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There's an easy trend in fandom to compartmentalize the fans. Each group has defining characteristics based on characters or pairings that they like (or the lack of liking any one pairing/character over another). They are socialization circles. It's common in every single fandom.
Smallville has always been far different from other fandoms for a singular reason - we know the end of the story. This has been a fact long acknowledged by the fans and the creators of the show. It's a story with a long and varied history, and an interesting and twisted path.
What started out a group of characters that were absolutes (absolute good, absolute evil, as was and is true to the comic genre) has evolved over time. In the world of Superman, he was given an overhaul in the late 80s to recognize the need for more complexity in the character. Of all superheros, he's suprisingly uncomplex, but the dimensions added at that time made his motivations and insecurities far more clear (and made him more human and identifiable in the process).
But overhauling a character hasn't been limited to the comics. Many view Lois and Clark as an overhaul of Lois (mainly in the first season). She was updated to portray a woman of today, fighting to be the best in a man's world.
Smallville, from the beginning, has seemed to have been the long awaited overhaul of Lex Luthor. Steps had been taken in comics, but never quite the big step needed to fully realize the character. No criminal is absolutely bad, just like no hero is absolutely good. What used to be a staple in comics of Evil and Good has evolved with the growing complexity of the world. Lex Luthor can no longer be black and white evil, he has to have a complexity to top all others.
In the world of comics, Superman is the "ultimate good guy." Part of that role is because of his amazing powers, but the other part is because his otherwise normality. He's easily identifiable as the good guy. In direct contrast to that is Lex Luthor, the "ultimate bad guy". He's the ultimate bad guy, for the nearly the same reasons. His absolute normality (no discernible physical differences) with an upbringing not unheard of, plus the American success story, make him easily identifiable as...a good guy. The key to making Lex Luthor more complex is showing all of the factors that go into *how* he fools so many people into believing he's so good for so long. And that main factor is by first fooling himself into believing that any decisions that he could be condemned for were the *only* decisions to be made. He has to convince himself he's the good guy in the picture, just misunderstood.
And that's what we're seeing on Smallville. This isn't the comics of yore, when evil had a capital "E" and cackled maniacally in the background. Even in Smallville, where evil seems to definitely have a name (that of Magnificent Bastard), it may not be what it seems. In the land of Smallville, absolutes were thrown out with the bathwater, and ambiguity and dancing the tightrope reign supreme.
In the beginning of this fandom, the lines were drawn in terms of absolutes, and are still many times done so. Fans like the absolutes to a large degree, because they're easier to identify. It's easy to know who to cheer for. Early on, the easily identifiable factions were the Comics Fans, the Superman Fans and the New Fans. Early on it was made clear who fell in what group by how they perceived the show. The group that was easily identifiable as the Comics Fans were most vocal about hating the show. Keep in mind, not all fans of the comics were Comics Fans. Just the really vocal group that blasted a perceived bastardization for a while then seemed to disappear. The Superman Fans have long been a fan of the Superman story and enjoy the show, too. They come in with a broader base of knowledge, but usually the ability to compartmentalize one telling of the story from another based on being fans of movies, TV shows, and comics. The New Fans are experiencing Smallville as their first exposure to the Superman story and know little. But many of the new fans ask for back story and information on the future of the tale from the Superman Fans. It's a cohesive group that feeds off of each other.
Over time the groups evolved based on characters, which is standard for any fandom. New Fans and Superman Fans comingled in each group.
But a common ideology from other multiple genre fandoms pervaded Smallville as a fandom and has created dissention in a way that is divisive.
The commonly held rule for fandoms that exist in comics, novelization, movies and TV (or some grouping of those), is that they have no bearing on each other as far as the story goes. Namely, what is canon in comics does not have to be canon in the movies. What was written out on a TV show has no bearing on the storyline in a novel (unless it's a direct tie-in, and even the Smallville novels have shown to ignore that bit of reality). This is common sense, because it's a case of parallel universes, with small changes in factors. If it all takes place at the same time, and the end result isn't known, than anything can happen given a certain set of features and characters common to that story.
But what works for X-Men or Spiderman doesn't work in the case of Smallville. The one defining factor that makes this ultimately far different from any other fandom is the fact that this has always been a story of Young Superman. The key is that "Superman" is still to exist. We *know* the future. The creators know the future. We don't know the details or the whys and hows. We don't know the degrees and lengths that Lex or Superman will go to, because this universe is slightly different. But in true comics form, because of the fact that Superman was born in 1938 and has been around since, there are three absolutes.
1) Clark becomes Superman
2) Lex becomes his arch enemy
3) Clark ends up with Lois
Regardless of what other factors may be different, at it's core Smallville has these three truths as it's future. This wouldn't be the story of a Young Superman and a Young Lex Luthor without the knowledge that they *become* Superman and Lex Luthor.
What is frustrating to most fans is the ignoring of any and all future actions of the two leads. While we do not know specifics, we do know the general. Clark Kent becomes Superman, who is good with a lowercase "g", and Lex Luthor becomes a much more realistic version of the bad guy...not evil with a capital "E", but something far more truthful and deadly. The creators have stated that Lex Luthor is bordering on the downward spiral to going bad (of course he's been bordering since the beginning). They will become who they will become. There is no altering that. It's the path - the journey - that is far more interesting in this story, because it gives us insight into what used to be a far simpler tale. Complication is the real world, and the goal of Smallville has always been to, on some level, bring the real world to the Superman comic genre.
Smallville has always been far different from other fandoms for a singular reason - we know the end of the story. This has been a fact long acknowledged by the fans and the creators of the show. It's a story with a long and varied history, and an interesting and twisted path.
What started out a group of characters that were absolutes (absolute good, absolute evil, as was and is true to the comic genre) has evolved over time. In the world of Superman, he was given an overhaul in the late 80s to recognize the need for more complexity in the character. Of all superheros, he's suprisingly uncomplex, but the dimensions added at that time made his motivations and insecurities far more clear (and made him more human and identifiable in the process).
But overhauling a character hasn't been limited to the comics. Many view Lois and Clark as an overhaul of Lois (mainly in the first season). She was updated to portray a woman of today, fighting to be the best in a man's world.
Smallville, from the beginning, has seemed to have been the long awaited overhaul of Lex Luthor. Steps had been taken in comics, but never quite the big step needed to fully realize the character. No criminal is absolutely bad, just like no hero is absolutely good. What used to be a staple in comics of Evil and Good has evolved with the growing complexity of the world. Lex Luthor can no longer be black and white evil, he has to have a complexity to top all others.
In the world of comics, Superman is the "ultimate good guy." Part of that role is because of his amazing powers, but the other part is because his otherwise normality. He's easily identifiable as the good guy. In direct contrast to that is Lex Luthor, the "ultimate bad guy". He's the ultimate bad guy, for the nearly the same reasons. His absolute normality (no discernible physical differences) with an upbringing not unheard of, plus the American success story, make him easily identifiable as...a good guy. The key to making Lex Luthor more complex is showing all of the factors that go into *how* he fools so many people into believing he's so good for so long. And that main factor is by first fooling himself into believing that any decisions that he could be condemned for were the *only* decisions to be made. He has to convince himself he's the good guy in the picture, just misunderstood.
And that's what we're seeing on Smallville. This isn't the comics of yore, when evil had a capital "E" and cackled maniacally in the background. Even in Smallville, where evil seems to definitely have a name (that of Magnificent Bastard), it may not be what it seems. In the land of Smallville, absolutes were thrown out with the bathwater, and ambiguity and dancing the tightrope reign supreme.
In the beginning of this fandom, the lines were drawn in terms of absolutes, and are still many times done so. Fans like the absolutes to a large degree, because they're easier to identify. It's easy to know who to cheer for. Early on, the easily identifiable factions were the Comics Fans, the Superman Fans and the New Fans. Early on it was made clear who fell in what group by how they perceived the show. The group that was easily identifiable as the Comics Fans were most vocal about hating the show. Keep in mind, not all fans of the comics were Comics Fans. Just the really vocal group that blasted a perceived bastardization for a while then seemed to disappear. The Superman Fans have long been a fan of the Superman story and enjoy the show, too. They come in with a broader base of knowledge, but usually the ability to compartmentalize one telling of the story from another based on being fans of movies, TV shows, and comics. The New Fans are experiencing Smallville as their first exposure to the Superman story and know little. But many of the new fans ask for back story and information on the future of the tale from the Superman Fans. It's a cohesive group that feeds off of each other.
Over time the groups evolved based on characters, which is standard for any fandom. New Fans and Superman Fans comingled in each group.
But a common ideology from other multiple genre fandoms pervaded Smallville as a fandom and has created dissention in a way that is divisive.
The commonly held rule for fandoms that exist in comics, novelization, movies and TV (or some grouping of those), is that they have no bearing on each other as far as the story goes. Namely, what is canon in comics does not have to be canon in the movies. What was written out on a TV show has no bearing on the storyline in a novel (unless it's a direct tie-in, and even the Smallville novels have shown to ignore that bit of reality). This is common sense, because it's a case of parallel universes, with small changes in factors. If it all takes place at the same time, and the end result isn't known, than anything can happen given a certain set of features and characters common to that story.
But what works for X-Men or Spiderman doesn't work in the case of Smallville. The one defining factor that makes this ultimately far different from any other fandom is the fact that this has always been a story of Young Superman. The key is that "Superman" is still to exist. We *know* the future. The creators know the future. We don't know the details or the whys and hows. We don't know the degrees and lengths that Lex or Superman will go to, because this universe is slightly different. But in true comics form, because of the fact that Superman was born in 1938 and has been around since, there are three absolutes.
1) Clark becomes Superman
2) Lex becomes his arch enemy
3) Clark ends up with Lois
Regardless of what other factors may be different, at it's core Smallville has these three truths as it's future. This wouldn't be the story of a Young Superman and a Young Lex Luthor without the knowledge that they *become* Superman and Lex Luthor.
What is frustrating to most fans is the ignoring of any and all future actions of the two leads. While we do not know specifics, we do know the general. Clark Kent becomes Superman, who is good with a lowercase "g", and Lex Luthor becomes a much more realistic version of the bad guy...not evil with a capital "E", but something far more truthful and deadly. The creators have stated that Lex Luthor is bordering on the downward spiral to going bad (of course he's been bordering since the beginning). They will become who they will become. There is no altering that. It's the path - the journey - that is far more interesting in this story, because it gives us insight into what used to be a far simpler tale. Complication is the real world, and the goal of Smallville has always been to, on some level, bring the real world to the Superman comic genre.
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