DCEU fans are still yearning for perfection - especially when it comes to Superman storylines. Hopes are now at an all-time high thanks to the character’s return in Smallville.
The show —which chronicles Clark Kent’s journey to becoming Superman— is considered one of the best-ever live-action superhero projects. However, there are still a couple of storylines that Redditors weren’t satisfied with, and they are more than happy to point them out.
The Tragedy Of "Tollie"
DaArtist1239PS4 would have preferred if "Tollie" (Tess Mercier and Oliver Queen) had a happily ever after ending. They think “their storyline was very well-made” before the finale.
It’s one of the most popular suggestions (8 upvotes) and the Redditors have every right to be upset about the way things end for Tess and Oliver. These two had one of the most fleshed-out relationships only for it to have a sad conclusion, where Tess gets killed while saving Clark from Lex. A happy ending is preferable, not only because of the chemistry but also because the likable Oliver is left with no other option after Lois settles for Clark.
Darkseid As Clark’s Final Foe
Blue_Bird_993 argues that there should have been more Darkseid storylines and scenes in the final season. They also state that “some more flashes of his face to scare our protagonists would've been more than enough.”
True to the Redditor’s observation, which eight others agree with, the writers make the mistake of having Darkseid’s name mentioned many times. And after all the shout-outs, fans are denied the chance to see him in action. Apart from showing his face, an alternative would be to have the villain appear and make an effort to stop Clark from fulfilling his destiny of becoming Superman.
Smallville Fans Would Have Liked Clark’s Disguise To Have Been Better
Clark only starts wearing his glasses several seasons into the series and j1zzzzz thinks this creates a huge problem. They state that “so many people have seen Clark without his glasses.”
Although only two other Redditors agree, the fan makes total sense. Having a secret identity is important for most superheroes hence the decision to also make Clark walk around without his glasses for most of the show isn’t wise. Since many people get to see him without a disguise, they’ll easily be able to tell that he’s the Man of Steel once he dons the costume. Sadly, the Smallville comics don’t also explain how he manages to go around this problem once he becomes Superman.
Clark And Lana’s On And Off Relationship Was Annoying
In a comment that’s ed by four others, TheCoolKat1995 argues that Clark should have gotten a new love interest in between the relationships with Lana and Lois. They believe this would have been better than “the repetitiveness of Clark and Lana breaking up and making up.”
In an effort to not rush things between Lois and Clark, the show ends up putting fans in a boring “Clana” loop. As the Redditor mentions, there is a better solution to this and that is giving Clark another girlfriend. There is a long list of Superman’s love interests in the comics and Smallville could have easily used one or two of them so as not to focus too much on Lana.
Clark’s Interactions With The Justice League
The Justice League only makes a few appearances on the show, with key , such as Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince, totally ignored. Current_Ad_9850 states they would have included “more justice league-centric episodes.”
Fans can understand the need to preserve Batman and Wonder Woman for their own solo projects, but this makes little sense now since Arrow and Flash appeared on the show but still went on to be the center of projects that are now considered two of the best superhero live action shows of all time. Including a complete Justice League on the show would therefore have been the best storyline direction for the show. Pairing up Clark with Diana Prince just for relationship rivalry would have been fantastic too since Lois also pairs up with Arthur Curry at some point.
Lex And Lana Would Have Not Had A Relationship
Osnap24 says they would “absolutely not have Lex and Lana date.” It’s an opinion four other Superman fans on the Reddit thread fully ,
Lex and Lana qualify to be one of the worst TV couples and it’s mostly the former’s fault because he has no clue how to be a loving partner. In the comics, Lex doesn’t date that much either. He simply focuses on being a criminal mastermind and perhaps this is something the show should have maintained. After all, Superman & Lois has proved that there are much better ways to handle Lana’s love life.
Superman Elements
Redditor genericmovievillain thinks the Superman elements are introduced too early and “delivered in a cheap and easy fix.” Consequently, fans are left unsatisfied.
The CW show sure does bring up many things that are associated with the established costume-donning Superman only for them to only be explored on the surface. Bringing up these things also creates a situation, where fans yearn for the adult Superman and fail to appreciate the younger version enough. For this reason, doing away with things such as the Fortress of Solitude and using some of the underrated Superman villains instead of the major ones would help. However, it’s an isolated opinion, one that only two other Redditors agree with.
Jor-El On Earth
Demetri124 hates how they make Jor-El appear several times on the show and act as Clark's mentor. They state that they would “just keep it so they sent Clark away.”
Jor-El’s presence on Earth only creates an unnecessary parenting conflict on the show. After all, Clark already has very responsible guardians and doesn’t have to be constantly guided by an AI version of his real father. And since Superman’s real father never shows up on Earth in the comics, fans might have been totally okay with not seeing him in whatever form on the show. However, the three upvotes on the comment suggest that not many people had a problem with Jor-El.
Doomsday In Human Form
Doomsday gets to appear in his human form of Davis Bloom for a huge part of the show, but many fans aren’t fond of this arc. Airwreck11 says they would “Make Doomsday a legitimate threat, less Davis Bloome.”
Doomsday has mostly been portrayed in his creature form since the Golden Age of Hollywood. It’s the version that fans love hence the decision to have him walk around as Davis Bloom is a misguided one. It also makes little sense when examined from the 'origin' angle because Bloom isn’t who Doomsday gets to be in his earlier years. It's just who he can turn to, depending on his anger. This also makes him look like a Hulk rip-off. Still, two-the two upvotes on the comment show that the opinion isn’t a popular one.
Superman In The Finale
Striking Camera would focus on “delivering true Superman imagery in the finale.” This way, the show would end with fans having had the complete Superman experience.
The last episode squandered the chance of becoming one of the best-ever series finales. And a couple of fans share the opinion that this could have been easily achieved by featuring Clark Kent as Superman for that specific episode only. Seeing Clark don a costume and flex his powers for over 40 minutes is something fans would have ed for a long time.
Smallville is available to stream on Hulu.