Man or Superman?

I know, Rodger: 218 episodes of Smallville and there were – and this is being generous – only fifteen or so episodes really worth watching. Smallville mostly retread the usual teenage drama found on hour-long shows that have actors in their twenties portray teens in high school. Occasionally (and not often enough), things went boom. Usually (and way too often), Lana, Chloe, and Lois conveniently blacked out (I think there is something severely wrong with them – you cannot spend that much time unconscious and also have a clean bill of health. There are gaps in your memory, Lana? Then you are not well). In the end, you don’t even really get to see Tom Welling don the Superman suit. I waited ten years for that.

Did we really need to see Clark Kent become Superman? If so, did the story really need to be drawn out across ten years? The show was inspired by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Superman For All Seasons, which was, I believe, a miniseries composed of four comic books. That felt like the right length to me.

But you know my fondness for Superman. I think his stories are the most challenging to write: each plot is, essentially, an attempt at making an invulnerable man vulnerable. There is nothing interesting or sustainable in a story about a powerful man imposing his power unimpeded.  If a writer can make you believe that Superman is in trouble then he has done his job.

For a character so incredibly powerful, his teen, formative years were perhaps his most vulnerable, and thus, the most naturally interesting. The whole “who am I?” and “where do I fit in?” questions have been probed enough in entertainment venues to the point that they are banal issues for TV teens to tackle. But they are still very real issues for teens in the real world.

Lana asks Clark if he’s man or superman in the first episode and it’s a relevant question at that point because he doesn’t know. Of course, we know, and that’s part of the fun (e.g., season 4: that’s Lois Lane, Clark. You’ll marry her some day. Now please, put some pants on). But Clark, he’s standing there (actually, I think he’s on his hands and knees during this scene) brimming with talents and powers unbelievable…and he has no idea what any of it means.

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Clark doesn’t become Superman by virtue of having super powers. He could have been anyone. Smallville suggests that the biggest threat to Superman wasn’t kryptonite, Lex Luthor, or Doomsday – it’s the very real possibility that Clark Kent could have easily not been Superman at all. Clark, as incredibly powerful as he is, is also incredibly insecure. He doubts himself – constantly. He falters and fails. He loses hope and faith. He loses his way. But he recovers from all this and in the process, Superman is born.

So what about you, Rodger? Are you man or superman? Who are you? Where do you fit in? It’s okay if you don’t know the answers yet. It’s okay if you falter and fail. It’s okay if you lose hope and faith from time to time. 

Your mother and I will continue to love you and believe in you. Our hope and faith will not waver. We will do our best to encourage and guide you. We’ll try to let you make mistakes and learn from them, but we will also do our best to keep you from harm (we just ask two things: that you extend the same courtesy and accept that we will make mistakes as parents, and also, as much as possible, please do not go flinging yourself into harm’s way all willy nilly).

You are God’s son and as such are destined for great things. You will find your identity in Him. But it will be a process. Trials. Failures. But also joys and successes. So be patient, and keep at it – Rome wasn’t built in a day, as they say. Clark didn’t become Superman overnight. So take your time – it might take ten years. Maybe more, maybe less. But no matter how long it takes, your mom and I will be right here when you need us.