The “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover continues tonight, and it’s safe to say that it’s shaking up a lot of the Arrowverse’s multiverse. Tonight’s installment brought one of the most highly-anticipated cross-universe cameos, from Smallville star Tom Welling. Welling’s decade-long portrayal of Clark Kent arguably set in motion the modern-day DCTV world as we know it, and fans have waited for quite some time to see him potentially cross over with the Arrowverse. So, what role did Welling’s Clark Kent play in “Crisis”? Read on to find out. Spoilers for this week’s episode of Batwoman, “Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 2”, below! Only look if you want to know!
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The second episode opened with the Arrowverse’s heroes reeling from the death of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), which seemed to shake up their defense against The Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett). The Monitor (also LaMonica Garrett) sent the remaining heroes on a search for the seven “Paragons”, mythical beings that will supposedly help ward off the coming Crisis. One Paragon was expected to be a Clark Kent from an alternate universe, which sent Iris West-Allen (Candice Patton) and Earth-38’s Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) hunting for him. This became complicated once Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer) gained access to the Book of Destiny, which allows him to go from Earth to Earth and kill every Superman.
Eventually, this led the trio to Earth-167, where Welling’s Clark Kent was tending to his family farm. The three of them asked if he was Clark Kent before they were quickly sent away by a Kryptonite-wielding Lex. Clark then revealed that he gave up his superhuman powers in order to have a normal life with his family, which means he’s no longer affected by Kryptonite. He then engages in a fight with Lex and gets the upper hand, before Lex ultimately disappears and leaves Clark with Lois Lane (Erica Durance, who already appeared in the event as Supergirl‘s Alura). Clark explained the multiverse-shattering exploits of “Crisis”, and Lois laughed, saying that “Smallville” had finally made a joke.
For those who were hoping that Welling’s Clark Kent would finally wear a suit in “Crisis” – or flex his Superman powers in a more profound way – this scene will probably be a disappointment in some way. It had previously been reported that Welling had a very short cameo in “Crisis”, which the scene in Part 2 seems to encompass at this time. Even then, the idea that Welling and the Smallville universe interacted with the Arrowverse at all is a pleasant surprise that’s years in the making.
“It’s such a big part of DC TV history.” Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow consulting producer Marc Guggenheim said earlier this year before Welling’s casting was officially announced. “I would love to have at least one Smallville character in the crossover. I guess I can say every single day I have some conversation with some casting director or some agent.”
What do you think of the role that Tom Welling’s Clark Kent played in “Crisis on Infinite Earths”? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
“Crisis on Infinite Earths” will continue across The Flash on December 10th at 8/7c. Following a midseason break, the event will conclude on Tuesday, January 14th, with new episodes of Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.
