More like Smallville
Cross-media recommendations across film, TV, games, books & music — picked by taste.
Smallville follows Clark Kent's coming-of-age in Smallville, Kansas — the years before the cape, shaped by his complicated romance with Lana Lang and his deepening friendship with the future Lex Luthor. The early seasons are rooted in high-school life; later ones shift toward his work with Lois Lane at the Daily Planet and a widening DC world. If this resonates with you, you're drawn to superhero origin stories told at a human scale, long-form character arcs, and mythology that earns its weight slowly.
About Smallville
Smallville is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar/Gough Ink, Tollin/Robbins Productions, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Television. It follows the coming-of-age adventures of teenage Clark Kent in his fictional hometown of Smallville, Kansas, before he formally becomes the Man of Steel. The first four seasons focus on the high school life of Clark and his friends, his complicated romance with neighbor girl Lana Lang, and his friendship with future nemesis Lex Luthor. From season five onward, Smallville ventures into Clark's early adult years, eventually focusing on his career alongside Lois Lane at the Daily Planet and introducing other DC comic book superheroes and villains.
From the Wikipedia article Smallville, available under CC BY-SA.
Films like Smallville
Film
Smallville
The same Smallville triangle of Clark, Lana, and Lex, now with a high-school prank escalating into a superpowered threat.
Film
Man of Steel
A boy with extraordinary powers spends years searching for the origin and purpose behind who he truly is.
Film
Superman
Clark Kent as a Metropolis journalist, caught between his Kryptonian heritage and the human life he was raised into.
Film
Superman
Superman arrives on Earth as a child and grows into his role as his community's protector for the first time.
Film
Superman II
Three Kryptonian criminals led by General Zod team with Lex Luthor to conquer Earth; a depowered Superman must stop them.
Film
Superman
Clark Kent navigating a double life at the Daily Planet, with Lex Luthor's ambitions threatening the world he protects.
Games like Smallville
Books to read after Smallville
Book
Man of Steel
Clark Kent as a journalist wrestling with how to use his alien powers in defense of a world that isn't his by birth.
Book
Superman Beyond
A future Superman who has outlasted nearly everyone he loved, carrying on as the world and Justice League keep changing around him.
Book
Injustice
Superman and Batman on opposing sides of a war between heroes, exploring what happens when Clark Kent's ideals harden into control.
Book
Superman
Lois Lane at the center of a crisis, her new abilities drawing a power-hungry enemy straight to Metropolis.
Book
Superman Action comics
Superman forced into an uneasy alliance with Luthor and Wonder Woman to fight a threat none of them can face alone.
Book
The Ultimates
A government-sponsored superhero team — including Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor — fighting to protect the world.
More series like Smallville
Series
Krypton
A disgraced Kryptonian family fights to restore its honor, telling Superman's mythology two generations before Kal-El.
Series
Superman & Lois
Clark Kent and Lois Lane face a new kind of challenge — parenting — while still contending with world-threatening enemies.
Series
Heroes
Ordinary people discovering hidden powers, with intertwined lives converging on a catastrophic event that must be stopped.
Series
Justice League
Superman teams up with other iconic heroes, shifting from solo origin to ensemble mythology and planetary-scale stakes.
Series
The Greatest American Hero
A reluctant civilian given superhuman abilities he never asked for, fumbling through heroism without a manual.
Series
Superman
Clark Kent hiding behind an ordinary identity while using his powers in a tireless fight against crime and injustice.
Frequently asked
What should I watch after Smallville?
Fans of Clark's pre-cape years tend to love Superman & Lois, which reunites the Man of Steel with Lois Lane in a grounded, character-driven drama, or Krypton, which digs into Superman's family history two generations before Kal-El's birth.
Are there any games like Smallville for DC fans?
Injustice: Gods Among Us is the standout pick — it lets you battle as and against DC heroes and villains including Superman, with a story built around a darker version of the Man of Steel's legacy.
Is there a book or comic that captures the same Superman origin feeling as Smallville?
The Man of Steel graphic novel tells Clark Kent's origin story — his Kryptonian heritage, his arrival on Earth, and his battle against General Zod — in a compact, emotionally grounded form very close to Smallville's spirit.