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“I don’t know Why did it take Tom Welling’s Clark Kent ten seasons to don the Superman suit on Smallville? The most obvious reason is because Smallville was an origin story, and if Clark Kent puts on the Superman suit, the origin story is over. The other reason is because Tom Welling put it into his contract. That didn’t stop Warner Brothers Television from trying, but when they did, Welling threatened to get lawyers involved.

if [no tights, no flights] ever meant anything to you guys, because I ended up putting it in my original contract that I would not wear the tights or put on the suit or cape,” Tom Welling says during a Smallville panel at New York Comic Con 2022. “Part of that is because I didn’t want them to just all of a sudden put Clark in this outfit and have him run around and save the day. The show to me was a character thing about people trying to figure out their identities and their places in the world.”

“It was episode five, season one, I read this script and it’s like, ‘Clark puts on the suit.’ And I’m like, ‘Call your attorneys. I’m not even going to discuss this, because it’s in the contract.’ And honestly guys, we wouldn’t have lasted 10 years if we put the suit on in season one.”

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.