Smallville introduced a vast number of original characters into the DC Superman mythos. With Smallville following the 10-year journey of Clark Kent (Tom Welling) on his path to becoming Superman, the show features many major characters in the Superman family and other DC superheroes as major players. However, with Smallville telling its own distinct Superman origin story, the show’s original characters are just as crucial and, in some cases, even more important than characters with backstories in DC Comics.
Part of the importance of Smallville‘s original characters lies in the impact Clark has on the lives of so many people as he grows into the Man of Steel. At the same time, many of Smallville‘s original characters have just as great an impact on him and help shape him into the man he will become as Superman. Here are Smallville‘s 10 best original characters.
10 Davis Bloome
Ordinarily, most versions of Doomsday are portrayed as a merciless, rampaging Kryptonian monster, but Smallville gives him a Hulk-style makeover as the troubled paramedic Davis Bloome (Sam Witwer). Davis arrives with Clark’s ship in Smallville and learns he was a failed experiment on Krypton, morphing into a murderous beast and killing dozens of people in Metropolis. Though Clark manages to separate the Doomsday entity from Davis with Black Kryptonite, Davis shows that darkness is always in his heart when he kills Jimmy for his romance with Chloe, with Witwer capturing the tragedy and viciousness of Davis in his portrayal.
9 Adam Knight
Ian Somerhalder’s Adam Knight debuted on Smallville in season three and brought with him the first and arguably most fun Smallville fan theory – specifically, that Adam Knight was Smallville‘s version of Batman. This was due to the apparent portmanteau of Adam West and Dark Knight in his name, along with his skills with computers and martial arts. In the end, Adam was revealed to really be Chad Nash, a formerly deceased teenager revived through Lionel Luthor’s “Lazarus Serum” experiments. Still, Somerhalder’s charismatic performance as Adam and the subtle breadcrumbs seemingly hinting at him as a young Bruce Wayne make his role on Smallville a real stand-out.
8 Jason Teague
Clark’s high school football coach Jason Teague (Jensen Ackles), is much more connected to Superman’s origins on Smallville than he seems. It turns out the Teague family was part of a secret society called Veritas, alongside the Swanns, the Queens, and the Luthors, with the group following the prophecy of “The Traveler” one day arriving on Earth. Jason’s inability to escape the influence of his mother, Genevieve (Jane Seymour), is his downfall, making Jason Teague one of the most complex and reluctant villains on Smallville.
7 The First Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore) makes his debut in Smallville season seven, with his death in season eight coming as a major shock. However, Smallville reveals that Henry James Olsen is the older brother of James Bartholomew Olsen, with Ashmore returning as the latter in Smallville‘s finale. While the Jimmy twist is among Smallville‘s more questionable choices, the first Jimmy nonetheless adds a lot to the show in his relationship with his fellow Daily Planet reporters, his divorce and reconciliation with Chole Sullivan (Allison Mack), and his sacrifice to save her life.
6 Whitney Fordman
Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson) begins Smallville as a somewhat overzealous football player and jealous boyfriend of Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), with Whitney even crucifying a Kryptonite-weakened Clark in the show’s pilot. However, Whitney’s integrity and good heart shine through, with he and Clark making amends and Whitney enlisting in the Marines to become a better man. Whitney is tragically killed in action (with Lizzy Caplan’s unhinged shape-shifter Tina Greer taking on his likeness in season two’s “Visage“), but Whitney ended up having a strong impact on Clark and Lana in his story on Smallville.
5 Tess Mercer
Following Michael Rosenbaum’s departure from Smallville after season 7, Cassidy Freeman’s Tess Mercer became a kind of surrogate Lex Luthor in season eight. Tess eventually learns that she is Lex’s half-sister and becomes an ally to Clark and the Justice League. Tess is killed by the resurrected Lex in Smallville‘s series finale (though she manages to erase his memory before dying), but her arc is one of the most unique hero’s journeys on Smallville.
4 Ryan James
One of the most heart-warming and heart-breaking stories on Smallville is that of the young telepath Ryan James (Ryan Kelley), whom Clark comes to care for like a younger brother. Ryan’s psychic abilities are the byproduct of a brain tumor, and despite Clark’s best efforts to save his young friend, Ryan ultimately succumbs to it in season two’s “Ryan.” Though Ryan’s life is tragically brief, his relationship with Clark is genuinely moving, with Ryan choosing to spend his final days with his hero and telling the young Kal-El, “You changed my life. You’re gonna change a lot of people’s lives, Clark.“
3 Dr. Virgil Swann
Clark Kent has many mentors throughout his journey on Smallville, but his wisest is undoubtedly billionaire astrophysicist Dr. Virgil Swann, played by none other than Christopher Reeve. Reeve’s two appearances in Smallville and the guidance he provides to Welling’s Clark are some of the most powerful scenes on the entire show; Clark a young man struggling to find answers and Swann pointing him to his heroic destiny. As a kind of John the Baptist figure to the Jesus allegory Clark embodies, Swann’s mentorship of the future Superman and Reeve’s genial portrayal of him makes Swann one of the most unforgettable original characters on Smallville.
2 Chloe Sullivan
Smallville waited until season four to bring Lois Lane onto the show, and in her stead, the series created a whole new intrepid journalist and Superman ally in her cousin, Chloe Sullivan. From the start, Chloe is the most inquisitive character on Smallville save for Lois, eagerly tracking meteor freaks on the “Wall of Weird” while developing unrequited feelings for Clark. Even after she accepts that Clark’s heart belongs to Lois, Chloe is one of Clark’s greatest friends and a supportive ally to the Justice League. Chloe eventually debuted in the comics in Action Comics #893, and Smallville just wouldn’t be as great as it is without her.
1 Lionel Luthor
Every great villain has an origin story, and on Smallville, the villainous turn of Lex Luthor is a result of his cruel upbringing by his ruthless father, Lionel Luthor (John Glover). While Clark and Lex are friends in Smallville‘s early seasons, Lionel is essentially the show’s main antagonist, and despite his cultured charm, his infamy as a heartless tycoon is known to all in Smallville. However, for all the evil he perpetrates in the show’s first four seasons, after he and Clark accidentally trade bodies in season four’s “Transference,” Lionel is Smallville‘s greatest redemption story.
After Lionel learns Clark’s secret and becomes a changed man, he helps Clark and his fellow heroes in any way that he can. Lionel protecting Clark’s secret ultimately costs him his life at the hands of the darkly transformed Lex in season 7’s “Descent,” with Lionel dying a hero’s death that never seemed possible for him before. Still, John Glover gets one more chance to bring evil Lionel out of retirement in season 10, with a multiversal doppelganger of Lionel becoming the human avatar for Darkseid. Villain or hero, Lionel Luthor is the greatest original character on Smallville.
