Metahuman
From Smallville Wiki
"Clark, this is Smallville; the meteor rocks have given a lot of people special abilities."-- Jonathan Kent
Metahumans are altered beings that possess superhuman abilities. Humans can become metahumans by mutations (chemical or kryptonite exposure) or by birth. Those who acquire metahuman powers as a result of kryptonite exposure are sometimes referred to as "meteor freaks". Alien characters whose abilities surpass those of humans are also sometimes classed as metahuman, though they are not actually human.
Many of the metahumans Clark Kent has encountered are psychotic versions of their former selves, who kill and injure innocent people with no remorse or reserve. The fact that they are still human means Clark has to inventively come up with non-lethal ways to defeat them, even though on fewer occasions Clark has inadvertently killed metahumans to stop them, he still uses restraint while fighting them (only exception is when he battles other threats such as the Zoners or Brainiac) . As a result, many dangerous metahumans are being held in Belle Reve Psychiatric Hospital. Most of them are teenagers, which could mean that children were more susceptible to the effects of meteor rocks. Unlike Clark, most do not fear others finding out about their powers. Many of them can have their powers controlled or subdued, and others' powers have spontaneously disappeared (such as Jordan Cross and meta-dog Shelby), but there is no easily-accessible or universal cure yet for kryptonite exposure.
In many cases the curcumstances of the meteor exposure appears 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 dreamwalking powers, etc.
In 2007, Dr. Curtis Knox claimed he could cure powers obtained by meteor rock infection, and the resulting psychosis, with brain surgery. While working with Lex Luthor, he cured Sasha Woodman and she was released from Belle Reve with a clean bill of health. However, his procedure was linked with the side effect of several years of memory loss.
Also that year, Lana Lang founded an outreach organization called the Isis Foundation which claims to offer support and resources for meteor-infected individuals.
For a complete list of metahumans see Category:Metahumans.
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[edit] Kryptonite-infected metahumans
It has been shown that exposure to kryptonite can cause mutations in humans that cause them to develop a variety of super powers. Below is an example of these so-called "meteor freaks" from each season. See kryptonite effects on humans for more information.
- Season 1: Coach Walt Arnold was exposed to meteor rocks in his sauna. They gave him the power of to start fires with his mind. (Hothead)
- Season 2: 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 3: Jake Pollen had the ability to breath underwater. The nature of his exposure to the meteor rocks is not known. (Extinction)
- Season 3+4: 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 5: 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 6: 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 7: The Weather Girls (Carly, Tempest Grace 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 definately some meteor-infected people who are leading perfectly normal lives, using their abilities minimally. For example, in episode Freak in season 7, it is shown that LuthorCorp is kidnapping metahumans, doing tests on them then releasing them with a blank memory about the night of their kidnapping. Tobias Rice (who is also a metahuman) was blinded by the most recent meteor shower and gained the ability to identify meteor-infected people and he was unknowingly helpng Lex find the meteor-infected. Unfortunately all the meteor-infected that were captured died, except for Chloe Sullivan.
[edit] Metahumans not infected by kryptonite
For a complete list of metahumans see Category:Metahumans. Here is listed one example from each season.
- Season 1: Ryan James had a brain tumor which gave him the ability to read minds. (Stray and Ryan)
- Season 2: 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 3: Jeremiah Holdsclaw received super human abilities from the Starblade, an ancient Kawatche artifact. (Talisman)
- Season 4+6: Bart Allen received super speed from an accident involving a bright flash of light. (Run and Justice)
- Season 5+6: Victor Stone received his special powers after a car accident; he was taken to a cybernetics company and had biomechanical parts placed in him. (Cyborg and Justice)
- Season 7: Dr. Curtis Knox attained immortality many centuries ago, the way he obtained it however is currently unknown. (Cure)
- Season 8: Lana Lang put on the Prometheus Suit that Lex had made and she gained super speed, super strength, invulnerability, Kryptonite absorption.
[edit] Metahuman since birth
Some metahuman's powers can be passed down to their offspring like a genetic trait.
- Season 2: Kyla Willowbrook's skinwalking abilities were passed down through her tribe. (Skinwalker)
- Season 4: Evan Gallagher aged rapidly. (Ageless)
- Season 5: Maddie Van Horn inherited the ability to control glass from her father. (Fragile)
- Season 5: Arthur Curry inherited his abilities from his mother. (Aqua)
- Season 8: Doomsday was a genetic experiment created on Krypton. He was born with the DNA of General Zod and Faora along with that of the planet's most violent and powerful creatures.
[edit] Temporarily metahuman
- Season 1: Lana Lang became psychically linked to the first person who found her after a gas explosion covered her in meteor rocks. (Obscura) Whitney could walk through walls when he got a kryptonite tattoo. (Kinetic)
- Season 2: Eric Marsh used refined kryptonite like steroids for superior athletic performance. (Witness)
- Season 3: No one except Clark Kent could lie to Chloe Sullivan after she was exposed to a kryptonite-based gas. (Truth)
- Season 4: Lana Lang was possessed by her ancestor Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux in Crusade to Commencement.
- Season 6: With the use of a special drug, Oliver Queen temporarily developed a metahuman accelerated healing factor. (Rage)
- Season 7: Pete Ross chewed kryptonite laced chewing gum and had stretching powers. (Hero) Lana Lang had Clark Kent's power, for only a short time until Clark took them back. (Wrath)
[edit] Notes
- "Metahuman" is a DC Comics term and has never appeared on show.
[edit] See Also
- Alphabetical list of metahumans by last name
- Green kryptonite
- Meteor shower
- Meteor infection
- Isis Foundation
- Freak of the week
