The Warrior Angel movie is filming on the Kent farm, and there is a media frenzy going on. Clark walks through the throng watching the filming to talk to Chloe.
It turns out that Chloe is a big fan of Warrior Angel. After all, who doesn’t appreciate the story of a small-town boy who grows up to become a great hero as he fights the evil Devilicus? Not Clark, apparently. He tells Chloe that he’s never been much of a comic book fan, and I can’t help but find it appropriate that Clark doesn’t read superhero comics, but Lex did.
Chloe is trying to pretend that breaking up with Jimmy isn’t bothering her, and tells Clark she’s been busy creating Kara’s secret ID. Clark is glad that it will be there for her, if she ever comes back.
Suddenly, the star of the film, Rachel Davenport, arrives. Rachel plays the Warrior Angel’s love interest, and is a big deal. The crowd gets pushed aside for her. Rachel gets stuck in a runaway car while filming, and the car crashes. Davenport would have been killed, but fortunately Clark Kent is on hand. Clark zooms in for the rescue, and as he plucks a mostly dead Davenport from the car, she murmurs to him “You just saved my life. You’re amazing.”
Next we see Clark doing chores around the farm in this case driving fence posts into the ground. By hand. Because he’s Superman, and really strong. Lana arrives and teases Clark, showing him a newspaper article about his rescue of Davenport. Just then a limo pulls up to the farm – Rachel Davenport wants Clark’s company on the set (which in this case, is the Talon). Clark, not being a big movie fan, isn’t overwhelmed by her Hollywood charisma and charm, which Rachel finds refreshing.
Chloe arrives on the set to talk to Clark, and she let’s Davenport know that there was no accident – Rachel’s car was sabotaged.
Over at the Daily Planet, we see Lois on the phone. She has a lead on Lex and a very suspicious land purchase – right by the dam where he was performing his experiments. Pretty-boy editor wants her to drop the lead and go investigate the Davenport issue in Smallville. Lois protests, but Gabriel is insistent.
Lionel Luthor, who has been missing for a couple of episodes now, wakes up in a cabin in the woods with a mysterious woman looking over him. Her name is Marilyn, and she has Lionel shackled to the bed via a bear trap on his hand. Lionel tries to tell Marilyn “They’re going to find me,” to which she replies “I don’t think anyone is looking.” Marilyn then leaves the room he is in to call someone and let them know that Lionel is now awake.
We come back from commercial to see Davenport accusing Clark of having powers and being different and hiding it. The scene seems very realistic and appropriate, but it quickly becomes apparent that they’re rehearsing lines for the film. Things start to get physical and flirtatious when Lana comes in. Rachel excuses herself, and Lana asks Clark about Rachel staying at the farm, Clark says it was to protect her. Lana shows a Chloe-discovered clue – in the comics, Warrior Angels’s girlfriend is killed, while in the film she lives. It seems like some fans from the internet aren’t thrilled about this development.
We see Lex talking to someone who has been investigating Kara when Clark comes in to ask Lex for help. Specifically, with a Warrior Angel reference from the message board that hints about what is going to happen to Rachel Davenport. Although Lex hasn’t read an issue of Warrior Angel since he and Clark were still friends, Lex catches the reference immediately. It’s from his favorite issue of Warrior Angel, the one where Devilicus first gets the upper hand. (Just a little bit of foreshadowing there.) It’s also the one where Devilicus kills Warrior Angel’s girlfriend. Clark tells Lex that in the film, Warrior Angel manages to save her, to which Lex replies that while Hollywood gave it a happy ending, in the comics if you save mankind, you’re destined to do so alone.
We go back to the set to see the production assistant, Ben, arm Devilicus’ gun with real bullets, not blanks. Clark arrives to watch as they shoot the scene where Rachel is to be “shot”, but then saved as Warrior Angel steps between her and the bullet. The Warrior Angel actor, of course, isn’t able to do the same thing, but Clark zooms over and catches the bullet, moving too fast for any normal man to see. Ben however, sees the bullet in Clark’s hands. “Nice catch, superhero,” he murmurs.
Over at the Luthorcorp building in Metropolis, Lois is engaging in some industrial espionage. Lex catches her in the act. He’s not real thrilled with her being there, but tells her that he doesn’t have any secrets left. She asks him “So you didn’t buy the land near the dam where you were doing experiments?” She shows him the authorization and says that with Lionel missing, not many other Luthors have authorization privileges. Lex takes the deed to the land and has security escort Lois off the premises.
Speeking of the “missing” Lionel, he’s trying to escape from his captivity. Lionel forces his hand out of the trap, despite the broken wrist. He then breaks a glass to get Marilyn over by him. He thanks her – for everything. Marilyn gets sentimental, saying that it’s nice to have company. Then Lionel ambushes her and makes his escape.
Clark comes back to the farm to deal with tons of paparazzi. He pushes through them to get into the house, where Rachel is getting a massage. Clark tells Rachel that the Sheriff has no leads. While he was out, a messenger brought him a package - a Warrior Angel comic with a note that reads “I know what you did. Your job is to save the world. Save it.” This note is clipped to a page where Warrior Angel is catching a bullet. Clark tells Rachel “we’re leaving, this place is no longer safe.”
Lionel is running through the woods to get away from Marilyn, and gets conked over the head with a shovel wielded by Lana. We discover that Marilyn is working for Lana and it was she that Marilyn had called.
Clark goes to Chloe to tell her about the would-be killer who knows his secret. He gets Chloe to track the comic down to its’ owner, who is of course the production assistant, Ben. Clark goes to Ben’s home, which is decorated in Warrior Angel collectibles. Ben talks to Clark through the computer in a very traditional supervillain fashion. When Clark tells him that Warrior Angel wouldn’t kill someone, Ben tells Clark that he doesn’t understand. Devilicus made Warrior Angel stand up, put aside his own personal desires, and save the world. And Ben is going to do the same thing for Clark.
Lex is exploring the land he now owns due to the authorization letter which didn’t come from either him or his father, and finds the cabin where Lionel is being kept. Lionel , at first, believes that Lex is behind the kidnapping. Marilyn catches them as Lex tries to free his dad, and she tells Lex that Lionel would rather remain here then be rescued by Lex. At which point Lionel rises up from the bed behind Marilyn and pounds Marilyn into the dirt.
Rachel apologizes to Lana for what happened between her and Clark in the loft. Lana pretends to not be bothered. Ben comes in, theoretically to give Rachel new lines, but he then tasers both Lana and Rachel. He tells Lana that it is only by killing her that he can make Clark accept his destiny.
Chloe and Clark are trying to figure out what the Ben’s plan is. Chloe asks what would be the worst thing “Devilicus” could do to Warrior Angel. Clark sees a picture of Rachel and immediately realizes that Ben would try to kill Lana.
Ben is about to pitch Lana off a building when Clark arrives, but Clark is too late to stop Ben from pushing her off the roof. Clark leaps after her, and catches her in his arms. They land, hard, but due to comic book physics, Lana is safe in Clark’s arms.
At the Daily Planet, Lois is showing her story about Lionel being found on the mysterious Luthorcorp-owned land (that no Luthor will admit having purchased) to Grant. Grant is mad that she disobeyed him, but it looks like he’ll run the story. There’s some playful flirtation there as well, but this is where we really get to see the steel in Lois that will lead to her becoming the reporter we know she is destined to be.
Lionel confronts Lana on the Kent farm. Lionel isn’t fooled – he knows Lana was behind his kidnapping and the purchase of the land. Lionel wants to know how much Lana has told Clark. Lana plays coy, but Lionel sees through her. He warns her of the danger of playing the Luthor family game – and he further tells Lana that she isn’t doing this to protect Clark, but to get revenge.
Lex goes to visit Ben in jail with a gift – a large stack of old and valuable Warrior Angel comics. Lex and Ben bond over comic book trivia. Thinking that he is now on Ben’s good side, Lex wants to know about the man who has superpowers that Ben saw. For reasons not made quite clear, rather than turn Clark over to Lex and company, Ben claims “it was all in my head.”
Rachel Davenport shows up with a good-bye gift for Clark, a prop from the movie. “Every superhero needs one,” she says as she walks away. She leaves as Lana is arriving, and teases Lana about holding on to Clark. Alone with Clark, Lana comments to him that all those fans who look up to Warrior Angel could look up to him instead. This line of thought was clearly inspired by listening to Ben, and it is obvious that Lana realizes that Clark’s destiny lies far beyond Smallville. Clark doesn’t want to leave. He has everything he wants right there, with her.
Clark opens the box, and inside it he finds a note from Rachel, and Warrior Angel’s red cape. He studies the cape, but leaves it lying on the fence as he walks inside to Lana.
[Edit]
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