['Smallville' - 'Lazarus']

In the opening hour of its 10th and final season, 'Smallville' quickly tied up the hanging threads from last season's cliffhanger finale and flew, or leaped, in a dark new direction.

Clark Kent will face a great evil before he becomes a true hero, or so he was told by a disappointed Jor-El while stuck in the void between life and death in the premiere's opening minutes.

Jor-El was probably referring to Lex Luthor, Superman's ultimate nemesis, but fans who have been following the news surrounding season 10 know that he might have also been talking about Darkseid, the big blue alien overlord from the DC Comics.

You could say that we even got confirmation of this during the episode with a dark and smoky figure coming together to reveal what looked like Darkseid's imposing head.

But Jor-El also warned about an even greater danger that's blocking Clark's path to becoming a hero – the darkness in his own heart. Things got pretty dark for Clark last season, and he almost tore the bald head off of one of Lex's more annoying clones in this premiere ep. But, as we saw in last season's finale, Clark is a hero capable of great acts, like sacrificing himself for the greater good. Sure, he still needs to grow up a bit before he becomes Superman, but he's not exactly The Punisher.

Thankfully, Jonathan Kent (guest star John Schneider) showed up before the end of the hour to counter Jor-El's message of doom and gloom. Like always, Pa Kent gave Clark a good pep talk and reminded him about his true good guy nature.

The dream/vision sequence with Clark and Jonathan was a rare and welcome tender moment in this premiere full of dark imagery and even darker predictions. It hearkened back to the show's sunnier early seasons with Clark on the farm. He was even wearing flannel again. What came before was pretty bleak and even a little disturbing – in a fun, comic book sort of way, of course.

We caught up with Tess, who woke up in Cadmus with a new face and soon discovered a lab full of Lex Luthor clones. In a twisted scene right out of 'Alien Resurrection,' Tess met Lex's creepy mutant clones and discovered young Alexander, who may or may not grow up (rapid aging was mentioned) to be Lex's ultimate replacement. It was a little disappointing not to see the big man himself, but the clone facility reminded us of a few essential facts – Lex Luthor is a crazy evil genius, and he'll do anything to survive.

We got a twist on the freak of the week, with one of Lex's more spiteful clones kidnapping Lois and putting Clark in a very 'Spider-Man'-esque situation. The development led to a pretty memorable shot of Lois hanging on a cross with the red "S" painted on her chest, again mirroring season one. Clone Lex proved to be a dangerous if chatty villain here, but Clark was able to save Lois and zip over to the Daily Planet to save the lives of the people on the street as well. It really looked like he was flying when he soared to the top of the Planet building, but we all know the show is saving that for the final episode.

Before Clone Lex could kidnapped Lois, she discovered the classic blue and red super suit. And Chloe, after putting on the Fate helmet, told Clark that he would be a hero and he wouldn't be wearing black. It's great to see the show moving closer to Superman territory than ever before. 'Smallville' is finally becoming less of a teen soap opera and more of a classic superhero show.

But those teen soap elements still tend to creep up as they did in this ep. Lois discovered Clark's secret, but she kept it to herself and took the job in Africa after all the drama with the Lex clone. Can't say I blame her for leaving town, but it was frustrating to see her not be honest with Clark. But this was only the premiere. I'm sure there's all kinds of Lois and Clark goodness planned for season 10.

It was strange how only Chloe seemed concerned that Oliver had gone missing. Sadly, the likable Green Arrow spent most of the ep sitting in chair getting punched and electro-shocked. Chloe, possibly seeing her own fate after wearing the helmet, chose to trade herself for his release, setting in motion what could be a fun revenge plot for Oliver.

So season 10 is here, folks. It's Clark's last stand! Are you bummed? Excited? Looking forward to Darkseid? Wondering about Chloe's fate? Let's hear what you thought about the opening hour of the show's final season.


'Smallville' airs at Fri., 8PM ET on The CW.