Chloe Sullivan
Encyclopedia
Chloe Sullivan is a fictional character
from the television series Smallville
. Series regular Allison Mack
has portrayed the character since the pilot episode; two other actresses performed the role of Chloe Sullivan as a child. The character was created exclusively for Smallville, by series developers Alfred Gough
and Miles Millar
. By the time of the tenth season, she and Clark Kent
are the only two remaining characters from the first season of the show, though Mack only signed on for five episodes of the tenth and final season. Chloe has also appeared in various literature based on Smallville, an internet series, and comic books.
In Smallville, Chloe is Clark Kent
's best friend, and the editor of the high school newspaper the Torch; she notices that the meteor rocks (kryptonite
) are mutating the citizens of Smallville. She generally teams up with Clark and Pete Ross in tracking and stopping meteor-infected people from harming other citizens. In the first four seasons, Chloe harbors an unrequited love for Clark, but eventually accepts her place as his best friend and nothing more. In later seasons, Chloe discovered that she had a meteor rock power of her own; the character of Jimmy Olsen was introduced, whom Chloe dates, marries, and eventually divorces. The romantic relationship she began with Oliver Queen resulted in their marriage and later a child during the show's tenth season.
Chloe Sullivan has been characterized as independent, intelligent, curious and impulsive by both the writers and the actress that portrays her. The latter two characteristics often cause Chloe to get into trouble with both her friends and with the Luthors. Allison Mack has been recognized with multiple award nominations and wins for her portrayal of Chloe Sullivan.
) stop the citizens of Smallville who have developed special abilities from genetic mutations, caused by the meteor rocks
that fell to Smallville in 1989, from committing crimes. It is established that Chloe is the editor of the school newspaper the Torch at the start of the first season
. Her journalistic curiosity—always wanting to "expose falsehoods" and "know the truth"—causes tension with her friends, especially when she is digging into Clark's past in the season two
episode "Lineage". In the early seasons, Chloe hides the fact that she is in love with Clark, although the feeling is not reciprocated; she confesses her true feelings to Clark in season two's "Fever" while he is sick, but he calls out Lana Lang
's name in his delirium. Her feelings for Clark get in the way of her better judgment as she betrays his trust in the season two finale, after witnessing him and Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk
) sharing a kiss in his barn, and agrees to uncover information on Clark for Lionel Luthor
(John Glover
) in exchange for a job at the Daily Planet
.
Chloe and Clark patch their relationship in the season three
episode "Whisper", after Clark discovers that she has been helping Lionel. When Chloe stops her investigation, Lionel has her fired from the Daily Planet, and also fires her father from his job at LuthorCorp. In season three's "Forsaken", Chloe decides to assist Lex Luthor
(Michael Rosenbaum
), Lionel's son, with getting Lionel arrested for the murder of Lex' grandparents; Chloe's hope is to get out from under Lionel’s control. In the season three finale, the F.B.I.
place Chloe and her father in a safe-house until Lionel’s trial; unfortunately, the safe-house explodes once Chloe and her father enter and they are presumed dead. Chloe’s cousin, Lois Lane
(Erica Durance
), comes to Smallville to investigate Chloe’s death in the fourth season
premiere. In season four's "Gone", Clark and Lois team-up and discover that Lex’s security team found the explosives in the safe-house, pulled Chloe and her father to safety before they detonated, and that he has been hiding her ever since. After Chloe’s testimony in the same episode, Lionel is convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. In the season four episode "Pariah", Chloe discovers Clark’s secret when Alicia Baker (Sarah Carter
), Clark's girlfriend, decides that it needs to be exposed to the world in order for him to feel more comfortable about who he really is. Alicia hopes that Chloe will write a story exposing Clark, but Chloe decides that Clark kept his secret for a reason and decides not to write the story.
Chloe finally reveals to Clark in the season five
premiere that she has known his secret, but that she wanted him to be comfortable enough to tell her on his own. At the same time, Clark reveals that he was not infected by the meteor rocks in Smallville, as Chloe initially suspected, but that he is in fact an alien who was sent to Earth as a baby during the meteor shower of 1989. In season five's "Thirst", Chloe earns her dream job at the Daily Planet, starting in the basement. In the season six
episode "Justice", Chloe begins assisting Green Arrow (Justin Hartley
) and his team of superheroes
under the codename "Watchtower". In "Freak", she discovers she herself is meteor-infected, with an unknown ability, and begins to worry that she is a "time bomb" heading towards insanity
. She later discovers in "Progeny" that her institutionalized
mother, Moira Sullivan (Lynda Carter
), is meteor-infected as well. In the season finale, Chloe learns that her special power lets her heal any wound and even reverse death, when it activates to save Lois. In season seven
's "Descent", when Chloe attempts to keep information regarding "The Traveler" a secret from Lex, who is unaware that "The Traveler" is really Clark, he fires her from her job at the Daily Planet. When in "Sleeper", Lana falls into a catatonic
state having been attacked by the Kryptonian
artificial intelligence known as Brainiac
(James Marsters
), Chloe takes over Lana’s Isis Foundation, a free clinic for individuals who have been infected by the meteor rocks. In the seventh season finale, Chloe is attacked by Brainiac, but her healing powers prevent him from harming her. When she returns home, Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore
), her on-again-off-again boyfriend since season six, proposes marriage. Before Chloe can answer the Department of Domestic Security (DDS) appears and arrests her for hacking into the government database.
At the start of season eight
, it is revealed that Chloe was not arrested by DDS, but Lex’s security personnel impersonating DDS agents. While subjected to their tests, Chloe discovers that her altercation with Brainiac instilled a second ability: vast super intelligence. Returning to Smallville, Chloe reopens the Isis Foundation. Though she loves Jimmy, she finds herself attracted to paramedic Davis Bloome (Samuel Witwer
). In the episode "Abyss", Brainiac's infestation causes Chloe to lose her memories. Clark takes Chloe to his biological father Jor-El
, who restores her memories. After Chloe marries Jimmy in "Bride", she is kidnapped by Doomsday, a genetically engineered killing machine bent on destroying Earth and becomes Brainiac's vessel once again. Brainiac attempts to drain the world of all its human knowledge but is stopped and removed from Chloe's body by the Legion
, superheroes from the future, in "Legion". In "Hex", Chloe assumes the codename Watchtower full time because she feels her life needs more meaning. Chloe discovers that Davis is Doomsday in "Eternal". She attempts to assist Davis' suicide
using kryptonite; when this fails, she stays by his side in order to keep Doomsday under control. In the episode "Beast", she and Davis leave town together; Chloe reasons it will protect Clark. In the season eight finale, she uses black kryptonite to separate Davis from Doomsday; Clark buries Doomsday beneath Metropolis. However, when Davis discovers that Chloe is still in love with Jimmy, he stabs Jimmy and attempts to kill Chloe; Jimmy impales him on a metal rod, and they both die. Chloe vows to keep the Watchtower
Jimmy gave her as a wedding gift open, in the hope that all lost heroes—namely Oliver and his team—will find their way home.
At the start of the ninth season
, using Oliver's money, Chloe transforms the Watchtower into an information fortress and superhero headquarters. In this capacity, she acquires a rival in Tess's computer expert Stuart Campbell (Ryan McDonell); her status as superhero information broker also makes her a target for Checkmate
bosses Amanda Waller
(Pam Grier
) and Maxwell Lord
(Gil Bellows
). Over the course of the season, she grows romantically close to Oliver. In the season ten
première, when Oliver is kidnapped by Suicide Squad
leader Rick Flag
(Ted Whittall), Chloe risks her own sanity by putting on the helmet of Doctor Fate
to learn his location. With the information acquired from Fate's helmet, she organizes a switch for Oliver; in Flag's captivity, Chloe fakes suicide and goes off-the-grid
.
archetype
", as well as be Smallville’s "outsider", which series developers Gough and Millar felt the show needed in order to have a character that notices the strange happenings in Smallville. She is the original creation of Al Gough and Miles Miller, having not been produced first in the DC Comics Universe, unlike the other main characters Clark Kent, Lana Lang, Lex Luthor, and Pete Ross. When they first began developing the series, Gough and Millar had intended for Chloe to have an "ethnic
background". After learning about Smallville from the show's casting director, Dee Dee Bradley, Allison Mack toyed with the idea of auditioning for the role of Lana Lang, but chose instead to audition for the role of Chloe Sullivan. Gough and Millar felt she had a "rare ability to deliver large chunks of expositionary dialogue conversationally", and decided to cast her against their initial intention to give the character an ethnic origin. According to Mack, the reason she got the role was because she went into her second audition with a "very flippant attitude". Kristen Bell
also auditioned for the role of Chloe Sullivan; she would eventually go on to star in the television series Veronica Mars
. Aside from Allison Mack, Roan Curtis portrayed Chloe as a child in the season six episode "Progeny", with Victoria Duffield taking on the role in the eighth season episode "Abyss". Mack enjoys the fact that her character was created specifically for the show, because she feels like she does not have to worry about being compared to someone else in the same role, which she likens to people comparing Michael Rosenbaum’s performance as Lex Luthor to Gene Hackman
’s portrayal in the Superman film series of the 1970s – 1980s. Mack only signed on for five episodes of the tenth and final season.
For season three, Mack wanted the character to be given a major obstacle to overcome, something that would help the character mature. The obstacle in question became Lionel’s control over Chloe, after she made a deal to spy on Clark. Allison Mack believes that Chloe is in her own comfort zone while she is working at the Torch, as she is in complete control, but likens Chloe being under Lionel’s control to that of a "caged animal". When she ruins the lives of a mother and her son in season three’s "Truth", after exposing the mother as a fugitive from the law, Chloe is forced to look deeper into her own self. Mack believes that this event was a turning point for Chloe’s maturity; it is the moment that she realizes that there needs to be a line she should never cross. After it is revealed to Clark in the season five premiere that Chloe knows his secret, the character becomes a larger part of the storyline for the show. Knowing Clark’s secret allowed Chloe to finally come to terms with her feelings for Clark, and recognize where their relationship will always be; Chloe’s acceptance of her place in Clark’s life provides a means for the two to have a more meaningful friendship, without the concerns of Chloe’s unrequited love. According to Mack, Chloe has learned to evolve her love for Clark into something more "genuine" and "selfless".
For the actress, having Chloe become part of the meteor infected community in season six allowed Mack’s character to continue to evolve. Mack views this transition as a means for her character to become more emotionally connected to those people—the meteor infected—she spent five seasons trying to expose to the public. Being infected by the meteors gives Chloe motivation to try to understand them and allows her to grow closer to Clark, as she can better understand what it feels like to live in a world where you have a special ability. Writer Holly Harold believes that, in addition to being infected by the meteor rocks, bringing Lois into the journalistic field also provides Chloe with a lot of ammunition for growth and development. Lois's presence at the Daily Planet allows Chloe the chance to reflect upon herself, and discover what things are most important to her – her career or her family and friends. The competition that Lois provides is beneficial, as it gives Chloe a chance to bring out the best in herself.
A leading theory among audiences was that Chloe would eventually change her name to Lois Lane, Clark’s wife in the comics, as she embodies various characteristics that Lois Lane has in the comic books. The creative team removed the notion that Chloe was going to turn into Clark's future wife when they introduced Lois Lane in season four. Though the characters share similarities, according to Mack, Chloe and Lois are more "different shades of the same color […] Chloe is a softer version of Lois". Chloe’s upbringing allows her to be less jaded than Lois. Chloe also looks to the future, whereas Lois is more shortsighted.
The season six finale reveals that Chloe has the ability to heal others. Mack describes Chloe's newfound meteor power as similar to "empathy
". The actress further defines the power as the ability to heal others by taking their pain and making it her own. Writer Todd Slavkin contends that giving Chloe the power to heal was the best choice for the character. According to Slavkin, Chloe has sacrificed so much in her life for the greater good that it only seemed natural that her meteor power would reflect that. For the writer, it did not make sense for her ability to be something "malicious and evil and destructive". In season eight, Chloe discovers that she also has super-intelligence – being able to solve complex algorithms faster than LuthorCorp’s most powerful supercomputer. She and Clark later deduce that her new found intelligence was brought on during her encounter with Brainiac, who infected her with a part of himself during his attack.
Speaking on the evolving relationship of Clark and Chloe, Mack believes that the season six introduction of Jimmy Olsen into Chloe's life increased her value to Clark. Before, Chloe would drop anything for Clark, but now that Chloe has other priorities, it makes Clark realize how valuable she is to him. The introduction of Jimmy Olsen also provides Chloe with someone she can finally have a romantic relationship with. The relationship is strained when Chloe has to lie to cover up Clark's secret, as well as keeping the fact that she is meteor-infected hidden. Writer Holly Harold questions whether or not Jimmy has taken over the place in Chloe’s heart that Clark occupied for so long.
Chloe’s relationship with her mother is one tackled both off-screen and behind the scenes. In a brainstorming session, Mack, Gough and Millar came up with the idea that Chloe’s mother had left her at a young age. Mack wanted to make the character a "latchkey kid
", in an effort to explain why she is out all hours of the night. Mack feels that Chloe has real abandonment issues, which play on the fact that she never feels like she is good enough for anyone. These abandonment issues were meant to provide a reason for why the character is devastated by the fact that Clark does not love her the same way that she loves him, as well as the reason for why Chloe does not have many female friends. One of Chloe’s story arcs in season five involved her finding her mother in a mental institution, and living with the fear that she will have a mental breakdown of her own and end up in a psychiatric facility. This fear also affects Clark, who worries that keeping his secret will have negative effects on Chloe, like it did Pete.
as best supporting actress in a television program in 2006 and 2007. Mack has been nominated seven consecutive times—between 2002 and 2009—for Teen Choice Award's Choice Teen Sidekick; she won the award in 2006 and 2007.
.
In the first volume, picking up some time after the events of season one’s "Jitters", Chloe begins checking into the rumors of the "Level 3" facility at the Smallville LuthorCorp plant. Here, she starts investigating the death of LuthorCorp employee Earl Jenkins, which takes her to a research company known as Nu-Corp. Chloe interviews Nu-Corp’s Dr. Arthur Walsh, who reveals that he knows what really happened to Earl Jenkins while he was working at LuthorCorp. Walsh disappears before Chloe can get the all of information.
In volume two, Chloe is contacted by an ex-Navy SEAL, Bix, and former member of LuthorCorp’s "Deletion Group" who has information regarding Dr. Walsh’s disappearance. Walsh begins sending Chloe videos, which lead Chloe to discover that Walsh was working with Donovan Jameson, the head of Nu-Corp, and Dr. Stephen Hamilton on experimentations involving the meteor rocks. Chloe and Pete Ross (Sam Jones III
), who accompanies Chloe as her cameraman, learn that Jameson is experimenting on meteor infected people in order to steal their abilities. Jameson, exhibiting the same jitters as Earl Jenkins, attempts to kill Chloe and Pete to hide what he has been doing, but his jitters become uncontrollable and he kills himself in his lab. As Chloe and Pete leave the lab they come across Lionel Luthor, leading Chloe to realize that Lionel was funding Jameson’s efforts.
The third volume of the Chloe Chronicles, titled Vengeance Chronicles, features Chloe teaming up with the "Angel of Vengeance" Andrea Rojas
(Denise Quiñones
), from season five’s "Vengeance", to stop Lex Luthor. Andrea informs Chloe that Lex turned Lionel’s "Level 3" facility into his own "33.1" research lab. Rojas, working with meteor infected individuals Yang and Molly Griggs, wants Chloe’s help to expose LuthorCorp’s experimentation on the meteor infected.
" is interested in her research on the meteor rocks. She quickly realizes, after attending one of Jacobi's shows, that he is nothing more than a con artist, which causes her to devote her time to proving that so no one will fall victim to his schemes. In Smallville: Dragon, Chloe attempts to solve the murder of one of teachers, Mr. Tait, which she and Clark believe to be the work of recently released convict Ray Dansk. While attending a party put on by Lex, Chloe is injured during an attack on the crowd by Dansk, who has turned into a reptilian creature thanks to exposure to the meteor rocks.
, the problem of bringing Chloe into the mainstream comic book universe, and keeping her television background, was that she would have filled two roles: "the Girl from Back Home and the Reporter". Those roles were already filled by the adult comic book versions of Lana Lang
and Lois Lane
, so the plan was to give the character a new background. Busiek hoped to make Chloe the younger sister of someone Clark had gone to school with, who was a now interning at the Daily Planet. Busiek believed that this would make her different from Lana and Lois, but still familiar to readers who also watched the show. Another distinguishing feature would be that this version of Chloe would not know Clark’s secret, nor would she be meteor infected. These ideas never came to fruition.
Chloe first appeared in "Jimmy Olsen's Big Week", a serialized Jimmy Olsen
story written by Nick Spencer
, beginning in Action Comics
#893 (November 2010). Spencer stated that introducing Chloe has been his first "positive contribution" to the DC Universe
. Because of the continuity differences between Smallville and the comic book Superman stories, Spencer chose to stay "as true to the character" as he could by honoring her romantic history with Jimmy Olsen from later Smallville seasons, as well as her journalistic background from its early seasons. Spencer decided to introduce Chloe after he began conceiving of a clever, dogged female reporter for Jimmy Olsen to interact with, and realized that he had been subconsciously writing about Chloe.
It was recently announced during Comic Con 2011 that there are currently no plans to reincorporate Chloe into the planned relaunch of Action Comics, although DC did not rule out a later appearance.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the television series Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
. Series regular Allison Mack
Allison Mack
Not to be confused with Alison MacAllison Mack is an American actress. She is best known for her role of Chloe Sullivan on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Early life:...
has portrayed the character since the pilot episode; two other actresses performed the role of Chloe Sullivan as a child. The character was created exclusively for Smallville, by series developers Alfred Gough
Alfred Gough
Alfred Gough III is an American screenwriter and producer.-Early life and career:Born in Leonardtown, Maryland, Gough graduated from St. Mary's Ryken High School and The Catholic University of America...
and Miles Millar
Miles Millar
-Early life and Career:Millar was educated at Claremont Fan Court School, and is a graduate of Christ's College, Cambridge, where he was Chairman of Cambridge University Conservative Association.....
. By the time of the tenth season, she and Clark Kent
Clark Kent (Smallville)
Clark Kent is a fictional character on the television series Smallville. The character of Clark Kent, first created for comic books by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 as the alternate identity of Superman, was adapted to television in 2001 by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar—this is the fourth...
are the only two remaining characters from the first season of the show, though Mack only signed on for five episodes of the tenth and final season. Chloe has also appeared in various literature based on Smallville, an internet series, and comic books.
In Smallville, Chloe is Clark Kent
Clark Kent (Smallville)
Clark Kent is a fictional character on the television series Smallville. The character of Clark Kent, first created for comic books by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 as the alternate identity of Superman, was adapted to television in 2001 by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar—this is the fourth...
's best friend, and the editor of the high school newspaper the Torch; she notices that the meteor rocks (kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
) are mutating the citizens of Smallville. She generally teams up with Clark and Pete Ross in tracking and stopping meteor-infected people from harming other citizens. In the first four seasons, Chloe harbors an unrequited love for Clark, but eventually accepts her place as his best friend and nothing more. In later seasons, Chloe discovered that she had a meteor rock power of her own; the character of Jimmy Olsen was introduced, whom Chloe dates, marries, and eventually divorces. The romantic relationship she began with Oliver Queen resulted in their marriage and later a child during the show's tenth season.
Chloe Sullivan has been characterized as independent, intelligent, curious and impulsive by both the writers and the actress that portrays her. The latter two characteristics often cause Chloe to get into trouble with both her friends and with the Luthors. Allison Mack has been recognized with multiple award nominations and wins for her portrayal of Chloe Sullivan.
Role in Smallville
Introduced in the series pilot, Chloe spends much of season one helping her best friend Clark Kent (Tom WellingTom Welling
Thomas John Patrick "Tom" Welling is an American actor, director, producer, and former model, best known for his portrayal of Clark Kent in the WB/CW series Smallville....
) stop the citizens of Smallville who have developed special abilities from genetic mutations, caused by the meteor rocks
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
that fell to Smallville in 1989, from committing crimes. It is established that Chloe is the editor of the school newspaper the Torch at the start of the first season
Smallville (season 1)
Season one of Smallville, an American television series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, began airing on October 16, 2001, on The WB television network. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to his developing superpowers in the fictional town of...
. Her journalistic curiosity—always wanting to "expose falsehoods" and "know the truth"—causes tension with her friends, especially when she is digging into Clark's past in the season two
Smallville (Season 2)
Season two of Smallville, an American television series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, began airing on September 24, 2002, on The WB television network. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas,...
episode "Lineage". In the early seasons, Chloe hides the fact that she is in love with Clark, although the feeling is not reciprocated; she confesses her true feelings to Clark in season two's "Fever" while he is sick, but he calls out Lana Lang
Lana Lang (Smallville)
Lana Lang is a fictional character on the television series Smallville. She has been a series regular since the pilot episode, and has been played continuously by Kristin Kreuk, with two other actresses having portrayed Lana Lang as a child and as an elderly woman...
's name in his delirium. Her feelings for Clark get in the way of her better judgment as she betrays his trust in the season two finale, after witnessing him and Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk
Kristin Kreuk
Kristin Laura Kreuk is a Canadian actress and producer, known for her portrayal of Lana Lang in the American television series Smallville. She was also a regular cast member on the Canadian teen drama Edgemont, and has starred in movies such as Eurotrip and Street Fighter: The Legend of...
) sharing a kiss in his barn, and agrees to uncover information on Clark for Lionel Luthor
Lionel Luthor
Lionel Luthor is a fictional character in the television series Smallville, portrayed continuously by John Glover. Initially a recurring guest in season one, the character became a series regular in season two and continued with that status until he was written out of the show in the seventh season...
(John Glover
John Glover (actor)
John Soursby Glover Jr. is an American actor, perhaps best known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Personal life:...
) in exchange for a job at the Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
.
Chloe and Clark patch their relationship in the season three
Smallville (Season 3)
Season three of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on October 1, 2003. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The third season comprises 22...
episode "Whisper", after Clark discovers that she has been helping Lionel. When Chloe stops her investigation, Lionel has her fired from the Daily Planet, and also fires her father from his job at LuthorCorp. In season three's "Forsaken", Chloe decides to assist Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor (Smallville)
Lex Luthor is a fictional character from the television series Smallville. He was a series regular from the pilot episode until the season seven finale, and has been played continuously by Michael Rosenbaum, with various actors portraying Lex as a child throughout the series...
(Michael Rosenbaum
Michael Rosenbaum
Michael Owen Rosenbaum is an American actor and director. He is best known for portraying Lex Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville and Dutch on FOX's Breaking In, and for providing the voice for the Flash in the DC animated universe...
), Lionel's son, with getting Lionel arrested for the murder of Lex' grandparents; Chloe's hope is to get out from under Lionel’s control. In the season three finale, the F.B.I.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
place Chloe and her father in a safe-house until Lionel’s trial; unfortunately, the safe-house explodes once Chloe and her father enter and they are presumed dead. Chloe’s cousin, Lois Lane
Lois Lane (Smallville)
Lois Lane is a fictional character on the television series Smallville; she has been portrayed continually by Erica Durance since her first appearance in the season four premier "Crusade". Durance began as a guest star in season four, but was promoted to series regular status beginning in season five...
(Erica Durance
Erica Durance
Erica Durance is a Canadian actress. She has also been credited as Erica Parker. She is best known for her role as Lois Lane in the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.- Early life :...
), comes to Smallville to investigate Chloe’s death in the fourth season
Smallville (Season 4)
Season four of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 22, 2004. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The fourth season comprises...
premiere. In season four's "Gone", Clark and Lois team-up and discover that Lex’s security team found the explosives in the safe-house, pulled Chloe and her father to safety before they detonated, and that he has been hiding her ever since. After Chloe’s testimony in the same episode, Lionel is convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. In the season four episode "Pariah", Chloe discovers Clark’s secret when Alicia Baker (Sarah Carter
Sarah Carter
Sarah Carter is a Canadian actress, best known for her role in the TNT drama Falling Skies.-Biography:Carter was born in Toronto, Canada and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She attended Balmoral Hall School where she was a dedicated dancer and took part in various school plays including ‘’The Wizard...
), Clark's girlfriend, decides that it needs to be exposed to the world in order for him to feel more comfortable about who he really is. Alicia hopes that Chloe will write a story exposing Clark, but Chloe decides that Clark kept his secret for a reason and decides not to write the story.
Chloe finally reveals to Clark in the season five
Smallville (Season 5)
Season five of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 29, 2005. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
premiere that she has known his secret, but that she wanted him to be comfortable enough to tell her on his own. At the same time, Clark reveals that he was not infected by the meteor rocks in Smallville, as Chloe initially suspected, but that he is in fact an alien who was sent to Earth as a baby during the meteor shower of 1989. In season five's "Thirst", Chloe earns her dream job at the Daily Planet, starting in the basement. In the season six
Smallville (Season 6)
Season six of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 28, 2006. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
episode "Justice", Chloe begins assisting Green Arrow (Justin Hartley
Justin Hartley
Justin Scott Hartley is an American actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles of Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions, and as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on the WB/CW Superman-inspired series Smallville....
) and his team of superheroes
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
under the codename "Watchtower". In "Freak", she discovers she herself is meteor-infected, with an unknown ability, and begins to worry that she is a "time bomb" heading towards insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
. She later discovers in "Progeny" that her institutionalized
Involuntary commitment
Involuntary commitment or civil commitment is a legal process through which an individual with symptoms of severe mental illness is court-ordered into treatment in a hospital or in the community ....
mother, Moira Sullivan (Lynda Carter
Lynda Carter
Lynda Jean Carter is an American actress and singer, best known for being Miss World USA and as the star of the 1970s television series The New Original Wonder Woman and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman ....
), is meteor-infected as well. In the season finale, Chloe learns that her special power lets her heal any wound and even reverse death, when it activates to save Lois. In season seven
Smallville (season 7)
Season seven of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 27, 2007. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
's "Descent", when Chloe attempts to keep information regarding "The Traveler" a secret from Lex, who is unaware that "The Traveler" is really Clark, he fires her from her job at the Daily Planet. When in "Sleeper", Lana falls into a catatonic
Catatonia
Catatonia is a state of neurogenic motor immobility, and behavioral abnormality manifested by stupor. It was first described in 1874: Die Katatonie oder das Spannungsirresein ....
state having been attacked by the Kryptonian
Kryptonian
Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race of the DC Comics universe who hail from the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman...
artificial intelligence known as Brainiac
Brainiac (comics)
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
(James Marsters
James Marsters
James Wesley Marsters is an American actor and musician. Marsters first came to the attention of the general public playing the popular character Spike, a platinum-blond yobbish English vampire in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel from 1997 to 2004...
), Chloe takes over Lana’s Isis Foundation, a free clinic for individuals who have been infected by the meteor rocks. In the seventh season finale, Chloe is attacked by Brainiac, but her healing powers prevent him from harming her. When she returns home, Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jimmy Olsen in Smallville and as Steve Jinks in Warehouse 13. He is the twin brother of actor Shawn Ashmore.-Career:...
), her on-again-off-again boyfriend since season six, proposes marriage. Before Chloe can answer the Department of Domestic Security (DDS) appears and arrests her for hacking into the government database.
At the start of season eight
Smallville (season 8)
Season eight of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 18, 2008. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
, it is revealed that Chloe was not arrested by DDS, but Lex’s security personnel impersonating DDS agents. While subjected to their tests, Chloe discovers that her altercation with Brainiac instilled a second ability: vast super intelligence. Returning to Smallville, Chloe reopens the Isis Foundation. Though she loves Jimmy, she finds herself attracted to paramedic Davis Bloome (Samuel Witwer
Samuel Witwer
Samuel Stewart "Sam" Witwer is an American actor and musician. He has appeared in individual episodes of numerous television shows as well as minor recurring characters in shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Davis Bloome aka Doomsday in Smallville, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Dexter...
). In the episode "Abyss", Brainiac's infestation causes Chloe to lose her memories. Clark takes Chloe to his biological father Jor-El
Jor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....
, who restores her memories. After Chloe marries Jimmy in "Bride", she is kidnapped by Doomsday, a genetically engineered killing machine bent on destroying Earth and becomes Brainiac's vessel once again. Brainiac attempts to drain the world of all its human knowledge but is stopped and removed from Chloe's body by the Legion
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
, superheroes from the future, in "Legion". In "Hex", Chloe assumes the codename Watchtower full time because she feels her life needs more meaning. Chloe discovers that Davis is Doomsday in "Eternal". She attempts to assist Davis' suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
using kryptonite; when this fails, she stays by his side in order to keep Doomsday under control. In the episode "Beast", she and Davis leave town together; Chloe reasons it will protect Clark. In the season eight finale, she uses black kryptonite to separate Davis from Doomsday; Clark buries Doomsday beneath Metropolis. However, when Davis discovers that Chloe is still in love with Jimmy, he stabs Jimmy and attempts to kill Chloe; Jimmy impales him on a metal rod, and they both die. Chloe vows to keep the Watchtower
Justice League Watchtower
The Watchtower is the name of various bases used by the Justice League of America in DC Comics and various other media. It has been portrayed in DC comics as a building on Earth's moon, and as a space-station in orbit in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon.The Watchtower debuted in JLA #4 during...
Jimmy gave her as a wedding gift open, in the hope that all lost heroes—namely Oliver and his team—will find their way home.
At the start of the ninth season
Smallville (season 9)
Season nine of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 25, 2009. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
, using Oliver's money, Chloe transforms the Watchtower into an information fortress and superhero headquarters. In this capacity, she acquires a rival in Tess's computer expert Stuart Campbell (Ryan McDonell); her status as superhero information broker also makes her a target for Checkmate
Checkmate (comics)
Checkmate, a division of Task Force X, is a fictional covert operations agency within the DC Comics universe. It first appeared in Action Comics #598 and proceeded to have its own ongoing title in Checkmate!...
bosses Amanda Waller
Amanda Waller
Dr. Amanda Blake Waller is a character published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986, and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne...
(Pam Grier
Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
) and Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord IV is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a shrewd and powerful businessman who was very influential in the formation of the Justice League International in DC Comics.-Before the League:...
(Gil Bellows
Gil Bellows
Gil Bellows is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in The Shawshank Redemption, Billy Thomas in the television series Ally McBeal and as CIA agent Matt Callan in the television series The Agency.-Early life:Bellows was born in Vancouver, British...
). Over the course of the season, she grows romantically close to Oliver. In the season ten
Smallville (season 10)
Season ten of Smallville, an American television series, premiered on September 24, 2010 and consisted of 22 episodes. It was the tenth and final season to air, and the fifth one to air on The CW television network...
première, when Oliver is kidnapped by Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X , is a name for two fictional organizations in the DC Comics Universe. The first version debuted in The Brave and the Bold #25 , and the second in Legends #3...
leader Rick Flag
Rick Flag
Rick Flag is the name of three fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. They are father, son, and grandson.The father, Richard Flag was in the original Suicide Squad, a World War II unit. After the war he was a member of Task Force X. The son, Rick Flag Jr...
(Ted Whittall), Chloe risks her own sanity by putting on the helmet of Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear in books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55...
to learn his location. With the information acquired from Fate's helmet, she organizes a switch for Oliver; in Flag's captivity, Chloe fakes suicide and goes off-the-grid
Off-the-grid
The term off-the-grid or off-grid refers to living in a self-sufficient manner without reliance on one or more public utilities....
.
Portrayal
Chloe Sullivan was introduced by the show's creators to be a "Lois LaneLois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
", as well as be Smallville’s "outsider", which series developers Gough and Millar felt the show needed in order to have a character that notices the strange happenings in Smallville. She is the original creation of Al Gough and Miles Miller, having not been produced first in the DC Comics Universe, unlike the other main characters Clark Kent, Lana Lang, Lex Luthor, and Pete Ross. When they first began developing the series, Gough and Millar had intended for Chloe to have an "ethnic
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
background". After learning about Smallville from the show's casting director, Dee Dee Bradley, Allison Mack toyed with the idea of auditioning for the role of Lana Lang, but chose instead to audition for the role of Chloe Sullivan. Gough and Millar felt she had a "rare ability to deliver large chunks of expositionary dialogue conversationally", and decided to cast her against their initial intention to give the character an ethnic origin. According to Mack, the reason she got the role was because she went into her second audition with a "very flippant attitude". Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell
Kristen Anne Bell is an American actress. Although her first film role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding, Bell previously acted in stage and musical productions. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer...
also auditioned for the role of Chloe Sullivan; she would eventually go on to star in the television series Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
. Aside from Allison Mack, Roan Curtis portrayed Chloe as a child in the season six episode "Progeny", with Victoria Duffield taking on the role in the eighth season episode "Abyss". Mack enjoys the fact that her character was created specifically for the show, because she feels like she does not have to worry about being compared to someone else in the same role, which she likens to people comparing Michael Rosenbaum’s performance as Lex Luthor to Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
’s portrayal in the Superman film series of the 1970s – 1980s. Mack only signed on for five episodes of the tenth and final season.
Storyline progression
Allison Mack was disappointed that the character "lost some of her backbone" in the second season. The second season was about exploring Chloe’s heart, and the idea of her being this "lovelorn […] angsty teenager". As Mack describes her, "[Chloe] was a little spineless and a little bit too much of a pushover [in season two]." Mack does believe that by the end of the season Chloe manages to get some of that integrity back. The actress likes to make sure that her character is kept "smart" and "ambitious", but at the end of season two Chloe’s impulsiveness causes her to get stuck under Lionel’s control, when she "spitefully" agrees to uncover Clark’s secrets for Lionel Luthor after Clark is not honest with her about his newly established relationship with Lana.For season three, Mack wanted the character to be given a major obstacle to overcome, something that would help the character mature. The obstacle in question became Lionel’s control over Chloe, after she made a deal to spy on Clark. Allison Mack believes that Chloe is in her own comfort zone while she is working at the Torch, as she is in complete control, but likens Chloe being under Lionel’s control to that of a "caged animal". When she ruins the lives of a mother and her son in season three’s "Truth", after exposing the mother as a fugitive from the law, Chloe is forced to look deeper into her own self. Mack believes that this event was a turning point for Chloe’s maturity; it is the moment that she realizes that there needs to be a line she should never cross. After it is revealed to Clark in the season five premiere that Chloe knows his secret, the character becomes a larger part of the storyline for the show. Knowing Clark’s secret allowed Chloe to finally come to terms with her feelings for Clark, and recognize where their relationship will always be; Chloe’s acceptance of her place in Clark’s life provides a means for the two to have a more meaningful friendship, without the concerns of Chloe’s unrequited love. According to Mack, Chloe has learned to evolve her love for Clark into something more "genuine" and "selfless".
For the actress, having Chloe become part of the meteor infected community in season six allowed Mack’s character to continue to evolve. Mack views this transition as a means for her character to become more emotionally connected to those people—the meteor infected—she spent five seasons trying to expose to the public. Being infected by the meteors gives Chloe motivation to try to understand them and allows her to grow closer to Clark, as she can better understand what it feels like to live in a world where you have a special ability. Writer Holly Harold believes that, in addition to being infected by the meteor rocks, bringing Lois into the journalistic field also provides Chloe with a lot of ammunition for growth and development. Lois's presence at the Daily Planet allows Chloe the chance to reflect upon herself, and discover what things are most important to her – her career or her family and friends. The competition that Lois provides is beneficial, as it gives Chloe a chance to bring out the best in herself.
Characterization
Allison Mack characterizes Chloe as being a "misfit" during the first season; more of "a really smart girl with attitude". She goes on to describe Chloe as intelligent and independent. Another of Chloe’s defining characteristics is her need to "expose falsehoods" and find the truth in every situation. The character is curious, and wants to be honest with people. She is always trying to make sense of the situation. Next to her curiosity, her impulsiveness is a key characteristic that eventually leaves her under the control of Lionel Luthor, when she sells offers to uncover information on Clark for Lionel. The reason for this betrayal is based on Chloe’s love for Clark. As Allison Mack explains, Chloe is so blinded by her love for Clark that she neglects to see all of the mistakes that he makes. It is this unrequited love for Clark that "drives [Chloe] to be as ambitious and as focused as she is".A leading theory among audiences was that Chloe would eventually change her name to Lois Lane, Clark’s wife in the comics, as she embodies various characteristics that Lois Lane has in the comic books. The creative team removed the notion that Chloe was going to turn into Clark's future wife when they introduced Lois Lane in season four. Though the characters share similarities, according to Mack, Chloe and Lois are more "different shades of the same color […] Chloe is a softer version of Lois". Chloe’s upbringing allows her to be less jaded than Lois. Chloe also looks to the future, whereas Lois is more shortsighted.
The season six finale reveals that Chloe has the ability to heal others. Mack describes Chloe's newfound meteor power as similar to "empathy
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...
". The actress further defines the power as the ability to heal others by taking their pain and making it her own. Writer Todd Slavkin contends that giving Chloe the power to heal was the best choice for the character. According to Slavkin, Chloe has sacrificed so much in her life for the greater good that it only seemed natural that her meteor power would reflect that. For the writer, it did not make sense for her ability to be something "malicious and evil and destructive". In season eight, Chloe discovers that she also has super-intelligence – being able to solve complex algorithms faster than LuthorCorp’s most powerful supercomputer. She and Clark later deduce that her new found intelligence was brought on during her encounter with Brainiac, who infected her with a part of himself during his attack.
Relationships
One of Chloe’s key relationships is with the series protagonist, Clark Kent. Although believers in the "Chlois" theory initially suspected that Chloe would eventually become Lois Lane, Clark’s future wife in the comics, Mack contends that Clark does not love Chloe in the way that she loves him. The actress does not believe that Clark's feelings will ever change. Regardless of Clark’s feelings, Mack recognizes that Chloe is blinded by her love for Clark, which ultimately affects her judgment in not only seeing Clark’s faults, but making choices that place her character in danger. In season five, Clark finally discovers that Chloe knows his secret, and this revelation allows Chloe the opportunity to come to terms with her feelings for Clark; this also provided a means for the two have a more meaningful friendship, without the concerns of Chloe’s unrequited love.Speaking on the evolving relationship of Clark and Chloe, Mack believes that the season six introduction of Jimmy Olsen into Chloe's life increased her value to Clark. Before, Chloe would drop anything for Clark, but now that Chloe has other priorities, it makes Clark realize how valuable she is to him. The introduction of Jimmy Olsen also provides Chloe with someone she can finally have a romantic relationship with. The relationship is strained when Chloe has to lie to cover up Clark's secret, as well as keeping the fact that she is meteor-infected hidden. Writer Holly Harold questions whether or not Jimmy has taken over the place in Chloe’s heart that Clark occupied for so long.
Chloe’s relationship with her mother is one tackled both off-screen and behind the scenes. In a brainstorming session, Mack, Gough and Millar came up with the idea that Chloe’s mother had left her at a young age. Mack wanted to make the character a "latchkey kid
Latchkey kid
A latchkey kid or latchkey child is a child who returns from school to an empty home because his or her parent or parents are away at work, or a child who is often left at home with little or no parental supervision.- History of the term :...
", in an effort to explain why she is out all hours of the night. Mack feels that Chloe has real abandonment issues, which play on the fact that she never feels like she is good enough for anyone. These abandonment issues were meant to provide a reason for why the character is devastated by the fact that Clark does not love her the same way that she loves him, as well as the reason for why Chloe does not have many female friends. One of Chloe’s story arcs in season five involved her finding her mother in a mental institution, and living with the fear that she will have a mental breakdown of her own and end up in a psychiatric facility. This fear also affects Clark, who worries that keeping his secret will have negative effects on Chloe, like it did Pete.
Reception
Allison Mack has been nominated for a number of awards for her role as Chloe Sullivan. She was nominated for a Saturn AwardSaturn Award
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
as best supporting actress in a television program in 2006 and 2007. Mack has been nominated seven consecutive times—between 2002 and 2009—for Teen Choice Award's Choice Teen Sidekick; she won the award in 2006 and 2007.
Other media appearances
Apart from her appearances on television, Chloe has also appeared in her own online spin-off, a series of young adult novels, a bi-monthly Smallville comic book, and been given a 2010 introduction into the official DC comics universeDC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
.
Chloe Chronicles
Apart from the television series Smallville, the character of Chloe Sullivan appeared in her own web-based spin-off series, titled Smallville: Chloe Chronicles. Allison Mack continued her duties as the investigative, high school reporter, with the series originally airing exclusively on AOL.com. The first volume aired between April 29, 2003 and May 20, 2003. The web series eventually made its way to Britain's Channel 4 website. Smallville: Chloe Chronicles was created by Mark Warshaw, with the scripts written by Brice Tidwell; Allison Mack was given final script approval. This final approval allowed Mack to review and make changes to the script as she saw fit. Warshaw also communicated regularly with Gough and Millar so that he could find more unique ways to expand Smallville stories over to Chloe’s Chronicles.In the first volume, picking up some time after the events of season one’s "Jitters", Chloe begins checking into the rumors of the "Level 3" facility at the Smallville LuthorCorp plant. Here, she starts investigating the death of LuthorCorp employee Earl Jenkins, which takes her to a research company known as Nu-Corp. Chloe interviews Nu-Corp’s Dr. Arthur Walsh, who reveals that he knows what really happened to Earl Jenkins while he was working at LuthorCorp. Walsh disappears before Chloe can get the all of information.
In volume two, Chloe is contacted by an ex-Navy SEAL, Bix, and former member of LuthorCorp’s "Deletion Group" who has information regarding Dr. Walsh’s disappearance. Walsh begins sending Chloe videos, which lead Chloe to discover that Walsh was working with Donovan Jameson, the head of Nu-Corp, and Dr. Stephen Hamilton on experimentations involving the meteor rocks. Chloe and Pete Ross (Sam Jones III
Sam Jones III
Samuel L. Jones III is an American actor, best known for playing Pete Ross on the first three seasons of the television series Smallville.-Career:...
), who accompanies Chloe as her cameraman, learn that Jameson is experimenting on meteor infected people in order to steal their abilities. Jameson, exhibiting the same jitters as Earl Jenkins, attempts to kill Chloe and Pete to hide what he has been doing, but his jitters become uncontrollable and he kills himself in his lab. As Chloe and Pete leave the lab they come across Lionel Luthor, leading Chloe to realize that Lionel was funding Jameson’s efforts.
The third volume of the Chloe Chronicles, titled Vengeance Chronicles, features Chloe teaming up with the "Angel of Vengeance" Andrea Rojas
Acrata
Acrata is a fictional character from DC Comics who was created as part of the Planet DC annuals event. Her first appearance is in Superman Annual 2 #12 . She was created by Oscar Pinto, Giovanni Barberi, and F.G. Haghenbeck...
(Denise Quiñones
Denise Quiñones
Denise Marie Quiñones August is a Puerto Rican actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was the fourth woman from her country to win the Miss Universe contest...
), from season five’s "Vengeance", to stop Lex Luthor. Andrea informs Chloe that Lex turned Lionel’s "Level 3" facility into his own "33.1" research lab. Rojas, working with meteor infected individuals Yang and Molly Griggs, wants Chloe’s help to expose LuthorCorp’s experimentation on the meteor infected.
Young-adult novels
Chloe's first appearance in literature was in the Aspect published Smallville: Strange Visitors. Here, Chloe is conned into believing that Dr. Donald Jacobi, a "faith healerFaith healing
Faith healing is healing through spiritual means. The healing of a person is brought about by religious faith through prayer and/or rituals that, according to adherents, stimulate a divine presence and power toward correcting disease and disability. Belief in divine intervention in illness or...
" is interested in her research on the meteor rocks. She quickly realizes, after attending one of Jacobi's shows, that he is nothing more than a con artist, which causes her to devote her time to proving that so no one will fall victim to his schemes. In Smallville: Dragon, Chloe attempts to solve the murder of one of teachers, Mr. Tait, which she and Clark believe to be the work of recently released convict Ray Dansk. While attending a party put on by Lex, Chloe is injured during an attack on the crowd by Dansk, who has turned into a reptilian creature thanks to exposure to the meteor rocks.
Comic books
Although Chloe appeared alongside her television cohorts in the Smallville comic books, which featured tie-ins to the Chloe Chronicles webisodes, the character did not appear in the mainstream until 2010, though DC representatives and writers initially hoped to bring Chloe into DC continuity in 2007. According to writer Kurt BusiekKurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...
, the problem of bringing Chloe into the mainstream comic book universe, and keeping her television background, was that she would have filled two roles: "the Girl from Back Home and the Reporter". Those roles were already filled by the adult comic book versions of Lana Lang
Lana Lang
Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character in DC Comics' Superman series. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, the character first appears in Superboy #10...
and Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
, so the plan was to give the character a new background. Busiek hoped to make Chloe the younger sister of someone Clark had gone to school with, who was a now interning at the Daily Planet. Busiek believed that this would make her different from Lana and Lois, but still familiar to readers who also watched the show. Another distinguishing feature would be that this version of Chloe would not know Clark’s secret, nor would she be meteor infected. These ideas never came to fruition.
Chloe first appeared in "Jimmy Olsen's Big Week", a serialized Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
story written by Nick Spencer
Nick Spencer
Nick Spencer is a comic book writer known for his creator-owned titles at Image Comics , his work at DC Comics Nick Spencer is a comic book writer known for his creator-owned titles at Image Comics (Existence 2.0/3.0, Forgetless, Shuddertown, Morning Glories), his work at DC Comics Nick Spencer is...
, beginning in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#893 (November 2010). Spencer stated that introducing Chloe has been his first "positive contribution" to the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. Because of the continuity differences between Smallville and the comic book Superman stories, Spencer chose to stay "as true to the character" as he could by honoring her romantic history with Jimmy Olsen from later Smallville seasons, as well as her journalistic background from its early seasons. Spencer decided to introduce Chloe after he began conceiving of a clever, dogged female reporter for Jimmy Olsen to interact with, and realized that he had been subconsciously writing about Chloe.
It was recently announced during Comic Con 2011 that there are currently no plans to reincorporate Chloe into the planned relaunch of Action Comics, although DC did not rule out a later appearance.