No tights, flights in new twist on Superman

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Gone are the tights and the flights.

The cape, glasses and dual identity are gone, too.

There's just a teen-age Clark Kent coping with adolescence, his burgeoning superpowers and the occasional villain.

The WB's "Smallville," which airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m., is a fun, creative addition to the Superman mythology. Written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the duo behind the films "Shanghai Noon" and "Lethal Weapon 4," the new interpretation takes viewers back to where Superman's earthly life started -- Smallville.

The series opener begins with a meteor shower that brings death, destruction and a small boy to Smallville. In the aftermath, the youngster is found by the childless Kents and raised as their own. The show jumps forward 12 years, Clark (played by Tom Welling) has grown into an awkward, unpopular teen.

"To reinvent it, you have to shake it up. We're sort of respectful of the Superman legend without being slavish to it," Gough said.