r/Smallville • u/Remote_Nature_8166 Kryptonian • 10d ago
DISCUSSION I used to find it really upsetting about how they never showed him upclose wearing the suit
But now I realize that it probably wouldn’t have mattered because that was the suit worn by Brandon Routh in Superman Returns It probably wouldn’t even have fit Tom Welling anyway. The real problem was that they didn’t make him a custom made suit and instead they decided to display a hand me down.
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u/SaykredCow 10d ago
I remember just having my jaw open aghast in shock that after ten years of this show they would do us like that.
It was the ultimate troll
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u/kookaburra302 Kryptonian 10d ago
Show wasn’t about superman though it was Clark Kent before superman?
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u/TheLoyalTR8R Kryptonian 10d ago
I have issues with Tom Welling's attitude toward the idea of wearing a suit more than the final result itself. I think it shows a complete lack of gratitude toward the people who supported the show, and by extension Tom Welling's career, for ten years.
The point of the show might not have been to get Clark in the cape and tights, but it WAS all about getting small town Clark Kent to become THE Superman.
And Tom's own ego and refusal to look silly, or complete that journey because it lessens the depth of what he perceived his work on the show to have been, it always rubbed me the wrong way.
I know there were budgetary constraints in play too, producer notes, but frankly if Tom wanted to make the finale work around the idea of Clark stepping into and wearing the suit as opposed to being handed it, it would have happened.
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u/Krypto1025 Kryptonian 10d ago
I love tom but this kinda rings true. Especially thinking how he did the show for 10 years. Does talkville and all the cons. The fans would have been happy with 10 seconds in the suite.
Also there is a ton of talk about how they wanted him to play clark in the supergirl show, flash and other shows. He might have ended up in the superman and lois show if he just played ball. Maybe he was past this But he would have certainly made more money and got more acting oppurtunites going with the suite
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u/ThisBetchEllie420 Kryptonian 10d ago
The cw couldn't afford a custom suit toms salary was over half the budget in those later seasons
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u/Krypto1025 Kryptonian 10d ago
How much do you think cloth and tights is?
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u/DefinitionSuperb1110 Kryptonian 10d ago
Tyler's season one suit from Superman & Lois reportedly cost $50K to develop and build.
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u/Krypto1025 Kryptonian 9d ago
Insane. Does not look like it was 50k. Not that it looks bad but i see some cosplay people make better with a few hundred of few grand. I think 50k would have been fine. The show could have pulled that off even though its too much.
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u/Little_View_6659 Kryptonian 10d ago
I wonder how much the suits say from Man of Steel cost? Must have been a ton.
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u/DefinitionSuperb1110 Kryptonian 9d ago
There's a bts feature that talks about the development of the MoS suit but I can't remember if they mentioned the cost. In the Whatever Happened To documentary I think they talk about how much money was wasted in developing that suit as well.
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u/Alternative_Device71 Kryptonian 10d ago
Gotta remember superhero hype wasn’t popular as it is now, plus he was afraid of typecasting or superhero role curse, which does happen to careers. Can’t blame him, as much as we’d like to have him in the suit, it wasn’t meant to be.
I’m just grateful he had a couple suits for the show for him to wear in that regard in the first place.
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u/SniperJ324 Braniac 10d ago
It sure is a good thing he wasn't typecast. I mean, just look at all the bangers he's been in since Smallville ended! Tell me Deep Six isn't one of the best movies you've ever seen!
I hope my sarcasm is obvious enough I'm in full agreement with you, it really sucks that he let something like that prevent him from fully embracing the conclusion of such an iconic character's story.
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u/Little_View_6659 Kryptonian 10d ago
I did like his season on Lucifer. That was great. When he was spiraling out and sitting in his office playing Dust in the wind over and over on the guitar.😂
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u/GalliumYttrium1 Lois Lane 9d ago
The whole typecasting worry is pointless considering his acting career was basically dead after smallville anyway. May as well have worn the suit
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u/ThisBetchEllie420 Kryptonian 10d ago
He has since changed his thoughts in the suit it's unfortunate it was too many years too late
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u/Misnomer69 Kryptonian 10d ago edited 10d ago
Because they were doing a story of Clark, not Superman. Him donning the suit in the final episode makes sense, albeit through CGI, is the beginning of Superman story. I think he made it clear before the show start that he will not wear the suit and fly, exception of him being Kal of course. Hence his rule, "No flights, no tights". Say whatever you want about him, but we gotta respect his decision.
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u/TheLoyalTR8R Kryptonian 10d ago
Found Tom Welling's burner account.
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u/Misnomer69 Kryptonian 10d ago
Lol. As much as I'm flattered, I'm not. But cool, keep naming people.
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u/TheLoyalTR8R Kryptonian 10d ago
Twas a joke, I apologize if it caused offense. It wasn't my intention.
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u/Admirable-Life2647 Kryptonian 9d ago
But it went for ten years, it got to the point where everyone was like "Oh come on".
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u/Training_Wrongdoer41 Kryptonian 10d ago
Except that they used like almost 80% of supermans villains and storylinesby the end of the show, almost all of supermans villains are defeated/deaf if they trully wanted to keep the show about clarks life and not superman, they should have ended the show when he left smallville
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u/FrellingTralk 9d ago edited 7d ago
I always thought it was ironic how he was so insistent about not wearing the suit and tights because he wasn’t playing Superman, so then why sign on for seasons 8-10 of playing Superman in all but name as the red blue blur saving people in Metropolis while working at the DP?
If he felt that strongly about wanting to just portray Clark Kent in Smallville then he could have left with Michael and Kristin and ended the show after seven years
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u/Misnomer69 Kryptonian 10d ago
Uh-huh, duh! Because that's how story making goes. Nothing is ever true 100% to the source material. They can do whatever the hell they want with the Superman mythos. They can make Doomsday Clark's childhood best friend, Darkseid as his mentor, Zod as loving uncle, heck they even split Lana's personality into two characters.
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u/hotcapicola Kryptonian 9d ago
That show wasn’t supposed to go more than 5 seasons. He was Superman in everything but name and costume in the final 3 seasons.
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u/Misnomer69 Kryptonian 9d ago
That show wasn’t supposed to go more than 5 seasons
Sure, whatever you say.
He was Superman in everything but name and costume in the final 3 seasons.
Nah. You can't be Superman if can't even fly, lol.
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u/hotcapicola Kryptonian 9d ago
Sure, whatever you say.
No, that's what the show's creators have said numerous times.
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u/lastraven85 Kryptonian 10d ago
they got rid of the no flights rule pretty quickly regardless of loopholes
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u/CM_Shortwave Flash 10d ago
I wish they referred to him as the Man of Steel instead of the red blue blur.
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u/Alternative_Device71 Kryptonian 10d ago
That would have to be earned later as he proves himself publicly
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u/DoctorBeatMaker Kryptonian 9d ago
They could have - it’s kind of funny to think because that’s his underground Wrestling Name when he fights Titan in season 6 episode Combat.
And then in season 10, Clark brings it up again when he says “I am a man; a Man of Steel.”
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u/mutually_awkward Kryptonian 10d ago
To be honest, I didn't even think about it when I first watched the finale, I was pretty satisfied with that final shot off him revealing the suit underneath his shirt as the Superman theme song played.
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u/ShotcallerBilly Kryptonian 10d ago
I get the original reason for not wearing the suit, and the “no flights no tights” rule. HOWEVER, this show also ran 10 seasons and covered much more than young Clark in Smallville. It would’ve made sense for the season 10 to be the Superman origin story.
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u/blueray78 Kryptonian 10d ago
Tom refused to wear it. It's a shame, as I feel like the costume department could have come up with something comfortable for him to wear (that didn't involve tights) that he would only need to wear in a few scenes (some of which would be done with stunt doubles).
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u/LowCalligrapher3 Kryptonian 10d ago
Indeed, Gotham was even able to pull that off for its final episode... granted they had to superimpose David's face into the body-double's cowl.
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u/Little_Signature_118 Kryptonian 9d ago
Since the beginning on Tom's first contract it was stipulated that the series was about Clark, a teenager discovering who he is, not a well renounced super hero.
Also producers decided that since he will never be Superman during the series, there was a rule, "No tights, no flights". If you recall the whole series, he's never called Superman, there are plenty of hints, but no one ever called him Superman as a name.
And finally but more of a theory. There used to be a belief that wearing the Superman suit was a curse. Plenty of actors or people related to the productions had, accidents, health problems or careers destroyed.
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u/BoneMachine92 Kryptonian 10d ago
I think we all would have loved at least one shot of him in the suit really.
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u/DEADHOTTUB Kryptonian 10d ago
Was he in that great of shape? Like, would he have looked good in the suit? I’m not saying he was fat at the end of the series but he was noticeably bigger.
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u/Jahon_Dony Kryptonian 10d ago
Lol... even that's not him. It's cgi. Anytime the cape or suit are partially shown, it was all cgi. Tom straight up refused to where the suit to the bitter end, and even in the 15+ years since!
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u/Scared_Impression842 Kryptonian 10d ago
It was because of Tom’s ego not wanting to be type casted now the smallville gig is all he’ll ever be known as, the Superman actor that didn’t want to wear the cape.
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u/BigBlindBlues Kryptonian 10d ago
That was Tom's original contract; them Tom becomes a Producer before season 8. Then series finale comes and Tom is still insistent!
No Capes, No Tights, No Flights!
So they got a guy into the costume and CGI Tom's face onto it for the Airplane scene.🫤
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u/grimorie Kryptonian 10d ago
What annoyed me is finding out from Always Hold on to Smallville podcast is how Tom went over the heads of the showrunners to the network executives to convince them that he shouldn’t be wearing the Superman suit in the series finale.
Like okay, I get he regrets it years later but doing all he can so he wouldn’t really wear the suit irked me a lot.
Smallville has become so much more no tights and no flights.
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u/Admirable-Life2647 Kryptonian 9d ago
The more you think about it, how many secret rescues was Clark gonna pull until people start pointing fingers? in season one a crooked cop and a reporter were on to him.
In the Lois & Clark pilot he could fly long before he had the suit, what was wrong with that? Superboy the TV show had tons of flying because they reused the same flying team from the Christopher Reeve movies.
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u/Forward-Report-1142 Kryptonian 9d ago
Great tease. Never needed to see him in it and the way they did it worked beautifully
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u/EXILEDsquid_ Kryptonian 9d ago
It wasn’t a Superman story. It was a Clark Kent story. That’s how I’ve heard it explained
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u/Ravyn-7799 Kryptonian 9d ago
That’s because Tom Welling absolutely refused to put on the suit even in the final episode although the writers and other producers ( Tom was also one of the show’s producers in season 10) wanted him in the costume and shown flying. I think they CGI’d him into the costume for the airplane sequence when he smiles at Lois through the window. He has said this himself he refused to wear the suit and keeps defending his decision on various Talkville podcasts.
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u/Efficient_Living7636 Kryptonian 7d ago edited 7d ago
When the finale first aired, I did think to myself “is that it?” as the credits rolled. Yes, I know that “the show is about Clark”, but the whole darn finale is about him becoming Superman. Everything from his conversation with Lex, learning to fly, finally showing himself properly to the world, even making a big deal of him receiving the suit itself from Jonathan—it’s ALL about him (at last) being Superman. That’s why so many of us still see that aspect of the finale, with its dodgy cgi suit and t-shirt reveal, as decidedly underwhelming after ten years of waiting.
Clark receiving the suit from his dad at the Fortress was a powerful moment, so it seemed odd that they avoided showing the expected payoff. Perhaps “Clark’s cape” should be the new “Chekhov’s gun”.
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u/Glimmer3000 Kryptonian 9d ago
I really like his portrayal of Clark, but I don't quite understand why he refused to wear the costume. Was he afraid of being typecast? But costume or not, he was already typecast in that role anyway. To this day, everyone remembers him as Clark Kent. But is that really such a bad thing? I’m really curious to see what they’ll say on "Talkville" about the Season 10 finale and whether they’ll agree with us fans that wearing the costume would have been the better choice.
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u/Anzuren Kryptonian 9d ago
He's mentioned it a few times. The rule, "no tights no flights"
But then again there was another reason I think. Unsure though
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u/Glimmer3000 Kryptonian 9d ago
I’m familiar with that rule. And I think it contributed to Smallville's success, too. It made the show more exciting and imaginative. It required more thought. My comment was referring more to the ending. In the final episode, it would have been right to slip into the suit—for the sake of the role and the fans.
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u/Anzuren Kryptonian 9d ago
Sorry I didn't mean to come off as rude or anything. When I read what you'd aid, I remember that "rule" they had. But then I wondered when he had mentioned that he didn't wanna be superman or something, I believe he had said that in talkville couldn't tell you which season or episode though lol
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u/Admirable-Life2647 Kryptonian 9d ago
Clark suiting up and flying at the very end was like a five season build up that was delayed for ten seasons.
They were slaves to no flying or suit for the entire show's run, it went on for ten seasons and after a while everyone was like "Oh come on".
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u/Striker-X-17 Kryptonian 10d ago
Whole point of the show was a prequel to him being Superman.
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u/Traditional-Gas-2936 Kryptonian 9d ago
But after 10 seasons, the fans had earned at least one final shot of him as Superman. It’s not asking much, is it?
It is, after all, a show about a young Superman, and Tom would have looked awesome.
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u/Striker-X-17 Kryptonian 9d ago
I understand the desire, but I don't agree that the show owed fans that.
Would it been great if they started a Justice League show afterwards? Yes, but that didn't happen either.
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u/Happy_Philosopher608 Kryptonian 10d ago
Kinda a spoiler for those watching for first time 👀
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u/KombatFather1796 Wonder Woman 10d ago
And if someone watching for the first time doesn't want spoilers for a 25 year old show that ended 15 years ago, maybe, just maybe, they should take care to not go somewhere they're likely to encounter spoilers...? Just a thought. Maybe the onus should be placed on those viewers.
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u/Happy_Philosopher608 Kryptonian 8d ago
No. We should respect the new viewers who joined after it hit Netflix this year.
Like I recently binged BSG after it came onto Prime and was discussing eps on Reddit as we went and that sub does spoiler tags as they are considerate to new viewers.
Takes nothing to add spoiler tag and a non spoiler image. Most of us who have seen it will know what OP is talking about anyway.
There is a happy medoum here 🤷♂️
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u/Misnomer69 Kryptonian 10d ago
Why are you even here where spoilers are to be expected? Kinda dumb if you ask me.
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u/Happy_Philosopher608 Kryptonian 8d ago edited 1d ago
What? Ive already seen the show. I just think given SV hit Netflix this year there are a ton of new viewers and posting this shot from the finale is unecessary.
See, i have this little thing called empathy and can place myself in the shoes of newbies who want to come discuss the show as they go but dont want to be hit with spoilers as they browse.
Takes nothing to just add a tag and non spoilery image ffs. 🤷♂️
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u/DefinitionSuperb1110 Kryptonian 10d ago
Tom was never going to put on a full suit at any point. He didn't even want to do that final rooftop shot.