Random Smallville Episode - Onyx

Don't lose your hand, Lex! Especially that one!

First up for the month is the criminal mastermind of our time: Lex Luthor. If there’s one villain you know will show up in one form or another, it’s Lex. The guy’s shown up in comics, TV, movies, and video games. Ever since his first appearance in Action Comics #23 (1940), he’s been the thorn in Superman’s boot. He’s been a mad genius, a powerful businessman, a self-proclaimed savior of the human race, and everything in between. He’s even been the good guy in some stories.

Today, I’ll take a turn at Albuquerque and look at an episode of Smallville. While Smallville wasn’t perfect, it had more pros than cons. One of them was Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex Luthor. While it didn’t completely work with his descent into evil, seeing him go bad was pretty interesting. Today’s episode will be “Onyx” from Season 4 or what Trentus Magnus calls “The Dreaded Fourth Season.” Season 4 was where it got a bit weird for the show and I’m not talking about Sam Winchester either. It wasn’t a horrible season, though. Still, it must be asked: is “Onyx” one of the bad ones?

In the episode, Lex and a scientist are experimenting with Kryptonite to see if it can be used to produce crops. Extreme heat causes the green rock to go black and cause problems. The rock’s rays from split Lex into two versions of himself with one being good and one being evil. The good version, Alexander, pals with Clark for a bit until he’s captured by his evil self, Lex. Lex then goes on a bit of a rampage. He threatens Lana and makes inappropriate moves on her. He also verbally and physically assaults his father, Lionel, and tries to make him embrace his dark side again.

Clark and Chloe figure out what going on and Lex tries to kill them. Clark manages to save Chloe but Lex figures out the secret about Clark. During an earlier encounter, Lex figured out Clark’s weakness to green Kryptonite, so he fashions a ring and manhandles Clark at the barn. He even shoots Jonathan Kent in the knee. Clark knows Lex is hiding his good self somewhere, so he heads to the mansion and finds Alexander in the cellar. Lex is waiting, though, and a fight breaks out. Clark uses his heat vision on the kryptonite ring to make it black and bring Lex back together again. While Lex is better and doesn’t remember anything from the experience, things do change with Lionel embracing his old, jackass side again. The episode ends with Lex not being too bothered by this new change.

Don't y'all hate it when roofs cave in on your head? I know I do!

This was a good episode. While I’m not sure if it’s the perfect episode of Smallville, it’s pretty good. I didn’t do a re-watch of Season 4, so I can’t say how this stacks up with those episodes. All I remember is Bart Allen, Clark flying, Lana turning into a witch, Lois Lane, Allison Mack looking pretty adorable, those stones, and this episode. While the cause is another accident with Kryptonite, the effect is awesome. Michael Rosembaum acts the crap out of Evil Lex and shows us the side that’s been hinted at before. While I wouldn’t call this evil Lex the true Lex, it was awesome to see him act with Tom Welling and John Glover in their scenes.

Everything else about the episode worked. It wasn’t tied that much to Season 4’s ongoing plot and that actually helped. It was nice and a little sad seeing Lionel go back to black. Just know that he doesn’t stay there long. It was also nice to see Clark work things out and take charge in saving the day. There’s not too much wrong with the episode.  There was one special effect that looked pretty jarring when compared to the rest. They also had to go the “I can’t remember” route with Lex again. The final fight could have been cooler, but Smallville is kind of known for that. Overall, it’s a pretty good episode from an odd season of the show. It showed us a big hint of what was to come with Lex.

I’ve pretty much said all I need to say about Lex on the blog. He’s one of my favorite villains. He’s cold, calculating, ruthless, egotistical, and usually has back up plans. He’d make a good hero if he wasn’t so obsessed with power and taking down Superman. He’s also pretty adaptable in the various media. He can be corny or pretty serious. No matter what side of the bed he wakes up on, Lex is still Lex. Well, that’s all I got for this one. Just know that Lex might pop up a bit more this month since he’s that great or something. For now, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there. We got guys like Lex running things, remember?

NEXT TIME: SILVER BANSHEE!