C’mon Hollywood #216

… Tom Welling as the new Superman!
by J.A. Hamilton

Theatrically, Superman’s seen better days. The originals aside, there was tremendous hype and essentially demand for re-imagining the series, especially after the overwhelming success of BATMAN BEGINS. SUPERMAN RETURNS, despite cool trailers and Brandon Routh’s excellent candor, just didn’t cut it. Since then, Superman’s theatrical future has been in limbo, court and lately, the gutter. So the Wachowskis are looking to direct, well who gives a rat’s ass! The director is just one piece of the puzzle, they still need a great script (which RETURNS didn’t have) and they need a solid actor to wear the S. And amidst all this chaos, one guy’s been consistently making it happen for the better part of a decade. Tom Welling. He’s got this cool little show (you may have heard of it) which goes by the name of “Smallville.”

Look, I know what you might be thinking. “Smallville” is SMALLTIME because it’s on the tube and not the big screen, but before you take THAT route I need you to consider a couple things. One, if you were to Google “is Tom Welling the best Superman” you’d find quite a long list of fans who share my point of view. And sure, “Smallville’s” on the CW network, home to laughable nonsense like 90210, ONE TREE HILL and GOSSIP GIRL but “Smallville’s” also heading into it’s ninth season, meaning Tom Welling knows as much about the man of steel as creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. He’s been living and breathing Clark Kent for almost ten years, longer than any actor before him, including the late Christopher Reeve. There can be no denying the man’s loyalty to the character, and I was blown away by the many layers he’s added to Superman’s life on an emotional level.

Now before you start thinking this is simply a die hard fan speech, I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t always into “Smallville.” My dad and brother were big fans from day one, but to me, the first couple seasons looked like they transferred Clark Kent to Degrassi Junior High which just so happened to be heavy on the “kryptonite infected” student base. It wasn’t until I caught an episode featuring red kryptonite (and how much of a bad ass Clark becomes when exposed to it) that I decided to give this show a real chance. I was far from disappointed and grew into the fan I am today (I have a “Smallville” calender for Christ sake). Bottom line, this show (and most of it’s cast including Welling) are underrated and deserve a bigger spot in the limelight. Oh, and being a (HUGE) fan of Erica Durance’s super cleavage, I won’t really get into Welling’s dreamy looks and sculpted bod, though he’s clearly covered in THAT department as well.

Another something to consider are some of the players who came to help Tom in his adventures. First and foremost, we have Christopher Reeve himself showing up as Dr. Virgil Swann. And if Reeve was willing to come into this series, you wanna imagine he was behind Welling’s portrayal of Superman. There’s also Terrence Stamp (who played Zod in SUPERMAN 2) weighing in as Clark’s Kryptonian father, Jor-El. Now as far as Clark’s character, I find Welling added more humanity and compassion than any actor before him. Reeve’s Clark was a bumbling imbecile and his Superman was calm and very confident, like he just KNEW he could brake your spine if he wanted to. Welling brings a different game to the table, one that explores the constant struggle of emotions that come with all his power and responsibility. He’s by far the most noble and charismatic Superman to date.

Now I’ll admit THE FOG wasn’t Welling’s finest hour, but he did his best and in all honestly he’s the ONLY reason I watched that turdburger of a movie. Reeve was an awesome Superman, and I’m not taking anything away from Routh either. However, Routh’s contract is now up and I can’t see him waiting around for a call, nor should he. Some might argue that Tom lacks experience, that “Smallville’s” just another teen soap opera, but lets be honest here, Routh did fine and he was a damn model (and lest we forget that Reeve himself was an unknown before being cast in SUPERMAN). Tom Welling has a huge following and that’s exactly what the next SUPERMAN flick needs! Warner Brothers Pictures has been singing the “Smallville” theme song for some time now, because they really do NEED somebody to save them. My advice? Tom Welling. Who’s with me?