Smallville Creators Confirm A Lois Lane Theory Superman Fans Will Hate

Though there had been plenty of unique takes on Superman prior to "Smallville," the CW series still managed to distinguish itself in a few key ways. While the central pitch of the series was exploring the young life of Clark Kent (Tom Welling) and how he became the hero we know and love, the show also made some changes. For example, Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) is Clark's close friend. "Smallville" also introduces other new characters, like Chloe Sullivan (Alison Mack).

However, what many fans may not be aware of is the reason that Chloe existed on the show in the first place. Well, "Smallville" creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar confirmed one of the paths that the character could have eventually taken on a recent episode of Welling and Rosenbaum's Talk Ville Podcast. The duo dropped a shocking revelation when asked about Chloe using the name Lois Lane as an alter ego early on in the series.

"We did talk about that, that maybe she is the proto-Lois and that later on, she had to change her identity or something like that, and she becomes Lois Lane," Millar admitted. "The issue, again, was we wanted to get Lois Lane, and they wouldn't give her to us," explained Gough, suggesting that Chloe could have gone on to become Lois. Naturally, the end of "Smallville" Season 3 would have teed this change up nicely, as it sees an assassination attempt on Chloe, something that could easily have led to her adopting a new persona.

Many "Smallville" fans will note that the seeds were certainly planted to turn Chloe into Lois if that's the route that Alfred Gough and Miles Millar had decided to take. After all, Chloe is a reporter with a nose for the truth, has a long-standing crush on Clark, and even keeps his secret once she finds out about his powers.

Luckily, the "Smallville" showrunners were able to finally get Lois Lane (Erica Durance) into the series in Season 4, if only as a recurring guest star. This was more than enough, though, as by the time Season 5 rolled around, Durance was a main cast member and would remain on the show until the series wrapped up in Season 10.

"Then when she came in in Season 4, there was this huge thing about 'You can have her for two episodes,'" Millar recalled. "Then 'You can have her for three,' and then 'You can have her for half the season,' and [WBTV head] Peter Roth, to his credit, was like, 'F*** it. She's in the show now, and she's just not leaving.' She became part of the show. It was never questioned again," he concluded. "Smallville" fans will no doubt be happy that she did, as going the entire series without such a notable character would definitely have felt off, especially as the show went on.

Still, that didn't stop the duo from eventually deciding to pull this trick at the end of "Smallville" Season 8. Fans will, of course, recall that Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore) eventually joined the series as a main cast member as well and would also go on to learn Clark's secret while having a burgeoning relationship with Chloe.

However, their relationship takes a turn for the worse when Davis Bloome (Sam Witwer) arrives on the scene. Davis is secretly the legendary Superman villain Doomsday, and eventually, the love triangle and web of lies that extend between the three "Smallville" characters results in Jimmy's death at the end of Season 8.

Of course, at Jimmy's funeral, it's revealed that his middle name is actually James, and that his full name is Henry James Olsen. This paves the way for the series to remain canon with the older Superman films, as Chloe gifts Jimmy's camera to his younger brother, whose first name is James. This opens the possibility for a "Jimmy" to continue exist in the "Smallville" timeline.

As for the "Chlois" theory, Kryptonsite also spoke to Alfred Gough, who said despite considering it, the idea was always for Lois to be Chloe's cousin. "We discussed it when we were developing the show in mid-2000, but even in the series pitch document, Lois was her cousin," he said.