Smallville star Tom Welling addresses the major Superman twist from Arrowverse's Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event. While the Arrowverse hasn't had a major crossover event in years, the last one still remains one of the biggest ones they ever did: Crisis on Infinite Earths. As it marked the end of one phase for the Arrowverse, the five-part event also honored past, present, and future DC live-action properties, including Smallville. During the 2019 event, Welling and Erica Durance reprised the roles of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, respectively.
However, Welling's Superman cameo came with a major twist, as Clark revealed that he was no longer the Man of Steel, having seemingly lost his powers after the events of the Smallville season 11 tie-in comic. During a recent appearance at the Lucifer The TV Series Official Convention (via Sounds of Series,) Welling addressed a bit more about the Smallville plot twist.
Even to this day, Welling still doesn't know how Superman managed to get rid of his abilities prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths appearance. Since Clark never showed up again after the events of the Arrowverse crossover, this Smallville storyline has never gotten a chance to be explored properly.
How Smallville's Superman May Have Lost His Powers Before Crisis on Infinite Earths
There have been various theories as to how Smallville's Superman actually lost his powers before his big moment in Crisis on Infinite Earths. One of them is that Clark somehow used Gold Kryptonite to permanently erase his abilities in order to become a human for good. Based on his demeanor alone during the crossover, it definitely didn't seem as if it was an accident that he came to accept later.
Another scenario is that Clark has found a way to suppress his Kryptonian powers through Blue Kryptonite. When images first came out for Welling's Crisis on Infinite Earths cameo, many noticed that there was something odd going on with his watch that he wore in the crossover. The watch had a blue aesthetic to it, making many believe that perhaps Clark had simply planted Blue Kryptonite in it that allowed him to suppress his powers but not lose them permanently. That way, he could always take it off and become Superman whenever necessary.
The only ones who could properly answer this mystery are the Arrowverse writers who handled Smallville's Superman cameo in the crossover. To this day, it still remains unknown how Clark actually lost his powers, and since Crisis on Infinite Earths restored the multiverse, it's unclear whether or not Superman is still only a human or not. Until the creative team reveals the actual reason, Smallville fans can only speculate how Welling's Superman lost his powers before the iconic Arrowverse crossover.
Source: Sounds of Series/Twitter