Show of Strength
Superboy was always a dumb idea. In fact, when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created the Man of Steel in 1938, there was no Boy of Steel, no Smallville, no teenage adventures in tights. Kal-el, last son of Krypton, crash-landed on Earth, was discovered by the elderly Kents, and then smash-cut to adulthood and the whole superhero thing. But in 1945, DC Comics thought it would be neat to see Superman as a kid, and before long, Clark Kent was sporting spandex as early as age 7 and incurring the enmity of Lex Luthor by accidentally causing his hair to fall out (quite possibly the stupidest archenemy motivation in the history of stupid archenemy motivations). Dude, Superboy even had a super-powered dog named Krypto, which he dressed up in a friggin' little red cape!
Like we said: dumb. Which just makes the WB's ''Smallville'' all the more impressive. For comic-book fans beholden to Siegel and Shuster's sacred text, this new take on Superman's formative youth is something of a water-to-wine miracle: It has transformed sacrilege into something indispensable to the mythos; finally, Clark Kent has an adolescence that actually makes sense. Better yet for the WB, the show isn't just for freaks and geeks. With a spandex-free approach that blends ''X-Files'' sci-fi and ''Dawson's Creek'' pathos with wide-screen cinematic flair, ''Smallville'' (airing Tuesdays at 9 p.m.) is luring in those who don't know kryptonite from crapola. Of course, having Tom Welling with his dreamy mug and abs of steel as Clark, and Canadian newcomer Kristin Kreuk with her emerald eyes and preternatural prettiness as Lana Lang, doesn't hurt either.
''Heart. Hero. Mystery. Family. And really in that order'' is how writer Alfred Gough (who reteams on ''Smallville'' with ''Shanghai Noon'' cowriter Miles Millar) distills the essence of the show. ''It's a delicate chemistry experiment.''
Smallville's architects have some surprises planned: A dream sequence in the Nov. 20 episode will offer peeks at Clark's and Lex's futures (hint: Rosenbaum was recently spotted filming on the ''West Wing'' set); later on, Lex gets a girlfriend and develops a kryptonite-centric business; plus, a certain future Dark Knight may pay a visit. One thing's for sure, though: There will be no Krypto. ''Nor Beppo the Super-Monkey, or Streaky the Super-Cat!'' laughs Gough. ''Man, there must have been a lot of three-martini lunches at DC Comics back in the day.'' -- Jeff Jensen
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