Clark and Chloe

From Smallville Wiki

The relationship between Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan remains one of the most honest and complicated in the series.

Clark and Chloe are best friends who first met in eighth grade when Chloe moved from Metropolis. Clark was assigned to show Chloe around on her first day of school. When he showed her the Kent Farm, she assumed he was Amish. She gave him his first kiss, saying, "I know you've been thinking about that all day, so let's get it over with so we can be friends."

It is a poorly-kept secret that Chloe has been in love with Clark in some varying degree since they met. Clark has admitted that he has thought about pursuing a romantic relationship with her, but theirs has always been platonic, for various reasons. The writers have said that Chloe will always have feelings for Clark.[1] As one of the first people to learn Clark's true origins, Chloe has become Clark's closest friend. Clark knows he can count on Chloe any time he needs her. He is fiercely protective of her and her safety and has saved her life many times. Clark feels he doesn't have to hide anything from her and they have honest, open conversations about their personal problems and offer each other advice. He visited her at the Daily Planet on a seemingly daily basis.

Clark and Chloe's relationship is usually called "Chlark" by fans.

Contents 1 Clark's secret 2 Chloe's career 3 High School 3.1 Freshman Year 3.2 Sophomore Year 3.3 Junior Year 3.4 Senior Year 4 College Years 4.1 Year One 4.2 Year Two 4.3 Year Three

[edit] Clark's secret

"To me, you're more than just a hero-- you're a superhero."- Chloe Sullivan, Arrival

As young teens, Chloe often wondered out loud how Clark was able to seemingly appear right in the middle of situations or disappear from a room, but she did not openly demand answers, viewing it as part of his personality, not necessarily attributed to super-powers. Initially, Chloe was assigned to write a school biography about her friend, which manifested in her becoming interested in Clark's adoption. Clark tolerated the project but when he discovered Chloe was continuing to try to obtain information about him, he reacted with uncharacteristic hostility. Clark demonstrated his powers for Chloe when she was infected with a parasite and she reacted with awe, but forgot them when she was cured. When Lionel Luthor discovered Chloe's investigation, he manipulated her weaknesses (her crush on Clark and her journalism career dreams) to continue her research. Chloe later maintained that she did not tell Lionel anything he didn't already know, and paid dearly for her initial agreement and subsequent refusal to comply. Chloe's curiosity was stifled by her ordeal with Lionel and the knowledge that her continued prying would almost certainly end her friendship with Clark, and for the most part, she backed off. However, when exposed to a gas that could make anyone tell the truth, she directly asked Clark what he was hiding, then went to the Kents, sure that they would tell her. Clark rescued and forgave her for her transgression, and she agreed to respect his privacy.

Ironically, Chloe's discovery of Clark's powers were the result of a completely outside influence: Alicia Baker. In early 2005, Alicia arranged a demonstration in which Chloe witnessed Clark's superspeed and super strength and instantly realized why her friend was so secretive. Chloe's discovery of Clark's powers served to change her own character as well. She began to regret ferreting out meteor freaks. She learned of Clark's other abilities when he was struck with amnesia. She also witnessed his weakness to meteor rocks on the night of their senior prom. For the rest of the school year, Chloe tried to drop obvious hints that she knew the secret, to get Clark to tell her himself. But it wasn't until they were transported to the Arctic and Clark had to speed to save her from hypothermia that Chloe admitted knowing, thinking he was meteor-infected. Clark finally disclosed his alien origins and she once again reacted with awe and admiration.

Little change has occurred in their relationship since Chloe learned Clark's secret. Clark trusts Chloe with his deepest secrets: she was the only one who knew where he hides his key or how to get to the Fortress of Solitude. Chloe is in love with Clark's heroic feats and how he saves lives every day but still remains humble. She thinks of Clark as her own personal superhero, but treats him no differently than she did before she knew. She pushes him to embrace his destiny and use his powers to the fullest. Like Pete Ross before her, Chloe Sullivan has proven to Clark that other people besides his family can accept him the way he is.

[edit] Chloe's career

In her high school years, Chloe found journalistic success at the Torch and the Ledger covering the meteor freak beat. But since learning about Clark's powers, Chloe's journalism career has suffered greatly. Rather than try and discover more about Clark's past, she has several times killed stories that might reveal Clark's secret.

• When Clark's new super breath power blows the door off his barn, Chloe tries to discourage Lois from writing about the story. Lois does anyway, and it becomes her first byline at the Metropolis Inquisitor (Sneeze).
• When Linda Lake a gossip reporter discovers Clark's secret Chloe smashes her laptop with a hammer to destroy the story.
• When investigating the secret identity of the Green Arrow, Chloe discovers that Clark has deleted all of her photo files. When he asks her to stop investigating the Green Arrow as a favor to him, Chloe agrees (Arrow).
• When Lois investigates Kara's Red Ship and tries to show her story to the new Daily Planet editor, Chloe discourages her. Lois ends up being hired at the Planet to cover the spaceship story (Kara).
• Ultimately, Chloe lost her job at the Planet when Lionel Luthor left his Veritas key in Chloe's desk to give to Clark. Lex discovered it and fired Chloe for lying to him.

While her journalism career has suffered what may or may not be a permanent setback, Chloe has also been able to translate her journalistic and sleuthing skills into helping Clark and other superheroes save the world. She often helps solve mysteries that Clark is investigating, using her superb skills as a reporter and researcher. She has started to help Oliver Queen's nascent team of superheroes as an operative codenamed "Watchtower", the strategist who directs and guides the superheroes remotely as they take on various missions.

[edit] High School

[edit] Freshman Year

"Everything has changed in my life in the last year, with my parents, with Lana. The only thing constant has been you. I'm glad for that, Chloe."- Clark Kent, Drone.

Clark and Chloe worked together on their high school newspaper, the Smallville Torch with Chloe as the editor. She was Clark's "boss" in a way, supervising and assigning his contributions to the paper. Clark saved Chloe's life from Coach Walt Arnold and Sean Kelvin. Chloe was pushed out of a window by thieves at the Luthor Mansion and broke her arm. Clark felt guilty over not being able to save her and tried his best to bring the thieves to justice. Claiming he was simply concerned, Clark became defensive and jealous each time Chloe received attention from another boy. Despite this, Clark was seemingly oblivious to the fact that Chloe had a crush on him until they encountered Kyle Tippet, who put Chloe in a hypnotic trance and told her to do something she always wanted to do. She kissed Clark passionately, but then could not recall doing it a moment later. Psychic child Ryan James also told Clark that Chloe had a crush on him and wanted him to ask her to the Spring Formal. When Chloe began a relationship with Justin Gaines, Clark was suspicious of Justin but Chloe thought he was just jealous. In addition, Clark forgot to register them for a student journalism convention. Chloe got upset that Clark never seemed to take her into consideration and they fought. They made up when Justin attacked Chloe and Clark saved her life. He repaired their friendship by taking her to the convention. Freshman year, Chloe was given the assignment to write a biography about a classmate and began investigating Clark's adoption. When Clark ran for class president, he got angry at Chloe when she endorsed Paul Chan over him, but he later realized that she was only being objective and they made up. When Chloe was kidnapped, Clark did everything he could to find her and saved her from being buried alive. Faced with the thought that he could have lost her forever, Clark got up the nerve to ask Chloe to the Spring Formal and they shared a dance. However, just when it seemed that their relationship might take a different direction, Clark left Chloe alone at the dance to rescue Lana Lang.

[edit] Sophomore Year

"It's just hard thinking you weren't good enough for someone to love."
"Don't ever think that." --Chloe Sullivan and Clark Kent, Lineage

Sophomore year, Chloe and Clark began a habit of acknowledging Chloe's crush but not letting it get in the way of their friendship. After the formal, Chloe made Clark believe that she thought it would be better if they just stayed friends and Clark agreed. However, when Clark discovered that Chloe was still investigating his adoption, they had an intense argument about privacy with Clark eventually making Chloe cry by shouting at her to "find her own mother" instead. They later apologized to each other and Chloe confessed to Clark the pain she feels about being abandoned by her mother. However, when Lana Lang moved in with Chloe, their relationship only became more strained. They managed to make up for a time, and while under the influence of a cave parasite, Chloe became wild and reckless and made out with a red kryptonite-affected Clark. She also told him she was sick of playing second-banana to Lana and that Clark needed to make a decision. He seemingly chose to attribute Chloe's outburst to being infected and ignored her behavior when she was cured. When Clark applied for a job at the Talon coffee shop, Chloe convinced Lana to hire him. When Clark fell ill, Chloe wrote him a letter telling him the truth about her feelings, and read it to him as he slept. However, she knew he was still in love with Lana. The three tried to resolve their awkwardness, but when Clark missed a Torch deadline, Chloe got upset and accused him of not taking anybody else into consideration. Clark quit the paper and they agreed to "put their friendship on hold". However, when the Torch office was vandalized, Clark tried to help Chloe cope, but she was too angry and hurt by his recent actions. By the end of the school year, they had tentatively begun to repair their friendship, even as Clark and Lana began a relationship. Chloe saw Lana and Clark kissing and was hurt that neither of them chose to tell her about it. In a moment of weakness, she agreed to betray Clark and continue to investigate him for Lionel Luthor.

[edit] Junior Year

"I'm just afraid that one day I'm gonna push too hard, and I'm not going to get the chance to say I'm sorry."

"Today's not that day." --Chloe Sullivan and Clark Kent, Truth

When Clark ran away, Chloe was also in Metropolis at her summer job at the Daily Planet and ran into him in a club. Under the influence of red kryptonite, he threatened her if she told; she kept his secret all summer until events unfolded in Smallville that made her try and persuade him to return. However, he was violent and angry and Chloe let Lana and his parents deal with his return. Even after Clark returned home, he rejoined the Torch staff, but their relationship continued to be strained and awkward as Lionel Luthor put pressure on Chloe for more information. When Clark developed super-hearing, he heard a phone conversation between Chloe and Lionel and realized that Chloe was still investigating him. She apologized profusely, but Clark felt betrayed. Perhaps a manifestation of guilt at his own wrong choices, Clark did not accept Chloe's apology and they avoided each other for weeks. However, when Chloe became the target of subliminal emails, Clark was hypnotized into trying to run her over with his truck. Afterward, Clark felt guilty and decided that if Chloe could forgive him for almost killing her, he could forgive her for a wrong decision in a moment of weakness. She and Clark finally addressed his secrecy and her prying. They agreed that Chloe would take Clark as he is, without explanation, and their friendship was renewed. However, Clark was once again disappointed in Chloe when she gained the ability to make anyone tell the truth and began a destructive chain of events in which she unabashedly made people tell her their private thoughts until the exposure almost killed her. Despite their differences, Clark worked hard to find the antidote and saved her life, and Chloe once again tearfully apologized for her lack of discretion. He accepted, and Chloe and Clark's relationship was officially back on track. They both helped send Lionel Luthor to prison by testifying against him and ended their junior year with resolution and optimism. However, shortly after, Jor-El abducted Clark with the insistence that he fulfill his Kryptonian destiny, and Chloe was seemingly killed while under Witness Protection.

[edit] Senior Year

"I just have a feeling you're destined to do a lot more in this world then just score touchdowns."

"Chloe, you've been saying a lot of weird things to me lately. What makes you think I'm destined to do anything?" --Chloe Sullivan and Clark Kent, Recruit

When Clark was returned, he was horrified to learn that Chloe had died, but quickly realized that her death had been faked. He met her cousin Lois Lane and the two worked together to rescue Chloe from the hands of an hired killer. When Clark and Chloe began their high school senior year, Clark joined the football team and informed Chloe that he would have less time to spend on the Torch. Chloe was dismayed, but did not press the issue. At the same time, Chloe drank a love potion which caused her to become completely devoted to Clark. He found her in his loft wearing only his football jersey, and Clark was thoroughly confused at her strong advances. When she was cured of the potion, they reluctantly brought up her behavior and Clark had to admit that he did not feel the same way "right now". However, he also told her he intended to make time to commit to the Torch after all. When Clark switched bodies with Lionel Luthor, he made rude comments to Chloe, almost making her cry. Back to normal, Clark tried to apologize and claim he wasn't himself, but Chloe was still angry and suggested he get psychological help. Their friendship was eventually repaired when Clark rescued Chloe again when she was drawn into an underground high-school gambling ring by Mikhail Mxyzptlk. Mikhail threatened to kill Chloe unless Clark lost the championship football game, but Clark used his super-speed and was able to both win the game and save Chloe's life.

Clark was the only person Chloe told when she discovered her mother was in a mental institution. Clark gained the opportunity to return Chloe's trust when he unwittingly used his super-strength and super-speed right in front of her. Thinking he was a metahuman, Chloe displayed a newfound maturity and discretion and chose to let Clark tell her himself. She kept his secret for months without him knowing. When he was struck with total amnesia, she helped him re-learn all his powers and conceal them from others, but when he got his memory back, Clark did not take the opportunity to confide in Chloe. He saved Chloe once again from a deranged classmate who attempted to recreate a never-ending high school experience. As events unfolded that forced Clark to accept his Kryptonian destiny and collect the Stones of Power, Clark and Chloe's high school graduation was thrown into turmoil. Chloe discovered a weakened Clark in Lex's vault and dragged him to safety. He and Chloe were transported to the Arctic where she witnessed his formation of the Fortress of Solitude.

[edit] College Years

[edit] Year One

"Why was I the only one that could see her? I mean, why did she choose me?"
Maybe because you care more about other people than anyone else I know."-- Chloe Sullivan and Clark Kent, Tomb

Chloe followed Clark to the Fortress and almost died from the extreme cold, but Clark interrupted his training to take her to a hospital. There, Clark finally had to address that Chloe knew his secret. Chloe revealed she saw him catch a car "like it was a beach ball." Clark admitted that he is from another planet, but Chloe was not appalled or frightened-- she reacted with wonder and admiration. Chloe questioned Clark's seemingly flippant reaction to suddenly being human, telling him she thought his destiny was greater than being a farmer in Kansas. She helped him rescue Lana and the Kents from escaped patients from Belle Reve. When Clark's powers were restored, he confided in Chloe the uncertainty and disappointment he felt. When Lana was infected with a vampire-like strain of rabies, she bit Chloe and Clark rushed Chloe to the hospital and found the cure for both girls. While under the influence of silver kryptonite, Clark hallucinated that Chloe told his secret to Lionel, but after the effects went away, Chloe told him she would die before she betrayed him and they hugged. Chloe investigated Professor Fine which led her to the Fortress, where she helped Clark defeat Brainiac by removing green K from his chest. Clark and Chloe had a fireside chat about Chloe being more trustworthy than Brainiac gave humans credit for.

During his rocky relationship with Lana Lang, Clark often put Chloe in an awkward position, asking for sex advice, whether Lana missed him after their breakup, and a variety of other relationship issues. Chloe told him each time that he should tell Lana the truth and was a bit surprised when Clark announced his engagement to Lana. After Clark reset the day to prevent Lana's death, Chloe helped him to make sure it did not happen again. When Martha was mugged, Chloe and Clark met the Angel of Vengeance. Chloe realized that Clark's grief over the recent death of his father might make him do something he would regret. She strongly objected to his going after the thieves, but Clark didn't listen and almost killed a man. He later confessed to Chloe that he should have listened. When Chloe was suspected of trying to commit suicide, Clark was the only one who believed in her. He broke her out of the hospital and helped her prove she was being followed by a ghost. Clark encouraged her to visit her mother for the first time. Clark got mad at Chloe for concealing the fact that Lana and Lex were dating, but he later apologized and congratulated her on her first front-page byline. They teamed up with Lex to find Martha and Lionel who were trapped by a madman seeking revenge on Lionel. As the events of Dark Thursday unfolded, Clark worked tirelessly to prevent the chaos, even saving Chloe's life from a car flying through the window of her Daily Planet office. She convinced him to go out and stop Lex instead of taking her back to the farm, but before he went, she gave him a passionate goodbye kiss, "in case they never saw each other again," and Clark appeared to reciprocate.

[edit] Year Two

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Chloe... You mean a lot more to me than you know."- Clark Kent, Labyrinth.

After defeating Zod, Clark returned to the Daily Planet and they embraced in an emotion-filled reunion. He started to bring up the kiss, but Chloe had since reunited with Jimmy Olsen. She brushed off any chances of hooking up. Clark reluctantly agreed, but he occasionally appeared to have mixed feelings. Chloe helped Clark locate the Zoners around the world. She also helped him hone his new superbreath power into a useful skill. On Thanksgiving day, Lana confided in Chloe that she was pregnant, but Chloe did not tell Clark. Similarly, Clark learned the identity of the Green Arrow, but asked Chloe to stop investigating the subject. Their shared secrets caused some tension in their usually-honest relationship.

Clark angrily confronted Chloe about Lana's pregnancy, but when she retorted that she has to keep others' confidence as well as his, Clark apologized with a hug. When Clark was trapped in an alternate reality in his mind, he and Chloe were escaped mental patients. Knowing her anxiety over the subject, he only told her that she was the only one who believed in him. Clark was exposed to red kryptonite and crashed Lex and Lana's engagement party. As Kal, he rudely said that Chloe "pines for" a relationship with him, admitting, "Can't say I haven't thought about it." Chloe quickly forgave Clark, which angered Jimmy. Saying he could not compete with Chloe's fierce devotion to Clark, he broke up with her on Valentine's Day. However, Clark told him they should get back together and they made up. Clark and Jimmy teamed up when Chloe went missing. Upon her return, Chloe insisted Clark X-ray her and he located a tracking chip under her collarbone. Chloe showed how much she trusted Clark by forcing him to burn her and pick the chip out with his fingers. Chloe confessed her fear of being kryptonite-infected and Clark promised to protect her. On Lex and Lana's wedding day, Chloe upset Clark when she chastised him for not telling Lana how he truly felt about her. When Chloe's mother was drawn out of her catatonic state by Lex, he captured Chloe to manipulate Moira. She incapacitated Clark while under mind control but he was able to stop Chloe from shooting Lex and rescued Chloe and her mother. He later explained that before Moira slipped back, he told her all about her daughter's achievements. Chloe and Jimmy encountered a gunman sent to kill Lana Luthor. During the fight, Chloe was knocked off the staircase balcony. However she had already called Clark and he appeared at the bottom of the stairwell to catch her and lower her to safety. Clark tried to investigate who shot Lana and got angry when Chloe refused to tell him what she knew. She urged him to realize that sometimes people do things that he might not understand. When Clark finally learned the true reason that Lana agreed to marry Lex, he reported to Chloe that he told Lana his secret and she acted like she was happy for him.

[edit] Year Three

"You're going to forget everything, you're going to forget your friends, your experiences -- you're going to forget me. You're going to forget me!"- Clark Kent, Cure.

After Reeves Dam collapsed and trapped Chloe and Lois, Clark was able to break through and take them to safety. Unable to sit and do nothing, Lois left Clark at the hospital to wait to see Chloe's condition. Clark was devastated and disoriented from shock when informed that Chloe didn't make it. He lost control of his super-hearing, focused on everything, and heard her in the morgue calling for help. He tried unsuccessfully to get her to talk about her miraculous resurrection, but Chloe refused. Later, Chloe tried to come to terms with Lana's death and the two shared a hug. When Chloe decided to undergo a radical procedure by Dr. Curtis Knox to cure her meteor rock infection, Clark tried to talk her out of it, but Chloe was willing to risk it. Clark had to save her when it was revealed that Dr. Knox was, in fact, killing his patients.

As Clark and Lana tried to make their relationship work, his powers were transferred to Lana and she began a destructive chain of events that made Clark admit to Chloe that he thought Lana had changed. Chloe decided to show him Lana's Isis Foundation and they were shocked to realize that Lana had been spying on Lex. Chloe later informed Lana that she wouldn't let her bring Clark down with her. When Clark's Kryptonian uncle Zor-El tricked him into releasing a replicant of his biological mother, Clark put on a ring containing blue kryptonite that rendered him powerless. He asked Chloe to give him a ride back to his farm so he could attempt to remove the ring, and confront and defeat Zor-El.

When Clark was frozen in the Fortress, the phantom Bizarro attempted to take over his life for several weeks. He frequently used Chloe as a resource but was less considerate than Clark. When he began to "forget" things, then forcefully grabbed her arm, Chloe realized that he wasn't himself. Although Lana refused to listen, Chloe insisted that something was wrong. She stole Dax-Ur's shield and gave it to Clark when he returned.

When Chloe admitted to secretly working for Oliver Queen, Clark was dismayed and angry at Oliver for putting her in danger. Clark also reassured Chloe that she was irreplaceable as his sidekick. They searched for their respective cousins after Lois followed Lex to Detroit and found Kara. Clark entered a comatose Lex's mind, but became trapped when Lex started to crash. Chloe used her powers to heal Lex and saved both him and Clark, almost killing herself in the process. Clark watched over Chloe all night for eighteen hours until she regained consciousness. He asked her not to use her power again, but she wondered aloud why she was given such an amazing gift.

When Pete Ross came to town flashing a temporary stretching power, Clark and Chloe both unsuccessfully tried to get their old friend to be discreet, but he rebuked them. They were proven right when Pete was tortured by Lex and Clark had to save him. When Clark was kidnapped and held in a cage, Lana called Chloe for help and they worked together to track down where Clark was held. Chloe was convinced that Kara was the only person that could save him, so she took Kara to the Fortress of Solitude to ask Jor-El to restore her powers. Jor-El only responded when Chloe pleaded that she loved Clark. Kara's powers were restored and she was able to save his life.

Chloe and Clark were devestated when Lana was put into a painful catatonic state by Brainiac. She was fired from her job when Lionel Luthor left his Veritas key in her desk to give to Clark. She helped Clark track Brainiac using the resources at the Isis Foundation. Chloe helped Clark locate Edward Teague and rescued him when Teague tried to sacrifice Clark as the Traveler. She and Clark worked together to figure out Kara's strange behavior. Chloe decided to try to overpower Kara, but was instead attacked by Brainiac in disguise. However, her healing power weakened Brainiac enough for Clark to defeat him, and he was able to restore Chloe and Lana Lang to full-health.