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"Rogue" is the ninth episode in the first season of Smallville, and ninth episode overall. It aired on January 15, 2002.

Summary[]

Sam Phelan is a rogue cop who learns Clark's secret, but his attempts to blackmail Clark backfire when he is killed in a shootout during a museum heist. Meanwhile, Chloe Sullivan is fired as editor of the Smallville Torch, and Lex Luthor has an old girlfriend reenter his life with a plan to destroy his father.

Recap[]

→ see also Category:Screencaps from episode 1x09

Rogue1

A ten million dollar bejeweled breastplate of Alexander the Great.

At the charity gala in the Luthor Hall Collection of the Metropolis Museum, Clark Kent and Lex Luthor admire a piece of jewel-encrusted armor that belonged to Alexander the Great. The jewels are red and blue and a snake appears on the chest, shaped like an S. Lana Lang is also there, but when she invites Clark to join her and her boyfriend Whitney Fordman, he retreats to get some air.

Outside the museum, Detective Sam Phelan a police officer is beating someone up, ranting about obtaining his file at internal affairs. As Clark walks down the steps of the museum, a bus comes around a corner. When the driver has a heart attack, the bus starts plowing through the parked cars along the side of the road. Just before the bus crashes into a bus stop where a man is sleeping, Clark uses his super speed and his super strength to get in front of the bus and let it crash into him.

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Clark stops a bus that is out of control.

There is a terrific explosion as the bus wraps around Clark's body. Clark is unharmed. When people begin pouring out of the museum to see what caused the commotion, Clark zooms away. When Sam investigates the scene, he guesses that Clark stopped the bus.

The next morning, Clark helps his dad raise a large generator up high in the rafters of the barn. Clark tells his parents what happened in Metropolis with the bus. Back in Metropolis Phelan is blackmailing a guard, saying he will expose the guard's previous DUI charge if he doesn't comply. The guard gives Phelan surveillance photos from the gala the night before. Phelan seems most interested in a photo of Lex and Clark together. At the Luthor Mansion, Lex and Victoria Hardwick are having breakfast. Victoria is the daughter of a multinational industrialist, Harry Hardwick, and one of his vice presidents. She has come to propose a deal that will let Lex get back at his father.

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Principal Kwan fires Chloe as editor of the Torch.

At Smallville High School, Chloe Sullivan is showing off her latest scathing editorial. Principal Kwan arrives to let her know that he's very unhappy that her paper focuses on the weirdness of Smallville and not actual school events. He tells her she can no longer edit the paper and it will be suspended until he can find a new one. Lana promises to try to help.

At the Beanery, Lex runs into Sam Phelan. He reveals that Sam was on Lionel Luthor's payroll and helped Lex out of a few scrapes, but Lex hates him. He asks Lex if he knows the boy in the photo with him. Lex claims that he doesn't know who it is.

As Clark walks through the barn the generator he helped raise into the rafters falls on top of him. He throws it off just as Sam Phelan comes down out of the loft. He explains that he needs Clark's help. Without knowing exactly what he needs, Clark senses that Phelan's intentions are not good and he flatly refused to help. Sam threatens to reveal Clark's secret and asks him to meet with him tomorrow afternoon at the Beanery. Clark tells his parents what happened. Jonathan plans to go see Detective Phelan the next afternoon. That night, Clark is in his loft when Lex arrives. Lex warns Clark that Phelan is bad news.

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The meeting between Sam and Jonathan does not go well.

The next day at the Beanery, the meeting between Sam Phelan and Jonathan Kent does not go well. Phelan says only that he wants Clark's help, but he won't say why. Jonathan refuses to allow him to exploit Clark. Phelan threatens to tell Clark's secret and Jonathan loses his temper. At school, Lana has some good news and some bad news. The good news is that she talked with Principal Kwan, and he has reinstituted the school paper. The bad news is that Lana is the new editor. Even though Lana says Chloe will still be in charge, Chloe is still very upset. She lashes out at Clark and Lana and storms away in tears.

Rogue27

Lex has a new proposal for Victoria.

Lex proposes to Victoria that instead of helping her and her father take over LuthorCorp that he and she ought to take over both LuthorCorp and her father's company. In Metropolis, Phelan reveals what he wants Clark to do. He convinces him to break into the head of internal affairs' apartment and steal Phelan's file. Clark pops the lock and uses his X-ray vision to locate the safe in the wall. Then he drops it five stories right on top of Phelan's car and zooms away as the police arrive.

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Deputy Miller delivers a warrant.

The next morning, Clark lies to his parents about where he was the night before. Deputy Ethan Miller arrives with a warrant to search the farm. They find a dead body in the barn and take Jonathan into custody. Martha Kent follows in the car while Clark returns to the house fuming. Phelan arrives at the farm and Clark attacks him. Just before Phelan is seriously injured, Clark regains control and lets him go. Clark visits his dad in jail and confesses to having gone to Metropolis the night before. He also admits to nearly killing Phelan that morning.

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Clark visits his father in jail.

At the Beanery, Clark refuses Lex's offer to help, but when Phelan takes Clark to Metropolis again that night, Lex is following them. Phelan takes Clark to the museum. He wants him to steal the breastplate for him. They disable the security system and call in a bomb threat to get the guards out. Lex finds a plain brown package in the newspaper dispenser. He opens it up to find an alarm clock inside. Inside the museum, Clark bends the bars and breaks the glass protecting the breastplate. Phelan places the breastplate in a duffel bag and Clark throws it through a window to land at the feet of the guards on the sidewalk. Enraged by this double cross, Phelan pulls out his gun and fires. Clark uses his super speed to dodge the bullet. When the guards reenter the museum, Phelan fires at them and they shoot him down.

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Clark dodges his first bullet.

The next morning, all the charges against Jonathan have been dropped and he returns home. Clark assures his mother that no one saw him that night. At school, Lana is in trouble with Principal Kwan for her scathing editorial: "Kwan Crushes Freedom of Speech," but she successfully argues that it meets his conditions in that it is about a student and school sponsored club, without any mutants. Principal Kwan agrees to reinstate Chloe as long as she promises not to print what she can't prove. Chloe apologizes for getting upset at Lana's attempts to help.

Lex is reviewing security footage of the museum in which Clark appears as a blur.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Mentioned[]

Featured Music[]

Song Artist/Band Scene
"Step It Up" Stereo Played at the beginning, when Lex, Clark, Lana and Whitney are at the Metropolis Museum.
"I Have Seen" Zero 7 Played when Lex and Victoria Hardwick are talking in the Luthor mansion.
"Numb" Grant Park Played When Principal Kwan fires Chloe in front of Lana, Clark and Pete.
"Angel" Massive Attack Played when Lex and Sam Phelan talk about Clark in the Beanery.
"Love In December" Club 8 Played when Jonathan threatens Sam Phelan in the Beanery.
"Breathing" Lifehouse Played when Lana announces that Principal Kwan has made her the new editor of the Torch.
"She Lives By The Water" Club 8 Played when Lex and Victoria plan a takeover of their fathers’ companies.
"Take Your Time" Radford Played when Lex offers Clark the use of his lawyers to help Jonathan.
"Not Looking Back" Driver Played when Principal Kwan makes Chloe the editor of the Torch again.

Title[]

  • A rogue is someone whose turned dishonest, deviating, and no longer obedient.
  • The title refers to Sam Phelan, who became a rogue cop.

Notes[]

  • Antagonist: Sam Phelan
  • Clark uses the following abilities in this episode: super strength, super speedX-ray visionaccelerated vision and Invulnerability
  • This is the first episode in which the villain is not suffering from kryptonite psychosis.
  • Lana's edition of The Torch can be viewed here.
  • This is the first episode where Clark is caught on video using his super speed power.
  • Whitney has a non speaking role in this episode.
  • The "S" on Alexander the Great's chest plate is similar to the Superman crest. The S also seems to be a snake, and the S in the crest is sometimes refers to a snake. The crest also has a diamond shape and the chest plate is adorned with rubies and sapphires. Clark mentions he "can't imagine going into battle with that thing on my chest."
  • When Sam is about to shoot Clark he says that "you're not bulletproof". Two episodes later it would be proven that Clark is indeed impervious to bullets.
  • The events of this episode demonstrate why Clark will eventually have to assume a dual identity.

In Other Media[]

  • Clark's 'first rescue in Metropolis' by stopping a bus is similar to his first rescue in Metropolis in Lois & Clark. In this episode, Clark stopped the bus using his indestructibility - in Lois & Clark, he had done so using his strength.

Spoilers[]

  • A short story in Smallville #4 has Clark reminiscing about an unseen moment prior to his and Sam's arrival to Metropolis.
  • Sam Phelan's previous questionable investigative practices are shown in a flashback in Zero.
  • This is the first of four appearances by Victoria Hardwick. She will also appear in Shimmer, Hug, and Leech.
  • The apartment which Clark has to "rob" is in the same building where he will be living in Exile. The apartment's number is 517.

Locations[]

Quotes[]

Clark: (referring to the breastplate) I can't exactly see myself going into battle with that on my chest.

Clark: I didn't know you were such a history buff.
Lex: I'm not; I'm just interested in people who ruled the world before they were thirty.

Chloe: (sarcastically, to Clark) Oh yeah, 'cause you're completely objective in all things Lana!

Jonathan: I don't think a rational adult drops a generator on a teenage boy!

Lana: Clark, what happened to you last night?
Clark: I wasn't feeling well. Guess I'm not much of a city guy.
Chloe: You can take the boy off the farm but you can't take the farm out of the boy.

External links[]


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CategoriesMain Characters · Relationships · Villains

ComicsThe Comic · Season 11 · Miniseries


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