See Tom Welling’s Superman In The Arrowverse
While the Arrowverse crossover event, Crisis on Infinite Earths saw the return of Tom Welling’s Clark Kent and Erica Durance’s Lois Lane, fans were left disappointed that the episode didn’t feature Welling suited up as Superman.
After a little over a decade since the series finale of Smallville, audiences finally got to get caught up with the characters and learn what they’d been up to after all of these years. Luckily, for those left hanging, Instagram user @jph_photoshop offered a look at what an in-uniform Welling would’ve looked like.
Taking a screenshot from Crisis on Infinite Earths, the image sees Tom Welling’s Superman in full garb while talking to Erica Durance’s Lois Lane. A fan of the Smallville actor’s portrayal of the legendary hero, the artist spruced Clark Kent up in the iconic red and blue suit. Ready to fly through the sky to kick some butt, the long red cape falls behind the muscle-bound suit.
Tom Welling appeared in the Crisis on Infinite Earths Arrowverse events, but not as Superman
It’s been a long time since Arrowverse held its annual crossover event, with the last one taking place back in 2019. After that, the world would be thrown into disarray with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the future of the fan-favorite episode. This time around, Tom Wellington reprised his Smallville role as Superman even if he never technically donned the suit.
So, why didn’t Tom Welling pick up the torch of Superman and suit up for more action? While we don’t know for sure, there are a handful of reasons why the writing team decided to keep him in civilian garb.
The main reason is that, in Crisis on Infinite Earths, when audiences catch up with Welling’s Clark Kent, he explains to Jon Cryr’s Lex Luthor that he had given up his superhuman abilities to live out his days as a normal man alongside Lois and their children. What the story leaves out is how Tom Welling’s Superman was able to simply shake off his powers for a regular life.
Stepping out of the series and into reality, Tom Welling has previously made statements about how he’d no longer want to reprise the role of Superman – at least in a fully costumed sense. It’s likely that in forming Crisis on Infinite Earths, the creative team behind the crossover kept this in mind, giving themselves a better chance of hooking the Smallville star should he just appear in a cameo capacity as Clark Kent.
In the Arrowverse Crisis on Infinite Earths event, Tom Welling’s Clark Kent explains that he gave up his Superman powers
For 10 seasons, Tom Welling appeared as a young Superman on Smallville. The series followed the life of Clark Kent in the titular Kansas town, chronicling his high school life and the early days of the superhero. Along with Welling, the cast also included Erica Durance, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, Eric Johnson, Sam Jones III, and Allison Mack.
Most recently, along with Tom Welling’s cameo appearance as Clark Kent aka Superman on the Arrowverse crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths, the actor appeared in the Supernatural prequel series, The Winchesters.
Appearing as John Campbell, Mary Campbell’s (Meg Donnelly) father, and therefore the maternal grandfather of Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), the actor’s addition to the cast was an exciting one. Sadly, The CW wouldn’t pick it up for a second season, leaving fans in the lurch hoping for more.
