Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman Page #11

of a Superman curse,,,

...as Christopher Reeve's

tragic accident...

... was now linked

with George Reeves' death.

The irony isn't lost on everybody

that here is this person who played. . .

. . .the most powerful man on Earth

in the most vulnerable. . .

. . .and weakest position

he could possibly be in.

But that's where he showed

such incredible strength.

Surprisingly, instead of validating

a Superman curse,,,

,,,Reeve's accident would do much

to redeem Superman's legacy.

The actor became

a tireless activist for spinal research.

His courage and optimism

reminded people around the world...

... that human beings could be

as courageous and influential...

...as any superhero.

On September 6, 1996...

... Warner Bros. Animation Division

joined forces with DC Comics...

... to produce an ambitious

new Saturday morning...

...Superman cartoon series

for the WB network.

Superman:
The Animated Series. . .

...stylishly updated

the classic art direction featured...

...in the landmark Fleischer cartoons

of the 1940s.

The Fleischer cartoons are

phenomenal-looking but not a lot of story.

I definitely think that the Superman

animated show. . .

. . .was just strong written material.

And if they shot them as movies people

would always think Superman was cool.

The series' success later paved the way

for another animated TV hit...

...Justice League Unlimited,

which brought an edge...

... to the former Super Friends.

In the year 2000

as a new millennium dawned...

...DC Comics consented

to let the WB network give...

... their superhero franchise

an even more innovative interpretation.

What's happening, Jonathan?

Smallville would tell the story of

Superman's boyhood on a farm...

...in rural Kansas.

John Schneider and Annette O "Toole...

... were cast as a young

Jonathan and Martha Kent.

Sweetheart, we can't keep him.

What? I we say?

We found him in a field?

We didn't find him.

He found us.

What DC had toad us was Superman

is who he is because of his parents. . .

. . .which struck us

and we decided. . .

. . .to make the parents

as opposed to grandparents.

So we made them younger so that

they would have more interaction. . .

. . .you know, and more of a presence.

They cast me and they

didn't really realize it at first. . .

...that I had been in Superman III.

I went and just talked

to them about doing it.

I was taking a lot about Superman

and they thought:

''well, she knows a lot about this. ''

And I said, ''You know, I did play Lana. ''

He said, ''What? well, then,

you've got to do it. ''

I said, ''well, I guess I have to. ''

She actually was a much bigger fan

than we were.

She knew much-- She knew all

the history. It was incredible.

It was like Bible-quoting with a nun.

It was a little scary.

In the series, Clark Kent, played

by Tom Welling, would be depicted...

...as a confused teenager

just on the verge...

...of developing superpowers

and his dual identity.

It's time, son.

Time for what?

The truth.

Your real parents weren't

exactly from around here.

Why didn't you tell me

about this before?

-We wanted to protect you.

-protect me from what?

You should have toad me.

Clark.

Clark!

To distinguish their Superman

from earlier portrayals,,,

... the series' producers promised

viewers no tights, no flights.

We said, ''We don't want to do Superboy,

we don't want to have the suit. ''

-Lois & Clark had just gone off the air. . .

-Yeah.

. . .and that point in time superheroes

were sort of stir not cool.

-Right.

-So we thought this is. . . .

''How do we do Superman

in a fresh way?''

Kent, are you all right?

So we came up with the idea

of puberty with superpowers.

You know, the sort of the ultimate alien

and when you're a teenager. . .

. . .you feel alienated.

You guys, I can see through things.

How do you control that?

You got to practice, Clark. Your eyes

have muscles just like your legs.

Your mom is right, son.

All you have to do is

you have to figure out a way. . .

. . .to condition them so that

you don't get these random flashes.

That sounds great.

How am I going to do that?

There is no Superman in our show.

Superman doesn't exist.

We don't know what

he's going to become.

That's the whole idea of the show:

''How is he going to live in the world?

What is he going to be?

Will he have to keep

the secret forever?

Did it happen again?

Let's go home.

Let her go.

Smallville found a way to do Superman

without the costume, without the stuff. . .

. . .that people think are the normal

trappings of superhero stories.

And the character is stir a hero

as far as I'm concerned.

No.

To advertise the new series, the

WB devised a bold marketing strategy...

... that showed their

...and tied to a post.

The startling image suggested

more than a passing similarity...

...between Clark Kent

and a crucified Jesus Christ.

-He's Christ-like.

-He's Christ-like. You see him three times.

You see him, you know, at birth, once

when he was in his teenage years. . .

. . .and then when he suddenly appears

at 30, ready to take on his mantle. . .

. . .and save the world. So I mean,

that it's all-- It's all through there.

-Yeah.

-We definitely heightened it.

But when we saw

that campaign we were shocked.

We thought, ''They're going to crucify us

for this,'' but it was really compelling.

And people remember that campaign.

help me.

But on September 11, 2001, one month

prior to the premiere of Smallville...

... the twin notions of truth

and justice were put to the ultimate test.

Within minutes, a powerful nation was

brought to its knees and the concept...

...of heroes and heroism

was stunningly redefined.

A lot that you see from September 11th

is a redefinition of what a hero is.

A lot of people used to throw that

term around very loosely prior to that.

A hero is a guy who scored the most

touchdowns, hit the most home runs.

But when you Look at the selflessness

and sacrifice that average people made. . .

. . .in an extraordinary time,

it forces you to go back and examine. . .

. . .how our heroes are supposed

to act and behave.

What we need is a sense of purpose

for our characters.

A reason for our characters

to be heroes.

How do we make these characters

do things that matter?

Superman is the greatest hero

we have.

He's our fireman in the DC Universe.

He sits and he waits to help others.

He doesn't pass judgment.

He helps fix that situation, then he goes

back and waits to be called again.

He's a person you know

you can always count on. . .

. . .to be there if you need him.

We shot Smallville in early 2001 and we

premiered them a month after 9/11

And all the press

before the show was all about:

''How can you take Superman

out of the suit?''

-And, you know, who cares--?

-Who cares about Superman?

And then after 9/11 , it was suddenly,

''America needs a hero. ''

So overnight, it's like,

it just fits the time.

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