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"Some people aren't meant to have a normal life."
— Kyle Tippet to Clark KentHug

Kyle Tippet was a farm equipment salesman when he was trapped in his car for two days during the 1989 meteor shower with his partner Bob Rickman.

Powers and Abilities[]

  • Persuasion: Like Bob, Kyle acquired the power to bend the will of others, subjecting them unconditionally to any verbal command that he issues for them to hear. To initiate his ability, Kyle first needs to shake hands with the intended recipient, and then usually laying the other hand on the person's hand; this causes his hands to glow an eerie green light underneath his fingers. The person affected by his power then enters into a trance of sorts where they wear a rather vapid expression on their faces, and seems to be focused on hearing only what Kyle has to say, he can then get them to do whatever they want. The effect lasts until the affected individual accomplishes whatever the command given to them (which could mean that his ability's influence could last indefinitely if the recipient constantly fails to achieve it), and once they do, all memories concerning the time they spent under its effect are instantly wiped out. In comparison to Bob's, his ability seems to have an empathic aspect to is as well, having discerned Chloe's inherent desires for Clark when he used his ability on her. He is also been shown to be stronger than Bob, managing to persuade him to commit suicide when both men attempted to use their powers on each other.

Early life[]

Before the 1989 meteor shower, he and Bob were terrible salesmen, but afterward, they had the power of persuasion through the touch of a hand. Their meteor rock handshakes could convince anyone to do anything. While Bob embraced his power to get whatever he wanted, Kyle was afraid of his power and didn't want to abuse it. He went into exile in the forest as a hermit where he created sculptures from discarded items.

Season One[]

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Kyle and Clark.

When Bob decided to build a plant in Smallville, Kyle threatened to expose him. Bob made several attempts on his life, "influencing" Whitney Fordman and Lex Luthor to go after Kyle to stop him, but he was thwarted by Clark Kent, who learned about Kyle's abilities after he and Chloe Sullivan confronted Kyle at his trailer; to demonstrate his abilities, Kyle had Chloe kiss Clark. When Bob finally came after Kyle himself, they ended up in a hand-to-hand struggle. Ultimately, Kyle was the more 'persuasive', and Bob shot himself.

Kyle learned Clark's secret, and his example inspired Kyle to stop hiding in the woods. He left Smallville, promising to use his gifts for good and never to be ashamed of them.

Notes[]

  • Discounting Chloe, due to her being unaware of her mutation at the time, Kyle is one of the first benevolent metahumans that Clark encountered.
  • Clark seems to have forgotten about him by Extinction as he claims that his encounter with the meteor infected citizens never end with them becoming friends or shaking hands. However, this might just be that encounters with malevolent metahumans far outnumber friendly ones.
  • The future of Kyle Tippet 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.[1] In Continuity, Superman tells the world that the world's (benevolent) metahumans will always rise up to protect them.[2] It is possible that this (i.e. the people who becomes superheroes) includes Kyle Tippet (who was last seen promising to use his gifts for good).[3]

Appearances[]

References[]

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