If you’ve been paying attention to news surrounding the upcoming “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” you know that the DC CW crossover event isn’t pulling any punches with its lineup of guest stars, from Black Lightning characters being brought into the fray to longtime Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy playing a live-action version of an older Bruce Wayne. But one character inclusion that many fans wanted to see in the Arrow-verse even before “Crisis” was announced has been revealed is happening. That’s right, folks, Tom Welling is reprising his version of Clark Kent that he played for 10 seasons on Smallville.
The CW announced today (via TV Line) that Tom Welling’s Clark Kent, who became Superman at the end of Smallville, will take part in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” the five-part event airing across Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman. The network also noted that “Crisis” will “reveal what happened to Clark Kent almost ten years” after Smallville’s conclusion.
“Crisis on Infinite Earths” executive producer Marc Guggenheim said the following about Tom Welling’s inclusion:
For eight years, Arrow has stood on the shoulders of Smallville. Simply put, there would be no Arrow, and no Arrowverse, without it. So when we first started talking about “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” our first, second and third priorities were getting Tom to reprise his iconic role as Clark Kent. To say that we’re thrilled would be a Superman-sized understatement.
For those keeping score, that’s now three versions of Superman who will appear in “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman, who’s previously appeared on Supergirl and took part in last year’s crossover event, “Elseworlds,” will be back, and he’ll be accompanied by Elizabeth Tulloch’s Lois Lane and their newborn child. Brandon Routh will also get a second spin on the Superman wheel, having previously played the character in 2006’s Superman Returns, and that’s on top of also playing his Legends of Tomorrow character, Ray Palmer/The Atom, who will be departing later this season.
The Superman mythos will also be represented in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” by Jon Cryer’s Lex Luthor, who died in the Supergirl Season 4 finale, but whose corpse was retrieved by The Monitor, indicating a resurrection is forthcoming. Since Tom Welling is getting to reprise Smallville’s Clark Kent, I can’t help wondering if that show’s version of Lex Luthor, played by Michael Rosenbaum, could also be put back in play for “Crisis.”
Smallville ran from 2001 to 2010, a time when superhero stories slowly became more popular on the big screen, but barely had a presence on the TV front, which certainly isn’t the case nowadays. As Marc Guggenheim noted, without Smallville, Arrow and the birth of the Arrow-verse probably wouldn’t have happened, so it’s fitting that the show will be represented through Tom Welling at the very least. After Smallville ended, the mythology continued in the Smallville Season Eleven comic book, but getting to see Welling’s Clark Kent back on the small screen is a big deal for a lot of folks, and will likely draw even more eyes on “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
Other notable guest stars appearing in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” include John Wesley Shipp (it’s unclear if he’ll reprise Earth-3’s Jay Garrick or Earth-90’s Barry Allen, I’m guessing the latter), Burt Ward in a still-undisclosed role and LaMonica Garrett both reprising The Monitor and debuting as The Anti-Monitor. The Flash regular Tom Cavanagh will also appear as Pariah, who was a key figure in the original “Crisis on Infinite Earths” comic book event and will be working for the Anti-Monitor in this adaptation.
“Crisis on Infinite Earths” will kick off on The CW with three episodes this December, and then wrap up with two episodes next January. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more news concerning the event, and in the meantime, look through our fall TV premiere schedule to learn when your favorite shows are coming back.
