The ninth season of Smallville, an American television series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, began airing on September 25, 2009 on The CW. 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. The ninth season comprises 21 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 14, 2010. After four seasons broadcasting on Thursday nights at 8:00 pm, Smallville was moved to Friday nights at 8:00 pm for season nine, to make room for The Vampire Diaries. Regular cast members during season nine include Tom Welling, Allison Mack, Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman, Callum Blue, and Justin Hartley.
In this season, Clark (Welling) 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. In order to accomplish this, Clark wears a new costume that sports his family crest on the chest. The theme of the season is about Clark finally embracing his alien heritage, while also being his darkest hour thus far. As a result, Clark's relationships with Chloe Sullivan (Mack) and Oliver Queen (Hartley) suffer. Season nine also introduces more DC Comics characters, including multiple episode appearances for the Justice Society of America (JSA), as well as villain Metallo, government agent Amanda Waller, the Wonder Twins, and a variation on the lost citizens of Kandor.
Following the end of season eight, Aaron Ashmore and Sam Witwer departed the series after both their characters were killed off. With the loss of two series regulars, producers had to look for a new primary villain for season nine. Executive producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson decided to use Zod, a character from the comics and the Superman film series, portrayed by Blue. This version of Zod is younger than previous incarnations, including the short appearance he had on Smallville in season six, and goes by the title of "Major Zod". Original depictions list the character as "General Zod".
The season premiere brought in 2.58 million viewers and outperformed any other show in the Friday 8:00 pm timeslot in over a year. Furthermore, "Absolute Justice", a double-length episode featuring the JSA, aired on February 5, 2010. In an effort to clear up confusion, the Smallville writers announced on their Twitter page that they still consider it to be two separately produced episodes, but was aired and packaged on the season nine DVD as a single episode. Season nine averaged 2.38 million viewers, ranking #129 out of the 140 broadcast primetime shows.
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".
Reception
The season nine premiere, "Savior", pulled in viewership ratings of 2.58 million viewers. 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. Smallville returned in January 2010 after a two-month hiatus.
Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly said the first hour of the episode "Absolute Justice" contained the "stand-out visual sequence" and thought the second hour was "more lumbering", with the big fight sequence toward the end "unsatisfying". Tucker wrote: "For viewers who only know the Superman/boy mythos
Clark: (referring to Alia) She told me that I would cause the end of the world. It's like I have a ticking time bomb on me, Chloe, and I only have a year to figure out how to stop it.
Chloe: Lois stopped by and found Shelby here alone with a dish full of food. Now, don't worry, I covered for you. But you should know that you are now on her radar.