Before James Gunn’s DCU was even a thought, before Henry Cavill took to the skies as the Man of Steel, and before The CW assembled the Arrowverse, Smallville redefined Superman for a new generation. Running from 2001 to 2011, the show dared to ask: what if Clark Kent was just a small-town teen trying to get through puberty and algebra without heat-visioning his classmates? With Tom Welling’s square jaw, Kristin Kreuk’s Lana “meteor freak” drama, and Michael Rosenbaum’s perfectly bald Lex, Smallville turned Superman into a modern superhero again.
While the show wrapped over a decade ago, its legacy is still being talked about today—especially by one of its biggest stars. In an interview with The Series Regular, John Schneider, who played the best Jonathan Kent of all time (according to fans), dropped a truth bomb that’s shocked many Superman fans:
“The movies are just OK. They cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and personally, I think the worst episode of Smallville is at least as good as the best Superman movie,” Schneider told the site.
Let that simmer. All the Snyder slo-mo and god-like figures. All the Reeve nostalgia and charm. Even Singer’s strange film, where Supes has a kid. According to Schneider, Smallville clears them all—even on a bad day.
Now, before you start rage-typing about Man of Steel or Donner’s Superman, let’s put this in context. Schneider isn’t just flexing for nostalgia points. His argument is rooted in the emotional backbone of the show—Clark and Jonathan Kent’s relationship. The Haves and the Have Nots actor, clearly proud of the work done on Smallville, credits creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar with truly understanding the heart of Superman’s story.
“I think Jonathan Kent may be the finest portrayal of a father on television ever, and what a great honor that is to have been him,” he said. “Miles and Al are the only ones who really get it.”
And he’s got a point. Across ten seasons, Schneider’s Pa Kent was more than just the moral compass in plaid. He was complicated. Stubborn. Protective to a fault. The man practically had Clark on curfew until he turned 30. He threw punches, held grudges (especially against Lex), and didn’t always make the best decisions. But he tried. He grew. And more importantly, he showed Clark how to be human before learning to fly.
That said… comparing Smallville‘s worst episodes to the best Superman movie? He clearly got carried away here. Let’s not pretend the show didn’t have some rough patches.
Remember Season 4’s Spell, where Lana, Chloe, and Lois got possessed by 17th-century witches? Clark Kent had to fight a coven of magical mean girls.
What about Season 6’s Noir? That was the one where everything went black-and-white for a 1940s detective story.
Or Season 5’s Thirst, aka Vampire Sorority Lana? Yeah. Not every episode was going to win an Emmy.
Still, is any of that worse than Superman IV: The Quest for Peace? With its $17 million budget, wobbly plot, laughable special effects, and a villain named Nuclear Man (who looked like a He-Man extra), the 1987 movie was so bad it derailed Superman’s big-screen presence for almost 20 years. Even Christopher Reeve, who co-wrote the film, called it a “catastrophe from start to finish.” Release the Furie Cut, anyone?
John Schneider’s comments may sound extreme, but they speak to what Smallville did so well—it made Superman personal. The show focused on the man before the super, building emotional stakes that many of the movies haven’t matched yet.
With David Corenswet’s Superman taking flight soon, that could change. Judging from the trailers, his Superman looks to have a strong emotional connection with the characters around him, including Pruitt Taylor Vince’s Pa Kent. Let’s hope John Schneider finally approves.
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Tell us, do you agree with John Schneider’s take on the Superman movies?
