Smallville
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).
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."
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
Superman movies, 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 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.)
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. (However, the visibility of Metropolis from certain parts of Smallville has been acknowledged by the writing staff. At the time it was seen from Smallville, they hadn't quite 'placed' Metropolis yet.)
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.
"Smallville, USA" is also a generic term to describe a relatively small American town.
Also the nickname given to Clark Kent by Lois Lane.
*
Supermanica wiki's entry on Smallville*
Smallville en español
