Whitney Fordman
From Smallville Wiki
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| Whitney Fordman | |
|---|---|
| Family | George Fordman (father, deceased), Betty Fordman (mother) |
| Occupation | Student (Smallville High School), cashier (Fordman's Department Store), Private (U.S. Marine Corps) |
| Played By | Eric Johnson |
| Status | Deceased (Visage) |
"I don't want to be a 'remember him.' Smallville's got enough of those guys." - Whitney Fordman
Whitney Fordman was a student and star quarterback at Smallville High School. As a high school senior, he was a member of the popular crowd. He dated the beautiful cheerleader Lana Lang, and he and Lana were elected Homecoming King and Queen. After graduation, he joined the United States Marines; he was killed in action in Indonesia.
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[edit] Personality
Whitney was presented as having the "ideal" life by being the star of the football team with potential to eventually go pro, as well as dating the perfect girl. As a high school freshman, Clark Kent was envious of Whitney, perceiving him to be living the high school dream. As Whitney's senior year progressed, Clark realized that his life wasn't as perfect as it seemed. Whitney watched Clark's friendship with Lana blossom and began to see him as a competitor and a rival. He went out of his way to humiliate Clark, notably stringing him up in a cornfield in his underwear as part of a Smallville High tradition to haze the freshmen class. When Clark saved his life he expressed regret for having treated him that way. Over the course of Whitney's senior year, Clark was Whitney's main rival for Lana's heart.
Whitney's primary motivation was getting out of Smallville by securing a football scholarship. As the scholarship gradually seems more unlikely, Whitney became resentful and lashed out. Whitney became a member of a gang that used meteor rock tattoos, to give them the ability to phase through walls. Clark managed to convince Whitney to leave the gang. The two eventually began to respect each other, especially when Clark made a decision to not pursue Lana romantically that year.
The death of Whitney's father George had a great impact on his life. Upon finding medals once owned by his father from Vietnam, Whitney realized that there was more to life than high school and playing football. Whitney decided to follow in his father's footsteps and Tempest join the United States Marine Corps.
By the end of his senior year, Whitney Fordman went from a stereotypical jock to a well defined man.
[edit] Season One
At the start of football season, Whitney encouraged Clark Kent to toss a football and dunk Lana Lang. [1]
Whitney performed an annual 'hazing' ritual on Clark Kent, choosing him to be the one freshman hung up as a "Scarecrow" in the cornfields of Smallville. Whitney put Lana's necklace on Clark, inadvertently incapacitating him with meteor rock radiation. Lex Luthor rescued Clark, who then got back at Whitney by stacking his pickup on top of two others.
Whitney tried to apologize to Clark and get Lana's necklace back, but Clark coldly told him to go into the cornfield and find the necklace himself. Later, when Whitney was attacked by Greg Arkin, Clark rescued him. Over time, Clark and Whitney became less hostile toward each other. When Whitney grew distant following his father's heart attack, Clark encouraged him to open up to Lana. When Whitney tried to kill Kyle Tippet while under the control of Kyle's former friend, Clark stopped him.
After losing his football scholarship, Whitney got mixed up with some former jocks with tattoos made of meteor rock that temporarily gave them the power to walk through the walls. However, when Whitney learned that they were planning to blackmail and potentially murder Lex Luthor, he told Clark what was happening, resulting in a confrontation in a car impound lot that resulted in the death of one of the jocks.
As Whitney's father's heart disease grew even worse, he was moved to hospital on a full-time basis. However, shortly before he died, Clark asked Lex Luthor to help Whitney's father fulfill a promise he had made that he would see his son play his first game with the Metropolis Sharks; Lex literally hired the entire team to play a game with Whitney as their quarterback while his father watched. George Fordman died shortly afterward.
While going through his father's things after the funeral, Whitney came across his father's military medals from the Vietnam War, including one for his father saving three people. Whitney realized that being a football star isn't the only way to be a hero, and impulsively decided to join the Marines. He asked Lana to wait for him. Before he left, he made an honest apology to Clark for the way he had treated him, and even asked Clark to look after Lana until he returned. With this, Clark and Whitney finally made peace, and perhaps even became friends.
[edit] Season Two
As she began her sophomore year, Lana prepared a video of well-wishes from his friends back home to send to Whitney, but then decided that she should be honest with him. She recorded her own message, breaking up with Whitney. Whitney wrote a letter to Lana in response to the videotape. He mentioned the pain he felt when receiving the message and said it was a truth that he didn't want to hear. But Whitney decided to let go and told her that he's glad she's looking for happiness and hopes that she finds it.
Whitney was killed in action in Indonesia. His letter to Lana was in his hand at the time of his death, and never made it to her. [2]
Whitney was later announced as missing. Tina Greer broke out of Belle Reve and impersonated him in order to be with Lana, but Clark discovered the truth and she was killed in the final confrontation. Both Clark and Lana were deeply affected by his death: Lana regretted ever having sent the video to him in the first place and feared that Whitney's last thought before he died was that Lana wouldn't have waited for him, and Clark remarked that Whitney had willingly put himself in harm's way to protect other people and wondered if he would have done the same if he didn't have his abilities. They both continue to remember his sacrifice even to this day.
[edit] Relationship with Lana Lang
Lana attended the funeral by Whitney's side, but she seemed conflicted as to if she wanted to be with Whitney or Clark. Whitney asked Lana to be his date at the spring formal, but then he enlisted in the Marine Corps and had to ship out before the dance started.
[edit] Trivia
- Before Whitney was cast, his original name was going to be Whitney Ellsworth [3]
[edit] Notes
- Aside from appearing in Visage and Façade, Whitney is mentioned in Exodus [4] and Labyrinth. [5]
- Like Chloe Sullivan, Whitney Fordman did not exist in the DC Comics continuity.
- He is one of the only main cast members to have never uncovered Clark's secret.
- Whitney has appeared in 22 episodes.
[edit] References
- ↑ This is seen in a flashback sequence in Façade.
- ↑ Smallville #5: The Few, The Proud
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Clark mentions that his actions are being done for their future, with Lana stating that Whitney said the same thing to her before he left.
- ↑ While in a dream world, Clark states that Lana was dating Whitney Fordman in their freshmen year.
