Posted in: Movies, TV, Warner Bros | Tagged: gene hackman, michael rosenbaum, smallville, superman

Smallville: Michael Rosenbaum Pays Special Tribute to Gene Hackman

Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) paid tribute to Superman's Gene Hackman by sharing the poster Hackman signed to the "second best Lex Luthor."

Superman (1978) walked so that Smallville could run. Christopher Reeve, who played the title character in the Richard Donner film and its three sequels, appeared in the WB series in his final role as Dr. Virgil Swann to pass on his wisdom and torch to Clark Kent (Tom Welling) as he's on his journey to become Superman in two episodes across seasons two and three. With Gene Hackman's passing earlier in February, the two-time Oscar winner played Superman's arch nemesis, Lex Luthor, in three of the four films, with his and Reeve's final outing in Cannon's Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Michael Rosenbaum, who played the character in the Alfred Gough and Miles Millar superhero drama series, paid tribute on social media.

Smallville Star Michael Rosenbaum Pays Tribute, Shares Autograph from Gene Hackman

With a signed film poster from Hackman that reads, "To the second best Lex Luthor, Love Gene Hackman," Rosenbaum wrote, "To my favorite Lex Luthor and one of the all-time greatest actors ever! RIP #genehackman #superman #lexluthor 💔" The actor played Lex in 156 of the 217 episodes across eight seasons, leaving after season seven and returning for the finale. The series followed Clark and Lex as young men discovering themselves in Smallville as one-time friends-turned-bitter-enemies. As Clark was discovering his origins as Kal-El, figuring out what it means to be a superhero, and meeting similarly powerful friends along the way to becoming Superman. Lex's feelings toward Clark grew into jealousy and rage as his ambitions grew bigger. The finale would see a reset of sorts as Lex kills his sister Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman), but she afflicts him with gas that makes him forget all his memories with Clark. The final shot of the series sees Lex with presidential ambitions as Clark finally dons the suit and saves Metropolis from its latest threat.

While Hackman wasn't the first actor to play Lex in live-action on screen, with Lyle Talbot having that honor in 1950s Atom Man vs. Superman film serial, the actor set the bar for live-action portrayals as the "greatest criminal mastermind." While the Man of Steel remains a cinematic force, Lex wasn't always the main villain in the films. I'd be remiss not to mention John Shea's portrayal in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and in the Arrowverse, we had two Lexes with Jon Cryer in CBS's/The CW's Supergirl and Michael Cudlitz in The CW's Superman & Lois.

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