From Clark Kent to Superman: A Look Back at 10 Years of Smallville - TV Guide

[F-Stop Blues]

This was a great read.

[Munnag]

Very inspiring article.

[moviefan2k4]

I still think Tom not wearing the suit and Lex getting his mind wiped (again) was pure BS. They killed off Tess, which was terrible because she never got the total redemption she wanted. Finally, they sent Kara away to the 31st century, without even explaining things to Clark. The finale was still okay, but not great.

[RightWingConspirator]

I'm more and more agreeing with that sentiment, moviefan. I was ok with not seeing Welling in The Suit, because I got that last scene I wanted...the classc, iconic image of Clark ripping open his shirt to reveal the Superman shirt. I figured if we saw Welling in The Suit it would detract from the epicness of said last scene, but now I'm not so sure.

The mindwipe was a cheat--should have found a better way to explain why Lex would never recognize Superman as Clark. On the other hand, it was good drama....Tess trying to save Lex by wiping his mind so he could start fresh, as Lex was killing her to save her from becoming him. But I was expecting a much better explanation. Heck, ***I*** could have come up with something better. Yep, that bad.

[ironman29758]

I'm more and more agreeing with that sentiment, moviefan. I was ok with not seeing Welling in The Suit, because I got that last scene I wanted...the classc, iconic image of Clark ripping open his shirt to reveal the Superman shirt. I figured if we saw Welling in The Suit it would detract from the epicness of said last scene, but now I'm not so sure.

The mindwipe was a cheat--should have found a better way to explain why Lex would never recognize Superman as Clark. On the other hand, it was good drama....Tess trying to save Lex by wiping his mind so he could start fresh, as Lex was killing her to save her from becoming him. But I was expecting a much better explanation. Heck, ***I*** could have come up with something better. Yep, that bad.

I agree with you about Welling and Superman scene. To me we got more than what we originally were supposed to get for the Smallville ending. Was it unfortunate that we didn't get to see Tom Welling in a Superman suit but only CGI/few head shots and comic scenes. Yes(to me it didn't make sense to see Clark in a classic Superman suit looking at how most of superhero costumes on Smallville and Clark saved people in his casual clothes and Season 8-10 Clark "superhero" costumes to me made it feel like if not Season 11 costume then New 52 Superman was more plausible for Smallville Clark to wear.)
Personally I think the mind wipe was perfect just the way it is for a few reasons: The Luthors were dealing with memory technology at Summerholt since Season 3, so it wasn't an unexpected development. Memory loss was also hinted at throughout Season 10 during the Tess/Alexander arc(even a few times in previous seasons). Lex couldn't know Clark's secret and the Summerholt technology Tess used was her final act of redemption. Plus the face it was only revealed so late in the show since Rosenbaum only agreed to the one episode deal(2 and a half scenes at that). Plus the face that they are dealing with the aftermath in season 11.

Also it ties in with the comics or at least 2 comics which did something similar:Superman:Birthright and when Lex found out Clark was Superman. In Birthright, Lex also went through a trauma of sorts(here the destruction of his experiments as well as loosing his father and his hair in a fire) and he not only disavowed any relationship with Smallville(by paying almost everyone to claim he doesn't exist) and claimed never to have met Clark(partly because of their last meeting with each other in Smallville, partly because of his ego would never allow him to connect Superman with Smallville and partly because of the trauma of the accident might have damaged his memory since he claimed that they didn't do anything to help save his dad even though he ignored him burning). Then there is the issues where Lex finds out Clark is Superman in the comic where He had been aware of this from their earliest meetings but refused to accept it for his own personal belief that people of power always crave and reflect themselves as people of power, never as one of the masses. Thus, to Luthor, a being like Superman would never try and pass himself off as Clark Kent who was less than extraordinary. In a story published in 2002, a lowly scientist was able to get a meeting with Lex and reveal top secret government documents showing the rocket containing baby Superman crashing near the farm of Martha and Jonathan Kent. Killing the scientist, Lex surprisingly decided to keep the knowledge a secret. He did so regardless that Clark Kent took the fall for Lois publishing proof that Lex Luthor knew of the alien invasion of "Our Worlds At War," but had opted not to make any defensive plans to save the people of Kansas from attack. Clark was fired from the Daily Planet as a result of Manchester Black using his telepathic powers on an unknowing Lex to allow him to pass an assortment of lie detector tests (including Wonder Woman's lasso of truth) to prove that Lois and Clark's story was a lie. When Manchester Black tried to kill Superman and his friends and family, Luthor came to Superman's aid. He admitted that he had kept Superman's identity as Clark Kent secret both out of a sense of nostalgia for their past confrontations and the knowledge that revealing the truth about Superman would endanger Lois, nearly the only woman he cared for. In the end, Manchester Black was defeated and as revenge for Lex helping Superman defeat him, Black erased all knowledge that Clark Kent was Superman from Lex's mind before taking his own life.

Also the thing about the finale and the last few episodes, of course they were going to leave a few open ends to the final few episodes. It was suppose to end off where most people knowledge of Superman begins(be it comics, Christopher Reeves movies, etc) in this case is the Smallville season 11 comics which takes place 6 monthes after the finale and offers readers a way to experience Smallville Clark putting those ten years into practice and proves how much that ending provided a solid foundation for a new era of Superman stories featuring the show's version of Clark Kent(Bryan Q Miller is combining Bryan Q M. Everyone accepted their perspective destinies and aligned with the comics

[KneelBeforeSmallville]

I feel like i really enjoyed the Finale, and the whole Smallville Legacy because we got to live in the moment with it, that doesnt happen often in Entertainment today, i mean look at blockbusters movies they come, and they go, Avatar and the Avengers destory the box office but the hype comes and goes, the charaters come, and they go, I feel like Smallville becuase the characters had such depth they were able to channel it into an amazing series, ya gotta rescpect the cast and crew for sticking to it so long. I do

On the topic of the Finale all i can recall on is the memories, Im a huge Smallville fan, i love Superman, and i love the cast, end of story, The whole TW/Suit/CG contraversy doesnt really bothert me because we got more than what we were supposed to get, and the fact theres a blockbuster/franchise revival? on the horizon, i was happy with how they let things turn out. They kept it classic, and did what needed to be done, and alot of the coolest stuff is happening right now in season 11, Ill always be loyal to smallville because of the memories, if you remember those SV high days you know what im talking about. Always Hold onto Smallville