The Ending Of Smallville Explained

It's been over a decade since "Smallville" ended its epic run on The WB-turned-CW, and there's no denying that the series still holds weight after all these years. What started as a teen drama with superpowers soon became a young adult science fiction series, only to fully commit to its superhero roots by the end. As Clark Kent (Tom Welling) grew, so did "Smallville," and it was all for the best. The actor who played Superman the longest — 218 episodes is a lot of hours as the Man of Steel — Welling is still considered one of the most memorable to ever don the "S."

No doubt, the "Smallville" series finale had a lot to live up to, and for the most part, it did. The long-anticipated return of Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor was genuinely exciting, since the Clark/Lex dynamic was an important pillar during the early years of "Smallville." That, combined with other returns, the resolution of character arcs, and Clark's last steps to becoming Superman, made this a superhero tale for the ages. With so much to revisit and explore, let's dive into the ending of "Smallville."

After years of small-town superheroics, Clark Kent's biggest challenge arrives in the final season in the form of an intergalactic malevolence called Darkseid. Though Darkseid has usually been a flesh-and-blood being in the original DC Comics, he's portrayed on "Smallville" as an almost spiritual dark force of nature. As this malignant energy, he can take over one's entire being, with a person's own personal darkness as his doorway.

To make matters worse, the "Finale" reveals that Darkseid has another trick up his sleeve as his homeworld of Apokolips arrives, setting itself on a collision course with Earth. This, coupled with his newly secured hold over Clark's friend and ally, Green Arrow aka Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley), makes it look as if the alien tyrant might win after all. But this is a Superman story — it couldn't end with the villain celebrating his victory, could it?

Darkseid's ultimate plan is to claim Clark as his own. Thankfully, Clark is no longer in danger of falling to the dark side. Earlier in Season 10, Clark almost succumbed to Darkseid's influence but was saved by his cousin Kara Zor-El (Laura Vandervoort). Realizing that he needed to let go of his past in order to prevent Darkseid from having a foothold in his life, he began a healthy grieving process, dealing with the loss of his adopted father Jonathan Kent (John Schneider) back in episode 100. Sadly, what started as a good thing soon became unhealthy.

Starting their new life, Clark and Lois Lane (Erica Durance) decide to sell the Kent Farm and move to Metropolis to be closer to the action. Clark thinks he has to leave Smallville in order to fulfill his destiny, and while that's sort of true, selling his family's homestead isn't the answer either. Nevertheless, Clark eventually overcomes his guilt about Jonathan's death, keeping Darkseid from warping his soul.

Of course, before that, Clark vows to marry Lois, but those plans almost don't happen. Lois calls off the wedding because she's worried that she'll get in the way of Clark's superheroics, but the truth is that Superman needs his Lois Lane. After realizing that they're stronger together, Lois and Clark nearly tie the knot before Darkseid interrupts. As Clark's best man, Oliver is in charge of the wedding bands, bands that Darkseid makes him exchange for a gold kryptonite ring — the only form of Kryptonite that can permanently strip Clark of his powers. 

Recognizing this in time, longtime "Smallville" sidekick Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) stops the Emerald Archer, and Clark breaks Darkseid's hold on Ollie. Once Oliver's soul is restored, Apokalips has nearly arrived anyway, and they're running out of time to stop it. Although Lois and Clark's nuptials are interrupted, that doesn't stop these two from sticking together and officially tying the knot down the line. Since Clark has seen their future, he knows that no matter what world-ending threats get in the way, they'll get through it together.

Elsewhere, a mirror-universe version of Lionel Luthor (John Glover) kidnaps Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman) — the biological daughter of his regular-universe counterpart — to use her organs to resurrect Lex Luthor. For those who don't remember, Lex was killed by Oliver two seasons prior. But when Clark was on the brink of death earlier in the 10th season, he briefly saw Lex's spirit, which refused to pass into the afterlife. Thankfully, Tess proves more resilient than Lionel's other victims and escapes, but not before mortally wounding Lionel. 

As the older Luthor lies at death's door, he makes a pact with Darkseid, giving the darkness his soul in exchange for Lex's life. As Darkseid possesses Lionel's corpse, he resurrects Lex, who remembers everything about his past, including uncovering Clark's Kryptonian heritage. 

Over the course of her time on the show, Tess has slowly overcome her family history and trauma, proving that just having Luthor blood doesn't mean you're destined for evil. Like her biological father before her, Tess is redeemed by aiding Clark and his friends in their adventures and continues to do so with her dying breaths. But more on that later.

Something that always made "Smallville," well, "Smallville," was the moments that Clark had with his parents, friends, or love interests in the loft in his barn. Thankfully, "Finale" may just have the best barn scene yet. After turning his back on Jonathan Kent's memory earlier this season, Clark spots his father's ghost again after acknowledging his need to hold onto those he loves. Following Jonathan's spirit to the loft, Clark asks for help. 

Almost uncharacteristically, Jonathan tells Clark that he and Clark's adoptive mother Martha (Annette O'Toole) can't guide him any further, and that Jor-El (Terence Stamp) — or, at least the Fortress of Solitude's A.I. version — needs to take over. This just shows how much Jonathan has grown in the afterlife. "You were the miracle we prayed for," Martha adds after following her son to the loft. "Now the world needs that same miracle." Having given him the strength he needed, Martha and Jonathan watch as Clark speeds off to save the world, their mission finally complete.

While searching for Tess, Clark finds himself at the recently burned-out Luthor Mansion. And who does Clark find there but the first Luthor he ever met: his former best friend Lex. Newly restored to life, Lex dances around Clark like a wolf in sheep's clothing before admitting that the world needs him to become the hero he was always meant to be. Before his death, Lex saw himself as this story's hero. He erroneously believed that saving the world meant killing Kal-El. But now, at the end of "Smallville," Lex has made peace with the fact that he is the villain of the story. 

"We have a destiny together, Clark," Lex tells his former friend. "Only on different sides." Nothing could be truer, and though their story hasn't been written quite yet, their rivalry would soon become the stuff of legends. In a way, Lex's speech inspires Clark to be that "light that inspires the world out of darkness," further reinforcing the destiny chosen for him. Though "Smallville" began with Clark saving Lex's life, the Boy Scout mourns the fact that he couldn't save his friend's soul. With nothing left to say, Clark leaves; the battle between Superman and Lex Luthor is just beginning.

In the wake of all the craziness going on with Lois and Clark's wedding, plenty of "Smallville" stars exit stage right. For starters, after recognizing that Watchtower is down, Chloe leaves Smallville to restart the systems and kick the not-quite Justice League into gear in case Clark can't stop Darkseid's plot. After a heartfelt goodbye between Clark and Chloe, she leaves the series in capable hands. Though he doesn't leave Kansas immediately, Oliver — who married Chloe earlier in the season — does the same. Now free from Darkseid's control, Green Arrow tracks down Darkseid's acolytes and dispatches them with ease. Upon his victory, Oliver takes to the streets to witness the advent of Superman and stands in awe as Clark saves the day. But we'll get to that shortly.

Tess also continues the fight, just in her own way. Though she and Clark don't get a final goodbye, she dies protecting him. Confronting her half-brother, the newly resurrected Lex Luthor, Tess uses an experimental neurotoxin to erase his memories. But she doesn't just wipe away Clark's secret: Tess rids Lex of everything that made him who he was. Naturally, Lex kills Tess in the struggle, but as she passes away, she watches as Lex becomes a blank slate, witnessing Superman's appearance alongside the rest of the world.

There's one more superpower Clark must unlock before Superman can truly appear. Generally, Clark learns a new superpower almost every season. While most Kryptonians are instantly granted powers under Earth's yellow sun (including flight), our hero always saw himself as a human being. Even after he learned of his alien origins, Clark struggled to see himself as anything but human, and that mental block kept him from using all his natural abilities for years. Of course, Jor-El might have had something to do with it too. 

After Darkseid sends Clark spiraling, our hero catches himself in the air, completing his final trial, and flies straight through his adversary, defeating the darkness. But though Darkseid is gone, Apokalips remains. Clark returns to the Fortress for aid from Jor-El, who finally expresses pride in Kal-El and deems his training over. In a powerful moment, Jor-El and Jonathan's ghost present Clark with the Superman uniform that Martha had made for him. Honoring his Kryptonian family crest and his adoptive country's colors, Clark's dual heritage is merged into one, and after years of the "no flights, no tights" rule on "Smallville," Clark embraces both.

Themes regarding destiny and embracing one's past are woven throughout "Smallville," but the most recurring throughout the series is the relationship between father and son, and that's just as true of the series finale. After embracing Jonathan's ghost, Clark is visited by Jor-El, from whom he learns that all of "Smallville" was a trial meant to train him into becoming the world's greatest hero. While Jonathan has raised Clark into an honorable, hard-working man, Jor-El has fought to make Kal-El into a warrior, one who could keep Earth from suffering the same fate as Krypton.

More than maybe any moment in the finale, the Fortress scene is what "Smallville" has always been moving toward. After years of running away from Jor-El's plans, Clark finally understands them and embraces them, and Smallville, as his own. Since accepting his calling as a hero, Clark has waited until he was ready to publicly reveal himself. Now is the time, and it's here with his father's blessings that Clark first takes flight as Superman, the Man of Steel.

After Lois sneaks aboard Air Force One to beg the President not to nuke Apokalips (the fallout would kill millions), the engines fail and the plane falls. Guess who saves the day? Not only does Superman save Lois and the President, but he then moves Apokalips out of orbit, breaking Darkseid's hold on the people of Earth and inspiring them to fight back. "People want to believe in something greater," Clark tells Darkseid before defeating the alien tyrant. "And it may be easier to hate, but it's stronger to love." 

It took Clark years of wrestling through both to learn that lesson and, now having learned it, he reveals himself as Superman so that others may too. Throughout "Smallville," Clark has always kept his cards close to his chest, and while he still holds fast to his secret identity, his superhero identity is now his primary source of inspiration and hope. From now on, Clark Kent is just a bespeckled reporter for the Daily Planet; it's the Man of Tomorrow, Superman, who inspires others to be better. Yes, Superman saves the day, but even that isn't the end.

Since "Smallville" began with a flashback, it's only fitting that it ended with a flash-forward. While we got glimpses of Clark's destiny through prophecies, visions, and his trip to the future in the 200th episode, the final few moments of "Smallville" gave us our best look yet. Surprisingly, that image comes from a comic book that Chloe reads to her and Oliver's young son. But that's not all. It's here that all the familiar elements of the Superman mythos fall into place: Lois and Clark at the Daily Planet, a new Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore) by their side, Perry White (Michael McKean) yelling at Lois, Lex Luthor running for President, and Metropolis again in need of saving. 

This sends Clark to the roof as the iconic John Williams "Superman March" gets louder in the background. While there, he rips open his shirt in classic Superman form, an obvious nod to the Christopher Reeve era of "Superman" movies. Here, Tom Welling officially claims the torch that Reeve passed to him years prior when Reeve — who once played Dr. Virgil Swann on "Smallville" – told Tom Welling that he should wear the "S." Naturally, "Smallville" ends with Welling's Superman taking flight, just as we always knew it would.

Years after the "Smallville" finale, the series has gone down as one of the greatest superhero shows of all time. Many, including cast member John Schneider, have even considered it one of the most memorable television projects ever produced by Warner Bros. But what did the stars have to say about the finale? Well for starters, Tom Welling loved it. "The idea is that Clark becomes Superman and he's out there, and we know he's out there, but we can't go with him," Welling noted to EW. "That was what we strove for, and I think we hit it."

After being absent from the show for years, series star and now-podcaster Michael Rosenbaum was happy to have returned as Lex Luthor. "I'm glad I came back, the fans were glad I came back and you know, I think it was a good ending," he told CinemaBlend. But not every star was thrilled with how their "Smallville" story ended. One-time Supergirl Laura Vandervoort noted her disappointment about Kara's ending in the penultimate episode, failing to even get a passing mention in the finale. "She just sort of flew off and we never saw her again," Vandervoort said at a "Smallville" cast reunion in 2020 (via Syfy). "I didn't have any proper goodbyes."

While fans were generally pleased with how "Smallville" ended, there was one creative choice that most viewers didn't care too much for. After dozens of glimpses and hints of what Clark might look like in the Superman uniform, the show ends without Tom Welling ever putting on the tights. "Our series finale was supposed to be, in the first act, Clark puts on the suit and flies around, saves Lois on a plane, and does this other stuff," Welling told EW years after the finale aired. "If we [would have jumped] into that, we [wouldn't have] earned it."

It was at Welling's request that the finale was rewritten to keep Clark grounded for the majority of the episode, thus switching the actor out for a CGI Superman in the third act, a decision that TV Line ranked as one of the biggest disappointments of 2011. "I know Tom Welling had reservations about wearing the suit, but given that it's the last episode, enjoy the moment and show us Superman," said one fan on YouTube. Similarly, Superman Homepage reviewer Marc Pritchard wrote that he'd have "easily accepted far less of that animated fan service for one genuine Clark-as-Superman shot," a statement echoed by many.

With the introduction on "Smallville" of various DC Comics characters into live-action, the Superman prequel blazed the trail for the budding future of superhero television. After the character's breakout success, the CW developed a Green Arrow-centered series that eventually became "Arrow," rebooting him entirely and sparking a brand-new DC Universe. Series like "The Flash," "Supergirl," "Legends of Tomorrow," "Black Lightning," and "Batwoman" found success on the small screen, culminating in nearly 700 episodes of television between these six shows. 

Additionally, Warner Bros. developed the Batman prequel series "Gotham," which took plenty of nods from the "Smallville" playbook, and superhero shows began appearing everywhere. Even the Man of Steel made his way back to the CW via "Superman and Lois" in 2021. Additionally, shows like "Titans," "Doom Patrol," "Peacemaker," and the short-lived Superman prequel "Krypton" continued to bring the DC Universe to life, and we have "Smallville" to thank for that.

"Always hold onto Smallville." Many have lived by those words ever since the series finale. Whether it's the number of "Smallville" fan podcasts, or Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum's own "TalkVille," there's no doubt that "Smallville" continues to make an impact. They're even working on an animated continuation, which will hopefully see the light of day. Additionally, DC Comics published "Smallville Season 11" in 2012, a comic series that continued Clark's adventures as Superman, ushering the "Smallville" story into a greater DCU that included Batman, Wonder Woman, and plenty more adventures.

But that's not all. During the Arrowverse's long-anticipated "Crisis on Infinite Earths," Tom Welling and Erica Durance returned as the "Smallville" versions of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Now raising their young girls on the Kent farm, Lois and Clark have left their superheroics behind. In the style of the trademark Superman tale "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?," Clark gives up his abilities for his family, following in his father's footsteps. Not a bad ending at all.