Popverse's top stories

• Tom King describes his “all-encompassing” relationship with DC Comics and DC Studios as one of "love" and "potential"
• Even J.R.R. Tolkien left gaps: Mistborn creator Brandon Sanderson explains why total worldbuilding is a trap for new writers
• DC is using its Absolute line to quietly set the stage for Vertigo Comics’ return in 2026

One of the highlights of the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event was the legacy DC Universe television cameos. One of those cameos was Tom Welling, reprising his role as Clark Kent from Smallville. Viewers catch up with Clark in ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two,’ which aired as an episode of Batwoman. The Smallville version of Clark reveals that he lost his powers, but according to Tom Welling, the writers didn’t have an explanation for how it happened.

“We didn’t have one,” Tom Welling says during a Smallville panel at New York Comic Con 2022. “Sorry to disappoint you, but Clark lost his powers, and I was like, ‘How did he lose his powers?’ And they were like, ‘We don’t know. Do you need us to figure it out?’ I’m like, ‘No, I got it.’ I have no idea how he lost his powers or why or nothing. I just know he chose to lose them, and he was happy with his wife and his family, so that’s kind of what I got.”

For more on Smallville, watch the complete panel below:

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU. Oh, and don't forget our guide to what's coming up for DC projects on the big and small screens.