Michael Rosenbaum Credits Smallville With Arrowverse Success

Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum says the 10-season Superman television series made it possible [...]

By Cameron Bonomolo - September 1, 2019 06:15 pm EDT

Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum says the 10-season Superman television series made it possible for future DC Comics-inspired shows Arrow and The Flash to find success on the small screen.

"A lot of fans loved Lois & Clark, but this was cinematic. This was the first time a TV show that was comic book related was cinematic," the former Lex Luthor actor said at FAN EXPO Canada, where he appeared alongside Smallville co-stars Tom Welling and Laura Vandervoort. "It was a movie every week, and the effects were something that people hadn't seen before."

Rosenbaum added Smallville's special effects are now "obviously a little dated" — prompting a head shake from Welling, who disagreed — before Rosenbaum slightly conceded, saying, "Some of them are, compared to the stuff they have now."

"But it was extraordinary. And they put so much money into this, and the characters were really developed, and it was an interesting story, and I just felt like it was unique," he continued. "Now Arrow, and Flash, and all these other shows, they've kind of come up, but Smallville was the original. It just was. I'm not saying that because we were on it. It was the first, it launched everything else."

"It was the reason why the other shows were successful," Rosenbaum said, shrugging. "It's just true."

Despite Smallville paving the way for the Arrowverse — The CW's shared TV universe connecting Arrow and Flash to Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman — both Rosenbaum and Welling denied involvement with Crisis on Infinite Earths, the multi-universe crossover set to include Superman Returns star Brandon Routh as Kingdom Come Clark Kent and longtime Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy as an older Bruce Wayne.

"Whatever this Crisis thing you guys are talking about, it's not happening," Welling said. "Sorry to disappoint you guys."

Rosenbaum added "no one has even talked to us" about Crisis on Infinite Earths, admitting the two stars "don't know anything about this stuff."