The Distance between Smallville and Metropolis was inconsistent throughout the run of Smallville. In some episodes, Metropolis is said to be 2-3 hours away. However, in the later seasons, many of the characters commuted between the two on a daily basis (occasionally, several times in one day).
Season One[]
The Metropolis skyline from the top of the windmill.
In the episode Nicodemus, Clark Kent takes Lana Lang to the top of the windmill in Chandler's Field where she can see the Metropolis skyline.[1]
Season Three[]
In the episode Whisper, Chloe Sullivan drops by LuthorCorp Plaza to speak to Lionel Luthor. She tells him that she has no new information on Clark Kent, adding: "And if I did, I would've happily e-mailed it to you, sans the three-hour drive."[2]
In the episode Truth, Chloe asks Pete Ross about a football game (in Metropolis), that Pete and Clark will be watching at Pete's house (in Smallville). Pete tells her that Clark will run to the stadium and get them some hot dogs. Chloe (then unaware of Clark's secret) responds "You mean to tell me that Clark is driving six hours to pick up a couple of hot dogs?". Chloe's line indicates that Metropolis is a three-hour drive away from Smallville,[3] which lines up with her line in Whisper.[2]
Seasons Six & Seven[]
Chloe is living in the Talon Apartment in Smallville, and commutes every day to Metropolis (where she works at the Daily Planet, and takes journalism classes at Metropolis University at night). Starting with Season Seven, Lois Lane did the same (living at the Talon Apartment in Smallville, and working at the Daily Planet in Metropolis, requring a daily commute).[4]
Season Eight[]
In the episode Abyss, Chloe gives the distance between Smallville and Metropolis as a two-hour drive.[5]
In the episode Stiletto, Chloe is at Metropolis General Hospital, and talking to Davis Bloome (who is in the Talon basement) on her cellphone. She tells him "I'll be home in like 20 minutes",[6] giving a much lower commute time than in Abyss, Whisper and Truth.[5][2][3]
Season Nine[]
The issue is potentially resolved in Season Nine.
A monorail train heading towards Metropolis.
A monorail train approaching Metropolis.
In the episode Savior, Lois and Alia (traveling from the future) finds themselves on a monorail train, shown heading towards (and into) Metropolis. In the episode, there is a billboard ad for the monorail with the slogan "CONNECTING THE WORLD".[7] The same billboard ad could be seen in Season Eight.[8]
In the episode Idol, Zan and Jayna knocks out all the power in Metropolis one night. The next morning, the power is still out, and Lois laments "Two hours to get here with the monorail down".[9] While she does not give the specifics, "two hours" would line up to the distance between Smallville and Metropolis given in the episode Abyss.[5] In Whisper, Truth and Abyss (where the distance is given as 2-3 hours), Chloe is shown specifically talking about driving.[5][2][3] The evidence indicates that Metropolis is a 2-3 hour drive from Smallville,[2][5][3] but that the characters usually commute with a public transportation, high-speed monorail system (that can cut the commute down to under 30 minutes).[5][7][9] In the Season Ten episode Lazarus, there is a Daily Planet headline that reads: "NEW MONORAIL ROUTE TO JOIN TRI CITY REGION".[10]
Headline about an expansion of the Monorail system.
In the Comics[]
Map from Superboy Vol 2 #22 (October, 1981), showing the then locations of Smallville and Metropolis.
Prior to the John Byrne reboot in 1987, Metropolis (a city on the east coast of the United States of America) was depicted as being nearby the town of Smallville. Byrne's reboot established Smallville as being located in the state of Kansas, making it several states away from Metropolis.