Metropolis, IL - Sorry to spoil your party, Superman, but some fans at this year's Superman Celebration didn't come to see you. It's your arch enemy, Lex Luthor, who's pulling in the crowds.

Several at the annual festival came to see Michael Rosenbaum, who played the villain in the television series Smallville.

"A lot of people didn't expect that, but I knew with the feedback on the Internet he'd be a good one," said Jim Hambrick, president of the Metropolis Area Chamber of Commerce.

Other celebrity guests were Stephen Bender, 17, who plays the young Clark Kent in the upcoming film release of Superman Returns, and Noell Neill, 85, who played Lois Lane in the 1950s series The Adventures of Superman.

Annie Crews, 14, of Murphysboro got in line behind 150 people who were waiting to Rosenbaum's autograph!

"His character is interesting," she said. "He makes the show."

"Not Superman?" asked her mother, Carol Crews, with a puzzled expression.

"No," she said with a look on her face suggesting hat adults are clueless.

Jeremy Jorgenson, 27, and Sarah Kouma, 28, of Des Moines, Iowa, drove 10 ½ hours to attend the celebration as part of Jorgensen's birthday present.

"Having good guests is what really sealed the deal," Jorgenson said.

The couple stood in heat topping 90 degrees at 11a.m. to get Rosenbaum to sign a calendar and two DVD cases.

Jorgenson started out as a fan of Superman when he was little. He bought Superman comic books every Wednesday, and "I was always running around with a little cape," he said. "As I got older, it was a way to relive my childhood." …

Judging by the size of the crowds, Hambrick said the attendance was record-breaking for the fourth straight year.

We've got the weather, the stuff and the people, and all we have to do is have fun," he said.