Smallville: Why Margot Kidder’s Character Was Really Killed Off Screen

Smallville landed one of its biggest guest stars in season 4 with the casting of Margot Kidder — so why did the show kill her character offscreen? Margot Kidder was certainly a huge hire, considering that she played Lois Lane in the classic Superman movies with Christopher Reeve (who appeared in seasons 2 and 3 of Smallville). Her sudden death in season 4 was unexpected — and had to do with the real-life death of her former co-star Reeve.

In Smallville season 2, Clark (Tom Welling) encountered scientist Dr. Virgil Swann (Christopher Reeve), who discovered Clark’s identity and helped him learn about his Kryptonian heritage. Later, Jor-El did something to Clark’s mind that forced him into embracing his Kryptonian side. In the season 4 premiere, Martha (Annette O’Toole) was approached by Dr. Swann’s associate, Dr. Bridgette Crosby (Margot Kidder), who gave her a piece of black Kryptonite to restore Clark to his true self. The character re-emerged in a later episode to acquire one of the three Stones of Power for reasons that were unknown at the time.

Margot Kidder never returned to the show, and Dr. Bridgette Crosby was killed offscreen toward the end of the season by Jason Teague (Jensen Ackles), who was working with his mother, Genevieve (Jane Seymour). The two were after the Stone of Power that Kidder’s character had in her possession. The reason for this is linked to the death of Christopher Reeve in 2004. According to an interview with Kidder (via Superman Homepage), the writers wanted to do a scene in which Dr. Crosby told Clark about the death of Reeve’s character, Dr. Swann. Kidder disagreed with what she felt was a “tacky” approach, as she believed the producers were being “exploitative” and using Reeve’s death to get publicity. After refusing to come back, the writers had to come up with a way to write off her character.

Smallville did end up finding a way to deal with the death of Dr. Swann, but since Kidder wouldn’t do the scene they wanted, they had Clark and his parents hear that he died of natural causes in a news broadcast. Afterward, Clark received the key to his spaceship (and to the Kawatche Caves) in a package that Dr. Swann wanted him to have. Smallville later addressed his death again in season 7 by suggesting that Dr. Swann was murdered by Lionel Luthor (John Glover), though it was never quite clear if he was guilty of the accusation.

What would have happened if Margot Kidder had remained on Smallville? It’s been rumored that through a shocking twist, she would have become the main villain of season 4, but it’s hard to say if this was actually ever the case. However, it is known that the original plan was to have her share a scene with Reeve whenever he was available to come back, and once that became impossible, Smallville developed a different plan for her character. This change became clear when she got her hands on the Water Stone.

Executive producer Al Gough confirmed that Crosby would have provided Clark with “key information” that he otherwise would have received from Dr. Swann. This “key information” of course relates to the main plot of season 4, which was the search for the Stones of Power. After her death, it was revealed in the show that she was supposed to give the Stone she found to Clark. Clark had to learn about the Stones of Power from Jor-El, but he may have picked up on these details sooner if he had received Dr. Crosby, who could have become a recurring ally on Smallville.

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