Crisis on Infinite Earths gave The CW and DC Comics the opportunity to crossover older interpretations of iconic characters on screen. The crossover event allowed Brandon Routh to reprise his role as Superman from Superman Returns and Kevin Conroy to reprise as Batman from Batman: The Animated Series. Getting the cast of Smallville back took a bit more convincing.
There was one thing Welling absolutely wouldn’t do: wear the Superman suit. Speaking at Fan Expo Vancouver, Welling explained it in clear terms.
“If they had started the conversation with ‘So, Clark is in the suit,’ I’d have been like [click],”
In the scene that was ultimately shot, Welling’s Clark Kent is reintroduced after a sizable time jump from the finale of Smallville. An older Clark, who has given up his superpowers in order to live a normal life with Lois Lane, is confronted by the Lex Luthor of the ‘Arrowverse’ in a short and humorous cameo.
Welling further commented on why he signed up for the crossover. “I liked the idea of Clark appearing again, and I liked the idea of him being with Lois.”
Welling was attracted to the idea of exploring Kent’s paternal side in the time jump. Welling mentioned that playing a Clark who has turned into his father was appealing, and he kept Jonathan Kent in mind.
“I don’t know if anybody picked up on this, but somehow I got in the back of my head that I wanted to act more like Jonathan Kent, in that scene than I did Clark, because that’s his father, and that’s probably who he would have been influenced by.”
While fans will likely never get the chance to see Tom Welling put on the Superman cape officially, having an epilogue for his Smallville story in Crisis on Infinite Earths is a good consolation prize.
