Martha's e-mail address is CNH320@instamail.org. This is an inside joke. CNH320 was the license plate number on the General Lee, the car that John Schneider's character drove on his other series, "The Dukes of Hazzard."

The episode was okay, but the ending was nicely done. A nice way to reveal Lex’s new mission by tying it into the science of the episode.

Re: Lois Lane: Looks like Peter David was right!

The fight in Act 2 where Lana tried to kill Chloe was NICELY choreographed! Well done!

Hmm…is Adam a good guy or a bad guy….hmmm….

I thought the acting on the part of Martin Cummins, who plays Dr. Gardner (and who played Ames White in Dark Angel) in the closing scene was poor.

I was wondering if there was some significance to Martha’s email. Thanks, Brian.

Why did the kryptonite stop glowing when it rolled away after Chloe knocked out Jonathan with that hay? I don’t recall it ever doing tha before. (Then again, I always wondered what king of energy that stuff must be putting out to be generating its own internal light, and what should be by extension, heat.

Brian, that is one heckuva catch on that plate number! Kudos!

The mural in Max the Editor's office is of an Atlas-type figure holding the Daily Planet globe on his shoulders. The figure's head looks just like ubervillain Darkseid.

At the beginning of this ep, Lex seems smitten with the "help desk" chick Molly. He thinks she works for Luthorcorp. Which means she works for Lionel. And he's attracted to her. Yeah, right.

"Help desk" Molly diagnoses Lex's program crash as a virus. Lex agrees. Couldn't be a bad install, or operator error. Naw, that couldn't be it. Has to be a virus.

And just how did "help desk" Molly know where the anti-virus disk was kept if she didn't work for Luthorcorp?

If the Kent's red pickup shows up in next week's ep fully repaired, they are fools for sinking the money into it. It's totaled from this wreck. And they better have liability insurance for that school van that Clark rammed.

Why did the sheriff allow Clark to leave the hospital, and continue to question Chloe? Chloe was almost run over. What more does she have to say?

Lana's boyfriend brushed Clark off pretty hard in the hospital hallway. I wonder how Lana feels about that.

Lana brings her boyfriend to Smallville High. He isn't a student there. I won't get into the security issue, it seems anyone can walk into Smallville High. Lana then forgets her history book and needs to go to her locker, and tells boyfriend that she'll meet him outside. Uh, where's he going to go? What's there for him to see? Why not go with Lana to her locker?

Nice fight between Lana and Chloe... for a Matrix film. In real life, falling down 2 flights of concrete stairs HURTS. Getting kicked in the head HURTS. Catching an axe while lying on the ground, then flipping your opponent over your body is VERY difficult. And that move with Lana twisting her boyfriend's ankle and flipping him though the air... twice... is impossible.

Nice of them to put a cut on Chloe's forehead for the rest of the ep, but she should walk in that stiff, I-just-got-run-over-and-had-the-snot-kicked-out-of-me way, but she trots around like she always does.

But I just LOVE that locker room/shower scene! As Rick FLair would say, WHOOOOOOOO!!!!

Chloe and Clark are in the Torch office talking about Molly. Chloe has an odd fashion statement in the scene. When did it become popular for late teen girls to wear jackets with Boy Scout patches on the left shoulder?

I'm almost positive that a 40-something newspaper editor's secretary wouldn't be able to jam a sharp pencil into her bosses ear far enough to kill him.

At what point did Chloe decide to trust anyone named Luthor? Didn't Lex himself fire Chloe's father? Why is Chloe staying at the mansion?

Clark uses his super-hearing to listen to the doctor call Molly. The doc calls the apartment highrise where Molly is staying and asks for her apartment. Doesn't he know her phone number without having to call the lobby of her building?

Clark gets Molly's apartment number from listening to the doc's phone call. Too bad he didn't listen for another minute, or he might have heard the doc tell Molly to e-mail the Kents and order them to kill Chloe.

Chloe drops a bunch of hay bales on Clark and Jonathan. Good thing they were mini-bales. Typical bales of hay weight about 75-100 pounds. Dropping 10 on your head would kill you.

Why did Jonathan have kryptonite in his pocket? Was he ordered to kill Chloe AND Clark? And where did he get it? I can't imagine they'd keep any on the farm.

I always get a chuckle whenever Clark is showing some maturity gained from the episode. They like to dress him in pseudo-Superman clothes. This week he was mending his friendship with Chloe in the Torch office, wearing a blue shirt and carrying a red backpack.

Note to the writers and directors- it's OK for Clark to hug Chloe if she's crying, especially if they're making up.

Obi-Juan: Why did the sheriff allow Clark to leave the hospital, and continue to question Chloe? Chloe was almost run over. What more does she have to say?
Luigi Novi: I believe Chloe covered for Clark by telling Adams (IIRC) that Clark lost control of the car. Since Adams knows that Clark and Chloe are best of friends, she has nothing to disprove this.

Obi-Juan: Chloe and Clark are in the Torch office talking about Molly. Chloe has an odd fashion statement in the scene. When did it become popular for late teen girls to wear jackets with Boy Scout patches on the left shoulder?
Luigi Novi: She has been displaying an odd fashion sense this season. Don’t forget about her “Madonna” look in Yesterday.

Obi-Juan: Why did Jonathan have kryptonite in his pocket? Was he ordered to kill Chloe AND Clark?
Luigi Novi: No, but he knows Clark might come home and try to stop them.

Obi-Juan: Note to the writers and directors- it's OK for Clark to hug Chloe if she's crying, especially if they're making up.
Luigi Novi: Don’t worry, one day after Chloe has changed her name and they get married, they’ll do more than hugging.

I'm no computer expert by any stretch of the imagination but hell, even I know that if you wanna open up a chassis and do anything inside it you must turn its powersource off and unplug the cord first, yet this Molly chick takes a motorized screwdriver and removes Chloe's harddrive while it's still inside the chassis abd the powersource is on! You can tell when the screen showing the contents turns off.

Let's have a discussion of four characters this week:

CHLOE SULLIVAN AND LOIS LANE: So if I understand this correctly, Chloe has a cousin named Lois Lane who does not have an interest in journalism. Presumably, she is similar to Clark's age. There are two possibilities here and neither makes much sense. Possibility 1: The cousin Lois develops a sudden interest in journalism and uses her connection to Chloe to get a job. This is unlikely because Lois Lane has always been characterized as a REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY hardcore journalist. You don't go from no interest to ultra interest in a few years. Possibility 2: Chloe becomes Lois. I like this idea better because I think Chloe is perfect for Clark. However, it also makes little sense. If Chloe uses the name Lois Lane as a pen name, why would everyone call her that personally? I'm sure Samuel Clemens's friends didn't go around calling him Mark.

Anyway, I like possibility 2 better. The way this could work is if Chloe gets herself into some big trouble somehow (she could certainly do this) and assumes her cousin's name officially (and dyes her hair).

ADAM KNIGHT AND BRUCE WAYNE: I have a sneaking suspicion that Lana's new boyfriend is none other than Batman! Look at the facts:
Name: Adam Knight (Adam West + Dark Knight)
Clothing Choices: Black and gray
History: Parents die tragically. Knows martial arts. Is a master with computers.
Personality: Very mysterious and very unlike Clark. He has a bit of a dark side.
The problem is the method of his parents' deaths. He claims they were killed in a fire. It's crucial to Batman's origin that his parents were murdered. You can't just change that. It's possible that Adam has remembered the incident incorrectly (or has repressed the memory). We'll just have to see how this stuff plays out. It was great fun to think about this stuff.

Onto the episode:

BAD TASTE OF THE WEEK:
The computer center has a poster of John Travolta's Battlefield Earth displayed prominently on their wall. These guys really need to get out more.

EYE DIFFERENCE OF THE WEEK:
The plot of the episode centers around a girl implanting subliminal messages into people's brains via email. What are the odds that these messages would affect Clark in the same way as Lana or his parents? He has X-ray vision and fire can shoot out of his eyes.

BAD KILLING STRATEGY OF THE WEEK, PART 1:
When Clark goes to kill Chloe, he revs up his engine and then pulls up to Chloe and stops. We then get a long reaction shot from Chloe and then she starts running. First, why didn't Clark just gun it from the beginning and slam into her. Second, and most importantly, THIS IS CLARK!! Surely there are more efficient ways for SUPERMAN to kill someone other than running them down with a truck!!

BAD KILLING STRATEGY OF THE WEEK, PART 2:
When Chloe goes to the Kent house, she sees Martha standing there. Martha then grabs a sickle and advances on Chloe. Chloe backs away and Jonathan surprises her from behind with a chain and starts choking her. Why didn't Jonathan just grab another sharp farming object and stab Chloe when he had the chance.

IMITATION GLASS OF THE WEEK:
When Chloe and Lana fight, Chloe slams Lana into a glass box containing a fire extinguisher. Lana, however, is unscathed from this. This is a very prominent tv/movie nit. When you smash into glass, you WILL get injured... BADLY!!

MODESTY ISSUE OF THE WEEK:
When Chloe and Lana fight, Lana shoves Chloe through some swinging doors that lead right from the hallway into the Girls' locker room. Right inside the door are several girls in their underwear changing. Being a male in the target demographic, I find this to be an excellent architectural design; however, I could understand why some women might find this unsettling. All a passing a$$ would have to do is give the door a quick shove and let his friends enjoy the show. Also, from what I understand, showers after high school gym classes are not too common anymore.

OVERALL OPINION OF THE WEEK:
Gave me a lot to think about with Lois and Batman. The plot with the hacker was interesting as was the return of the Dr. Gardner. Lex's latest obsession seems very interesting and I can't wait to see where it goes. The season finale should be very interesting this year.

See ya later
TUE

Obi-Juan: Why did the sheriff allow Clark to leave the hospital, and continue to question Chloe? Chloe was almost run over. What more does she have to say?
Luigi Novi: I believe Chloe covered for Clark by telling Adams (IIRC) that Clark lost control of the car. Since Adams knows that Clark and Chloe are best of friends, she has nothing to disprove this.
I didn't phrase this well. I don't understand why the sheriff had a "few more questions" for Chloe. If the sheriff bought Chloe's fib that Clark lost control of the truck, then Chloe is the victim of an accident. If the sheriff thinks there was more to the story, why let Clark go? He should be jailed for attempted vehicular manslaughter.

IMITATION GLASS OF THE WEEK:
When Chloe and Lana fight, Chloe slams Lana into a glass box containing a fire extinguisher. Lana, however, is unscathed from this. This is a very prominent tv/movie nit. When you smash into glass, you WILL get injured... BADLY!!
I missed this earlier, but fire hose stations (which are not very common in public schools, too easy to vandalize) do not contain axes. Axes are kept in separate boxes.

I agree with TUE, the season will end well. Lex is moving steadily toward the Dark Side...

ADAM KNIGHT AND BRUCE WAYNE: I have a sneaking suspicion that Lana's new boyfriend is none other than Batman!

I got that impression as well. I'd forgotten his last name, but a friend of mine and I were talking about Batman's past a while back. One thing he pointed out to me is that if he was still his pre-Batman self, then he'd be traveling the world in training to one day become Batman. He'd be doing so, in fact, under false names. My friend also got the impression that Adam's really Bruce, and he knows as much about Batman as anyone.

TUE: his is unlikely because Lois Lane has always been characterized as a REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY hardcore journalist.
Luigi Novi: As an adult, yes. Has she been characterized as this in childhood?

TUE: You don't go from no interest to ultra interest in a few years.
Luigi Novi: Just because Chloe says she has no interest doesn’t mean Lois doesn’t have some (Chloe could be wrong), or Lois might develop it gradually. Moreover, where have you established that between now and when Clark first meets Lois at the Daily Planet is “a few years”?

TUE: Possibility 2: Chloe becomes Lois. I like this idea better because I think Chloe is perfect for Clark. However, it also makes little sense. If Chloe uses the name Lois Lane as a pen name, why would everyone call her that personally? I'm sure Samuel Clemens's friends didn't go around calling him Mark.
Luigi Novi: Perhaps she changes it to that name.

TUE: The problem is the method of his parents' deaths. He claims they were killed in a fire. It's crucial to Batman's origin that his parents were murdered. You can't just change that. It's possible that Adam has remembered the incident incorrectly (or has repressed the memory).
Luigi Novi: If he’s lying about his name (Since Batman’s name is Bruce Wayne and not Adam Knight), then why not his parents’ deaths?

Obi-Juan: If the sheriff bought Chloe's fib that Clark lost control of the truck, then Chloe is the victim of an accident. If the sheriff thinks there was more to the story, why let Clark go? He should be jailed for attempted vehicular manslaughter.
Luigi Novi: How can there be an attempt if it was an accident? An accident lacks deliberation on the part of the negligent party.

Moreover, where have you established that between now and when Clark first meets Lois at the Daily Planet is “a few years”?" -- Luigi Novi

I assume Lois is approxomately the same age as Clark. Clark is a high school junior. Lois, therefore, must at least be in high school. In order to be a journalist, one must attend college. In order to major in journalism, one would assume that she would have an interest in journalism; therefore, she would have to develop her interest in journalism sometime during high school or college. I would classify this as "a few years." Does this seem reasonable or is my logic flawed?

Of course, I still want to see what TPTB are going to do. They're probably three steps ahead of me. (Though most people usually are. )

"As an adult, yes. Has she been characterized as this in childhood?" -- Luigi Novi
This is speculation on my part. As all my friends have gone to college, I've noticed that the majors they choose are not a big surprise. Their personalities and interests in high school correspond to what they want to do with their lives. (i.e. My computer nerd friend is majoring in computer engineering. I used to write stories in high school and now I'm an English major, etc.) I just find it hard to believe that Lois's hardcore love of journalism is not something that went back into high school at least.

Again, TPTB can probably explain this. I'm not trying to nitpick just yet. I'm just speculating.

"Perhaps she changes it to that name." -- Luigi Novi

I speculated as much in my original post.

Obi-Juan: If the sheriff bought Chloe's fib that Clark lost control of the truck, then Chloe is the victim of an accident. If the sheriff thinks there was more to the story, why let Clark go? He should be jailed for attempted vehicular manslaughter.
Luigi Novi: How can there be an attempt if it was an accident? An accident lacks deliberation on the part of the negligent party.

Here's what I think Obi Juan is trying to say:
After listening to everything, the sheriff has two options:
1. She can believe Clark and Chloe and send Clark on his merry way obsolving Clark of any wrongdoing. If this is the case, why does she have more questions for Chloe? The sherriff has concluded that this was just an accident.
2. She can not believe Clark and Chloe and convict Clark of attempted vehicular manslaughter.
A possible anti-nit would be that the sherriff just needed to ask Chloe a few more questions just for the necessary paperwork. (What time did it happen? What was the address? Etc.)

TUE

As an adult, yes. Has she been characterized as this in childhood? - Luigi

I don't think it makes a bit of difference when we're talking about a show that clearly follows a continuity different from the comics.

TUE: I would classify this as "a few years." Does this seem reasonable or is my logic flawed?
Luigi Novi: Sorry, I thought you meant it would be a few years between now and when she meets Clark. Sorry about that.

TUE: As all my friends have gone to college, I've noticed that the majors they choose are not a big surprise. Their personalities and interests in high school correspond to what they want to do with their lives. (i.e. My computer nerd friend is majoring in computer engineering. I used to write stories in high school and now I'm an English major, etc.) I just find it hard to believe that Lois's hardcore love of journalism is not something that went back into high school at least.
Luigi Novi: This is not difficult at all for me to believe. In my observation, not knowing what you want to do after graduating high school, and even switching majors mid-college is not uncommon. Many people don’t realize how much they like something until they try doing it. This may be the case for Lois. Maybe she likes writing, so she majored in English or Creative Writing at first, but ultimately found it unfulfilling. Many people choose majors and then discover that they don’t really like the studies. Hell, many people even choose careers that don’t perfectly correspond to what they studied.

TUE: I don't think it makes a bit of difference when we're talking about a show that clearly follows a continuity different from the comics.
Luigi Novi: True, but it was TUE who said Lois “had always been characterized” this way.

Here's something I've been wondering: Lex asks Dr. Gardner at the end to help him restore his lost memory, and uses Chloe's research to blackmail him into doing it. How can Lex possibly trust this man to do what he asks? I mean, this is a guy who practically has access to mind control through the subliminal messages. Lex has to pretty much put himself at Gardner's mercy.

Prediction: Gardner is going to start manipulating Lex's mind, altering his morality in the process. Gardner will then be killed off, leaving Lex in this state permanently.

Mylan: I would imagine that Lex arranged it so that if anything happened to him, the blackmail information would be released. Lex is not $tup!d.

That's interesting, because in the most recent issue of the miniseries Superman: Birthright, which depicts Clark's first public forays as Superman, we see the first encounter between Superman and Lex Luthor, now in full-criminal mode, and when Superman tries express familiarity with Lex, Lex claims not to remember him or to have ever been in Smallville.

Proof that Lana is a blockhead.

Clark tries to run Chloe down, smacks into the van, and (presumably) smacks his head on the steering wheel. Bam! He's snapped out of it.

Lana gets knocked down a flight of stairs, slammed into glass and a wall, gets smacked around a little more than that, and it still takes Chloe and Adam to snap her out of it.

Now, how does a person explain that, other than that Lana is as thickheaded as we knew? Hmmm?

Oh yes, and I do not believe for one second that Adam Knight is aka Bruce Wayne. If he were, what would be the point of sitting around in a hospital waiting to be converted to the Dark Side of the Force by the power of Pink? Why would he be going to rinky-dink Smallville instead of getting the best medical assistance he could afford? Would he even be permitted to waste hospital space and PT time just for looks??

(I know absolutely nothing about Batman's history, btw. But it just strikes me as WRONG.)

He did a lot of traveling in the years when he was learning how to be a lockpick, escape artist, detective, criminologist, and martial artist. Perhaps if Adam is Bruce, the series is supposing that he spent some time in Smallville. While I'm not an expert on the Batman mythos, I'm not sure if Leslie, the social worker who raised him after his parents' murder, raised him at Wayne Manor. Maybe being the loner he is, he never latched onto Wayne Manor as his "home," and at this point in his life, doesn't really feel grounded or attached to any one place more than the other.

Okay, that I can understand.

But...why, oh why, oh WHY...would he pick Smallville Medical Center as a temporary home???

My poor brain just isn't comprehending that (along with why he'd be undergoing PT if he wasn't really injured as he said and is just learning - I mean, is he learning how to be a PT patient or something?). Not a thing here really makes me sit up and say, "Oh, Bruce Wayne!" All of the evidence that's being presented is making me say, "Eh. Nah."

I suspect Adam does NOT know that he's really Bruce Wayne (if that is the case). If he is Bruce Wayne, I don't think he's being deceitful. I think he's just genuinely had some mental trauma and does not remember what's going on entirely.

TUE

But...why, oh why, oh WHY...would he pick Smallville Medical Center as a temporary home???

Have you ever been in a hospital in a welathy area and/or that wealthy people use regulary? They coddle you there and the doctors are so filthy stinkin rich, they're probably spending more time reading the Wall Street Journal then the New England Journal of Medicine. Knowing what I know about Bruce Wayne, he'd probably hate a place like that, adn would prefer a small town hospital.

As for the Adam knight thing, my step-father knows more about comics than anyone I've ever met. I'll fire off an e-mail to him and ask if the name means anything.

Bruce Wayne was predominantly raised by his family butler Alfred after the death of his parents. Leslie was a doctor and a colleague of Bruce's father. She participated in Bruce's upbringing and is one of a select number of persons to know Batman's identity.

I find it unlikely that the Adam character is Batman. Bruce Wayne's life is a study of dedication to avenging the death of his parents. Bruce Wayne has only allowed a handful of quality women into his life as he sees romantic entanglements as a detriment to his mission. He miantains his aloof playboy image by dating simple women in his civilian guise. Even in his teen years he would not be distracted by a teenage coffee shop owner at a time when he is apprenticing to the masters of martial arts, investigations, acrobatics, etc.

Adam tells Lana that he is not prepared to return to Metropolis and is looking for an excuse to stay in Smallville. Adam is implying that he fears being alone, which is completely against Bruce Wayne's character.

Brian Webber: As for the Adam knight thing, my step-father knows more about comics than anyone I've ever met. I'll fire off an e-mail to him and ask if the name means anything.
Luigi Novi: Didn't TUE pretty much illustrate the connecdtion with Adam West and the "Dark Knight Detective"?

Obi-Juan: Bruce Wayne was predominantly raised by his family butler Alfred after the death of his parents.
Luigi Novi: In one Batman story I read, Alfred came to work for him after he had already taken Robin as his ward and partner. Was this portion of the continuity retconned? (I know that some stories, like the Year Two storyline, for example, retconned some of the backstory.)

Obi-Juan: Even in his teen years he would not be distracted by a teenage coffee shop owner at a time when he is apprenticing to the masters of martial arts, investigations, acrobatics, etc.
Luigi Novi: Why? The way someone is in adulthood is not necessarily fully formed by the time they're in their teens. Even if the comic continuity established this, the show has already diverged from it in several aspects.

Obi-Juan: Adam tells Lana that he is not prepared to return to Metropolis and is looking for an excuse to stay in Smallville. Adam is implying that he fears being alone, which is completely against Bruce Wayne's character.
Luigi Novi: As an adult, not necessarily as a teenager. Also, why couldn't he just be lying? We already know he's keeping quite a bit from her.

I agree with Luigi that there is no continuity between the comics/series, and that the writers have free license. Regarding Lois Lane's age, they took liberty in the first Superman movie by making her about ten years younger than Clark. You may recall the scene where Clark, as a teenager, is outrunning a train in Smallville. A grammar-school-aged Lois happens to be on the train, sees Clark, tells her mom, but the mom brushes it off saying she has a reportter's gift for creativity.

"a reporter's gift for creativity..."

one must wonder if creativity is a good gift for a reporter to have. I don't want my newspaper reporters being creative on the job.

TUE

What, you never read the Weekly World News?

I agree that Smallville has diverted from the Superman conventional continuity, and in some ways with major diversions (ie Lex in Smallville and befriending young Clark). But these changes do not affect the core character. Clark is depicted as a gifted teen with parents of good stock who are instilling human values of decency, morality, and compassion in their adopted son. These are the elements that create Superman, more so than the extrahuman abilities. If anything, this is a richer telling of the story, one in which Clark makes mistakes and clearly learns from them, and also learns from the pain of choosing to hide his abilities from those he loves. There is no doubt that, with each episode that passes, this young Clark Kent will become Superman. This is a story of a young man with amazing gifts who is nurtured by his fmaily and friends, and who is destined to become the greatest of all heroes.

If this show is to introduce Bruce Wayne as a character (under any guise), the stories told must, in some manner, result in the man that is to become the Dark Knight. The conventional continuity of the Batman character establishes that driving force in his quest for self-styled justice is the death of his parents. The character is a study in loss of love, of darkness and determination to fight in that medium, by embracing the dark and striking terror into those who would harm the weak. This is the core of the character, and not easily dismissed. If this show wishes to portray a Bruce Wayne character that is not firmly committed to his destiny at the late teen/early adult age, then the show is taking a major departure in the creation of the dark hero.

What can happen to a young Bruce Wayne in Smallville, Kansas that will propel him down his destined path? How will a relationship with Lana contribute to his destiny? Given the disparity in the nature of the Superman and Batman characters, I don't see this Adam character as being an incognito Bruce Wayne. But we'll just have to wait for the next episode and see...

(ie Lex in Smallville and befriending young Clark).

Actually a lot of people forget that in the early comics, pre-Crisis, they actually DID know each other. I don't think Lex lived in Smallville, but Lex adn Clark were friends at one point.

Obi-Juan: The conventional continuity of the Batman character establishes that driving force in his quest for self-styled justice is the death of his parents. The character is a study in loss of love, of darkness and determination to fight in that medium, by embracing the dark and striking terror into those who would harm the weak. This is the core of the character, and not easily dismissed. If this show wishes to portray a Bruce Wayne character that is not firmly committed to his destiny at the late teen/early adult age, then the show is taking a major departure in the creation of the dark hero.
Luigi Novi: But who says this commitment existed when he was a teenager/early adult in the same way as it does as Batman? Nothing in the episode establishes that he isn’t firmly committed to it.

Obi-Juan: What can happen to a young Bruce Wayne in Smallville, Kansas that will propel him down his destined path? How will a relationship with Lana contribute to his destiny?
Luigi Novi: Who said it has to? Where is it written that Bruce never had, or could never have, romances when he was younger, and that every waking moment he spent, every single step he made or word he uttered, somehow had to contribute to his future career? This isn’t the case with people in real-life, so why him? He certainly has had some romances as Batman, hasn’t he? There is nothing in this episode that contradicts a possible future as Batman.

Luigi Novi: But who says this commitment existed when he was a teenager/early adult in the same way as it does as Batman? Nothing in the episode establishes that he isn’t firmly committed to it.
Who said it has to? Where is it written that Bruce never had, or could never have, romances when he was younger, and that every waking moment he spent, every single step he made or word he uttered, somehow had to contribute to his future career?
I'm not disputing that Bruce Wayne could have had (and lost) love in his life, even in his teen years. But remember what this man achieves:
- He parlays his father's personal wealth into a corporations second only to Luthor's empire. College education in finance is necessary.
- He becomes a world-class acrobat, which takes years of training.
- He becomes a master of multiple disciplines of martial arts, which again requires years to accomplish.
- He also masters investigations, disguises, psychology, and a host of other subjects. Again, a serious committment of time.
- He constructs the Batcave, and all the tools of his trade, almost entirely on his own.
And he begins his life as the Batman in his mid-twenties. If this show is going to parallel Adam to Bruce (the next ep seems to perpetuate this theory), then they have Adam as a drifter in a small town at a time when Bruce would likely be in college and in training.

Good point.

Like I said, there's plenty of room in the lives of these heroes for all kinds of interesting stories, including past loves. But with all that the Batman accomplishes, it seems like his early adult years are immersed in those pursuits that make him the most awesome specimen of humanity ever. Now, if this show can put Adam/Bruce's presence in Smallville in perspective...