Destiny
From Smallville Wiki
Destiny refers to the concept of life as a pre-determined sequence of events. It is a major theme in Smallville.
Contents |
[edit] Clark Kent's destiny
"According to the Legion, I will accomplish things so legendary, I'll be known through out the galaxy." – Clark, to Lana Lang, Legion
"One of the most important things that my adoptive parents taught me is that we shape our own destiny." – Clark, to Kara Kent, Lara
Clark Kent's parents personify Clark's struggle between destiny as an unchangeable fate and an individual choice.
- Clark's biological father Jor-El believed in the concept of destiny as fate. While on Earth during his youth, Jor-El refused to remain with the woman he loved because he had to return home to fulfill his destiny; he despaired that he could not change it. (Relic)
- Clark's adoptive father Jonathan Kent rejected the concept of destiny as fate, and encouraged Clark to choose his own future. So strongly did Jonathan believe in this principle that he risked his own life to restore his son's freedom. (Exile)
Clark hasn't decided if he believes in fate. Sometimes he insists on making his own choices, while other times, he despairs that he has no choice. (Extinction)
Clark has yet saved hundreds or even thousands of lives, and sometimes he has obviously altered personal fate, as seen in Hereafter. However, Jor-El remarked that even Clark cannot alter destiny. (Solitude)
The Legion of Super-Heroes revealed that Clark is the reason that aliens are accepted on Earth in the future. (Legion)
Clark has come to realize that the circumstances surrounding his destiny affect a greater circle than his small hometown, and seemed torn on exactly when he will continue his Kryptonian training, but had clearly decided to embark on it in the near future. However, when he reunited with Lana in the fall of 2007, he abandoned these plans and declared his intent to attempt to make a "normal" life with her on the farm. In the episode Action, Clark walked away from the red cape he received from Rachel Davenport and followed Lana into the house, effectively rejecting his destiny. About a year later, Clark finally realized that he had been holding onto a life that hadn't existed for years and decided to "get in the middle of the action," and so joined the Daily Planet as a reporter. After the death of Jimmy Olsen, Clark decided that he wanted to become a better hero and decided to accept his Kryptonian side, declaring that "Clark Kent is dead."
Nonetheless, throughout the series, Clark struggles with his destiny, as he decides what to do with his powers:
- Hide his powers and use them largely to help his family and friends
- Use his powers to help humanity and save lives
- Use his powers to rule Earth
- Balance his Kryptonian and human sides
[edit] Balanacing his Kryptonian and human side
For most of his life Clark was afraid of his Kryptonian side. In season 7, he met his cousin Kara Zor-El who told him more about his mother. In season 8 and 9 his relationship with Jor-El greatly improved. (Abyss,Beast, Savior). Clark always went to the fortress for advice on things such as information on alien matters. After the death of Jimmy, Lois' sudden disappearance and Davis becoming evil, Clark accepted his Kryptonian side in order to become a better hero (Doomsday). However, Jor-El told him that he still sees himself as a human. Clark decided to wear his kryptonian family crest to remind himself he has a different destiny (Savior).
[edit] Hide his powers
"Professor Willowbrook thinks that I'm Naman. Jor-El wants me to be some sort of Kryptonian warrior. I just want to be Clark Kent." - Clark, to Jonathan and Martha Kent, Talisman
Clark largely hides his powers from people outside of his immediate circle, using them mostly to help his family and friends. He is willing to reveal his powers to save a life but, so far, has yet to reveal his powers and abilities to the world at large. For years, Clark has tried to hide his abilities from the world as the ultimate anonymous hero until recently.
Clark has begun to come up with a secret identity, first with an alias, then two separate identities. (Identity, Turbulence)
[edit] Help humanity
"More than once, I've touched people, and I've seen such pain and despair. But then you appeared and the pain was gone. I think that's your destiny: to help people, to save them from fear and darkness." - Cassandra Carver, to Clark, Hourglass
Clark has yet to embrace his true destiny: To use his powers to help humanity. However, many people try to convince him to embrace it. The Kawatche try to convince Clark that he is Naman and that it is his destiny to protect the world. Ben Meyers, an obsessed Warrior Angel fan who believed that if he killed Lana, Clark would embrace his destiny as a hero and save the world.
This destiny was foreshadowed in Clark's conversation with Oliver Queen, who told Clark that using his abilities to help his family is honorable, but he can't wait for people to ask him for help. Oliver suggested that Clark use his powers to help anybody who needs it, and tells Clark that he can contact him when he is ready to do so.
Kyla Willowbrook told Clark that Naman was destined to protect the entire Earth. (Skinwalker) Several other members of the Kawatche believe that Clark is destined to become Naman and save the world.
Jor-El wanted to help prepare Clark to save Earth from the coming of Brainiac and General Zod. (Vessel)
Recently, it seems that Clark has accepted this destiny by working at the Daily Planet to find those who need him. While working at the Planet, Clark, by night, listens to a police scanner, waiting for trouble, then steps in as the Red-Blue Blur/Good Samaritan, trying to inspire hope by letting people know about his existence. He is also acting more of leader taking a more active roll with the Justice League(Prey, Turbulence, Doomsday). Wanting to be a better hero, he is training with Jor-el as well as saving people and leaving the House of El family crest as a calling card to give people hope. (Savior).
[edit] Rule Earth
The message in Clark's ship suggested that Clark's Kryptonian destiny was to rule Earth:
"On this third planet from this star Sol, you'll be a god among men. They are a flawed race. Rule them with strength, my son. That is where your greatness lies."
This is also what Zor-El suggested to Clark when he was resurrected by Clark using the blue crystal.
Clark rejected this destiny, and often struggled against what he felt was Jor-El's efforts to push him to embrace his destiny as a tyrant. Eventually, it emerged that Jor-El actually wanted to help prepare Clark to save Earth from the coming of Brainiac and Zod, suggesting that the message in the ship did not truly mean that Clark was supposed to take over Earth but instead simply meant to protect, and that Clark interpreted the message incorrectly.
[edit] Soul Mate
"What if my soul mate comes along and I'm too blind to see it?" "I don't know, Smallville. I think... that when the right girl walks into your life... you'll know." – Clark and Lois, Instinct
Clark's love life has been a center theme of the series from the very beginning. For the longest time, Clark was in love with Lana Lang. However, his secret was always a major stumbling block in their relationship. He tried to move on with other girlfriends he had over the course of the series (Chloe Sullivan, Kyla Willowbrook, and Alicia Baker), yet it seemed no matter what, he would find a way back to Lana. After many years, Lana finally learned the truth about Clark's Kryptonian origins; just when it seemed like they were going to live happily ever after, Brainiac took control of Lana, infecting her body with a virus in order to get Clark to cooperate with his latest plan. After Lana recovered, she left Smallville, leaving Clark a goodbye tape, telling him to move forward towards his destiny.
After a near-death experience, Clark decided to let go of his life in Smallville and move forward in his life as an adult in Metropolis. He decided to take up Lois Lane's offer to join the Daily Planet. While working alongside each other as partners, both Clark and Lois discovered their hidden feelings that they have for each other that had been developing secretly over the years. As Clark continues to move closer towards his destiny, his feelings for Lois grew stronger, and their relationship grows into something truly extraordinary.
[edit] Lex Luthor's destiny
"I've always been fighting my destiny, trying to avoid becoming my father. But we all have certain genes that, no matter how much we want to change, dominate us." - Lex, to Clark, Exodus
Lex Luthor continually fought with, but eventually embraced, his destiny of becoming a ruthless billionaire and politician. Like Clark's own parents, Lex's parents also personify his struggle with destiny:
- Lionel Luthor raised Lex to be tyrannical and ruthless, and to embrace his fate as a powerful and evil man. When Lex showed signs of compassion or weakness, Lionel moved quickly to crush those sentiments.
- Lillian Luthor represented an alternative path, if Lex chose to walk away from his destiny as a ruthless businessman and politician. Both times Lex met his mother were during near-death experiences (Lexmas, Void); in both cases, Lillian talked to Lex about an alternative life of happiness that could be his if he walked away from his father and LuthorCorp.
Lex struggled to choose between the two visions his parents had for his destiny:
- Rule Earth
- Be happy
[edit] Rule Earth
Lex's destined fate is to rule Earth by accumulating vast amounts of wealth and political power. Unlike Clark, Lex was drawn to the idea of ruling Earth. To do so, he was willing to sacrifice any number of friends or even human life. Lex thought he should destroy 'terrorists' such as Green Arrow or Clark Kent.
In Season 1, Cassandra Carver used her powers to see into Lex's future, and saw a vision of Lex in a brilliant white suit in the Oval Office of the White House. Then he was in a field of sunflowers. When he bent down to smell one of the flowers, it died. Then all the flowers died. A field of dry human bones replaced the flowers; Lex seemed pleased at this. Lex held out his arms as it began to rain blood.
In the final years (Seasons 6 and 7) of Lex and Clark's association, Lex finally and decisively turned to darkness. He abused his company's assets and resources to fund questionable and most likely illegal scientific research on cloning and alien intelligence. He also purchased the Daily Planet and named himself CEO, and used his authority to kill stories, fire reporters and monitor employees' computer usage. Lex killed both his father Lionel and his inner child Alexander (which represented his good side), fully accepting his destiny.
In an alternate universe, Lex was President of the United States. He and Milton Fine (Brainiac) were planning on destroying the world by launching nuclear missiles in order to re-shape it in his image.
Lex and Clark salvaging their friendship was ended when Lex, having been manipulated by Brainiac, used the Orb to track down the Fortress of Solitude, where he confronted Clark and finally learned his secret. Believing that Clark had to be destroyed in order to save the world, Lex placed the Orb into the Fortress' console, somehow bringing Clark to his knees as the Fortress began to fall apart around them.
[edit] Be happy
Lillian believed that Lex could choose to turn away from his fate as a ruthless tycoon and find happiness. Lex desperately wanted to be happy, but believed that happiness was fleeting without money and power, which he believed would give him control over potentially painful events. He sought power through the widely varying fields of business, politics and science. In the pursuit of money and power, Lex walked away from the two greatest sources of happiness in his life: his friendship with Clark Kent and his marriage to Lana Lang.
[edit] Lois Lane's destiny
"I don't do too well with fortune tellers. The last one I went to see, told me I was destined to fall for a guy who flies a lot and likes to wear tights. So I'm just waiting for my cross-dressing pilot to make his landing." – Lois, Identity
Unbeknownst to Lois, her destiny was already set in motion by her upbringing as an army brat by her father, General Sam Lane. She acquired many skills and abilities that would be very vital to her future as the best investigative reporter at the Daily Planet.
When Lois first arrived in Smallville, she came to investigate the death of her cousin Chloe Sullivan. While driving, lighting struck her car, causing her to veer off the road and into Miller's Field, where she came face-to-face with a naked, amnesiac Clark Kent. This marked the start of a legendary relationship that would change Lois' life forever.
[edit] Birth of a Reporter
"You know, I took this career test in some magazine; it said that my perfect job would be a radio disc jockey." – Lois, to Clark, Commencement
"Journalism. You ever thought about that? You wrote some half-decent articles in your short lived career at the Torch." – Clark, to Lois, Commencement
According to Chloe, Lois isn't interested in journalism. However, when Lois' father informed her that she was kicked out of Metropolis University, Lois is unwillingly transferred to Smallville High School where Clark, Lana and Chloe attend. Lois decides to do whatever it takes to get out of Smallville High and back to Met U as soon as possible. In order to do that, she needs extra credit, so Chloe offers her a position as a reporter for the school newspaper, the Torch. Lois rejects the offer until Abigail Fine gets plastic surgery to boost her popularity, which sparks curiosity in Lois. With the help of Clark, Lois gets her first published article [1] in the newspaper that makes an impact with readers. Chloe can see the spark of journalism beginning to ignite in her cousin, to which she makes the comment, "Welcome to the bullpen, Miss Lane."
As much as Lois tries to deny her hidden talent in the field of journalism, she often teams up with Clark and Chloe for various investigations as they worked together to find out the truth about meteor-infected humans in Smallville. She helped investigate a strange love potion, a mystery, and a murder investigation where she was the prime suspect.
Lois continued to find herself in precarious situations (i.e., a stray dog with super-strength, honor students being kidnapped, a devastating meteor shower) that just continued to set her on the path towards her ultimate destiny.
[edit] Uncovering the truth
"You got to experience the chills and thrills of journalism." " Thanks, but no thanks. I don't know how you do it, chasing story after story that only leads to dead ends. I'd never be able to let go." "That's usually how it starts." – Chloe and Lois, Solitude
With Chloe now in Metropolis as an intern in the basement of the Daily Planet, Lois found herself spending a lot of time in the great metropolitan newspaper. Lois and Chloe found themselves in the middle of a murder investigation after receiving a call from an exotic dancer from the Windgate Club. Chloe and Lois went undercover, with Lois posing as a dancer. She was taken by Mr. Lyon, but it was revealed that he was kidnapping or killing dancers. Clark was able to save her just before Mr. Lyon took her out of the country and turned him over to police.
Shortly after, during the start of Jonathan Kent and Lex Luthor's Senate race, Lois confronted Lex and suggested that he bow out before someone dug up incriminating information on him. Lex was unconcerned, which fueled her passion even more. Lois convinced Chloe to help her dig up information on Lex that would make him lose the race. They attempted to investigate Warehouse 15, but were thwarted by security. Lois was disappointed to come up empty-handed, and Chloe suggested that she become a reporter. Lois commented that she would never be able to stand all of the unanswered questions.
While jogging, Lois witnessed the Kents' barn door came crashing out of the sky and land close to her. She was determined to discover what made it fly off the barn and relentlessly investigated, despite Chloe's attempts to get her to drop the mystery. Lois wrote an article to present to the editor of the Daily Planet, but Chloe discouraged her, trying to protect Clark and seemingly doubting it was good enough to be published. Undeterred, Lois successfully brought her story to the Metropolis Inquisitor and received her first byline, marking the start of many of her articles being published.
One in particular strikes a huge interest: A modern-day Robin Hood whom Lois names "Green Arrow" after she attends a fundraiser with her date, Oliver Queen, and witnesses the Green Arrow steal a rare diamond necklace off Martha Kent's neck; Lois vows to find the man behind the mask. Unfortunately, Lois wasn't the only one looking for the vigilante; a group of crooks were as well. Believing that Lois had useful information, the crooks kidnapped her. Green Arrow came to her rescue; however, she turns the tables on him and just as she was about to unmask him, Clark ensured that Oliver had a quick escape route. Later, she told Oliver that she would not give up until she unmasked Green Arrow and that she considers Green Arrow to be a dangerous vigilante, leaving Oliver concerned and worried.
Lois and Oliver attended a class reunion at Excelsior Academy when two of his former schoolmates were brutally murdered by an unseen force. Lois and Clark investigated together to solve the mystery, intending to write a story about it. However, when she learned that the culprit was the astral projection of Duncan Allenmeyer, who had had experimental therapy, Lois abruptly stopped, as she thought it best not to write her story given the circumstances.
Through a series of events, Lois learned that Oliver was Green Arrow, although she never wrote a story about it.
Lois' next story at the Inquisitor was about a lethal Internet fight club. She went undercover to expose the ring.
When Lana Lang was shot at the Daily Planet, Lois was determined to find out what she was trying to expose. She stole Lana's cigarette case from the crime scene and discovered a flash drive belonging to Lex. The drive contained a video of a meeting between Lex and Senator Ed Burke discussing Project Ares.
Lois confronted Senator Burke outside an alley and witnessed his murder by Wes Keenan, an old friend of hers. Determined to get answers no matter what after Wes died, Lois followed a clue Wes left her that was the location of Project Ares to Reeves Dam, but when she got there, she was confronted by a guard who stabbed her in the stomach. Lois was able to call Chloe for help before she passed out. Chloe found Lois near-death from blood loss and began to cry. Mysteriously, her tears healed Lois' stab wound and Lois recovered, horrified to find that Chloe was the one near-death and the dam was crumbling, trapping them inside.
[edit] Investigative Reporter
"Welcome to the Daily Planet." - Grant Gabriel, Kara
After being rescued from Reeves Dam by Clark, Lois returned with him to the dam to expose Project Ares; on the way, they discovered a Kryptonian spaceship. Lois took a picture with her cellular phone, but as she reached out to touch the ship, she was thrown back by an unseen force.
Lois visited Chloe at work at Daily Planet and tried to convince Chloe that she'd seen a UFO. The two were approached by the Planet's new editor, Grant Gabriel. Chloe tried to make a good first impression, but Grant stated that he thought she had lost her journalism spark, but saw a vast amount of potential in Lois. He offered Lois a job if she could write a good story about her spaceship with actual evidence included. Lois tracked the ship to a government facility; as she touched the ship, she was thrown back by a powerful force again. She wrote her story, but had no photograph to accompany it, so Grant declared that he would not publish it, but would still hire her at the Planet. From then on, Lois had been working at the Planet ever since, with Clark Kent as her partner.
Lois has come full circle to embracing her destiny to the fullest.
[edit] Clark and Lex's shared destiny
"But if one person could do all that, he'd be a formidable enemy. He could conquer the world. He could become a tyrant if no one kept him in check. So I've been thinking...anybody who'd be willing to fight him would have to be pretty brave. Clark, did it ever occur to you that the hero of the story...is Sageeth?" - Lex, to Clark, Talisman
In the episode Talisman, it was said that Sageeth is like a brother to Naman, but one day, he will turn against Naman; together, they will be the balance between good and evil. If Naman is Clark, Sageeth is either Lex or Lionel. A mythical blade known as the Starblade was supposed to shine a light on the true Sageeth so Naman could identify and destroy his greatest enemy. If Sageeth ever touched it, the blade would disintegrate. When Lionel and Lex tried to grab the Starblade at the same time, the Starblade disintegrated, leaving the identity of Sageeth unknown between the two Luthors.
Two clues suggested that Sageeth was likely Lex. First, Sageeth was once like a brother to Naman; this mirrored Lex and Clark's friendship during Seasons 1 and 2. Second, Lionel was purged of his acquisitive drive and ambitions by the Crystal of Water in Transference, while Lex plunged increasingly into darkness.
Lex eventually fulfilled his destiny to become Clark's sworn enemy.
