Smallville is celebrating its 25th anniversary. A retrospective marks the occasion by highlighting how the series spent ten seasons depicting Clark Kent's growth before becoming Superman, allowing audiences to get to know the character through his relationships and choices before witnessing his ultimate transformation.
The series premiered on The WB on October 16, 2001, starring Tom Welling as the young Clark Kent. The story covers his high school years, friendships, romances, and early adulthood. Spanning ten seasons and 217 episodes, the show concluded on May 12, 2011, with Clark's pivotal transformation into his iconic suit revealed only in the final stages of the series finale.
Retrospective articles suggest that this prolonged coming-of-age narrative transformed the familiar superhero origin story into one viewers could experience alongside the character, while also allowing more room for relationship development. Clark's friendship with Lex Luthor gradually turns into rivalry, and his relationship with Lois Lane evolves over time, with this long-term buildup altering the weight of subsequent conflicts.
The author also argues that Smallville proved superhero themes could attract television audiences, paving the way for later series like Arrow and influencing other film and TV productions. These observations are part of the anniversary retrospective's assessment, which centers on how the show introduced Clark first as an ordinary person before dedicating ten seasons to his journey toward becoming the iconic hero.