SUPER-DIFFERENT PRODUCERS OF THE NEW SUPERMAN SERIES, 'SMALLVILLE,' REINVENT THE LEGEND ... AND PUZZLE FANS.

``Smallville,'' the WB's eagerly anticipated series exploring Superman's teen years, has one motto, according to its creators: ``No flights, no tights, no glasses.''

The series, which is set to premiere Oct. 16, explores the teen years of Clark Kent, before he ventures to a skyscraper-clogged burg known as Metropolis and grabs a desk in the Metro Section of the Daily Planet, before he goes all gooey for Lois Lane and before he encounters the Bizarro World, Mr. Mxyztplk, Supergirl, Doomsday or any of the other more recent additions to the ever-burgeoning Super-mythology.

The series, from co-creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, scraps the legacy left behind by the ``Superboy'' comic books, not to mention the ``Legion of Super-Heroes'' commix and that lame ``Superboy'' TV series.

Gough must think he's impervious to Kryptonite, because he freely admits he wasn't a comics fan, as does star Tom Welling, who plays the young Clark Kent. Welling says, ``I actually made the choice when preparing for this role not to do research on anything else that has been done with this character.

``It's showing (the characters) at an age where you've never seen them before,'' he adds, proving he did not a lick of research.

Young Clark, played by star-of-tomorrow Welling, will experience emotional Kryptonite of the gravest sort whenever he encounters the lithesome Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), even though a perfectly acceptable girlfriend stands before him in the person of his platonic pal Chloe (Allison Mack).

On top of that, purists may choke on the mylar bags that store their collectible commix to hear that Clark befriends a young, comically charismatic Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum).

Rosenbaum quickly interjects a joke about his character's being prematurely bald: ``I look like a cone head. My dad laughed. He goes, 'You look like an idiot.' ''

Making Superman cool

The challenge of the series, explain its creators, was making stalwart Superman, the eternally bland do-gooder, relevant to a new generation's eyes.

``A lot of times when young people hear 'Superman,' they roll their eyes,'' notes Gough. ``The idea of the show was, how do you make Superman available to a modern audience? Batman's always been cool, but how do you make Superman cool? He's the ultimate outsider, so it's taking all of those relatable elements of Superman and focusing on that.

``He has powers he has to control. And you do have teen-agers, so you have the alienation side of it. He's the last son and all he can turn to is his parents. DC (Comics, publishers of Superman) told us this, which was interesting - you have to look at it as, Superman is the man he is because of his parents. We can have this - it can be cool and fun and also have the relatable family element as well.''

``I don't know about before I was born, but my sister knows who Superman is, but she doesn't know what he looks like,'' offers 19-year-old Sam Jones III, who plays Clark's teen pal, Pete Ross, suggesting that the series' primary changes in the Super-mythology - Clark is brought to Earth in a meteor shower that kills Lana's parents and makes his future arch-enemy, Lex Luthor; Clark becomes pals with Lex; Clark doesn't don his crime-fighting costume (at this point, to Gough's mind, at any point in this series) - will be shrugged off by the show's target audience, even if Super-purists cry foul.

Jones concedes that hard-core fans are already getting their tights in a bunch. ``It's funny; there are Web sites up, and it's funny to read what the think - 'Who is this Electric Boy (a character in the pilot)? He was never in the comic' and 'We like Michael Rosenbaum, but what's this about Lex and Clark Kent being friends?' and 'Pete Ross wasn't originally black - I'm no racist, but what is this?' I'm, 'Uh-oh, are they gonna like me?' and then someone types back in my defense.'' (Jones, we'll tell you even though it's politically incorrect, since you probably figured it out, is African-American.) ``It's pretty weird. That was before the show was even picked up.''

Despite fan reservations, Gough says that DC, the comic publisher, put few stipulations on them, and the freedoms given them were revelatory.

``It was fun to go back and read the history of Superman and it was a relief, because it does reinvent itself,'' Gough says. ``There were nine to 12 Superman S's (his chest insignia). You learn that Kryptonite wasn't invented until the Superman radio show, when the actor had two weeks of vacation and you don't do reruns on radio. So how do you keep the show going - so for those two weeks, he was weakened. Then, when the actor came back, he was fine.

``He's been around for so long because he is open to reinterpretation, and that's what keeps it fresh for every generation.''

A major note Gough and company received from the comic-book company was that Superman was definitely the product of his parents, and therefore, his relationship with Ma and Pa Kent will be emphasized. Gough added, ``As good as Clark's relationship is with his father, you'll get to see how twisted Lex's relationship is with his father. And that feeds into the guy he's going to become.''

Gough would love to add inside jokes: ``We'd love to see Bruce Wayne. It'd be fun to see him come to Smallville. It's about money and licensing more than anything.'' He adds, ``We'd love to have Christopher Reeve maybe play one of Clark's teachers. That's what's fun, to use people from different Superman incarnations and bring them into the show.''

No flights, no tights

But he insists that even if the show becomes a hit and promoters want a Lycra-clad action figure, ``Honestly, the plan is not to put him in tights. We're going to be pretty resolute about that. Even like a 'Dark Angel'-like leotard. I don't think there'll be an interim suit.''

Even though ``Smallville'' won't boast super-costumes, it will address super-issues, like super-sex. ``His parents will address, 'Can he have sex? Can he have a normal life? Can he impregnate somebody?' '' Gough says. ``It's taking all those things that modern audiences would think about, that 30, 40, 50 years ago, people wouldn't think about. It's absolutely all those parental concerns that you'd have for any kid.''

That's all well and good, but one might point out: ``Smallville'' features outsiders with secret super-powers, conspiracy theories and unrequited romance, not much unlike a series that the WB recently let go to UPN. So what separates ``Smallville'' from the ``Roswell'' playbook?

``It's Superman; the parents are very much involved in Clark's life,'' offers Gough.

``It's not a sci-fi show,'' continues Millar. ``This is an action-adventure show where Clark will battle people who are out for evil and out to destroy Smallville and out to commit crimes. It's not about aliens and spaceships arriving from planets. It's very grounded in terms of that.''

But, really, Rosenbaum answers the question best: ``There's no bald guy in 'Roswell.' ''

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) cape fear

Taking away the costume, the flying and everything else familiar about the legend, `Smallville' reinvents Superman

(2) Tom Welling, who plays the young Clark Kent, admits he did no research before taking the role.

(3) Clark Kent (Tom Welling) rescues an unconscious Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson) during a ``Smallville'' episode set for October.