Crisis On Infinite Earths: Smallville Clark Kent’s Fate Explained

This article contains Batwoman and Crisis on Infinite Earths spoilers.

Crisis on Infinite Earths has been more than just a crossover for the assorted superhero series currently running on The CW; it has been a crossover event for many of the DC screen adaptations that have come before. In “Part Two,” we get to catch up with Smallville‘s Clark Kent (Tom Welling) and Lois Lane (Erica Durance), the former of whom played Superman for 10 seasons on The CW and CW precursor The WB, and the show that made the entire Arrowverse possible.

In the crossover, Iris and Earth-38’s Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) travel to Earth-167 to find Welling’s Clark in order to warn him that Lex Luthor from Earth-38 is traveling across the multiverse, killing off Supermen. They find Clark on the Kent Farm, casually chopping wood like he has all of the time in the world. And he seems to. He may be the father to multiple daughters, as we learn in the sequence, but he has given up his powers to devote all of his time to his family.

The decision boggles Earth-38’s Lex Luthor, who, after half-heartedly trying to take out a superpower-less Clark and failing (Clark is still stronger—dude’s 6’3”), quickly gives up and heads onto his next target—after all, he’s not in the business of killing Clark Kents. The murder attempt is more than we get from Smallville‘s Lex Luthor. Sadly, The CW couldn’t secure actor Michael Rosenbaum for the crossover, but Welling’s Clark mentions that Lex is now president, so I guess he’s doing well?

It was nice to see Durance reprise her role as Lois, which she held for seven seasons on Smallville. The actress plays double duty in the crossover as both Lois in “Part Two” and Kara’s doomed mother Alura in “Part One.” After Lex loses steam on his murder plot and transmats away, Durance’s Lois strolls out to check on her husband, letting him know that his daughters have a mess they want to show him. She calls him “Smallville,” which was always her nickname for him, and he tells her exactly what just happened with Lex. (#RelationshipGoals) They stroll away from the camera together, back towards their home.

The update on Smallville Clark and Lois’ life may be somewhat controversial, as some fans of the show were disappointed when the series finale didn’t actually show Welling in his Superman suit, but rather used a CGI image to “get the shot.” Some saw his appearance in Crisis on Infinite Earths as an opportunity to “right that wrong.” That is not what happened.

read more: Every DC Easter Egg in Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 2

Personally, I think it was beautiful to see Smallville‘s Clark Kent so at peace, especially after witnessing the tragedy that has befallen Earth-96’s Clark Kent (Brandon Routh, back in the suit), who lost his Lois, Jimmy, and Perry in an attack on the Daily Planet. Smallville‘s Clark Kent is… happy.

In this epilogue, we see Clark more at peace than he ever was on the show, when he often saw his powers not as a gift, but as a burden. Giving up his powers to become a dad, presumably with the knowledge that were others to fight the superhero battles in his absence, works for his character. He has everything he wants on the Kent Farm. It’s a rare, simple-yet-satisfying ending for a superhero, and one that frames the work of parenting not as something inferior to superhero-ing, but a just-as-worthy calling.

Kayti Burt is a staff editor covering books, TV, movies, and fan culture at Den of Geek. Read more of her work here or follow her on Twitter @kaytiburt.