Smallville
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Smallville is a fictional town in the United States which Superboy protects and where most of his crime-fighting adventures take place. It is also the town in which the young Clark Kent grows up before moving to Metropolis to begin his career as Superman. The town first appeared as "Smallville, USA" in Superboy (volume 1) #2 (1949).
The town
Smallville is usually portrayed as an idyllic small 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), Lana Lang, Pete Ross, and Smallville police chief Chief Parker. In the original Superboy comics, other noted residents included Professor Phineas Potter (Lana's uncle) and a younger version of Lex Luthor. The late Conner Kent, the third Superboy, lived in Smallville with Ma and Pa Kent, though he didn't quite enjoy it.
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 sold their farm when Clark started school and opened a general store in town; the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths comics, where Clark never had a Superboy career, show the Kents as still residing on their farm when Clark is an adult.
Clark, Pete, and Lana attended 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."
Location
The actual location of Smallville, like those of other fictional DC Universe cities, originally was 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." In 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, respectively). Smallville was first placed in Kansas in the 1970s and 1980s , although in the first one 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.In issue #13 of the Superman/Batman series (2004), Smallville is mentioned as being adjacent to the (equally fictional) town of Granville, Kansas. The name Granville comes from the 2000s television series Smallville; Smallville is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, which was called Granville until it was renamed in 1886, and Granville Street (a major arterial road in the city) as well as Granville Island (a small, man-made island and tourist attraction) still retain the name. (The nearby rural suburban town of Cloverdale stands in for downtown Smallville in the series.)
In Smallville, on a clear day Metropolis is visible from the town. This seemingly insignficant fact is interesting to note since Metropolis is depicted as a city on the ocean with shipping ports. Therefore, it is geographically impossible for Smallville or Metropolis to be in Kansas.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman places Smallville as a city in Kansas as well, though Metropolis is located on the east coast.
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.
Other uses
"Smallville, USA" is also a generic term to describe a relatively small American town.Also the nickname given to Clark Kent by Lois Lane.
External links
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