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"Identity" is the seventh episode in the eighth season of Smallville, and the one hundred-fifty-ninth episode overall. It aired on October 30, 2008.

Summary[]

Jimmy snaps a picture of Clark super speeding to save Lois from a mugger and manages to catch a red-and-blue blur on film. Jimmy shows it to Tess who decides to run it on the front page of the Daily Planet. Clark fears his identity will be discovered so he asks Chloe to run interference with Jimmy, but she has a better idea.

Recap[]

→ see also Category:Screencaps from episode 8x07

Identity

Clark saves Lois.

Jimmy and Lois are walking down a street in Metropolis and Jimmy talks about his theory of the mystery hero. Lois dismisses it, and Jimmy suggests that Clark might be interested in writing the story. While they are talking, a mugger appears and knocks Jimmy down. Lois tangles with the mugger, pulling his mask off, and tells Jimmy to take a picture of his face. Clark arrives just as the mugger pushes Lois into the road, and he super-speeds to knock out the mugger and save her from getting hit by an oncoming car. However, Clark saves Lois at the exact moment that the flash from Jimmy's camera goes off. Lois is a bit confused about what happened but thinks she floored the mugger. Jimmy then realizes he has taken a picture of his mystery hero.

Jimmy and the photo

Jimmy shows Clark the photograph.

The next morning, Clark meets Jimmy in Photographic Archives at the Daily Planet. After telling Clark that his life will never be the same, Jimmy reveals a picture of a red-and-blue blur saving Lois. When Jimmy tells him that it is front page news, Clark tries to dismiss the photo, claiming it could have been a passing cop car, but Jimmy is adamant it is the 'Good Samaritan'. Clark tells Jimmy that Tess won't publish the picture because it is out of focus but Jimmy tells him that she already agreed to run it on the front page and that Clark can write the article. Annoyed, Clark tells Jimmy that he should have asked him first, but Jimmy tells him that if he doesn't write the story, Lois is going to and that the two of them should make names for themselves instead of again being in her shadow. Clark promises to consider it, and Jimmy leaves, not noticing Clark's anxiety.

Identity 2

Lois and the new reporter.

At the Daily Planet, a frustrated Lois talks on the phone to the police about her attacker who has recently been bailed. After an unsuccessful conversation, Lois looks up to see a young man who seems somewhat familiar to her. He introduces himself as the new city reporter Sebastian Kane, and when they shake hands, he is able to read her mind and see her memory of being on the phone moments before. They bond when he reveals that he was in Iraq as an embedded reporter with the Army and she tells him about her Army brat background. Sebastian then offers to take her out for the evening and she accepts.

Tess and Sebastian

Tess reminds Sebastian about his past

At the Luthor Mansion, Tess is daydreaming about Lex Luthor when Sebastian touches her shoulder and sees her daydream. She sharply turns around and orders him never to touch her again. She asks if Lois stole the crystal from her, but he tells her that finding out will require more than a handshake, to which Tess says to do whatever it takes. When Sebastian is reluctant, Tess threatens him, pointing out that she released him from Black Creek but, because of his voyeuristic and murderous past, she could easily have him sent back. Tess promises him a fresh start if he finds the stolen crystal.

Identity 3

Chloe tells Clark to consider a secret identity.

At the Isis Foundation, Clark goes to see Chloe and asks her if she has deleted the picture Jimmy took. When she tells him she hasn't, Clark insists that people will know he is out there saving others, to which she tells him that that may not be such a bad thing. She tells him that it gives him the perfect opportunity to obtain an alias, saying that the photo doesn't reveal anything about Clark Kent. She also explains that this could let the world know that there is somebody out there saving people and thus giving it what it desperately needs: a hero.

Tess and Clark

Clark tells Tess that he doesn't want to write the story about the Good Samaritan.

At the Daily Planet, Clark goes to see Tess and tells her that he doesn't want to write the story about the Good Samaritan. Tess acts surprised that he is passing up such a great opportunity but Clark says he doesn't want to put his name on a story that doesn't tell anything. She agrees to let him off the story but informs him that Jimmy is knee-deep in research, and will surely find a name, and then a face, thus making it a real story.

Clark super-speeds to Chloe and Jimmy's apartment where he finds Lois getting ready for her date. When she questions what he is doing, he tells her that he is picking up Jimmy's bag for him and turns to leave. Before he can, Lois asks him to help zip up her dress. Hesitating at the sight of her dress undone at the back, he tentatively zips her up and asks where she is going all dressed up and why she is wearing so little. She teases him about her date with the new reporter, until Sebastian arrives with flowers. Lois introduces Clark, but when Sebastian goes to shake his hand, Lois comes between them and pushes Clark out the door.

Jimmy Olsen Identity

Jimmy realizes that Clark is the hero.

That evening, Clark is at home piling up all of his red and blue clothes, but when Jimmy arrives, he swiftly hides them. Jimmy says his research has revealed that his mystery hero has been saving people ever since Clark and Chloe were high school freshmen. He believes that Clark must have gone to school with the hero. Jimmy also points out that more rescues have since been happening in Metropolis. Clark suggests that it should be the hero's decision whether to go public, but Jimmy's attention is now elsewhere as he notices a family portrait of Clark wearing his red jacket. He compares it to the blurred picture and suddenly realizes, to his amazement, that Clark must be the hero and that Chloe has known the whole time.

Chlark

Clark and Chloe try to convince Jimmy that Clark is normal.

At Isis, Chloe is performing super-computing using her Brainiac abilities when Clark super-speeds in and tells her about Jimmy's discovery. Then Jimmy also walks in and is amazed that Clark beat him there from the farm. Jimmy tells Clark that his secret is safe with him, but when both Clark and Chloe insist that Clark is normal, he says he understands that they don't trust him. Jimmy leaves, stating that he will just have to prove it to them.

Clark goes to Oliver's jet where he has to interrupt Oliver and some young women partying. Clark tells him about the photo Tess plans to print, and Oliver is unsympathetic to the ordeal until Clark points out that everyone who has learned his secret has had to face the dangerous consequences of it, and that Jimmy doesn't deserve to do the same. Clark insists that Oliver is the only one who can help him.

Tess an Sebastian 2

Tess tells Sebastian to resolve his own problems.

Over dinner in the Ace of Clubs restaurant, Lois and Sebastian discuss his experiences in Iraq and she asks him about his last few years as a reporter. Anxious to change the subject, he asks her if she has ever had her palm read. He then takes her hand and studies her memories, which go back to her earlier experiences of the day, such as secretly smiling as Clark zipped up her dress, and that afternoon when she used the flashdrive of Black Creek and figured out that she had seen Sebastian's file as a former patient. After realizing that she knows about his past, Sebastian receives a phone call from Tess and excuses himself to go to her limo outside, where he tells her about the flashdrive Lois has, which Tess already knew she had stolen. Tess, knowing that nothing on the flashdrive can implicate LuthorCorp, informs him that his being discovered is his own problem, to which he implies that he will kill Lois in order to keep his secret. Tess then phones the mugger she bailed out, who previously attacked Jimmy and Lois and is now with an accomplice, and tells them to get Jimmy Olsen.

Sebastian takes Lois home and asks to go in for a nightcap but Lois excuses herself. However, as she opens the door, Sebastian pushes her inside and pulls out a gun, saying that nobody can know who he is and demanding the flashdrive.

Chloe

Chloe prepares for her part of the plan.

Clark, Chloe, and Oliver have set up a scheme in which Clark will step in front of Chloe's car and Oliver, dressed in red and blue, will swoop in and save him, all in front of Jimmy. They are confirming the arrangements via cell phone as Jimmy arrives to meet up with Clark.

Meanwhile, Lois tries to talk Sebastian into trusting her, but even when she gives him the flashdrive, he says he doesn't trust anyone and again threatens her with the gun.

As Clark prepares to set Jimmy up, Lois knocks the gun out of Sebastian's hand and they fight. After being tossed across the floor, Lois quickly pulls out her cell phone and speed-dials Clark.

Just as Chloe sets off to drive at Clark, he receives the call from Lois asking for help, so abandons their scheme by quickly walking Jimmy across the road out of Chloe's path. Getting away from Jimmy, Clark then super-speeds to save Lois by grabbing Sebastian's gun hand and punching him out.

Oliver Cap

Oliver disguises himself as the red-blue blur.

Tess's mugger now grabs Jimmy and forces him to walk towards the accomplice's car. Oliver sees this from his post on top of a nearby building, quickly grasps the situation and swoops in and saves Jimmy from the mugger just as Clark arrives back on the scene. Jimmy immediately thanks Clark for saving him, but Clark says it wasn't him and points out Oliver, who is standing tall on top of a building with a red cape blowing in the wind. Clark notices that other people in the street are also excitedly looking at Oliver.

Daily Planetita

Jimmy, Clark and Lois at the Daily Planet.

The next day, Clark comes into work, where everybody is reading the article about the hero with the headline "Faster than a speeding bullet" written by Ron Troupe. Clark congratulates Jimmy on the story. Jimmy admits that he thought the hero was Clark because he knows he can always be counted on. Lois tells Clark that she wasn't on a date but working undercover and she knew who Sebastian was and that he was dangerous. When Jimmy returns, she also says that, having been saved twice in two days, she now believes the story about the red-and-blue "Superdude". She then tells Clark that she won't rest until she lands the first exclusive interview with the hero.

At Oliver's plane, he tells Clark he is surprised by the amount of press he got and Clark notes that maybe his destiny is more than secretly saving people, that maybe it's to give people hope. Oliver says that he is giving up the partying and is headed to Europe to meet his team because saving Jimmy reminded him of his true identity as the Green Arrow. Then he tells Clark that he now understands why Clark didn't tell him about Lionel having his parents murdered, to which Clark responds that Oliver's parents would certainly be proud of the person he's become. Oliver suggests that Clark should try wearing a cape like the one he wore, but Clark says, "Not in this lifetime".

Identity 5

Chloe renders Sebastian catonic by touching him.

Chloe is wearing black gloves as she visits Sebastian who is a patient in Metropolis General Hospital. She tells him she was also in Black Creek and knows about his ability. She asks how much he knows about Clark, to which Sebastian implies that he will have no problem revealing Clark's secret. Chloe informs him that the human brain is like a computer: download too much and it crashes and loses data. She then takes off her gloves and touches him, resulting in overloading his brain with Brainiac information and flatlining him. She quickly leaves, clearly distressed about what she just did.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Mentioned[]

Featured Music[]

  • "It's True" - Brian Wayy
  • "Luxury" - Matthew Gerrard

Title[]

  • An identity is the name or persona that one is known by.
  • The episode refers to Clark's identity as a superhero, which he wants to keep secret, although in this episode it is in danger of being revealed by Jimmy.

Notes[]

  • Antagonist: Sebastian Kane and Tess Mercer
  • Clark’s Abilities: Super-Speed, Accelerated Vision, Super-Strength
  • Davis Bloome does not appear in this episode.
  • Clark is rarely seen wearing anything but red and blue. This episode establishes that Clark's outfits are not just a nod to Superman's colors; they are the reason that any future outfit for the Red-Blue Blur will likely involve red and blue.
  • Jimmy Olsen states that he has been in Lois Lane's professional shadow ever since he joined the Daily Planet's staff. This is incorrect since, in the Smallville timeline, Jimmy was hired by the Planet before Lois Lane.
  • The Ace of Clubs was devastated by a rampaging super-powered serial killer in Prey. However, it apparently was rebuilt as seen when Lois Lane and Sebastian Kane go on a date there. This indicates a significant amount of time has passed between the events of Prey and Identity.
  • Ron Troupe and Emil Hamilton are mentioned in a newspaper article. They are both important parts of the Superman mythos. However, this is only really noticeable in an extreme close up of a screen capture.[1]
  • Oliver's Red-Blue Blur disguise resembles Clark's future uniform as Superman.
  • Clark says he buys Girl Scout Cookies twice a year. In fact, Girl Scout cookies are only sold once per year.[2]
  • Lois mentions that she went to see a fortune teller who told her she was destined to fall for a guy who "flies a lot and likes to wear tights." This is an ironic allusion for the audience who know something that Lois doesn't know at this time about Clark Kent's future identity of Superman and his future with Lois.
  • Clark tells Chloe that learning his secret puts peoples' lives at risk. This is true: Pete Ross was tortured by FBI agents after learning Clark's secret, and both Chloe and Lana were put into painful comas by Brainiac. Lionel Luthor was also killed by his son Lex, because he refused to reveal the identity of the Traveler (i.e. Clark). Lana also died when Clark revealed his secret to her in Reckoning; when Clark then reset time with Jor-El's time crystal, his father died.
  • This is the third time that a villain has been killed by being overloaded by their own power. Bizarro was killed when he was overloaded with blue kryptonite, while Brainiac was seemingly destroyed when Clark overloaded him with electricity. Walt Arnold also burns himself up when he gets too mad.
  • This is the third time that Clark has expressed an opinion on capes. In Thirst, Clark wore a cape to a costume party at Lana Lang's sorority, and told Chloe, "I kind of like it. But the mask is uncomfortable." In Action, Rachel Davenport gave Clark the red cape worn by the cinematic Warrior Angel; Clark dismissively hung it on the fence and followed Lana into the house. Here, he tells Oliver that "You looked ridiculous" and he won't try it himself, "Not in this lifetime".
  • This is the fourth time Lois has dated someone with powers. The first was Tim Westcott from Pariah and the second was Arthur Curry in Aqua and the third was Graham Garrett from Fade.
  • Near the end of the episode, Jimmy says to Clark, "No matter what you tell me, I'm not going to look at you any differently. You'll always be the same CK to me". These words are almost the same as Lana said to Clark at the end of Season Six's Freak when she thought he had been infected by meteor rocks.
  • After Jimmy finds out who he is, Clark superspeeds away to talk to Chloe at the Isis Foundation in Metropolis. Jimmy arrives right after him although he has used a vehicle.
  • Jimmy mentions meeting Tess in the elevator. As Cassidy Freeman points out in the DVD commentary for this episode, Jimmy and Tess never met onscreen.
  • When Oliver goes to rescue Jimmy from a thug his Good Samaritan disguise resembles Batman's and Clark's future uniform as Superman. While in the costume he had a blue leather hoodie, a pair of blue jeans, a red cape and a yellow belt with an oval on it. Red, blue and yellow are Superman's colors. Also, the yellow belt and red cape are probably the ones Clark will eventually wear. Someone in the crowd also says "look, up in the sky!"

Continuity[]

  • Jimmy mentions three separate cases of a Good Samaritan saving Smallville citizens during Clark's freshman year at Smallville High School.
  • Chloe mentions being imprisoned in Black Creek. She was captured by LuthorCorp operatives posing as DDS agents in Arctic, and shown imprisoned in Black Creek in Odyssey.
  • Lois stole the flashdrive from the Luthor Mansion library in Odyssey.
  • Oliver says that he's flying to Europe to have a summit with his super-powered friends that had disbanded. This disbanding occurred in Odyssey, after LuthorCorp discovered Black Canary and Aquaman's secret identities.
  • Oliver references his anger towards Clark over learning that Lionel Luthor had his parents murdered; he learned this in Toxic.
  • Clark reminds Oliver that he once dressed up as Green Arrow to protect Oliver's secret identity; Oliver retorts that Clark ended up making out with Oliver's girlfriend. Both of these events occurred in Hydro.
  • The Crystal of Knowledge was stolen from Tess in Instinct.
  • This episode marks the 80th appearance of Clark's red jacket & blue shirt outfit, which he wears frequently throughout the series. In this episode it becomes identified as his Red-Blue Blur attire.
  • Chloe last displayed her Brainiac ability in Instinct.

Locations[]

Recurring sets

Quotes[]

Lois: I wasn't on a date, Smallville. I was deep undercover on a dinner with a psychopath.
Clark: Sounds like your type.

Jimmy: Well, you might not be superhuman, Clark, but there's a reason that I thought you were the Good Samaritan.
Clark: Why's that, 'cause I buy Girl Scout cookies twice a year?

Chloe: (to Clark) Writers have been writing under pen names since the invention of the alphabet. Oliver Queen has the Green Arrow; I think it's time for you to have one of your own.

Clark: So where you going all dressed up?
Lois: A little thing called a date. I know you're fresh off the farm, but sometimes, when a guy likes a girl, he asks her out.
Clark: I know what a date is. So who's the unlucky guy?

Clark: Tell me you're sober.
Oliver: Let me tell you something— I wish I wasn't sober. I can be in a cabana in Aruba right now. Instead, I'm in the middle of downtown on a rooftop with you guys.
Clark: You didn't hear me complain when I had to put on green leather to protect your identity.
Oliver: Clark, you made out with my girlfriend, man. What did you have to complain about?

Lois: Well, if you like covering robbery and homicide, you've come to the right place. The crime rate's so high there's actually a "no vacancy sign" in front of county jail.
Sebastian: Really? Metropolis seems like a safe haven compared to some of the places I've covered.
Lois: Really? Like where, the gates of Hell?

Clark: Oliver, I have no doubt that your parents would be proud of the person you've become. Except for one thing, and it's just a piece of friendly advice. Don't even wear that cape again... It looked ridiculous.
Oliver: Really? I kind of liked it. Sure helped with the aerodynamics. You should give it a try.
Clark: (chuckling) Not in this lifetime.

Lois: 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: The only stealth crime-fighter I know about wears green leather and plays with arrows, and I think he's hung up his bow.

Oliver: (to Clark) Nice press. I got to tell you, I never realized how photogenic you were, as long as no one sees your face.

External links[]

References[]


Previous Story:
Prey
Next Story:
Bloodline
EpisodesSeason 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10

Minor CharactersSeason 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10

Screencaps: Season 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10

CategoriesMain Characters · Relationships · Villains

ComicsThe Comic · Season 11 · Miniseries


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