TVSquad

(S09E02) And just like that, Clark Kent returned from the dead. And all it took was the impossibly astute observation of a homicidal cyborg.

It's a shame that Brian Austin Green's John Corben, aka Metallo, was relegated to freak of the week status. Seeing him stick around to possibly become Clark's rival at the Planet and on the mean streets of Metropolis would have been fun.

As he proved during his stint on TSCC, Green's a talented guy who feels right at home kicking ass on a sci-fi show. He did a fine job here, even if the material he was given would make a Saturday morning cartoon script read like high art. But sadly, this ep was less about Metallo and more about Clark learning that dumping his friends and skulking on rooftops probably won't make him a better hero. (More on that in a sec.)

I really liked the Metallo design. It seemed right in line with the comic book version, and I really didn't mind that the chest reminded me of Tony Stark's light-up heart. Some of the images of Corben lying on the street after the accident looked surprisingly gruesome for Smallville. Same goes for the shots of his badly stitched-up body. Making his cyborg parts look fairly realistic, if a bit unsightly, was a good call.

I also liked watching Corben flirt with Lois and reveal his softer side in the video message to his sister. But his likable character traits disappeared once that kryptonite got to his head (man, I hate that stuff!). Soon after getting clobbered by a bus and stitched backed together with some copper wire and tin cans, Corben turned into the same dull, single-minded villain we've come to expect from Smallville.

As Metallo let his Blur hate boil, Tess continued to track Zod and his Kandorian buddies around the city. Her search led her to the dingy mad scientist lair where Corben woke up after the accident. We were led to believe that Zod and crew had something to do with Corben's transformation, but something tells me someone else was behind this batch of bad. I think we should be keeping a closer eye on Gaeta, ahem, Dr. Hamilton. (Or maybe Lex is experimenting from beyond the grave?)

So Clark is no longer dark? It had to happen. Did you really want to sit through an entire season of Tom Welling giving people gloomy looks and talking at the floor? Me neither. I hope Clark's return to humanity means we'll see and hear less of Chloe reminding him that shunning his friends is, like, not cool (boy was that getting annoying.)

After tonight, I'm looking forward to the show exploring how Clark will handle his dual identity, especially around Lois, who seems smitten with Clark and The Blur.

Next week: Zombies!

Other observations:

- The black suit is growing on me. Still, I kinda wish it were more than just a T-shirt and a trench coat.

- Who was the person lying in the middle of the "S" crop circle in the final shot? Another Kandorian? Lex? A rural meth addict?

- What's with Tess' irritating new assistant? He reminded me of Lenny, Lex Luthor's nephew, from Superman IV.

- Let's just ignore the cringeworthy Terminator reference for now, OK?

[Watch clips and episodes of Smallville at SlashControl.]