It took me a few years to start watching Smallville. I was an avid comic reader and collector growing up, and though I preferred Marvel to DC, Superman and Batman were always readable. Moreover, DCAU was fantastic, not just far better than any Marvel animated adaptation, but some of the original Batman series episodes are truly masterpieces of artwork and storytelling. Nevertheless, I avoided Smallville, partly because I was out of the country when it started to air, and partly because I had no desire to watch a teensoap version of Clark and friends. I eventually did see some episodes, and as a friend of mine accurately said -the show is junk – except for the handling of the two important father-son relationships and the interaction between Lex and Clark. Now one of those fathers is dead (perhaps to match the iconic films of the ’80s – in the comics Pa Kent is alive and well) shattering the parallels and leaving us with somewhat episodic junk.

There is so much material from which to draw, that it is unforgivable to give the Superman mythos this treatment – though perhaps it is unfair to expect the show to become more than it ever was. Last season was junk; other than the aforementioned death, it seemed to be one pointless episode after another. Most emblematic of this trend was the “guest” appearance of Aquaman – already the most pointless character ever to grace the pages of a major comic – as a Baywatch-extra-cum-eco-terrorist.

Tonight, in an episode echoing the worst “freak of the week” episodes of the first few seasons, there is a side story involving Clark going up against a Phantom Zone escapee who is just in another weight division. A mysterious speed demon saves Clark at the last minute, and leave behind some dark residue. I thought perhaps Braniac was returning – after all, Braniac in his various portrayals seems to have a think for protecting Clark/Superman in order to be the one to personally dispatch him – and was pleased, as he was one of the few bright spots on the show last year. Clark wanders off after this mystery man, and finds a shadowy character, whose eyes begin to glow red. I thought – he’s bald too, isn’t he – and then the dark figure flies away, leaving a red trail across the Seattle skyline. A few ignorable scenes later, Clark plays with the residue from his nighttime experience at the docks (well, come on, he’s lonely – not that the scriptwriters are really developing the single most obvious fact about the character, with all the frustration, anger, and humorous possibilities that it should create) which turns out to be an Oreo cookie.

I doubt most viewers will catch the reference, but it is the signature snack of another hero. There is an old saying, “Jews are like everyone else, only more so.” Well this hero is just like Superman, only more so. He’s got the same powers, but a few more; his people are just as dead, but he is more alienated; he even has a worse name – the Martian Manhunter – forever echoing pulp books of the ’40s, where as Superman may be uninteresting, but it doesn’t have the word Martian anywhere in there, and invokes some irony with the whole Aryan concept of the Uebermensch thing. Yes, if Superman was the character needed by a couple of Jewish kids in the ’30s, Martian Manhunter is the hero needed by geeks. Largely unknown, thoroughly alone, more powerful than the popular Man of Steel, polymorphic, he finds his only solace in an addiction to sugary treats. He just may be the sysadmin of the solar system.

It would be nice to see this character get the treatment he deserves. The DCAU version was pretty good, and got better over its five year run. I have no faith that Smallville will portray him with anything near the depth this character needs. With that in mind, I merely hope they take one, nay two, lessons from the DCAU character.

Call him J’onn. Maybe J’onn J’onzz. Not Martian Manhunter. As attested in the recent Green Arrow episodes – especially the Very Special Episode: Ollie’s got a (42 minute) drug problem – Smallville handles costumes the same way everything prior to 2002′s Spiderman did: badly. (Burton’s Batman earns a pass here.) Adding a cheesy name to a goofy makeup job is too much for the poor writers to handle.

Next, remember, he is centuries old and not tied to a particular appearance. He need not appear to be the same age as the other characters. He should not. Even when appearing human, there should be distance between his character and the others. Have him change gender. Ethnicity. The other characters should not feel comfortable around him, certainly not over the span of even a few epsiodes, nor should he be at ease with them.

For better or worse, and probably for better, this is all moot; I doubt we will see him again. Still, the optimist (and geek) within me can’t help but think it’s a shame.

This entry was posted on ‍‍כ״ו חשון ה׳ תשס״ז - Friday, November 17th, 2006 at 02:54 and is filed under product, ruminations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.