Soaring into its ninth season, this modern retelling of the Superman legend and its classic characters continues to blend realism, action and emotional depth to reveal a new interpretation of the enduring mythology. This season, as Metropolis's clock tower tolls our characters' darkest hour, we find Clark Kent (series star TOM WELLING) finally making his first attempts to embrace his calling as a superhero.

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Smallville continued its post-Millar/Gough resurgence with an excellent ninth season in which Clark (Tom Welling) dons a new black costume but remains too fast for the public eye, now dubbed "the Blur" (instead of "the Red-Blue Blur"). His new nemesis is fellow Kryptonian Major Zod (Callum Blue), and the persistent theme of the season is the vision of a nightmarish post-apocalyptic world ruled by Zod and his army of soldiers. Well, that and the theme of Lois (Erica Durance) and Clark, as their romance continues to develop despite the threat of Zod, who tries to capitalize on Lois's secret communications with the Blur by pretending to be him. Durance and Welling share a great chemistry, both sexy and funny. Meanwhile, Chloe (Alison Mack) and Oliver (Justin Hartley) develop their own romance, and Oliver's former squeeze, Tess (Cassidy Freeman), runs LutherCorp and is also a member of the covert organization Checkmate, led by Amanda Waller (Pam Grier). That development happens in a double-length episode called "Absolute Justice," which features the Justice Society of America, a precursor to the Justice League that includes Hawkman (Michael Shanks), Dr. Fate (Brent Stait), and Stargirl (Brittney Irvin). Other comic-book characters introduced this season include Metallo (Brian Austin Green), Daily Planet editor Perry White (Michael McKean, whose real-life wife, Annette O'Toole, makes a brief return as Martha Kent, Clark's mother and White's love interest), Roulette (Steph Song), Green Arrow protégé Speedy (Elise Gatien), and even the shape-shifting Wonder Twins (David Gallagher and Allison Scagliotti)! Fans who stuck with the show as it moved to Friday nights were rewarded with the news that Smallville would be renewed for one final season. --David Horiuchi