Summary
- A fan-made Justice League opening credits edit shows what a Smallville sequel series would have looked like.
- After Smallville hinted at Clark Kent’s future Superman adventures in the series finale, the Smallville Season 11 comic book series continued his adventures with other Justice League members.
- While Tom Welling’s Clark Kent likely won’t become Superman again in live-action, there’s still the possibility of a Smallville animated series that brings back the original cast.
Smallville‘s version of the Justice League finally gets their own show in the form of a fan-made DC TV opening credits edit. Premiered in 2001, Smallville began as a Clark Kent-focused story that detailed Superman and other Smallville DC characters’ teenage years, as well as Clark Kent’s early experimentation with superpowers before donning the cape. However, Smallville soon increased its scope to include many famous DC heroes, including various members of what would later become the Justice League.
Smallville‘s version of the Justice League was founded by Superman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Cyborg, and the Flash, with other members such as Black Canary, Supergirl, and Zatanna joining the team afterward. On Instagram, digital artist Buffy2Ville shows what the opening credits for a full-blown Justice League show set in the Smallville universe would look like, complete with Smallville-inspired, early 2000s editing and music. Watch the video below:
Will Any Of The Smallville Heroes Appear On-Screen Again?
Smallville only teased Clark Kent’s life as a costume-wearing Superman at the very end of the finale, leaving the rest of his life to the fans’ imagination. Although Smallville season 11 never happened on screen, the Smallville Season 11 comic book series continued Superman’s adventures alongside other superheroes a couple of years later. In this short-lived, self-contained comic book run, Superman participates in bigger battles with several of his fellow Justice League members, and even meets powerful Smallville newcomers such as Batman, Nightwing, Wonder Woman, and the Green Lantern John Stewart.
In 2019, Welling’s Superman returned in The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, where it’s revealed that Clark Kent hung up the cape for good at some point, preferring to live a quiet life alongside Lois Lane. In exchange, he gave up his superpowers and abandoned his superhero duties. Although Clark’s Arrowverse counterpart and Lex Luthor himself arrives to bring him back to his superhero days, Tom Welling’s Clark Kent refuses to leave his new lifestyle behind, even in the face of a multiversal collapse. This happy ending suggests Welling’s Clark Kent won’t be Superman ever again.
As for the rest of Smallville‘s JL members, they likely won’t come back in any live-action show, let alone a movie. The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths provided the best chance for their return, but Tom Welling’s Clark Kent appearance was as far as the Arrowverse explored their universe. While a similar multiversal event is possible in the DCU’s far future, a more likely possibility for Smallville‘s Justice League return would be in an animated series. Tom Welling himself teased a Smallville animated show, which will bring back most of Smallville‘s original cast. However, updates on the series have been few and far between since Welling’s comments in 2021.
Source: Buffy2Ville / Instagram