Smallville began airing episodes on The CW when the network was still called The WB in 2001. Based on the DC Comics character of Superman, Smallville set out to tell the story of a younger, teenaged Clark Kent (Tom Welling) in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas before he officially takes on the mantle of Superman.

Chronicling his life through high school and including the trials and tribulations of being a teenager, such as a romance with his neighbor Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), fitting in, and more — all while having superpowers — Smallville was a unique take on the Superman story. Eventually, the series moved into Clark's new adult life as a reporter just starting out at the Daily Planet, and included Lois Lane (Erica Durance). Superman's archenemy, Lex Luthor (Micheal Rosenbaum), also made an appearance throughout the series.

Throughout Smallville, Clark wore many interesting outfits, including a lot of red and blue that blurred as he moved with super-speed, but he never put on the classic Superman suit with the red and yellow "S" on the chest. While he did wear a modified all-black version of the suit when things went very wrong in Season 9, it wasn't the same.

Fans of the series were hoping to get a closeup shot of Clark Kent in the suit in the series finale, but this never came to fruition as we only see Superman from afar. So, why did we never really get to see Tom Welling as Superman in Smallville, even though it was a Superman-themed television series? Read on to find out why Smallville is so unique to the world of Superman TV shows.

Not Yet Superman: Portraying a Young Clark Kent

The whole premise of Smallville, from the writer/producer duo Al Gough and Miles Millar, was that we as the viewers are seeing how Clark Kent grew up before he became the hero we already know. This leads to the conclusion that having him wear the Superman suit as a teen would not make sense, since, as a younger Clark, he wasn't yet Superman. Clark was still learning, still finding his way in a world unlike the one he was born on, and just trying to survive the struggles of being a teenager.

When asked about why he never really donned the Superman costume everyone knows, Welling told Entertainment Weekly, "We literally had a sit down where we talked about the show and I asked about the suit and the tights and the flying, and they said, 'No, absolutely not,' part of the reason being is that show is about a teenager trying to figure out who he is. They felt that once Clark put on the cape and the suit, life became too easy, in a sense. They wanted to focus on who this character was before that." For a fan of the Superman comics, this makes perfect sense as Welling wasn't playing Superman, he was portraying Clark Kent before he chose to become Superman.

Related: Smallville Creators Reveal What They'd Do Differently

Smallville Was Creating a Distinct Television Show

Not really showcasing Superman sets Smallville apart from other television shows that portrayed the Superman comics storylines. The series specifically did not showcase what Clark could do as having powers, but finding abilities he didn't understand and striving to learn what he could do with them that was helpful to the world. Welling continued speaking in that Entertainment Weekly interview, stating, "We did things on that show where we didn't call them powers, we called them abilities — you weren't allowed to say powers; you just weren't because Clark didn't know they were powers, he just knew he had those abilities, so little things like kept us grounded and kept us faced onto the story we were telling about this character, not what he could do with these abilities."

But the question still remains: in the Smallville series finale, why did we never get to see Clark Kent fully embrace his role as Superman? The answer is actually rather simple: Smallville was a journey from young Clark to Superman, and the fact that we don't really get to see Superman out there doing good doesn't matter. We know, based on what we saw from Clark, that he would always do what he thought was right and save those who needed saving. We don't need to see him being Superman to know he became the caped hero we all love. Welling even said in that same EW interview, "We jumped onto this idea that at the end of the show, 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, but that we know and we feel good that he's out there doing good."

Related: How Smallville Redefined Superman For The 21st Century

The Future of Smallville

Smallville seemed to continue on in one way or another over the years following the series conclusion. A comic book series Smallville: Season 11 ran from 2012 through 2015 and continued the story the show had established, but was not the same thing. And while Welling did appear in The CW's 2019 crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths, within the Arrowverse, as Clark Kent alongside Erica Durance as Lois Lane, their characters were no longer involved in the superhero world. This small cameo establishes that the Smallville, Kansas from the series was on a different version of Earth called Earth-167 and that since we last saw younger Clark, he has given up what he now knows are powers for a normal life.

In 2022, Collider reported that Welling and Rosenbaum had pitched an animated version of Smallville to Warner Bros., noting that they were now trying to get all the series' former stars onboard. Welling even said, "I want to be Clark's voice, I want Erica to be Lois' voice, that's going to be the fun of it. I think there's a story that Al and Miles are going to tell that's individual and new and call it a Multiverse thing. But let's see where it goes, and it'll be fun." So, fans will have that to look forward to, hopefully sooner than later.