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For the eponymous character, see Lois Lane.

"Stiletto" is the nineteenth episode in the eighth season of Smallville, and the one hundred-seventy-first episode overall. It aired on April 23, 2009.

Summary[]

Lois believes that she needs a big story to secure her reputation as a star reporter but the red/blue blur continues to elude her. However, after Chloe is mugged, Lois steps in to fend off the attackers and uses the opportunity to pretend a new superhero, Stiletto, has come to town and is giving exclusives to Lois. Clark is concerned Lois will hurt herself pretending to be a superhero, but after he is captured by criminals with kryptonite, Lois leaps in to save the day.

Recap[]

→ see also Category:Screencaps from episode 8x19

00088

Lois trying to enter the presentation.

Lois is arguing with an attendant who refuses to let her into the Edward R. Murrow Press Society Presentation for Journalistic Achievements because Lois is not on the 'invited' list, and she claims to have never heard of Lois Lane. Although Lois tells her she works at the Daily Planet, the attendant still won't let her in. Chloe arrives and tells Lois that she will give her a lift home, and as the two walk to her car, Lois complains that she hasn't had a big story in a  while and that the Red-Blue Blur hasn't answered her public calling for an interview.

00178

Chloe is knocked unconscious.

Chloe goes on ahead to get her car as Lois stays behind to rest her feet from her stiletto shoes. As she takes them off, she hears Chloe scream and witnesses her being mugged by A.J. and Bruno Mannheim. Lois whacks Bruno with her stiletto heels before kicking A.J. down; however, Bruno escapes with Chloe's bag and car, which contains her laptop. A beaten A.J. sarcastically asks Lois if she's some sort of superhero, to which Lois replies, "Call me Stiletto."

At Metropolis General Hospital, Chloe is on the phone with Davis, saying that she will get home soon and to stay in the basement, when a nurse advises her to stay and get checked. Chloe politely refuses. Then Clark arrives to see if she is okay and wonders where she has been recently. Chloe tells him she is fine and that she has been doing work for the Justice League and that she needs him to get her laptop back as it contains files on the Justice League that are encrypted, but potentially hackable. She then explains to Clark that she and Lois were saved by the mysterious 'Stiletto'.

00562

Jimmy as the new bartender of the Ace Of Clubs.

At the Daily Planet, Lois is talking to Randall Brady, asking him to print her story about Stiletto but he refuses, saying that he won't publish anything without photographic proof and tells her to get some. Clark arrives and asks her about Stiletto as he picks up her story and notices a lot of quotes from Stiletto herself. He is surprised when Lois says she has her phone number as well. Clark asks to be put into contact with Stiletto but Lois says she can't, and suggests he talk to the thug she captured.

At the Ace of Clubs, Bruno walks in and asks the new bartender Jimmy Olsen for a drink. Jimmy asks him to ask the boss for an advance on his wages as he needs it for something, and Bruno says he will see what he can do. Ricky then approaches and tells Bruno the boss wants to see him. They go to a backroom, where counterfeit money is being made using kryptonite, and the boss Ron Milano asks Bruno what happened. He says that they no longer need to mug people and that they are going for high-ended crime, but Bruno says that they need to run the streets and that the heroes need to be shown who is in charge. With that, he shoots Ron dead, and announces he is taking over the business.

00868

Stiletto and Jimmy.

Lois busily works on a sewing machine in her apartment, making a costume out of leather.

Now dressed in her new costume, Lois meets Jimmy, who she has asked to take photographs of her as Stiletto and agrees to pay him. Jimmy, at first, laughs but agrees and takes the photos of her and asks why Lois is making up a hero story. She replies that the Red-Blue Blur will want to meet Stiletto and when he does, Lois will get his story and interview.

Clark arrives at the Isis Foundation and tells Chloe the mugger has already made bail. Chloe tells Clark the Red-Blue Blur has a fan site in which his fans think that he and Stiletto should get together, but Clark says he doesn't need a sidekick.

00918

Clark and Chloe at the Isis Foundation.

In an otherwise empty office, Clark and Lois are both at their desks, with bags close by in which they keep their costumes, while they listen in to police scanners. Lois asks Clark why he is working late, and Lois admits that Clark is doing better than she expected at the Daily Planet. Just then, a robbery is reported happening, and both make their excuses to leave.

At the Ace of Clubs, Jimmy arrives late for work. Bruno and A.J. notice he has his camera and take it away from him, admiring it before recognizing Chloe and Stiletto in his pictures. A.J. then shoves Jimmy onto the balcony where Bruno beats him, demanding to know where Stiletto is, before hitting him with the camera so that it falls over the balcony rail into the street. Bruno then tells A.J. to find out who Chloe is and tells Ricky to decrypt the laptop.

Stiletto arrives at the jewelry store to find the Red-Blue Blur has already been there and captured the criminal. Stiletto then shouts out to the Red-Blue Blur, but Clark the reporter arrives behind her, asking her if she is Stiletto, but then he recognizes that it's Lois. Lois tries to impersonate a British accent, but Clark doesn't let her leave and removes her mask. Clark realizes she made up Stiletto to get the Red-Blue Blur's attention, but he says that he doubts the Red-Blue Blur wants any sidekicks and that the mugger he went to question was released on bail. Lois suggests they should work together, but Clark refuses, telling her to drop it.

01328

Clark discovers Lois' secret.

Chloe is coming down from her apartment to give Davis a glass of water when A.J. attacks her. She manages to break free, but A.J. catches up to her, pinning her against a wall with a knife and has started to cut her throat when Doomsday drags him away.

Later, Lois arrives and tells Chloe that the Stiletto story went nowhere and that she needs to find Jimmy so he can destroy the photographs. When Chloe questions her, Lois admits that she is Stiletto and that she did it to meet the Red-Blue Blur. Chloe suggests that maybe heroes don't want publicity and that Lois is in over her head.

01462

Chloe is attacked at the Talon.

Lois asks Chloe if she has ever questioned her integrity, which causes Chloe to realize that she is doing precisely that by hiding Davis. Chloe seems ready to confess her secret to Lois, but instead tells her Jimmy took a job working at the Ace of Clubs.

01662

The krypto-laced money weakens Clark.

Clark arrives at the Ace of Clubs and, using his super hearing, hears the flicking of the counterfeit money and Bruno talking. He super speeds into the room but the kryptonite-laced money weakens him, causing him to slow down and allowing Bruno to see Clark, and he punches him to the floor, from where Clark notices Jimmy who is unconscious in a corner.

Lois arrives outside in her car and sees Jimmy's smashed camera on the ground. Thinking quickly, she heads onto the roof and finds a skylight, through which she sees Bruno kicking Clark. She tries calling 911, but her battery dies. Realizing what she has to do, she puts on her Stiletto mask and jumps through the glass, kicking Bruno, and sending him flying across the room.

01842

Lois fights with Bruno.

She notices Jimmy and goes to check on him, but Bruno comes to and draws his gun, preparing to shoot her. Clark, weakened by the kryptonite-laced money, calls to Lois to warn her, and just as she turns around, the bullet is fired. Clark summons up the strength to make a mid-air jump and sail in front of the bullet, protecting Lois and getting shot in his side in the process. Bruno prepares to shoot Lois again when Jimmy tackles him, knocking his gun away, and they tussle until Lois smashes Bruno over the head, knocking him out. Both of them run to Clark's side, with Jimmy dialing 911 and a crying Lois asking Clark why he saved her. Clark tells them to get him out of the room so he can get away from the kryptonite, so Lois and Jimmy support him as they drag him away.

Chloe takes two large garbage bags, full of the remains of A.J., and puts them into a dumpster at the back of the Talon. When she notices the blood on her hands, she drops to her knees and begins to cry.

819Smallville1086

Lois banters with Clark

The next morning at the Daily Planet, Clark is pretending to be still recovering from his gunshot wound when Lois brings him a breakfast and has done his photocopying, to show her thanks for having taken the bullet for her. Clark is flattered and Lois admits that her enthusiastic journalism personality got the better of her but that she is no longer Stiletto. She then takes one of his pastries, and they talk about her front page story in that morning's paper about the arrest of the mobsters, and they thank each other for saving each other. As they continue to chat, she also takes his other pastry, saying he wasn't going to eat it anyway.

01942

Chloe weeps at what she's done.

In a seedy part of town, Jimmy meets his drug dealer to buy some morphine and he pays him from a large wad of the counterfeit money Mannheim was printing in the basement of the Ace of Clubs.

02152

Jimmy spirals downward into drug addiction.

Chloe is making a meal in her apartment when Clark comes in to return her laptop. Clark asks who she's expecting and Chloe claims she's started baking as a reaction to stress and the loss of her computer. Clark doesn't believe her, but Chloe insists she's fine. He assures her he's there for her if she needs him, but Chloe says that with all that's happened over the past few months, she just needs some space.

Lois has received a note from the Red-Blue Blur offering a meeting and she goes to the meeting place. As she stands waiting, a nearby pay phone rings, so she answers it. The caller identifies himself as the Red-Blue Blur. When Lois questions his validity, he super speeds by, dropping off the newspaper with the article Lois wrote, requesting to meet him.

02378

Lois talk with the Red Blue Blur

Using a voice scrambler to disguise his voice, Clark admits there's probably a better name than 'Red-Blue Blur' and suggests she find one. He tells her she's a great reporter and doesn't need a gimmick, but Lois says she doesn't want the story, she instead wants to know what he needs. She tells him that being super can't save him from loneliness, and that if he ever feels lonely, he can call her for a "personal" conversation. Clark tells her that she'll be the first to know when he decides to tell the world his secret. As they hang up, Clark is watching Lois from a nearby rooftop, and smiles at this new side of her he's just discovered.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Mentioned[]

Featured Music[]

  • "My Brother-In-Law Dresses in Drag" - Asteroid

Title[]

  • A stiletto is a short knife with a tapering blade. It is also the high tapering heel on a woman's shoes.
  • The title refers to the name of the made up super-heroine that Lois creates after she took down a mugger with her stilettos.
  • The thug A.J. uses a stiletto knife when he attacks Chloe in the Talon.

Notes[]

  • Antagonist: Bruno Mannheim
  • Lois says to Jimmy that she was considering stitching an S on the chest of her costume, an oblique reference to Superman's future costume.
  • Oliver Queen, Tess Mercer and Davis Bloome do not appear in this episode, although Doomsday features off-screen.
  • When Bruno and Ricky are looking at the files of the Justice League members, Bart Allen is referred to as Flash instead of Impulse.
    Impulse as Flash1

    Bart Allen's (Impulse)file shows him as "Flash"

    (occurs around 27:30)
  • The bags, containing the remains of Doomsday's victim and which Chloe throws out, are red and blue.
  • This is the first episode that features Doomsday without featuring his human counterpart, Davis Bloome. However, Doomsday is not actually seen.
  • Of all of Aaron Ashmore's appearances as Jimmy, this is the only episode in which he does so without sharing a scene with Allison Mack.
  • The portmanteau 'Blur-etto' - used in the episode by members on the superhero appreciation website discussing the pairing of the Red-Blue Blur and Stiletto - is a joking reference to combined character names by fans as shorthand for specific relationships.
  • Chloe tells Davis she will be "home in 20 minutes" when at Metropolis General Hospital. Davis is staying in the Talon basement last seen in Eternal and, according to previous references to the subject, it would take her at least two and a half hours to travel to Smallville, unless she is taking Oliver Queen's jet.[1]
  • When Lois mentions Clark's dog, she implies he is female, forgetting that Shelby is male.
SuperwomanEarth2

Anti-matter Universe Superwoman

In Other Media[]

  • Lois's superhero costume looks like a mixture of Catwoman & The Huntress. [citation needed] It also resembles the costume of the Earth-3 Lois Lane (known as the super-villain Superwoman).
  • Lois wonders if the Red-Blue Blur can read her mind; that's an allusion to a scene in the Superman movie in which she wonders if Superman can read her mind while flying. Then she says, "Who am I kidding?", a possible oblique reference to Margot Kidder, who played Lois in that movie.
  • Bruno Mannheim is the 13th DC Comics character introduced in Season 8. The others are Doomsday, Legion of Super-Heroes, Persuader, Dan Turpin, Emil Hamilton, Bette Sans Souci, Faora, Maxima, Winslow Schott and Zatanna.
  • Mannheim is the 46th DC Comics character adapted into the series.
  • Lois as Stiletto tells Clark "I gotta get back to my cave," a possible nod to Batman's secret Bat Cave hideout.
  • Clark as the Red-Blue Blur suggests that Lois give him a new name. This is a reference to Superman: The Movie, in which Lois named him 'Superman' after their first meeting.
  • In other media, Lois's super-heroine identity was Superwoman (sometimes in the comics), Power Girl (Superman #125) or Ultrawoman (Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman). Stiletto is a new idea.
  • Chloe makes a reference to Batman's Bat-Signal: "I seriously doubt we're going to be able to call her out by putting a spiked heel over a kleig light." In addition, the scene where Lois comes crashing down through the skylight to land on one of the thugs is a common Batman/Batgirl move in most media representations of them.

Trivia[]

  • Juan Riedinger previously played Lowell Wilson in Season Six's Progeny and plays A.J. in this episode.
  • Dominic Zamprogna (Bruno Mannheim) played opposite Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang) in the Canadian television show Edgemont, where his character, Mark Deosdade, played love interest to her character, Laurel Yeung.
  • The CW affiliate serving Western Pennsylvania experienced technical difficulties during the presentation of this episode. For the entire showing, there was no audio except for local news promos. [citation needed]

Continuity[]

Allusions[]

  • Lois is denied entry to a press society named after Edward R. Murrow. Mr. Murrow was an American broadcast journalist who came to prominence in the 1940s, especially WW2, and is considered a significant figure in setting standards for excellence in integrity and ethics in journalism. [1]

Locations[]

Smallville
Metropolis

Quotes[]

Lois: Meet Stiletto. I was gonna sew an 'S' into the chest. Is that tacky?

Lois: I need that news splash. The pregnant man, or an impeached president, or better yet... a rendezvous with a superhero.

Chloe: I had no idea you were such a groupie of the red, bold, and blue.
Lois: Well, who isn't? The man has reinvented the American hero. Think about it. He saves people, he's mysterious, completely unavailable. What part of that doesn't scream Lois Lane?

Clark: (as the voice of the Red-Blue Blur) You're nervous.
Lois: Can you read my mind? Oh, who am I kidding? It's Saturday night and I hightailed it down here because I have one obsession right now and it's you.

Lois: Even when I did lower the bar and tried to slom a Green Arrow interview, it turns out Mr. Emerald-Chaps is another closet case when it comes to publicity.

Chloe: My laptop was in the backseat when the carjacker peeled away. I've been using it to update my Watchtower databases from home.
Clark: Chloe, those files contain details of nearly every operation.
Chloe: Hence the panicky flair with everything I've been saying.

Clark: Did you get a good look at the mugger?
Chloe: I got a good look at the asphalt after he hit me.

Chloe: When I came to in the ambulance, Lois was raving about some mysterious heroine who swept in and saved the day. Stiletto?
Clark: Must be some kind of knife expert.

Clark: "Blur-Etto"?
Chloe: You know you've made it when you have your own fan site. And it looks like your fans are doing a little match-making.

Clark: Chloe, romance is the last thing on my mind right now.
Chloe: I know. But let's face it, you thought you found your super-powered soul mate in Lana, and I haven't heard you say a word about her since she left.

Clark: Where is Lois, anyway?
Chloe: There may be a new superhero in town, where do you think she is?

Clark: This Stiletto gave you all these quotes?
Lois: She was talkative. (grabs her article back)
Clark: Look, I need you to put me in contact with her.
Lois: Get your own hero!

Lois: I sort of quoted Stiletto in one of my articles, and my editor said that I need a photo to get a page one.
Jimmy: Oh, I guess I didn't see that giant asterisk above Lois Lane's Rules to Reporting that said, "Or just make it up."

Lois: Hey, unlike you, some of us haven't gotten our up-close-and-personal with the Red-Blue Blur yet.
Jimmy: You know, look, I know that you're dying for a story with the guy, but he doesn't talk to anybody. No offense, but why is he gonna talk to you?
Lois: Exactly. The Red-Blue Blur might not talk to me at first, but a fellow superhero like Stiletto might just get his attention long enough to pitch the writing prowess of the great Lois Lane.
Jimmy: 'Kay, well... good luck with that. Last I checked, he's kind of invisible.
Lois: But crime in this city isn't. And when that police scanner goes off, the Red-Blue Blur is never far behind.

Lois: Slow night.
Clark: I'm good if you want to go. If the Red-Blue Blur calls, I'll be sure to patch him through.
Lois: Oh, that's right, because your idea of being a hero is making sure there's still paper in the fax machine.
Clark: Just doing my job.

Police Scanner: Attention downtown units. Silent alarm at Riverside Jewelry on 5th and Water, handle code 10-38.
(Clark stands up abruptly to leave)
Clark: (lamely, to Lois) Well, I better... go feed Shelby.

Clark: Are you the Stiletto?
Lois: Can I just say it's an honor — (realizing it's Clark)
Clark: (double take) Lois?
Lois: (impromptu fake British accent) Lois? Who's Lois? I'm Stiletto. I should get back to my cave.
Clark: Lois, you could have a bag over your head and I'd still know it's you.

Lois: Go figure. I want the Red-Blue Blur, I get the exact opposite.
Clark: What do you think you're doing?
Lois: What are you doing? You're supposed to be feeding Shelby. Seriously, is there any woman in your life you haven't stood up?

Mannheim: Next, we say good-night to the wannabe heroes, starting with Stiletto. That one's personal.

Lois: Surprise. I'm Stiletto.
Chloe: Lois. Oh, my God. You did this for a story, didn't you?
Lois: Okay. Clark's diatribe is still ringing in my ears. I don't need it in surround sound.

Mannheim: Clark Kent of the Daily Planet. Looks like you reporters think you got a little story here. (aiming a gun at Clark's head) If you want, I can tell you how it ends.

Lois: It was really sweet of you to, you know, throw yourself in there, but uh, I never should have put you in danger. It's not like you save lives for a living.
Clark: No. There's only one Red-Blue Blur.

Lois: Nothing like a double-frosted bear claw to ease the pain of a flesh wound, right? Oh, and I, uh, didn't know whether you wanted your copies single-sided or double, so I did both, and then I thought, hmm, three-holed or no-holed, and I didn't know, so I did both, which is why there's... so many.

Lois: Fine, I admit it. Sometimes the Lois-"Fast"-Lane ambition ramps into cruise control and gets away from me.

Lois: (to Clark) Wow, look who got grazed by a funny bullet.

Clark: (acknowledging Chloe's freshly baked casserole) Are you expecting company?
Chloe: Uh, no. Turns out that my body's natural reaction to stress is to bake undigestible amounts of food.
Clark: Really? After all the near-apocalypses we've been through, I've never seen more than a chocolate-chip cooke come out of that oven.

Chloe: I never thought it would feel so good to be reunited with a bunch of silicon microchips.

Chloe: Look, I apologize if I've been a little off my game lately. It's just that, after my divorce, and Brainiac, and now, playing Watchtower to a bunch of needy superheroes, I forget that I need to be all smiles all the time.
Clark: Chloe, no one expects you to bounce back from everything you've been through. I just want you to know I'm here for you, if you need me.
Chloe: I know. But right now, I really just need a little bit of space. Not a super save, okay?

Lois: (to the Red-Blue Blur) You've dedicated your life to a city full of strangers, and I'm not saying that I know what it's like to be a hero, but... even the fastest blur in the world can't outrun loneliness.

References[]

  1. Since the skyline of Metropolis can be seen from Smallville, as shown in Nicodemus, this conclusion is questionable. However, a note to that episode states that: "In an interview, Al Gough admits that the designers made the Metropolis shot from the windmill larger than it was supposed to be. The producers have mentioned that they consider Metropolis to be a three hours' drive away, but seemingly rarely adhere to this." For example, in Abyss, Chloe tells Clark that Metropolis is something like a two-hour commute from Smallville, suggesting that an off-peak journey would be somewhat less.

External links[]


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CategoriesMain Characters · Relationships · Villains

ComicsThe Comic · Season 11 · Miniseries


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