A common fan criticism about Smallville was that Clark took entirely too long to fulfill his destiny and become Superman. The Superman prequel series follows Clark Kent (Tom Welling) on a ten-year journey that began with his freshman year in high school. Clark didn’t become the Man of Steel until the final moments of the show, and even then, Tom Welling only briefly suited up as Superman on screen.
The first four seasons of Smallville focused on his high school years, with seasons 5 through 7 dealing with Clark’s struggles with Brainiac (James Marsters), enemies from the Phantom Zone, and Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), who eventually evolved into the villain from the comics. The remaining three seasons of the series saw Clark work alongside Lois Lane (Erica Durance) as a reporter at the Daily Planet. During this time, Clark developed a reputation as a superhero by taking names like “The Blur” and the “Red-Blue Blur.”
Since Smallville was always about Clark becoming Superman, rather than being Superman, the show had a strict “No Flights, No Tights” policy that kept Clark grounded and out of his iconic suit. But because of this – and the fact that the show lasted for ten seasons – fans often felt that Clark’s journey was dragged out and that Clark should have been able to fulfill his destiny prior to the season 10 finale. Interestingly, certain episodes of the show indicated that Smallville was not oblivious to this concern. There were times when the characters themselves openly acknowledged the long wait.
In season 6, Clark befriends Green Arrow (Justin Hartley), who called out Clark for not living up to his potential. Green Arrow criticizes Clark and points out that he spent most of his time on the Kent Farm, when he could have been in places like Metropolis, fighting crime. At this time, Clark mostly used his powers for saving the people closest to him, rather than actively seeking out trouble in Metropolis. In a season 7 episode, Oliver accuses Clark of wasting his abilities by staying in Smallville.
After Clark becomes a vigilante in season 8, Lana (Kristin Kreuk) says she is proud of Clark and remarks that he became the man he “should have been all along.” Lana knew that Clark always had the potential to be a superhero, but Lana and Oliver weren’t the only characters to take note of Clark’s prolonged journey to fulfilling his destiny. Chloe (Allison Mack), for example, pokes fun at Clark for not being able to fly yet, and Supergirl (Laura Vandervoort) chastises him for not having this ability, when she was able to fly from the start.
So instead of ignoring the problem, Smallville tackled it head-on by having some of its characters bring it to Clark’s attention. A variety of challenges stood in Clark’s path and distracted him from becoming the hero he was supposed to be, but even though it took ten years for Clark to don the red cape, Smallville did at least allow Clark to experience many of Superman’s stories, including his fight with Doomsday and the formation of the Justice League.
