Metropolis
From Smallville Wiki
Metropolis is a major city in the state of Kansas. It is home to many businesses and organizations, including the Daily Planet, LuthorCorp, Queen Industries and the Isis Foundation. The Luthor family keeps a prominent presence in Metropolis, employing nearly half of the city's population [citation needed] and owning its main newspaper.
Metropolis has very high levels of crime. [1] It has also been ravaged by an alien serial killer and infected with a zombie virus. This has inspired several super-powered vigilantes, ranging from the Angel of Vengeance to Green Arrow and the Blur.
In the future, with the Kandorians regained their powers and took over Earth, the city was deserted and off limits to humans.
Along with Gotham City, Keystone City, Star City, Hub City, Blüdhaven, Coast City and Themyscira, Metropolis is one of the confirmed DC Comics locales to be present in the world of Smallville.
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[edit] Neighborhoods
Metropolis is made up several neighborhoods.
[edit] Suicide Slums
Suicide Slums is the neighborhood that Lionel Luthor and Morgan Edge grew up in. It is a crime-filled neighborhood, and is where Martha Kent was robbed of Jonathan's watch. It is also the location where Lionel killed both of his parents to collect insurance money to start his company LuthorCorp. Suicide Slums has the highest crime rates and the lowest property values, and is probably the most commonly mentioned neighborhood.
[edit] Downtown
Downtown Metropolis is where most of the businesses like LuthorCorp Plaza and the Daily Planet are, and is probably the most commonly shown district on the show.
[edit] Outskirts
The outskirts are at the very edge of Metropolis. Summerholt Institute is located here.
[edit] Residents
[edit] Current Residents
- Oliver Queen also lives in the Queen Tower loft off and on.
- Lois Lane acquired a new apartment in Metropolis after she got a pay rise.
- Nell Potter and Dean Winters moved to Metropolis after they got married in Season Two.
[edit] Former Residents
- Lachlan Luthor and Eliza Luthor once lived in the Suicide Slums section of Metropolis.
- Lionel Luthor and Morgan Edge grew up in Suicide Slums together. Lionel lived in Metropolis before his death in 2008. He is buried here.
- Kal lived there in a penthouse apartment, most likely full of stolen furniture.
- Andrea Rojas used to live in Suicide Slums.
- Chloe Sullivan and Lana Lang used to live in a Metropolis University dorm room together.
- Jimmy Olsen formerly lived at 200 North Hamilton Drive, Metropolis.[2] He moved to Smallville with his future wife Chloe Sullivan into the Talon apartment.
[edit] Businesses
Metropolis is home to several major and minor businesses.
[edit] LuthorCorp
See main article: LuthorCorp
LuthorCorp Plaza, the headquarters of LuthorCorp, is in Metropolis. LuthorCorp is in many fields of business. LuthorCorp Plaza is also home to Level 33.1, a floor dedicated to metahuman research and experimentation. The Luthors own the Metropolis Alexandria Hotel, Metron Pharmaceutical Labs, and even the Daily Planet. LuthorCorp Plaza is also the scene where Lionel Luthor was pushed out of his office window by his son Lex in 2008.
Lionel founded LuthorCorp, but the company was taken over by his son Lex after Lionel was sent to prison; Lex has owned it ever since. Since Lex was missing presumed dead by the government, his protégé Tess Mercer has taken over the reins of LuthorCorp until Lex returns.
[edit] Queen Industries
See main article: Queen Industries
Queen Tower is the Metropolis office of Queen Industries. CEO Oliver Queen sometimes lives in the loft apartment of Queen Tower.
Queen Industries is an electronics company. It had the only working satellite on Dark Thursday which Oliver keeps as a trade secret. The founder of Queen Industries, Robert Queen, and his wife Laura, are both deceased.
Queen Industries also paid Pamela Black to develop a healing drug called RL65.
[edit] Other
- Metropolis has at least two banks; one that Kal robs and one that he saves.
- Metropolis has a luxury car dealership.
- Metropolis has a renowned steakhouse, outside of which Grant Gabriel was murdered. Jimmy Olsen also made plans to take Chloe Sullivan on a date to an unnamed expensive restaurant.
- Metropolis also has a number of skyscrapers visible in its skyline.
- Metro Coffee Stop is a coffeeshop also located in Metropolis where commonly attend Chloe, Clark and Lois.
[edit] Museums
- Metropolis Museum of Art (Rogue)
[edit] Newspapers
Metropolis has three newspapers, all of which has been influenced by Lex Luthor at some point in the past seven years. It has two respectable newspapers and a tabloid. Many main characters have worked owned or been influenced some way by these three newspapers.
[edit] Daily Planet
See main article: Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is the city's oldest and most world-renowned newspaper. It has a reputation for getting at the truth of every story. The reporters are known for high levels of personal integrity. The Planet is located across the street from LuthorCorp Plaza.
Lex Luthor bought the Daily Planet around Christmas of 2007. Its former editor was Grant Gabriel, but after making Lex jealous, Lex had him killed by an assassin disguised as a mugger.
The current editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet is Pauline Kahn. It is also the current workplace of Lois Lane and Clark Kent.
[edit] Metropolis Inquisitor
See main article: Metropolis Inquisitor
The Metropolis Inquisitor is often referred to as a rag or a tabloid but even with such a bad reputation, it is still very popular. Roger Nixon worked for the Inquisitor. Until his death, he had a special arrangement with Lex Luthor: Lex fed him stories and Roger made Lex look good. Lois Lane started her journalism career at the Inquisitor.
[edit] Metropolis Journal
Thanks to Lex Luthor, Carrie Castle is the managing editor of the Metropolis Journal. Carrie came to Smallville to do an article on Lex. At first he refused, but she managed to win him over. Carrie did not write the flattering expose that she promised, so Lex arranged for her to become managing editor if she altered the story, which she did.
The Metropolis Journal is extremely rarely mentioned on the show anymore. Unlike the Metropolis Inquisitor, it is not a tabloid but it is still not nearly as respected as the Daily Planet.
[edit] Television Stations
Metropolis has its owns TV stations located in the city and that through their channels provide information and entertainment to the residents.
[edit] KZXP
It also has its news segment that covered in 2006 the events of the Dark Thursday.
[edit] News Channel
It is the Metropolis News Channel. In 2009 Linda Lake did a press conference to expose Clark Kent during an alternate time line and was broadcast live through this channel.
[edit] Medical Centers
Metropolis has many medical centers. It has two hospitals, a mental asylum, a cosmetics center, a neurological center, a surgical clinic and two pharmaceutical companies. Metropolis also had a clinic that helped cure meteor-infected humans.
[edit] Metropolis General Hospital
See main article: Metropolis General Hospital
Metropolis General Hospital is where Lex Luthor was treated by then-medical student Helen Bryce for alcohol poisoning several years before they officially met.
Until Sarah Conroy moved to Smallville with her uncle, she was treated at Metropolis General for a coma.
Lana Lang was treated here for a minor injury from a motor vehicle accident when she hit Victor Stone with her car. (Victor was not injured and took Lana to the hospital.)
Davis Bloome worked at the Metropolis General Hospital as an on duty EMT. When a bus exploded outside the Daily Planet, Davis and a host other EMTs were on hand to offer assistance. Davis checked out Bette Sans Souci when she was dazed after the bus explosion. Lois and Clark also entered the hospital to investigate Tommy Walker who was suspected of causing the explosion.
[edit] Metropolis Children's Hospital
Metropolis Children's Hospital is where Justin Gaines was treated for his many severe injuries following a hit-and-run accident. Nathan Wells was a surgeon there until he had an elevator accident where his hands were cut off. In the hospital's ER, they re-attached Wells' hands, but he no longer had the necessary fine motor skills to be a surgeon. Wells also had many malpractice suits filed against him in Lowell County. Metropolis Children's hospital is also called Metropolis University Children's Hospital.
[edit] Belle Reve Sanitarium
Belle Reve Sanitarium is a mental institution run by the United States government. In addition to the mentally ill, the sanitarium is also where several criminally-psychotic metahumans from Smallville are receiving treatment.
The staff at Belle Reve is notoriously corrupt. Belle Reve lacks security in order to deal with most metahumans, and many patients have died or been transferred to Level 33.1. Not many patients ever end up being released. Belle Reve is probably the most frequently-mentioned and well-known Metropolis medical center.
In French, "Belle Reve" means "Beautiful Dream."
[edit] Summerholt Institute
Summerholt Institute is an institution located on the outskirts of Metropolis; it is dedicated to research in memory manipulation.
Lex Luthor tried to retrieve memories that he had lost during electro-shock therapy at Belle Reeve here. Some other patients who went here were Molly Griggs, Ryan James and Kevin Grady. Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan were forced against their will to receive treatment here; luckily for both of them, it was stopped just in time before it was too late.
Just like Belle Reve, Summerholt has many corrupt staff members. Dr. Lawrence Garner was the chief neurologist and founder of Summerholt. Summerholt also employs a number of orderlies.
[edit] Metron Pharmaceutical Labs
Metron Pharmaceutical Labs is a pharmaceutical company owned by LuthorCorp. It conducted research on the Lazarus Serum, a drug made from Clark Kent's blood and designed to bring back the dead. Adam Knight, a patient on the drug, later killed many of the staff at Metron. Molecular biologist Dr. Lia Teng helped develop the serum.
[edit] Other Clinics
- The BCE Clinic was a clinic that helped cure meteor-infected victims. Dr. Curtis Knox was a neurosurgeon who worked there. He was apparently immortal, and had been alive for centuries. Knox killed his patients and harvested their organs to keep his wife alive since he had seen so many women that he loved die and turn to dust. It is currently non-operational.
- Beechwood Medical Center was where Elise Fine practiced cosmetic surgery. She used a meteor rock-based procedure to enhance cosmetic surgery procedures, but it caused decreases in serotonin levels and hallucinations.
- The Davis Clinic is the clinic that Lionel Luthor transferred his son Lex to for a risky surgery when he was shot around Christmas 2005. It was expected that Lex would be paralyzed, but despite the odds, Lex made a full recovery.
[edit] Non-Profit Organizations
Metropolis has a few non-profit organizations.
[edit] Isis Foundation
The Isis Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Lana Lang, and dedicated to helping meteor-infected metahumans. It was started with ten million dollars that Lana claimed was part of her and Lex Luthor's divorce settlement. Chloe Sullivan worked there in Lana's absence after she was fired from the Daily Planet. Currently The Isis Foundation status is unknown as Chloe Sullivan is running the Watchtower.
[edit] Metropolis United Charities
Metropolis United Charities was founded in 1989 by Lionel Luthor. It was supposedly responsible for Clark Kent's adoption.
[edit] Entertainment
- Metropolis has a world-class museum, in which the Luthors have a wing.
- Metropolis also has a theater, the Metropolis Play House.
- Metropolis has a professional football team, the Metropolis Sharks, a professional baseball team, the Metropolis Meteors, for which Mike Dawson played before his death.[3], and a basketball team called the Metropolis Vipers.[4] Metropolis also has a sports stadium.
- The Metropolis City Center houses a powerful NSA (National Security Agency) satellite that, in the same building, contains a hip club called the Ace of Clubs.
[edit] Nightlife
- Club Zero was a nightclub in Metropolis. Its slogan was "Zero consequences." Lex Luthor was a frequent patron before he moved to Smallville. After Jude Royce was shot there, the place was eventually closed down, but its legacy returned to haunt Lex. Max Kasich was an employee there.
- Club Atlantis is a club that Clark Kent frequented when he exiled himself to Metropolis for three months in the summer of 2003.
- The Windgate Club is a gentleman's club in Metropolis. Chloe Sullivan, Lois Lane and Clark Kent went investigating there to solve the murder of a dancer.
- The Ace of Clubs is located inside the City Center at the top of the NSA Satellite Building. It held its grand opening in the Spring of 2008.
[edit] Education
- Metropolis has a four-year university, Metropolis University (or "Met U"), which sustained extensive damage during Dark Thursday. Chloe Sullivan is currently studying here. Lois Lane attended there until she was expelled. Lana Lang used to attend there. Metropolis University has a very strong athletic and astronomy program. Martha Kent and Jonathan Kent both graduated from here.
- Metropolis also has at least one high school, Metropolis High School. Alumni include Jimmy Olsen and Victor Stone.
[edit] Government and law enforcement
Metropolis has the same law, means and resources of any major metropolitan city. In addition there are also several federal government facilities within the city.
[edit] NSA
Metropolis is home to a National Security Base. It has a satellite center inside the same building as the Ace of Clubs. Chloe Sullivan used the base to help locate Kara Kent.
[edit] Department of Domestic Security
See main article: Department of Domestic Security
The DDS has a base in Metropolis. Vanessa Webber worked there. The Department of Domestic Security is based on the real Department of Homeland Security. It is in charge of Project Starhawk which monitors threats from the stars. Agent Carter was an agent for the DDS until he was shot and killed by Lionel Luthor.
[edit] Metropolis Police Department
The Metropolis Police Department is the Metropolis police force. They arrested Lex Luthor after the murder of Lia Teng and her team. Officer Mason was in charge the case where a tenement fire killed Lionel Luthor's parents.
MPD also came to Lois Lane's dorm room when they suspected her of paralyzing another Metropolis University student.
Maggie Sawyer is the police captain. She trailed Kal's crime spree in 2003, questioning Jack Jennings about the murder of a Windgate Club dancer in 2005, and Lionel's murder in 2008.
[edit] Vigilantes
In early 2006, a vigilante known as the Angel of Vengeance arrived in Metropolis to protect its citizens from gangsters.
In late 2006, a vigilante who became commonly known as the Green Arrow stole illegal goods from rich tycoons and gave it to charities. He also stopped thieves and robbers in and around Metropolis using a variety of trick bows and arrows. Green Arrow was last spotted in Metropolis in January 2008 and has yet to be seen since.
In late 2008, a unknown hero began to clear up Metropolis of crime and was soon photographed by Jimmy Olsen as a fast moving red and blue blur. This Good Samaritan became the talk of the city after his photo was run on the Daily Planet front page and since then has become known popularly as the Red Blue Blur but the Red-Blue Blur recently asked Lois Lane to think of a different name.
[edit] Location
Geographical Location
Metropolis is located in the United States of America in the state of Kansas. It is right on a very large river.[5] Its neighbors include Smallville, Gotham City, Granville, Hub City and Edge City.
Metropolis' distance from Smallville is unclear because the dialogue and actions of the characters contradict. Chloe Sullivan has twice mentioned[6] that the LuthorCorp headquarters building was a three-hour drive away, then indicated that the drive was about two hours.[7] In addition, producers have stated that they also consider it to be three hours away.[citation needed] However, the fact that the Metropolis skyline can be seen by the naked eye from the top of the top of the windmill in Chandler's Field indicates that it is less than 100 miles away. In 1989, before their departure from Metropolis to Smallville, Lionel Luthor told his son Lex that they were going to a town "just outside the city." In addition, the characters often commute from Metropolis to Smallville several times a day for school or work in considerably less than three hours.
However, in spite of its mid-continent location, it is depicted as having a port. No explanation has ever been given.
Real Location
Smallville is largely filmed in the suburbs of Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. A respectable city in both size and diversity, Vancouver's cityscape doubles for Metropolis' in the show. [8] It is also on the Pacific Ocean which provides a very large body of water for the show.
[edit] In the Comics
Because the characterization of Metropolis in the show is relatively limited, only a few conclusions can be drawn in terms of the liberties the show takes from the source material.
The most obvious difference between the two is geographical location. In the comics, Metropolis is a city on the east coast, neighboring New York City and Gotham City. By placing Metropolis in the state of Kansas, the producers created a point of easy access for its characters, but also slightly baffled audiences with the large bodies of water surrounding the city. Kansas is a land-locked state, so the waters depicted are most likely a lake or very large river. (Most likely the Missouri River, as it is the only large body of water in or near Kansas, and that would make Kansas City the most probable location for Metropolis)
The city is known for being one of largest and wealthiest cities on Earth, nicknamed "The Big Apricot." It is the home of Superman and his family. It is also home to the Daily Planet newspaper, and is the location of the world headquarters of LexCorp. Speculation from comic readers lead them to believe that before the show ends, LuthorCorp will in fact become LexCorp.
The two tallest buildings in the city are the Emperor Building and the 96 Floor LexCorp Headquarters.
In the comics, nearly all the action takes place in Metropolis, while in the show, a large portion of the show takes place in Smallville instead.
[edit] In Other Media
Metropolis has been featured in other media. Most of Superman III and Superman Returns takes place in Metropolis. Also around half of Superman Meets Batman takes place in Metropolis.
Metropolis has also been featured in many books (not only comic books) and television shows, such as the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Superman: The Animated Series.
[edit] See Also
- Daily Planet – More info on Metropolis' main newspaper.
- Suicide Slums – More info on Metropolis' most crime-filled neighborhood.
- LuthorCorp – The company that controls Metropolis.
- Smallville – More info on Metropolis' main neighbor.
- Metropolis Inquisitor – More info on Metropolis' tabloid.
- Metropolis United Charities – More info on the LuthorCorp-funded Metropolis charity.
- Belle Reve – More info on Metropolis' mental institution.
- Ace of Clubs – More info on Metropolis' popular nightclub.
[edit] References
- ↑ Vengeance, Identity, Bulletproof
- ↑ He states his address in Sleeper.
- ↑ Dawson appeared in Hydro.
- ↑ The basketball team is playing in Crisis.
- ↑ Location by river confirmed in Extinction
- ↑ She stated this in Whisper and Truth.
- ↑ She states this in Abyss.
- ↑ Metropolis' skyline is here with the Daily Planet and LuthorCorp Tower digitally added, while Vancouver's can be seen here.
