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"Clark, this is Smallville; the meteor rocks have given a lot of people special abilities."
— Jonathan Kent to Clark KentCovenant
"Three Hundred and Twenty-Seven. That's how many of the meteor-infected I've profiled since ninth grade."
— Chloe Sullivan to Clark KentPrey

Metahumans are human beings that possess superhuman abilities. Humans can become metahumans by birth, by mutations (ex. chemical or kryptonite exposure), via cyber-enhancements, or through other means non-scientific means such as supernatural powers being bestowed upon them by supernatural beings, training to obtain powers like Telekinesis, being granted wishes or being blessed, and some other methods. Those who acquire metahuman powers as a result of kryptonite exposure are sometimes referred to as "meteor freaks."

Since his adolescence, Clark Kent has fought many metahumans, who often injure or even killing innocent people with no remorse or reserve. The fact that they are human means Clark has to inventively come up with non-lethal ways to defeat them and use a great deal of restraint when fighting them, as more often than not, despite their abilities, he has consistently proven to be more than a match for them and has inadvertently killed some of them; using much more force when battling Zoners and Aliens.

In many cases, the circumstances of the meteor exposure appear to influence the types of powers developed. For example, Sean Kelvin nearly froze to death in a meteor-filled frozen lake and became a body-heat vampire, Tyler Randall came back from the dead due to meteor exposure and developed a touch of death, Sarah Conroy was asleep when exposed and developed dream-walking powers, etc.

Lana Lang founded an outreach organization called the Isis Foundation which is to offer support and resources for meteor-infected individuals, to help metahumans embrace their powers.

For a complete list of metahumans, see Category:Metahumans.

Kryptonite-infected metahumans[]

Walthothead2

Walt Arnold

Super Pheromones

Desirée Atkins

It has been shown that exposure to kryptonite can cause mutations in humans that cause them to develop a variety of superpowers. Below is an example of these so-called "meteor freaks" from each season. (See kryptonite effects on humans for more information.)

  • Season One: Coach Walt Arnold was exposed to meteor rocks in his sauna. They gave him the power to start fires with his mind. (Hothead) An elderly woman named Cassandra Carver at the Smallville Retirement Center could foresee the future of whoever she touched, she told Clark his destiny was to help people. (Hourglass)
  • Season Two: Desirée Atkins was exposed to meteor rocks during the meteor shower while engaged in sex. They gave her the ability to influence men with super-pheromones. (Heat)
  • Season Three: Jake Pollen had the ability to breath underwater. The nature of his exposure to the meteor rocks is not known. (Extinction)
  • Season Three+Four: Alicia Baker had the ability to teleport herself except when protected by lead. The nature of her exposure is not known. (Obsession, Unsafe, and Pariah)
  • Season Five: Buffy Sanders was bitten by kryptonite-infected rabid bats which gave her super strength but forced her to suck the blood of others to survive. (Thirst)
  • Season Six: Duncan Allenmeyer was exposed to meteor rocks during an experimental treatment for his coma. This gave him the ability to project himself out of his body. (Reunion)
  • Season Seven: The Weather Girls (Carly Meadows, Tempest Drake, and Tyler Crenshaw) were best friends who had elemental powers (heat, weather and cold, respectively). They used their powers to steal valuables. (Fierce)

There are definitely meteor-infected people who are leading perfectly normal lives, using their abilities minimally. For example, in Freak, it is shown that LuthorCorp is kidnapping metahumans, doing tests on them and then releasing them with a blank memory about the night of their kidnapping. Tobias Rice was blinded by the second meteor shower and gained the ability to identify other meteor-infected people; he was unknowingly helping Lex find the meteor-infected. Unfortunately all the meteor-infected that were captured died, except for Chloe Sullivan.

Metahumans not infected by kryptonite[]

Ryan James

Ryan James

Run2

Bart Allen

For a complete list of metahumans, see Category:Metahumans. Here is listed one example from each season.

  • Season One: Ryan James had a brain tumor which gave him the ability to read minds. (Stray, Ryan)
  • Season Two: Chrissy Parker had the ability to restore her youth with a kiss of death. It was not revealed how she obtained this ability, but she was actually born before the meteor shower. (Redux)
  • Season Three: Jeremiah Holdsclaw received superhuman abilities from the Starblade, an ancient Kawatche artifact. (Talisman)
  • Season Four+Five: Bart Allen received super speed from an accident involving a bright flash of light. (Run, Justice)
  • Season Five+Six: Victor Stone received his powers after a car accident; he was taken to a cybernetics company and received biomechanical implants. (Cyborg, Justice)
  • Season Seven: Dr. Curtis Knox attained immortality many centuries ago; the way he obtained it, however, is currently unknown. (Cure)
  • Season Eight: Lana Lang put on the Prometheus suit that Lex had made and she gained super speed, super strength, invulnerability, and the ability to absorb kryptonite radiation. (Power, Requiem)

Metahuman since birth[]

Maddie Van Horn

Maddie Van Horn

Some metahumans' powers can be passed down to their offspring like a genetic trait.

Temporarily metahuman[]

Obscura035

Lana Lang

  • Season One: Whitney Fordman could walk through walls when he got a kryptonite tattoo. (Kinetic) Lana Lang became psychically linked to the first person who found her after a gas explosion covered her in meteor rocks. (Obscura) Harry Volk from the Smallville Retirement Center became young again temporarily when exposed to the Kryptonite in the pond outside. (Hourglass)
  • Season Two: Eric Marsh used refined kryptonite like steroids for superior athletic performance. (Witness)
  • Season Three: No one except Clark could lie to Chloe Sullivan after she was exposed to a kryptonite-based gas. (Truth)
  • Season Four: Lana was possessed by her ancestor Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux numerous times. (Crusade, Spell, Sacred, Commencement)
  • Season Six: With the use of a special drug, Oliver Queen temporarily developed a metahuman accelerated healing factor. (Rage)
  • Season Seven: Lana had Clark's powers for only a short time until Clark took them back. (Wrath) Pete Ross chewed kryptonite-laced gum and developed stretching powers. (Hero)
  • Season Eight: Chloe Sullivan was infected by Brainiac at the end of Season 7 and obtained all his knowledge and could analyze data at super speed. Her powers were removed by the Legion during (Legion)
  • Season Ten: Lois had Clark's powers as a trial Jor-El had set out before them as a test of their relationship (Prophecy)

Metagene[]

According to Sylvester Pemberton's files, Dinah Lance's metahuman ability is given to her by the presence of a metagene in her DNA.[1] It is unknown how many metahumans (including the meteor-infected) possesses such a gene. It could be all of them, or some of them. When it comes to the meteor-infected, it would then be possible that exposure to Kryptonite radiation activitated a dormant metagene in the person's DNA (potentially explaining why not all 45,001 people in Smallville gain powers, while living in a town full of Kryptonite. A question that was raised sometimes,[2][3] but never given a conclusive answer.).

Some family trees have displayed metahuman abilities as heredity, indicating some genetic aspect. Karen Gallagher's son, Evan Gallagher, inherited her power.[4] Tyler McKnight's daughter, Maddie Van Horn, inherited his power.[5] Cameron Mahkent also inherited his powers from his father, Joar Mahkent.[1] Mikhail Mxyzptlk was born with a mind control ability, that had been in his family for centuries.[6] Moira Sullivan and her daughter, Chloe Sullivan, both developed metahuman abilities. Unlike the previous examples, Moira and Chloe developed different powers. In that case (unlike the others), the child was also born before the parent acquired a metahuman ability.[7][8][9]

Prejudices against metahumans[]

Over the years, a fair amount of prejudices against metahumans have been displayed, even among the main characters. Especially against the metahumans, who have gained their powers through exposure of Kryptonite, who are frequently called the derogatory term "meteor freak". Meteor-infected metahumans have also frequently been described as going psycho (kill people), and end up in Belle Reve,[10][11][12] despite there being a lot of documented cases where that did not happen.

Jonathan Kent once stated that there could be plenty of metahumans who live perfectly ordinary lives, even using their powers to help people, but nobody knows that they are out there. However, many people have been shown to assume the worst of metahumans.[10] For years, Smallville Torch reporter Chloe Sullivan hunted the meteor-infected, writing articles about (seemingly exclusively) the sinister ones. She also began to keep metahumans (even benevolent ones) under surveillance, and kept their names in a database (despite them not having committed any crime). In 2003, the database was stolen, and used to track down and murder several metahumans.[10]

Shortly before her death, meteor-infected metahuman Alicia Baker accused Chloe of having engaged in poison pen writing in the Smallville Torch. Following the murder of Alicia (whom Chloe, and others, had wrongfully accused of some recent attacks in Smallville), and learning about Clark Kent's powers (whom Chloe briefly mistook for a benevolent meteor-infected), Chloe expressed regret at ferreting out "meteor freaks" due to the prejudice many people express toward them.[13] However, even after her change of heart, Chloe could still sometimes fall into past prejudices. Even after becoming one herself,[11][12] and later working as a counselor at the Isis Foundation.[14]

Meteor-infected metahumans have several times been the targets of hate crimes. Van McNulty wanted to eradicate their entire population.[10] Dr. Robert Bethany had them tracked down, tested on (against their will), then tagged like animals (before having all the tagged ones terminated).[11] In the case of both men, their hatred against metahumans were brought on by the act of a single metahuman (who killed someone close to them).[10][11] Gabriel Duncan went so far as trying to nuke all of Smallville, to wipe out the metahuman population.[15]

Mary Pierson, a young metahuman seeking support from the Isis Foundation, expressed the feeling that ordinary people do not want them to exist. After the murder of Mary Pierson, and several other murders in Metropolis, several young metahumans were questioned by the Metropolis Police Department, on the basis of being suspects for nothing other than being metahumans. A meteor-infected metahuman named Randy Klein was arrested for the murders, but turned out to be innocent (with the real killer being Doomsday, an alien and not a metahuman).[16]

Employment and education are two other possible issues. John Corben, a mercenary and criminal, once stated that he would love to get a normal job. However, Corben noted that being a cyborg would make that difficult.[17] Some metahumans appear to, by 2010, have a difficult time getting accepted into college.[18] Football player and Metropolis University student Geoff Johns had to use the urine from other students to pass physicals, fearing that he would be exposed as a metahuman and kicked off the university's football team (which he needed to play on, in order to go to the university).[19]

There have been cases of metahuman children being mistreated/abused or rejected by their parents. Ryan James was beaten by his stepfather, James Gibson,[20] and later abandoned by his aunt.[21] Byron Moore's parents kept him locked in the basement (and isolated) for eight years, not even letting him out after sunset (when his powers were dormant).[22] Alicia Baker's parents also kept her locked in her room, and isolated, for extended periods.[23] After Eric Summers gained Clark Kent's powers, Eric's parents rejected him, and intended to have him locked up in a lab for testing.[24] Maddie Van Horn spent years in the foster care system, being wrongfully blamed for things, and sent away, when the foster parent discovered that she had powers.[5]

Jimmy Olsen expressed the view that all metahumans should be locked up. This made Chloe Sullivan (his girlfriend) scared of revealing her metahuman status to him, fearing rejection.[25][26]

There have been documented cases of metahumans (ex. Moira Sullivan, Patient 132897, Patient 13785, Patient 11440 and Patient 94842) being incarcerated simply for being metahuman (and labeled "insane" because of it).[7][27][28]

Powered individuals have frequently been mistakenly labeled as "meteor-infected", by people from the Smallville region (where the meteor-infected variety is the dominant group of super powered people). Clark assumed that Bart Allen had gained his powers from Kryptonite, and was surprised to learn that he was not.[29] Clark and Chloe both assumed that Arthur Curry was meteor infected, and surprised to learn that he was not[30] (despite past encounters with non-meteor-infected metahumans like Chrissy Parker[31] and Mikhail Mxyzptlk[6]). Lana Lang and Chloe both assumed that Clark was meteor-infected, when they learned about his powers.[32][11] Doomsday, a Kryptonian monster, was labeled the "King Kong of Meteor Freaks".[33]

Notes[]

  • The term "Metahuman" is a common term used in the short-lived series Birds of Prey (2003), which was also made by the same producers as Smallville. In the pilot, as Barbara Gordon is explaining to Dinah Lance the varied causes of Metahuman existence, Helena Kyle states "You get some really weird stuff from meteor showers", a nod to Smallville.
  • "Metahuman" is a DC Comics term and was not used on show until Season Nine's Absolute Justice.
  • Likely due to the majority of the show being set in Smallville and Metropolis, the vast majority of the metahumans appearing on the show were Americans. Mikhail Mxyzptlk (who is from the Balkans)[6] and Emil LaSalle (who speaks with a French accent)[34] are the only two confirmed non-American metahumans to appear on the show. However, the immortal Curtis Knox is shown to have lived for centuries in Europe, before coming to America (and becoming a U.S. citizen).[35] Zan and Jayna (who are metahumans in the universe of Smallville, and not aliens) may or may not actually be from Sweden.[36][37] It is possible that Joar Mahkent (whose first name is Norwegian) was an immigrant from Norway.[1] In Justice & Doom, the Justice League saves three South American metahumans (Patients One, Two, and Three), from a 33.1 facility on the island of Corto Maltese.[38] Season Six establishes that LuthorCorp has found evidence of there being metahumans in (among other places) Australia, Mexico, Cuba, Taiwan, India, and several countries in both Europe and South America.[39][27][38] Early in the episode Justice, Lionel Luthor mentions that someone has just taken out a sixth 33.1 facility. The sixth is said to have been in Mexico, while it is unknown where the first five were located. In the same episode, Oliver Queen and Arthur Curry mention that they first met in Japan. It is unknown if Oliver was in the country on Queen Industries business, or to shut down one of the first five destroyed 33.1 facilities.[39] The exact number of 33.1 facilities that Lex Luthor set up across the world is unknown. In the episode Odyssey, the final 33.1 facility (Black Creek) is shot down. After the Justice League had spent over 18 months destroying them.[39][40] In Continuity, Superman makes a speech where he says: "We -- Capes, vigilantes, metahumans -- from every corner of the world you know...and from the world beyond...we will always rise to the challenge when anyone or anything threatens your safety, well-being and way of life.".[41]

See also[]

References[]

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