A sprawling superhero origin story that would be burned at the stake by an angry mob were it made today soars to #1 on streaming

Ever since the superhero boom began in earnest at the turn of the millennium – which was then sent into the stratosphere by the arrival of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – fans of comic book source material have been growing increasingly precious when it comes to major deviations from canon. With that in mind, it’s fascinating to imagine how modern audiences would react were Smallville to debut today.

Across 10 seasons and 217 episodes, the series took the longest route possible to telling Superman’s origin story, which naturally deviated from the established mythos in a multitude of major ways. In fact, co-creator Miles Millar even admitted that “we categorically would not be allowed to make that show and make those changes today,” which is entirely fair considering even the merest hint of canonical overhauls hailing from Marvel or DC’s current live-action output leads to pitchforks being sharpened across the internet.

Millar additionally acknowledged that “the cat calls from fandom” would make Smallville an entirely different proposition in the age of the all-conquering superhero story, but for the most part it still holds up as a divertingly entertaining – if very often maddening – journey through Clark Kent’s evolution from quaint farm boy to Man of Steel. More than 20 years on from its premiere, and it would seem that the show hasn’t lost much of its popularity, either.

Per FlixPatrol, Smallville has rocketed to the very top of the charts among iTunes users in the United States, even its core creatives have made it clear they’d never be able to take those massive swings and liberties with such a beloved property under the scrutiny of the social media era.