Warning: Spoilers for Superman & Lois season 2, episode 12

As it turns out, Clark’s backstory in Superman & Lois actually has a lot in common with the story given to Tom Welling’s character in Smallville. Clark’s decision to finally tell Lana his secret identity has led to some interesting reveals about his past that weren’t previously known to viewers. This allowed the show to further build on Clark’s established Arrowverse backstory.

Naturally, Superman & Lois has offered a very different interpretation of Clark’s superhero journey than what took place on Smallville. For the most part, that can be attributed to one show exploring his early years, whereas the other looks at Superman as an experienced superhero and a family man. However, the differences are much greater than that. It’s always been clear that the Arrowverse’s Clark didn’t share the Smallville protagonist’s convoluted romantic history with Lana Lang, his friendship-turned-rivalry with Lex Luthor, his battles with meteor-infected high school students, or many of the other woes he experienced as a teenager. Instead, it’s been understood that instead of staying in Smallville for six more years after high school, the Arrowverse’s Clark left at the earliest opportunity to begin his evolution into Superman.

Related: Superman & Lois Is Flipping A Smallville Lex Luthor Story (For The Same Reason)

Superman & Lois season 2, episode 12 reveals that Clark’s past in fact does have surprising similarities to Smallville’s interpretation of the story. Upon finding out that Clark and the Man of Steel are one and the same, a few things that happened when they were teenagers began to add up for Lana. Lana recalled a car accident that she inexplicably survived. She understands now that Clark, who was in the car with her, saved her life. This incident is a lot like the time Smallville’s Clark rescued her from the tornado in the season 1 finale, and all the other times he saved her but couldn’t tell her what really happened. Plus, he admitted to wanting to tell her the truth, which was also a dilemma that Smallville’s version of the hero deliberated on for years.

Lana Lang in Superman and Lois

Clark’s Lana troubles weren’t the extent of the Smallville connections in “The Lies That Bind”. Without elaborating, Lana noted that Clark must have been responsible for all the “weird stuff” that happened in town when they were growing up together. This draws numerous parallels to Smallville, where people like Lana, Chloe, and Lex all witnessed strange sightings that none of them could really explain. That included fires that seemingly came out of nowhere (which were secretly started by Clark’s heat-ray vision), criminals being knocked out mysteriously, and more.

Apparently, the Arrowverse’s Clark created his fair share of mysteries too. So while he spent significantly less time in Smallville than Welling’s character, it’s become evident that their stories aren’t as different as it was once thought. The hero depicted in Superman & Lois may not be the mysterious and troubled youth that Smallville’s Clark was, but it seems there was a time in his life when he really could have related to the challenges faced by his counterpart.

More: Superman & Lois Hints At How Jordan's Powers Are Different From Clark's

Superman & Lois releases new episodes on Tuesdays on The CW.