Smallville - allusions to Superman comic books and films

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trocoloor This article describes the allusions to the various Superman-related comic books and films and other media in the American television series Smallville. The list is only a small sampling of these allusions.


Constant

  • Clark is almost always seen wearing combinations of red, yellow and blue, an allusion of his costume to come, or combinations of red, white and blue, an allusion to his patriotism and his future superhero slogan, "Truth, Justice and the American Way." The most blatant exceptions of this are when he is under the influence of Red Kryptonite. Whenever that happens, he prefers to wear black, green, and other colors.
  • The many colors of kryptonite that appear in Smallville are very much like the varieties of the xenomineral that existed before the 1986 retcon Crisis on Infinite Earths. Like the comic, each color of kryptonite has its own unique effects. Green kryptonite remains unchanged.
  • The Kent farm has objects whose colors are either red, yellow or blue, e.g. their house is yellow, the barn is red, the truck is blue. The tractor was red at one point but was smashed in the episode Perry. In the episode Transference there was a blue tractor that Lionel (in Clark's body) lifts.
  • Lex is often seen wearing purple and black, the colors associated with his character from the various comic and TV sources.
  • Several times when Clark wears a different outfit or different clothing he is frequently told by everyone that those colors don't suit him, or that blue suits him.
  • In Seasons 1-4 Smallville High School's mascot the crow wears a red cape, with a crest on its chest that has the letter S. The crow itself also represents flying. Two of Superman's colors - red and yellow - are abundant in the school.
  • Annette O'Toole, who plays Clark's mother, played the role of Lana Lang in the movie Superman III in 1983.
  • Terence Stamp, who voices Clark's biological father, Jor-El, played General Zod in both Superman and Superman II.


Superman characters in Smallville

This is a list of characters appearing or alluded to by reference or voice-over on Smallville from the Superman comics. Each entry includes the episode of first appearance.

It should also be noted that while Morgan Edge and Claire Foster have had prominent roles in the adult Superman's life, they have been killed off on Smallville.

Contents

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Season One

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Episode 1: Pilot

  • Clark misses his bus to school and Pete says to Chloe "If Clark ran any slower, he'd be extinct". Clark is the last son of Krypton. This is also an ironic allusion to the fact that Clark has superspeed, which he uses moments later.
  • In the Homecoming hazing ritual perpetuated by the football team, a victim is chosen and is tied up in a cornfield like a scarecrow with a large red "s" painted on his chest. Clark is chosen as the victim, which changes the painting into an allusion to the symbol on Superman's costume.
  • When Clark falls and speaks to Lana for the first time on the show, she asks him if he is a man or a Superman. She is making a reference to his copy of "The Portable Nietzsche" which contains the text of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" in which Friedrich Nietzsche foretells the coming of a new being called the Superman.
  • As Clark is walking away from the car crash with his father, there's a red blanket around him, which is worn on him like a cape.
  • The headline of the newspaper Lionel is reading in the flashback claims "Queen Industries CEO, presumed dead". After being washed up on a desert island, Oliver Queen becomes an expert archer...Clark's future JLA teammate Green Arrow.
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Episode 2: Metamorphosis

  • Lex gives Clark a lead box while remarking that it was made from the armor of St. George, the patron saint of Boy Scouts. The gift is appropriate since Superman is commonly referred to, often derogatorily, as a Boy Scout.
  • Jonathan names Clark's barn loft hide-away, "The Fortress of Solitude".
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Episode 3: Hothead

  • Jonathan tells Clark "you were meant for much more important things than winning football games". Almost a direct quote from Glen Ford's Jonathan Kent in Superman.
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Episode 5: Cool

  • During the party at the beginning, Chloe comments on how cold it is. Clark says, "I don't know, it doesn't feel that cold to me." Chloe responds, "What are you from an ice planet? It's freezing." This alludes to Clark's home planet, Krypton and to the fact that he's resistant to hot and cold temperatures.
  • Sean Kelvin is a reference to the Kelvin temperature scale which features absolute zero.
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Episode 6: Hourglass

Image:FutureLex.jpg

  • Both Clark and Lex have their futures told in this episode. Clark sees himself alive but everyone he loves has passed on (also very similar to the post-bomb shot from Kingdom Come). This alludes to the fact that he cannot die. Lex's future is in the White House, where he wears a glove on his right hand. This is because in the future he wears a kryptonite ring of his right hand, and has to get it amputated because of kryptonite poisoning due to his constant use of it. He's also seen being the cause of death for millions of people as the sky turns red and rains blood on him as he smiles.
  • Lana's assigned senior citizen tell her that the Lang family first came to Smallville in 1938, the same year Superman was first published.
  • When asked what he would like to do when older, Clark responds "anything that doesn't involve wearing a suit and doing a lot of flying", referencing Superman's costume and flight.
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Episode 9: Rogue

  • The "S" on Alexander the Great's chest plate is a foreshadowing of the Superman crest. Clark mentions he "can't imagine going into battle with that thing on my chest."
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Episode 10: Shimmer

  • Lex creates Cadmus Labs and uses it for many secret projects throughout the series. In the comics, it was Cadmus Labs that made Superboy after Superman was killed by Doomsday. In the animated series Justice League Unlimited, Cadmus Labs is a black-ops government group used to stop the Justice League should they ever decide to conquer the planet.
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Episode 11: Hug

  • The episode ends with Clark remarking to Lex how two great friends became bitter enemies. He then asks him "Do you think we'll turn out like that?" with Lex replying "Our friendship will be the stuff of legends" as they both look out to the sunset. A bitter irony that it's not their friendship but their hatred of one another which becomes legend.
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Episode 12: Leech

  • Chloe refers to the boy that received Clark's power as "Superboy", and he wears a haircut, and a long leather trenchcoat similar to the Superboy character from the comics.
  • Shawn Ashmore starred in the movie X-Men as Bobby Drake (aka Iceman). His character here, "Eric Summers," has a name made up of two X-Men characters: Eric Lensherr (Magneto) and Scott Summers (Cyclops).
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Episode 14: Zero


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Episode 16: Stray

  • In the final scene (at the Kent farm), the song playing in the soundtrack is "Superman (It's Not Easy)" by Five For Fighting.
  • The climax scene was shot on location at authentic bowling alley named "Lois Lanes Bowling and Billiards" in Richmond, British Columbia.
  • The comic book that both Ryan and Lex enjoy, Warrior Angel, is a direct parallel to the futures of both Superman and Superman's arch nemesis Lex Luthor (the man who Lex will one day become). Warrior Angel is a parallel to Superman as shown when Ryan reads "You're safe now." only to have Clark later tell him the exact same words in the same context.
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Episode 18: Drone

  • Near the beginning, candidate Paul Chan's promotional poster depicts him wearing a costume similar to Superman's costume: a shield (complete with a yellow "S" on a red pentagon) on his chest a red cape.
  • Clark runs for class president, using the slogan: "Clark Kent: The Man Of Tomorrow", which is a reference to the title of the Superman comic book series, "Superman: The Man of Tomorrow."
  • Clark, when asked by Chloe what he stand for, says "Truth, Justice, and other stuff", a reference to Superman's "Truth, Justice, and the American Way."
  • When Clark asks Pete, who becomes Clark's campaign manager, why he didn't run, Pete replies: "I know my strengths. I'm more the power behind the throne, the guy behind the guy, the one who makes it all happen"; an allusion to Pete as the Vice-President behind Lex Luthor.
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Episode 19: Crush

  • An Air Force recruiter tells Clark, "I see you in a uniform, flying. You ever considered a career in the Air Force?" in reference to Clark's future flight power.
  • Chloe gets mad at Clark for forgetting to sign up for the "Student Journalism Conference" at Metropolis. She remarks angrily, "You know, most men are from Mars Clark, but you are from some distant galaxy that I never even heard of."
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Episode 20: Obscura

  • Chloe says, "Clark Kent leaps tall theories in a single bound," which is a reference to the classic opening line for the Superman radio and TV shows.
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Episode 21: Tempest

  • Lana comments to Clark, "I don't know Clark, red always looks good on you," in reference to his future costume.
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Season Two

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Episode 5: Nocturne

  • Among the lines Lana refers to Clark as "The Man Of Steel" which is one of Superman's monikers.
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Episode 6: Redux

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Episode 8: Ryan

  • Lex, when speaking to Ryan about a comic Warrior Angel, mentions that Devilicus turns against Warrior Angel. Warrior Angel and Devilicus are representative of Clark and Lex.
  • The cover of Warrior Angel #1 is a redrawing of Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman.
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Episode 9: Dichotic

  • At the Talon, Ian and Chloe are talking about Ian's immense workload. Chloe is so awestruck she says "Forget the interview lets just call Ripley's". This is a reference to the television show Ripley's Believe It or Not, which is hosted by Dean Cain who played Clark Kent/Superman in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
  • In the school metal shop, Clark makes an "S" similar to the Superman symbol.
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Episode 14: Rush

  • After revealing his powers under red Kryptonite to Chloe, she asks him if he can fly. He laughs and says "I may be an alien but I'm not a cartoon character."
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Episode 17: Rosetta

  • When the key is placed in the cave, the symbols on it glow in red, yellow and blue - the colors that comprise Superman's costume. Also, as the key opens up to release an energy beam, it open in the pentagonal shape of Superman's shield.
  • Dr. Swann is played by Christopher Reeve, who played Superman in the 1978 film by Richard Donner, and its sequels. Reeve is considered by many to be the ultimate Superman, and his part in revealing to Clark who he really is, on the show, was a "passing of the torch".
  • When Chloe is telling Clark who Dr. Virgil Swann is, she says that America had dubbed him the Man of Tomorrow, one of Superman's common nicknames.
  • Throughout the episode, tidbits of music from the first two Christopher Reeve Superman movies can be heard in the background.
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Episode 18: Visitor

  • In the talon, Clark is reading a book entitled Identity Crisis & Mental Illness. After see Clark with the book Lex says "I never figured you for having an identity crisis". Identity Crisis is a seven-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics in 2004 in which Superman (aka Clark Kent) is a character.
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Season Three

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Episode 1: Exile

Image:Phonebooth scene.jpg

  • The symbol burned into Clark's chest is the Kryptonian symbol for air; it is also the symbol most closely associated with Clark's real father Jor-El. The eight-figure shape is similar to an "S", which in turn looks very similar to Superman's chest shield. The scar tissue burns every so often to force Clark to voluntarily remove the red kryptonite ring he was wearing. This is very painful and Clark must get away from the public so that no one can see what is happening. At the beginning of the premiere episode Exile the symbol begins to react and Clark must stagger into a phone booth outside the club. Clark collapses inside and rips his shirt open, revealing the symbol. This is a reference to Superman changing clothes in a phonebooth.
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Episode 5: Perry

  • Sheriff Adams says, "And don't call me 'chief'!" This line is often repeated by Perry White in the comics and movies (usually addressed to Jimmy Olsen).
  • At the end, Perry tells Clark "If you ever make it to Metropolis, look me up. I owe you one." Perry will later become Clark's boss once he comes to work at the Daily Planet.
  • "Walking In Memphis", the song that plays at the end of the episode when Perry rides away on the bus, is a reference to Perry's obsession with Elvis Presley on "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman".
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Episode 7: Magnetic

  • Referring to magnetic influence over Lana, Clark says that "Men aren't made from steel" which could be a reference to Superman's alias - the Man of Steel.
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Episode 9: Asylum

  • A newspaper headline says, "Themyscirian Queen visits Pope." this is a reference to Queen Hippolyta, the mother of Wonder Woman, a future teammate of Superman in the justice league.
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Episode 10: Whisper

  • After partially recovering from blindness, Clark obtains glasses in order to see while he is regaining vision. This is a reference to the comics and movies in which Clark Kent always has worn glasses as part of his alter-ego.
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Episode 11: Delete

  • When Chloe asks her friend to publish an article she made about Dr. Garner she gives him the name of her cousin who "has nothing to do with journalism". The name she gave is Lois Lane who ironically works as a journalist in Superman comic books.
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Episode 12: Hereafter

  • When Jordan bumps into Clark, we see a quick image of the classic Superman 'S' symbol on a red cape, while the camera flies through space.
  • At the end, Clark finds Jonathan in the barn, down with a heart attack. This refers to Superman: The Movie as Jonathan Kent dies from a heart attack.
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Episode 20: Talisman

  • When Jonathan heals Clark, his mother wraps a red blanket around him, possibly alluding to the cape of Superman's uniform.
  • Toward the end, Jonathan calls Clark "mild mannered," as Clark Kent is referred to multiple times in other media.
  • In the final scene, Lex said that the hero of the prophecy would be a formidable opponent, alluding to how Lex and Clark will become enemies.
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Episode 21: Forsaken

  • Lex saves Pete from an FBI agent sent by Lionel to force him to reveal Clark's secret, leaving Pete to owe Lex one day. This foreshadows his service as Vice President to Lex's Presidency.
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Episode 22: Covenant

Image:Kara supergirl?.jpeg

  • At the end when Clark is floating away naked he is in a five-side S-shield light similar to the S-shield he will wear in the future. The curled Clark makes the S-shaped design complete.
  • The human girl who Jor-El gives powers and uses to lure Clark to him is called "Kara", a reference to Kal-El's cousin, Kara Zor-el, who comes to Earth and becomes known as Supergirl. It may also be a reference to Powergirl.
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Season Four

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Episode 1: Crusade

Image:Clarkfight.jpeg

  • When Lois crashes her car into a corn field, there is a flash of lightning. The lightning bolt deposited Clark back to Smallville, there is a surge of electricity around Clark and it makes the shape of an "S".
  • Lois grabs a blanket for the naked Clark, the blanket is red. This makes reference to the red cape that Superman wears.
  • When Lois comes to see Clark, she and Martha talk a bit about her and Chloe falling for farm boys. Lois says "Give me a nerd with glasses any day of the week." Martha responds, "Clark has many sides." This alludes to Lois and Clark/Superman's future romance once they move to Metropolis.
  • The crystals, which are the subplot throughout the whole season, make the shape of Superman's chest shield when put together.
  • Margot Kidder makes a cameo as Bridget Crosby, Dr. Swann's assistant. She tells Martha that she also couldn't understand that someone's calling was greater than her own, which Martha responds with "you and Dr. Swann?" Bridget's response is "in another life." This is reference to Kidder and Reeve playing Lois and Superman in the 1978 movie and its sequels.
  • As Clark/Kal-El is flying toward Lex's plane, the co-pilot turns to the pilot, after watching his approach on radar, and asks "What is it? A bird? A plane?" This is a direct quote from the 1950s' The Adventures of Superman's beginning dialogue and the 1940s' radio drama.
  • Several times in the episode Lois mentions a smoking problem, which alludes to the smoking problem of the movie version of Lois.
  • During the final scene in the caves with Martha Kent, Clark fights his Kryptonian alter ego, Kal-El, and emerges the victor. A similar event occurred in Superman III, where Clark fought his evil duplicate.


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Episode 2: Gone

  • Clark wonders that the legend on the cave walls about him destined to have an enemy doesn't refer to Lionel Luthor but to Lex. In the comics and films Lex Luthor is Clark's nemesis.
  • The end scene at the caves Lana mentions that she thinks Clark and Lois to be a couple to which Clark replies, "Lois? She's stuck up, she's rude. I can't stand her." To which Lana replies, "The best ones always start that way." Clark's line is ironic as he will end up marrying Lois in the future and Lana's line is prophetic.
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Episode 3: Facade

  • Lois tells Chloe that the last thing she wants to be is a reporter, which is ironic as in all incarnations of Lois Lane she is an investigative reporter working for The Daily Planet.
  • Chloe mentions Lois misspelling the word serotonin in her article, making reference to the fact that Lois Lane in the films and comic books has always been a poor speller.
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Episode 4: Devoted

  • After Clark throws a TD pass to win the big game, Chloe says, "Wow, I guess now you're gonna be some kind of 'superhero' around here". Then Clark, after earlier quitting The Torch (the school newspaper) to pursue football full-time, rescinds that and tells Chloe that he plans to make time for The Torch. In response, Chloe says, "Wow, superhero AND journalist! What are the odds?"
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Episode 5: Run

  • Bart (the current Kid Flash) leaves saying he wants to "go out and look for more people like us; start a club or a league or something." alluding to the JLA.
  • At the beginning of the episode, Clark goes through a set of fake IDs that Bart has - all having names of Flash alter egos (Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West) from various comic book/TV show sources.
  • One of the crooks in Metropolis that captures Bart points a gun at him and says "Let's see if you're faster than a speeding bullet".
  • When Clark is asked by Chloe where he (Bart) is from, Bart pipes in that he is "From the future." Which he is, where he was raised in a consequence-free VR simulation. Which explains his lack of understanding of such concepts.
  • Bart's hairstyle is exactly like that of John Wesley Shipp who portrayed Bart's grandfather, Barry Allen, on the TV series "The Flash". He also sports a thunderbolt design on his backpack and belt buckle.
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Episode 7: Jinx

  • A foreign exchange student - Mikail Mxyzptlk - who uses his power to manipulate high school football betting, is based on the character Mr. Mxyzptlk who has magic power in the comic book.
  • The key to defeating this villain in the comics, as well as on Super Friends, was to make him say his name backwards, Kltpzyxm. This is referred to during the episode when Chloe looks up his name on a search engine, and it doesn't find a match, but suggests that she try spelling it backwards.
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Episode 9: Bound

  • Towards the end of the episode Lex comes to the barn to talk to Clark. Clark says "I felt like we were enemies." This foreshadows their relationship later.
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Episode 11: Unsafe

  • When Chloe talks to Lana about having sex, she reveals that she lost her virginity to an intern named Jimmy who was "cute, in a bowtie sort of way." This is a broad reference to Jimmy Olsen, who works as a photographer at the Daily Planet. Olsen has worn a bowtie in numerous occasions in comics and the movies.
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Episode 12: Pariah

Image:Carcatch.jpg

  • Tim Westcott may have been inspired by the character Pariah from "Crisis on Infinite Earths," since he can "teleport" to where "evil" is occurring. Also he pointed out that the meteor shower brought a "wave of evil", referencing to "Crisis" where the creation of the Multiverse brought a wave of evil throughout the cosmos.
  • Clark catches Alicia's car in mid-air in a pose remniscent of Supermans debut on the cover of Action Comics #1.
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Episode 13: Recruit

  • When Clark says he's giving up football, Chloe tells him that she has a feeling he's destined to "do a lot more in this world than just score touchdowns." In Superman: The Movie Jonathan Kent tells Clark that he doesn't know why Clark is on Earth, but "it's not to score touchdowns."
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Episode 14: Krypto

Image:Krypto cape.jpg

  • Clark briefly names the super dog (which is actually a LuthorCorp experiment) he befriends "Krypto," before settling on the name "Shelby". Krypto is the name of Pre-Crisis Superboy's dog in the comics.
  • A Goo Goo Dolls cover of the Supertramp song, "Give A Little Bit," is played at the end of the episode. The original song can be heard in Lois' car as she's driving through the desert in Superman: The Movie.
  • After Lois gives "Krypto" a bath, Clark hands her a red towel which she drapes over "Krypto" like a cape.
  • Shelby is the name of one of Clark's two dogs which he had while growing up on the Kent Farm. They were a golden retriever and a border collie. However, in the comics, it was the border collie that was named Shelby
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Episode 16: Lucy

  • The end scene in the loft with Clark and Lois, where they admit their friendship for each other, the end is of two stellar objects colliding to the song "Fly" by Mark Joseph, an allusion to Clark and Lois being 'star-crossed' lovers in the comics, and to Clark's future ability to fly.
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Episode 17: Onyx

Image:Lexring.jpg

  • Lex's personality gets split in two, one being good, the other evil. The evil Lex resembles many of the characteristics of his comic-book counterpart and serves as a foretelling of Lex's journey to darkness.
  • Alexander, Lex's dark side, employs the famous Green Kryptonite ring for the first time.
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Episode 18: Spirit

  • Lois says "A lot of things are possible in this world, but there will be men on Mars before Clark and I go to prom together," a reference to the Martian Manhunter in DC Comics, and sure enough, he does.
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Episode 22: Commencement

  • After the Kents are awakened by Clark's nightmare, Lois comes downstairs and in an attempt to make Clark feel better, recounts one of her own recent nightmares about "a guy wearing a red cape." (When Clark becomes Superman he wears a red cape) Possibly sarcastically to Lois but humorously to the viewer, Clark's response is "that sounds horrible."
  • Lois and Clark have a discussion about what she is going to do with her life, and she dismisses the idea of being a reporter, because of her bad spelling, a characteristic of the movie and television version of Lois.
  • Lois goes on to say that even if she did become a reporter, she'd probably end up across from the most bumbling reporter on the masthead... a reference to Clark Kent's disguise as a clumsy person when he's not being Superman.
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Season Five

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Episode 1: Arrival

Image:Smallville fortress of solitude.jpg Image:Smallville phantom zone.jpg

  • This episode contains several allusions to the first two Superman movies made by Richard Donner
    • The Fortress of Solitude's formation and Jor-El's attempts at educating Clark are done very similarly in Superman: The Movie.
    • The arrival of seemingly evil Kryptonians on Earth, the method of Phantom Zone imprisonment used on them, and Clark's powers being drained by Jor-El's spirit in the Fortress of Solitude are all reminiscent of events from Superman II.
    • The Kryptonians in both are fascinated by Earth insignia and uniforms.
    • On Smallville, Clark discovers their rampage on Earth via a newscast when he's been out of touch. This is similar to events in Superman II.
  • Chloe: "I know you're faster than a speeding bullet, Clark - mind taking me along for the ride?" Superman in the comics and movies is described as stronger than a locomotive and faster than a speeding bullet.
  • At least five brief snippets of footage from Superman: The Movie are used during the Jor-El projected "training sequence." Glimpses can be seen of
    • an overhead shot of the Kryptonian city
    • the red sun flaring
    • Kryptonians highlighted in red fleeing the destruction
    • the ship lifting off from Krypton
    • the Kryptonians falling into the planet's core


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Episode 2: Mortal

  • Lee: "Just trying to amp up what me and the Wonder Twins could do." Referencing the Super Friends TV series and Zan and Jayna-- the "Wonder Twins"
  • Sheriff Adams asks Clark if he'd consider a job in law enforcement... which is a big part of his job as Superman.
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Episode 3: Hidden

Image:Smallville ref lionel coat.jpg

  • When Lionel is possessed by Jor-El and speaking to Clark, the manner in which he grips the lapels of his coat while talking is spot on with the way Marlon Brando did it in Superman: The Movie while addressing members of the Kryptonian council.
  • Clark has to stop a nuclear missile and to do so he throws it into outer space just as in Superman: The Movie.
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Episode 4: Aqua

  • Clark: "Lois, I promise, someday...you'll meet someone even more special." Alluding to the comics where Lois and Clark are married.
  • In the same scene Clark is wearing a red shirt and Lois a blue one and he is behind her looking like a cape. These are hints for their future and the colors he will wear as Superman one day
  • A.C.: "Come on, Superboy..." During his teenage days in the comics during the Silver Age, Clark performed superheroics in Smallville by the name Superboy.
  • As the episode ends, Arthur (future Aquaman) suggest to Clark that they start a junior lifeguard association. In a play on words, Clark responds, "I'm not ready for the JLA." This also refers to the fact that Superman declined his first invitation to join the Justice League of America
  • A.C. dresses in orange and green - the colors of Aquaman's costume in the comics. Lois makes comments about his choice of color combinations.
  • Prof. Milton Fine in the comics becomes one of Superman's enemies, Brainiac.
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Episode 5: Thirst

  • Pauline Kahn: The character's last name and general position/authority alludes to Jeanette Kahn, CEO and President at DC Comics.
  • Chloe: "....up, up, and away." This phrase was used in every episode of the 1950’s syndicated series The Adventures of Superman.
  • Chloe: "It's the Daily Planet, the paper of record for kings, presidents, and prime ministers...not to mention future superheroes." In almost all versions of Superman, the Daily Planet is where Clark Kent is employed.
  • During the costume party, Clark dressed as a masked figure, Chloe says, "isn't the cape a bit much?" Clark responds, "I like it, but the mask is uncomfortable." A reference to Superman's costume having a cape, but no mask.
  • Fine, played by James Marsters, tells Clark "There's no such thing as vampires," alluding to Marsters' role as the vampire Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
  • Kahn says, "...and tall tales about slaying Buffy the Vampire," which is another allusion to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
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Episode 6: Exposed

Image:Smallville ref police badge.jpg

  • Police Badge: When Maggie Sawyer flashes her Metropolis police badge to the Kents, it's shaped the same as the five-sided Superman chest shield.


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Episode 7: Splinter

  • Soundtrack: During the drive home in which Clark gets hit by the black truck, he is listening to "Superman" by Stereophonics, which has several references to Lois Lane and, of course, Superman.


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Episode 8: Solitude

  • General Zod: As General Zod is seen coming through the porthole created in the Fortress of Solitude, the image of his person trapped in a rotating glass prison is very similar to the image in Superman: The Movie and Superman II
  • Soundtrack: Throughout the show, small tidbits of the major musical theme for the original Superman movies play.
  • After betraying Clark, Fine admits that he himself is not Kryptonian but he was made by them; "I was created by Kryptonians, but I'm a whole lot smarter". In the animated series, Brainiac was the central intelligence on Krypton and allowed the planet to be destroyed while he made plans to save himself.
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Episode 9: Lexmas

  • In Crisis on Infinite Earths, the good Luthor of Earth-Three has a son named Alexander Luthor who is a major character in the limited series (Earth-Three Luthor's wife was Lois Lane however).
  • Clark: "I am now officially a full-fledged news reporter." Superman's mild-mannered secret alias of Clark Kent is as a reporter for The Daily Planet.
  • Chloe: "I do realize it's a lot to ask, but I mean, you do run faster than a speeding bullet..."
  • Alexander Luthor:"Uncle Clark, Uncle Clark...Make me fly Uncle Clark"
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Episode 10: Fanatic

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Episode 11: Lockdown

  • When Clark finds the GPS transmitter in Lana's car, she remarks that he should consider joining the police force... a possible reference to the future Superman constantly aiding the police in stopping and capturing criminals.
  • When Martha is talking with Clark about the secrets with Lana she said "Maybe she is not the one you're meant to be with" and he says "Mom I can't imagine loving anyone else" In that moment Lois is arriving with her car. Hint about the future of Lois and Clark
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Episode 12: Reckoning

Image:Lana ring.jpg

  • Small tidbits of the major musical theme for the original Superman movies play.
  • When Clark proposes to Lana in the Fortress of Solitude, he forges a diamond from coal with his bare hand, as Superman did, for Lana, in Superman III to replace her original ring that was stolen.
  • When Chloe and Clark are discussing how he came back through time, she sarcastically asks him if he turned the Earth's orbit backwards, as in fact happened in the 1978 Superman movie.
  • Jonathan Kent has a heart attack, as in the 1978 Superman movie. Further, the heart attack occurred in the same part of the driveway as in the movie, and Martha's cry "Jonathan!" was very similar to the same cry in the movie (although in the movie she was on the porch, and in Smallville she was right next to him).
  • When Clark and Lana confront Clark's parents about the engagement, Jonathan says "Lana, we can't imagine Clark spending the rest of his life with anyone but you." and immediately after he says this, Lois appears to make an announcement.
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Episode 13: Vengeance

  • Andrea (The Angel of Vengeance) wears glasses in her everyday life, but removes them for her crime fighting role.
  • Andrea changes out of her costume in a phone booth like Superman does in some incarnations. She explains, "The janitor was in the bathroom."
  • Chloe:"Do you think you could ever do what she did? Play the mild-mannered reporter by day and a crime-fighter by night?"
  • Clark tells Chloe that he'd like to help people but without hiding his face because that's who he really is. This becomes a motivation for him to not wear a mask when he grows up.
  • There are several allusions to both Superman and Batman and why they refuse to commit murder, even in the extreme cases. The Angel of Vengeance can even be viewed as a copy of Huntress, who is more brutal towards criminals than anyone in Batman's team.
  • At the end, when Martha is watching the videotape of Jonathan and Clark, Jonathan holds Clark's hand up and proudly proclaims "This guy is the Man of Steel", which of course is one of Superman's monikers.
  • There are several Batman allusions scattered throughout the episode, including:
    • When we are introduced to Andrea in Suicide Slum and several times thereafter, the music cue references either Danny Elfman's music cues for original Batman movie, or the subsequent "borrowing" of those cues for the various Batman animated series.
    • Andrea describes herself as being "blind as a bat" without her contacts
    • Andrea was inspired to fight crime because of the death of her mother at the hands of a mugger.
    • Batman is driven in part by vengeance, which often puts him in conflict with Superman in the post-Crisis universe.
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Episode 15: Cyborg

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Episode 16: Hypnotic

  • Clark bends an aluminum bat into the shape of an "S". Although Clark says it's for "Simone", it could be interpreted as an allusion to the "S" in Superman.
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Episode 17: Void

  • When Lex's mother Lillian is warning Lex about his evil future, Lex is seen wearing a black glove. In the comics, Lex wears a black glove after his right hand is amputated due to the fact that the long-term radiation exposure from the kryptonite ring he wears gives him cancer.
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Episode 19: Mercy

  • Part of Martha Kent's speech refers to "truth, justice, and the American way", to which Clark adds "sounds like words to live by".
  • Lionel, who knows Clark's secret, calls him a "strange visitor from another world." The same words were used to introduce Superman in the 1950s television series.
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Episode 21: Oracle

  • Clark's birthday cake is red, yellow, and blue, along with the party decorations. The sign reading "Happy Birthday Clark" is also red lettering with a yellow outline on a blue background, similar to Superman's costume "S".
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Episode 22: Vessel

  • Jor-El describes the Black Ship as the "brain interactive construct - an advanced technology that will stop at nothing until its master, Zod, has been released." The words "Brain InterActive Construct" can be construed as a hint to Fine's true identity as Brainiac.
  • Clark answers a phone in a phone booth.
  • The spinning-pane-of-glass graphics used to represent the Phantom Zone are similar to those used in the movies.
  • In this episode Jor-El reveals that he imprisoned Zod in the Phantom Zone. In Superman: The Movie, after Zod's trial is over and before Jor-El leaves Zod and his cohorts to their fate, Zod claims that as his is the final vote in the council (which must be unanimous), Zod will hold him personally responsible. He claims that both Jor-El and his heirs will bow down to him. Also in this episode, Zod (in Lex's body) claims that he is back for revenge... against Jor-El's heir, Kal-El/Clark.
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Season Six

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Episode 1: Zod

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Episode 2: Sneeze

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Episode 3: Wither

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Episode 4: Arrow

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Episode 5: Subterranean

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Episode 6: Reunion


This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
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