Who Should Replace Smallville‘s Superman On The CW?

Sunday, August 15th, 2010 at 8:00am
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Who Should Replace <i>Smallville</i>‘s Superman On The CW?  

With Smallville ending this year, the CW is actively looking for a replacement superhero series from DC Entertainment. But does Blue Beetle really have it in the bag?

CW boss Dawn Osteroff has admitted that she’d love to have another DC Comics’ super character to fill Clark Kent’s decade-old boots when Smallville finishes, telling reporters:

So many fans have said, ‘Don’t leave us hanging!’ I’d love to say, ‘“Smallville’s” coming off the air and something else (from DC Comics) is coming on.’ But we don’t want to put something on that we don’t believe in. You have to make sure the execution is excellent.

It’s that execution that’s proven to be the problem before; WB television has developed Smallville-esque spin-offs for both Robin (The Graysons, about Dick Grayson’s life in the circus before the death of his parents) and Aquaman (which made it to pilot, but wasn’t picked up for a series), but neither passed muster with the network. Add to that that all DC characters aren’t exactly available to television, with Smallville famously the result of a series based upon Bruce Wayne’s teenage training being scuppered by the people behind the Batman movies and needing quick replacement; now that Green Lantern, The Flash, Batman, Superman and Green Arrow all having movies in various stages of development, who’s available for the small screen?

Well, Blue Beetle, for one; DC has already unveiled test footage for a live-action project that’s as-yet unknown. A Smallville replacement would make a lot of sense (He’s another teenage hero who can mix soap opera with superheroics, after all), but for all we know, he’s already been promised elsewhere. There’s the possibility of properly spinning out characters from Smallville itself – Green Arrow makes an obvious candidate, but there’re also the members of the JSA and Legion of Super-Heroes – as well, and I can’t be the only one who thinks that JMS’ reboot of Wonder Woman sounds tailor-made for a small screen series, even down to a more realistic costume and less need for a Paradise Island set. But what do you think? What character would fit into the CW’s demographic and Smallville‘s timeslot? Leave choices and reasons in the comments section, as ever.

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  • Redhawk

    what should follow Smallville? Metropolis of course..with Superman, and tights and flying, and super-villians

    If you want the same style as Smallville, I think a Wonder Woman, learning man's world would work.

  • Cj253

    i can see zatanna working as smallville spin off – they havent gone into too much detail with her and her costume is her work outfit lol

    id love to see catwoman ala brubaker years but thatll never happen

    jms ww might work as a girl version of smallville i guess then again could Kara go it alone?

  • Lassooftruth

    It is happening. It's starting out great.

  • lassooftruth

    Except, it's actually turning out great. None of you guys attacking JMS' WW are actually reading it.

  • Fanboi

    I'd LOVE to see wither the Superboy and the Legion of Super Heroes or JSA

  • Brian from Canada

    Say no to anything Smallville-spun off. Sorry, folks, but if any of those characters were strong enough then we'd see them already being talked about. Blue Beetle gets the talk because of the Brave & Bold buzz, but let's not forget that the title died on the shelves.

    The likely candidate is Wonder Woman. The only hitch may be her inclusion in the JLA film that will come out next season past sometime never, but if the rights are caught up….

    I say SHAZAM! (And, thank you to the two who posted this before.) Captain Marvel has enough name power to pique interest, could easily have a good cast with mild emphasis on superheroing, and offers up a wide cast possibility with Mary and Freddie. Plus, nobody seems to be able to do something with the big red cheese — and a new comic could launch out of this.

    Challengers would be my second choice, but how cost effective would it be to have every new crisis being built from scratch? It would have to be real-world based. Which is why Fables is a much, much, much better option. And it would fit into the “real world, honestly” fakeness that Gossip Girl and 90210 portray. The supernatural elements would link into Supernatural (which will be left out in the cold) too.

  • Keithallen785

    What about Cyborg? He's already been on smallville and he's a exciting character with a great history. He's been with the titans and JLA.

  • Russellbuzz

    How about “Dial H for Hero”?

    An excuse to exhibit new powers every episode without necessary needing costumes. Could put a spin on the “freak of the week” syndrome the first season of Smallville suffered from.

  • Catman90

    My first choice would be a “Teen Titans” show. Imagine it being done sort of like Buffy the Vampire Slayer except they'd be fighting supervillains instead of demons & vampires.

    There was talk a few years ago about a “Starman” tv show which could have been good. He's a young guy around 20 who owns an antique shop. His costume is jeans and a leather jacket with an old sherriff badge. He's also a legacy hero who comes with a gentleman bad guy “Shade”. What more could you ask for?

    I also agree with others that I'd like to see a properly done “Birds of Prey”.

    DC has so many potential hits, yet doesn't seem willing to put any effort into developing them.

    Ron

    Rons Comic World
    Armory Plaza – 1690 Rt 38
    Mount Holly, NJ

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3HGHTIC7EFJVEWZNL2BKF5GVII Dewayne

    How bout a buddy show with Lobo and Ambush Bug? They could start the show with Lobo crashing his bike in a small midwestern town right it the middle of a small washateria owned by Ambush Bug. Bug tries to help Lobo find his way back to outerspace, while they both try to stay out of trouble.

  • Jackschnerk

    i go out with a female wrestler now, (and appreared with her on a reality tv show on the we network two years ago), so on that point, we're in total agreement!
    what was the question again? (lol)

  • Sageshinigami

    They did that in the 90's and nobody liked it then. They should do a cartoon. Only this time, STOP WITH ALL THE SUPERMEN. They had like, three?

  • Sageshinigami

    Unless he starts posing, somehow I doubt it will remind people of Power Rangers. And having a series on like Kamen Rider would seriously be infinitely better than Smallville.

  • Raja-Man

    Manhunter Fom Mars!!!!

  • DeclineToState

    None of the above (or below, as the case may be).

    It won't work. Storytelling MUST come before “fill the timeslot with an available character”.

    Babylon 5 worked (mostly) because Straczynski had a story to tell. What was neat about Kick-Ass (the novel) was that Millar had an origin story to deconstruct: non-super hero finds himself.

    Anything with a slot-to-fill will FAIL. Period.

    Instead, ask the question: What will appeal to CW's teen audience? Superman … no. Batman … no. Wonder Woman … no. Blue Beetle … h*** no (to quote John Boehner).

    Maybe a brand new mythopoetic tween-resonant wish-fulfillment cape like Moore's Promethea, where one learns the value of writing one's own future? (OK, I'm pushing it a bit, but the concept's sound.)

    Look: Smallville was pretty darn teen-angst lame. Do we really need another decade of mope?

    Superheroes are all about projection. What worked in the 40's worked less in the 70' (Clark Kent meet Peter Parker).

    Who can fight Omni Corp., our era's Big Bad Evil, and their corrupt political enablers, the New American Whigs? A strange visitor from another planet (the original illegal alien)? Or Sophie Bangs, who comes into her own by going within and discovering her past?

    How many Dracula/undead variants are … um, alive … in our fiction media these days?

    Taking a DC “property” to fill Smallville's demise will earn a quick demise itself. And if TimeWarner (at least they're not Disney) were smart – cough, snort – they'd task DC's premiere storytellers to tell us a new story, not regurgitate something from the deadhead 1900's.

    CW: Tell us a story. Tell us a NEW story. Tell us a wish fulfillment story which captures our imagination. Tell us a a story which captivates us. Sell it to TW/DC if you can, but stop being corporate muggles and start being Joseph Campbell storytellers.

    Or at least, Brian Bendis storytellers.

  • AGL2812

    we would only get two shows a season

  • AGL2814

    outsiders

  • Dick Grayson

    ABSOLUTELY NIGHTWING!!!

  • Chrisvanryckeghem

    It is just to bad that we cant see a spider-man series I think t5hat would be great and i totaly think it would kick on the small screen i know that spider-man is Marvel and we are talking DC but I think it would be great anyway. As for DC the only one i would be really stoked to see would be a Batman series I know the artical says it cant be done but they could totaly tie it into the smallville buy having a young Bruce Wayne show up. Oh well I did not offer much to the main topic but thats what i think anyway

  • Janmugar

    A SUPERHERO SCI-FI TV SHOW: FIRESTORM or BLUE BEETLE
    A SUPERHERO MISTERY TV SHOW: THE QUESTION or THE SANDMAN
    A SUPERHERO ADVENTURE TV SHOW: CHECKMATE or CHALLENGERS o/t UNKNOWN
    A SUPERHERO ORIGIN TV SHOW: AQUAMAN or ZATANNA

  • Lex Combs

    A Justice League show featuring Green Arrow, Impulse, Aquaman, Black Canary and Zatanna would be nice, but I don't know about Cyborg being in it because Lee Thompson Young's on another show they'd have to replace him with another superhero.

  • Csa0027

    Only young batman has the mix.

  • superheros

    I no they said DC but if you cant come up with something that works maybe you sould go to a Marvel comic like Spiderman or a story about the Dare Devil something like that might work but really i would perfer DC comics like Batman but Marvels cool to

  • Nij-t

    They should make a series where Clarke has just turned into Superman, but is still young and makes the odd mistake. That would be different than the polished Hollywood films we have already scene, where Superman does not make any mistakes

  • Dgartewolf

    I want Metropolis to replace Smallville!!!!!!!

  • Eonprez

    I would love to see Firestorm on TV. There's loads of potential there.

  • Gsjs1980

    Smallville has been amazing for 10 seasons. I think any superhero would be good with the CW. Would be cool to see a whole new show featuring superman after he becomes the superhero.

  • Gsjs1980

    Im all for that

  • Steve

    I don’t think any super hero can top Superman! Only other character I can think of is Batman growing up as a boy just like they did for Superman (Smallville). Whatever they do, this person needs to have supernatural abilities just like Superman to really succeed. But whatever they end up doing, I don’t think you could surpass Smallville! Surprise me please!

  • jsa

    fuck all the other shit they need 2 make a superman wen hes really superman. n not the fucking blurr

  • Jpsimpson

    i think they should make something about dick grayson as nightwing. that would be cool.

  • Black24

    Just change the name to Metropolis and put Tom Welling in the Superman costume and continue the series. I love the show and don’t want to see it go.

  • C Cookman

    Hi my name is Carl i have been a big fan of Smallville for a decade but it’s a shame that it had to end. But i do have some choices to fill that time slot, i was thinking how about superboy, supergirl,batgirl, batwoman,Blue beetle, Green Arrow, Hawkman,JLA, or a spin off like Metropolis or even the legion of super heroes, The flash, Green Lantern,or how about team ups like batman & superman,Green arrow & green lantern,or how about steel,Robin,teen titans. I have made some choices and because i thought i would give  a chance to see if one of these choices would be good to make into a series depending how well it would go over and see one of these characters in their own tv series. This is just some ideas hope it was a help.

    Carl

  • Alexander Penciu

    well, in my opinion the best show to replace smallville is superman or metropolis or whatever it would be called.this lineage for the superman legacy can be and must be continued.yes,clark embrace his destiny,becomes superman,but as clark kent was a teenager in development so is superman a superhero with much to learn.with a liitle imagination we can have another 10 seasons.i think that the fans who waited for ten years deserve ar list two or three with a superman series and,who knows,maybe even a movie with tom welling,whom i believe can be the best superman ever because of all the experience he has untill now.thanks,i am alexander from bucharest,tomania

  • Clown305

    Super girl in the future would make a betetter sence of a spin off since it ended with her doing her own future.

  • Chox11

    they should make a spinoff of smallville and call it metropolis it wont be replaced easily by a different character (superhero) so why try, use the same one.

  • Twocylman

    thats easy, the Martian manhunter, he is a police man from another planet with really cool powers
    He would be my first choice, then Adam Strange, how cool would that be, or Hawkman, another police man fron space. The Challengers of the unknown one of the best teams ever , they risk their lives because they are living on barrowed time , no special effects ,because no super powers.

  • Contrattos

    Bring back the cast of Smallville, only fast forward 10 years.

  • Gg

    Spider Man

  • Shazam

    How About Shazam

  • Cool

    Seriously Shazam

  • Abejundio

    Why can’t we have a Nightwing series. Nightwing is a name that has been used by several fictional characters in the DC Universe. It was conceived as a Kryptonian analogue to the character Batman, with Nightwing’s frequent partner Flamebird based on Robin. The Nightwing persona originates with a Kryptonian vigilante taking the name of the “nightwing”, a bird native to the planet Krypton. When the fallen city of Kandor falls to earth during Smallville, Kara is the one to deal with the incident. In original comics Superman shrinks the city and places it in a bottle and sits it on display in the fortress. The Bottled City of Kandor becomes a great place for Superman to study his people because it was such a massive hunk that people were living on it as it drifted though space because it kept an atmosphere of its own. The inhabitants went buck wild and there was a major increase in crime. Superman put on a special suite that drew in the suns powers so that it could keep him energized giving him his powers while on in Kandor. Jimmy Olson took on the persona of Flamebird and since Jimmy originally lives on Earth, the artificial sun for Kandor gives him superhuman powers. They could try to get Tom Welling to play Superman in the Pilot episode.  In comics Dick Grayson was essentially fired from his duties with Batman. Superman doesn’t feel it is a job that Bruce has the right to fire someone from so he when Dick goes to Superman for advice he tells Dick about his role as Nightwing and leaves the kid to his thoughts after an epic speech. Dick picks up the mantle and becomes Nightwing. Nightwing never joined the Justice League or anything else for a while there because Bruce paid money to each of these organizations so that they wouldn’t accept him. He is misunderstood by some of the DC heroes for a while. It would be easy to do a series on him without having to show Batman because the contact was very limited. An opening scene with Tom Welling giving a speech to young Dick dressed as Robin would be epic. Superman could be hovering above Robin who is sitting on a ledge. After the speech Superman could fly off never to be seen in the series again. This could open into the wardrobe change and his new found purpose and from there lead to the drama that is Nightwing. The series can be called Blüdhaven, which is the backdrop for the Nightwing comics. It is pronounced “Bloodhaven.” This would be my suggestion for a replacement series.

  • Jandad32007

    Why not let Superman now be Superman to the point where DC killed him and then brought him back, not a Lois and Clark

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