21 Years Ago, Jensen Ackles Delivered One of the Best Superhero Episodes Ever Made

Jensen Ackles is certainly best known for his role as Dean Winchester on the hit series Supernatural, which ran for an impressive 15 seasons from 2005 to 2020. Given that Supernatural falls squarely within genre television, his name has often been floated for superhero projects, particularly those from DC Comics. He voiced Jason Todd/Red Hood in the critically acclaimed 2010 animated film, Batman: Under the Red Hood, and finally voiced Batman himself in the Tomorrowverse across titles like Batman: The Long Halloween and the Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy.

Yet years before those titles, and even before Supernatural, Jensen Ackles had a recurring role on the hit television series Smallville. Smallville was a Superman prequel series that followed the adventures of young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) as he became the world’s greatest superhero. Ackles joined Smallville in the Season 4 premiere, “Crusade,” often regarded as one of the best episodes in the series. Ackles had actually auditioned for the role of Clark Kent in the 2001 pilot. Here is Jensen Ackles’ role in Smallville, and why he didn’t return for more seasons.

Who Did Jensen Ackles Play in ‘Smallville’

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“Crusade” aired on The WB on Sept. 22, 2004. It was a game-changer episode for the series. In addition to Ackles joining the cast, it was the first introduction of Erica Durance as Lois Lane, the iconic Superman love interest. It was also the first episode to show Clark Kent (as Kal-El, his more alien persona) take flight, a break from the series’ mandate of “no tights, no flights.” Season 4 delves into Kryptonian mythology, particularly a group known as the Veritas, which is aware of “the traveler” (Clark Kent) and has been searching for alien life and technology.

Enter Ackles as Jason Teague, introduced as Lana Lang’s new boyfriend, whom she met on her 18th birthday while studying in Paris. He followed her back to Smallville and got a job as an assistant football coach at Smallville High, until he was let go when Lex Luthor revealed his relationship with Lana Lang to everyone. While originally depicted as a supportive boyfriend, Jason is revealed to be working with his mother, Genevieve Teague (Jane Seymour), who is trying to acquire the Stones of Power. These are three Kryptonian artifacts that contain the knowledge of 28 other worlds, which, when combined, will eventually form the Fortress of Solitude.

The Teague family comes into conflict with the Luthors, and Jason is revealed to have known Lex since they were kids. After failing to kidnap the Luthors and seemingly falling to his death, Jason survives. He, however, learns that Clark Kent is somehow connected to the stones. After his mother is killed in a confrontation with Lana, an unhinged Jason kidnaps Jonathan and Martha Kent but is ultimately killed when a meteor strikes the Kent Farm.

Why Jensen Ackles Left ‘Smallville’

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Jensen Ackles left Smallville after Season 4 because his character had been killed off. Smallville often introduced characters for specific one-season story arcs, such as Sam Witwer playing Davis Bloome/Doomsday in Season 8. There are times when actors introduced for a few episodes become series regulars, like Justin Hartley, who was a guest star as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow in Season 6 before ultimately joining the series as a regular from Season 8 onward. Laura Vandervoort was a regular in Season 7 as Kara/Supergirl, but did not return in later seasons, aside from guest-starring roles in Seasons 8 and 10. Yet Ackles was a one-season-and-done deal.

With Smallville bringing back dead characters and using alternate realities and flashbacks, there technically was room for Ackles to return. Yet after his season on Smallville concluded, he landed the role that would define his career. Ackles’ last episode of Smallville, “Commencement,” aired on May 18, 2005. Four months later, the pilot for Supernatural debuted on the WB on Sept. 13, 2005. Ackles had actually been cast on Supernatural shortly before Smallville‘s finale aired, having already completed work on the DC show and moved on to what would become a 15-season run of one of television’s most iconic genre dramas.

However, Ackles and Smallville nearly reunited. Reportedly, there were talks of a meta “crossover” episode that would have seen the Winchester brothers needing to save star Tom Welling from the “Superman curse,” an urban legend said to befall the actors who play Superman. The episode never took place, but was reworked later. Instead of Supernatural crossing over into a meta-crossover with a DC property, a DC property would have a meta-crossover with Supernatural. In Legends of Tomorrow Season 5 episode “Zari Not Zari,” the episode begins with the Legends finding part of the Loom of Fate on the set of Supernatural in Vancouver, Canada.

Despite neither Jared Padalecki nor Jensen Ackles appearing, the Winchesters’ Impala is shown with Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) explaining the show is “about two hot brothers who fight demons” and that Dean actor Jensen Ackles is Sara’s “hall pass.” This moment adds an extra meta layer, as this episode of Legends of Tomorrow aired after the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, which saw Tom Welling and Erica Durance reprise their roles as Clark Kent and Lois Lane from Smallville, establishing that series as part of the Arrowverse Multiverse. That means Jensen Ackles is in two distinct live-action DC Universes.

Jensen Ackles is one of many iconic actors to have appeared in Smallville. His time on the series is notable for being part of what many consider one of Smallville’s best, but it was the start of a 16-year run with the WB, later the CW, with Supernatural finally coming to an end in 2020. Now he has moved on to other projects, including taking on a very different superhero-related role in The Boys and the upcoming Vought Rising as Soldier Boy. For nearly two decades, Jensen Ackles was a fixture on genre television and a face of the CW. Smallville is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.