- "I kind of got...caught up in my web of obsession and he set me straight." - Greg Arkin, about Clark Kent, Homecoming.
Gregory "Greg" Arkin, aka Bugboy, was a reclusive teenager at Smallville High who dedicated his time to collecting insects.
Personality[]
As a youth, Greg hung out with Clark and Pete, but as they reached high school, they stopped seeing each other. Greg studied and loved to play with bugs and insects, and had a major crush on Lana Lang, to such a degree that he spied on her, videotaped her, and left her gifts.
Upon getting bitten by kryptonite-infected bugs, Greg became very controlling, going out of his way to hurt Whitney, trying to mate with Lana, and even killed his own mother.
When he returned to the five year high school reunion, he somehow gained a normal and regular personality. It seems that Clark has somewhat taught him a lesson and other people that Clark has taken care of.
Powers and Abilities[]
Insect Physiology: After being bitten by a swarm of kryptonite-infected bugs, Greg underwent a significant transformation, and developed a number of powers akin to those of certain insects; such as superhuman strength and agility, as well as the ability to adhere to surfaces.
Greg attacks Clark.
- Super strength: Being bitten by a swarm of kryptonite-infected bugs caused Greg to undergo a significant transformation. As a result, Greg is considerably stronger than normal Humans; being able to lift considerable weights, and exert and apply greater force to people and objects. Greg was able to easily lift and toss people through the air; he could casually overpower Whitney and Jonathan Kent, and shove them several feet through the air. Greg was also strong enough to dent the hood of a car, and apply enough force to cause it to flip over, he could even hold his own in a fight with Clark and hit him with enough force to send him flying through the air.
- Super speed: Greg is able run and move at faster speeds than a normal human. This allowed Greg to appear to suddenly vanish, and reappear somewhere else in the blink of an eye, as well as quickly scale a tree. Despite his superhuman speed, Greg is not nearly as fast as Kryptonians.
- Super agility: Greg could move and leap with much greater agility and mobility than a human. He could quickly scale objects such as a tree, pounce on top of people, land on his feet from great heights and leap on to a moving vehicle (quickly landing on his feet after causing the car to flip over).
- Super leaping: Greg is able to leap higher and further than normal humans, he was able to easily leap over a fence, and jump between levels of the foundry.
- Super Healing: The transformation that occurred after being bitten by a swarm kryptonite-infected bugs also repaired Greg's nearsighted vision and improved the healthiness of his skin; clearing up his acne.
- Invulnerability: Greg’s body is tougher and stronger than a normal Human’s; he could endure blows from superhuman beings with little discomfort, (evidenced when he showed little pain when Clark grabbed him, and shoved him into a concrete wall with enough force to cause the wall to crack).
Greg using web projection.
- Webbing Projection: Greg could generate a strong webbing that could be used to hold people and things in place. This webbing would project out of his mouth.
- Surface Crawling: Greg is able to adhere to, walk and run up and across horizontal and vertical surfaces.
- Ecdysis: When Greg’s skin would begin to experience rot and decay, he could shed his skin in order to rejuvenate his appearance. It is unconfirmed if undergoing this process also allows him to heal injuries.
- Swarm Form: Greg can turn himself into a swarm of bugs to avoid injuries like crushing and to escape dangers. It is unclear if he can use it by will or only by instinct, and the limits of this ability are unknown.
Vulnerabilties[]
Greg molts in the shower.
Greg's skin will rot and molt, as once shown in the shower. He was later crushed away in the foundry into a swarm of bugs. Clark could've outright killed him, but didn't because he was brought up with strong values and morals by the Kents.
Early life[]
Greg was once best friends with Clark Kent and Pete Ross in grade school. The three of them spent time in a treehouse Greg's father had built them, although Clark always felt uncomfortable climbing it due to his aversion to heights. Greg later stopped hanging around Clark and Pete after his parents' divorce, and stopped returning their calls. Clark characterized their relationship in high school as merely seeing each other in the halls.[1]
Whilst searching around Greg's house, Clark and Pete tell Chloe that Greg's mother was obsessed with being tidy and would make Clark and Pete take their shoes off before entering the house.
Season One[]
Greg's mutated fireflies.
Greg was attacked by a swarm of meteor rock-infected bugs which gave him superhuman powers. He had improved eyesight, superhuman strength and agility, and the ability to adhere to surfaces and project webbing. With his newfound insect abilities, Greg had one thing on his mind: mating with Lana Lang. After killing his mother and molting in the shower (layers of his skin literally peeling off) he kidnapped Lana.
Greg faces off with Clark
Clark found them in Greg's old treehouse, and they battled in the nearby foundry. During the battle, Clark used lead to protect himself from the meteor rocks throughout the foundry. Greg was crushed under heavy machinery during the struggle, with multiple smaller bugs subsequently appearing from under the machine and into the mass around the foundry.
Chloe Chronicles[]
Three years later, it was revealed that a scientist named Dr. Donovan Jamison was studying one of the bugs that appeared after Greg was crushed. Dr. Jamison claimed that the bug was Greg or at least a part of him, saying that the bug's DNA matched Greg's. Soon after, the lab where the bug was being held was caught in an explosion set by Chloe Sullivan. The explosion caused the entire lab to be swamped by water from the pond above, leaving the fate of the experiments in the lab uncertain. (Exploit)
Season Ten[]
- "You know Clark is the reason a lot of us are still here. I kind of got caught up in my web of obsession and he set me straight. It's not every place that has a hometown hero like Clark Kent. Just tell him... tell him thank you." Greg to Lois, Homecoming
Greg talks to Lois
Greg reappears ten years later at a reunion at Smallville High School. Although Clark is understandably concerned by his presence, Greg has somehow regained his human form and sanity. Greg displays none of his violent insectoid behavior, instead appearing happy and peaceful. He is also aware of Clark's double-life and present relationships: he deliberately seeks out Lois at the reunion and sincerely asks her to send Clark his thanks. Greg declares that Clark is a hero who saved Greg from his "web of obsession", indicating that he considers Clark to have rescued him and his potential victims from his previously hostile insectoid nature.
Alternate Realities[]
Season Eleven (Earth-2)[]
See: Greg Arkin
Appearances[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | # | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | - | X | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | |||
| Season 10 | - | - | - | X | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | ||
| Total | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Season One:
- Chloe Chronicles (Mentioned only)
- Season Three: Extinction (Mentioned only)
- Smallville Season 11: Haunted (Mentioned only)
Notes[]
- Greg was the first villain that Clark faced who possessed super strength approximately equal to his.
- According to the DVD commentary, the effect of shedding of Greg's skin through molting was achieved by using cold cuts.
- Greg has some similarities to Marvel Comics Spider-Man, and the music being played at the Smallville High reunion, was an altered version of the classic Spider-Man theme. Another similarity is the character of Seth Brundle from the remake of The Fly, where his personality, much like Greg's, began to shift to a more violent one that enforces "insect politics."
Greg's bug form
- Greg was presumed dead when he was crushed by the heavy machinery in the foundry, and thousands of bugs scurried out from underneath. In a Smallville comic book, a secret NuCorp research lab is shown to have one of these bugs as they do research to find a cure for "meteor freaks". (Chloe Chronicles, Volume Two, Exploit) No further mention was made of this research. However, by the tenth season, Greg has somehow regained human form, along with his sanity. It is unknown if Greg's restoration and well-being are the result of the NuCorp research.
- Greg has the longest time between appearances in the series, having first appeared in the second episode of Season 1, and not appearing again until the fourth episode of Season 10, a total of 198 episodes.
- Greg's last name, ironically, is a reference to Orkin termite and pest control services. [citation needed]
- Greg is the only character who was never a main character to appear in both Season One and Season Ten.
- The future of Greg Arkin might have been hinted at by dialogue. In Absolute Justice, Part 2, Doctor Fate (who could see the future) informs Clark that him becoming Superman (and people looking up at him in the sky) will lead to everyone embracing a Silver Age of heroism.[2] In Continuity, Superman tells the world that the world's (benevolent) metahumans will always rise up to protect them.[3] It is possible that this (i.e. the people who becomes superheroes) includes (the now reformed and benevolent) Greg Arkin.
Trivia[]
- Greg Arkin's powers are very similar to DC Comics character Hellgrammite.