William Tobin has been watching Smallville for four years and just can’t seem to stop. Smallville is a television series that reimagines Superman’s origin story, focusing on Clark Kent’s teenage years in Smallville, Kansas. With ten seasons, the show offers a look at the trials that make Clark Kent into the Man of Steel. Smallville begins with the Kents adopting an alien child. Jonathan and Martha Kent insist on Clark valuing humanity and responsibility, which becomes central to his character as Superman. William explained what made him start watching Smallville: “I saw a video clip of it on social media and thought it looked interesting.” William used to watch Smallville on his old laptop every night before bed. When asked why he watched it before bed, he replied, “It’s the best time to dial in and watch.”
In its early seasons, Smallville adopted a “villain of the week” format, showing Clark battling “meteor freaks”—individuals mutated by Kryptonite exposure. These encounters help Clark understand the importance of using his powers for good while grappling with secrecy. His relationships with Lana Lang, his high school crush, and Lex Luthor, his future nemesis, add emotional depth and foreshadow his adult conflicts. “I really like the earlier seasons because Lana Lang is good-looking, and they are all filled with action scenes,” William explained.
The mid-series seasons of Smallville introduce more DC comic characters, and William said, “As big a fan as I am, I honestly think the mid-seasons are bad; they are definitely not as good as the early ones. I thought that the mid-seasons had too many filler episodes.” The finale of Smallville provided an emotional and fitting conclusion to Clark Kent’s journey toward becoming Superman.
The finale episodes focus heavily on relationships, particularly Clark and Lois’s bond and the guidance Clark receives from his parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, as well as Jor-El’s mentorship. “I thought that the end seasons were really good, just like the beginning episodes.” Key moments from the end seasons include Clark finally embracing his destiny by flying for the first time and donning the Superman suit to stop Darkseid and Apokolips from destroying Earth. “I was devastated when the show ended because I only got to see Clark fly once,” said William.
The series concluded with a flashforward showing Clark as Superman, suggesting his transformation into the iconic hero he is. “I thought it was dumb that Lex was still alive and he shouldn’t have returned to the series,” said William.
“My one and only rule when watching Smally is I can't get out of my bed until I finish the episode.” William still watches it to this day; he said, “Oh yeah, I am currently on season 9, watching episode 4, and it’s starting to heat up.”