In October of 2001, Smallville debuted on the WB with an unknown as the starring character Clark Kent. The idea was simple: Show Clark Kent in his high school years in his hometown of Smallville struggling to master his emerging powers. No one could have predicted just how popular and long lasting the series would be. Now, in its 10th and final season, Smallville has become, arguably, the greatest and most realistic incarnation of the Superman mythos that has ever been brought to the live action medium. The success of Smallville, in my mind, can be attributed to Al Gough and Miles Miller, the creators of the series. Their simple rule of "No Tights, No Flights" made the writers and actors on the show focus on the character of Clark Kent, NOT on the powers or the iconic hero he would one day become. The series isn't about Superman and how he saves the day. It's about Clark Kent struggling with his Kryptonian origins and trying to figure out his place in the world.
One of the strongest aspects of Smallville, in my mind, has been the utilization of other DC Comics characters such as Green Arrow/Oliver Queen, Aquaman/Arthur Curry, Impulse/Bart Allen, Martian Manhunter/J'onn J'onzz, the Justice Society of America, and the Legion of Superheroes. By integrating these characters into the series, audiences were not only given tastes of all the different characters that comprise the DC Universe, but also how Clark Kent interacts with them and what he learns from them. In fact, in 2005, Miles Miller and Al Gough tried adapting another DC Comics character to television in the form of "Aquaman", starring Justin Hartley as Arthur Curry/Aquaman. While the series was not picked up, the pilot was so popular that it was the number 1 downloaded television episode on iTunes for several weeks.
This fall, audiences will lose Smallville, but gain a new, revamped Wonder Woman series starring Adrianne Palicki as the Amazonian Princess, Diana/Wonder Woman. Early fan responses to the costume and the precieved storyline have not been particularly strong, but I will be very interested to see what NBC brings us with this iconic character.
The question that I pose not only to myself, but to all of you, is if you had a choice, which DC Comics character(s) would you like to see adapted into a live-action television series?
My first choice would be a new version of The Flash. I feel that the character of Barry Allen has so many sides and stories to explore, that the series would be exceptionally rich. I'm sure we all remember the somewhat campy Flash series from the 90's starring John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen/The Flash. While it was good, I would much rather see a more serious and relistic take on the character and on the physics of his speed. I also think that by using Barry Allen/The Flash, you allow yourself a certain level of access to other supporting DC Comics characters such as Wally West, Jay Garrick, Bart Allen, or even his best friends in the comics Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen.
Now, I know that a lot of people are probably thinking the same thing I am: That they would rather see a live-action film of The Flash rather than a television series. Well, if the WB said I had to choose between the movie or the tv series, then I'd definately choose to see it as a movie instead. In which case, my second choice would be to see a Green Arrow television series. Thanks to Smallville, Green Arrow/Oliver Queen has already been introduced to audiences and has become a fairly well known since he first appeared in season 6. I think that Green Arrow has a touch of everything that people today like in superheroes: He's a bit like Batman with his knowledge of martial arts and his vigilante approach to crime fighting. He has the ego and sarcasm like Tony Stark/Iron Man. And lastly, he has the romantic drama which seems to drive so many television series.
My third and last choice for a DC character to be adapted to television would be Nightwing/Dick Grayson. I know that over the past 2 years in the comics, Dick has shed his identity as Nightwing and become the Batman of Gotham City while Bruce Wayne is a globe trotting Batman, but I still think this series would be great. It gives us a Batman-like character, without upsetting Warner Bros/Chris Nolan. It could work well by working off the rough, fractured past between Bruce and Dick that drove Dick to abandon the Robin costume and become his own man by becoming Nightwing. We could get guest appearances by famous Bat-Family characters such as Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake/Robin/Red Robin, Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon/Oracle, and many others. They could even show Dick interacting with members of the Titans, such as Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, Roy Harper/Red Arrow, etc...
Anyways, those are my three top choices. Which DC Comics character(s) would you like most to see adapted to a live-action television series??