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2003 TV News Archives

March 16, 2003: “Smallville” Spaceship Made in Taiwan

Since the episode "Rosetta" starring Christopher Reeve, many a "Smallville" fan has been asking about the Kryptonian writing seen on the spaceship that brought Clark to Earth. Thanks to Smallville fans Sinha Heendeniya and Doug Chambers we're able to bring you the complete translation of that text...

Yes, you guessed it! If you translate the Kryptonian text at the very bottom of the craft (the smallest circle of rotating text), it translates into "Made in Taiwan". Strange but true. I'm guessing this is supposed to be a joke by the makers of the show... I mean I find it kind of hard to believe that Jor-El would have sent away for a mail-order spaceship... from Taiwan, Earth. ;)

Unless of course there was a place on Krypton called Taiwan... Or would that be Tai-Wan?

Also, what is written is slightly different than the words spoken by Clark.

This is what he said:

"On this third planet from this star, Sol, you'll be a god among men. They are a flawed race. Rule them with strength, my son. That is where your greatness lies."

If you directly translate the Kryptonian text that appears inside the craft (which is difficult to do because it doesn't stay on screen very long), there's no line that states "They are a flawed race". Additionally, certain words are repeated in subsequent lines.

A more direct translation is this:

"On this third planet from the star, Sol, you will be a god among men. Rule with strength, my son. That is where your greatness lies. Made in Taiwan."

In one of the lines, the word "where" is actually spelled "wher". I guess even Kryptonians forget to do a spell check sometimes...

Here is the complete translation as a JPG.