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"Static" is the eighth episode in the sixth season of Smallville, and the one hundred-eighteenth episode overall. It aired on November 16, 2006.

Summary[]

Clark learns a Zoner has landed in Seattle and slaughtered the entire crew of a working ship. Upon investigation, Clark comes face to face with a horrifying Phantom Zone criminal called Aldar who sucks the bones out of people. Meanwhile, Lex encounters a metahuman who seeks revenge for being experimented on.

Recap[]

→ see also Category:Screencaps from episode 6x08

Static1

Lana and Chloe try to find Lex's frequency.

Lex arrives home one evening and as he speaks to Lana while she's in bed, his alarm system goes off due to an intruder. Lex's security guards rush him and Lana to a panic room. In the chaos, Lana sees Lex vanish in static before her eyes.

Chloe shows Clark reports of multiple strange deaths on a shipping barge in Seattle. While they are talking, Lana calls Chloe, extremely upset, and asks her to help her find Lex. Chloe looks to Clark for help but surprisingly, Clark decides to go to Seattle to confront the latest Zoner instead. He unconvincingly tells Chloe that he'll help find Lex when he returns. He takes the Crystal of El with him to defeat the phantom.

Lana and Chloe go to the mansion but they don't find anything. However, Lex is there and can hear them, but they can't see him. When they leave, Lex is confronted by Bronson, a patient in Level 33.1 who has escaped. He tells Lex that he has the ability to manipulate frequencies and has sent Lex to another frequency in revenge for being experimented on.

Static2

Bronson tries to convince Lana of Lex's evildoings.

Lana is a basket case without Lex and Chloe enlists Jimmy Olsen's help. His father was an old ham radio buff and Jimmy has all of his ancient equipment. He examines Lex's security tape footage and is able to pick up a faint frequency of him talking. Chloe and Lana realize that Lex is probably trapped in the library of the mansion.

Chloe, Jimmy, and Lana are still trying to locate the frequency containing Lex when Lana gets a call from Bronson. He tells her that she will believe him when he shows her the lab. He takes her to Level 33.1, but it is an empty warehouse. He gets upset that someone cleared it all out and Lana tells him that she wants to believe him.

Static3

Jimmy uses antique radio equipment to locate Lex.

In Seattle, Clark is appalled at the carnage on the docks of the ship and is dismayed to realize that whatever killed the crew is now on land. He poses as an assistant to the coroner to gain access to the crime scene. A hulking man, Aldar, is lurking on the docks and encounters a policeman. He kills the policeman by ripping his bones out. Clark confronts him and tries to use the Crystal, but it has no effect—Aldar is a Phantom Zone prisoner, but not a phantom. Aldar then throws Clark across the dock and escapes.

Static4

Aldar overpowers Clark.

Chloe hacks into LuthorCorp's system to get floor plans, but finds that all of her files have been deleted. Lionel Luthor appears and Chloe knows he is responsible. She asks him about Level 33.1 but he brushes off her questions.

Lana goes back to the library and pours her heart out in case Lex can hear her. She tells him that she misses him so much and she doesn't want to raise their child alone. Lex's expression is unreadable at the news that she is pregnant.

Bronson appears and they are transported to the frequency where Lex is. Lana and Lex are reunited. At the same time, Chloe and Jimmy take the antique radio equipment to the library to try to tune into the frequency. Bronson knocks Lana out and fights with Lex, who denies clearing out the laboratory. He finally stabs Bronson dead and goes to revive Lana. They kiss and as Chloe and Jimmy successfully tune into the right channel, Lana and Lex appear in front of them.

Mmsmallvillestatic

Clark is saved by a mysterious figure.

Back in Seattle, Clark has been looking for Aldar all day and it is now nightfall. He finds him again and Aldar picks him up, ready to rip his bones out. Just as Clark is almost finished, Aldar falls in agony, dead. Clark is shocked to see a hand print burned onto Aldar's back, then sees someone super speed away. As he gives chase, he steps on an OreoTM cookie. He chases the entity to the dock. It faces him and its eyes glow. It takes flight, leaving a red streak in the sky. Clark returns to Smallville and finds another Oreo on the floor of his loft. Chloe arrives, because she was worried that Clark didn't answer his phone the whole time he was gone. He is cryptic and does not tell Chloe about the carnage he saw. He tells her that the Crystal didn't work, but someone saved him—someone with powers greater than his. Chloe is concerned and doesn't understand why Clark is holding back. Clark just looks thoughtful.

Chloe, Jimmy, and Lana go back to Level 33.1 to see for themselves that it does not exist. Chloe is suspicious that it just disappeared, but Lana is indignant and declares that she trusts Lex's word.

Lionel confronts Lex and reveals that it was he who cleared out the warehouse and says that Lex owes him a share in whatever he is investigating. Lex goes home and tells Lana that he is thrilled that she is having his baby. He leads her into a room filled with roses and asks her to marry him. Lana seems concerned.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Special Guest Star[]

Co-Starring[]

Uncredited[]

Mentioned[]

Title[]

  • Static can either refer to an interference in the reception of a radio or television, or static electricity.
  • The title refers to Bronson's ability to travel along different frequencies.
  • Static is also the code name for Virgil Hawkins, a DC Comics / Milestone Comics superhero.

Notes[]

  • Clark uses the following abilities: Super-Speed, Invulnerability, Super-Leaping
  • Martian Manhunter uses the following abilities: Flight, Energy Projection, Super-Speed, Invisibility
  • Antagonist: Bronson and Aldar
  • The entity that saves Clark is the DC Comics superhero Martian Manhunter. Although he cannot be seen clearly, he is recognizable by his red eyes, power of flight, and his snacking habits. He had prior knowledge about Aldar's vulnerability, due to being the one who caught him before he was sentenced to the Phantom Zone, as seen in the Season 11 issue Effigy.
  • Martha Kent and Lois Lane do not appear in this episode.
  • Lionel tells Lana when she expresses concern for Lex that he is "aware how important [she is] to Lex." The way he said this suggests that he already knows Lana's not genuinely in love with Lex since Lionel was well aware how Lex used manipulative ways to get Lana to believe he was a misunderstood good man that just wanted to help and do good, the test Lex put her through to gain her trust and loyalty and teach her to blackmail and to "be a Luthor". He was more likely aware of the truth about her pregnancy too. Knowing Lex's attitude towards Lana was just an act, Lionel already knew Lana's interest in Lex was just an illusion created by Lex himself, but he kept his mouth closed cause he already planned to use her to spy on Lex. Lionel will express his disgust on how Lex treated Lana after their divorce.
  • Clark says that Martian Manhunter had powers that he only could dream of. One of these powers is flight, a power which Clark has yet to master.
  • Aldar is the third corporeal Phantom Zone escapee, after Gloria and Raya.
  • Aldar telling Clark that "everyone's gotta eat" is ironic because Superman usually does not require food to sustain himself, receiving all his energy from the yellow sun.
  • This is the first on-screen meeting between Lana and Jimmy, but they have seemingly met before off-screen since they appear to know each other prior to this episode.
  • The different ways Lana reacts, when Lex disappears and when he tells her about his feelings in the bed, is another indication that the "feelings" Lana has for Lex are actually just dependence and devotion caused by his brainwashing and manipulation, the kind of connection usually seen between leader and follower, just like Tess Mercer before she realizes the true face of Lex. As said in a point above, Lionel is aware of this but kept it a secret to be able to use Lana's closeness to Lex and spy on him.
  • Lana said to Chloe that she will not believe the words of some "homicidal maniac over Lex". This is ironic since Lex is actually a homicidal maniac. She also added an "I'm sorry" typical used by Lex as phrase closure just for manipulatory reasons. She also turns against Chloe in order to defend Lex, who she thinks is an honest man that people don't understand. This is another proof of Lex's influence and brainwashing that Lana had been submitted to and her attitude "Luthor like" is one of the first things Lex had ruined Lana in to.
  • Jimmy says his father was a ham radio operator and he used to use "Jimmy the Infuriator" as a "handle." Ham radio operators are issued callsigns consisting of simple letters and numbers from the FCC and required by law to use them. Handles were more commonly used among CB radio enthusiasts which have significantly more lax enforcement after the massive surge in popularity in the 70s.
  • In the scene where Bronson threatens Lana with a knife, there is a possible goof. When Bronson shifts frequency, the knife is no longer in his hand and should have been intangible to him. It is possible he can use his powers to pull the knife in afterwards, but this was not clearly shown on screen.

In Other Media[]

Trivia[]

  • Elias Toufexis previously appeared in the season three episode Asylum in a minor role as an inmate. He later returned in the season ten episode Ambush, playing Emil LaSalle.
  • Aldar, played by Dave Bautista, is the first Zoner played by a WWE wrestler. The second is Titan, played by Glenn Jacobs. These two actors are more commonly referred to as Batista and Kane respectively.
    • Dave "Batista" Bautista also portrays Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Continuity[]

Allusions[]

  • Jimmy says his father was a ham radio buff. Ham radio is over 100 years old. Similar to the Internet today, it is a hobby for amateur radio operations in which they can communicate with people all over the world.
  • Chloe states that the Phantom Zone prisoners are from "galaxies far, far away", alluding to the famous phrase opening the majority of Star Wars media.

Spoilers[]

  • The Martian Manhunter reappears in Labyrinth. He will make another appearance in Phantom where he reveals why he finally entered into Clark´s life at the docks after several years of watching him.
  • Martian Manhunter was most probably responsible for Aldar's imprisonment into the Phantom Zone, as alluded to in Season 11's story arc Effigy.

Locations[]

  • Seattle

Quotes[]

Chloe: Lex just mysteriously disappeared.
Clark: I have to go to Seattle.
Chloe: Well, Clark, I know Lex isn't exactly your pick for man of the year, but you can't just turn your back on him.
Clark: Chloe, there's innocent people in danger.

Policeman: Who are you?
Aldar: Someone who is hungry!

Chloe: I didn't know you had it in you!
Jimmy: Why do you think they call me Jimmy the Infuriator?

Lionel: (to Lex) It says on the door out there that this is my office. My private office. Obviously that doesn't mean much to you.

Aldar: Nice try, Krypton Man.
Clark: You escaped from the Phantom Zone.
Aldar: But I'm no phantom.

Aldar: (to Clark) Your blood must make you strong. I should taste it.

Chloe: So, the crystal was a success?
Clark: No, it wasn't.
Chloe: Then did the Zoner just decide to pack up and leave the solar system?
Clark: Someone else killed him-- someone who could do things I could only dream of.

External links[]


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CategoriesMain Characters · Relationships · Villains

ComicsThe Comic · Season 11 · Miniseries


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