[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3000x3000sr.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYdCzs5uPrI Somebody save me…]]'']]
->''"I stand for truth, justice, and... other stuff."''
-->-- '''Clark Kent'''

By 2001, the Creator/DCComics Franchise/{{Superman}} franchise was moving along steadily with the animated exploits of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. However, the TV side had remained in limbo since ''Series/LoisAndClark'' ended four years prior, and it would be another five years before Supes [[Film/SupermanReturns returned to the big screen]]. Thusly, and perhaps not so coincidentally, when the [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer flagship show]] of Creator/TheWB left for its [[Creator/{{UPN}} competitor]] (and future partner in Creator/TheCW), it was decided to offer ''Smallville'' as a new[[Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperboy ish]] take on the Man of Steel, specifically chronicling Clark Kent's adolescence as he comes into his powers and eventually his taking on TheCape. Created by Creator/AlfredGough and Creator/MilesMillar alongside Tollin/Robbins Productions (best known for shows such as ''Series/AllThat'' and ''Series/OneTreeHill''), the series premiered on October 16, 2001.

The first four seasons are a SuperheroOrigin of sorts, being a TeenDrama that focuses largely on Clark Kent (Creator/TomWelling)'s life in the titular Smallville, the town where he grew up after crash landing on Earth. Growing up under his MuggleFosterParents, Jonathan (Creator/JohnSchneider) and Martha Kent (Creator/AnnetteOToole), Clark is friends with [[Characters/SupermanSupportingCast Lana Lang]] (Creator/KristinKreuk), his next-door neighbor, Pete Ross (Creator/SamJonesIII), the first person to know his secret outside his parents, and Chloe Sullivan (Creator/AllisonMack), an aspiring journalist involved in a LoveTriangle between herself, Clark, and Lana. Clark also befriends [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] (Creator/MichaelRosenbaum), the son of billionaire Lionel Luthor (Creator/JohnGlover), while his love for Lana is complicated by her boyfriend and high school jock Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson). The fourth season introduces Jason Teague (Creator/JensenAckles), who meets Lana while she is in Paris and follows her home, and [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]] (Creator/EricaDurance), Chloe's cousin who takes her cue to join the Daily Planet and, in an obvious ForegoneConclusion, becomes Clark's SecondLove after Lana chooses to leave him.

Once the main characters graduate from high school, the series focuses less and less on Smallville and more on Metropolis, where Clark eventually moves to. The sixth season sees the debut of [[Characters/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]] (Creator/AaronAshmore), a photographer for the Daily Planet who rekindles his relationship with Chloe, his ex-girlfriend, and competes for her attention with Davis Bloome (Creator/SamWitwer), a paramedic from Metropolis General Hospital. It also properly introduces the [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]], led by [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]] (Creator/JustinHartley), a billionaire from Star City intending to bring justice to people who are outside the law. Clark's long-lost cousin, [[Characters/SupergirlTheCharacter Kara]] (Creator/LauraVandervoort), appears in the seventh season, being used by Lex to find out about Clark's secret. Clark joins the Daily Planet in the eighth season, which also introduces Tess Mercer (Creator/CassidyFreeman), Lex's successor as CEO of [=LuthorCorp=] following his disappearance. The penultimate season has Clark facing an army of cloned Kryptonians led by Major Zod (Creator/CallumBlue), who wants to turn Earth into a new Krypton.

The series initially took a MonsterOfTheWeek approach to most episodes, introducing "meteor freaks" who gain various [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity powers]] thanks to exposure to [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]] deposited in Smallville during the meteor shower which heralded Clark's arrival. As the years went by, a more diverse array of adversaries were gradually introduced (including many of Superman's RoguesGallery), and the TeenDrama elements fell away in favor of a somewhat darker tone, and a much deeper connection to Creator/DCComics lore. In a nutshell, the first half of the series dealt strictly with Clark figuring out who he was, while the second half was more about Clark finding his place in the larger [[Franchise/TheDCU DC Universe]], frequently butting heads with figures such as Green Arrow, the Justice League, the Comicbook/{{Justice Society|OfAmerica}}, the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, and even the Comicbook/NewGods. By the eighth season, Smallville (the town) [[ArtifactTitle barely appears]], so the series could have been renamed ''Metropolis'' for its final stretch.

Whereas ''Series/LoisAndClark'' shifted gears toward a Comicbook/PostCrisis vision of Superman, Creator/JephLoeb led the way in bringing many [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ideas back into prominence on ''Smallville''. Most notable among these is the origin tale of Clark and Lex knowing each other in high school, and Lois being introduced to Clark long before their partnership at the Daily Planet.[[note]]Interestingly enough, one 1940's comic featured a young Clark/Superboy winning a high school journalism contest, with the prize being a day as a cub reporter on the Daily Planet. Guess who the other winner was?[[/note]]

The series is notable for its extreme adherence to ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames when it comes to Clark; the name "Superman" was only said once, in the pilot episode. Showrunners Gough and Millar consciously developed the series to include a "no tights, no flights" rule, preferring a down-to-earth depiction of Clark Kent instead of his Superman identity. This results in Clark not adopting his superhero persona until the GrandFinale, including the suit that comes along with it, and the absence of Clark's traditional flight ability. It also liberally uses LongRunnerCastTurnover; by the final season, Clark and Chloe are the only cast members from the first season remaining.

''Smallville'' managed to survive for a decade, arguably [[note]]''Series/StargateSG1'', while three episodes shorter, has two additional [[MadeForTVMovie Made-for-TV Movies]] and is undeniably straight sci-fi, while ''Smallville'' has explicit magic in the form of Zatanna[[/note]] beating ''Series/StargateSG1'''s record as the longest running American [[ScienceFiction Sci-Fi]] show (''Franchise/PowerRangers'' doesn't count, because it uses Japanese-made footage. Technically, ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' is the longest running American sci-fi show, from 2003-2019, though episode length is only 3-15 minutes). The show concluded on May 13, 2011 after ten years and 217 episodes, becoming DC's longest-running live-action series. It was also the longest-running WB/CW series until ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' beat its record on May 20, 2015.

Tie-ins include:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* ''Smallville: The Comic'' (2002)
* ''Smallville'' (2003-2005)
* ''Smallville: Season 11'' (2012-2013) - Initially set six months after the GrandFinale, the comic depicts the adventures of Clark in the ''Smallville'' universe, in his early days as Superman. Without limitations of budget and rights issues, other familiar elements of DC lore were introduced, such as {{Franchise/Batman}} and some of his RoguesGallery, [[{{Franchise/WonderWoman}} Diana of Themyscira & Steve Trevor]], and the Teen Titans as led by [[Franchise/TheFlash Jay Garrick]].
* ''Smallville: Titans'' (2013)
* ''Smallville: Alien'' (2013-2014)
* ''Smallville: Harbinger'' (2014)
* ''Smallville: Lantern'' (2014)
* ''Smallville: Chaos'' (2014)
* ''Smallville: Continuity'' (2014)

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* ''Smallville'' Novels
** ''Strange Visitors'' (2002)
** ''Dragon'' (2002)
** ''Hauntings'' (2003)
** ''Whodunnit'' (2003)
** ''Shadows'' (2003)
** ''Silence'' (2003)
** ''Curse'' (2004)
** ''City'' (2004)
* Young Adult Novels
** ''Arrival'' (2002)
** ''See No Evil'' (2002)
** ''Flight'' (2002)
** ''Animal Rage'' (2003)
** ''Speed'' (2003)
** ''Buried Secrets'' (2003)
** ''Runaway'' (2003)
** ''Greed'' (2003)
** ''Temptation'' (2004)
** ''Sparks'' (2004)

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* ''Smallville Roleplaying Game'' (2010) - TheRolePlayingGame from Margaret Weis Productions using their ''TabletopGame/{{Cortex}}'' UniversalSystem.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* ''Smallville: Chloe Chronicles'' (2003)
* ''Chloe Chronicles, Volume II'' (2004)
* ''Vengeance Chronicles'' (2006)
* ''Smallville Legends: The Oliver Queen Chronicles'' (2007)
* ''Smallville Legends: Justice & Doom'' (2007)
* ''Smallville: Visions'' (2008)
* ''Smallville Legends: Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton'' (2008)

In 2005, Gough and Millar developed a potential pilot for a series based on ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}. It was not considered a spin-off to ''Smallville'' and, instead of Creator/AlanRitchson, who portrayed the character on the show, Justin Hartley was chosen. Nevertheless, it was planned to air on The WB, with crossovers with ''Smallville'' being considered. Because of the executive hurdles surrounding the merger of The WB and Creator/{{UPN}}, the pilot was not picked to series. Hartley would instead star as the Green Arrow, who debuted on ''Smallville'' the same year ''Aquaman'' was supposed to premiere.

In October 2012, Creator/GregBerlanti brought DC back to The CW with a new take on the Green Arrow, with the series ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. The show would become the foundation for what would become known as the Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}, which eventually featured its own Superman played by Creator/TylerHoechlin. In 2019, as a way to acknowledge its role as the Arrowverse's predecessor, Tom Welling and Erica Durance [[RoleReprise reprised]] their roles for the epic adaptation of the ''[[TropeMakers original]]'' CrisisCrossover, ''Series/{{Crisis on Infinite Earths|2019}}''; during which it was revealed that, per the Arrowverse's in-show [[TheMultiverse Multiverse]], the Smallville Earth is designated Earth-167, a reference to Alfred Gough and Miles Millar's birth year of 1967.[[note]]Coincidentally, Earth-167 in the comics was a universe where Clark and Lex were best friends and became Batman and Superman respectively[[/note]]

Compare with ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', a show which features Bruce Wayne's journey prior to becoming The Dark Knight.
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!!This series provides examples Of:
[[index]]
* Smallville/TropesAToC
* Smallville/TropesDToG
* Smallville/TropesHToM
* Smallville/TropesNToS
* Smallville/TropesTToZ
[[/index]]
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->''"Always hold on to Smallville."''