Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman Page #12

SmallVille's premiere set

a new ratings record for the WB.

Over 8 million viewers.

And week after week,

audiences, including teenagers...

... who'd never read a comic book,

came back for more.

-Lex, what's going on?

-Get out of the way.

In the series, Superman's

arch nemesis, Lex Luthor...

...played by Michael Rosenbaum,

appeared as a boyhood friend of Clark's.

It was a nod to a 1960 Superboy story

that established...

... the two had once been friends in Smallville

before Luthor's twisted jealousy of Superboy...

...sent him down

the path of evil.

I'm sorry you got thrown

through that window.

-I promise I'm not a criminal mastermind.

-I know.

A criminal mastermind would

have worn a mask.

They get it.

They understand the mythology of it.

You know, They have this Luthor and Superman

character and they're friends.

You know, It's inevitable. It's fate that they'll be enemies.

We have a complicated relationship,

Clark.

My father wants me to believe

it's built on trust but it's not.

It's built on lies and deceit.

Any relationship

with that foundation is destined to fall.

Lucky we don't have that problem.

Lucky us.

They have the farm,

the iconic American values...

...whereas the Luthor character is raised

by an evil, wealthy man fated...

. . .to grow up to be

an evil, wealthy man.

What happened, Lex?

The two theories seem to be:

I either ran the plane into the ground

through incompetence. . .

. . .or did it deliberately

so that I could go back to Metropolis.

Your dad offered you a job in

Metropolis. Just tell people the truth.

Then I get stuck

with the incompetence rap.

Being reviled is the lesser evil.

Season one, the question

of that season would be, ''Who am I?''

You know, that's when he sort of

finds out where he's from. . .

. . .and sort of takes on his mantle

in Smallville.

Season two really became about,

''Where am I from?''

It became sort of the ultimate,

you know. . .

. . .adopted-child search

for his real parents.

What am I doing here?

Looking for answers, I assume.

Hello, Clark.

I've been expecting you.

In Smallville's second season,

Christopher Reeve made...

...an unforgettable appearance--

Activate screen.

--as the mysterious Dr. Virgil Swann,

a scientist who tells Clark...

...of his Kryptonian origins.

This says, ''This is Kal-El of Krypton. . .

. . .our infant son, our East hope.

please protect him

and deliver him from evil. ''

The episode was one of many

that reminded young viewers...

... that growing up, like being Superman,

involved tough choices.

Why me?

There must be a reason

why I was sent to this planet.

You won't find the answers

by looking to the stars.

It's a journey you? I have to take

by Looking inside yourself.

You must write

your own destiny, Kal-El.

Season three was the darkest season.

I think that was sort of Clark,

you know, the end of the season. . .

. . .he put on

the Red Kryptonite ring. . .

. . .which, in the show,

takes away his inhibitions.

Season four was

the last year in high school. . .

. . .and it was about sort of

putting away childish behavior. . .

. . .and sort of moving

towards your destiny.

But just as young Clark Kent was facing

his destiny in an uncertain future...

... the world was stunned

by another tragedy.

On October 10, 2004...

... Christopher Reeve died after his

nine-year battle with paralysis.

The actor's nobility

and optimism had suggested...

... that a man really could fly even if

fate had denied him the ability to walk.

The thing that was great

about Chris. . .

. . .is not that he was a hero

and something superhuman.

But that, in fact,

a very ordinary human. . .

. . .did these incredibly strong,

transcendent things.

Chris was a hero to a lot of people

in the last part of his life. . .

. . .and I admire him

enormously for that.

Chris is my Superman.

He was on this earth

for a lot of reasons.

He wasn't here just to be an actor.

He was Superman.

You won't find the answers

by looking to the stars.

It's a journey you? I have to take

by Looking inside yourself.

You must write your own destiny.

Boy, this is a great way

to see the country.

Yeah, it's amazing

how much you miss at super speed.

Yeah.

In 2004, comedian and Superman fan

Jerry Seinfeld...

...appeared with an animated...

...Man of Steel on a series of commercials

for the American Express company.

I want to hear this thing.

It's got surround sound.

I've always wanted that.

-You've got superheating.

-Yeah, but it's not surround sound.

I mean, surround sound.

It's like--

It's like you're there.

The success of the ads and the continued

popularity of Smallville suggested,,,

... that perhaps the time was right...

...for Superman to return

to movie screens as well.

Attempts to get a new film

off the ground...

...had brought new meaning

to the phrase, ""Never-ending battle. ""

Among those on the frontlines,

producer Jon peters...

...secured the rights to the property

in the early 1990s.

I knew that the character was hip.

Over 11 or 12 years, four

or five number-one records. . .

. . .all about Superman.

Superman. Superman.

Superman.

I kept going to the studio

and saying, ''They're dying for it.

They're writing songs about it. The kids

in the street have tattoos on them.

We've got to get it. ''

In trying to make Superman relevant

to a jaded new generation...

...producers tried to avoid

almost everything that had come before.

I always got the sense that some

of these other attempts didn't take off. . .

. . .because they weren't sticking true

to what Superman really was.

And no offense to the creators

who were involved in the stuff. . .

. . .but you don't give Superman

a back Latex suit with an ''S'' shied. . .

...that comes off and forms daggers

and things like that.

That's just not who Superman is.

The elements were, that I was

focusing on, were away from the heart.

It was more leaning

towards Star Wars in a sense, you know.

I didn't realize the human part of it.

I didn't have that.

But through the process,

Warner Bros. and DC executives...

... were encouraged by a string of

comic-book-inspired films...

... that were profitable

and critically acclaimed.

Many felt their success was due to one

simple rule:
Don't mess with the basics.

It was a philosophy shared by

the director who was finally signed...

... to bring Superman back to the screen,

Bryan Singer.

Singer had twice successfully brought

Marvel's X-Men to movie theaters.

And news of his involvement brought

a sigh of relief to Superman fans.

If you're in close-ups and then

you're seeing S's everywhere. . .

. . .I don't know if that's too much.

He can handle the smartest material and

help us connect with these characters. . .

. . .that have been, you know, beloved

for many, many years. . .

. . .by several different generations.

You're dealing

with a 70-year-old universe. . .

. . .with comic books and radio shows

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