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It's an exciting time for Smallville fans, as the podcast Talkville features two of the show's lead actors breaking down each episode of the series. The show's Superman, Tom Welling, has recently become very invested with the show's fan base, traveling for conventions as well as developing the podcast with co-host Michael Rosenbaum, who famously played Lex Luthor in the show.
With the two lead actors reviewing the first season, many fans have been re-watching the series themselves. Over ten seasons, Clark Kent grows immensely, and it's fun to revisit some early aspirations he sought and see how they eventually played out.
Discovering His Kryptonian Heritage
The pilot episode of Smallville sees Jonathan Kent reveal to Clark the spaceship he arrived in. This sets Clark on a multi-season odyssey to discover the origins of the ship, and the people he came from. He learns of the existence of Krypton in Season 2, but the path to understanding his people continues throughout the series.
The exploration of Clark's Kryptonian origins is an area the show laid out perfectly, as it allowed for a consistent development of mystery and intrigue. The show delved deep into the comic lore of the Kryptonian people and saw the arrival of many of his kin on earth, including Kara Zor-El and General Zod. Through working together with the AI of Jor-El and the technology at the Fortress of Solitude, Clark steadily learns about the fate of his planet, and the people who lived there before.
Resolving His Guilt For The Meteor Shower
Along with learning his alien origins, Clark discovers he came in the meteor shower, a devastating event for the people of Smallville. The shower affected some of Clark's closest friends, as well as having a long-term effect on the people of the town. In Season One, Clark held on to large amounts of guilt and self-loathing for this event.
One of Clark's earliest challenges in his journey to becoming a hero is coming to grips with his self-loathing. His "hero complex" often results in him blaming himself for things out of control or seeing events as revolving around him when they do not. He gradually matures past this as he becomes an adult, but some would have hoped it would come sooner, as these problems resulted in repetitive melodrama. His sense of heroism does result in the quote that defines Clark Kent as the best in Smallville.
Understanding His Heightened Senses
Some of the most enjoyable Season One episodes are when Clark accidentally stumbles on a new power. These episodes often made for fun-filled, comedic, and character-driven episodes that bring out the best in the actors.
Clark learned about different powers at varying points throughout the series, with the last of his sense-driven abilities coming in season 6. His X-Ray Vision, Heat Vision, and Super Hearing all come in the first few seasons. While it may seem like a long time, the space between these powers allowed for the show to keep a good pace for its longevity.
Finding Others Like Him
On a computer screen in the first episode, Clark is seen searching the web for strange occurrences, as well as reading Nietzsche's philosophy of the Übermensch. Clark is curious about his powers. Most of all, he wants to know if there are others in the world whom he can relate to.
Despite the good he is able to do with his powers, Clark constantly feels lonely and wishes he was a human, so he could be like everyone else. He learns to appreciate his gifts more as he finds others like him, starting with meta-humans like Bart Allen in Season 4, and aliens like Martian Manhunter and Supergirl in the later seasons. The showrunners did a terrific job of sprinkling in other heroes for exciting team-up episodes that made for some of the best Smallville episodes in their seasons, while still keeping the main focus on Clark.
To Be Able To Share The Burden Of His Secret
While Clark did aspire to find others with gifts as he had, it was perhaps more important for him to have someone to share the secret with. Clark often wanted to share the secret with his close friends, even though his parents were adamantly against this.
Clark made the decision to share with Pete in Season 2, with other friends following throughout the series. The space between how long it took for him to reveal his secret allowed for his secret to remain an important plot device throughout most of the show. At times, it was frustrating that he wasn't willing to share it with his close friends in order to stretch drama and conflict out on the show.
Playing For The Football Team
Part of what made Clark Kent so relatable was that he had very human goals, as well as his alien origins. In Season 1, Clark is a lovably dorky teenager who wants to join the football team to live out the typical high school paradigm. Of course, the conflict is with his powers. He can't play because his father is worried about someone getting hurt.
It isn't until Season 4 that Clark finally decides to go ahead and join the team in his final year, and becomes a superstar player with the use of his powers. This is one storyline that was immensely gratifying and earned, as it tied into Clark's relationship with his father. Jonathan learned to trust Clark with his abilities, and Clark developed independence. This fit Season 4 perfectly and was worth the wait to see Clark fulfill this short-term goal.
Protecting Smallville From The Meteor Freaks
Clark had his first chance to display his heroism in Season 1, as he faced off against the weekly Meteor Rock-infected villains. There was an immediate success to this dream in almost every episode, which continued for multiple seasons.
The story was re-structured to stray away from the villain of the week style after the first season, much to the satisfaction of fans who were more interested in the longer story arcs. The longer form of storytelling allowed for season 2 to be the highest rated season of Smallville. Clark also received the ultimate payoff in the season 10 Episode "Homecoming," when one of his earliest meteor freak adversaries sees Clark and thanks him for setting him on a path to recovery.
Having A Relationship With His Biological Parents
When Clark finds out the nature of his biology, he seeks to know where, and more importantly, who, he came from. Clark finds out about the destruction of Krypton in season 2 but is able to have interactions with Jor-El throughout the series via an AI.
Clark's relationship with Jor-El is frustrating, as his Kryptonian father often lacks much of the compassion fans may have been used to for the character. Jor-El instead sends Clark to complete his "trials." This change was likely made to enhance the idea of Clark's strengths coming from his human parents and is resolved in Season 10 when Clark completes his trials.
Finding Someone Who Loves Him For Who He Is
Throughout the first six seasons, Clark struggles to find a meaningful connection with Lana Lang due to him being unable to share his secret with her. At times, she even suggests that such a secret would scare her away, unknowing that she's speaking about Clark.
His dishonesty prevents them from having a bond they may have been able to, and he corrects this mistake with Lois Lane, even though she had already figured it out. One of the final conflicts in the series is whether Clark can handle the responsibility of being Superman while loving Lois Lane. Ultimately, he realizes he can, which resolves their storyline wonderfully. Fans found much of the drama with Lana to be repetitive and grew tired of it quickly, but his story with Lois develops at the right speed. Lois Lane has a number of great quotes, and the performance by Erica Durance was beloved by fans.
Learning To Fly
Clark literally dreams about being able to fly in Season 1, and the show hints at this capacity multiple times. Clark is capable of this ability since the first season but does not know how to consciously activate it until the show's finale.
The "no flights, no tights" rule is commonly known as an agreement made by Tom Welling and the showrunners early on, suggesting that this was a show about Clark Kent, not Superman. This rule was frustrating for fans who wanted to see Superman in his full capacity much sooner but only managed to see glimpses of Clark flying or in the suit in the finale. Smallville is truly an origin story, and in ten years Clark does not become Superman until the final climax.