Tom Welling Had One Strict Caveat About Returning As Clark Kent In The CW's Crisis On Infinite Earths

Tom Welling's return as Clark Kent during a cameo in The CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths," aka the sixth Arrowverse crossover event, was a sight for sore eyes. The actor reprised his role as the superhero eight years after the finale of "Smallville," a prequel series from The WB that focused on the blue boy's formative years ... before he took on his identity as Superman. Welling was incredible as Clark Kent; his interpretation of a young boy coming to terms with his superpower has been cited as one of the best Superman portrayals on television. 

As a young boy growing up in Smallville, Clark was forced to find a way to lead a normal life while concealing his abilities from his friends and navigating the presence of Kryptonite in his hometown. The series never wavered from the idea that Welling's Clark Kent always wanted to be a regular guy ... but when destiny calls, you can only make one choice. The series ended with a time-jump conclusion, revealing Clark's superhero persona as he fulfilled his destiny by becoming Superman.

When the actor returned during the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event, he had no qualms about playing Clark Kent again, except one: Welling had no intention of putting on the Superman suit.

Tom Welling was happy to return to make a cameo as Clark Kent — but he had one condition. The actor wasn't thrilled about donning the cape and sporting the superhero suit, and he was glad The CW had other plans. Speaking at Fan Expo Vancouver (via Newsweek), Welling said:

"If they had started the conversation with 'So, Clark is in the suit,' I'd have been like [click],"

In the completed scene of the crossover event, Welling's Clark is seen cutting wood back at Smallville after having given up his powers to live an ordinary life with Lois Lane and his daughters. There's a significant time jump from the "Smallville" finale, and Clark is confronted by Lex Luthor, who endeavors to kill every version of him throughout the multiverse. On learning that Clark gave up his powers, his nemesis is disappointed and leaves.

The actor commented on his reason for starring in the crossover episode: he was excited by the idea of the character living with Lois and them having a family together. It had been eight years since the "Smallville" finale, so Welling was excited about "the idea of Clark appearing again."

Additionally, the actor wanted to illustrate the character's paternal side in the time jump and thought a lot about how Jonathan Kent could have impacted him. More than playing Clark Kent, the actor wanted to portray his father.

"I don't know if anybody picked up on this, but somehow I got in the back of my head that I wanted to act more like Jonathan Kent, in that scene than I did Clark, because that's his father, and that's probably who he would have been influenced by."

"Smallville" fans were thrilled by Welling's short cameo — and considered it a fitting ending to his character arc from the prequel show. We might never see the actor's version of the hero in his cape again, but at least we know he had a happy ending!