In advance of the ninth and final season of Smallvile, The CW has released the first shot of Tom Welling wearing a form of the Superman costume. Season nine kicks off in the States at the end of the month, and has the added bonus of bringing in General Zod - now played by Callum Blue - as a regular character. Can the writers resist the iconic "Kneel before Zod" line? We know we couldn't. We suspect that's one of a combination of reasons why we don't write Smallville episodes for a living.

But back to the point. The outfit is clearly some way away from the red pants over blue tights look that's obviously synonymous with the Man of Steel, but Welling nonetheless is portraying a version of the character that's some way off the finished article.

Smallville returns on 25th September.