Writing In an interview,
Justin Hartley revealed that season nine partially deals with his character
Oliver Queen 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. He has sacrificed things and done things that haunt him... It's bad stuff. We need to get to the bottom of it". Executive producer
Brian Peterson stated that this season sees
Clark Kent 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". but also that
Superman's "iconic 'S'" is featured significantly throughout the season, including on Clark's chest. The theme for season nine revolves around "Clark's darkest hour"; a love-triangle between Clark, Lois, and the Red-Blue Blur that will last for the season; tension between
Chloe Sullivan and Clark as the former realizes she is not satisfied just being a "sidekick"; and that the creative team is, as Ausiello noted, not "story-wise, approaching this season as
Smallvilles last". A scene between Clark and
Jor-El has been constructed for the premiere to explain why Clark has not learned to fly. Clark and Oliver's friendship also became tense thanks to Oliver's growing interest in rekindling his romantic relationship with Lois,
Zod brings multiple
Kryptonians to Earth with him, and Jor-El makes a physical appearance on the series. That said, Souders has stated that she would not refer to Clark himself as "darker", because he is still "the Superman underneath it all that we all know and love".
Allison Mack directed one episode.
Serinda Swan returned as
Zatanna for the episode "Warrior". The characters
Victor Stone and
Dinah Lance returned for the season finale; Victor has not been seen since the
season six episode "Justice", and Dinah has not made an appearance since the season eight finale.
Callum Blue was also cast in the series regular role of
Zod. His character was first mentioned in season five, when
Brainiac used
Lex Luthor's body as a physical vessel for Zod's spirit to inhabit.
Julian Sands was cast as Jor-El for the episode "Kandor". Until then, Jor-El has been a disembodied voice emanating from Clark's ship in
season two, the Kawatche cave walls in
season three and
four, and then the
Fortress of Solitude from
season five onward. Former series regular
Annette O'Toole and guest star
Michael McKean reprised their roles as
Martha Kent and
Perry White, respectively. O'Toole has not made an appearance since the season six finale, when her character left for the United States Senate, and McKean has not appeared since his first guest appearance in season three. Both actors appeared in the penultimate episode of the season. 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, while Martha and Clark's reunion had an "unexpected surprise".
Brian Austin Green was cast to portray
Metallo for the first two episodes of this season, and made a third appearance in the seventeenth episode. The executive producers also brought in
DC Comics character
Roulette, portrayed by
Steph Song. In an interview, Song revealed that she reviewed the character's comic book backstory beforehand, but that she wanted to make it known that the character has her own agenda in the episode. Clarifying, even though Roulette is sent after Oliver by someone else, she always stays "five steps ahead of everyone else". Roulette's famous tattoo, a dragon going up her leg and wrapping around her torso, appears in the episode. 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. The season also introduces the
Wonder Twins (Zan and Jayna) and
Green Arrow's sidekick
Mia Dearden.
Smallvilles version of Mia is
HIV-positive just like her comic book counterpart. Souders explained that she has a sordid past and crosses paths with Oliver in some shady places, but he gives her a hope. According to Johns, the JSA 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'". Shanks wears the traditional Hawkman uniform, complete with strap-on wings and Hawkman's mace. Shanks spent time practicing his wirework for the flying scenes he would have to film while in full costume. One difference in the costume is the inclusion of a chest plate. According to Shanks, the costume designers added a chest plate to assist the flying harness they created. The chest plate and Hawkman's helmet were given a bronze color, as opposed to the more traditional "yellow/gold" color.
Smallvilles version of Hawkman uses the backstory that Carter is a "reincarnated prince from a thousand years ago", and worked alongside a group of superheroes in the 1970s. Shanks states that the JSA 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. Although they do not appear, Shanks points out that there are references to other JSA members throughout the episode. Odessa Rae was cast as the villainess Siobhan McDougal, also known as
Silver Banshee.
Smallvilles McDougal is characterized as a "
vengeful spirit of a fallen Gaelic heroine". The tenth episode features a "bad guy version" of Green Arrow, known as the "Dark Archer", played by
Steve Bacic. Carlo Marks was cast to play Steven Swift / Warrior Angel, a potential love interest for Chloe.
Gil Bellows portrayed the DC Comics villain
Maxwell Lord in two episodes of the season. ==Reception==