Smallville offers an exciting glimpse of what’s to come for Clark Kent in the show’s final season with the October 8 return of V‘s Laura Vandervoort as Clark’s cousin Kara, who has been MIA for almost two years. “Kara returns in a very heroic way,” Laura tells me. “When I found out this could be my last episode, I thought it would be great to see a quick glimpse of her in the uniform before she takes off.” Lucky Laura’s getting her wish!

“You really see her as Supergirl,” says exec producer Kelly Souders. “Not the whole outfit, but her wardrobe will have evolved even a little more than Clark’s. She’s less Kara and way more Supergirl.” Watch for Kara to don her new look for a photo shoot after she becomes a media darling following a heroic save that reveals her flying capabilities to the world. To protect her superhero identity, “You’ll see Kara in the [brunette] wig and glasses [as] a bit of an homage to her other identity from the comics, Linda Lee Danvers,” Laura says.

Might Clark be inspired to further define his own blurred personas? Souders hints, “Kara has a lot of input down the road in Clark’s transformation into Superman.”

(via TV Guide)