Many cultures around the world, and throughout time, have a rich mythology filled with heroes and monsters. The American culture of the 20th and 21st centuries does to. Our mythology is populated by comic book superheroes like Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman.

When a character has been around for 70 years it is sometimes necessary to make changes to the mythology in order to write new stories. The television show Smallville has made a number of changes and additions to the Superman mythos. Some changes work. Some don't.

New Characters

One big change that Smallville made to the Superman mythology was the addition of characters like Chloe Sullivan and Lionel Luthor.

The addition of Chloe was a wonderful idea, especially after she learns about Clark's powers. Having a regular character, other than his parents, know about his extraterrestrial origins has been great. While his other best friend, Pete, stressed out about knowing Clark's secret, Chloe enjoys knowing. She has been able to support Clark in a way that Pete didn't. The relationship between Clark and Pete became too much about Pete's jealousy as well as his abuse/misuse of his status as Clark's secret keeper. Chloe has always respected Clark. She has made an excellent sidekick and I am really glad that Al Gough and Miles Millar created her.

The creators of Smallville added Lionel Luthor because they wanted to have a counterpart to Jonathan and Martha Kent. Clark's parents played an important role in the first few years of the show and so did Lex's father. By creating the character of Lionel, the Smallville writers showed us a good example of how your family life can affect who you are and what kind of person you will become.

While Clark is seen with loving and supportive parents Lex is shown as a lonely child who does not really have his father's love. Lionel has always been extremely judgmental. He has treated Lex in a way that says, "You are a failure". Episodes like "Memoria" (season 3) and "Fracture" (season 7) give us a glimpse of the dysfunctional family that Lex comes from. The addition of the Lionel Luthor character has added valuable information to the mythology by showing us one of the reasons why Lex became the super villain we've seen in the movies and comics.

The Villains

Superman, like many other superheroes, has a group of villains that plague his existence. Apart from Lex Luthor, Superman has also had to fight Bizarro, Mr. Mxyzptlk, General Zod, and Brainiac,

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