Smallville: "Splinter"

Volaran · Nov 11, 2005

I believe in the series, it has been established that Metropolis is in Kansas. I assume this was done for storytelling convenience.

WayneLigon · Nov 11, 2005

d'Anconia said:
Why have I always thought that Metropolis was DC's Chicago and Gotham was DC's NYC? Must just have been a misconception I picked up somewhere.

Not really, but in the DC universe, both Chicago and New York exist as well. In at least the first issue of Batman, he was in NYC but that was changed not very much later.

Tarrasque Wrangler · Nov 11, 2005

I had the feeling that he absorbed the silver kyptonite perhaps in order to use again at a later date.

The impression we got here was that it was a normal rock that he'd coated with his, uh, "flesh". It was all silvery and shiny until he did his morphing trick at the end and dropped it, at which point it just looked like a dull stone.

Klaus · Nov 11, 2005

WayneLigon said:
Not really, but in the DC universe, both Chicago and New York exist as well. In at least the first issue of Batman, he was in NYC but that was changed not very much later.

Plus "Gotham" was one of NYC's early nicknames, IIRC.

And I don't think Fine is the Eradicator (in the comics way). They seem to be using an origin similar to the Superman: TAS one for Brainiac (which is eons better than the DCU one). Wonder if ol' Brainy will still be a project of Jor-El's design...

Taelorn76 · Nov 11, 2005

I missed the episode and I my Superman-Fu is very week, but how can Fine be a Kryptonian if he can shapeshift and flow like out friend T-1000. Is that some unknown power. I think know enough to know that Supes never had that power. :heh:

EricNoah · Nov 11, 2005

You must have missed the season premeir. (spoiler below)...

Fine "oozed" out of the spaceship in a liquid form and turned into a solid human before our eyes.

Taelorn76 · Nov 11, 2005

EricNoah said:
You must have missed the season premeir. (spoiler below)...

Fine "oozed" out of the spaceship in a liquid form and turned into a solid human before our eyes.

Nope I cought that. My question is. How is he a Kryptonian, because that's not one of the powers they normaly have?

EricNoah · Nov 11, 2005

Taelorn76 said:
Nope I cought that. My question is. How is he a Kryptonian, because that's not one of the powers they normaly have?

Because he's not really a Kryptonian, not in the way that he wants Clark to believe.

kitoy · Nov 11, 2005

Taelorn76 said:
Nope I cought that. My question is. How is he a Kryptonian, because that's not one of the powers they normaly have?

I think that Smallville is mixing up two different origins for Braniac here. In post-Crisis continuity, Braniac first showed up as an alien spirit possessing the body of a carnival huckster known as Milton Fine. On Superman: the Animated Series, Braniac was a super-computer that oversaw Krypton and, IIRC also was responsible for blowing Krypton up.

A third, non-Braniac related inspiration for this character may be the Eradicator from the comics. The Eradicator is a Kryptonian artifact that embodied Kryptonian ideals, things like intellect, logic and the emotionless superiority of the Kryptonian race. In the comics, it was always attempting to make Superman into a proper Kryptonian, first with persuasion and sometimes with force. Eventually, after the "Death of Superman" it took on a human shape and became a superhero of sorts.

For Smallville, I think they're using the Milton Fine name and the Superman: TAS origin with Braniac as a computer/robot from Krypton along the lines of the T-1000. From the dialogue, where Fine wants Kal-El to be a "proper" Kryptonian, it seems that they're also throwing a little bit of the Eradicator in there as well. Currently Fine is posing as a "typical" Kryptonian to deceive Clark for his own purposes.

I'm really looking forward to where this leads.