The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman.
[2][3] This season Clark takes his superhero persona into obsessive territory when he leaves behind those he cares for so that he can focus solely on Jor-El's training.
Regular cast members during season nine include Tom Welling, Allison Mack, Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman, Justin Hartley, and Callum Blue.
Executive producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson decided to use Zod, a character from the comics and Christopher Reeve Superman films.
[10] In an interview, Justin Hartley revealed that season nine partially deals with Oliver having to battle his personal demons: "I think he is going to struggle with the things he has been afforded (as a result of) his powers.
[33] Peterson stated that this season sees Clark taking his "Red-Blue Blur" persona into obsessive territory: "He is trying a little too hard to be a hero, and is leaving the rest of his life behind".
Online's Natalie Abrams revealed, following the Smallville panel, that Clark's suit would be black, with a silver Superman "S" on the front, as well a trench coat that doubles as a cape.
Executive producer Brian Peterson revealed that White's reintroduction into the series shows him moving closer to his destiny as the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Planet, as well as his first meeting with Lois Lane, while Martha and Clark's reunion had an "unexpected surprise".
Song stated that she spent three days in testing, where the creative team drew the tattoo onto her body and then took pictures of how it appeared before making a transfer with color.
[44] The Wonder Twins, who first appeared in the Super Friends Saturday morning cartoons, have their traditional abilities of being able to transform into various forms of water and animal life.
[37] According to Johns, the Justice Society is a team of superheroes who "started it all-like the Watchmen" and "come out of retirement to give 'the screwed-up guys of the next generation a needed smack down'".
Smallville's version of Hawkman uses the backstory that Carter Hall is a "reincarnated prince from a thousand years ago", and worked alongside a group of superheroes in the 1970s.
Shanks states that the Justice Society arrives to provide some "tough love" to Clark and his superhero friends, who are reaching a point in their lives where they are trying to find their own destinies.
[53] The tenth episode of season nine featured a "bad guy version" of Green Arrow, known as the "Dark Archer", played by Steve Bacic.
[56] The season nine premiere, "Savior", pulled in viewership ratings that were the lowest for an original episode in the entire history of the series at the time, with only 2.58 million viewers.
Low viewership aside, The CW issued a statement noting that Smallville did outperform every previous show on the network in the Friday 8:00 pm time slot in a year.
Tucker wrote: "For viewers who only know the Superman/boy mythos according to Smallville, it must have seemed strange to have most of the series' ongoing subplots put in storage for this week's two-hour edition.
[57] When referring to "Warrior", he called Serinda Swan's portrayal of Zatanna "smart" and said her dialogue with Clark was "crisp" which made Lois' jealousy understandable.