#smallville recaps

[armageddon-generation]

Justice for Brandon Routh: Everything Cut From Superman Returns that makes it Great

Ultimately it's good Superman Returns didn't get sequels because of Bryan Singer & Kevin Spacey, but I'm kinda obsessed with the forgotten middle-child of Supes' movies, and it's infuriating how the movie's thematic spine and most of its best character-beats got cut.

The Theatrical Cut of Returns is literally half a movie. Brandon Routh deserved so much better.

Sources:

Deleted scene compilation (+Return to Krypton)

The Shooting Script (available to buy)

Superman Homepage deleted shots Page 1 and Page 2    

Novelisation by Marv Wolfman (this, the graphic novel & junior novelisation all used the 2005 shooting script.)

Superman Returns: The Visual Guide (available to buy)

Chew Chan comic art

Requiem for Krypton: Making Superman Returns

Prequel Comics (based on scenes from early drafts, with stories by writers Singer, Dougherty & Harris):

Prequel Comic #2: Ma Kent

Prequel Comic #3: Lex Luthor

Prequel Comic #4: Lois Lane

Comic book recap

‘78 opened with a boy narrating an issue of Action Comics. Returns pulled back red theatre drapes on a comic narrated by Clois’ son, Jason. 

Actor Tristan Lake is recording the voiceover in Requiem for Krypton

From the Script (p.1):

RED THEATRE CURTAINS, drawn shut. The kind found in classic movie houses of yesteryear. The slowly open ... the film flickers to life, fading in on an old comic-book

SUPERMAN. A BOY'S HAND reaches into frame and opens it.

JASON (V.O.): On a distant planet orbiting a red sun, a wise scientist predicted his world's imminent destruction. Despite overwhelming evidence, his pleas to evacuate the planet were ignored, leaving him and his wife no choice...

He turns the page to a panel of JOR-EL and his wife, LARA

JASON (V.O.) (CONT'D): ...but to place their only son into a spaceship and launch it to another galaxy, in hopes of finding the child a new home. A child destined to become Earth's greatest protector...

“In Golden Age style art, Kal-El is placed in the rocket by Jor-El and Lara, comes to Earth, grows up with the Kents, & learns that he possessed amazing powers.”

The script cuts the Smallville part because it’s covered later in flashback.

5 years on, Superman has been mythologised. In-universe, to kids he seems as make-believe as comic books are to us.

This develops Jason’s POV of Superman. He was supposed to have this comic (from 'Uncle Jimmy') when he meets Clark in The Daily Planet

This could be why Smallville was cut; the public only knows about Krypton

The opening scene of Gertrude Vanderworth’s death was originally replaced by:

Prequel: Lex in prison 

Lex’s cell is covered in Daily Planet clippings. He nonologues to henchman Stanford

LEX: I didn’t get you visiting privileges to my private suite so I could repeat myself … My work was more than mere greed … It’s a calling. Why can’t they see the danger? He’s a vanguard for an invasion of super-powered beings. I knew. I always knew. Making sure there was a line of defence against him. The Conquistadors carried a plague that decimated entire civilisations. Who knows what kind of spaceborne diseases he carried? Oh, they may not appreciate my genius now, but they will worship me for delivering them from this menace they so affectionately embrace.

Kitty Kowalski & Gertrude Vanderworth

Lex has a medical exam before his release. His henchwoman Kitty is the nurse. She flirts with him but complains Superman is all Lex thinks about 

Lex burns his old toupé to “cleanse” himself

In flashback, Kitty sees Lex kill an inmate in self-defence. Lex threatens her to protect his perfect record. But Kitty says she’s his “biggest fan” & anger becomes lust 

This is in The Visual Guide (p.26):

"She witnessed Lex murder a fellow inmate. Kitty refused to squeal to the guards, and she and Lex made clear their attraction for each-other."

Kitty is the Vanderworth widow's maid & suggests Lex write to her

She doesn’t like the name Kitty: “My name is Katherine”

An imaginary Superman hovers above, watching Lex leave prison.

Gertrude Vanderworth is waiting outside:

LEX: Gertrude! I’m dying in here. I’m dying without you. Please, take me home. If only you could imagine the grotesque living conditions I’ve been exposed to, dear, sweet Gertrude. You’ve rescued me from Dante’s Inferno, from the depths of human depravity.

Shows how prison changed Gene Hackman’s Lex into Returns’ philosophical maniac

Characterizes Kitty as Lex’s ‘Harley Quinn-lite’ & makes her more active

Stronger explanation for Lex's escape than Clark missing his court date 

The comic's final panel is Lex looking up at the imaginary Superman in the sky, zooming out into space, then leading into...

The Opening Titles as Clark’s journey to Krypton:

(from the Script):

“Stars interspersed with DAILY PLANET HEADLINES tracing Superman’s history, many by LOIS LANE;

“METEOR SHOWER BAFFLES SCIENTISTS”

“CAPED WONDER STUNS CITY”

“I SPENT THE NIGHT WITH SUPERMAN”

“SUPERMAN STOPS CRIMINAL MASTERMIND, LEX LUTHOR”

“LEX GETS LIFE THANKS TO MAN OF STEEL: SWEARS REVENGE”

“ASTRONOMERS DISCOVER KRYPTON INTACT – SIGNS OF LIFE FOUND”

And then the biggest headline of them all:

“SUPERMAN DISAPPEARS”

More headlines follow as the world is besieged … war, famine, crime. Soon, these headlines push Superman to the back pages. Within years, he’s all but faded from public consciousness. Finally, one last headline:

“WILL HE EVER RETURN?”

IS IT KRYPTON? (p.12), LUTHOR GETS LIFE (p.24) & VANDERWORTH TOPS THE FORTUNE 500!! (p.22) are in The Visual Guide

This gives the indulgent title-sequence a purpose. It sets up the consequences of Clark leaving, his history with Lois & Lex, Krypton’s discovery, and the Vanderworth fortune Lex will steal

This transitions into:

Return to Krypton

Concept art by Ben Proctor

The script describes “the remnants of this great civilisation… cities, monuments… all made from the same crystal technology” not in the filmed scene

Clark finds the House of El crest in the “VALLEY OF THE ELDERS . . . a VAST CANYON OF CRYSTAL MONOLITHS arranged in a circle” with more family crests.

Clark's escape is more visceral (Script pp.2-3):

“GIANT SLABS whiz by ... thousands of pieces of glowing kryptonite are hurtling towards him ... Parts [of Clark’s ship] shatter and break off ... The crystal immediately GROWS BACK ... more kryptonite smashes against the window, cracking it. Crystals work quickly to repair the damage, but it keeps coming.”

The filmed version puts Vibes over story: 

The Valley of Elders returns on Lex’s New Krypton in the finale. 

Without the other House crests the El one feels random

Showing Krypton's achievements validates Lex’s plan to resurrect it.

Clark’s ship self-repairing introduces ‘growing’ crystals immediately

Opening an action beat is important because the next one isn’t for 40 mins

Famously, this scene cost $10 million. Videographer Rob Burnett said:

“This was always meant to be the original opening [it] explained why he was so weak when Martha found him [&] that Kal-El sweats in the presence of kryptonite which Luthor notices later ... It wasn't cut until some last-minute test screenings … people unfamiliar with Donner's Superman films & Kryptonian crystals/tech found this dialogue-less opening confusing & uninteresting”

To solve this dialogue problem it was suggested Clark bring his mother Lara's memory crystal with him. She would narrate Krypton's history as Clark explored, contrasting its past glory with its current ruin. But the scene was already finished & Singer decided:

I didn’t feel it ... No-one told me to do it. I had no time restrictions or pressure whatsoever. I just felt the movie doesn’t need this."

But Marv Wolfman did something similar when retelling Jor El and Lara sending Clark away in Chapter 1 of his novelisation:

“It had been a timeless city, strong and powerful. It survived the vast armies of three great nations waging war on its bloodied streets. It stood proud as the signing place of an everlasting peace . . . [Lara] spent her early years dreaming of living where Krypton’s earliest founders had once walked, did not want to believe that this magnificence and all it stood for would soon be gone. She had spent her first year out of university touring the city . . . She trekked out to the Valley of the Elders . . . the fabled roads that Sor-El, Kol-Ar and Pol-As, the chosen representatives from the three warring nations, must’ve taken when they created the original laws of humanity that governed Krypton. From the ground, those crystal monolith towers, reflecting the full spectrum of light, looked to Lara like hands raised in reverential prayer. Kryptonopolis had been grown from a single crystal more than 10,000 years before ... shaped by the earliest Kryptonians into vast cities millions of buildings strong"

The Visual Guide also explains the Valley of the Elders is “Where Sor-El, Kol-Ar, and Pol-Us established the laws that governed Krypton" (p.79)

This is a great parallel to ‘78's opening. That was Clark’s origin. Returns is him mourning

Seeing Krypton contextualizes Clark’s arc. We understand his alienation instead of being alienated by him

It bookends the movie with New Krypton, and gives Returns’ oft-mocked climax ‘Superman Lifts a Big Thing’, thematic weight: Clark is excising the grief that drove him from Earth

Lara's narration about the wonders of Krypton both heightens the tragedy & establishes what their tech can achieve, crucial to Lex's plan

Writer Dan Harris said:

“Lex Luthor’s trying to turn this world [Earth] into the dead world, the place [Clark] can’t live, so it becomes a person’s search for identity and home and their place in the universe.” (The Shooting Script interviews p.27)

Martha Kent and Ben Hubbard play Scrabble 

Martha spells ‘Alienation’ (THEMES!!) & touching Clark’s name carved into the table is lovely visual storytelling

Ben is there when Clark crashes. Martha stops him calling the cops.

BEN: Martha-

MARTHA: (firm) Tomorrow. Bingo.

She looks at him, stonefaced. He takes another look outside – and at her, and realizes what’s happening. He sighs and shakes his head.

BEN: A meteorite?

She nods.

BEN (CONT’D): Martha Kent, I knew you’d be trouble

There’s a blooper of this scene in Requiem for Krypton & it's mentioned in The Visual Guide (p.20)

Gertrude Vanderworth's death, and Lex stealing her fortune, is shown after Clark passes out in Martha’s arms when he crashes, followed by Lex taking the yacht to the Arctic

Lex Finding the Fortress

Cool details about the Fortress' warm crystals & creating protective weather patterns, explaining the storm around New Krypton in the finale

While exploring the Fortress they find Clark's garage:

From The Visual Guide:

"Lex lingers in a cavernous chamber he dubs 'the garage', where he sees evidence of the construction and launch of Superman's spaceship"

KITTY: So did he?

LEX: Did he what?

KITTY: Take off for his homeworld?

LEX: (looking at Stanford) Well… We gave him a little push.

In the novelisation (p.89)

Lex’s First Experiment

After plundering the Fortress, Lex would test the crystal immediately- “he created a kind of giant Fortress of Solitude in the ice” (Script interviews p.28), destroying the original. Such a great way to raise the stakes!

Extended Clark waking in his childhood room

Clark waking to his starry ceiling & the Kent family photos give his return more emotional heft

Extended Young Clark’s first flight, 

Which leads into…

 “Little Secret”- Clark finds the Kryptonian ship as a boy

From The Visual Guide (p.11): “When he holds the Father Crystal, Clark feels a primal connection to the vanished world of his ancestors”. Martha’s prequel comic shows Jor El & Lara reflected in the crystal.

The Father Crystal is the key to Lex’s plan, so it's important to see its importance to Clark.

'Little Secret' leads into: 

Martha Kent Prequel: The Kents tell the truth

The Kents find Clark on the cellar steps with the Father Crystal, staring at his ship.

They talk in the kitchen:

MARTHA: … I wish we could tell you more… well, anything about your real parents

CLARK: You are my real parents. Those other people, the ones that gave me away… They mean nothing to me. [he bends a fork in half]

JONATHAN: I understand that you feel that way now, Clark. But I have something to show you. [He leaves the room to get something]

CLARK:Ma, I- I… Am I even human? Am I some sort of monster?MARTHA: Clark Kent, bite your tongue! You are our son and we love you. That’s all that matters.

JONATHAN: Clark? This is yours. You were wrapped in it when we found you.

He gives Clark the cloth he was wrapped in when they found him - blue fabric with the “S” shield

This is a big change from ‘78, where Clark didn’t find the Father Crystal until after Jonathan dies. Martha wasn’t there & they didn't discuss it. The Fortress of Solitude made his suit.

Clark's anxiety is more in-line with MoS (“Can’t I just keep pretending to be your son?” / “You are my son.”). Rejecting Krypton is important, as his adult desire for a home drives him from Earth

Here we see Clark feel the alienation he fears for Jason in his final speech ("you will be different..."). Parenting is a big theme of Returns

Clark reads Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman in the Kent barn 

In the script, Clark taking the tarp off his ship leads into the Little Secret flashback- which the deleted scene cuts around. The shots following him back to farmhouse include this voiceover (Script pp.13-14):

LOIS LANE (V.O.): For five long years, the world has stared into the sky, waiting, hoping, and praying for his return. We have spent our days asking where he went, debated why he left, and wondered if he’s even alive…

People have always longed for gods, messiahs, and saviors to swoop down from the sky and deliver them from their troubles. But in the end, these saviors always leave, and we are faced with the same troubles that were there from the beginning.

So, instead of facing them ourselves, we wait for the savior to return. But the savior never does, and we realize it was better had he never come at all.

Reading WTWDNS is referenced in The Visual Guide (p.29)

Articulating Lois’ POV makes her more than a bitter ex. Even the Junior novelisation has this!

In the Theatrical Cut Clark returns to the Daily Planet trying to reclaim the old status quo, until he learns Lois has a family. Here, he faces consequences for leaving before learning Lois has moved on, so he’s less selfishly motivated, and returns to the Planet to actively reconcile with her

Parallels Young!Clark finding the Father Crystal- the inciting moment of ‘78’s plot

Martha encourages Clark to return to Metropolis / Clark meets Ben Hubbard 

This is a cute scene, humanizing Clark

Martha is selling the farm & moving to Montana

(Script p. 76), cut dialogue in purple

MARTHA: Clark, dear… No one will ever replace your father. But, Ben and I have found something special. Together. And, well, this might all come as a shock…

Clark gives her a look. Just level with me.

MARTHA: I’m selling the farm. We’re moving to Montana.

CLARK: Montana?

MARTHA: The lakes are great. And we love the fishing.

CLARK: Fishing?!

MARTHA: Clark, you’ve been gone a long time. And not even you can stop the world from spinning.

In the novelisation (p.76)

Building this subplot from a background character from ‘78 is neat.

It expands Returns’ narrow emotional scope: It's not just Lois moving on

Superman suit in Clark’s case & changing in The Daily Planet closet 

As Clark puts his suitcase in the janitor’s closet he opens it, revealing his Superman costume & a Kent family photo.

So, when he rips his shirt open there’s "NOTHING. Where's his suit? He panics, then remembers." . He must change in the Daily Planet janitor’s closet. As he leaves he "catches a glimpse of his reflection in a window -- he's still wearing GLASSES" (the Script p.44)

Love Superman in glasses as a metaphor for the transition from Clark to Supes. 

The Theatrical cut emphasizes Lois’ POV of Superman’s return but this is more balanced & impactful for Clark 

Lex and Stanford discuss Superman’s return

When Lex learns Superman is back he & Stanford discuss luring him away. You can see Stanford running to catch up with Lex before the Theatrical scene cuts away. Deleted dialogue in purple:

STANFORD: So, what are we going to do?

LEX: You’re going to modify it and attach it to the stern, I don’t care of the instructions are in Russian

STANFORD: You know what I mean, Lex. He’s not stupid. How long do you think it’s going to take him to trace all that stuff back to me– and you. He was supposed to die up there.

Stanford paces. Lex clenches, obviously stressed. He hears the WHIMPERING of Gertrude’s dog. 

Infuriated, Lex hurls the newspaper at it but misses. Enraged, Lex snatches a heavy crystal off the desk, when he STOPS. He stares at something on the NEWSPAPER

Lex bends down and picks up the paper. He smiles, and hands it to Stanford.

LEX: Stanford, you worry too much.

Stanford looks at the article, intrigued.

“WORLD’S LARGEST COLLECTION OF METEORITES TO EXHIBIT AT METROPOLIS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY”

Lex & Stanford faking Krypton’s discovery makes all Clark's problems his fault. Clark did nearly die, & it makes Lex a more formidable villain

It makes the plot more cohesive 

Clark being tricked by his nemesis > ‘he just left lol’

Lex’s desperation gives him depth. Stealing Kryptonite is now a response to Superman, where in the Theatrical cut it’s so underplayed it seems like just the next step of his plan.

Stanford and The Daily Planet

I can’t find it, but Mr. Sunday Movies  cites an interview where the actor revealed Stanford was a disgraced Daily Planet science correspondent, & wrote the articles about Krypton. 

More plot cohesion, connecting The Daily Planet & Lex plots. If Lois recognises Stanford when she’s on Lex's yacht, she could figure out Clark was tricked, helping her forgive him. 

Extended Clois outside The Daily Planet

Deleted dialogue in purple, (Script pp.58-60):

CLARK: Well … Maybe saying goodbye was so hard because he didn’t know whether it would be goodbye for a little while … or goodbye forever.

Lois doesn’t seem to be listening

CLARK (CONT’D, QUIETER): And maybe he had to go and he wanted to say goodbye, but he couldn’t find the guts to do it, because maybe if he saw you, even one last time… Well, maybe he was afraid that if he even looked at you just… once… he would never be able to… leave (beat) Maybe it was too difficult for him.

. . .

CLARK: So… Do you want to grab a quick bite? Catch up? My treat.

LOIS: Oh I’d love to, but Daddy took the car and it’s my turn to ‘cook’ the family dinner, which means I’ve got just enough time to get back to the ‘suburbs’ and order the Chinese

CLARK: Suburbs?

LOIS: Yeah, we have a really nice place on the river. You should drop in sometime.

CLARK: I’d love to.

Brandon performs this dialogue for a screentest in Requiem for Krypton

Much better reason for Clark not saying goodbye. Corny, but if your gonna justify an OOC decision, do it with the romance at the heart of your movie. 

Lois is much nicer & less dismissive of Clark. Theatrical Lois seems to actively dislike him.

Hints Lois feels stifled as a suburban mom

Lois Prequel: Writing Why The World Doesn’t Need Superman

The ‘Lois at home’ scene begins with a flashback:

Perry tells Lois to write a piece for the 5th anniversary of Superman leaving. She struggles with writer’s block at home, & goes out to smoke. She thinks Clark blows out her lighter, but she’s imagining it & realizes she must move on. That night she writes WTWDNS

Then Richard asks about I Spent the Night With Superman, then Clark is revealed to be watching at the end of the scene.

[After Clark flies away, Script p.63]

Lois picks up some food, then suddenly stops and turns to the window, staring into their backyard. Beat.

RICHARD: Lois? You okay?

Lois snaps out of it.

LOIS: Yeah, sorry. Hey, didn’t I have four won-ton’s?

Jason stuffs a won-ton into his mouth.

LOIS (CONT’D): JASON!

Lois & Richard dive, trying to snatch it from his mouth

A cute Jason moment, & Lois ‘sensing’ Clark makes his spying a little less creepy, selling their 'stracrossed lovers' connection

Superman On Patrol

Two scenes are omitted from the script (p.64) before the ‘Bulletproof’ bank robbery. Presumably they formed a full crime-fighting montage, like in ‘78.

The Visual Guide describes two cut sequences that perfectly fill that gap (p. 60):

“In Switzerland, he saved 12 stranded climbers from the peak of the Matterhorn. In Venice, he prevented the famous canals from flooding the city streets. Superman seems to be everywhere at once, but nowhere is he more prominent than in Metropolis…”

Full Deli Robbery Segment

MONTAGE REPORTER #3: Sir, after he captured the men trying to rob your Deli, did he do or say anything?

DELI OWNER: He tried the hummus. He said he liked it – and Superman never lies!

More action! More wholesome Superman! Expanding the scope of the movie beyond Metropolis!

Lex’s Plan

Higher-key Kryptonite heist where Lex’s gang fool guards and witnesses

The movie needs more energy. Like the stolen missile earlier, in the Theatrical Cut Lex’s plan is afterthought bullet-points 

When Kitty returns to Lex after Superman saves her, the stolen missile is being disassembled. Lex takes its explosive & the kryptonite he’ll stab Clark with 

Lois Prequel: Why she resents Superman and meeting Richard

After Perry demands Lois interview Superman we flashback to him doing the same thing after Krypton was found:

But Superman never shows. Months pass until “the world had to admit” he was gone.

The world turned to Lois as their 'Superman expert.'

JIMMY: Miss Lane. You okay?

LOIS: I will be once Perry lets me cover something over than Superman. He left. He's gone, and maybe he's never coming back. How many different ways can I write that?

JIMMY: I know Miss Lane. I miss him too.

The world refusing to let Lois move on by pigeon-holing her as ‘Superman’s Girlfriend’ is important context.

Now Perry refusing to let Lois cover the blackout is part of a sexist cycle she’s fought for years

Lois escapes to the roof for a smoke: "Even as the days kept passing, I held out hope. I mean, he never disappointed me before, right?'

Richard White introduces himself just like Clark:

RICHARD: Those things will kill you, you know. Hello, Lois. I'm Richard White.

LOIS: White, huh? Did Perry even read past your last name on your resume?

RICHARD: I won't deny what it looks like, but my uncle hired me because I'm damn good at what I do. And with you I see wasted talent. The Superman story is old news. The Planet's best reporter should be used elsewhere.

LOIS: You're certainly more insightful than you look, White.

Directly parallels Richard and Clark

And contrasts the rooftop interview with Superman immediately afterwards; we now know she waited here for Clark to return every night until she met Richard

Clark Visits the Fortress of Solitude

When Clark visits the Fortress of Solitude he has cut voiceover (Script p.89):

SUPERMAN (V.O.): Father... It’s been a long time since I’ve come to you… But I’ve never felt so alone.

EXT. FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE - SAME TIME

Superman lands & approaches the console. The crystal has been taken. WITH A VOICE ECHOING THROUGH THE ARCTIC LIKE THUNDER:

SUPERMAN: FATHER!!!

FATHER!!! Is OTT but important when Superman has so little dialogue

Clark is now clearly driven to the Fortress by Lois’ rejection. In The Theatrical Cut, he just checks in because it’s time for Plot to happen.

Losing Jor-El emphasizes the theme of parenthood- Clark loses a father as he gains a son- & justifies Jor El’s voiceover later

Lex's Fortress

In an earlier draft, Clark found the new Fortress Lex grew in his first experiment, and "Clark sunk it and put it underwater"

Originally “Richard & Lois flew there with Clark to investigate & take pictures" (Script interviews p.28) but later on these became satellite pictures that were delivered to the Planet. Lois saw them & understood what Clark had lost.

Lois seeing & understanding Cark's losses is important

Clark destroying Lex's Fortress would be an impressive action beat & Returns is desperate for those. Showing Lex's impact through action!

Extended dialogue on the yacht explaining Lex’s plan

LEX: It’s not just an island. It’s an entirely new continent. Virtually indestructible and self-sustaining. For lack of a better name, it’s Krypton. An extinct world, reborn on our own.

LEX: I’ll have ADVANCED alien technology thousands of years beyond anything anyone could throw at me. Weapons, vehicles, you name it. 

Gives New Krypton more credibility & makes Lex's plan more concrete, especially after Return to Krypton showcased Kryptonian tech

Saving Metropolis

Earlier drafts of the ‘Saving Metropolis’ sequence had “monster waves surging in every direction” (The Visual Guide p.70) Dan Harris also mentioned "waves coming in" and Clark “pulling a subway train out [of the ground]”. (Script interviews p.28) The script omits several sections that could fit these moments.

The script includes Clark saving people from cars set on fire by the gas explosion.

Again, Returns copies ‘78, but that earthquake was way bigger - a dam explodes, a bridge collapses, a train derails. Clark shifts tectonic plates to stop it.

Perry White meets Superman

I understand why this was cut but it’s still cool

The Missile Explosive

After Jason kills Brutus, the deleted scene of Lex finding Brutus’ body is followed by (Script pp.113-114):

INT. YACHT - PANTRY Lois & Jason sit against the far wall, exhausted & worried. The door swings open, revealing LEX. He looks at Jason & winks.

LEX: Catch.

He tosses SOMETHING into the room, wrapped in the handkerchief. It rolls towards Jason’s feet. LOIS CHARGES just as Lex slams the door. Jason removes Lex’s handkerchief, revealing the EXPLOSIVE from  the missile.

LOIS: Honey… don’t move.

Lois is panicked, searching for any way to get rid of the explosive. Finally; a SMALL AIR DUCT. She kneels & pulls at the VENT COVER. It won’t budge. She looks around & finds a LARGE METALLIC SOUP LADLE.  SHE JAMS THE LADLE INTO THE VENT, using it like a crowbar. 

JASON: Mommy?

LOIS: JASON DON’T MOVE!

Lois strains to pry the vent away. After what seems like an eternity, it finally pops off. She approaches Jason VERY CAREFULLY.

LOIS (CONT’D): Okay Honey, stay still…

Lois THROWS IT into the air duct … grabs Jason & rushes him to the other side of the room. The explosive drops down a series of air ducts … Silence. Lois and Jason open their eyes, relieved.

Then – BOOOOOOM! THE BLAST ROCKS THE ROOM. A burst of flame shoots from the vent. Lois shields Jason. The flames are followed by a GEYSER OF SEAWATER. The room is tipped upward. Water is streaming in. Lois tumbles backwards into the water, struggling to reach Jason, but she’s STUCK.

ANGLE UNDERWATER: Lois’ leg tangled in a LIFE PRESERVER.

LOIS: HELP ME! Oh God…

Water floods into her mouth. She disappears under the surface when the DOOR is RIPPED OPEN, AND THE SILHOUETTE OF A MAN STEPS INTO THE ROOM. He dives underwater.

The man rips Lois’ leg free from the cables and pulls her to safety. Lois finally opens her eyes and comes face to face with… RICHARD. She and Jason are stunned.

LOIS (CONT’D): How –How did you get here?

RICHARD: (obviously…) I flew.

Lex’s response to Superman’s son here is more appropriate & threatening.

Another setup & payoff with the missile explosive gives the film more structure. Plot, y'know?

Makes Lois more active

Richard/Clark parallels

Jason recognizes Clark 

[in the seaplane after Superman saves them from the yacht]

Jason curiously looks up at Superman.

JASON: Hey, you look just like–

SUPERMAN: (Cutting him off) Can you fly?

For a moment, it looks like Superman is speaking to Jason – then he turns his head to Richard.

Also in the novelisation (p.285)

More Jason/Clark connection & more payoffs (Jason suspected Clark's identity after seeing him next to Superman on TV earlier)

Context: New Krypton

The script describes it as “almost identical to the ruins of Krypton ... Unlike the ruins, this place feels like it could be full of life – what he hoped to find when he went to Krypton,” with buildings “resembling the Fortress of Solitude”.  made of the Fortress’ glowing white crystals, presenting the facade of life.

Clark confronts Lex in “an exact reproduction of the Kryptonian VALLEY OF ELDERS" (where we saw the El Crest in Return to Krypton). Flickering x-ray vision reveals “IN THE GROUND AND WALLS are pockets and veins of kryptonite” 

From The Visual Guide (p.79):

“New Krypton recreates its planet of origin according to an ancient blueprint, beginning with the vanished capital of Kryptonopolis ... [it] will eventually replicate the towering face of Mount Argo, the bottomless depths of the Xan Chasm, & the polished dome of the Krypton Science Council”

Superman hears something else in the wind, coming from inside the structure: a VOICE. Faint, but familiar. Maybe JOR-EL? LARA? It’s joined by other ghostly whispers before another familiar voice calls out:

LEX (O.S.): See anything familiar?

The ghostly whispers are a cool detail

Now New Krypton is literally a ‘dead world resurrected’, not just some land, & will terraform the whole planet. It brings the movie full-circle- Krypton followed Clark home

After beating a powerless Clark, Lex reveals the truth

LEX (CONT’D): Look, buddy. We sent you there to die, but ya’ had to come back…

Superman looks at Lex, his expression turning from agony to realization.

LEX (CONT’D): Oh yeah. All those photos? Those stories about Krypton still existing? It was me. (Beat) And him.

ANGLE ON: Stanford.

LEX (CONT’D): Thankfully the press doesn’t check facts like they used to. (Beat) Hey, you took away five years of my life. I just returned the favor.

In the novelisation (p.297) & literally every other adaptation of the story. Why the fuck would you cut it?

As Clark drowns:

“Crystals are growing towards him from every direction. ALL GLOWING GREEN from Kryptonite. He tries swimming to the surface, but he’s too weak. He’s trapped ... A mesh of crystal walls are closing in around him, over him like a tomb."

The tomb is a thematically resonant image (New Krypton = graveyard) & heightens the crystals’ threat

Jason ‘senses’ Clark instead of seeing him from the plane window

In the script, Jason wants to help Clark too- not just Lois & Richard deciding.

Jason looks out the window, pointing down to the water.

JASON: There.

He turns to Lois. Beat. She can’t see anything.

LOIS: You’re sure?

Jason nods. He’s certain.

While Clark in hospital, Lois names ‘New Krypton’

it's gone “into orbit somewhere between Mars & Jupiter. Supposedly it’s laced with Kryptonite & still growing”. 

Again, creates a thematic bookend with 'Old Krypton' in the beginning

Outside the Hospital

Ben Hubbard waits with Martha Kent- you can see his shoulder next to her in the Theatrical Cut

There are shots of Lois, Jason & Martha talking while they're in the crowd- presumably Martha offering support without Lois knowing who she is

Martha meets her grandson! The two mothers of Kryptonian sons talk!

Bringing Martha & Ben back ties the Smallville section of the movie back into the plot

Final Clois Exchange

SUPERMAN: Thank you, Lois.

Tears well in her eyes, struggling for something to say.

SUPERMAN (CONT’D): It’s alright.

It’s what she’s wanted and needed to hear for years.

It’s such a small thing, but gives Clois closure, and Clark more lines

OTHER CHANGES

Color-grade: Returns’ drab sepia look ruins beautiful cinematography. The original color-grade in the teaser trailer (which is like 70% deleted footage) is much better, as is this color-corrected shuttle sequence

A tighter edit to compensate for the action-light script. They went for a classic, unhurried edit, but you could shave multiple seconds off most shots without losing anything. The Superman Restored fanedit re-inserts 25 mins of deleted scenes and is still 8 mins shorter than the Theatrical Cut

Tldr;

Returns is inherently slow-paced. Even with a faster edit, adding all this would push it past 3 hours. Regardless, Singer shot his own film in the foot because his priorities were wrong: Outlined above is a more balanced, cohesive story with richer themes. The Lex and Krypton subplots are complete. Clark feels like the main character, & Lois is more sympathetic. 

Brandon deserved so much more.

[thosewildcharms]

smallville recap seasons 1-7. half of all characters who have ever appeared on the show are obsessed with clark. the other half are obsessed with lana. lex in particular is so obsessed with clark he becomes obsessed with lana by proxy causing all three of them to go completely batshit crazy insane about it. clark and lana are mutually obsessed with each other and make it everybody else's problem for 7 years. and it slaps!

[zepskies]

[Poll]: Is It Ick? 🤔

Okay, I know I'm putting myself out there. And out of my comfort zone really, but please help me out. ❤️

This is for all my fellow Jensen/Smallville fans, circa early-2000s, pre-Arrow and Flash and all these DC shows. Smallville paved the way for everybody in that verse.

(Jensen was on this show in season 4, the year before SPN got picked up for its first season.)

So I've been thinking about writing some Jason Teague fanfic. Because look at him. Look at that soft lil' former rich boi.

But I'm wondering how to (or even if I should) handle the Lana Lang of it all.

It's been a while for us all, so I'll try to (quickly) recap: Jason and Lana meet the summer before her senior year, when she's studying abroad in Paris. He's implied to be about 20-21, in college. She turns 18 the summer they meet.

Jason later becomes the assistant football coach at Smallville High, and has many a locker room chat with Clark Kent (AKA: love rival for Lana's affections). Now, Jason does eventually get fired from the school for dating Lana. She's 18, but she's still a student and he's a coach.

It was taboo even then, but...less so in my mind when I first watched the show as a teenager. It was more unbelievable that he was the assistant coach at such a young age, to be honest.

Now in my late 20s rewatching S4, part of me goes "eeech." 😬😬

But again, it's a 2-3 year age gap at most. A lot of us are over here writing 15+ age gaps with this man/his characters. 🤣

My question is: is it "ick" to still like the Jason x Lana relationship?

I personally think they had a lot of sweet moments. And I could write a full essay on why Lana sort of used Jason to try to get over Clark. (Until she couldn't anymore. And then it was all, "I'm still in love with you Clark" subtext.)

😅 Again, help me out...

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Saturday, April 13th

FRED: We're still working on a plan, but so far, it involves being sent to prison and becoming somebody's bitch. ANGEL: Nobody's going to jail, Fred. I told you, a heist like this, I've done it a million times. (beat) OK, maybe twice, but I'm good at it, I swear.

~~Ground State~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Weekly Drabbles #112 — Scaredy-cat by veronyxk84 (Buffy & Dawn, PG-13)

No Biggie by NotASlayer (Buffy, Riley, T)

Anne by MissKitty28 (Buffy/Spike, G, in French)

An Old Friend by TannaraMoonvale (Giles, True Blood crossover, T)

Debrief by MadeInGold (Buffy/Riley, M)

Hope by itsalwaysteatimeinwonderland (Spike/reader, not rated)

[Giles and Willow texting about Amy] by scooby-group-texts (not rated)

Heaven Can't Help Me Now by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Raven, Chapter 11 by sparrow2000 (Xander & Spike, G)

… A Stranger I Go Hence, Chapter 12 by MalkMcJorma (Faith/OC, M)

Thirty-ish Days (and Thirty-ish Years), Chapter 26 by Dynapink (Buffy/Giles, T)

but this love is ours, Chapter 14 by ripslayer (Buffy/Faith, M)

Best in me, Chapter 16 by DancingAngel0013 (Buffy/Giles, E)

Xander Harris and the Little Pink Pill, Chapter 7 by Kylia (Xander/Cordelia, E)

Dawn Rising, Chapter 57 by Luna_delCielo (Buffy ensemble, Tolkien crossover, T)

Wish Granted, Chapter 6 by faewm (Anyanka, Harry Potter crossover, T)

Three Slayers at the Same Time, Chapter 2 by In_the_universe (Buffy/Kendra, G)

Raven, Chapter 11 by sparrow2000 (Xander & Spike, G)

I Don't Want to Be the One, Chapter 10 by pommedapi (Buffy/Spike, T)

Slayer No More, Chapter 20 by jsaint34 (Buffy/Pike, M)

Buffy & Giles Drabbles, Chapter 2 by DancingAngel0013 (Buffy/Giles, M)

The Boring Stuff: Reptile Boy, Chapter 3 by missfiggy (Buffy/Angel, M)

Come Hell or Whatever, Chapter 2 by TheActuallyKid (Buffy, Batman crossover, M)

The Witching Hour: Chapter 5 by TheLightdancer (Willow/Tara, E)

If I Could Turn Back Time, Chapter 2 by Tropicmorningnews (Buffy/Angel, M)

Valkyrie vs. Cordelia, Chapter 6 by Nonkosherian (Fauth/Willow, T)

It's Easy Time, Until It's Not, Chapter 32 by hulettwyo (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Love Lives Here, Chapter 48 by Passion4Spike (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Boyfriend Swap, Chapter 6 by Maxine Eden (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Because the Night, Chapter 4 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Wilderness Retreat OR Super Mega Happy Kill-A-Rama! Chapter 4 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Hello Cutie, Chapter 4 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Celebrating You, Chapter 11 by DeamonQueen (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Afterburn: In The Dark, Chapter 1 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Death Is Buffy's Next Great Adventure, Chapter 118 by Sharie (Buffy/Tom Riddle, Harry Potter crossover, FR15)

Coming Through, Chapter 56 by hulettwyo (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Service Unit, Chapter 11 by hulettwyo (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

What the Drabble? Vol. 2, Chapter 12 by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Anything But Ordinary, Chapter 7 by Harlow Turner (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Bathroom Wall, Chapter 1 by hulettwyo (Buffy/Spike, G)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: Buffy, Spike, Clem by frenchublog (worksafe)

Artwork: Buffy and Spike by isevery0nehereverystoned (worksafe)

Fan trailer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Smallville intro style) by Meowity

Fanvid: Angel | Cold Cold Cold by genericaces

Fanvid: Spike | I'll Keep Coming by genericaces

Fanvid: Buffy + Dawn - You wouldn't like me by Faith Victoria

Fanvid: Buffy + Angel - I love me more by Faith Victoria (anti-Bangel)

Fanvid: BTVS || HUH, YOUR FATHER. IT IS YOUR FATHER, RIGHT? ||HUMOR by ZNellyZ

Artwork process video: Kristy Swanson Buffy the Vampire Slayer iPad Procreate Drawing Timelapse & Talk by kcsnipes (worksafe)

Artwork process video: Alexis Denisof Timelapse #Wesley by Sadiq's Solitude (worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

Video: Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Occult-PRAISING Joss Whedon's Atheism: Willow Rising Part 1 by Examining Kubrick Craven Halloween

Video: Was The Initiative From Season 4 Of Buffy A Good Idea Or A Bad Idea? by CrasHNburN

Video: Witch Switch | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Witch s1 ep3 by Nerdy Investigations

Video: Gone-Slayer Sunday by Jane Talks Buffy

Podcast: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Movie Review | Forever Fangirls | EP #103 by A Reel Review with Forever Fangirls

[Fandom Discussions]

i desperately need to kno how spike and harmony met by leechjam

It is insane to me that this show wants us to believe that everyone just left Faith to rot in that motel room by nicnacsnonsense

I think it would have been REALLY funny if Buffy at one point had been like NO! no…. I cannot date another Vampire! In crush by raisedbythetv89

It’s crazy to think Buffy lost Kendra and Angel in one night by theredpharaoah

Another issue I had with "Lies My Parents Told Me" by finalgirl1984

The Angel-Cordelia-Doyle dynamic was so fucking good by sunnydalebimbo

Rewatch thoughts and questions continued by GoSpuffy and multiple other posters

Spike and the first continued by multiple posters

Reasons for being the Slayer continued by AbercornBay

4x7 [Apocolypse Nowish] is the best episode in the show until the last two minutes… by ukcountrylover

When do you feel Cordelia was first possessed? by ukcountrylover

The Magic Bullet episode by Organic-Mistake-2223

I don't really feel sad about.... [Anya's death] by LightBlueSky55

Has anyone read the Tales of the Slayer short stories? by kmf-89

S3 E2 [Dead Man's Party] by No-Intention-1948

TIL The name of the club [The Bronze] is a pun by IsNYinNewEngland

What "Day in the life of" would you like to see? by threefeetoffun

What is your favorite pairing/duo of the series? Mine is Willow & Xander by AceItaliano

Most un-realistic part of the show? by Slayerette444

What would've happened if Faith didn't jump off the building? by SafiraAshai

Corporate needs you to find the difference between this picture and this picture by Randy_Giles1880

Use a line from any character in the Buffyverse to describe Buffy Summers by PristineSituation498

Joss Whedon brand of feminism by sadhungryandvirgin

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[cantsayidont]

April 1960. In the first 15 years of the Superboy strip, Lex Luthor appeared only once, in a 1957 story in SUPERBOY #59 that showed him as an adult while Superboy was a teenager. This story in ADVENTURE COMICS #271, written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, completely redefined Superman's relationship with Luthor, showing that the two were about the same age (rendering the 1957 story apocryphal), had first meet as teenagers, and for a time were actually friends.

This story says almost nothing about Luthor's family (about which more would be established later), although Luthor is described as "a recent newcomer" to Smallville, and he describes himself as a farmboy. When Superboy first meets him, Luthor is driving a tractor on his family's farm, which proves fortuitous; a Kryptonite meteor lands in the field, immediately paralyzing the Boy of Steel, but Luthor saves him by using the tractor to push the meteor into a quicksand pit. Afterward, Luthor reveals that he has idolized Superboy for years, calling him "the greatest boy in the world," and explains his interest in science, conducting experiments in a laboratory in his family's barn. In gratitude for Luthor saving his life, Superboy builds him "a modern experimental laboratory" and stocks it with "rare chemicals, some still unknown, which I burrowed out of the ground, at super-speed!"

Superboy jokes, "I could easily peek at your formula with my super-vision-- ha, ha-- but I wouldn't do anything to... er... snoop!" Luthor replies, "Of course, you wouldn't... ha, ha!" Superboy then flies away, as Luthor marvels at his good fortune. Then:

Later recaps of this story (with the notable exception of Elliot S! Maggin's 1978 prose novel SUPERMAN: LAST SON OF KRYPTON) tend to omit or skim over the details of Luthor's experiment, but this is obviously quite significant: Luthor has created a living being, a crude protoplasmic entity. Naturally, he's ecstatic, and grateful to his benefactor for making this possible:

Then, disaster:

This story is often mocked for attributing Luthor's bitter, violent enmity toward Superman to the loss of his hair, but as these panels make clear, that is expressly not the only thing Luthor is angry about, nor even the most important one:

Superboy's contrition notwithstanding, this is a pretty reasonable thing for Luthor to be angry about: He created a living creature that is now destroyed because Superboy tried to put out a chemical fire by blowing on it. The loss of his hair, aside from the social impact of being rendered permanently bald at the age of 15, is also a reminder of Luthor's more consequential loss. In the LAST SON OF KRYPTON novel, Maggin describes his reaction like this:

He would never grow hair or a beard again. He would laugh or cry or become enraged when pansy philosophers wondered, in the future, whether laboratory life could have a soul. He knew that such life would have no less than the soul of its creator. Lex Luthor chose, from the moment his creation died, to hate the being who had saved his miserable life, who was responsible for the loss of his brown curls and his child. It was the only way he could walk slowly, one millimeter at a time, from the abyss of madness.

Written 18 years later for a different audience, Maggin's prose version is more emotionally charged than Siegel's, but it's mostly quite consistent with the original account, although Maggin doesn't mention the paranoia that's evident in this story. Luthor's insistence that Superboy deliberately sabotaged him out of envy is irrational, but not wholly without basis; Superboy's response to the fire (which he should have immediately known was a chemical fire, since he was the one who stocked the lab) was not at all sensible, and Luthor has paid a heavy price for it.

Luthor pretends to calm down, but he then retrieves the Kryptonite meteor and attempts to use it to kill Superboy, which fails, ironically, thanks to the last dregs of Luthor's Kryptonite antidote. Afterward, Luthor challenges Superboy to arrest him, but Superboy refuses, declaring, "No! You saved my life once! Now we're even!" Then:

(I believe the final panel of this story may have been the first time that Luthor had ever been given a first name; his earlier appearances, and some after this, just referred to him as "Luthor.")

At first blush, Luthor's protoplasmic creation is an odd feature of this story, which is probably why it was often dropped from subsequent accounts. However, it's tempting to see it as a kind of echo of Siegel's own feelings. It was Siegel who had first conceived the idea of Superboy in the mid-1940s, and the character was a significant factor in Siegel and Shuster's first unsuccessful lawsuit against National-DC over the rights to Superman in 1947. According to Les Daniels (in SUPERMAN: THE COMPLETE HISTORY), Siegel had intended Superboy to be quite different, a kind of mischievous super-brat, but editor Whitney Ellsworth hadn't liked that, and had had Don Cameron rewrite Siegel's initial script (for the story published in MORE FUN COMICS #101, pictured below) without Siegel's knowledge or approval, an unwelcome reminder that Siegel and Shuster didn't really have control of their creation. (DC now officially credits the story solely to Siegel and Shuster, although that may reflect the outcome of their most recent settlement with Siegel's family.) After the failure of their lawsuit, Siegel and Shuster were shown the door, although a decade later, editor Mort Weisinger hired Siegel as a freelance scriptwriter for a while. Much of that would probably have happened anyway (Siegel and Shuster were also unhappy that their work was diminishing as National was raking in money on Superman adaptations and merchandise), but Superboy was certainly one of the catalysts.

Mort Weisinger, who was notoriously brutal with talent and staff and had a low opinion of many of the writers and artists who worked for him, called Siegel "the most competent of all the Superman writers" and "the best emotional writer of them all." One of the reasons for that was that Siegel put a lot of himself into his stories, and in this respect, his relationship with Superboy was not unlike Luthor's in this story: He had created something crude but vital, with enormous possibilities, and Superboy had effectively destroyed it.

Besides Maggin, one of the few later creators to remember the actual details of this story was, surprisingly, John Byrne, who incorporated it into his origin of the post-Crisis Supergirl. In SUPERMAN #22 (October 1988), the final issue of Byrne's run, Superman learns that Supergirl is really a protoplasmic matrix, an artificial life form created by the Lex Luthor of the Pocket Universe in the image of his world's late Lana Lang. (In the Pocket Universe, Luthor didn't arrive in Smallville until after Superboy was dead, so the accident depicted in the Siegel story never took place, and Luthor completed his protoplasmic experiments in Superboy's own lab.) This is why that version of Supergirl, whose powers included the ability to change shape, was subsequently called "Matrix."

[superboysuperzine]

Hey y'all!!

✨One day left before we open Pre Orders!! ✨

We do want to have a brief recap over what y'all are getting in this zine, so feel free to click through the links!!

All proceeds are going to charity! The Zine's chosen charity is Project Hawaii!!

Find out more info about them here:

Project Hawai'i, Inc. Reviews and Ratings | Kea'au, HI | Donate, Volunteer, Review | GreatNonprofits

We've got several different bundle options that will soon be available for Pre Order in the shop!

From our Digitial Smallville Pack to our full Bundle with Merch included Metropolis Pack!

For our Zine Kontent Breakdown? Take a look here:

And? We couldn't have done this without our wonderful amazing heart stopping Kontributors!!

Take a look at our line up here!!

Also, make sure to sign up for our mailing list to be informed of pre-order opening, any giveaway or raffle, etc! Link down below

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[pikefied]

Great interview with Anson Mount. There were a couple of surprising nuggets about his career I didn't know. Really cool stuff. The beginning is a recap of the Smallville episode where he plays a psycho stalker, and the actual interview starts at around 35:20.

[talkinfanfic]

Episode 302: Interview with phyn, aka RedHead

🎙 LISTEN HERE! Or find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and everywhere else you can stream podcasts!

Stream on podbean: 

Yet another incredible treat for the ColdFlash fans! On this episode of Talkin’ Fanfic, Sara sits down with @phynali, better known in ColdFlash circles as (the one, the only!) RedHead (@coldtomyflash). RedHead has authored two of the top five kudos’d works under the ColdFlash tag on Ao3, and their work is commonly counted as some of the most seminal in the fandom. Sara and phyn dig into three of RedHead’s works: “Tumbling Together”, “An All Too Jagged Snowflake”, and “Got A Melancholic Temperament (that’s what they said to me)”. 

Sara and phyn talk about the joys and collaborative nature of the ColdFlash community, (“Hi, Aunt Crimson!”), the challenge of balancing a PhD thesis with fanfiction obligations, how juggling multiple (and very different) stories can actually help overcome writer’s block, and also touch on phyn’s work under the pseud @dyed-red, where they publish Supernatural works of a very different (darker, stylistic, minimalistic) nature and atmosphere, and the challenge therein of dipping a toe into a new fandom. 

Bulletin Items

“LEGENDS: A 2022 Clex Zine launched”. Available at https://legendszine.com/ digitally and as a PDF

“Talkville” a Smallville recap podcast, coming July 13th. At least one episode will feature Zach from “Always Hold Onto Smallville” 

Episode References

"Tumbling Together" by RedHead (Barry/Len, neighbors AU)

"An All Too Jagged Snowflake" by Redhead (Barry/Len, Soulmates AU)

"Got A Melancholic Temperament (that's what they said to me)" by RedHead (Barry/Len, deaged!Len)

Collab - “Len & Barry Ship It” collaborative group collection (ColdFlash)

An old fave: "Getting the Hang of Thursdays" by Hayseed (Snape/Hermione timeloop)

A dyed_red fic: "Squint into the Sunset | Glare into the Gloaming" by dyed_red (Wincest)

Phyn rec, author - nigeltde (Wincest)

Phyn rec - "A man with his insides out and his outsides off" by britomart_is (Wincest, time travel) 

Phyn rec - "Wire Inside Me" by merle_p (Wincest, mpreg) 

Phyn rec - elsi’s Bookmarks (elsi was interviewed in Talkin’ Fanfic: Episode 209)

Phyn rec, author - bealeciphers (ColdFlash)

Phyn rec - "Rogue Z" by bealeciphers (ColdFlash, Zombie AU)

Phyn rec, author -  Crimson1 (ColdFlash, interviewed in Talkin’ Fanfic: Episode 301) 

Phyn rec, author - DoreyG (ColdFlash, some of the earliest ColdFlash stories)

Phy rec - “Lesser Evils” by tipsybluetips (the first ColdFlash story on Ao3! comics!ColdFlash) 

Phyn rec - “Things I Cannot Control and Do Not Admire” by n_a_feathers (ColdFlash, part of the “Things” series) 

Phyn rec - “A Week on Rogue’s Mountain” by Chichirinoda (ColdFlash auction AU. phyn “loves this fic” <3)

Phyn rec - "The Last Time I Saw You" by scioscribe (True Detective, Rust/Marty) 

Phyn is watching - “Drive My Car” (watch the trailer; 2021 film, directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Available to stream on HBO Max or purchase/rent on Amazon Prime). The film is based on the short story collection “Men Without Women”, by Haruki Murakami.

Phyn is watching - “The Boys” Season 3 (available on Amazon Prime) 

Phyn is watching - “Upload” (scifi comedy tv show, available on Apple TV)

Contact and Credits:

Music: Kyle Laurin "Oasis Supersonic Theme" (Twitter: @cobrakylemusic)

Tumblr: talkinfanfic.tumblr.com 

Instagram: @talkinfanfic

Email: talkinfanfic@gmail.com

[mrhowells]

just wanted to say I've just read a few of your recaps of smallville eps and they're literally my new favourite thing. I've read like 3 and each one was a thrilling experience in which I cackled out loud and viscerally agreed with everything. I'm off to read more, thanks sm for creating

Omggg thank you anon!!!!!!

This ask literally made my day, thank you so much!!! I'm so happy you had a good time reading them🥹🥹

[tomsenough]

Ready to hear Tom Welling's stories & thoughts on the "Smallville" Season Two Recap of TALK VILLE releasing on Wednesday, June 21st, 2023! Can't wait for Season Three! #TomWelling #Smallville

[littlewalken]

ap 9

Perhaps a good litmus test to how insufferable someone will be, especially if they have -activist as one of their genders, is their reaction to the movie Blazing Saddles. If you have a problem with Bart's hero arc then I have a problem with you.

I know, let's give those people to Mongo.

Do make an effort to laugh and point at everyone who thought the world was going to end yesterday, not the people practicing their traditional beliefs about solar eclipses and doing as their ancestors did to bring the sun back, but the fire and brimstone this is just like the book of our cult said it would be here comes satan types. The ones who have to do mental gymnastics about elite shape shifters and flat earth.

Put those math skills to use on the standing stones and other calculations made by people without a written language who figured out how to predict eclipses.

Enjoy the fact we have them in the first place.

Mongo can have those people too.

Well, I'm at the point where I have to figure out how to sort my books, putting them randomly on shelves got them out of the bags and I knew I'd get to this place eventually. I think I have it figured out a bit now.

Only one other batch of notes needed to be tidies up, it looks like I already did the Hollywood story so it's just the theme park one.

If I can't quite create I'll look in to watching episodes of Miraculous Ladybug and taking basic summary notes for that. I have the recaps form TV Tropes but sometimes you need a smidge more like in this episode Adrien looked at Marinette a certain way.

Stuff like knowing which episode of Smallville was the one where one of the Luthors got the key to the ship for the first time for continuity. I got to watch that show again. Kind of konked out by season 7 and didn't even watch the end but I have all the DVDs.

Seasons 2 and 3 are the ones to watch if you want a taste of what it really was like during it's best.

I don't know what Frosty thinks he's flaring at when he looks out the sides of the tank but he'll do the angry >O betta face out of nowhere.

No castle to be flag on but he's tried being a sail on the pirate ship so I suppose he's happy enough.

[foryoufirst]

yeah i did make a mike’s mic pll-recap-esque smallville chart… i haven’t even finished s5

[starseneyes]

Hii,

this might be a really random question but have you ever watched Smallville and would consider doing some of those amazing recaps for Clois? If you haven't watched Smallville nevermind, it's just that I recently discovered the show and the pairing and during a lot of their scenes, I think of your posts and how many beautiful details you'd probably discover that I never paid attention to :)

In any case, I hope you have a great day and I love your Chenford and Romitri posts^^

Hi, Anon! Yeah, I never watched Smallville. But I'm so glad you're enjoying it!

I typically watch one show at a time just due to my schedule and life. So, I don't think I'll get to Smallville with the backlog I have (still need to watch all of The Bear), but if that should change, I'll post!

And, thank you so much for reading along! I'm always amazed how many folks cross a lot of the same ships as me. Have a great one!

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, December 28

Ms. Barton: Hey! We're all stuck here, okay? So now let's just sit quietly and, pretend we're reading something until we're really sure that old Commandant Snyder's gone. Then we're all outta here! Xander: Does anyone else wanna marry Ms. Barton? Cordelia: Get in line.

~~Band Candy~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Tradition (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by VeroNyxK84

Midnight Rendezvous (Xander, Angel, NR) by Rivana

Keep Your Friends Close (Xander, Angel, G) by Rivana

Unsighted (Crossover with Psych, G) by Rivana

Family (Xander, Spike, M) by Rivana

Dark Son (Xander, G) by Rivana

You took the words right out of my mouth (Giles/Jenny, G) by Bobbie23

Old Friends (or something like it) (Crossover with Bones, G) by Rivana

Misconcepstions (Crossover with Labyrinth, G) by TheFruitBat

Flowers Among the Morning Dews (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by cawthraven

Beyond Time and Space (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by rkm

Charades (Buffy/Spike, PG) by EllieRose101

The Living (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by temporarytitle

A Peachy Christmas (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by JSBirsa

The Merry Month of Magnus Presents... Take Me Home (Buffy/Spike, PG) by tbd

Sexy December 28th (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Lady Emma

[Chaptered Fiction]

Birds of a Feather, Chapter 6 (Crossover with Teen Titans, T) by dogbertcarroll

For The Dark, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Faith, E) by CharcoalTeeth

La Hija., Chapter 1 (Crossover wtih Smallville, Spanish language, M) by KalK

every city's got a graveyard, Chapter 1 (Crossover with Stranger Things, NR) by hairstevington

Buffy/Angel (Post TV Series), Chapter 1 (Multi, M) by Salvatore_Legacy_2021

Closer, Chapter 73 (Buffy/Spike, R) by all_choseny

Hello, Darling, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Spikelover4ever

Cherry on Top, Chapter 19 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Maxineeden

Last Hurrah, Chapter 14 (Buffy/Spike, R) by ClowniestLivEver

Friend of a Friend's Cousin, Chapter 6 (Crossover with How I Met Your Mother, PG-13) by ClowniestLivEver

The Grapevine, Chapter 12 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by ClowniestLivEver

Hi Granny!, Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, PG) by Desicat

Easy Street, Chapter 5 (Crossover with The Walking Dead, FR18) by Arke

Potter Twins 5: The Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 16 (Crossover with Harry Potter, FR15) by Plato

The Magic of Sunnydale, Chapter 4 (Crossover with Harry Potter, FR15) by Buffyworldbuilder

Xanderpocalypse, Chapter 9 (Multiple crossings, FR15) by AxelBlade

The Prodigal Boyfriend, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, 18+) by myrabeth

Aftermath, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Rea

The Merry Month of Magnus Presents . . . No Rules, Just Right, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, PG) by bookishy

Other, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Grief Counseling

Love Lives Here, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Passion4Spike

The Freak Show, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, AO) by hulettwyo

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:[Spike sketch] by junebugjo

Artwork:spangle by genericaces

Gifset:BTVS 1x03 - Witch by thepunkmuppet

Gifset: BTVS 1x04 - Teacher’s Pet by thepunkmuppet

Gifset:Be careful™ by mycatismyfriend

Gifset:1x06 | “The Pack” by clarkgriffon

Gifset:3x03 | 2x18 by thepunkmuppet

Gifset:2.17 || 3.12 by detectivedawnsummers

Gifset:No. 13 + Buffy the Vampire Slayer by sulietsexual

Video: Buffy the Vampire Slayer BEST BITS out of context (season 6) by Love Bites

Video: Xbox Longplay [003] Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds (EU) by World of Longplays

Video: Buffy, The Vampire Slayer - Jumpin', Jumpin' by Boo Harder

[Reviews & Recaps]

( ͡♥ ͜ʖ ͡♥)---🤖| Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x15 "I Was Made to Love You" | Normies Group Reaction! by The Normies

The Weight of the World: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x21 Reaction by Dakara

The Gift: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x22 Reaction by Dakara

Actually, Cordelia and Xander's Relationship Made Sense on 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' by PopSnippets

[Recs & In Search Of]

Queen's Gambit recced by februaryfangfest

In need of a less depressing Buffy fic by OtherwiseFortune4

[Community Announcements]

Fandom Trees Masterlist [Trees with Buffy and Angel requests available] by FandomTrees

Reminder: No Ads by TTH

Charisma Carpenter will be joining James Marsters at Whispers from the Hellmouth Apr 20-21! by jamiemarsters

Juleit Landau will be joining James Marsters at For The Love of Fantasy Aug 17-18! by jamiemarsters

[Fandom Discussions]

[Anya deserved better] by groovebunker

[Giles in s6] by spikes-left-eyebrow

Do you think Buffy ever talked with Xander and Dawn about their reaction to Willow? [cont.] by multiple authors

The letter in "Touched" by multiple authors

What's something from the Buffyverse that bothers you now but didn't when you were younger? by multiple authors

Fun Fact- The New Little Sister/Faith Hope and Trick, and Jealousies/Real Me by multiple authors

I love Season 4 by multiple authors

Revived Drusilla: A Big Bad missed opportunity by multiple authors

Season 4 Timeline? by multiple authors

Buffy in different languages by multiple authors

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

Publication: This 1 Line From 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' Is An Ode Our Old Habits via Huffpost

Publication: 10 Ideas For A Buffy The Vampire Slayer Reboot That Could Actually Work via ScreenRant

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[tonkini]

Drama queens podcast

#Drama queens podcast how to

#Drama queens podcast professional

Are Brooke, Peyton and Haley your BFF goals? These Drama Queens are getting back together!! Bethany Joy Lenz, Hilarie Burton and Sophia Bush are the biggest Drama Queens and they are here with you to dissect every episode, deliver every detail you must know, and devote themselves to you as you rewatch every single scene together. Sign up to get unlimited songs and podcasts with occasional ads. Is 23 more than just a number to you? Do you respond to people by saying I don't wanna be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately? Do you expect to have life-changing moments while caught in the confetti or the rain? Are you One Tree Hill obsessed?.it's OK.we're here for you. With opportunities for performance, poetry examinations and most. The ups and downs, the loves the losses, the struggles the triumphs, being together with your friends.feeling every emotion of it. Listen to 23 episodes of Drama Queens on Podbay - the best podcast player on the web. Check out the trailer for the One Tree Hill re-watch podcast and see for yourself!Ībout Drama Queens: Take yourself back in time.back to high school. He has completely moved on and doesn’t feel the need to engage in this type of behavior.Hi, SMNTY fans! We know you love great podcasts, which is why we're excited to introduce you to a new show we think you'll enjoy called Drama Queens. “Thirteen years since his divorce from Sophia, he has a very happy family life with his wife and children.

#Drama queens podcast professional

Chad conducts himself in a completely professional manner and would never marry for any reason but love,” the statement read. Murray, in turn, slammed the claims in a statement via his rep. When asked why she tied the knot, she responded, “Because how do you let everybody down, and how do you - what’s the fight? And when you have bosses telling you that you’re the only person who gets a person to work on time, and 200 people either get to see their kids at night or they don’t because our days start on time.”

#Drama queens podcast how to

Ladies have to learn how to take up space in the way that men are taught they are entitled to.” In 2018, the John Tucker Must Die star was asked about her marriage during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, during which she said, “It was not a thing I actually really wanted to do, but you know, it’s cool. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, ready by 6 a.m. The biggest stories of our time, told by the best journalists in the world. The House of Wax star went on to marry Sarah Roemer and the pair share two children. Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Sophia Bush may be recapping One Tree Hill on her Drama Queens podcast, but she has no plans to discuss her relationship with former costar Chad Michael Murray. It’s not a place where I harbor ill will or anything.”īush and Murray split five months after marrying in 2005, finalizing their divorce the following year. “I think you have to, like, laugh at who you used to be, but when people ask me about history that involves someone else … it’s not worth my time. I’m not allowed to because I’ve tried to poke fun at being a dumb kid and whenever I’ve done that, it gets twisted into I’m talking s–t about somebody who I don’t even know anymore, who’s clearly a grown-up,” she told the Smallville alum. Some of our favorite celebrity couples are people who married the fourth costar they dated.”įollowing that conversation, Rosenbaum, 49, asked about meeting Murray - a topic that Bush quickly shut down. “We act like it’s not common and it’s wildly common. When you spend 100 hours a week on set and you don’t even get home for eight hours to sleep, like, yeah, I’m not surprised that every 20-year-old on a set has dated every other 20-year-old on a set,” the Love, Victor star explained. “You realize that everyone you’ve ever met in this business has, like, dated everyone else. She later had an on-off relationship with Chicago P.D. Sophia Bush may be recapping One Tree Hill on her “Drama Queens” podcast, but she has no plans to discuss her relationship with former costar Chad Michael Murray.ĭuring the Tuesday, August 10, episode of Michael Rosenbaum‘s “Inside of You” podcast, the False Positive star, 39, reflected on dating costars.īush was married to the Cinderella Story actor, also 39, from 2005 to 2006, and went on to date One Tree Hill‘s James Lafferty and Austin Nichols.

[yetanothercomicbook]

Hell is Where the Heart Is...

Action Comics #596

Nonsense.

The Spectre arrives in Smallville... and saves everyone.

It's quite a dull issue, with a lot of recapping in the early pages. The Spectre sends Superman after all the dead people (from the previous chapter). Some dubious mumbo-jumbo 'explains' what's going on. And the epilogue is exposition-heavy. Not a fun read.

4/10