Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Explaining a different location for Metropolis

I'm writing a Lois and Clark parallel worlds crossover for my Supergirl Returns series, which is based on the cinematic version of Superman and especially Superman Returns. One of the ways I want the worlds to be different is for Metropolis to be in a different place - I've gone with a location relatively near New York for the movie version, and a location nearer to Milford (as in Fictitious Persons) for the L&C 'verse. This is the way I'm explaining it:

“As near as I can figure it,” said Jason, “we must have flown through some sort of rift between dimensions somewhere between Smallville and Metropolis – where Metropolis is in out world, I mean.”

“That’s the part I don’t understand,” said Lois. “Why would Metropolis be in a different place?”

“I think I can answer that,” said Clark, “Metropolis was founded by a group of Dutch fur traders. They were headed to New Amsterdam, that’s New York today, but got blown off course by a storm, ended up getting shipwrecked here, liked the place, and decided to stay. Maybe in Jason’s world the storm was less intense or blew in a slightly different direction and they ended up nearer New York.”

Seem plausible?

Seems plausible to me. Although, it's amazing that being in another location didn't alter the fact that Metropolis became a huge city. It might be fun (even if it doesn't work for this story), if Metropolis in L&C verse was a huge city, but in another verse it was darker, more like Gotham, or somehow never grew to that size. I like the storm analogy.

It seems to me plausible that the other metropolis might actually be a very small city. My understanding is that historically cities generally grew large because they were strategically located along trade routes. "Our" Metropolis probably once saw many goods passing through Hobbes' Bay. If the other Metropolis were located on a random part of the Delaware or New Jersey coast -- one that did not have some easy way to transport goods inland (e.g., on the assumption that the other world didn't have a Delaware Bay) -- it might have remained quite small. Perhaps the name "Metropolis" was given in jest, or perhaps it was a marketing ploy. (After all, Greenland is a lot colder than Iceland from what I have read.)

Don't get me wrong, though -- any story that puts Metropolis in my state makes me happy.

Joy,
Lynn

The problem is that the Superman Returns version of Metropolis is essentially New York, or a large extension of it. But for various reasons I've said in previous stories that my version of this universe has New York, Gotham, and Metropolis, all a couple of hours apart by fast train so say 100-150 miles. That doesn't rule out Milford as Metropolis, but I want it to be a different location for plot reasons. I think I may change this so that the Movieverse version is the other side of New York from Milford, say where Providence is in our world.

Lynn, I heard that Iceland switched names with Greenland on maps (centuries ago), so Vikings (or other marauders) would avoid Iceland and instead attack Greenland, keeping Iceland safe. I always thought it a brilliant marketing ploy. (How many other counties would've tried to hide themselves in this way?)

Hi Virginia,

Yup, exactly what I heard, as well. Disinformation is hardly a new thing.

Joy,
Lynn