Smallville Season 9 News From SDCC

Premiering on US T.V. on September the 25th season 9 of Smallville will have to step it up a notch to keep a lot of its fans happy. Including Mr. Superman obsessed... ME!

At the recent SDCC panel a few bits of information were released that may be interesting for all you avid viewers out there. Here they are in bullet points to keep it clean:

• Clark WILL be donning a Superman costume this season. But not the red and blues. He was seen in a clip at SDCC wearing a black costume with a black/ silver 'S' symbol on his chest, no spandex but he does have a long coat that doubles as a cape. Supposedly he looks a bit like Neo from the Matrix but wears it extremely well. (Woo hoo!).

• Batman is still not confirmed for season 9 although when the question was asked the panel sidestepped it rather than answering directly. Could we see Bruce Wayne finally next season? I don't think so, but wouldn't that be frickin cool at last?

• Lois will have a bigger role in season 9 featuring in 18 episodes. Will the studio finally let Clark and Lois get it on? The answer seems to be yes as she's seen snogging Clark quite heavily, although this is "one reality" the show will be exploring. Plus she's seen fighting in the future after accidentally activating the Legion ring!
  

• Lex Luthor is not dead... Obviously as he's in Superman's life later on as you know from his comic history. But it's doubtful Michael Rosenbaum will return to play him even if the character does indeed reappear. His bald visage appears very briefly on the SDCC panel screening...
  

• Both Tom Welling and Alison Mack will be directing episodes next season.

• Clark's inability to fly (one of the most annoying traits of Smallville's Clark Kent) will be addressed in the opening episode of the new season. He won't necessarily be flying but it will be "addressed" (God dammit!!!).

• The writer's still have two season's worth of stories to tell but only season 9 is confirmed, so will they get to the ending they want or will we be left hanging with no conclusion by the end of season 9... (Please finish it, don't leave us on a cliffhanger!)

• Metallo will definitely be in the first 2 episodes and looks pretty hard-arse. You’ll also be seeing the return of Toyman, Roullete and 2 new DC characters but they can’t say who until the casting has been announced.

• Green Arrow will have a much bigger part in season 9. He'll hit rock bottom in the first episode and then the writer's have some back story eps planned to flesh out his character. Fans seem to love him! The writer's are also brainstorming for a sidekick for Ollie!
  

• Jimmy Olsen will not be returning. That is to say that the dead one is dead and the real Jimmy from Superman history (and the last episode of season 8; his brother) will not be featured.

• Callum Blue (the new Zod) was present at the panel and seems to fit the role well from what's been said. He keeps getting asked to say "Kneel before Zod" and it's good! He's seen fighting toe to toe with Tess Mercer in the screened footage. Zod is now "Major Zod" and not General as he's a younger version. He's brought troops with him so he's not alone when he arrives. Because there is some sort of time parallel issue here there is the distinct possibility of us actually getting to SEE Jor-El too, which may be confirmed by the second episode...
  

• Chole is carrying a gun next season... Her relationship with Clark is strained at the beginning of the season. It gets off to a rocky start and she's still suffering from Jimmy's death as well as being on her own whilst the heroes are away fighting evil.
  

• Geoff Johns, who wrote "Legion" for season 8, is writing another episode this season and said it will be "Justice Society of America."
  

• Laura Vandervoort, aka Supergirl, will not be returning. (Well that's no surprise, but it's crap nonetheless!)
  

• The entire panel sidestepped a question about a possible movie of Smallville but it's more than likely (as it's been for Stargate and Battlestar Galactica) that if there is no season 10 that there may well be a T.V. or DVD movie to finish the story arcs off or a cinematic release should the situation permit, although that's wild speculation of course!

There's not a lot given away there and it seems the panel really didn't want to answer any direct questions that culd potentially give any season 9 secrets away, but the single most exciting bit of news for me is that we might finally see Clark don a Superman suit. Albeit the black Kryptonian style one. One S on his chest is better than none!