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Scroll through TikTok in 2026, and you might be surprised to encounter a glut of thirst trap fan edits<\/a> devoted to Tom Welling, the actor best known for playing the fresh-faced, high school-aged Clark Kent on Smallville<\/em>, a show that premiered way back in \u2014 checks notes \u2014 2001. The top comments on these posts might also raise an eyebrow: \u201cWhite boy of the century.\u201d \u201cI need to clone him.\u201d \u201cI would\u2019ve died for him.\u201d And just wait till you hear about all the banana-and-coconut water consumption he\u2019s inspiring.<\/p>\n But first, some background: Welling rose to fame on the hit, which first ran on the WB and then on the CW for 10 seasons and showed Superman\u2019s angsty adolescent origin story. Though the teen drama hasn\u2019t been on the air since 2011, it\u2019s captivated a whole new generation of viewers who were introduced to Smallville<\/em> when it was added to Netflix<\/a> this January. During a time when Gen Z-ers largely consider most millennial-coded things as cringe, they do seem to agree that Smallville<\/em>-era Welling is an absolute babe. Such a babe, in fact, that some fans don\u2019t just want to look at him; they want to look like<\/em> him.<\/p>\n Enter the \u201cSmallville Method.\u201d<\/p>\n As this TikToker<\/a> explains, the \u201cSmallville Method<\/a>\u201d is a looksmaxxing meme making the rounds on social media. It\u2019s driven by young men vying (or pretending to be vying) for Welling\u2019s looks. That chiseled jaw? Try mewing<\/a> (or hope you won the genetic lottery). That tousled, medium-length hairdo? Get to a barber<\/a>. That clear skin and understated buff bod? Load up on bananas and coconut water<\/a>, both of which are good sources of potassium (which prevents dehydration and bloating). Oh, and ideally, do it while you binge-watch old episodes of Smallville<\/em>. The most popular video<\/a> of this trend has more than 9 million views on TikTok.<\/p>\n While Welling, who is now 48, did once make a throwaway remark about eating bananas \u2014 he literally just says \u201cI have eaten bananas before\u201d \u2014 during a 2017 episode<\/a> of his Smallville <\/em>costar Michael Rosenbaum\u2019s podcast, the origins of the \u201cSmallville Method\u201d he\u2019s inspired are murky at best. It\u2019s mostly an ironic internet joke, not actual self-care. As Sarah Kornfield, a professor of communication and gender studies at Hope College, tells Yahoo, she doubts that most people are sitting down to\u00a0 \u201cpound a whole bunch of bananas\u201d to get hot.<\/p>\n