- "You must be talking about a different Clark Kent, because the Clark I know is the most normal guy I've ever met." - Tobias Rice, Freak
Tobias Rice is a former Smallville High student. He was blinded during the second meteor shower, and his parents died too.
Physical Appearance
Tobias' eyes
Tobias has a very slender frame and appears very weak. He is also very pale. He has straight brown hair that is flipped to the side and murky eyes similar to that of Cassandra Carver.
Personality
Tobias considered himself to be "lucky" for surviving the meteor shower although his parents did not. He also lived a very lonely life and did not seem to like it, even though he joked about it, telling Lana, "I haven't talked to this many girls since graduation" and jokingly told Clark and Chloe, "Don't make me drink alone", as he offered them iced tea. He did not let his blindness stop him from leading a functional life such as when he refused help from Clark when serving tea. He also seems to have good intensions, as he believed his abilities were being used for good, but this could only be because Dr. Bethany gave him the incentive for a cornea transplant. However it seems he has a good heart since he protected Lana and himself from him when he came over to terminate him.
Powers and Abilities
When Tobias was blinded during the second meteor shower, he was also given the ability to "see" other meteor infected humans. When someone who is meteor-infected is in his vicinity, they glow an eerie green, often outlining them in ultraviolet colors, as shown within his point of view.
- Infrared vision: He is apparently able to control these abilities with the use of special dark glasses that he wears when out in public. When the glasses are on, he appears to be genuinely blind, but when they are removed he can perceive people around him as heat outlines, with meteor freaks glowing green where others are simple yellow.
Tobias' ability to identify people with abilities is limited only to those who acquired them by meteor rock exposure, evident by the fact that he didn't identify Clark Kent on their first meeting considering his abilities are Kryptonian in nature. Clark reacts badly to even the smallest amount of Kryptonite and thus his body contains no kryptonite at all leading to Tobias to perceive him as being most normal person had ever seen. Despite this limitation, Tobias seems to be able to discern even those infected by meteors who have yet to exhibit any special attributes (as was the case of Chloe, whose meteor power was dormant for a long period)
Season Six
Tobias views a crowd. The green figure is Daniel Kim, a metahuman.
Used by Dr. Robert Bethany with the promise of restoring his sight with a cornea transplant, Tobias was able to identify Daniel Kim, the telekinetic bowling alley shoe clerk, as having metahuman powers. Daniel Kim was subsequently abducted and taken to Level 33.1 to have his DNA extracted and tagged with a GPS homing beacon and his memory of the event, including the abduction, wiped. Tobias was later confronted by Clark and Chloe Sullivan to ascertain his involvement.
In that encounter, Tobias observed Chloe as meteor-infected and contacted Dr. Bethany. Chloe Sullivan was later abducted by Lex Luthor's men and treated in the same manner as Daniel. Later, Lana Lang tried to persuade Tobias to stop what he was doing. After Dr. Bethany's and Lex Luthor's scheme was exposed, Lex ordered Dr. Bethany to bring Tobias back to him alive and unharmed to help tie up loose ends. Dr. Bethany, believing he would be killed after handing over Tobias, tried to kill Tobias. Lana, who had arrived at Tobias's home minutes before, complicated the plan, causing Dr. Bethany to come up with the cover story about his corneas being available. After feigning compliance to leave with Dr. Bethany, Tobias turned off the lights and pointed a gun at Dr. Bethany, who in turn attacked Tobias in the dark. Dr. Bethany intended to shoot Tobias with a taser gun, designed to stop his heart instantly to make it look like Tobias died from a heart attack.
Tobias lives alone.
However, in the confrontation, Lana picked up the discarded gun and fired at Dr. Bethany, saving Tobias's life. Clark Kent super sped into the scene to prevent Lana from shooting Dr. Bethany. Clark deflected the bullet meant for Dr. Bethany and absorbed the taser barbs meant for Tobias. In an unforeseen circumstance, the charge from the taser backfired and struck Dr. Bethany, inducing a heart attack, killing him instantly.
Afterward, Tobias admitted to Clark that he was sorry he helped Dr. Bethany and regretted his involvement. Clark arranged for Oliver Queen to put up the resources to have Tobias get his cornea transplant.
Notes
- In the Book of Tobit (one of the books in the Roman Catholic/Eastern Orthodox Bible that the Jewish/Protestant Bible excludes), a character named Tobias loses his eyesight and has it restored at the end of the story.
- Tobias has certain similarities to two DC superheroes. The first is Dr. Mid-Nite, who's lost his eyesight, but gained special optical powers in return. The other is Obsidian (son of the Golden Age Green Lantern), who's real name (Todd Rice), is near identical to Tobias Rice.
- Given that Tobias can control his powers with special glasses, he can also be compared to the Marvel Comics character of Cyclops, who also possesses occular abilities that can be controlled by special glasses, although in Cyclops's case his power consists of concusive force generated from his eyes rather than an ability to perceive what others cannot.
- Tobias is one of the few benevolent metahumans Clark has encountered who hasn't discovered his secret (along with Sarah Conroy and Maddie Van Horn).