From Clark Kent to Superman: Smallville's 10 years

CEBU, Philippines - Smallville started with a story known 'round the world: An alien crash-lands on Earth, where he's found by a couple who have been desperate, but unable to have a child. Little did they know that the child they would adopt as their own would become a superhero and the world's savior.

But first, he'd have to get through high school, the heartache of losing his first love, and 150 or so power-hungry bad guys. Over its 10-year run, Smallville explored the growing pains of the human, not-so-super side of Clark Kent (Tom Welling), while tipping its hat to his future greatness. It's about his journey from awkward teen to Superman. It all began with giving the future do-gooder some flaws...

Executive producers Brian Peterson said, "Finding problems and character flaws for Superman has always been the challenge of this show because he's perfect... [What we decided to do was tell the story of] the immense struggle it took to get to that point, to fill in the space from when he arrived on earth to the point that he decided to be that inspiration for people."

To keep Superman grounded, literally, Gough and Millar set one rule for the show: "No Tights, No Flights."

They also gave their teenage hero teenage villains, what the creators fondly dubbed as "freak of the week." These were teens infected by meteor rock — the same stuff that accompanied Clark down to Earth — which heightened their already hormonal issues. A perfect example was Jodi (Amy Adams), whose issues with her weight led her to make a kryptonite-infused diet shake that cause rapid weight loss but came with an insatiable hunger that would not subside — so she ate people.

At the same time, Clark was a teenager in love. Lana (Kristin Kreuk) was a girl whose parents were killed by the same comet that brought him to Smallville. Their love culminated in a proposal that was tragically erased when Clark was forced to save her life in the 100th episode. When Lois (Erica Durance) entered the picture in Season 4, fans rooting for Lana were torn.

The 100th episode, "Reckoning," was a turning point for Clark, whose actions in saving Lana caused the death of his Earth father, Jonathan Kent (John Schneider).

In its later years, fans got restless — Clark's progression into Superman was now several years in the making. So producers set out to introduce aspects of his DC Comics mythology to appease them.

Bringing in Lois Lane was one of Smallville's biggest gets from DC, alongside introducing supervillains Metallo, Darkseid and Zod, who filled in the void after Michael Rosenbaum (Lex) left in Season 7. The show was even able to take liberties with those characters, from Lois and Clark's premature meeting to the creation of Chloe (Allison Mack), a character not formerly in the mythology. She became a point of debate among fans for years, and eventually made her way into the comics.

After nine years of watching Clark Kent inch his way toward his destiny, it was time to become Superman. The CW announced in 2010 that Season 10 would be Smallville's final year.

To end the series meant closing one chapter of Clark's life while beginning the famous one. But there was one hiccup: Clark's greatest foe, Lex Luthor, was missing in action. Rosenbaum initially held out from returning, but following the fan outcry, he agreed to come back for the final episode.

Peterson said, "When I watched [the finale], what's interesting is you have this rush of, 'Gosh, that's what I've been waiting for all these years!' And then, immediately following it's like, 'Wait a minute.That can't be the end!' We all know he has a whole new destiny and he has a whole future. That's where our show leaves off and where the movies will pick up." (FREEMAN)