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If not Superman, Shadow Man: Smallville star Tom Welling talks about what he hated about his hero name
The Smallville cast hated the name Red Blue Blur

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Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s….the Red Blue Blur.
That’s the superhero name Clark Kent went by during the later seasons of Smallville before he became Superman. Since Clark moved at superspeed, all people were able to see was a red blue blur (due to the color scheme of his clothes), which earned him the vigilante nickname. It’s not as catchy as Superman, but it served as a placeholder until Clark Kent adopted the more familiar moniker in the series finale.
However, not everyone in the cast was a fan of the name.
“I think it was more the nuance of the performance than it was changing any writing or storylines. Because I would’ve gotten rid of the Red Blue Blur in a second if I could have, but that wasn’t going to happen,” Tom Welling says during a Smallville panel at MCM London Comic Con 2022.
“I would’ve not wanted to say the Red Blue Blur,” Erica Durance adds. “Shadow Man or something would’ve been better,” Welling suggests.
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.
About MCM London Comic Con 2022
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