In Smallville, Clark (Tom Welling) didn’t complete his long-awaited transformation into Superman until the series finale, though in reality, it actually should have happened at an earlier point in the series. Clark, who started the show as a 14-year-old high school freshman, took ten years growing into his role as DC’s Big Blue Boy Scout.
For Clark, becoming Superman was a long and difficult road paved with obstacles. In fact, it was considerably more complex than most versions of Superman’s origin story. In addition to fighting Kryptonite-infected high school students on a weekly basis, Clark had to deal with a number of powerful threats that tested the limits of his abilities. Sometimes with help from people like Chloe and Green Arrow, he managed to endure each of these challenges, albeit without the Superman mantle and the ability to fly. Because of the show’s strict “No Tights, No Flights” rules, Smallville’s Clark was denied both of these elements of Superman’s character until it was time for the show to end.
Since Smallville had to adhere to the core concepts that defined the story, it was forced to hold Clark back to a point where it felt like he should have been Superman long before the end of season 10. That time arrived in season 8 when Clark was moonlighting as a superhero in Metropolis and sharing his comic book partnership (and will-they-won’t-they romance) with Lois Lane at the Daily Planet. This was a huge step for Clark, who had previously spent most of his time in Smallville protecting his friends and family. But due to several seasons of character development, Clark was ready to leave his home behind and become a hero to the people of Metropolis. With that being the case, there was a feeling that Clark could have become Superman in season 8.
Smallville Season 8’s Clark Already Experienced Several Superman Stories
By the time season 8 kicked off, Clark had already gone through several stories associated with Superman, which further contributed to this sense that Smallville’s “No Tights, No Flights” rules had become a hindrance in some ways. By this time, Clark had defeated Lex Luthor, agreed to be trained by Jor-El, beat General Zod, and more. He even helped form the Justice League in a season 6 episode. But oddly enough, he did all of these things as just Clark Kent. This continued into season 8 and beyond, as Clark fought Doomsday, encountered Darkseid, and revealed his secret to Lois.
For several of the show’s early years, Clark actually felt far-removed from Superman in DC Comics because he had such a long way to go before he could truly take on that title. But as the show’s story progressed and Clark’s experience grew, it became harder and harder to justify Clark not learning to fly and suiting up as Superman. Smallville stretched it out by keeping Clark’s most iconic ability out of arms’ reach and having him hesitate to publicly reveal himself as a superhero.