doomsday.

Lois Lane
As a non-costumed resident of Metropolis Lois Lane doesn't have much in the way of a defined look. As such, it's difficult to criticize Smallville DVD boxset for its portrayal of Lois. In either universe, Lois is a headstrong reporter who wears clothes that accentuate her beauty without flaunting it.

In the Smallville comics, the one source of variation In Lois' over the years has been her hair color. She debuted with black hair, but during the '70s and '80s her hair lightened even as her personality became more forceful. Lois' is usually portrayed as having black hair in the current comics, though some artists depict her as a brunette instead.

A similar shift has taken place in Smallville Seasons 1-8 DVD boxset. Lois debuted in her earlier seasons as a brunette. However, more recently her hair has become darker, if not fully black.

Lois is often know to briefly adopt costumed identities in the comics, particularly during the freewheeling days of the Silver Age. This too is referenced in Smallville DVD in the episode "Stiletto". In this episode, Lois adopts the identity of Stiletto and briefly wears a black leather costume that fits right in with Clark's own Matrix-esque costume.

Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor is one of the more faithful characters in the Smallville show in terms of appearance. It's not hard to capture the look of the twisted billionaire industrialist. As long as you have an intense man with a completely bald head, you have your Lex Luthor. Lex's fine business attire only seals the deal.

The Smallvillecomics have gone though a number of varying explanations as to Luthor's hair loss. Originally, Lex was a corpulent man who slowly lost his hair due to advancing age. However, the modern Lex is portrayed as much thinner and fully bald from a young age. Smallville DVD Set established that Lex's hair fell out as a result of the meteor shower that brought Clark to Earth. That's a better explanation than some of the stories we've seen.

The most significant difference between Smallville DVD boxset's Lex and the comic book Lex is that the latter prefers a green and purple ensemble when committing his villainous acts. Often he dons an armored battlesuit when combating Superman directly. The Smallville Seasons 1-8 DVD boxset version seems content to stick to dark, well-tailored suits. Unless Lex becomes a major player in the series once more, we don't expect this difference to change.

Kara Kent
Clark's Kryptonian cousin shows many of the same predilections when it comes to appearance. On a basic level, Kara is similar to her comic book counterpart. Supergirl is usually portrayed as a tall, leggy blond with good looks and a love of halter tops and mini-skirts. Smallville DVD has that much down pat.

Like Clark, Kara has shown little willingness to don a true costume. Instead, she favors a similar red-and-blue color scheme in her everyday attire. She'll also mix in some white clothes as an homage to the Linda Danvers version of Supergirl. With Kara out of the show for now, we don't expect the actual Supergirl costume to be making an appearance. It would be nice if at least one DC hero decided to wait for Clark to suit up before donning their own uniform.