Summary
We open with Clark briefly watching the Earth as it recedes
before he gets sucked into the Phantom Zone. Clark falls
to the ground in a barren wasteland. He walks up and down
a few dunes before being attacked by creatures that reminded
me of the Dementors from Harry Potter, but much faster.
Clark doesn't appear to have any powers here, and he's
being roughed up pretty well when a woman shows up. She
holds up a crystal and beams shoot out of it, scaring off
the creatures ("phantoms," we later learn they're
called). As the beam dims, we see that the crystal is in
the shape
of the Superman shield, complete with the letter S. Clark
starts to thank her for helping him, but she gives him
a swift kick to the jaw, knocking him out. "Welcome
to the Phantom Zone."
Chloe and Lionel are rescued from the mob scene by one
of Lionel's bodyguards. Lucky for them, they're just outside
the Luthorcorp building. Atop said building, Lana stares
in horror at the carnage going on below. She tells Lex
that he could use his powers to stop the riot. Lex/Zod
tells her, "Lex is dead. My name is Zod." Chloe and Lionel
make their way to the roof just in time to see Zod fly
off with Lana in tow.
Lionel decides to go to the Kent farm in search of the
knife that Clark was supposed to use to kill Lex, hoping
to use it against Zod. Chloe returns to the Daily Planet
to look for a way to stop the Kryptonian computer virus.
In the Phantom Zone, the mysterious woman has brought
Clark back to her shelter, apparently to beat some information
out of him. She lets up when Clark tells her he was born
on Krypton, but grew up on Earth. She figures out that
he's Kal-El because she knew Jor-El.
Zod takes Lana to a warehouse where the black ship is
stored. He tells her that she's going to witness the end
of the human era, as he remakes the Earth into a new Krypton.
He places his palm on the black ship and a hand-sized device
detaches from the ship. Once Zod grabs the object, the
ship disappears in a flash of light.
Tying up the last of the cliffhangers from last season,
we find Lois and Martha's plane crashed. They've both survived,
but Lois is in bad shape. Martha goes to the cockpit and
finds it empty. She tries the radio, but gets only static,
then she notices the view out the cockpit windows, Clark's
Fortress of Solitude. Martha drags Lois inside the Fortress
and Jor-El speaks to her. He tells her that the knife given
to Clark was part of the Fortress. By using it against
Milton Fine, he destroyed all copies of Fine, but weakened
the Fortress, releasing Zod. Jor-El also tells Martha that
Clark has been banished forever by Zod.
Martha pleads with Jor-El to bring Clark back, but he
cannot. The only hope for saving the world now lies in
completing Clark's mission, kill Zod's vessel, Lex Luthor.
Martha agrees and has Zod send her and Lois back to Smallville.
Before he zaps her back, Jor-El tells Martha that he appreciates
all that Martha has done for his son.
In the Phantom Zone, the woman, Raya, tends to Clark's
wounds. She tells him that Jor-El created the Phantom Zone
to hold criminals from the 28 known inhabited galaxies.
The worst of the worst, however, have their corporeal bodies
destroyed, and their essence trapped there forever. Those
are the phantoms that attacked Clark, and the only thing
they fear is the crystal given to her by Jor-El. Raya,
however, isn't a criminal. She was Jor-El's assistant. He
thought that she would stand a better chance in the Phantom
Zone
than
on Krypton. Jor-El and Lara didn't come with her because
Jor-El wouldn't give up on trying to save Krypton (and
Lara wouldn't leave him behind).
Clark wants to get back to Earth to stop Zod. He asks
Raya if there's a way out which she might know about since
she was Jor-El's assistant. She tells Clark that Zod would
kill him, but he's willing to take that risk in order to
save everyone he knows.
At the Daily Planet, Chloe hides under a desk and copies
and compares Kryptonian symbols in an effort to crack the
virus.
She
hears someone in the next room, draws the gun Lionel gave
her, and almost ends up shooting Jimmy Olsen.
Zod takes Lana back to the Luthor Mansion. He tells Lana
that Lex had strong feelings for her. It "left an unpleasant
taste" as he consumed Lex's essence. Zod attaches his device
to Lex's laptop, and it stops the Kryptonian virus so that
Zod can use the computer to access information. There's
something in the Pentagon that he needs. He explains to
Lana that the black ship would have sent out a pulse reshaping
the Earth's crust to be like Krypton. The pulse can still
be sent out using the military's satellite system.
Lana draws one of Lex's swords and tells Zod she won't
let him do this. He tells her she won't share everyone
else's fate if she gives him what he wants, an heir. Lana
swings the sword, but Zod is too fast for her (not that
she could have hurt him anyway). He grabs the sword from
her and runs it through Lana's hand and into a wall, pinning
Lana. He tells her he'll be back once he gets what he needs
from the Pentagon. Once Zod is gone, Lana manages to pull
the sword out of the wall and free herself.
In the Phantom Zone, Raya takes Clark to a secret exit
Jor-El installed in case someone tried to use the Phantom
Zone to imprison a member of his family. It will only open
for someone from the house of El. Before they reach the
gateway, Raya and Clark are attacked by the two Kryptonians
that Clark dispatched last season. Raya tells them to spare
Clark's life because he can operate the gateway and get
them all out. She claims she was bringing Clark to them
in the first place.
Lionel and Martha find each other at the Kent farm. Lana
shows up, too, asking where Clark is, and telling them
about what Lex has turned into. Martha tells her the only
way to stop Lex is to kill him. She shows Lana the knife.
Lana tells Martha that she'd never get close enough to
Lex to even use it. Lana could.
Zod returns to the mansion to see that Lana has freed
herself. He doesn't look concerned. He opens a scorched
case he presumably got from the Pentagon. It contains a
computer. Lana comes in and asks, "is that all it takes
to end the world?" He asks her why she didn't run after
freeing herself. She tells him she figured out that there
was nowhere to run to, and that she's given in to her fate.
Zod asks if Lana would give him an heir. She responds,
"the first of many," and they don't waste any time getting
started. As the two kiss, Lana reaches for the knife. Once
again, she isn't fast enough. Zod grabs the knife, destroys
it, and tosses Lana across the room. He then takes his
device and attaches it to the military computer, which
alters the orbits of several satellites and causes them
to shoot energy beams at the Earth. In Metropolis, and
presumably elsewhere, earthquakes begin.
In the Phantom Zone, Clark is dragged to the gateway.
He doesn't know how to open it, but Raya does. She takes
a knife and slices Clark's hand, telling the others that
his blood will open the gateway. She then turns on Clark's
attackers, allowing him to escape. As the gateway activates,
Clark sees Raya get stabbed. He's sucked out of the Phantom
Zone, along with several phantoms.
In the sky above Smallville, a bright light flashes into
several smaller lights. One of those lights smashes into
the ground. Clark emerges from the crater and takes off
for the Kent farm. He arrives just in time to keep the
barn from collapsing on top of Lionel and Martha (earthquakes,
remember?). He asks where Zod is.
Still in the Luthor mansion, the earthquakes seem to be
the least of Lana's worries as Zod starts to strangle her
up against a wall. He drops her, unconscious, when Clark
shows up. Clark uses his heat vision to destroy Zod's device,
and the satellites stop emitting their energy beams, and
the earthquakes stop. Zod is not amused. He slams himself
into Clark, sending both of them flying through the wall
and into the forest. He tells Clark he was safer in the
Phantom Zone.
After tossing Clark around and pummeling
him for a while. Zod lets up. He says that if Clark swears
allegiance to him, he'll let the people Clark most loves
live. Clark agrees. Then we get the classic Superman
II line, "kneel before Zod." Clark kneels. Zod
reaches out
his hand for Clark to take and Clark slips the Raya's
crystal into Zod's palm. The crystal flashes to life. Zod
can't seem to let it go, and the crystal sucks Zod's essence
out of Lex's body. Lex crumples to the ground.
Later, Clark visits Lois in the hospital. She tells him
about remembering being in a palace of ice with a warm
glow all around. Rather than having figured out Clark's
secret, though, she takes it as an after-death experience.
In the hallway, Lex finds Lana. He doesn't remember anything
after being in the field with her. After Lana acknowledges
that the crowd of people in the hospital is because
of him, he promises to rebuild everything he's damaged.
Good luck with that.
Clark visits Chloe at the Daily Planet. She's, of course,
relieved to see him. There's a bit of awkwardness when
the subject of "the kiss" comes up, but Chloe assures Clark
that "it was the end of the world" and she doesn't expect
them to hook up. Clark looks a bit disappointed (or maybe
it was just me) but quickly covers. Chloe introduces Clark
to Jimmy (excuse me, "James") Olsen, who invites Chloe
to a vending machine dinner. Clark wisely decides not to
tag along for that little feast.
Back on the Kent farm, Clark finds Martha cleaning up
debris in the barn. She tells him that Lionel no longer
feels his connection to Jor-El, and Clark points out that
Jor-El no longer has an influence on Lionel. Clark took
Raya's crystal to the Fortress for safe-keeping, but couldn't
contact Jor-El there anymore.
Flash to Lionel. He's scribbling down Kryptonian symbols,
but isn't doing it under Jor-El's control. A flash of recognition
and excitement shows in his eyes, and under the symbols,
he writes, "power."
In his mansion, we see Lex contemplating a large piece
of Zod's Kryptonian device.
At Iguazu Falls in Patagonia, Argentina, we see one of
the phantoms that escaped fly past.
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