He flew??

[lookingformylois]

he flew caught the rocket jsut like superman 2

[katt12]

yeah that's cool. i'm so happy!

[superwannabuffy]

Ok did he fly or just jump really high???

[katt12]

i think he flew.

[ksrli]

he deffiently flew because he had the little air force things around him when he flew.

[hahnyc87]

yea but that would happen if you jump really really high

[Jvskill]

more of a jump than flight i think, but it definitely looked as cool as flying!

[prometheus04]

Did he fly or was it just a SUPER LEAP?

[lookingformylois]

flew cape ( red jacket ) and all

[insp henderson]

he flew

[Lexgirl33]

damn that was a super jump!!!!!!!!!

[JD_lover5943]

Super jump.

[No-El]

YES! It's all true!! (LOL ) overjoyed!

The Man is Back!!!!

BLASTOFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Originally posted by lookingformylois
he flew caught the rocket jsut like superman 2


Actually it was Superman I the first movie when he had to catch two of Lex's nuclear tipped rockets!!!

Far better than Dean Cain's missle catching in Lois & Clark!!!

The Man is back folks!

BLASTOFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[No-El]

It blew my Mind!!!!!!!!

Who cares folks?? He's back!

BLASTOFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Remus]

I think it was a jump-flight. xD;

When I saw that scene..

Clark: * runs towards missle*

Me: flyflyflyflyflyfly

Clark:*superflyjumpthing*

Me: yesssss! ::snicker::

[Rosey]

Sure looked like a Crusade-type flight to me.

Lots of us suspected that S4 Clark could fly, just didn't.

[gtjsasso-el]

he flew I say... same shock waves as when Kal flew. Very nice. But done in a way that gives the producers plausable deniability.. they can always say he just jumped

[chrismalicdem05]

it was flying but to cover their premise, thye will say he jumped high..

[Kal-El 2005]

No he just jumped, but that seems more than 1/8th of a mile!

[tejdog1]

He definetly FLEW! AND IT WAS AWESOME! THIS WAS SO MUCH BETTER THEN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE!!!!

[kryptonite-proof]

In my opinion that was definitely a super jump. He got up high enough to grab on to the missile and then climbed his way up. If he was flying, why wouldn't he have flown all the way to the warhead?

Super-jump is essentially the borderline of flight right? I think that's what he did.

But I do agree that they wanted to make us all question whether it was flying or jumping.

[Addictedtosmllvill]

I don't know, but I started screaming, HE'S FLYING!

[Lexgirl33]

one way or the other, it was kick @ss! :D

[sstray72]

I say flight. It's already established that Clark has the ability to fly, and he subconciously knows how to do so, but I think that he simply does not have the confidence to do it or has fear blocking it. At this point, he was on super-adrenaline, and his "fight or flight" (pun intended) response kicked in, and he did his thing, but only enough to get the job done. I'm sure that if Clark really wanted to, he could fly anytime he wanted.

[SSgt USMC]

Jor El did say that he was getting ALL his powers.

[Friend of Superman]

Like said before - He JUMPED! If he was flying he would not have stopped at the tail of the rocket to stuggle with climbing the rest of the way. But I'm sure he pretended to fly on the way down. LOL

[Kal-El 2005]

yes but that was a jump! he doesn't know he can fly! he was clinging on to the thing to climb up it!

[DGreen]

if he flew, why would he grab the end of the rocket, and then climb his way up? he wouldn't, he'd fly all the way to the top, there for he must've been jumping. also, all his natural abilities probably just means those that he's already developed.

[tejdog1]

Nah, it was a flight. I don't know much about the technicals involving Clark's body, but I do know you can't jump that high. Even Clark can't, but then, this is the first time we've had an upward incline, since Crusade. Insurgence was a leap downward at an angle, Lucy was a straight line jump. I happen to think this was a flight, since he propelled himself upward, and he looked like he was flying with his arms and his jacket.

[No-El]

Originally posted by Addictedtosmllvill
I don't know, but I started screaming, HE'S FLYING!

That's right, baby!! The Man is Back!

As I said------BLASTOFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[superhippie2000]

it was a superjump he jumped straight up to the missle. if he flew it would have been a bigger deal.

[TheGodfather]

Ya I think it was a superjump as well....but it did make the flight effect..

either way it was cool to see him use some powers..

[the_real_lois_lane]

it was a super jump...but it did look like he was going to fly...maybe a hint of what's to come

super jump :) very cool to see clark use the powers again :D

[chrismalicdem05]

it was a super jump so that the producrs could keep with their show premise, but to us, it was a sign of flight

[bembol]

*studies the scene before replying* :D

He flew...!!! No one jumps like that :)

[superman_115]

He did a little of both in my opinion.

But I told my GF the minute I seen the rocket that he is going to jump and do just like CR did in Superman 2.

I loved that scene

[superspider02]

I think it was a mixture of flying/ super jump.

[Shalamarke]

Originally posted by tejdog1
Nah, it was a flight. I don't know much about the technicals involving Clark's body, but I do know you can't jump that high. Even Clark can't, but then, this is the first time we've had an upward incline, since Crusade. Insurgence was a leap downward at an angle, Lucy was a straight line jump. I happen to think this was a flight, since he propelled himself upward, and he looked like he was flying with his arms and his jacket.


What about the whole "able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" thing? An ability to jump so high has been a foundational portion of the Superman legend....

[TheRealClarkKent]

Yea superjump, but hey its good enough for me. This ep gave me so many near-heart attacks, i loved it!!

[metropolisk1d]

He jump. Remeber the "no flights, no tights" policy. It hasn't changed. "Clark Kent" will never fly in the Smallville series. "Kal-El" can fly. "Clark Kent" cannot.

sorry, a few typos. *jumped.........*Remember

[Shalamarke]

Originally posted by sstray72
I say flight. It's already established that Clark has the ability to fly, and he subconciously knows how to do so, but I think that he simply does not have the confidence to do it or has fear blocking it. At this point, he was on super-adrenaline, and his "fight or flight" (pun intended) response kicked in, and he did his thing, but only enough to get the job done. I'm sure that if Clark really wanted to, he could fly anytime he wanted.


This says closest to what I believe.

I think that he SuperJumped and that somewhere, either in the back or front of his mind (we may never know) he could feel the essence of flight...

It's like when he jumped into the tornado toward the truck in Tempest (or the episode after that, can't remember)... he later explained that he could feel something. It was almost as if he "willed" himself toward the truck. I bet he felt that again here.

[the_real_lois_lane]

Originally posted by metropolisk1d
He jump. Remeber the "no flights, no tights" policy. It hasn't changed. "Clark Kent" will never fly in the Smallville series. "Kal-El" can fly. "Clark Kent" cannot.



exactly :)

[CLS]

That's a Superman moment ladies and gents!

Not Clark wearing a blanket like a cape, this superjump flight whatever this is what Supes does day in day out.

Oh god when I saw him about to leap I yelled "Yeah Do It! YES!!!".

-cs™

[Cookie 28]

I don't care if he jumped or flew, all I know is that it was great!!!!!!!!

[elfstone2087]

Yeah, it was awesome!

[I_am_LEX]

it was a jump, but it did look like flight. their just teasing us u know!! but maybe its a sign of something to come, something higher in the air maybe in the season finale like a plane with chloe on it?? or lana? or both and lana looks out the window and sees him!!?? that would be a cool way for her to find out, but yeah, it was a jump, but that same jump will lead to flight sometime in the near future

[Poetic Chaos]

yeah, it was a jump. could tell by the posture. catching nukes in a single bound. that's clark.

[Kriminal]

if he was flying he wouldnt be holding on to the missle. so its obvious he just jumped real high.

[applecrash]

I would have liked to have seen him descend back to Earth.

Also, I'd think that if he had actually flown (rather than jumped), he'd have kept on flying later as it would be a fun and new experience for him.

[tejdog1]

Well, he knew what he had to do, and did it. That doesn't change the fact he's "not crazy about heights", as he said in Mortal.

[PETER WEST]

He FLEW !!!!!! that was amazing scene.

[jarethmc]

He jumped. If he was flying why would he hold on to the rocket for dear life?

[VitalManhattan]

he didnt fly, its his super jump..trust me..if he flew they would of made it more obvious and more climatic than that..

[Lexgirl33]

it was a super fly jump :lol:

[GatorTex]

This scene and Jor-El/Lionel breaking out of Belle Reve were the 2 best scenes for me. Very climatic!

[Hydra]

I agree that he didn't fly. And if he did then we'd all be hearing about his next flights in the spoilers or something.

Clearly it was a jump. And I don't by this 'he can't jump that high' nonesense. Maybe he couldn't in season two, but this is three years later. And in the in one of the comics I have (waaaay back in the ninteen forties before he could fly) he jumped up all the way just out of earths atmosphere (to prove a point to the mad scientist known only as Lex Luthor). I'm not saying Clark Kent of Smallville universe could do that, but to say that Clark can't jump as high as he did today just doesn't hold ground with me.

All this being said, I wouldn't say that it's impossible that Clark (possibly) used his as of yet untamed power of flight to subconciously give him an extra boost. But as vital manhattan said, when he does in fact fly... it will be much more obvious.

[vyperman7]

There was NO WAY that it was flight.

Before I saw the episode, I read the description from people on here and they made it sound like he got to the missle while it was in space. If that is the way that it went down, then I could see it being called flight.

However, the missle was still somewhat close to home when Clark made contact. It was clearly a jump. There was not enough distance between the ground and the missle for it to be considered flight.

[kryptonite_junkie]

i'm putting that one down as flight number 2....

[F-Stop Blues]

I agree Ryan, it was defenitly a jump. But its clear that Clark now knows how to propel himself. We've seen him do it already in Arrival. Flight cant be that far off.

[vyperman7]

Originally posted by F-Stop Blues
I agree Ryan, it was defenitly a jump. But its clear that Clark now knows how to propel himself. We've seen him do it already in Arrival. Flight cant be that far off.

That's true. I do agree that this is being used as a precursor to flight.

[tejdog1]

Wow, who's that in your avatar, vyperman! Not Lex, the other one...boy, he seems so familiar. ;)

Anyway, if it WASN'T flight, how do you explain the air-gathering FX that we saw in Crusade, and here? It was definetly flight.

[vyperman7]

Originally posted by tejdog1
Wow, who's that in your avatar, vyperman! Not Lex, the other one...boy, he seems so familiar. ;)

Anyway, if it WASN'T flight, how do you explain the air-gathering FX that we saw in Crusade, and here? It was definetly flight.

With how the continuity has been this season, there is a chance that Lucas could come back. You never know.. LOL It would be kick ass if they brought him back to help Lex run the day to day operations on various projects.

There is no way it was flight man. There was not enough distance between the missle and the ground. If he had gotten to the missle after it had left the atmospehere, that would be another. But there was not enough distance between the ground and where Clark grabbed ahold.

They used the FX from Crusade to make the scene more dramatic.

[Hydra]

I agree with the pro-jump crowd.

[tejdog1]

And they didn't choose to make the scene from Lucy more dramatic? I gotta take something from that. If it's not flight, it's a d@mn sight closer then anything he's done before (not counting Kal-El). But I hold fast that it was flight (I'm stubborn that way, heh).

[CLS]

Originally posted by Lexgirl33
it was a super fly jump :lol: Wow he's Jimmy Snuka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Snuka)!

Soop-soop-soop Superfly!

-cs™

[Crispin Glover]

I don't know why anyone is questioning it. He super jumped, just like he did in "Lucy" onto the truck. However, this time it was vertical instead of horizontal. When he flies as Clark Kent we will know about it!

[Yuui]

Yes, I must agree with those who have said that he "Super Leapt", as it didn't appear as though he was flying, as seen in his tearing hand holds into the missile instead of simply flying beside it.

:)

[tejdog1]

He can't control his flying, compare it to a car which has a really horrible engine, it goes in spurts. His flying goes in spurts, and he got as far as he really needed to, he could 'climb' up the missile, as he did.

[CLS]

Well, let's not forget that Superman originally leapt rather than flew.

That's where the famous "able to leap tall buildings at a single bound" phrase was made famous.

It was several years before he got the power of flight.

-cs™

[Reign]

Definitely a jump. To reiterate what was already said, if he flew then he'd fly ahead of the rocket and then go straight for the warhead. Instead, he spent a lot of time climbing it.

Also, if he flew, then he would have flown OFF of the rockethead after he dismantled it, but instead we saw him cling on.

The special effects are just to emphasize his superjump.

If it was at all to imply flying, they producers would have made him curve a little... but as far as I can tell, it was too straight.

[Yuui]

Originally posted by CLS
Well, let's not forget that Superman originally leapt rather than flew.

That's where the famous "able to leap tall buildings at a single bound" phrase was made famous.

It was several years before he got the power of flight.

-cs™

Progression <3

And I cannot believe I forgot that adage.

For shame! :(

[KarrEl22]

they were just trying to make it look cool.

[vikingjedi]

Whatever it was it was cool. Great episode!

[tejdog1]

And generate buzz, which, as evidenced by this thread, they did.

[Lexgirl33]

Originally posted by CLS
Wow he's Jimmy Snuka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Snuka)!

Soop-soop-soop Superfly!

-cs™

:rotfl:

[Spoon AZ]

For all you "super-jump" theorists, why wasn't there "ripples" when Clark jumped in Insurgence and Lucy but there was tonight?

This is the first time Clark has ever flown when he was actually Clark and not Kal-El. If it were me I'd fly just long enough to grab on to the thing. I wouldn't want to over shoot it since I would really have no idea how to control the flying thing.

I don't think the fact that he didn't fly to the warhead is near enough evidence to support the "non-flight" argument

I agree with previous posters that the producers wanted another flight but did it in a way that they can have plausible deniabilty

[vyperman7]

Spoon,

First of all, good to see a post from you again man. It feels like it has been ages. You have always been one of my favorite posters.

But the reason I disagree, is because of the amount of distance there was between the ground and the missle at the point he grabbed on. It didn't feel like he went high enough to justify it being called flight. If the missle had been in space when Clark grabbed on, then that is a lot taller than any "single building" and I would be more inclined to agree.

But it just didn't come off like flight to me man.

[djpnutz]

It was a jump... if he was able to fly why did he struggle getting to the BOTTOM of the rocket? If he were able to fly wouldn't he just try and redirect the rocket or something...

[SuperClarkMode]

If you ask me, I would say that TPTB very openly said that they were keen to develop the FX look of Clark/Superman's flying ability in the 4th season opener. That same FX was seen in Hidden. So it was part of his flight ability, not just a jump. It appears from all that we have seen in Season 5, that Clark has gained the ability (From the FOS studies) to will himself a split second of forward motion in any direction. That is the first baby steps of flight, however, that is by no means continuous flight, or the ability to change direction, or whatnot.

It even remains to be seen if he has any air BRAKES too! Clark apparently has little control over dynamic flight, just the ability for short bursts, which look like jumps, but Clark did not use a jump to escape the Phantom Zone Window in Arrival, so the superjump argument does not hold up IMHO.

Further proving my point, Clark air bursts up to the missile, but resorts to scaling it after contact, clearly not counting on his mastery of flight, but we all know that FX was flight.

[Ultron]

The whole reason why Clark can fly is that telekinesis thing. That also helps him lift and carry battleships without puncturing the hull, and partially protect people he flies with, etc, from atmospheric effects.

Clark basically used that telekinetic energy to help him to jump, probably subconsciously to help guide him to the missile.

Any time you see those ripples when he jumps up that's him using that telekinetic power to help him fly, or guide his ascent upward.

[sprman808]

He flew...if you are thinking that he jumped...consider "Lucy", he did a jump at a 45 degree (approx.) and somewhat struggled. He did a vertical "leap" tonight, which looked effortless. His posture and the ripples indicate that he "flew", as he did not struggle and must have "flown" 500ft (as it appeared), which was farther in distance than the jump in Lucy.

Dudes & Duddettes...

Clark Flies

[NotTodayPete]

If you watch it again it was a jump. He leaps and pretty much hits the missile with his momentum and starts to slide down before getting a grip. No controlled aerial manuevering.

[arachkid]

He jumped. If it was flying, he wouldn't get to the bottom of the rocket and then immediately have to get a grip and start climbing up the thing. No, flying would constitute him bypassing the climbing entirely and grasping the top. It was a huge jump, and it was the beginning of what will eventually be flight, but unless someone can answer how it was flight without some half-assed "he can only fly so far". Yeah. That's called a jump. Look, I can only fly so far too.

Whee! Whee!

[mallory]

Didn't see the ep, so can only speculate. If he only jumped, would take perfect timing to catch the missile. Otherwise he sails on past it. Clark has virtually no experience or practice making such leaps. While anything is possible for a superman, flight makes an intercept a lot more likely.

[Overlord]

Originally posted by Ultron
The whole reason why Clark can fly is that telekinesis thing.

Yeah, that's basically it. I don't know if telekinesis was ever a power that Superman had in the comics (Superboy?), but it's clear that he has that ability here. Remember when he got the stone from Lex's plane? Mind bullets.

Ultron is right here. That's the basis of at least some of his well known powers in this version of the myth. The ripples are a great example of that. He's controlling the air around him before takeoff.

To bring this back to the thread, this means that he didn't exactly jump and didn't exactly fly. He couldn't have jumped that high with mere physical strength (outrageous as it is), but he didn't have enough control of his telekinesis to truly fly. So, in my view, he was using powers that will allow him to fly in a controlled manner in the near future.

[Resentment]

Ripple/energy effect forming all around Clark + really high freakin air time = flight for me, even if it was just for a few seconds. Also my memory is telling me he hits the rocket at a curved impact giving me the notion that jumping wouldn't allow him to do this because he would've lept in a straight line, rather than getting up in the air, and somehow curve inwards towards the rocket.

[rosewolfe87]

eh, I'm thinking he flew, it showed evidence of him flying in Arrival too, but no one paid attention but me. At least everyone that i've talked to anyway.

[Ultron]

Originally posted by NotTodayPete
If you watch it again it was a jump. He leaps and pretty much hits the missile with his momentum and starts to slide down before getting a grip. No controlled aerial manuevering.

Sure, he jumped. But not without flying on top of that to a) help him achieve high speed and b) to aim.

I have it on VCR tape and I've watched that scene repeatedly and he reaches that rocket extremely fast. Practically instantly. I don't think anyone can reasonably claim that mere legpower got him there alone. That ripple effect wouldn't have happened if his power to fly wasn't involved somehow.

I basically think it's a combination of both.

[Alan]

it was a jump and CR caught the rockets in superman 1 not 2 :D

I watched the JUMP back and it is a jump, hes almost crouched the whole way up.

Did it look cool? hell ya, great way of showing hes back. :D

If they were actually showing clarks 1st flight (as clark) then they would have went all out on it. and the ripples where there in Lucy too, they show them when he runs too.

[knight150]

At first i though he flew and was at the edge of my seat, then watched it a few times with the GF(not a superman fan) and she said it was definitely a jump. Then I was brought back to what the producers originally said in the beginning of the series, NO FLIGHTS NO TIGHTS policy. They said you will never see clark fly (etc. kal-el flew in last seasons opener not clark)

Stupid producers

[asim]

It was not flight people. You all are so desperate to grab anything thats gonna resemble flight but its not flight. Producers of the show have always wanted to develop the SFX of Clark's powers, slowly making little noticeable changes.

It was a superjump because hell if he wanted to fly why not just fly to the top of the rocket. I liked the SFX of the ground before the jump but ofcourse why dont you stand there and jump into the air, ofcourse your going to bend your knees and push hard. It was a jump.

[KarrEl22]

if it was flight they obviously would have been advertising it.

[charmedchick]

Well i think it was a super jump even though i so badly wish it was flight

[KarrEl22]

http://img406.imageshack.us/my.php?image=jump7ai.png
here is a pic of the jump

[Kalel33076]

He definately flew. He started off crouching down like Kal-El did in crusade, the ripple effect also happened like in Crusade. It wasnt a super jump because he superspeeds towards the spot and stops for a brief second. Clark can't really control his flying so he probably just wanted to hit the side of it so he could definately take it down. Definately one of the best episode of the series

[Switchback]

He definatly super jumped. The FX of using the ripples was obviously from Season 4 BUT it was just an FX to show extreme motion.

Don't quote me on it, but I'm thinking you can see the same FX in the other season 4 episodes...the one with The Flash when they are super speed running. And the one where the guy kidnaps Chloe at the football game and Clark super speed runs so fast that it's like time is frozen. Then the one with Lucy where he super speeds off the bridge onto the truck.

The scene in this Season 5 is definatly a jump. We have it on DVR...have watched it a dozen or so times now and it's a jump.

[KarrEl22]

yea.if he wasnt in super-speed i dont think it would be there.

[EricN68]

I vote for "jump" as well. It's a great first step for Clark though!

If he was flying he would have flown to the cone section instead of climbing his way along the whole rocket.

[captjlucpicard]

It was flight. He just doesn't know how to use the ability well enough to pinpoint where he wants to go. Kinda like a car without a steering wheel.

[Shalamarke]

I agree that the FX are more about the act of jumping REALLY HARD away from the earth.

The difference between this and the Crusade flight of Kal-El is a sound effect that was present in Crusade and absent here, and the speed of the ascent. In Crusade, there was a definite rocket-like quality to his flight, right from the ground. In this episode, yeah he moves high and fast, but it's not the same.

The FX are about the force with which he left the earth, not the fact that he was flying.

In this case, Clark Jumped HIGH into the air, and no flight took over. In Crusade, you could tell he was flying almost immediately upon leaving the ground.

Aat the most, I would offer this: he might have felt a twinge of an idea in the back of his mind like in Tempest when he said he thought he "willed" himself toward the truck in the Tornado.

[FlashFan]

I think it was kinda both. I would say that super-jumping and his ability to fly are somewhat linked together.
I wouldn't say he 'flew' until he either
a. hovers in place in mid air
or
b. alters his course in mid air.

In this ep he just went straight up.

[BuZzArD 8012]

Originally posted by charmedchick
Well i think it was a super jump even though i so badly wish it was flight

I agree....I thought it was the super jump also. It would have been awesome to see him fly though.

[SuperTal]

Did Clark fly or jump to the rocket? The ground swelled like in the Season 4 premiere!!

Also in the season 5 premiere when he was getting sucked in the Phantom Zone, did he fly forward or did his single finger fling him forward??

I think he's learned something in the Fortress of Solitude... heh?

[KANE POUND $QUAD]

i think jor-el did something to clark as he was hugging him, didn't you see a glow on J-E's hand and clark's shoulder

[Da Rook]

As much as I want to say he flew...that was a "Super" jump.

[CheckIt!]

That was a Hulk jump if I ever saw one.

As far as the phantom zone thing it looked to me like he pulled himself away.

[runningwithscissors]

super-jump....if he could fly, he would have been able to steer the rocket into space.

but to learn how to fly, ya probably gotta master the takeoff (jump!)

[medly]

It was definitely a jump. He slid along the rocket until he dug in. If he had flown, he would have went straight to the warhead. Also, he would have landed, not crashed with the empty casing. He was still smoking when he started to hug Lana.

[freddielm]

It looked like he jumped.

[mcgairman]

Originally posted by medly
It was definitely a jump. He slid along the rocket until he dug in. If he had flown, he would have went straight to the warhead. Also, he would have landed, not crashed with the empty casing. He was still smoking when he started to hug Lana.

:cool: I agree. But there is an element to flight power becuase that was one heck of a jump --- remember, that ballistic missile is acclearting, while he--after the initial impulse of his pushoff from the ground--is decelerating. I think Jor-El helped yhim a little with the flight part. But I doubt we'll see the full flying now. TPTB is not going to allow it, it seems. I think that's a bunch a bull myself. I can't see why Clark can't fly, or at least float, a little.

[Jellie]

It was just one big massive jump.

[GhostRider]

He jumped at superspeed. That is why the rocket was shown not moving. They wavy effect is the same we always see when Clark is moving at superspeed. But it's also very similiar to the effects they used when he flew. It was just a jump, but it was a very cool one.

[Kefala323]

I'm on the fence as for what it was jump or fly, however my question is this; we are assuming clark fell to earth after taking apart the rocket, and I believe the noise that Chloe heard was Clark hitting the earth. What sort of crater would a 200lbs+ guy hitting the earth at terminal velocity leave?

[djcowell]

My guess is that:
Clark tried to jump up to the rocket. He thought he just jumped. Subconsciously his flight ability gave him the boost and aim he needed, but he wasn't trying to fly.

[GhostRider]

He jumped at superspeed. That is why the rocket was shown not moving. They wavy effect is the same we always see when Clark is moving at superspeed. But it's also very similiar to the effects they used when he flew. It was just a jump, but it was a very cool one.

[superhippie2000]

superjump. i think any flying he does they will make a bigger deal about it

[jim[beam]]

If he was flying then he would fly next to the rocket I think..and not trying to hold on to it. So..it's a jump..

-jim

[mcgairman]

Originally posted by vyperman7
There was NO WAY that it was flight.

Before I saw the episode, I read the description from people on here and they made it sound like he got to the missle while it was in space. If that is the way that it went down, then I could see it being called flight.

However, the missle was still somewhat close to home when Clark made contact. It was clearly a jump. There was not enough distance between the ground and the missle for it to be considered flight.

look closer at that scene; the curvature of the earth was seen; that means he was at leasty 50 miles up when he got to the missile and threw out the warhead--which by the way exploded in space :cool:

[runningwithscissors]

it was a jump. if he could fly, he would have been able to steer the rocket into space!

Although this does not mean during his jump he was not 'guiding' himself (akd tornado season 1). I guess if he is going to learn how to fly, he might as well master the 'jump' (takeoff!)

[chaszer]

Clark does not know yet he can fly, so Clark jumped. However, since he has the ability to fly and he was trying to accomplish something he shouldn't be able to do from a mere jump (that would be awful accurate ballistics to hit a rocket ship accelerating away from him by just jumping-the star wars missle test people have trouble doing it with computors and knowing the trajectory of the target), his ability to fly kicked in, thus we see the flight wave pattern when he takes off. Subconsciously, he made the course corrections in flight that would enable him to hit the target.

He grabbed the ship where ever he could because he doesn't know he can fly. Even if he did know, go watch the first season of Greatest American Hero for how hard it would be for someone to suddenly be able to fly. He managed to get the rocket at all by pure instinct.

[Irishman]

I think his abhorance at the fact that his loved one would die made him except his destiny. He knows he can fly, his parents told him when he was kal el. He has had the dreams, I think his understanding of who he was allowed him to fly.

It was also the same graphics as his flying, and how hard should it be? He jumps real hard and concentrates on where he wants to go. Plus, last time he did a "super jump" he could barely clear a city street.

[SnarkMasterJ]

Originally posted by Addictedtosmllvill
I don't know, but I started screaming, HE'S FLYING!

:lol: Me too! I was so giddy, I couldn't believe it. And any time Clark did a "super jump", it never looked like that.

As someone already said, his Kal flight in "Crusade" last season had the same effect.

[sstray72]

Originally posted by chaszer
Clark does not know yet he can fly, so Clark jumped. However, since he has the ability to fly and he was trying to accomplish something he shouldn't be able to do from a mere jump (that would be awful accurate ballistics to hit a rocket ship accelerating away from him by just jumping-the star wars missle test people have trouble doing it with computors and knowing the trajectory of the target), his ability to fly kicked in, thus we see the flight wave pattern when he takes off. Subconsciously, he made the course corrections in flight that would enable him to hit the target.

He grabbed the ship where ever he could because he doesn't know he can fly. Even if he did know, go watch the first season of Greatest American Hero for how hard it would be for someone to suddenly be able to fly. He managed to get the rocket at all by pure instinct.

Exactly. This is one of the points that I was thinking of when I wrote my previous post here. It's already established that Clark's body already has the ability to fly, but Clark has subconciously blocked the knowledge of how to do so. Clark's intention was to JUMP, but since the task was so major and it was happening so quickly, his super-adrenaline kicked in and when he went to jump, he actually flew, but when he arrived at the missile, he did not think of maintaining this flight, but to complete the task at hand. Clark has NEVER superjumped like that before, I say that he flew, but did not maintain it because he did not really know that he was doing it.

[No-El]

That's right folks!

It was all Clark VOLUNTARILY--not the Jor-El enhanced Clark/Kal-El of season 4
From his superspeed, to his super "Energy Wave build-up" that launched him toward his objective, climbing that rocket punching its metal and disabling its nuclear device in the vaccum of space.

Well, the whole scene blew my mind!! And he's only 18 years old!!!!

Wait till he becomes the full in his prime Superman! (cue John Williams Oscar winning Superman score of 1978!)

This should have been on the big screen!

[Elbereth Nienna]

Man, I really hope it was flight. That was the coolest part of the entire episode. Not to mention, if that was a jump then he had a long fall back down to earth.

[slave2moonlight]

I was hoping it was going to be flight, but it was pretty clearly a jump (in Clark's view, at least, but some flight might have been involved without him knowing it, just to give him a bit more boost).

[LOONEY]

he had to fly he grabbed the missle and took off with it threw it and if he jumped he would have had to fall back to earth...that may even hurt him a bit......or put a hole to the core of the earth...
that would not be good....

[scififan]

Although, my kids were saying he's flying, it was a "super leap." It is possible that he flew some but it is obvious that he didn't know he can fly. and after the explosion he fell back to earth (at least it looked like he was dropping down) and not flying down.

[pure3d2]

No, he did not fly. Go watch the episode again and look closely at his legs. When he got close to the missile his legs were not straight, but appeared to be as if he were crouching.

If he was able to fly, why did he need to dig into the missile to climb up? He could have easily flown past the missile then pull out the warhead.

Furthermore, as he makes contact with the missile, you will see that he is actually descending (gravity acting on the peak of his jump).

As much as I wanted it to be true, he did not fly!! I feel so ripped off!

[Kal2]

lol he never gets a ripple effect when he jumps, he powered up and took off, it was flying.

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/6454/kal1gl.jpg

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/1409/clarkey0tu.jpg

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/2746/kal21bw.jpg

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/1461/clark25cu.jpg

[NotTodayPete]

If they want to give his jump a ripple effect, they can. But it probably was a combination of both since he admitted he semi-flew when he saved Lana from the tornado.

[GhostRider]

Originally posted by Kal2
lol he never gets a ripple effect when he jumps, he powered up and took off, it was flying.

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/6454/kal1gl.jpg

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/1409/clarkey0tu.jpg

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/2746/kal21bw.jpg

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/1461/clark25cu.jpg

That's a good comparison. They defininetly used the same effect. If he was flying, it was something he won't know how to do again. Maybe he managed to fly out of desparation like he did in Vortex or maybe Jor-El gave him the knowledge of how to temporarly. He fell back to Earth so he forgot in short order.

[No-El]

Originally posted by GhostRider
That's a good comparison. They defininetly used the same effect. If he was flying, it was something he won't know how to do again. Maybe he managed to fly out of desparation like he did in Vortex or maybe Jor-El gave him the knowledge of how to temporarly. He fell back to Earth so he forgot in short order.

This was before your time probably, but the old Superman serials with Geroge Reeves was doing a north pole scene with "The Rifleman's" Chuck Conners who played a backwoods hick who believed he was the real Superman had his donkey went to the arctic circle.
He met 'THE SUPERMAN' on his mission---saw Superman actually run/take off and said...."...if that don't be dong gone!...he just jumped in the air and kept on goin!!!..."

PRICELESS!

But I loved the 'Energy Wave' build up around Clark when he took off!!

BLASTOFF!!!!!!!!!! It was GREAT!!!!!!!!!! Blew my mind but great!!

[lookingformylois]

it was superman 1 , i though the elevator was a rocket it had a bomb

[antwon8976]

he flew to the rocket and how elso would he get back to earth

[Magus]

just a super jump

[Mr. E]

He definitely jumped, if he flew it probably be in the finale, or he would atleast tell his parents. He jumped back to earth.


Originally posted by Kal2
lol he never gets a ripple effect when he jumps, he powered up and took off, it was flying.

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/6454/kal1gl.jpg

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/1409/clarkey0tu.jpg

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/2746/kal21bw.jpg

http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/1461/clark25cu.jpg

Well it wasn't a jump, it was a super jump.

[SmallvilleObsessed]

He definetly flew. Didn't you see the suction action he did just like in Crusade? If he was jumping you wouldn't see ripples of energy surrounding him before he did. And how else would he have gotten back down?

*points* Yeah, just like those pictures! Lol...

[mario masta]

Even though it had the ripple-effect (like in Crusade,) I think it was more of a jump. He was on the right track to flying, but he just couldn't stay airborne. Why else did he not fly to the top of the rocket, rather than land on the bottom and climb?

[SmallvilleObsessed]

Well, he would of had to have flown faster than the rocket, and it's a rocket...so it's going pretty fast...

[mario masta]

Originally posted by SmallvilleObsessed
Well, he would of had to have flown faster than the rocket, and it's a rocket...so it's going pretty fast...

Riiiight...what about how Kal-El caught up to the jet in Crusade? :p

[SmallvilleObsessed]

Clark has done super jumps before, like in Lucy and Insurgence. I don't think that TPTB would do the ripple effect if they weren't planning flying. The un continuaty of what it looks like when Clark flies would be very confusing.

[clark25]

Ya he most defently flew and to that
scene reminded me of Superman II a lot
I am glad that Clark is flying now all we
need for him to do is dawn the red cape

[Clark_J_Kent]

I think Clark went to Super Jump but unconsciously tapped his ability to fly or else he could have just flown back down afterwards. Tapping it unconsciously would allow him to stil get to the missile but not realize how so much much like his dreams and saving Lana in the tornado.

[Cory05]

NO he jumped....notice when he hitthe rocket he slid down it!! if he was flying he wouldn't have slid dwon the rocket!!!

[Radioflyer]

If it is flight then there is little reason for Clark to not fly anymore for the rest of the season.

If Clark ran from the Fortress of Solitude to smallville to fly to catch the balistic missile, then that would make no sense.

It would make better since if he had flight capability to fly direct and intercept it that way. No, it was a super jump.

Personally I would perfer it were flight but this ( Super jump) was more interesting.

[kryptonite-proof]

"he flew to the rocket and how elso would he get back to earth"

Simple... he fell back to the Earth. The vehicle wasn't going into a circular orbit, it was on a re-entry path, as was Clark, who was riding it. He basically fell to the Earth on the same path the warhead would have taken.

As far as speed, yes rockets go pretty fast, but remember that it had just liftef off, so it was going very slow in comparison to the speeds it would attain within the next minute.

I still say it was a jump (though I agree with everyone who has said that no matter what it was, it was really awesome).

[j03superbat]

It had to be a jump because, as Radioflyer has already said, it would make more sense for Clark to just fly back to Smallville and intercept the missle in mid-flight, not run up to it and then fly.

Also, as Clark gets closer and closer to the missle, you can see gravity take its toll and the little shudder Clark makes when he hits the missle.

[¿ dom ?]

In my humble opinion, I think he flew.

Now ... I have read many questions regarding why he did not fly directly to the warhead etc.

But remember ... this is the first time he has flown since Crusade. So its not like he has had enough practise with it to do it right. Secondly this is the first time he has flown as CLARK not Kal-El. So you would expect some sort of jitters especially when you take into consideration his fear of heights.

I'm sure in his mind, he just needed to fly enough to get to the missile. Thats just what he did.

And given the fact that we did not see his descent, we can't even assume that he simply fell either. I mean ... wouldn't a fall of that magnitude hurt him?

*shrug* I think he flew. I don't know if the 'NO TIGHTS, NO FLIGHT" rule still stands but the scene was done in such a way to provoke the questions we see now ... "Did he jump?" ... "Did he fly?".

Just my $0.02

[Beans]

I think it was a mixture, because he probably didn't think he had enought time to get to the top of the missle, so did something of a superjump instead.
I would like to see an episode about him learning this ability, in the future, just because I it annoyed me that this power came out of the blue and he doesn't even talk about it for the rest of the episode. Even if he was bothered by what his father said, Dude, you justflew ! So I hope this is futher examined. Because honestly, the episodes about new powers are the best.

[NotTodayPete]

I didn't take it as a new ability. It was like the super jump in Lucy except vertical and moving a lot faster from having more space to run into it.

[Skydiver]

I think there was a little bit of both...in his mind he was super jumping but I'm sure his future ability to fly peaked it's head out a little bit.

When Clark realized he had to get that rocket, I'm sure he didn't think well I guess I'll try to fly...you know since Kal-el did it. No, he thought, dang Clark...jump boy!!!


Originally posted by Beans
I think it was a mixture, because he probably didn't think he had enought time to get to the top of the missle, so did something of a superjump instead.
I would like to see an episode about him learning this ability, in the future, just because I it annoyed me that this power came out of the blue and he doesn't even talk about it for the rest of the episode. Even if he was bothered by what his father said, Dude, you justflew ! So I hope this is futher examined. Because honestly, the episodes about new powers are the best.

I agree, they could have a whole lot of fun with "learning to fly" episodes.

[kryptonite-proof]

I agree that it was a mixture in this sense: I think what he did was essentially the same thing he would have to do to fly, he just didn't continue it after leaving the ground. That is, he propelled himself from the ground just enough to reach the missile and grab on instead of continuing to propel himself in midair.

As people have said, it's because he hasn't really learned how to use this power yet.

About what I said before... I'm not saying he did fall back to the Earth, but that if he can't fly, then that's how he would get back to the ground; as opposed to being stuck in orbit.

To the other question, I'm inclined to say that Clark could survive a fall from orbit. There is no difference between falling from over 100 miles to falling from a few thousand feet, the question is, do you think he could fall out of an airplane and live. I think he could.

[dwgebler]

I, like some people here, took it to be halfway between a jump and flying...I took this to be the power that will eventually develop into flight, but it is not fully manifested yet. Some of Clark's powers seem to have been gained over just a day or two, but I think just like he grows stronger and faster over the years, his flight power will develop from here, over a little longer period of time.

On the falling from orbit, once you reach your terminal velocity, the actual hight you fell from will make no difference. However, I wonder, as a popular belief seems to be that as an alien, Clark has some kind of much more dense molecular structure, wouldn't his terminal velocity be much higher than a human's? Surely, even if not hurt by the fall, he would leave a substantial crater on impact??

[kryptonite-proof]

Yeah, I was referring to terminal velocity as you said.

"Clark has some kind of much more dense molecular structure, wouldn't his terminal velocity be much higher than a human's? Surely, even if not hurt by the fall, he would leave a substantial crater on impact??"

That is true, if his dense body means he weighs substantially more than a human his size (which it should, but it doesn't seem that this is ever addressed at least in Superman movies/tv).

[Trunkz]

well put it this way...whoever said he wont fly until hes superman..thats wrong. he will fly as clark kent first. dont go off the movie version. i can tell it was just a jump because knowing smallville..the scene would have been a lil more dramatic than that for him to start flying (like lana in a chopper again :D and its coming down fast, so he has no choice but to take airborne!) but anyway...he will fly towards the end of this season.

[dwgebler]

I disagree with the suggestion that this was a flight or a jump...I don't see how it can be construed as either. This is why I say what I have posted above, about it being a halfway between the two in terms of Clark's power. He defied gravity to a very strong degree, but only for a second - he then had to dig in to the metal of the missile case to stay put.

His propulsion off the ground was far too great for this to qualify as a jump, yet because he was subject to gravity after only a half-second or so, this does not qualify as flight, either. Depending on what you want to look at this as, you could call it a halfway, like I have, or you could legitimately call it a 'super-jump' and just as legitmately say that he was flying (for just a second).
I think this is exactly what the writers intended.

[\S/Fanatic]

he's probably tapping into the flight ability little by little but mostly it was a \S/uper jump it was very impressive either way keep it up Smallville!!!

[clarks other weakness]

uhm, sorry that I didnt read the last 10 pages, but was it ever finalized if it was him actually flying now or just a superjump?

and if it was flying, can he do it all the time now, or just that once to save smallville?

ugh. i hate being confused.

[commencement_rox]

im pretty sure he flew because remember in crusade all the lines around him you saw when he flew and the same lines went around him when he flew this time.

[rosewolfe87]

He flew, he flew in Arrival too, but no body noticed it. Remember when he was getting sucked into the portal and he blasted forward to the other aliens?

[binkys711]

I thought he just jumped or something in arrival:/ but yeah his flying in this episode was awesome! it rocked majorly!:D:D:D

[The Astronomer]

Arrival - Clark uses his strength to pull himself out of the vortex using the metal bar he pulled from the floor

Mortal - Clark jumps, the FX guys just added the same effects as used in the Season 4 premier episode.

[superpal1]

Super Jump--not flight. I agress with CLS. Back in the day, Supes could just jump really far, not fly. However, in the tornado, way back when, he did mention that he seemed to will his way to the truck. In his jump to the missle, he did the same thing without thinking about it. I believe in the future episodes he may fly, but this time we just got a really good leap.

[binkys711]

It was a flump! I wasn't really sure if he flew or jumped so I decided he flew cause it's cooler:cool::p

[last man of krypton]

I'm in agreement with all those who say it was halfway between a 'regular' jump and flight i.e. a Super-jump. In Lucy and Insurgence, I'd class those as 'regular' jumps (as in, regular for Clark, impossible for anyone else) since they both required Clark to run at super-speed before using the combination of momentum and strong legs to jump a great distance.
And the ripples we saw as Clark left the ground indicated he was powering up for flight, however, he still hasn't really accepted his destiny yet and will be earthbound for a while (unless next episode he mentions that he's trying to fly, in which case this point would be void). So, Clark jumped, but kinda pushed himself while in mid-air (similar to catching Chloe in Dichotic) without it being flight. Full-blown flight would enable him to navigate whilst in the air and have no need to hang onto the side of the rocket.
I wonder if Super-jumping would be classed as a new power for Clark...?

[Chroja]

first that was awesome, but as many people are saying it did look more like a 'super' jump. at this point, clark just has "mad ups" hee hee.

[Ultron]

It's a jump but he was aided by his ability to fly, hence the visual and audio clues from the buildup of energy around him just before he jumped. If anything it's a jump aided by the power of flight.

[tejdog1]

It was a flight, because he had to make course corrections while in the air! That plus the distance leads me to believe he flew.

[Ultron]

I agree with those that think it was a bit of a mixture, his legs throwing himself up, but I think there was a fly component in there, definitely. He's jumped many times before, and never had such a kinetic effect around him. Clark might not have even realized he was actually using a power to fly, but I know for sure he gathered some energy around him to help him leap up there.

I don't think it was a superleap alone.

[The Source]

I think it was a bit of fly halfway but in my opinion, it was a superjump. If he flew, he can reach the top of the missile at ease. So he flew a bit but not that much.

[Kal El A.K.A AKIRA]

Ok people lets clarify this. Yes he JUMPED.... if you look into the comics they describe superman as

Faster than a speeding bullet
More powerful than a locamotive
ABLE TO LEAP TALL BUILDINGS IN A SINGLE BOUND

being that he is just coming into his powers and understanding his abilities it would make sense that he would do a simple leap that would eventually transform into flight.

[4EverSmallville]

This thread should have a poll :lol:.

It's hard to say, it really looked like a jump to me, but the angle wasn't right to decide whether it was a jump or an actual flight. And once he grabbed on to the missile, it looked like it was steering him around rather than him steering it around.

[corkyfuzz]

he jumped. they would have made a bigger deal out of it if it was flight.

[Ranger]

I'm going to have to go with a mix. You got the cool CG pools around his feet but he still only went in a straight line. Combined with the fact that if he flew he wouldn't have needed to climb up the side of the rocket as it was flying he could have just flown and grabbed it out of the air. So I think if given a poll I'd have to go with jump.

[starmaster]

Yeh I agree, HE FLEW!!! that moment brought a tear to my little eye! lol.

It certainly wasnt a jump becuase he would have done a lot more jumps in the past.

Only a force field is around him when he is about to TAKE OFF for FLIGHT!!

yyyyyyyeeeeeeeeesssssssssss!!!

[Hightower]

it was kinda like a half-flight, a sort of first stage develepment kind, the initial vertical acceleration but without the control. like when you learn to walk, you ry to stand up forst, fall over and try again. when you have this initial stage mastered, then the control over the movement begins

and with previous jumps (like lucy) he had to run for a bit to gain the momentum to propel himself forward, whereas here he has to go vertical, meaning that he would have to stop (albeit breifly) and then jump up

[starmaster]

yes hightower, thats true. you think he jumped really high in previous episodes but he had always had a run up before it.

in hidden, he jumped from a stand-still position. hence, he flew!

[Leia27]

For what it's worth, if it was a flight I'm sure that the writers would have wanted to explain it. The conversation at the end with Chloe and Clark, should have involved a how did you do that then! If it had been a flight I'm sure it would have been in there.

I was sure it was a flight, but then realised that he'd have explained to Chloe. He was open with Pete for new powers, and I'm sure he'd be the same with Chloe. A super jump for me.

[Socguy]

He must have gotten, at least some, of his upward momentum from somewhere else than just his legs. There is no way that his legs, with those stumpy little feet, could generate that kind of thrust without punching deep into the ground. It would be akin to one of us normal folks trying to make a regular jump from a pile of cardboard boxes. We might be able to walk on them but if we tried to jump really hard they would collapse under us and we would go nowhere!

The only way that Clark could make a jump like this is if he was standing on a large rock or concrete pad, which could supply the necessary support for a jump of this magnitude.

[Lynn of Smallville]

I have to think that at least a little flying was involved. I mean, he had to have something besides a super jump because a couple of seasons ago a super-jump plus a super speed running start couldn't even get him from the Daily Planet Building to Luthercorp nicely and veritcal jumps are harder.

[02 kal-el]

hey people if you would see crusade when he was kal-el when he flew the same special effect were used as in when he flew in hidden but when he did the jump in lucky noo special effects were used like the thing that surrounds him on floor when he starts to fly

[scoobycookies]

I think it was a jump. He probably can fly but it ended up as a jump because he's still learning. Just like with the heat vision or superspeeding(like in "blank" where he overshot his destination), he's not gonna master it right away. Also he probably was hanging on partly because he's afraid of heights :p j/k

[ramicio]

i think it was a jump but a pre-flight jump. because if he could fly he wouldn't had needed to dig his hands into the side of the missile. he would have just been able to fly next to it and rip out the nuke quicker, fly into space and throw it, and not fall back to earth.

[DarkClone]

it was a jump, if you pay attention closely, right as he gets up to the rocket, he starts to fall and the rocket moves past him, and at the last second he grabs on . . .

it was just a totally *****in jump!

[ramicio]

i think that whole ripple thing is just for an explosive launch. he can just be floating in air and start flying without that ripple thing. when he was kal-el he jumped to launch. same thing here, except he didn't fly after.

[I_love_smallville91]

Well when they jumped/flew the music swelled...could that be a hint?

[kryptonite-proof]

Many people have mentioned how this couldn't have been a jump because it was so much more powerful than his previous "super-jumps." I think the distinction that I, and many others are making is that the jumps in Insurgence and Lucy were not "super-jumps", but normal jumps following a burst of super-speed.

The other times, the power of the jump came solely from his running, whereas this time, the super power went into the jump itself, thus "super-jump." That's how I'm treating it anyway.

Yes, they re-used the same special effects used in flight, but I don't think that necessarily means it was flight. It means he was channelling power into vertical motion. I tend to think of super-jump as the border of flight, so in that respect it is not surprising to me that they used the same special effects.

[ryanjm]

LOL. It was obviously a jump. Watch it again if you didn't catch it, but he squats down and jumps. If he was flying he wouldn't have been so concerned with hanging on to the side of the rocket and climbing to the top of it. He would have just flew around up to the top and disarmed it.

[Confuzatron]

Originally posted by superwannabuffy
Ok did he fly or just jump really high??? he TOTALLY FLEW. HA HA HA HA HA all you 'no flyin' dweebs!!!!




HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!






YES!!!!!



MORE!!!!


Originally posted by ryanjm
LOL. It was obviously a jump. Watch it again if you didn't catch it, but he squats down and jumps. If he was flying he wouldn't have been so concerned with hanging on to the side of the rocket and climbing to the top of it. He would have just flew around up to the top and disarmed it. no WAY, when he 'took off' the same energy ripples were present. It was a FLIGHT.


Originally posted by DarkClone
it was a jump, if you pay attention closely, right as he gets up to the rocket, he starts to fall and the rocket moves past him, and at the last second he grabs on . . .

it was just a totally *****in jump! whatever

[Tom's Chick]

ok...i started reading the first few pages of this thread but i decided to just ask this ques. if its already been asked then sorry but anyways...did he fly as clark of kal-el....i think he flew as clark but does anyone know for sure?

[Zostix]

I would say that it is a jump, but akin to the jump that he did at the end of the first season, the beginning of the second where he "willed" himself toward the truck.

I think Clark is still scared to admit to himself that he can fly, and that will prevent him from doing for a while.

Oh and Clark flew as Kal-El when he stole the stone piece from Lex's plane. After the black Kryptonite when Martha tells Clark that he flew, he said "Kal-El can fly not me"

[SuperStupidPower]

HE JUMPED.

If he flew, then why did he slide down the rocket before he found something to grab on to?

If he flew, then why did he need to stick his hands into the sides of the rocket and climb up?

If he flew, then why didn't he just go to the part of the rocket he needed to be at in the first place?

If he flew, then why didn't he just redirect the rocket into deep space?

If he flew, then why didn't he return to Earth with powered flight, thus saving his shiny new clothes made by kryptonian technology at the FOS?

YES THEY USED THE SAME FX... and why the heck wouldn't they? Probably cost them 10 cents to run the digital film through a computer program and add a digital effect that they previoulsy spent a nice chunk of cash to make.

YES "...Jor-El gave me all my powers back" (or whatever the quote was) --- Serioulsy people? Do you seriously give Smallville writers this much credit? Do you seriously think TPTB would dump this little snippet and SERIOUSLY mean that Clark is full on Superman now? Isn't it HIGHLY more likely that Clark simply meant he was no longer "normal"... that he was now "like he had been before" once more?

For crying out loud people, he JUMPED.

*sigh*

[superrocker05]

i think he flew b/c a super leap means a run off and then a jump and a jump is part of the flying process. So I am guessing he flew, but i think he will fly again on the 100th episode.

and to answer Tom's Chick's question....he was clark otherwise he would have never gone back to the kent farm and would have never gone back to lana

[tejdog1]

He flew, because if you watch the sequence again, it looks like a magnet is attracting Clark, and he FLIES in a curved course to the rocket. Unless somehow you can now change direction in the midst of a JUMP and still call it a jump, he flew.

PS: Did they achieve what they wanted, or did they? LOL.

[neo_nate]

OH MY GOD! I knew as soon as this episode ended this debate would happen. "Repeat to yourself, its just a show and you really should relax" I love Smallville to death but I dont nitpick at something this long.

No offense to anyone :D

[jaime,oburg]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Spoon AZ
[B]For all you "super-jump" theorists, why wasn't there "ripples" when Clark jumped in Insurgence and Lucy but there was tonight?

This is the first time Clark has ever flown when he was actually Clark and not Kal-El. If it were me I'd fly just long enough to grab on to the thing. I wouldn't want to over shoot it since I would really have no idea how to control the flying thing.

I don't think the fact that he didn't fly to the warhead is near enough evidence to support the "non-flight" argument


Agreed.
Clark is Superman in training and we can't expect him to get the flying thing perfect the first time. Remember he didn't extactly have the heat vision, x-ray vision or hearing ability down to a science when he first became aware of those powers. Practice will make perfect so don't knock Clarky's first attempt at flight.

[lzpoof]

I think we should just drop the argument. I think if people start getting all fanboy over flying the writers might feel pressurd to actually include it in an episode and that would be bad. I think the reason they never wanted actual flyign on smallville is because that would accelerate clark straight into Superman and would also mean he would be handling issues on a global level and not just Smallville/Metropolis... then we've basicalyl defeated the purpose of the show. The lack of flyign keeps him tethered to the area and 'grounded'.

[Doctorj2k]

I think it was somewhat a combination of both. He jumped off the ground and was able to control the speed of his jump enough to grab the missle and climb to the top. Also, he falls back towards earth clininging on to it. Also, remember when Clark shows up at his house his clothes are all torn up and he is covered in dirt, indicating (as I see it) that he fell pretty hard back down on earth. Definately a sweet scene.

[Indiago Child]

I think he flew and fell, he prob had no idea what he was going to do, he saw the rocket and acted on instinct and that was that, and then had a heart attack on the way back down when he realised he couldnt rem how he did it, crash - boom - clark came back to earth with a bump.

[mcgairman]

Now this last remark seems the most reasonable. I'll go with that.

Now this last remark seems the most reasonable. I'll go with that.

[CheckIt!]

It looked like a jump up to the missile to me... However, I hope he was able to utilize a little bit of flight power on the way down. That would have been an awfully big free fall down to Earth.

[tejdog1]

No to mention, he would create a crater about what...500 feet deep?

[Mr. E]

Super Jump, what happened in Crusade was NOT the same as Hidden. In Crusade, yes, there were the ripples when he charged up as were in Hidden, but in Crusade when he took off, the whole lower half of his body was distorted and ripple-like. In Hidden his body was normal when jumping. Wouldn't you expect the earth to ripple when you put that kind pressure on it. By the way, when he grabbed the the missile he was still in the earth's atmosphere.

He kind of reminded me of a squirrell when he grabbed on to the missile. ;)

[DGreen]

yes, the only reason there were ripples around kal-l is because he used a super-jump to take off into flight. if he wanted to he could've floated up and then got speed, but it'd be a lot faster to do a super jump then fly. in insurgence and lucy, he was jumping horizontally right? therefore he wasn't getting the same traction or speed as he would by jumping vertically from the ground. this explains the lack of ripples in those eps. plus his horizontal super-jump is more of his speed than actual jumping, where as in "hidden" it was a very strong jump, hence the ripples

and he didn't jump nearly as far in insurgence or lucy as he did in Hidden. therefore he used less of his muscles(plus insurgence is in s2 so he may not have been as strong) this all explains y there were no ripples in those eps jump scenes, but there were in hidden.

[Radioflyer]

Originally posted by j03superbat
It had to be a jump because, as Radioflyer has already said, it would make more sense for Clark to just fly back to Smallville and intercept the missle in mid-flight, not run up to it and then fly.

Also, as Clark gets closer and closer to the missle, you can see gravity take its toll and the little shudder Clark makes when he hits the missle. Thank you. I beginning to feel like a nut.


Originally posted by tejdog1
No to mention, he would create a crater about what...500 feet deep? I'm sure there is a crater somewhere. I hope Clark didn't leave footprints.

[xrayvision]

This was most likely a super jump that they dazzled up with those ripples they used when he flew. Those ripples are supposed to accentuate him launching himself (which he would do in either flight or a very high jump).

If he flew, he would have flown all the way to the warhead, but he didn't. He seemed to succumb to the gravitational pull so he pulled himself up to the warhead. Just think of the power his legs would have to exert on the ground to run at his super speeds. If used on a vertical axis, this force would propel him at very high heights, but he would eventually succumb to gravity (until he learns to make his body overcome gravity and fly). I think this jump could possibly be used to explain how Clark and Chloe went from the Arctic Circle to the Yukon (where a similar jump was done to cross over the ocean).

The main thing is, it will be a historic episode when he truly gets flight, and we very likely won't be seeing flight again until then. I'm sure some FOS training will be involved. So my synopsis is that it was a long jump, but was no less spectacular. I want him to perform more of these if the budget permits.

[Small2]

In a Sept. 25 article from Now Playing Magazine is the following quote from Al Gough where is he discussing Season Five.

“That’s what you’re going to see,” says Gough. “There won’t be any flying,..


Interesting.

[Ultron]

Clark basically came to a complete stop, gathered energy to him, and then took off. I personally think it was both a super jump and fly working together. I don't think it's a chicken and egg scenario. Did the fly help the superjump or did the superjump help the fly. Looks to me like it was both. :)

[lzpoof]

Originally posted by DGreen
yes, the only reason there were ripples around kal-l is because he used a super-jump to take off into flight. if he wanted to he could've floated up and then got speed, but it'd be a lot faster to do a super jump then fly. in insurgence and lucy, he was jumping horizontally right? therefore he wasn't getting the same traction or speed as he would by jumping vertically from the ground. this explains the lack of ripples in those eps. plus his horizontal super-jump is more of his speed than actual jumping, where as in "hidden" it was a very strong jump, hence the ripples

and he didn't jump nearly as far in insurgence or lucy as he did in Hidden. therefore he used less of his muscles(plus insurgence is in s2 so he may not have been as strong) this all explains y there were no ripples in those eps jump scenes, but there were in hidden.


I wouldn't mention traction if I were you. They've already ignored that enough. clark could not stop a car speeding towards him... He only weighs 200 lbs or so... The only thing keeping him from getting pushed by the car is static friction from his shoes and pavement. Regardless of how strong he is, there is nothing stopping the forward momentum of the car really. Being able to lift 20 tons doesn't mean anything if there's no 'normal force' to push off against. In a lot of comicbooks, the superstrong characters can still be knocked over and back by objects. The only ones that aren't affected are the superheavy ones or ones with flight or other ability that can resist the momentum. That would include Juggernaut and the true Superman.

[Legacy1979]

No way. It was a leap rather than a flight. But he did use the same process that Kal-El did in Crusade to take off. So maybe he hasn't yet mastered STAYING in the air as opposed to just making great jumps. Look, if he was flying, don't you think he would've flown alongside the missile rather than climb up?

[fanofsteel]

Missed the episode:( but saw a rough gif file.
If he merely jumped wouldn't he have needed to jump to an intercepting position ahead of the missle's path as his acceleration in a jump would not match the acceleration of the missle. It seems that based on what I did see he accelerated to reach the missle.

[apj30]

I think he flew. Haven't read the entire thread but here's my reasoning:

1) He didn't take a run-up

2) You saw the Matrix-style ripples identical to when he took-off in Season 4.

3) It's natural that he would struggle with this new power just as he did with his heat-vision and super-hearing.

[PKII]

Originally posted by apj30
I think he flew. Haven't read the entire thread but here's my reasoning:

1) He didn't take a run-up

2) You saw the Matrix-style ripples identical to when he took-off in Season 4.

3) It's natural that he would struggle with this new power just as he did with his heat-vision and super-hearing.

For the longest time I thought he flew up. However if he knew how to fly he would have flown from the point he stopped running when he first seen the rocket. However he ran to the base of where it took off and did a super jump up towards it. :)

[olliejk]

Actually, I think it was a combo, which I suppose counts as flying. He was WAY too accurate in that jump for it just to be a jump. He doesn't fly because of mental reasons, not physical. I think he leapt into the air, but would have never hit such a small target from so far away (even too hard for a super-quarterback). He had to apply "course corrections" to his trajectory (i.e. little flying pushes during his jump). I think it was kind of like when he rescued Lana from the tornado in Twister (remember, later said he "willed himself" toward her). I think the difference is that the jump is what propelled him, instead of a tornado, and he "willed himself" toward the missile. People, don't take the "no-flights" think so religiously. If TPTB decide maybe its time to do some flying, they'll do it. They get to change their minds. It made sense not to fly in season 1, or 2 or maybe even 3, but at this point, anytime they think they can make a good story out of it, they'll have him fly. This season is supposed to be more of Clark beginning to be Superman. Stopping a nuclear missile, going into orbit, and then going through re-entry is a lot more like Superman then the 20-yard shove. The one think I personally do not think we'll see in Smallville is the costume.

[Resentment]

^^ Nice post. (I agree.)

[TrevorH]

Hah, yeah I agree. One would think the people saying he was "flying" would know that flying is without some sort of energy link to the ground. And when he jumped he went right off the ground useing the energy from there as you could even see the rippples from that great force used to jump up. But if he would have say changed direction or it somehoe appeard he was getting energy to move from a diffrent source yes that is what flying is as we all saw before in crusade.

[Tomsgurl88]

Wait a minute wait a minute, he couldn't of flew because he hasn't accept his whole destiny right? I think that was definelty a super jump.

[mcgairman]

I watched the repeat of this show again last night. It looked even more like a short flight. It had the same effects as Crusade, and if you look carefully Clark accelerates to catch up up to the already very high and accelerating missile. Oh, and the missle did reach space, and that would require more than a jump IMO.

[thmallville]

I re-watched last night, and I think it started off as a jump, but then he started flying in mid-air. So technically, that was a flight. YEAHHHHHHHHH CLARK!!!!

[FOG]

I think it was a super jump/leap thing but it is a step closer to flying.

[ImaVirus]

Originally posted by mcgairman
I watched the repeat of this show again last night. It looked even more like a short flight. It had the same effects as Crusade, and if you look carefully Clark accelerates to catch up up to the already very high and accelerating missile. Oh, and the missle did reach space, and that would require more than a jump IMO.

Oh heck yeah it was flight. And I agree that it was just a short flight. I just finished watching it again and there couldn't be a doubt in my mind he flew. I don't think he consciously tried to fly though. The ripple effect was identical, and extremely large for it to only be a jump. He does accelerate from the ground with a lot of velocity.

As he flew up to the missle, you notice him gliding up in a smooth arch towards the missle and bumping into it, not flailing his arms like he does in his jumps. He does slide down the missle, but i believe it was only because he did not have a grip on it. The sides of the missle are so smooth so he would have to jam his hands into the metal casing in order to stop from sliding furthur down and possibly off the missle, which he did.

What an amazing thing he did to save the day. It is only a matter of time before he does learn to fly. Clark Kent RULES!

Note: I watched the entire scene frame by frame, it just happens so fast for it to be a jump. This is what I saw from the scene.

[smallville_fetish]

Well it's the closes to flight he'll get. I still call it super jumping or else he wouldn't have needed to grab onto the ship and climb up it.

[ramjeetp]

Hi all

After watching the episode and reading all these posts about whether Clark flew or super-jumped, I have no idea as you all have made valid points for each.

We all know Clark will fly someday but don't you all think it is good to see how he gets to the point of finally believing in his destiny?

It was an amazing scene though and already a highlight of Season 5!

I would have liked to see where he landed back on Earth hehehe....

[boomerang]

He flied... no dude... I mind, when he fly in the 4 season he did all that stuff of matrix and energy...
But he didn't fly a lot, that's why we all believe it's a jump..

[redraven]

IMO, he flew. He had those air force rings around him...much like he did when Kal-El flew in season 4...it was more of an untrained fly, I guess.

[Mrs Kent]

I believe that he didn't fly, because he doesn't know how too. As previously mentioned he hasn't become Superman yet. Maybe when he comes back from the phantom zone?? who knows??

[Kalel33076]

LOL SUCH AN OLD THREAD!

[RedQ]

http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57257