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Smallville
Leech
airdate 02-12-02
Despite the producers' repeated insistence that we would never meet Superboy in the run of this show, he made an appearance last night. His name is Eric Summers, and he looks suspiciously like Iceman.
Thanks to a freak bolt of lightning and a convenient meteor rock between them, Clark loses his powers to Eric in a glowy-green flash. It takes them both a little while to realize the ways they've each changed, and then a little while longer to realize how they haven't changed at all.
It's strength vs. weakness in the theme-o-the-week: Clark vs. Eric, the Kents vs. the Summers, the Luthors vs. the Hardwicks. (Sub-theme: People are not their assets.)
Clark, repeatedly told that his powers, while a part of him, don't define who he is, comes to truly believe it. His strength is in his character, and even knowing he's suddenly vulnerable he still tries to help Eric and keep him from doing harm.
Eric, on the other hand, is weak and insecure, no matter how much he can bench press. He draws attention to himself, then basks in it. Initially, Eric is well received, lauded as a hero and not as a freak. Clark is understandably jealous, but not for long. "Superboy" mistakes one kind of power for another, and tries to push himself onto his dream girl. His persistent displays of his abilities backfire, bringing to bear all of Clark's own greatest fears.
Mr. Summers, already established as a domineering patriarch, is afraid of these superpowers in a way that the Kents never were, and arranges extensive medical studies for his son. An outcast once again at school, Eric refuses to be further treated like a freak, and reacts violently, in a way Clark never would.
Meanwhile, back in Metropolis: Victoria and her father, Sir 'Arry surprise Lex with a little double-cross. They've acquired Cadmus Labs (whoo!) and intend to use the profits from the patents to buy out LuthorCorp. Lex later surprises them with a triple-cross - knowing Victoria was planning something sneaky, he falsified reports on Cadmus Labs. The stock is worthless and the Hardwicks are ruined. And finally, Lex's paid snoop from the Inquisitor brings in a quadruple-cross. Victoria has also been sleeping with Lionel.
Not all of Lex's attention is on business, though, and he chooses a very convenient time to confront Clark about the crash that brought them together. Clark's insistence that he's "just a guy who tried to do the right thing" is true enough, but it's the broken ribs Erik deals him out that really convince Lex to drop the investigation.
Clearly Clark is not doing a terribly good job of hiding his superpowers, as everyone in town notices something different about him once they're gone. Even when he's envious of Eric or exhausted from doing his chores, he's happy. He tells Lana that he gave up and realized he couldn't control everything. It's true, he can't, and needs to learn this lesson even when he does have his superpowers.
Eventually, of course, he gets them back from Eric, using Lana's necklace and some high-tension lines. (Question for the real fanboys: Should Clark have superfast healing? The cuts on his forehead quite obviously sealed up after the retransference.) It might have been more interesting if he hadn't, and had been normal for a longer time before regaining his strength from the yellow sun's rays, but fear not. There are more seasons of Smallville yet to come, and with any luck, we'll see that story, too.
