Smallville: The Super Ten

After ten years Smallville will finally end.

(tear)

To celebrate 10 years of Clark Kent adventures I thought I would look back and pick out one episode from each season that I thought was "Super". It's hard to pick out the best (or worst) but these are the single episodes that stuck out to me.

So here we go starting with season 10...

Season 10: Episode "Scion"
We can assume that the last episode is going to be one we've all been waiting for but for the purpose of this post, I am going with "Scion". Mainly because I was completely taken by surprise by the out from left field introduction to Smallville's take on Conner Kent. Starting with this season's premier we knew that a clone of Lex Luthor was running around. The last of a series of clones created by Cadmus Labs. Each one had aged rapidly and died with in weeks. But one of them was unique. He survived because someone (yet to be identified) used Clark's DNA to slow the aging process. This was a fun and creative twist to the Conner Kent from the comic books.


Season 9: Episode "Idol"
In this episode we get Smallville's take on 'The Wonder Twins". Why I chose this episode was because when the Twins come to the big city they do it out of hero warship for Metropolis's champion 'The Blur' aka Clark Kent. In an attempt to help The Blur they of course end up causing more trouble than good. But there is a moment in this episode where The Blur reveals himself to Zan and Jayna and encourages them to continue using their powers to help others, but to be more careful. I am not giving this description justice, but the fact is, that its the first time (to me) that Tom Welling wasn't playing Clark Kent, he was playing Superman. His tone, his stance, his demeanor, it was all Superman.

Season 8: Episode "Odyssey"
In the season 8 premier Green Arrow leads a team of superheroes to track down their missing friend, Clark Kent. Clark had gone missing and is presumed dead. This episode is a lot of fun because not everyone has agreed with Clark's boyscout values. But when he goes missing Green Arrow refuses to stop looking for him because he knows Clark wouldn't give upon them. It's a great reflection on how Clark's morals inspire others.

Season 7: Episode "Gemini"
This episode is by far one of my favorites. Watching it, it would seem pretty typical, Lex does something bad, Clark and the gang do what they can to prevent someone from dying...big save, roll credits...But the big cliffhanger is that Clark Kent has been imprisoned at his Fortress of Solitude and Bizarro has secretly replaced him.

Season 6: Episode "Justice"
Hands down one of the best episodes. In "Justice" Clark teams up with other DC superheroes to prevent Lex Luthor from creating a private army. The foundation for the future Justice League is set.

Season 5: Episode "Reckoning"
In this episode Clark Kent becomes a man. Due to what he feels are his direct actions Johnathan Kent dies, forcing Clark to take his responsibilities towards the world seriously. The funeral scene is one of the most haunting and breathtaking.

Season 4: Episode "Devoted"
This episode is fun just because of Lois. In this season Lois has joined the cast and she is the only one not impressed with Clark Kent, however at the very end of this episode Lois and Clark share a moment that only Chloe Sullivan notices, setting the stage for one of comics most legendary romances.

Season 3: Episode "Hereafter"
In this episode we see the first glimpse of  Clark becoming Superman. Here we meet a boy who can see your death via a vision by a simple touch. When he touches Lana Lang he sees her dying shortly in a fire, Clark speeds off to her rescue, but when the boy touches Clark he doesn't see death, instead just the open sky and a bright red cape with an \S/ on it.

Season Two: Episode "Rosetta"
This is another one of my all time favorites. Christopher Reeve plays Dr. Swan and provides Clark with knowledge of his home world. Its here for the first time that Clark learns of Krypton's destruction and his birth name, Kal-EL.

Season One: Episode "Pilot"

Not only is this the best episode from season one but its the best episode of the series. Most of the time when you look back at show's pilot  you scratch your head asking 'what were they thinking'. Normally after the pilot characters and plots are fixed and with a few more shows in the can you have what the show will be about. But with Smallville's pilot you really get a great idea, that was as new and as fresh as a superhero show can be. And its because it wasn't a superhero show. It was and is still about a kid in high school going threw all the same growing pains that all kids go threw...only this kid will one day become Superman.

(Jerry Ahern is an avid comic book reader and fan of all things Superman. He nor this blog are working for The CW Network or DC Comics Entertainment)