The ending “Crisis on Infinite Earths” gave Smallville’s Superman (Tom Welling) is hurt by its poor timing. The Arrowverse crossover allowed for Clark Kent to have a happy ending, but that comes with a major caveat: Clark gave up being Superman while Lex Luthor, his greatest enemy, was the President of the United States.
In the Batwoman episode of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) sends Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch), and Iris (Candice Patton) on a mission to find a “hopeless Kryptonian” Paragon. Their search leads them to Earth-167’s Kent Farm, where they meet Smallville’s Clark Kent. Apparently, Clark willingly gave up his powers to live a normal life and raise a family with his version of Lois (Erica Durance). Earth-38’s Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer) arrives with an intent to kill Clark, but his disgust at the revelation that Clark gave up being Superman causes Lex to decide against killing him.
In his conversation with Lex, Clark remarks that he wasn’t expecting a visit from the President, which confirms that Smallville’s Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) did indeed become the President of the United States. This revelation pays off a Smallville season 1 tease, and reflects the ending of the series finale, which saw Clark flying around as Superman and Lex as the new current President-Elect. The big issue with this is what it means for the circumstances behind Clark’s decision to give up his powers; Clark stopped being Superman despite the fact that Lex was president.
Clark, who has been enemies with Lex since season 5, is fully aware of the danger that Lex poses to the world. With this in mind, it seems out of character for Clark to walk away from his responsibilities as Superman, especially since Lex still had this much power at his command. If the intention was to end Clark’s story on a happy note (while simultaneously revealing that he has no powers), “Crisis” should have offered a satisfying conclusion to his rivalry with Lex.
Even though Michael Rosenbaum didn’t return for “Crisis”, the crossover could have accomplished this by having it mentioned that Lex was behind bars. Taking down Lex could have been Clark’s final act as Superman. If this were the case, Clark’s “Crisis” twist might have felt a bit more earned and natural for the character. Instead, fans are left with a Smallville ending that has Clark powerless, and no Superman to oppose the most powerful man in the world. Let’s hope that in Smallville’s world, at least the Green Arrow (Justin Hartley) has yet to hang up his hood and bow.
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