Smallville Season Nine will see Tom Welling take on a on some new roles, at least one of which has the actor dressing up in a costume that resembles The Punisher more that it does The Man of Steel. Clark Kent will put on a big, black jacket and “S” logo for the upcoming season, while Welling claims the director’s chair for at least one episode.
Season Nine, which premiers on September 25th with its first episode, “Savior,” will finally make Clark grow up and transition into Superman as it brings on guest writer Geoff Johns for an episode. The season will also feature guest stars Metallo, General Zod and the Wonder Twins, according to Screen Rant.
Clark’s new, all-black look recalls Superman’s post-resurrection look following his death at the hands of Doomsday in the comics. The long black jacket, though, gives him a little bit of an edge in the tradition of Frank Castle. Since we know that the boy who would become Superman will be making some difficult decisions in Season Nine that involve taking on the Superman identity full-time, it will be interesting to see what kind of Superman he becomes and whether this darker look influences his heroics.
Tom should be the next Superman in the rebooted movie, after all he’s done for ten years working on his character and at the same time becoming a better actor and gained the most experience and potential and he’s proved that time after time season after season that he does have the chop for it and he deserves more credit than what some people have given him and the future producer and director for the new movie has to realize that. It would do justice to many Smallville and Superman fans alike and for Tom as well. He’s earned it. WB, please do the right thing.