Right now is a great time to be a DC fan (or a superhero fan of any kind). Sure, the DC Extended Universe hasn’t quite kicked off yet, but while Marvel is owning it on the feature film front, DC is no slouch when it comes to their TV series. What started off in the grounded world of ARROW quickly spiraled out of control, and now shows like THE FLASH, SUPERGIRL and DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW are showing what it means to be a live-action superhero TV show. They’re fun, their poignant, and they’re proving that a shared universe can work on television (though SUPERGIRL is still kind of its own thing…for now).

Though while those series are absolutely killing it, we can’t forget one of the older shows that originally paved the way for caped heroes on TV. I’m talking about SMALLVILLE, a series that not only did great things with the Clark Kent character, but also delved deep into the entirety of DC mythology, including characters like Oliver Queen, Victor Stone, and Rick Flag. Many parallels can be drawn between what they did in that show, and what they’re doing across all shows currently airing on TV.

In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, actor Tom Welling (who played Clark Kent in the series) talked about his thoughts on the superhero shows airing on TV now.

“It’s a compliment. I’m very proud of shows like ARROW [and] THE FLASH. … They’re able to ground these characters so that the viewer can relate on a human level to people who used to be only in two dimensions.”

Of course, given the history Tom Welling has with the character, one has to wonder if he’s completely done with it. Shows that hail from Berlanti-land (THE FLASH, ARROW, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, SUPERGIRL) have a tendency to have deep ties to previous interpretations of the characters: in THE FLASH, Barry Allen’s father is portrayed by John Wesley Shipp, who also played Barry Allen in the 1990s FLASH TV show; also in THE FLASH, Mark Hamill played the Trickster, who he also played in the 1990s; and in SUPERGIRL, Dean Cain was shown as one of Kara’s adoptive parents.

With all that in mind, would it ever be possible for Welling to show up as Superman himself (who has only been seen in silhouettes thus far)? Welling doesn’t seem too keen on the idea.

“There’s people who would like it… there’s people who don’t like it, but I will tell you that no one has ever actually asked me to do it. So, I don’t know. It would be kind of odd. I don’t know who he is at that point. He would obviously be Superman…”

Given that SMALLVILLE was less about Superman and more about Clark Kent, Welling’s point makes sense. Though if SUPERGIRL can be shown to exist within the same universe as SMALLVILLE…I get chills just thinking about it.

What do you think about Welling show up in SUPERGIRL as Superman? Let us know your thoughts down below!

SOURCES: Buzzfeed, Jarett Wiselman