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Producers tease Smallville season nine
Way back in 2001, when the creators of The CW's Smallville, Al Gough and Miles Millar, first introduced their take on Clark Kent's origin story before he turned into Superman, the pair laid out a very stringent mandate—"no tights, no flights." They held fast to that edict until they left the show in 2008, and now, two seasons later, there's going to be a bit of a crack in that hard-and-fast rule. (Major spoilers ahead!)
Yes, Clark Kent (Tom Welling) is finally donning a super suit, though it's not the iconic yellow, blue and red suit the world has come to recognize. Rather, it will be more of a snazzy black and silver number. But according to season nine show runners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, it's a step closer.
Promoting the upcoming season at San Diego Comic-Con last week, the pair told a small group of reporters, including SCI FI Wire, that the time was right to see Clark slowly inch closer toward his superhero identity this year.
"He isn't a guy who is going to put the tights and the boots on yet," Souders said. "He hasn't gone as far as Green Arrow or Black Canary. He's still on his path to becoming that man. But he is definitely recognizing that there is a second identity for him. As much as he knows what Clark Kent looks like, he needs to figure out what the Superman part looks like. So it might not be the costume everybody is used to seeing, but it is one step closer to that."
The suit represents just one part of Clark's acceptance of his otherworldly origins this year. "Up until now Clark has seen himself as human, and he's seen his Kryptonian identity as something to hide," Peterson said. "This year he's embracing his Kryptonian identity and seeing himself solely as a hero, almost to the detriment of living as a human. It's really the pendulum swinging a little too far in the other direction as he finds his ground and balance between the two identities. He's really going to be pulled back into being Clark Kent by the realization that he loves Lois Lane. It's the crux of the year, his burgeoning love for Lois and the love triangle of Clark loves Lois, but Lois loves Superman."
There's also the Zod factor, with the full-on integration of the Kryptonian villain into the seasonal arc. Played by actor Callum Blue, "Zod brings a new dynamic into the show, because we are introducing him as Major Zod before he ever turns into General Zod," Peterson said. "We get to see his trajectory. We have never had a Kryptonian living on Earth with Clark for an entire season, and we'll see how that affects his journey."
Yet they are quick to point out that this Major Zod will not be the authoritative and dominant character that actor Terence Stamp played in two Superman films. Blue's Zod will be less in command and more uncertain about his purpose on Earth. "There is a reason he doesn't know much, and when people tune in to the first episode, they will be surprised at the situation that he finds himself in," Souders hinted. "So along with the fans, he will be unraveling what the overarching mystery is."
Could that mystery involve Clark's dad, and Zod's archenemy, Jor-El?
The producers just smiled at that query. "Without trying to do too much time-jumping and alternate universes [in the first six episodes], we are going to try and explore the relationship between Zod and Clark, and what if that were different, and what if Zod and Jor-El had been different in the past," Peterson said. "And the great thing is that we do have Terence Stamp back as the voice of Jor-El."
When asked if perhaps Jor-El could also make a visit in the flesh this season, their smiles only got broader. "You might have to just tune in for that one," Souder teased. Smallville returns to The CW on Sept. 25.
By cyberdlf at 8:36 AM ON 07/30/09
"We have never had a Kryptonian living on Earth with Clark for an entire season, and we'll see how that affects his journey."
What about Kara? She was present for a while season, wasn't she? She may not have been in every episode, but she did have a profound impact on him.
By Fanboy79 at 9:58 AM ON 07/30/09
Sounds good for the most part. If it's a good as last season or even better than that would be awesome. If they keep making it, I'll keep tuning in.
By radiodaze at 10:15 AM ON 07/30/09
Glad the show is finding new ways to stay fresh and I'm interested to see this new costume. We actually know very little about Clark's tween years (years between high school and becoming Superman), so this is a nice bit of apocrypha. But for crying out loud, can we not address the one glaring error in the whole storyline? "No tights, no flights" was fine when they thought the show might only last four or five years, but now? Kara could fly, I'll bet Zod can fly...IT IS TIME FOR CLARK TO FLY!!! Forget about the fact that he should have already become Superman by now, the longer they wait to get him airborne, the more ridiculous it becomes. Superman is all about "believing a man can fly", so let's get him up there already!
By MaryAnn254 at 10:23 AM ON 07/30/09
Well, after watching every episode from the beginning, I quit the show when John Schneider's Pa Kent was killed off, in combination with the show introducing a Lois Lane who had absolutely no chemistry with Clark. Those two factors just gave the show a bad taste in my mouth. But these teaser comments sound really good. Looks like I might give it another chance this fall.
By cScott at 11:25 AM ON 07/30/09
What I still want to know is: How is Clark Kent going to ever end up wearing glasses in a way that even remotely makes sense?
I know it's probably a silly thing to fret over, but for some reason it bugs me.
Obviously glasses aren't the most effective disguise in the world anyway (and the fact that no one notices that Clark is Superman has been the point of many jokes), but they are an iconic part of the character.
By speaker for the dead at 11:49 AM ON 07/30/09
Shark Jumping Alert!
By Sam at 2:05 PM ON 07/30/09
The way this outfit has been described (here and elsewhere) makes me think he's going to look like The Matrix version of Superman. Glad I never got into this show...
By Mystok at 3:42 PM ON 07/30/09
I'm guessing the suit will be similar to the Kryptonian suit used in the resurrection story line of the comic after the death of Superman. The glasses, remember an earlier episode when Clark had vision trouble (I think it was due to the heat vision power surfacing). Clark wore glasses then, as we get older our eyes get a little dimmer so naturally someone with past eye problems might need glasses. Doesn't mean that Clark would have to pretend to have terrible eyesight, just a little nearsighted. Or Clark could just say he had been wearing contacts all this time and switched to glasses because contacts bother him.
Remember no one actually can see Superman's face as he blurs the image.
By sandi at 4:58 PM ON 07/30/09
"We have never had a Kryptonian living on Earth with Clark for an entire season, and we'll see how that affects his journey."
Ummm, wut? Davis last season?? Have they already forgotten the brilliant Sam Witwer and the character he portrayed in s8??
By lindyxmjh at 6:10 PM ON 07/30/09
Except Davis/Doomsday wasn't born on Krypton or knew anything about the planet's history.
They do overlook Kara, though, unless they mean that Zod will actually appear in every single episode, something that no one except Clark has done for an entire season.
By suprememango at 6:26 PM ON 07/30/09
Witwer did do a good job, though his story arc did run out of steam after a while. And he was a test tube monster with no recollection of Krypton, so I don't think he really counts.
Kara is a better example, though I was not fond of her character, don't think she made much of an impact and was glad to see her go.
By max at 6:33 PM ON 07/30/09
They sort of lost me when they tried to pair Clarke with Lois Lane. I like her but thats it, she is no lana, my gosh Clarke and Lana had such a profound effect on that show. They have to try their damest to bring back Lana somehow.
By joesocwork at 8:18 PM ON 07/30/09
Beh. The writing was good/great the first few seasons, but the last season was if the writers would forget what they did only two episodes ago and get highly inconsistent. A young Zod might be clever, but it, along with the way they did Davis/Doomsday only looks like they're trying to recreate a new Lex Luthor when they never really effectively resolved his evolution fr Clark's friend to his archenemy. It all comes across as if they never planned for how the show would turn out as it got older.
By linuxglobe at 8:50 PM ON 07/30/09
I sure hope Terence Stamp appears as Jor-El in the Series Finale! It would be WORTH the long wait!!!
By Neal at 10:13 PM ON 07/30/09
Jeez, make him Superman already!! I loved this show to start out with, but lately its getting very long in the tooth. Its seems like almost everyone knows he has powers, and still they keep bringing back ZOD. Give it a rest already, I want to see him as Superman. How many seasons can this show have?
By Fanboy79 at 10:35 AM ON 07/31/09
I like how everyone keeps saying that he should be Superman already. He didn't become Superman in any other format until he was 26 or 27 years old he's still got a couple years before Clark reaches that age. We all know it's not going to happen until the last episode.
I don't understand how people can say that Clark and Lois don't have any chemistry. They have some of the best on screen chemistry I've ever seen. People just can't seem to let go of the doomed Clark/Lana relationship or the a possible Clark/Chloe romance. We all know he doesn't end up with either if them so let it go. If there's two things about this series that are going to be like the comics it's that Clark eventually becomes Superman and he ends up with Lois accept it.
By JT at 4:03 PM ON 08/01/09
YAWN!
By Spock at 12:49 AM ON 08/05/09
enough smallville...give me a show called
"Metropolis" with Welling as Supes...logical next step
By Arcangel at 4:31 PM ON 08/23/09
ILL START WATCHING WHEN SUP COMES OUT OF THE CLOSET!
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