Fictional Characters #5 - The Super Club

It had to happen, everyone who knows me knew that it did, right?  So I decided to lump them all together, with the exception of Lex, who clearly belonged in the Villains category. 

Superman/Clark Kent (best played by Christopher Reeve in Superman)

I almost listed these as two separate characters.  In some version Clark Kent is the disguise, and in other versions Superman clearly is.  Yet at heart they are all the same. I’ve been thinking about why this character is so interesting to me, and there are a lot of reasons, but I think the main reason is that in most stories, as in real life, power corrupts.  Superman however, is depicted as being the most physically powerful person on the planet,  and yet largely, to borrow a word from a recent episode of Smallville, “incorruptible."

Lois Lane (best played by Margot Kidder in Superman)

When I was a teenager, this is who I wanted to be when I grew up.  As a grown up, I’ve realized I’m not quite that willing to incur the wrath of those around me.  Still, when I feel nervous I try to channel my inner Lois Lane, and sometimes it actually works.  

Perry White (as played by Lane Smith in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman)

The only Perry White that is really dear to my heart is Lois and Clark’s Lane Smith.    It’s probably why when I think of a Perry White catchphrase I think not of the standard “Great Caesar’s Ghost” but Lane Smith’s boisterous “Great Shades of Elvis!”  When Lane Smith died a few years ago, I was honestly sad for a moment.  He was tough and cranky, but also funny and vulnerable, truly becoming a key player in the series, rather than merely “the boss”. 

Chloe Sullivan (as played by Allison Mack in Smallville)

As I’ve said before I have a serious love-hate relationship with Smallville, but the computer hacking, girl-next-door Chloe is Smallville’s true contribution to the Superman universe.  I also think she’s an example of a character that was so surprisingly good, the writers and creators of the show didn’t know what to do with her.  Five times more interesting than their Lana Lang, I still think we should have had a year or two of a Clark and Chloe relationship.  There’s no law that says that Clark didn’t have a girlfriend between Lana and Lois, right?  I’ve always thought the writers and creators of Smallville missed the boat on that one. 

Oliver Queen/The Green Arrow (as played by Justin Hartley in Smallville)

This guy deserves his own show, or at least better material. (Another reason for the “hate” part of the love-hate relationship).   Still, if I laugh out loud while watching Smallville, 10 to 1 it’s over something this guy said, and he’s the only character from Smallville who helped inspire a character in one of my own books.