Smallville

Action #1000: Alfred Gough on Smallville’s Role In The Superman Legacy

Smallville creator Alfred Gough discusses what it was like to have been a part of Superman’s 80-year legacy as Action Comics sees its 1000th issue released.

Published

8 years ago

April 18, 2018

Craig Byrne

The 1000th issue of Action Comics is released by DC Comics today, on a day that also happens to be the 80th anniversary of the release of the very first appearance of Superman in comics in April 1938’s Action Comics #1.

Generations of fans were introduced to Superman through these comic books, but for some, a first introduction may have been through other media, whether it’s the old George Reeves TV series, the film series starring Christopher Reeve, Lois & Clark... or Smallville, the WB/CW television series starring Tom Welling that aired for ten of those 80 years of Super-history.

To celebrate Action #1000, we reached out to one of the creators of Smallville, Alfred Gough, to ask him about what it was like to have contributed such a major part to Superman history. Nostalgia for Smallville, which left the air in 2011, seems to be at an all-time high lately, with fans traveling across the country to see series stars at conventions, recording podcasts, watching classic episodes on Hulu and DVD, and “always holding on.” It very well might be time for an Entertainment Weekly cast reunion photo shoot, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Here’s what Mr. Gough had to say:

“Being part of the Superman legacy is one of the great gifts of my life . When Miles and I created Smallville, our goal was to honor the spirit and legacy of the character while adding a new chapter to the mythology. We wanted to bring Superman into the 21st century in a fresh way. I think the reason that the character has endured for 80 years is because he can be reinvented for any era while still maintaining his core values. It’s a testament to Shuster and Siegel that they created a character in which everyone can invest their own hopes and dreams. That’s why we will always believe that a man can fly.”

Fans of what Al and Miles brought to Smallville might want to see their current series, Into the Badlands, which sees its third season premiere this Sunday, April 22 at 10PM on the AMC cable channel. A trailer can be found below.

Related Topics:Action #1000 Action Comics #1000 Al Gough Alfred Gough Into the Badlands Legacy Smallville superman

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1 Comment

Drew Droze

April 18, 2018 at 1:59 pm

Having known Al Gough for 4 years in high school, it comes as no surprise that his creativity and artistic qualities couldn’t have given a better addition to the Superman genre. He continues to add great entertaining stories and programs that capture the imagination for all generations… All the best Al

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Smallville

New Video Spotlights Superman References on Smallville

Warner Bros. celebrates the Superman references of Smallville in a new video.

Published

4 weeks ago

January 1, 2026

Craig Byrne

We’re starting to think someone at the Warner Bros. social media team may be a Smallville fan as they have recently posted a new video spotlighting the references to Superman on Smallville. Of course, it’s not every reference ever, but it’s nice to see the show being spotlighted by WB and DC in this day and age, especially now that we are in the year that will mark 25 years since the premiere of Smallville on October 16, 2001. With ten seasons and 218 episodes, there’s a lot to choose from! (Yes, 218. “Absolute Justice” counts as two!)

What was your favorite Superman reference? Leave some comments below and unless there’s some kind of disaster, we promise the KryptonSite Forums will return sooner rather than later! Happy Anniversary Year, everybody!

Smallville

Michael Rosenbaum on Smallville Animated, Favorite Lexes & More

Michael Rosenbaum spoke with Bleeding Cool about his version of Lex Luthor on Smallville and offers a Smallville animated update

Published

2 months ago

November 28, 2025

Craig Byrne

Michael Rosenbaum recently spoke with the Bleeding Cool website about a number of topics, including the much-asked-about Smallville animated project. Unfortunately, the latest seems to be no update on what we’ve heard before.

“I would say the Smallville animated series that I created, and we have Al and Miles, creators of Smallville, who are in, and Tom Welling. We want to do it, and it’s just got to be the right timing. Right now, I’m not sure it is, but we’ll see. I think it will happen at some point, but I don’t know when. I wish I had an oracle, but I hope it comes to fruition,” Michael told them.

Rosenbaum also discussed the things that really made his Lex Luthor work.

“Ultimately, if you don’t know anything about the character’s past or don’t know why he became evil, then to me, you’re missing the special sauce and the ingredients. That’s what is most important to me. I knew I was playing a character, we were going to delve into his past, his childhood, his relationship with his father, and with other people. We saw him evolve, and I thought that’s what was interesting,” he said. “I thought the creators (behind Smallville, Al (Gough) and Miles (Millar) did a terrific job, and that’s why people liked what I did, because I had the opportunity to be likable, lovable, and be understood, and then I turned. You know why I did, and to me, that’s the best villain. When you see different layers, that’s all I’ll say about that. There have been some great actors to play Lex, but I think that’s the most important thing to me, and I had the luxury of having years to develop and become the ultimate villain,” he continued.

As for his favorite Lex Luthor actors?

Michael’s favorite is Gene Hackman “because of the nostalgia,” and he loves Nicholas Hoult’s take on the character from James Gunn’s 2025 Superman film. He also had fond things to say about Michael Cudlitz and Jon Cryer.

You can read the full Bleeding Cool interview here.

Smallville

Salute to Smallville 2026 Adds Erica Durance & Laura Vandervoort

Erica Durance and Laura Vandervoort will be attending the 2026 Salute to Smallville convention in Nashville.

Published

2 months ago

November 20, 2025

Craig Byrne

The 2026 Salute to Smallville convention celebrating the 25th anniversary of Smallville is happening in Nashville on November 6 & 7, and while that time is a little less than a year away, Creation Entertainment is already adding more guests!

Previously, the convention announced Tom Welling (Clark Kent), Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor), Eric Johnson (Whitney Fordman), and Adrianne Palicki (Lindsay Harrison/”Kara” from “Covenant”) – today, they are announcing two of Smallville’s most popular actors to the roster. Who, you ask?

The first of the two guests joined Smallville in Season 4. Originally set for only four episodes, she was so well liked and did such a great job in the role that she kept coming back… and coming back… and ultimately, the show was able to give us the actual Lois Lane that we all deserved, finally allowing Clark and Lois to be romantic on the show. We are talking, of course, about Erica Durance!

Next up is our favorite Supergirl, with no offense to others who have played the role. Yes, actor and award-winning director Laura Vandervoort is coming too! Laura was busy getting married at the time of the second Salute, and it’ll be great to see her again.

DISCLAIMER: KryptonSite webmaster and Salute to Smallville co-emcee Craig Byrne who wrote this article also is an employee of Creation Entertainment. But trust that means that I know full well how great we plan on making it!