Tom Welling Reveals Alternative Ending for ‘Smallville’

Tom Welling, the guy who brought Clark Kent to life in ‘Smallville,’ recently dropped some juicy news about how the show almost ended. We all remember that iconic moment in the finale where Clark rips open his shirt, showing off the Superman logo, and leaps into action. But it turns out things could’ve gone a totally different way.

‘Smallville’ ran for 10 seasons, starting back in 2001 on The CW, and wrapped up in 2011. It followed a young Clark Kent as he grew up in Kansas, figuring out his powers and destiny. The show had a strict rule—no tights, no flights—for most of its run, keeping Clark’s transformation into Superman on hold until the very end. Welling played the role from age 24 to 34, turning a teenage tale into a decade-long journey.

So, what was this other ending? Welling shared the scoop at Comic Con Stockholm. The original plan had Clark finding the Superman suit, then taking his time to put it on—think pulling on the boots and all. We’d have seen him suit up fully before jumping off the building to save the day. Sounds like a big moment, right? But Welling had other ideas.

He pushed for a change, drawing inspiration from another hit show, ‘24.’ That series, starring Kiefer Sutherland, ended around the same time ‘Smallville’ did. In its finale, Sutherland’s character, Jack Bauer, says goodbye via a satellite feed, leaving viewers with a sense he’s off to keep fighting. Welling liked that vibe—a hero heading out into the unknown, letting us imagine what’s next. He felt it fit ‘Smallville’ better than a full-on suit reveal.

Why the switch? Welling’s always been vocal about keeping Clark’s story grounded. He once told EW he didn’t want the show to jump straight into Superman territory too fast. The idea was to earn that final leap, not rush it. So, instead of a close-up of Clark in the suit, we got a distant CGI shot of Superman flying, plus that classic shirt rip. It left things open-ended, hinting at adventures we wouldn’t see.

This wasn’t just a random choice. Behind the scenes, Welling had chats with bigwigs like Peter Roth from Warner Bros. Television. He argued that a sudden Superman showcase didn’t match the slow-build vibe of the series. They reworked it, and we got the ending that’s still got us talking years later.

Welling’s stance on the suit wasn’t new. Early on, creators Al Gough and Miles Millar set the no-tights rule to focus on Clark’s youth, not his cape-wearing future. Even so, by season 10, the suit was there in the Fortress of Solitude, teasing us. Welling stuck to his guns, though—he didn’t want to be boxed in as just another Superman.

Looking back, it’s wild to think how close we came to a different finale. ‘Smallville’ paved the way for shows like the Arrowverse, and its 217 episodes made it a superhero TV giant. Welling’s still tied to it, too—he’s working with Michael Rosenbaum, who played Lex Luthor, on a possible animated sequel. They’ve got the old team, including Gough and Millar, ready to go, but Warner Bros. and DC haven’t given the green light yet.

For now, I can’t help but wonder what that full suit-up would’ve looked like. Welling in the boots, cape flowing—maybe it’d have been epic. Or maybe the ending we got, with its mystery and heart, was the right call. Either way, hearing about this alternate take keeps ‘Smallville’ alive in our heads, even 14 years after it flew off our screens.