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For the kryptonian superpower, see X-ray vision.

"X-Ray" is the fourth episode in the first season of Smallville, and fourth episode overall. It aired on November 6, 2001.

Summary[]

Tina Greer's skeleton is laced with meteor rock. She is able to assume any form. She assumes the form of Lex Luthor to rob a bank. Clark Kent discovers he has X-ray vision. Lana Lang discovers her mother was much more interesting than her aunt ever told her before. And Lex Luthor turns the tables on Roger Nixon gaining himself an unwilling ally at the Metropolis Inquisitor.

Recap[]

→ see also Category:Screencaps from episode 1x04

Xray3

Clark sees a green tinge to the bank robber's skeleton.

At the Smallville Savings and Loan, Lex Luthor tells the manager that he wants to close all of his accounts. The manager is very disappointed and a bit confused when Lex requests all the money in cash. When Lex's signature doesn't match the signature on record, he asks to see Lex's driver's license. Lex pulls out a gun. He leaves the bank at a run with the alarm sounding. Halfway down the block he meets up with his friend Clark Kent. When Clark asks what's going on, Lex throws him through the large front window of Speck's Optical. As he recovers, Clark has a sudden headache, and then is able to see right through Lex's skin to his skeleton. Lex's bones have an odd green glow.

Rose Greer confronts her daughter Tina about a backpack full of money she found in the house. She asks if it was Tina who robbed the bank yesterday. Tina morphs into Lex and says that it was Lex Luthor who robbed the bank. Her mother insists they return the money. They struggle over the backpack, and Tina's mother falls down the stairs to her death. Tina starts to call 911, but she doesn't report the emergency.

Martha Kent reads about the bank robbery in the newspaper. Clark insists that it couldn't have been Lex. Jonathan seems willing to believe any terrible thing about Lex. Just then, Lex shows up on the Kent's porch. Clark is surprised that he isn't in jail, but Lex explains that he had a rock solid alibi: he was in Metropolis hosting a reception for 200 fertilizer distributors. He wants to talk to Clark because Clark was listed as one of the eyewitnesses. Clark insists that the bank robber looked exactly like Lex Luthor.

Xray8

Clark watches Lana remove her towel in the locker room.

In gym class, Clark is climbing rope against his buddy Pete Ross, when he suddenly looks right through Pete's skin to his muscles. Clark is so shocked, he loses his grip and falls to the floor. As he recovers, he looks right through the wall to the girls' locker room and smiles as he sees Lana Lang remove her towel. After school, he explains to his parents about his X-ray vision. His parents encourage him to practice so that he can learn to control it. Clark knows that they are just guessing and he storms out in frustration.

Tina visits Lana and wonders aloud if Lana's Aunt Nell would adopt her if anything ever happened to her mother, then she and Lana could be sisters. Lana is unnerved by the strange question and assures her that nothing is going to happen to her mom.

Clark is running errands on Main Street with his mom when he gets another headache. He starts seeing everyone on the street like an X-ray. He notices the skeleton with glowing green bones walk into the antique shop. Martha catches up and they enter the store to be greeted by "Rose" Greer. Clark asks about Tina. "Rose" explains that she is with Lana, so Clark leaves. Martha asks "Rose" for the lamp that Rose has been restoring. While Rose is in the back of the store, Martha finds a large sum of cash on the floor. "Rose" says that the lamp isn't ready and a client paid her in cash earlier that day. When Martha turns her back, "Rose" slips Martha's keys out of her purse. On the street, Martha is nearly run down by her own truck, with "Clark" at the wheel. Martha is shocked as "Clark" seemingly drives around the corner, but then appears behind her to help her to her feet.

Back at the Kent farm, Jonathan announces that the police found their truck abandoned. Martha recalls that the antique shop is the only place she stopped that day. She also notes that Rose Greer was acting strangely and that the cash she found on the floor had a Smallville Savings and Loan band, so it could be from the robbery. It seems too crazy to suspect that Rose turned into Clark until Clark admits that when he saw Tina's skeleton it seemed green and inhuman. Martha explains that Tina was born with a soft bone disease. Despite experimental treatments, she wasn't expected to live to the age of six, but she got better around her third birthday—right after the 1989 meteor shower.

Xray19

Roger Nixon attempts to blackmail Lex Luthor.

Coming out of the coffee shop, Lex finds Roger Nixon, a journalist, leaning against his car. He threatens to publish a story about a previous run-in with the law Lex had at a younger age, involving a nightclub called Club Zero, unless Lex pays him $100,000 in cash. Nixon gives Lex his contact card, and tells him he has 24 hours to deliver the money or he'll publish the story about him. Enraged, Lex drives off.

Xray9

Lana finds her mother's journal while cleaning the garage.

In the garage, Lana finds a box with some of her mother's high school things, including a diary. She asks her aunt about her mother. From the diary, Lana learns that her mother hated cheer-leading and dreamed of leaving Smallville. Aunt Nell admits that she told Lana the things she thought Lana could handle at the time. Lana laments that she has been trying to live up to a Laura Lang that didn't exist. Aunt Nell tells Lana that Laura gave the graduation speech. The first line said: "I never made a difference here, but maybe my children can."

At school, Clark stares at Tina, trying to see her skeleton. Chloe and Pete agree that the only thing weird about Tina is the amount of time she spends idolizing Lana. When Lana emerges from her classroom, Tina tells her that her mom is moving to Metropolis, but she doesn't want to pull Tina out of school. Tina wants to know if she can move in with Lana and Nell. When Lana hesitates, Tina takes it as a rejection and storms off. Clark is successful in focusing his X-ray vision and spying a backpack full of cash in Tina's locker. Clark tells his parents about what he found.

Xray16

Deputy Miller has come looking to arrest Tina.

At the antique shop, Tina morphs into her mother just as two sheriff's deputies approach, looking for Tina. They admit that a kid with an anonymous tip led them to find the money from the bank robbery in her locker.

"Lana" arrives at the loft to tell Clark about Tina. When she kisses him, she morphs back into Tina and throws Clark through the wall. She has guessed correctly that it was Clark who tipped off the police. She leaves Clark for dead. Clark tells his parents they can't call the police because Clark is the only one who can recognize Tina.

Xray22

Chloe tries to help Lana find the graduation speech her mother gave in 1977.

Lana goes to the Smallville Torch office to ask Chloe Sullivan to help her find the graduation speech her mother delivered in 1977. Chloe discovers that due to its controversial nature, the editors decided not to print it that year.

Xray18

Clark sees a skeleton in the cabinet.

At the Luthor Mansion, Roger Nixon arrives to deliver the files and collect his money. Lex tells him that if he walks out that door Lex will make him disappear. He tells Roger that he has deleted all records of the man's existence, and announces that he wants Nixon's help. He wants him to print positive stories about him and kill negative ones. Lex takes him to a large room with a wrecked Porsche. He wants Nixon to find out how Lex survived the crash.

Clark is in the barn practicing his X-ray vision on a lead box when Lana comes to visit. She tells Clark about her mother's diary. Clark muses about what he might ask his biological parents if he ever had the chance. Later, he and Pete go to the antique shop to investigate. Clark sees a skeleton in a cabinet and they open it to find Tina's mother's body. They also find pages with Lana's signature over and over, and guess that Lana will be Tina's next victim.

Xray23

Clark battles Tina as Whitney.

Tina appears as Lana and asks Whitney for his letter-man jacket. At the cemetery, Lana is visiting her parents' grave when Tina appears as Whitney. She says terrible things about how Lana has a great life, but she can't see it. She has no right to be unhappy, and she doesn't deserve her own life. Tina morphs back into herself and strangles Lana, stealing her meteorite necklace. Lana wakes up inside a crypt. When Clark arrives at the cemetery, he finds Tina-as-Whitney with the necklace in her hand, and she puts the necklace in her pocket while getting close to him. At first Tina has the upper hand, but when she takes off the jacket, Clark recovers. During their battle, Tina tells Clark that Lana is dead. Clark scans the cemetery and sees one of the skeletons is moving. He breaks into the crypt and lifts Lana from the tomb.

Xray24

Clark sees that one of the skeletons in the cemetery is moving.

Clark's parents let him know that Tina will not be able to hurt anyone else. Whitney arrives to comfort Lana. Clark's X-ray vision activates and he is pained as he watches Whitney and Lana enter the house and embrace.

Chloe locates an audiotape copy of the graduation speech and Lana is able to hear her mother's speech.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Uncredited[]

Mentioned[]

Featured Music[]

Song Artist/Band Scene
"Movies" Alien Ant Farm Played when the imposter Lex robs the bank.
"Ooh La La" The Wiseguys Played when Clark and Pete are in gym class.
"Breathe You In" Stabbing Westward Played when Tina visits Lana at her house.
"Up All Night" Unwritten Law Played during Lex's first run-in with Roger Nixon.
"Analyse" The Cranberries Played when Lana visits Chloe in the Torch office.
"Unbroken" Todd Thibaud Played when Clark X-rays Lana when she drops by the farm.

Title[]

  • An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation, similar to light but with a shorter wavelength that is capable of penetrating solids and ionizing gases.
  • The title refers to Clark Kent's emerging ability to see through objects.

Notes[]

  • Antagonist: Tina Greer
  • Clark uses the following abilities in this episode: super strength, super speed, invulnerability, Multi-spectrum Vision, and X-ray vision.
  • Clark develops X-ray vision in this episode. He also unknowingly develops his Multi-Spectrum Vision, as he is able to detect the radiation that is emitted by Kryptonite.
  • Tina Greer is the show's first female villain.
  • Tina as Lex writes his signature right handed while the real Lex Luthor is left handed.
  • Chloe claims to have transcribed the student speech from the previous year's graduation, but this doesn't make sense since she's a freshman. However, this disrepancy is resolved if one assumes that incoming freshmen newspaper contributors transcribe materials that take place after classes have ended (the previous year's graduation occurred after newspaper classes have ended).
  • When Tina changes form, sometimes she's wearing the same clothes, and others she's wearing what the person was wearing.
  • This episode hints that Smallville High actually acts as both Junior and Senior High school for Smallville; Chloe mentions that she worked at the Torch the previous year copying that year's graduation speech, which means she was going to Smallville High during Junior High school.
  • The theme of Laura Lang's prom is said to have been Saturday Night Fever. However, Laura's prom would've been in the spring of 1977. The movie wasn't released until December of that year.
  • Laura Lang's speech is shown to have been uploaded on the website for The Torch later in the episode Craving.

Trivia[]

  • This episode marks Mitchell Kosterman's first on-screen appearance as Ethan the Deputy, who's eventually promoted to Sheriff.
  • Thanks to his new power, Clark sees Lana naked, for the first time. He later sees her with his physical vision, as they later become a couple.
  • Lana Lang stops wearing her necklace after this episode and it isn't seen again until the episode Leech.

Spoilers[]

  • In this episode Lex threatens Roger Nixon after he attempts to blackmail him. This is the first of many times that Lex will threaten and manipulate people into doing what he wants.
  • Tina Greer's fate is revealed in Season Two's Visage.
  • The nightclub event that Roger tries to blackmail Lex with is revealed in Zero.

Locations[]

Quotes[]

Martha: This is incredible. Why would Lex Luthor need to rob a bank?
Jonathan: I've seen some strange things in my day, but this definitely takes the cake. (he looks at Clark) Well, almost.

Clark: I know Lex. It wasn't him!
Jonathan: Clark, I know he is a friend of yours, but come on! You saw him with your own eyes!
Clark: (bewildered) I don't know what I saw.
Martha: There must be some sort of reasonable explanation for this. I hope.
Lex: (entering) Me too! I certainly hope I don't have an evil twin!

Lex: I promise I'm not a criminal mastermind.
Clark: I know; a criminal mastermind would have worn a mask.

Chloe: Pete, you throw that rubber spider again, and I'm going for my staple gun.

Lex: (to Nixon) You came into my life, thinking you could shake me down 'cause I'm just some spoiled rich brat who needed his daddy's protection. Trust me - when I make things disappear, they stay buried.

Lex: (to Nixon) Don't worry, Roger. I'm gonna give you a new identity. Maybe a drug dealer or a murderer. Either way, you lose your house, your job and your family.

Clark: I just wish I could control this.
Martha: What if you try focusing it, you know, like a telescope.
Jonathan: Yeah, you could start with something small. Try to tell me what I have in my hand right now.
Clark: It's your pocket knife.
Jonathan: (opens his hand to reveal the knife) You can see through my hand.
Clark: No, you always carry your knife in that pocket. (grins)

Clark: Mom, if you could see anything, what would you do?
Martha: Learn to close my eyes.

External links[]


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