Design a Superman TV show

[superduperman]

It can be live action or a cartoon but the only catch is it can't be connected to any current version on TV. So no Supergirl or Krypton spinoffs.

Mine would be a Daily Planet based show that has Clark and Lois exploring stories and adventures. Superman would be used sparingly. More down to Earth adventures than space battles. So more of a Golden Age feel to it. Superman would show up once an episode but it wouldn't be street encompassing fight scenes. More like a police procedural.

What would you do?

[Vakanai]

Honestly, after the Reign of the Superman DTV leaving a lot to be desired on time spent with the four different Supermen, I'd like to see a Reign of the Supermen TV show. Really focus more on Superboy and Steel, have Lois investigating, make Eradicator and Cyborg Superman these mysterious figures, you could easily stretch the premise out to a 10 or 12 episode season ending with the return of Clark from the grave. Just so long as you start the series after the DoS story, no need to see Supes die yet again.

On the flipside, a Superman and the Legion of Superheroes live action TV show would be great. New Star Trek stuff and the Orville show you can do space and aliens pretty great on a TV budget these days, add some superpowers to the mix and boom! No reason you can't get away with a proper LoSH show today.

[TaliaJoy]

Mine would be a Daily Planet based show that has Clark and Lois exploring stories and adventures. Superman would be used sparingly. More down to Earth adventures than space battles. So more of a Golden Age feel to it. Superman would show up once an episode but it wouldn't be street encompassing fight scenes. More like a police procedural.

That sounds pretty close to how the first 2 seasons of the Adventures of Superman often were. Considering that's my favorite show, I'd be pretty on-board with this.

I've had an idea for a long time for a animated Superman show with a bit of a Daily Planet oriented slant. Still would have a lot of outlandish and goofy Superman adventures alongside that, but it would also have a greater focus on Clark's personal life, psychology, and relationships. Thus, there would be a lot of time spent in his Clark Kent identity and characters such as Lois, Jimmy, Perry, and his adoptive parents would play a major role. It would also be pretty humorous, but have serious and intense moments too. Superman would be portrayed as a slightly more emotionally vulnerable character with some insecurities while still being distinctly Superman. Another characteristic of this show is that it would freely grab characters and ideas from different places in the history of Superman media - for example, I was thinking several characters from Lois & Clark might appear.

It would start out just being focused on Superman, but gradually a few other superheroes would become side characters. Rather than other trinity members or other extremely high-profile characters, I think this supporting cast would be more composed of "mid-profile" characters such as Plastic Man (especially good for added humor value), Green Lantern, and Aquaman. There might be a few special occasions when Batman and other especially high-profile characters appear, though. I would still want this to distinctly be a Superman show and not a Justice League or team-up show, but I think sometimes using other superheroes to bounce off Superman and explore that side of his personality would work well, contrasting his friendships and life as Clark with his friendships and life as Superman.

Overall, this show would be pretty goofy and humorous with a lot of strange plotlines that will appeal to kids and make them laugh, but also have a lot of heart and even some psychological depth, as well as intense situations.

More details on specific stuff:

Clark/Superman: Probably similar to a more modern version of his portrayal in the Adventures of Superman, but a bit more openly emotionally vulnerable and not quite as mentally or psychologically strong, with more insecurities about his life, and also a bit goofy at times. Similar to that show, there is not a great personality difference between Clark and Superman, though there would probably be a subtle one. However, I think it would be fun and add humor value if Clark acted like there was a greater difference than there was between the two - for example, saying "Oh, I could never do that, I'm so mild-mannered!" when asked to assert himself, even though he actually asserts himself on a regular basis. Despite how poorly concealed his secret identity would be, everyone is still so clueless they never even speculate it's the case, which I'd play up for humor value every now and again, as sort of an affectionate parody of Superman in general. However, I might make it so that buried deep in their subconscious, they have the notion it could be true - for example, an episode where Superman travels through his co-workers dreams and discovers to his shock that ALL of them have dreams that he's Superman.

Lois: Her negative qualities of being a nasty jerk sometimes would be very present and sometimes used for laughs, though she will still be likable and admirable for her journalistic skills, ambitious attitude, being dedicated to do the right thing, and ultimately actually being a caring and sensitive person. She's also a good friend to Clark and Jimmy, despite her apparent dislike for and rivalry with Clark. She also actually has a good amount of emotional vulnerability to her, similar to how she is in Lois & Clark though maybe not quite as far. She is also kind of obsessive about work, moreso than Clark and Jimmy, which will be played up for laughs on occasion, but actually to an extent is probably a function of her insecurities. In contrast to her relationship with Clark, her friendship with Jimmy is more straightforwardly positive.

Clark and Lois' relationship: He and Lois have a journalistic rivalry that is not unlike the romantic rivalry between Archie and Reggie in classic Archie Comics - it's a "fierce rivalry" and yet they still act like friends most of the time, even though they simultaneously act antagonistically toward each other. Actually it's a bit like the early Golden Age Superman, but with the caustic-ness majorly dialed down (in comparison to that era at least) and the fact that at the end of the day they're actually super good friends being more emphasized.

As for romance, I still need to think about it more, but that would definitely be a part of the equation too. Some might say it would be hard to get away with too much romance in a kids' show, but remember girls watch cartoons too :P I like the idea of Clark eventually dating Lois in both his identities (not simultaneously - rather, he first tries to earn her affection as Clark, gives up, starts dating her as Superman, realizes that's not such a good idea, and finally starts successfully dating her as Clark). But I'm not sure how far I'd go with that...I like them being married in general but I think marrying them in this show would be a bit weird. This is something I still have to think about some more.

Jimmy: In this show he would be more Clark's friend than Superman's friend, but still definitely Superman's friend too. He's smart and competent generally, but still a little goofy and can definitely be a bit incompetent or over-ambitious at times. Has a slightly bigger ego than he deserves, but only slightly and he "loses" it pretty often. Often too brave for his own good, but has moments of being slightly cowardly too. Definitely not a super-genius or super-hacker, but still a good guy to have on your side due to his commitment to doing whatever he sets his mind to and surprising amount of skills related to photojournalism and research, as well as being just plain clever at times and also ultimately committed to doing the right thing. At any rate, he's a good friend to Clark and Lois and looks up to both of them as quasi-parental figures in a weird way even though they're pretty close in age. Though he's friends with both of them, he's not above taking advantage of the rivalry between Lois and Clark to advance his own journalistic career.

Perry: He will be important and probably take a lot of inspiration from his AoS self. Still need to think about him more specifically though.

Lex Luthor: On the surface, it's the businessman version of Lex, but in practice, his evil plans are more off-the-wall and extreme like in his early days - at heart he's a mad scientist criminal more than a scheming businessman. As you might be able to guess from this show's general slant, this would be a pretty humorous take on Lex, though not in a way that's supposed to make him look like a joke or incompetent in any way (in fact, in some ways this version of Lex would be especially scary since his technological abilities would not pay attention to any limits of common sense and I would have him able to do pretty much whatever would make for an interesting story). Rather, the humor would more come from how over-the-top he is (overly arrogant, sometimes tries too hard with his wicked schemes to the point where he's not really being sensible, obsessed with everything always going his way, etc.) as well as his interactions with others. For example, I would have Mercy Graves be a major character with a similar role as she had in S:TAS, and she's (usually) the more sensible one who Lex bounces off of.

I may possibly post even more ideas for this show when I come up with them, because there's a lot more I could (theoretically) say about it. Also, my working title for this show is My Life as Superman.

~

I also had an idea for an adult Superman cartoon but haven't thought about it nearly as much. Maybe if I come up with more ideas I'll post about it later.

[Soubhagya]

Henry Cavill is doing Witcher. Why not just make a show continuing him as Superman? I don't think Amy Adams would join. Recasting can work. Action scenes won't be as spectacular as Man of Steel but one can manage something. His personal life with the proposal, marriage, birth of Jon, etc. will go on. Basically, continue the story of DCEU in the small screen. Romance has to play a bigger part here as Clark and Lois keep fighting the battles together. One can even get cameos of the likes of Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, etc. to boost the ratings.

Its a big stepdown from the silver screen. But its still worth it. With Superman as the main character there's hope. It will be his own show. There better be some Superman. All i am seeing is they want to use the Superman brand. But not Superman himself. How long can such a brand continue if the root of the brand is absolutely ignored? (Even if its for justifiable reasons).

[Sacred Knight]

Something A LOT like this:

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

A Supersons cartoon.

A Beware the Batman-esque cartoon focusing on Clark's early years. Its a mix of Grant Morrison/Greg Pak's runs on Action Comics mixed in with Max Landis's American Alien.

A Conner Kent show focusing on him being Agent KR of Cadmus. I liked Superlad's pitch and kept thinking about it.

Kenan Yang and the JLC deserves a second chance.

Steel could handle a street-level show set in Metropolis.

[Superlad93]

Okay I'm goin in.

* It's a cartoon: Not specifically targeted at kids, but we're not dumb--we know that'll be the life blood when push comes to shove, so nothing that keeps them from watching. My intention would be to make this like a happy medium between the shows I grew up with in the early 2000s and the shows now. It needs to be accessible and fun, but I won't stand for it talking down to its younger viewers. Lets show them some respect.

* Look & animation style: 2D animation. Primarily Tim Sale (specifically his art style from Superman Confidential) and Matt Wagner (specifically his style from Batman/Grendel) by way of Genndy Tartakovsky (he's the dude that made Samurai Jack and Sym-Bionic Titan). I'd like to use a lot of facial and physical acting for this show. Tell stories and play some gags using primarily classic animation principles rather than a reliance on verbal exposition or jokes. So that means squash & stretch animation and all that comes with it, but obviously within reason.

* Story premise & general mission statement: The show would be a genuine look at and progression through Superman's life from the moment he gets to Metropolis and beyond. We'll present and explore dynamics and relationships in their most basic and iconic forms then progress them. It's a show hell bent on building and exploring a whole Superman universe. There will be a mix of original story lines, ones lifted and pretty heavily tweaked from the comics and movies. You're gonna see some familiar characters and stories presented in new ways from time to time. But at its heart the show is a celebration of animation and Superman.

* Show structure: The run time is approximately 22 minutes as per the average cartoon, but that doesn't necessarily mean the main story inside will be 22 minutes long ever time. I'd like that 22 minutes to be a playground for some expression sometimes. I'm a big fan of cartoon shorts, and their adherence to clear and effective storytelling in such a short amount of time, so we'll be sometimes doing 5 minute, in universe, shorts at the start of the show, then 15 minute main feature. Again, this won't be an all the time thing, but expect to see them there to flesh out the world, characters, or even main stories in creative and slightly less conventional ways. I should also mention that while the show does in fact keep continuity between episodes, it's not slavish to it in a way that means a first time viewer will have too many questions when they check it out. The ability to pick the show up at roughly any time and feel satisfied is important to me. Each episode is fairly self contained, and when there are times when multi episodes are needed for one story I don't let get past 2 (3 on a very, very special occasion). Again, continuity will be there though--be it implied or directly shown.

* Season 1: 16 episodes not counting the 5 minute shorts. The focus is introducing Superman to the world and the viewer. We don't start the show with the origin or even the first days in Metropolis (that's actually saved for around the end of the season). We hit the ground running with a Superman who has been around a few months. We're either showing off or starting classic dynamics between Superman, Clark, Lois, Jimmy, Perry, The Daily Planet, and Metropolis. We're also planting a few seeds in the form of characters and concepts. But mostly the overarching story is a pretty soft focus on Clark finding out he's an alien and not just a really strong mutant dude that can fly. There's a detective to Clark getting to the bottom of this that we'll sprinkle in, but I want this season to more so be a handshake and hello to the viewer, so it's heavy on the self contained episode by episode feel.

* Season 1 Characters:

- Clark/Superman: Fairly young dude. He's idealistic, nice, and pretty quite. I'd want a lot of his early character to be communicated via his physical animation and facial acting. This sets the stage for a fair amount of physical gags and pantomiming to endear the viewer to the character. I wanna make it a point to illustrate that Clark/Superman aren't as ridged as people thing, and the main way to do that is through more pronounced physical acting. As per the most basic or origins, he moved to the city to put his great strengths to good use, and works at a great metropolitan new paper to be at the center of breaking news while making a buck. He lives in a small apartment. I wanna play up the idea that he doesn't fit in around the city by making some things physically smaller than him (sometimes unreasonably small for comedic effect). A comedic but hopefully heartwarming victory in the show towards the end of the first season is when Clark gets a new apartment and about half a foot more space and it feels like a palace to him. Throughout most of the first seasons there's an awkwardness, and sometimes frustration, about how Clark navigates the city. Somehow the city is too small and cramped for him while also being too big and lonely. Superman is Clark being able to stretch his legs in total comfort. We're going with the classic suit but with a shorter cape (around kneecap length), lace-up red boots, and the most recognized version of the S shield to denote that he's a Superman early in his career while staying on brand. Clark also has a penchant for literally rolling up his sleeves as Superman when the situation calls for it.

* Note: The rocket he came wasn't recovered from the crash site by Ma and Pa. All they got was the blanket with the S on it. Clark suspects he's an alien, but is too afraid to put the thought into words, and the occasional strange dreams don't help that. Ma and Pa are still alive, and basically inconsequential to the plot, but they do have screen time from time to time. However, as a running gag, they have no speaking lines, but rather everything is communicated in their actions. Even when Clark visits, the famous Kent wisdom is communicated via raised eyebrows, squinted eyes, hugs, long looks out into the sunset, and the serving of pie. And Clark will even say stuff like "you guys always know what to say" as a reinforcement of the gag.

- Lois Lane: A fairly straight forward take on the intrepid reporter. She's a little older than Clark, and has been a reporter longer. Quick witted and cool under pressure, but not immovable. Doing the early days can be a bit hard because you don't wanna get stuck with the obligatory trying to figure out if Clark is Superman plots too often, but you wanna keep some of that spy vs spy nature because it's engaging. So, we're gonna have Lois, working independent of Clark, get in on the investigation into this Superman persons's origin. So, it'll sometimes be him secretly following her because she knows something he doesn't, and other times her doing the same to him. Spy vs spy. There's flirtation between Lois and Superman, with the gag being that both are too guarded to put themselves out there and admit to anything real.

- Jimmy: Again, a fairly straight forward take to start with. Cub reporter and photojournalist. Younger than Clark, but not child. Clark and Lois' friend, and Superman's biggest fan. He has an almost supernatural talent for getting himself into trouble even under the most normal of conditions. In our show we'll call it the Olsen Family Luck (there's a story down the line in season 2 that deals directly with it).

- Perry: We play a bot of a running gag for just the first season where we're either just hearing his voice nearly rumble the whole office, or he's speaking to characters from behind a stack of papers. Then anytime he moves we have people and objects obscuring what he looks like. This pays off in season two (an episode focused partly on him) when we finally get a look at him and it terms out he's the spitting image of Jack "The King" Kirby. Till than though, not much to say but fairly straight forward to start with.

- Daily Planet Staff: They're all basically exaggerated caricatures of who you'd expect. You've got you're standard brains vs brawn Ron Troupe and Steve Lombard. But I'd also like to add in Trish Q as an exaggerated caricature of an intent blogger. They don't have speaking roles too often, but they are around for sure.

- Mr. X: It's Lex Luthor, yes, but we're not gonna reveal that just yet to start with. It'll be made clear he's been feeding Clark info on the mysterious crash from years ago (he noticed Clark looking into it back in Kansas). He's a sort of bogeyman to criminals because he's helped put so many of them behind bars via helping the cops anonymously as "Mr. X, the master planer." It's all sport to him though. Just something to his keen intellect busy for the rest of his day because all of the business meetings and corporate back and forth only takes a fraction of his attention. To the world at large he's "Lex Luthor, the guy you probably work for even if you don't know it." He's all smiles, but in reality he's bored, lonely (parallel to Clark especially since his home is gigantic but lonely), and growing ever scared that this is what the rest of his life will be like. Just doing parlor tricks for the drooling masses. For the majority of season 1 we won't be diving into into Lex as a character outside of two shorts near the back half of the season that communicate what I've said above. For the majority of the time he's either the enigmatic "Mr. X" feeding Clark info, or just posters and TV ads of Lex. The actual twist is that Lex has been on vacation (and media blackout) for basically the months that Superman has been a thing, and the Mr. X tips were all pre programmed in a computer (much to Clark's dismay given he thought he found a kindred spirit in his anonymous friend). The first short is a flashback from before before Superman, and the second is Lex when he gets back.

[Kuwagaton]

My hats off to any live action idea... I couldn't fathom that, it's too tough. Between budget, casting, and the need to aim for a remarkably wide audience. I'd go with a cartoon. In similar threads I really sold myself on combined adaptations, like blending Superman 2001 (#300) with Superman Rebirth, or mixing Year One into the New 52. My idea would work best as a 26 episode series, but for some reason it's common to have two 13 episode series, so either way.

Aesthetically I feel like most products fall short of appeal. Because my stories would largely lean toward it anyway I'd go with a 2002 ish blend resembling JP Leon, Kano, Manuel Garcia, and Pascal Ferry in sleek attractiveness, character design, and kinetic action. The idea of the show would play on Superman and friends, specifically team up pairs and the concept of a pair as best friends. Superman's best friend is Hamilton, Kal El's best friend is Kelex, and Clark's best friend is Lois.

Episodes 1 and 2, This is Your Life: Alexander Luthor, Howard Hughes by way of ancient Rome, is dead. Without his iron fist Metropolis has become a competitive boom between tech giants, and Hamilton has quietly become the man to beat. Just as Luthor's son is flying in, foreign correspondent Clark Kent is returning to take on ReAction with Cat Grant for WGBS, basically a 60 minutes type segment. After checking in with the DP staff he learns his first bit is an interview with the benevolent young Luthor, which gets interrupted by news of Superman fighting with dinosaurs downtown. As Clark dons his monkey suit and streaks through the sky, he collides with another red and blue figure and time ruptures. Episode 2 is a side by side origin of a blue alien landing in Kansas 30 years ago and Clark landing in a waterworld riff. The blue alien is taken captive from the Kents by the government. Clark is raised as an undersea avenger who fights the land faring horde commanded by King LX. Despite adversity, the blue Super-Man becomes a champion of justice and to the chagrin of her father, Lois becomes his great advocate. LX poisons the sea with krypronite and Clark brings himself near to death going under despite surrounding himself with air. When he comes up, it turns out the King LX's raid was his last ditch, and now he's expired. The blue Superman has disappeared, but Hamilton manages to pull Clark back. We see in a bunker that Lex Jr. has managed to kill the blue Superman with artificial radioactive material he calls kryptonite.

Episode 3: The Prankster stymies Superman with patent fraud until getting hit with a ruse in turn.

Episode 4: the Quintessence re enact Action Comics 794, only this time the vision they give him is essentially"Must There Be a Superman?"

Episode 5, World's Finest: Superman helps Batman crack a werewolf case in rural Missouri. Bruce promises to return the favor.

Episode 6: Conduit menaces Superman with krypronite coils. He's driven off but Superman is still sick. Conduit leaves a note indicating thay he's discovered the secret identity and will be back.

Episode 7: Superman is not quite as sick as he was, but his powers seem to be fading little by little. Hamilton pings a fabled tech operations center, and Superman suggests sending his friends, using the whiz wagon, to investigate. Jimmy and Bibbo's Wild Area adventure.

Episode 8: Hamilton discovers the sun is slowly being killed. Clark, sensing a very bad situation, employs Kara for extra help. She befriends a runaway teen in an iron mask, Andrew Ferro.

Episode 9: Clark persuades Lois to take his assignment with the king of Bhutran to get her out the fight coming to Metropolis. The Legion arrives to help repel the Sun Eater, along with Batman. Ferro and Kara join the Legion.

Episode 10: Conduit strikes, this time with Metallo, but Clark springs a trap with the last of his power. He can now let his guard down and go through solar therapy, but soon enough Lois' hotel in Bhutran is blown up.

Episode 11: a flashback to Smallville. 15 year old Clark is at a party with Kenny, Lana, and Scott Brubaker. Scott wrecks his car, injuring Kenny while killing himself and Lana. But Clark is unharmed. Pa finally tells him the truth and shows him the ship. Kelex is activated and Krypro awakens, and Clark takes consolation with them.

Episode 12: it turns out Lois' death was faked. She's captured by the Master Jailer. With the help of the king of Bhutran, Shadowdragon, she breaks free and gets back to Metropolis. Master Jailer faked her death so that the Monarch wouldn't get her. He turns out to be a Robocop styled cyborg who goes dead when they try to remove his mask.

Episode 13: Clark spends the holliday going through the Metropolis mailbag with Lois. Vignettes for Perry and Keith, Allie in the mailroom, Bibbo as a drunk Santa, SCU bagging Cerberus, and Jimmy hanging out with Babe in the soup kitchen. Conduit's also a faceless cyborg.

Episode 14 and 15, This is Your Life II: that rift between worlds drew attention across the multiverse. A good guy Luthor from a dead world with Matrix in tow, and Earth Two Superman land in Metropolis. They warn Superman about the Monarch, Superboy Prime. Prime shows up and kills good Luthor. Earth Two reveals that after Prime Lana died, Superboy cut a path through the multiverse getting even for all the realities where she was mistreated. The League pitches in to stop him and Earth Two vows to become his jailer.

Episode 16: Clark reminisces on Earth Two Superman telling him to stop taking Lois for granted. He also starts wondering about his own Luthor, who takes Matrix under his wing. Lois and Clark begin dating.

Episode 17: an adaptation of Superman vol 2 #121

Episode 18: an adaptation of Adventures #426 and Action #591

Episode 19: an underachieving STAR employee becomes the Parasite, leeching everything he needs to seize the reins. With Ham's forcefield Superman beats him.

Episode 20: the Half Life of Joe Angstrom

Episode 21 and 22: adaptation of Superman 146/148/150. Brainiac coerces Vartox and his crew into helping him take Metropolis.

Episode 23: adaptation of Superman: Man of Steel #5, featuring the atomic skull. Lexcorp building vanishes.

Episode 24-26: Superman meets John Henry, a man he inspired to become his own hero. Lexcorp comes down on the fortress with explosives and kryptonite, completely destroying it and putting Superman seemingly to death. Robots and a brainwashed Matrix tear Metropolis up by the roots to become the new capital of the world, Lexor. The League is systematically taken down and captured beneath the new Lexcorp. Superman wakes up in Apokolips, again, but this time the New Gods revive him. They storm Lexor and find out that Lex II is really his "father" in a dying clone body. Superman in incapacitated by a synthetic kryptonite cloud that he barely survives by oxygen suit, Lex held off for too long before recloning and dies. Metropolis is rebuilt. Matrix resides on the Kent farm. John Henry, Kelex, and Ham build the tesseract fortress, while Clark tucks away an engagement ring.

[TaliaJoy]

However, as a running gag, they have no speaking lines, but rather everything is communicated in their actions. Even when Clark visits, the famous Kent wisdom is communicated via raised eyebrows, squinted eyes, hugs, long looks out into the sunset, and the serving of pie. And Clark will even say stuff like "you guys always know what to say" as a reinforcement of the gag.

As much as I prefer for his parents to be fully fleshed out characters, that sounds hilarious.

[Jon Clark]

I've had an idea in the back of my head for years for an anti-Smallville show dealing with Clark as Superboy. The plan would be to run the show for 4-5 years before advancing to a Superman series set during Superman's college days. The hope would be to get actors to stay with the show as it evolved (provided it got renewed) but the contracts would be designed so that with Clark's final summer before college and the rebranding we could recast the main roles but keep the same continuity.

Cast:

Clark Kent: Clark is an introverted thirteen year old kid who has a few close friends. Those friends would describe Clark as physically hopeless. Since kindergarten he has a running list of accidents and last place finishes. Somehow though Clark never seemed to resent these loses. What they don't know is that Clark has spent his life being told to hide what he can do. That he actually finds most physical games boring because with minimal effort he could easily outrun high-school track stars when he was in kindergarten or count the individual threads on a major league fastball before it was halfway to the plate. Or that as much as he enjoys discussing last night's Meteors' game with Pete Ross or dissecting classmates' fashion sense with Lana Lang, he'd be just at home talking with grad students in Midvale College where Lana's Dad teaches.

Jonathan Kent: Jonathan is Clark's father. He'd been a promising biology student until his father took ill and Jonathan had to come home to run the family farm. He's let most of his neighbors believe that he had been unable to handle college. And he found that a lot of his old classmates took a certain comfort in that fact. Jonathan instilled that lesson in his son- "No one will be comfortable around you if they think you believe you are better than them- even if you are, Clark, especially if you are". Jonathan only lets the level of his education show around Professor Lang and his own family. While he shares his wife's fears about what would happen if the nature of Clark's abilities went public, he is more worried about Clark being able to fit in with his peers. His focus in life is family, friends, farm.

Dr. Martha Clark KentL Clark's mother and town physician. Martha moved to Smallville when her husband (then boyfriend) came back with his father's illness. She had planned prior to that to either become a medical researcher or to join her family practice back in Metropolis. But she has come to love her life in a small town, even if her father and sister can't understand how. That didn't stop them from sending Martha's niece to the farm over a decade ago. The pregnant teen had been recovering from an abusive relationship and drug addiction. As far as anyone knows Clark is the child of Martha's late niece whom the Kents adopted. Martha is very protective of her son, both as a physician and a mother. Her biggest fear is that his alien nature will be revealed.

Lex Luthor: Alexander Luthor simply can't see the world the way most people do. He's tried. But when he marvels at the arc of a baseball instead of which player hit it or spots all the literary allusins in that new pop song, peoples' eyes glaze over. None more than his own father's. It was the elder Luthor who refused to allow his son to attend some "expensive snob school" when Lex's teachers suggested he'd do better in advanced placement courses. So instead Lex is stuck in freshman year learning things he knew in sixth grade from people whose main talent is taking attendance. Lex's social status drops lower after he claims to have met Superboy.

Pete Ross: Clark's best friend. Pete and Clark met in kindergarten. Despite being the braver of the two, Pete is always encouraging Clark to take the lead. When they were younger Pete tended to follow Clark's plans and Clark tended to be less inhibited physically when it was just the two of them. The two have a running bet on sporting events.

Lana Lang: Clark's neighbor and oldest friend. Lana is a bit self-centered but without any malice. A running gag would be Lana coming into a room and adjust something for her own comfort and not realizing that she is inconveniencing whoever was in the room first. Lana also prides herself on being up to date on pop culture and celebrities. She often daydreams of a relationship with Superboy who as far as she knows she has never met in person.

Kenny Braverman: Another classmate of Clark's. He has a bit of an academic rivalry with Clark although he takes it more seriously than Clark. Kenny tend to be a leap-before-you-look type with his mouth and his fists. He isn't a bully and tends to let things roll off his own back, but when someone else is being bullied Kenny tends to go for a physical response. And he is the master of the putdown- often coming out with a humorous insult before considering who he is talking to. Clark and Pete take his "insults" in stride as do most people who know him. Lana tends to miss ones directed at her and is upset if she catches on. Kenny tends to be critical of Superboy and a bit suspicious of his motives.

Laurel Thorul: A transfer student new to Small County, Laurel is a top level academic student. Despite showing little interest in dating, Laurel is a rival of Lana's for most guys' attention. It's hard to tell if Laurel is more bothered by said attention or by Lana's jealous reactions. Laurel tends to come off as Lex but with better interpersonal skills and tact. Next to Lana she is the biggest supporter of Superboy. She also is one of the few people who can hold a discussion with Lex

Irma Arden:: Ward of businessman, Merle Latham, who has come to Boring looking to revitalize the area. Irma is one of the more popular kids in school. She can hang with the cool kids, the brains, and the jocks easily. Despite being highly attractive girls tend not to resent her or her handing with their boy friends. And equally surprising none of the guys seem to show-off around her. Even Lex tends to treat her politely.

Brian "Bash" Bishop: Sophmore and junior varsity quarterback who tend to be a target for both Lex and Kenny. Bash has a love-hate rivalry with Pete where sports are concerned with Pete seeing Bash as the guy to both emulate and surpass while bash sees Pete as someone who might take his spot the next year but also as someone else who can do the school proud on the field. Bash also is interested in both Lana and Laurel romantically.

[Jon Clark]

Season One

Clark is entering his first year at Small County High, which serves the farming community of Smallville, nearby college town of Midvale and former industrial town of Boring. He has been secretly going out at night while his parents and neighbors are asleep and training with his powers (strength and speed). He even recently discovered that when he runs fast enough he actually can defy gravity. One night he manages to prevent a dozing driver from a crashed vehicle on the main highway. This rescue prompts Clark to intervene that weekend when a major fire breaks out at a chemical plant several counties over. Although he is caught on camera by several people the soot and smoke along with his continuing movement keep him from being identified. His damaged jacket is taken for a cape and the "5" on his sport's shirt is thought to be an "S" leading the press to dub the mysterious hero "Superboy"

The Kents have a family discussion about "Superboy" with Clark pointing out the lives saved, the fact no one is looking in Smallville for the hero, and the fact he will go crazy if he has to spend every moment pretending to be normal. Jonathan and martha attempt to forbid Clark from any more adventures citing the risk they are all under if someone manages to recognize him. Clark storms off and inadvertently locates the spot where his rocket arrived … along with its kryptonite fuel core. Clark is found by Lex Luthor who was using a cobbled together device to trace the energy signal from Clark's rocket. Lex uses a lead case he is carrying to shield the kryptonite and the recovering Clark floats briefly causing Lex to recognize him as Superboy (but not as Clark who Lex hasn't paid attention to at school). Superboy thanks Lex for saving his life. Lex wants to know how Superboy can do what he does, A friendship begins.

Clark returns home but decides to keep quiet about the kryptonite since it would undermine his arguments that he isn't in danger as Superboy. Clark apologizes for storming off but points out to his parents that he really isn't someone they can simply lock in his room either. He agrees stop heroics for the moment though. He carefully words his promise so that they don't realize he never agreed to stop using his powers, just not to act as Superboy. Clark goes back to school the following day only to overhear Lex being mocked for his claim to have not only met Superboy but to have saved Superboy's life. Clark is about to come to Lex's defense when the boy storms off shoving past a group of students including Clark. Afterschool Clark bails on Pete, Lana and Kenny to meet Lex. Clark has worked up a rough costume based on what the TV reports thought he had worn. He reasons that while it technically is acting as Superboy, as long as he only talks to Lex it isn't really breaking his promise. Lex unloads on Superboy about what happened at school, while Superboy decides that it is nice having a friend who has no Clark based ideas about him. The two boys work out a few plans including setting up an area where Lex can do better testing on the kryptonite and the rocket.

That weekend a neighboring town is threatened with flooding. Clark begs to be allowed to assist. The Kents are hesitant. Superboy explains that now that he knows he can help he is going to personally feel the responsibility for every death if he doesn't. The Kents relent. Superboy goes public. Kenny and Lex take opposite sides in a debate on Superboy in civics class.

Superboy is contacted by a government operative and recruited to carry out a rescue mission in a hostile nation. Superboy tests out a new costume design that is made partly of metal and metal mesh. Things take a horrible turn as Clark discovers that his invulnerability isn't enough against heavy artillery. A wounded Superboy is captured. Jonathan and Martha try to cover for the missing Clark. While in custody Superboy realizes that he was simply a distraction as the agents he was supposed to rescue have already escaped. Lex begins adapting various discarded equipment he and Superboy have collected in an abandoned industrial building.

Superboy manages to escape his imprisonment but must stay hidden until he recovers enough to attempt flight. Luthor makes some interesting discoveries about Kryptonite. Jonathan and Martha are worried when Clark has not returned by the next morning. A still weakened Superboy is spotted by Pete Ross entering the Kent home.

Clark and his parents have another long discussion about his career as Superboy. Irma Ardeen stops by to deliver Clark an assignment from school. Pete and Lana also stop by to check on Clark with Pete probing Clark about their friendship. After they leave, the Kents and Clark set up ground rules about his continuing as Superboy. Clark later visits Lex's new SuperCenter (and begs Lex to come up with a better name). Superboy and Lex workout the design for a communication system that Clark can use to contact his parents, though Superboy leads Lex to believe the device is for Lex's use.

Superboy goes on a scavenger hunt for Lex to round up various chemical compounds and equipment. Bash wears a knock-off Superboy costume to a Halloween party where Kenny sets up some props to convince people Bash has actual super strength. Pete researches Superboy sightings and compares them with times he couldn't get in touch with Clark. Lana dares Laurel to ask Lex to the Halloween party. Lex overhears Laurel's negative reaction to the suggestion of dating Lex. After assembling the equipment Lex requested, Superboy is presented with a new more durable costume.

Lex begins tallying Superboy's powers as Clark has a busy week. Clark decides on firsthand research for a term paper on underwater species as Lex measures Superboy's abilites undewater. A test of speed is done when Superboy volunteers to bring needed medication to a remote arctic base where a life hangs in the balance if the drug is not given within a number of hours. Clark's own creativity is tested when an emergency requiring Superboy conflicts with a study session Clark promised to attend. And both Lex and Superboy are pushed to the limit trying to figure out how to deal with a plummeting jet liner. This episode lists Superboy's powers as Durability, Fast Healing, Strength, Speed (including flight) and Heightened Visual and Hearing Ability

Lex takes a tissue and blood sample from Superboy using kryptonite hoping to study the effect of kryptonite on the cells. Pete confronts Clark about his Superboy identity. Laurel's attempt to make amends with Lex backfires after she inadvertently reveals she knows that he is working with Superboy. Irma and Laurel argue about Laurel's slip of the tongue. Superboy saves trapped miners after a coal mine collapse. Clark is surprised to find later that Pete has no memory of confronting him about being Superboy.

{CONT)

[Jon Clark]

[CONT]

Martha's relatives come for Christmas which hamper Clark's ability to slip away as Superboy. Lex's father announces he has a job offer in Gotham. Clark looks into Pete's sudden memory loss and finds that it is oddly specific. Clark's Aunt Mary asks Clark what he knows about his real mother, which upsets Clark (but not for the reasons Mary assumes). In the deserted lab Clark's rocket begins to glow and hum.

Valentine's Day finds Clark alone as Lana, Pete, and Kenny are going to the school dance. Lex is in Gotham with his father who is looking for a house and having his final interview with Wayne Industries. Clark's parents are even on a date in town. There isn't even so much as a ship at sea calling for help. Deciding to check up on their secret headquarters Clark heads for the secret lab. As he lands the rocket sends out a beam which renders him unconscious. Clark awakes in a futuristic land feeling sore and worn out. The sky above is red as is the even larger and brighter sun in the center of it. He somehow knows the sun is called Rao and that he is no longer on Earth but on a planet called Krypton. He looks around recognizing his surroundings as familiar but still unable to place just where he is. he feels a tap upon his shoulder and turns to see a beautiful girl. She calls him Cal (no, Kal) and asks him if he is ok after the groundquake. She reminds him her name is Lyra and assures him that as soon as the effects of the quake have passed he'll get his senses back. She leads him to a house that he recognizes as home (though he can't see the barn(. Shee tells him she'll stay until his parents return. They talk and Kal-ark remembers things that make no sense like flying under his own power and a red headed girl who looks nothing like Lyla and yet they seem interchangible in his memory. He leans over to kiss Lyla and his parents come in, Jor-El and Lara. And Clark wakes up in the lab back on Earth.

Lex returns and lets Superboy know that they will have to find someplace nearer to Gotham to relocate their base as Lex's family will be moving by September. Lex tells Superboy he wants to speed up the research on the green radioactive material to avoid any problems with moving it or the tissue samples when they relocate. Clark decides to keep the new information about Krypton to himself for now so as not to distract Lex. Instead the two begin to work on further upgrading the equipment. Over the next week Clark scours various refuse centers for discarded circuitry. At superspeed he coverts sand into glass and that glass into lenses. He also uses his expanding senses to describe various things he observes about their experiments to Lex. Neither of the two sleeps more than an hour a night or lets their parents know that they are slipping out to do this work. In between both Lex and Clark are attending school as normal and Superboy is engaging in various rescues. By the end of the week Lex is sure he has the start of a cure for kryptonite. Irma reminds Laurel that she cannot interfere.

Superboy is wearing a n airtight suit that Lex has designed. He is going to retrieve certain chemical compounds that are found in the asteroid belt but either are nonexistent or extremely rare on Earth. Superboy tells himself again that since this isn't a rescue that he is not really supposed to clear it with his parents. And both he and Lex have checked the suit and calculations over. At worst Clark won't be able to achieve escape velocity or will realize his speed in space is not increasing enough to make the trip in enough time. Superboy breaks into a run and then accelerates upward as he feels him self falling he calculates the proper angle and switches into a dive trying to combine his top flight speed and his downward acceleration and slingshot himself through the air. For a brief second he feels as if his head will explode and then he finds himself passing out as he passes over Europe in an upward fall. He is shocked to feel the air exiting the suit as he snaps awake. And more startled by the sudden surge of energy he feels as he continues to accelerate. He fights the urge to continue as his mind reels off calculations that tell him he will not reach sufficient speed and that he needs to return to Earth. He briefly considers that without his suit he might not survive re-entry, but then realizes he has no choice but to try. After all it's not like he could survive is space much longer. Back on Erath Lex is frantic as he has lost tracking and communication. [I]Space Oddity /I] plays in the background as Superboy hits the atmosphere. Jonathan and Martha Kent look out their window to see a shooting star.

FADE TO BLACK
[End Season One]

[cookies]

not a CW show! need a perfect casting for Lois and Clark, their chemistry need to be on fire! i dont want overly geeky Clark or Lois cant spell trope. Lex and Intergang are perfect villants for tv series. make Lois and Clark doing their job investigate their cases. no need supervillains because that's what movie is for. all those people working at Daily Planet, alive and healthy Pa and Ma Kent and don't drang triangle for two for too long.
ok, basically i want a new version of Lois and Clark New Adventure of Superman T^T

[stargazer01]

Clark Kent/Superman, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor as the 3 main characters. I want a typical Superman show in Metropolis but more focused on Clark and Lois and their personal AND professional lives. Super powers are very important but Not the whole focus.

We need a great cast that can act and look the part of course, and a good budget for decent VFX and action. A show for teens and adults, but friendly enough for younger kids. Make an action-drama with some lighthearted elements, because that's who Superman is, he's an optimistic character. Also, maybe have a 13 episode season for less filler and a more focused story.

Also, only show the origins in Smallville in half the season or so, and then have Clark traveling the world like in Man of Steel but Lois doesn't learn who he is yet until later, maybe when he moves to Metropolis to work as a reporter. She finds out who he is in the final episodes of the first season. Just make sure Lois doesn't come off as too stupid for not recognizing Clark is Superman.

I want Clark and Lois to date and get married eventually and in the final seasons get pregnant and have Jon, and a whole new adventure continues. It could go many ways.

I also want an ambitious story that uses Superman's whole mythos not just Donner.. I like what Syfy's Krypton is doing by using the whole Superman 80 year old lore. It please more people. Just use it well if it makes sense for the story. There is so much great stuff and stories in the comics, animation, live action, etc)

[Adekis]

Something based on Grant Morrison's idea of a grounded, topical, Golden Age based Superman who slowly evolves into a great cosmic hero reminiscent of the Bronze Age, while never losing his street level view on the world. Er, but instead of doing what Morrison did and rushing through the transition, I'd want my show to really take its time. Emphasize the cast's growth slowly over the course of several seasons, but make each season stand enough on its own that you never hear people say "this show starts getting really good in season 3" or whatever, which is of course very silly. Certain characters with multiple, glaringly different iterations might well be split up into multiple characters. Start with Superman in the t-shirt and cape, Clark working at the Daily Star instead of the Planet, doing stories mostly based on the Golden Age, that sort of thing.