After putting on the Green Arrow suit before even donning the Superman costume,DCstar Tom Welling looks back at the big twist inSmallville. As The WB (and eventually The CW) toldSuperman’s ultimate origin story throughSmallville, it allowed Clark Kent’s journey to becoming the Man of Steel to go in various directions. Even thoughSmallvillehad its famous “No Tights, No Flights” rule, that didn’t stop the show from finding other ways to have Welling suit up before he became Superman.
On the latest episode of theTalk Ville Podcast, where Michael Rosenbaum and Welling coveredSmallvilleseason 6, episode 10, “Hydro,” the subject of having Clark suit up as the Emerald Archer came up. During the discussion,Welling had a fan question about putting on the Green Arrow uniform, sharing the following about the topic:
Tom Welling: Yeah I kind of remember just being like, ‘This is ridiculous! I’m so glad I don’t have to do this all the time.’ But I had to [because] Clark would do this to help his friend… They had to make a suit for me, I think it was like the stunt guy’s suit that they had me wear or something.
In a separate question from another fan, who asked,“We see a clever swap between Oliver and Clark - I was wondering if this was the network’s way of getting you, Tom, in a super costume and did it satisfy them or make them push for your own suit?“and Welling gave the following response:
Tom Welling: Most likely… I thought about it, but again, Kelly [Souders] and Brian [Peterson] wrote a convincing story that it was justified.
What Tom Welling’s Green Arrow Comments Mean For Smallville
Even though Welling found it ridiculous,theSmallvillestar made it clear that this made for a good storyline involving Clark and Oliver, as season 6 was still getting them established allies by the time “Hydro” aired. Despite the fact that it may have thrown-off Superman fans to see their Man of Steel-to-be donning another hero’s costume before even getting to his own, this is what madeSmallvilleas unique as it was, by letting this be an Elseworlds take for the DC icon. The fact thatSmallvillehad Green Arrowalso led the show to slowly transition more into the superhero costumes aspect of Clark’s journey.
As Welling put it himself, having Clark helping his friend is exactly what Superman would do, even if it was something as funny as having Krypton’s last son wearing someone else’s superhero uniform. It was also from this point thatSmallvilleseason 6began building up its version of the Justice League, giving Clark the inspiration to eventually adapt a superhero moniker for himself by the time he gets to season 8 and beyond. That is likely something that may even be discussed in later Talk Ville Podcast episodes as they get further into season 6 andSmallvilleas a whole.
Our Take On Tom Welling’s Green Arrow Comments
As fun as it was to hear Welling’s experience wearing the Green Arrow costume, it’s also good to see the care he had for the story that was being explored in “Hydro.” Following on from this, it will no doubt be exciting to hear any future costume comments from Welling about Superman andSmallvilleas the series continues to be discussed, since these conversations add a welcome extra layer of perspective to the iconic DC show. For anyone wanting to relive or catchSmallvillefor the first time, the DC TV show is available on streaming and Blu-ray/DVD.
