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Smallville is the fictional hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang and Pete Ross. Smallville was the setting of many Superboy comics, which depicted Clark as a young man defending Smallville from otherworldly evils and occasionally, the young Lex Luthor. Smallville is also the setting of the television series Smallville which similarly depicts the young Clark Kent.
[edit] DescriptionSmallville is usually portrayed as an idyllic small isolated American town, with an atmosphere resembling the settings of the paintings of Norman Rockwell. Its residents are generally very friendly, although for a relatively minor civic center its crime rate is unusually high. Noted residents of Smallville include the Kent family Jonathan and Martha Kent, or Ma and Pa Kent as they were often called, and their adopted son Clark Kent; Clark's friend, classmate and sometimes romantic interest Lana Lang; Clark's best friend Pete Ross, and Smallville police chief Douglas Parker. In the original Superboy comics, other noted residents included Professor Phineas Potter (Lana's uncle), archaeologist Lewis Lang (her father) and a younger version of Lex Luthor. Conner Kent, the current Superboy, lives in Smallville with Ma and Pa Kent, though he did not quite enjoy it until after getting a second chance at life. Smallville's economy seems mostly to consist of various locally owned businesses, along with various farms surrounding the town, including the Kent family farm. In the original Superboy comics, the Kent family sells their farm when Clark starts school and open a general store in town. Post-Crisis comics (1986 onward), in which Clark never became Superboy, show the Kents residing on their farm when Clark is attending school, and still living there when he is an adult. Clark, Pete, and Lana attend Smallville's only high school, Smallville High School. In terms of media, Smallville has had several newspapers mentioned over the years, including the Smallville Sentinel and Smallville Times-Reader. Smallville receives its television and radio broadcasts from a larger nearby city. In the original Superboy comics, a billboard outside of Smallville greets those driving into and out of town; the billboard features a picture of Superboy waving, with words next to it reading: "Welcome to Smallville, Home of Superboy." [edit] LocationSimilar to the whereabouts of other fictional DC Universe cities, the actual location of Smallville was, originally, never specifically stated in the comics. Smallville's location varied widely throughout many stories, many of which placed Smallville close to Metropolis and Midvale, home of Supergirl. All-New Collectors' Edition #C-55 (notable for featuring the wedding of Legion of Super-Heroes members Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl and published in 1978) calls Smallville "a quiet town, nestled in the hills just inland from the eastern seaboard.", although most recent sources point the location of Smallville to be in Kansas. [edit] The Adventures of SupermanThe first time in any media that Smallville or the Kent farm were actually linked to a specific location was in The Adventures of Superman radio show. In the storyline "The Secret Rocket" (9/29/47-10/30/47), mention was made several times that young Clark Kent grew up on Eben Kent's farm in Iowa. The farmtown was unnamed in the story (as the name "Smallville" appeared for the first time two years later in Superboy (volume 1) #2); the nearest town actually named in the broadcast was the real-life Centerville. [edit] Amazing World of DC Comics #14In Amazing World of DC Comics #14 (1977), a magazine with articles on DC Comics characters and series, Smallville was stated to be in Maryland. The Maryland location was supported in the actual comics with a map of Smallville and the surrounding area that was published in New Adventures of Superboy #22 (October 1981), which situated Smallville a few miles west of a large bay very similar to Delaware Bay (the same map placed Metropolis and Gotham City on the east and west sides of the bay. [edit] Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2 #313A map of Legion-era Metropolis included in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2 #313 (July, 1984) indicates that Smallville was believed by the 1980s to be somewhere in northeastern Pennsylvania or northern New Jersey, while incorporated into Metropolis proper at that time as a historical district. In revisions of the map published after 1986, this was retroactively removed to accommodate changes of Smallville's location in other titles, as detailed below. [edit] The Death and Life of Superman (Novel)In the novel (1993), Jonathan and Martha Kent drive from the Great Bend, Kansas airport to Smallville,[1] which would put Smallville somewhere in central Kansas. [edit] Superman #822In "Repo Man, part one", Smallville is placed approximately 55 miles from Salina, KS, and in line with Junction City, KS, giving it approximately the same location as Dorrance, KS. [edit] Superman/BatmanIn Superman/Batman #13 (2004), Smallville is mentioned as being adjacent to the (equally fictional) town of Granville, Kansas. The name Granville comes from the television series, which is filmed in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, which was called Granville until it was incorporated and renamed in 1886. Furthermore, Granville Street (a major arterial road in the city), as well as Granville Island (a small, man-made peninsula often mistaken for an island, serving as a market and tourist attraction), still retain the name (the nearby rural suburban town of Cloverdale stands in for downtown Smallville in the series). [edit] In other media[edit] Superman (1978 film)Smallville was first placed in Kansas by the 1978 film, Superman,[2] although actual filming of the Kent family's farmland was done in Alberta and the surrounding fields of the town of Baldock, England. Superman writer Elliot S. Maggin incorporated the Kansas location into the DC Universe in his 1981 Superman novel, Miracle Monday. Comic writer and artist John Byrne also placed Smallville in Kansas in his 1986 rewrite of Superman's origin. The 1990s limited series The Kents places Smallville in Eastern Kansas within approximately one day's horse ride of Paola, Kansas, which is located in Miami County. The tag on the truck driven by Glen Ford's character had a Cloud County identifyer CD Kansas. Incidently there was a Smallville in Cloud County Kansas NW of Concordia and south of Norway, Kansas. All that is left there is an old railroad depot. [edit] Superboy (TV series)The Superboy TV series also places Smallville in Kansas, stating it is where Clark and Lana grew up. The main action of that series takes place at the fictional Shuster University in Florida, named for Superman/Superboy's co-creator, artist, Joe Shuster. [edit] Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of SupermanLois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman places Smallville as a city in Kansas as well, though Metropolis is located on the east coast and Superman must fly between the two locations using his superspeed. [edit] Smallville (TV series)In the television series Smallville, Metropolis is visible from the town on a clear day on the top of a water tower. It has a population of 45,000. In two Season One episodes, the zip code for Smallville, Kansas was revealed to be 66684 and 66645. In another episode, an envelope addressed to Lex revealed that the Metropolis zip code was 66624. The 66624 zip code in reality belongs to Topeka, Kansas. In Season 3, Metropolis is mentioned as being a three-hour drive away from Smallville by Chloe Sullivan, which gives a clue as to its approximate distance away. During Season 6 in the episode ("Fallout"), a map is shown with "Metropolis, KS" clearly labeled; it is located in the southwest quadrant of Kansas, somewhere near the real-world location of Dodge City, while Smallville on the same map (marked with a star) appears to be several hundred miles to the east, near real-world Wichita. However, by the fifth season, when most of the episodes feature many scenes in Metropolis, the main characters routinely and quickly travel between the two cities by car several times a day - such as Chloe Sullivan, who works in Metropolis at the Daily Planet but lives in Smallville - implying that the two cities must indeed be close enough for Metropolis to be visible from Smallville. At the beginning of Season 7, the death certificates issued to Lana Luthor and Chloe Sullivan identified the city of Smallville as being located in Lowell County, Kansas. However, no such county exists in the real Kansas. Also in season 7, a map shows Metropolis as being in the same location as the real-world Kansas City. Jonathan Kent is elected a Kansas state senator representing Smallville just before his death in Smallville, after which Martha Kent takes his place in the Kansas Senate. [edit] It's SupermanIn the novel, It's Superman! by Tom De Haven, which is set in 1938, Smallville is placed in Osage County along U.S. Highway 75. [edit] Other uses
[edit] See also[edit] External links[edit] References
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