Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)

Chloe Sullivan is a good friend and ally of Clark Kent during his time in Smallville.

History

Early Life

Born in early 1987.^[4][5] At some point, Chloe (along with her mother) was infected by Kryptonite, but her mutation remained dormant for years.^[6] From an early age, Chloe was interested in journalism and mysteries. As a result, she'd frequently write stories about alien abductions and the Loch Ness Monster.^[6]

In 1995, Chloe's mother was committed to a mental institution,^[6] mistakenly diagnosed with a hereditary mental disorder.^[7] However, rather than being told the truth, the young Chloe was allowed to believe that her mother had abandoned her.^[8]

Five years later, Chloe and her father moved to Smallville, where she met and befriended Clark Kent and Pete Ross.^[9]

Season One

In 2001, Chloe enrolled at Smallville High School. Despite only being a freshman, she managed to secure a position as editor for the school paper (a position that she held throughout high school). The town had become famous, after it had been hit by the largest meteor shower in history, in 1989. Scientists had ensured that the meteor rock were harmless,^[10] but Chloe was convinced otherwise. During her time in the town, Chloe began to note all the strange things that went on there. Stuff, that she felt other people ignored. She began to collect these stories in a scrapbook, that eventually turned into a mural, that she nicknamed the "Wall of Weird".^[11]

Chloe began printing stories about "meteor freaks" (people that had gained metahuman abilities, through exposure to Kryptonite), in the school newspaper, much to the disapproval of principal Kwan, who briefly had her removed as editor of the paper. However, thanks to Lana Lang, who had been tasked to take over for her, Chloe quickly regained her old position as editor of the Torch.^[10] After this, Chloe continued investigating the strange things, that happened in Smallville. Unknowingly, she often aided Clark Kent in saving people and stopping criminals.^[12][13]

During this time, Chloe had also developed a crush on Clark. Unfortunately, Clark had his own crush on Lana Lang.^[11] Additional problems arose, when Chloe was assigned a school project, where she had to write a six page biography on Clark. The actual assignment wasn't very interesting, but there was one aspect that caught Chloe's attention: Clark's adoption. No one knew who Clark's biological parents were. There was a mystery for her to solve. However, Clark became deeply upset, upon discovering this. Chloe promised to stop investigating the matter, but continued in secret.^[14]

Chloe attempted to start a relationship with Justin Gaines, but that relationship ended quickly, after she discovered that he had murdered principal Kwan and he had tried to kill her, with a chainsaw.^[15]

Towards the end of the school year, Clark finally began to show an interest in her and they went to Spring Formal together. Unfortunately, the news of a tornado, prompted Clark to disappear from the dance (going off to save Lana's life), while Chloe was left heartbroken. Furthermore, Lionel Luthor announced that the LuthorCorp plant in Smallville (which employed Chloe's father) would be shut down, potentially forcing Chloe and her dad to move back to Metropolis, where Chloe would have to climb the social ladder of a new school.^[16]

Season Two

Despite her fears of having to leave Smallville, Chloe and her father remained in town, thanks to Lex Luthor setting up LexCorp, saving the Smallville plant.^[17] Chloe continued her duties at the Torch and investigating the strange things in town, while also researching Clark's adoption. Unfortunately, this lead to her getting into contact with Rachel Dunleavy, who she thought might be Clark's biological mother. However, this not only turned out to not be the case, but Dunleavy turned out to be mentally unstable. Almost resulting in the death of Lex.^[18]

During the school year, Chloe struck up a strong friendship with Lana Lang. Because of this, Lana moved in with Chloe and her dad, when Lana's aunt moved to Metropolis.^[19]

Chloe still retained her freshman crush on Clark. When he was sick, Chloe read a love letter to him, while he was sleeping. This ended in more heartbreak for Chloe, when the sleeping Clark muttered "Lana" in his sleep, right after Chloe had finished reading her letter.^[20] Things only got worse, when Chloe discovered that Clark and Lana had begun dating. Heartbroken, Chloe struck a deal with Lionel Luthor, to investigate Clark Kent, in return for a job at the Daily Planet.^[21]

Season Three

At the beginning of the new school year, Van McNulty stole a file from Chloe, where she had stored her research into various meteor freaks (and those she suspected might be meteor infected). McNulty used the information to murder the people, that she had listed. Realizing the dangers in keeping these kinds of records, Chloe attempted to erase them, but was stopped by Lionel Luthor, who had become angered by her investigating Lex (whom she suspected might be meteor infected).^[22]

However, Chloe kept an eye on the Luthor family. An investigation into the murder of Louise McCallum, lead Chloe (and Lex) down a path, where they discovered that Lionel had murdered his parents.^[23][24]

Chloe decided to break-up her involvement with Lionel, but he responded by having her fired from the Daily Planet and by having her father fired from LuthorCorp.^[25]

Sometime later, Chloe broke into the LuthorCorp plant, where she was exposed to a gas, that compelled everyone around her, to tell the truth. Chloe was overjoyed with this new ability. Using it to expose all kinds of things about her fellow students, from outing a boy on the football team to making a girl admit that she cheated on a test. However, she also revealed that Mrs. Taylor, one of the teachers at the school, was a wanted woman. This prompted Mrs. Taylor's son to try and murder Chloe, but was stopped by Clark, who injected Chloe with an antidote, that removed the effects of the gas. Before this, she had managed to get a recording of Lionel confessing to the murder of his parents.^[26]

Lionel was arrested for murder, while Chloe and her father went into protective custody. Using his resources, Lionel had arranged to blow up their safehouse, but Lex had foreseen this and managed to get both Chloe and her dad out, before the house blew up.^[27][1]

Season Four

While pretending to be dead, Chloe lived in hiding in Metropolis, until Lionel sent an assassin after her. Chloe managed to survive, thanks to Clark and her cousin, Lois Lane.^[1]

Her senior year at Smallville High proved to be her weirdest one. Not only was she possessed by a 17th century witch, on her 18th birthday,^[28] but she also learned the truth about Clark Kent.

Shortly before her death, an enraged Alicia Baker (who felt Chloe was spearheading a witch hunt for metahumans), had arranged for Chloe to see a display of Clark's powers. However, Chloe chose to keep this to herself for the time being.^[29] Instead, favoring to help Clark in secret, without his knowledge.^[30][31]

On a more personal level, Chloe also discovered the truth about her mother. The news that her mother's condition was genetic, caused the young Chloe to fear for her future.^[7] A fear that she would carry with her, for years.^[32]

Season Five

After Clark united the three pieces, that created the Fortress of Solitude, Chloe was accidentally teleported to the Arctic Circle. Unfortunately, she was dressed for early summer in Kansas and nearly froze to death, after making it into the Fortress. Luckily, Clark noticed her and took her to a hospital, where she got treatment and revealed to Clark to she knew his secret. However, Clark quickly revealed that she only knew part of the truth and informed her, that he wasn't meteor infected, but was an alien from the planet Krypton.^[33]

In the fall, Chloe entered Metropolis University. She also managed to secure a job, at the Daily Planet.^[34] Meanwhile, she would regularly set herself up as Clark's sidekick.^[35][36][37]

Season Six

During the events of "Dark Thursday", Chloe found herself reunited with Henry James Olsen, whom she had met years earlier.^[38] The two soon began dating.^[39]

While this was going on, Chloe found herself helping Clark to track down some aliens, who had escaped the Phantom Zone.^[40] She also found herself helping a team, that had been brought together by Green Arrow, in a mission against a LuthorCorp facility.^[2]

However, Chloe was still in for the biggest shock of her life, when she discovered that she was meteor infected. Chloe freaked over the news, as nearly all meteor infected people she had encountered, had either ended up dead or locked up in Belle Reve.^[41] Soon after, she learned that her mother was also meteor infected.^[6]

Chloe's power ultimately manifested itself, when she came across the dead body of Lois. The grief caused them to finally manifest, causing Lois to be brought back to life, while Chloe herself seemingly died.^[42] However, Chloe was resurrected a few hours later, by herself.^[43]

Season Seven

Chloe's life had become more complicated. Now she had powers of her own, but there was a concern that she might not be resurrected, if she tried to bring more people back from the dead.^[44] Meanwhile, Olsen had expressed hostility against the meteor infected, causing more anxiety for her.^[45] Fearing that she'll eventually die or go insane, she attempted to be cured of her infection, but the doctor, she sought help from, ended up trying to kill her.^[46] Even at the Daily Planet, Chloe had begun getting into trouble, as she seemingly lost her interest in journalism, as far as her editor was concerned.^[47]

Shortly after Lex took over the Daily Planet, Chloe found herself fired.^[48] After which, Chloe took over the Isis Foundation, from the comatose Lana Lang. However, her hacking activates got her on the radar of the Department of Domestic Security. A DDS agent went after her, but thanks to a deal that Olsen made with Lex, the DDS backed off.^[49]

Shortly after this, Chloe was attacked by Brainiac. She was put into a coma, but her meteor infection had caused Brainiac's attack to have unexpected side effects. After Chloe woke up, she was seemingly arrested by the DDS.^[50]

Season Eight

Chloe spent four weeks in custody, before discovering that she was a prisoner of LuthorCorp and not the government. Shortly after she had been taken, Chloe had begun to display enhances intelligence, allowing her to process information at superhuman speed. She had also lost her previous powers. Chloe was ultimately saved by Clark and the Green Arrow. After returning to Smallville, she accepted a marriage proposal from Olsen.^[51]

Soon after, Chloe befriended Davis Bloome and reopened the Isis Foundation, where she tried to help young metahumans.^[52][53]

However, things would soon get more difficult. Chloe's enhanced intelligence was the result of her being infected by Brainiac. He began to mess with her memories, forcing Clark to take Chloe to the Fortress, to extract him from her body. Chloe's memories were restored, with one exception: she no longer knew Clark's secret.^[54]

Chloe married Olsen, but their wedding was interrupted by Doomsday, who wounded Olsen and abducted Chloe. She was taken to the Fortress, where Brainiac took over her body.^[55] However, he was eventually extracted from her again, by the Legion. Chloe returned to normal and regained her memories of Clark's secret.^[56]

However, even with Brainiac gone, Chloe's life proved difficult. Olsen had been psychologically damaged, from his encounter with Doomsday. After Chloe sided with Davis, when Olsen accused him of being a murderer, Olsen left her. They got a divorce shortly after.^[57][58]

Around this time, Chloe also began dealing with an identity crisis. All her life, she had wanted to be a reporter for the Daily Planet. Now she was a therapist for meteor infected teens, while her cousin was living her dream. An encounter with Zatanna caused Chloe to transform into Lois. She reverted into herself, once Chloe admitted to herself, that she no longer wanted that life. Afterwards, she became a full-time member of Green Arrow's team.^[5]

Not long after, she discovered that Davis Bloome was Doomsday. She attempted to help him, in a suicide attempt, but it didn't work. As he wouldn't transform, while she was near (brought on by his obsession with her), she kept him hidden for a while, at the Talon.^[58][59]

However, after Clark learned that Davis was still alive, Chloe had no choice but to run away with Davis, to keep Clark safe.^[60] Unfortunately, after a while, the presence of Chloe stopped having its effect on Davis. Out of desperation, Chloe used black Kryptonite, to separate the two halves of Davis. Chloe was soon reunited with Olsen, but an enraged Davis ended up getting both himself and Olsen killed.^[61]

Season Nine

Following Olsen's death, Chloe largely locked herself away at the loft apartment, given to her as wedding present to her by him, now called "Watchtower".^[62] Her isolation and behavior led to concerns about her mental well-being.^[63]

Eventually, Chloe did begin to move on and entered a relationship with Oliver Queen.^[64][65] However, the relationship began being a little problematic, when Oliver discovered that she had been taking money from his company. She revealed that she had used the money, to manufacture an arsenal of Kryptonite weapons, in case the Kryptonian clones proved a threat.^[66]

Season Ten

After Oliver was taken by the Suicide Squad, Chloe went to the JSA brownstone and donned the Helmet of Nabu for answers. Afterwards, she traded Oliver for herself^[67] and later faked her own death, having already wiped all records of her existence.^[68]

Chloe stayed hidden until the team was apprehended by the Department of Domestic Security (something the Helmet of Naby had warned her about). She blackmailed the Suicide Squad into helping her and managed to free the team.^[69] Afterwards, she continued her relationship with Oliver.^[70] However, a present from Zatanna, for the engagement party of Lois and Clark, heavily sped up their relationship. Waking up with a hangover, Chloe and Oliver discovered that they were married. Not wanting to return to her old life as Watchtower (which had proven unhealthy for her), Chloe decided to move to Star City with Oliver and take a job at the Star City Register.^[71]

Season Eleven

However, six months later, the move to Star City hadn't yet happened, due to Chloe's difficulties in letting go of Watchtower.^[72] However, investigating a spaceship landing outside of Smallville, Oliver and Chloe encountered the Chloe Sullivan of Earth-2, who informed them that Earth-2 had been destroyed and alerted them about the coming crisis, just before she died.^[73]

Soon after, Chloe discovered that she was pregnant.^[74] Due to this, and the recent death of Bart Allen, Chloe and Oliver decided to retire from their roles as Watchtower and Green Arrow.^[75]

However, their retirement proved short-lived, with both parties missing the life of adventure.^[76][77] Following the battle against the Monitors, Chloe accepted a position at the D.E.O.. She gave birth to her son, Jonathan, shortly after that.^[78]

Future

Chloe and her son moved to Singapore. By 2018, Chloe had begun telling her son stories about her adventures with the pre-Superman Clark Kent, which she presented as fictional comic book stories.^[3]

Rokk Krinn once stated that neither him or his friends had ever heard of Chloe Sullivan in the 31st Century. Imra Ardeen theorized that Chloe had been left out of the annals of history.^[56]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Abilities

• Computer Hacking^[62]
• Computer Operation^[62]
• Investigation^[11]
• Journalism^[11]

Other Characteristics

• Narcissism: According to Desaad, Chloe likes the feeling of being better than others. She has control issues and a grossly disproportionate sense of independence. Pride is her fatal flaw.^[70]
• Autophobia^[79]

Notes

• Chloe Sullivan was portrayed by Allison Mack. Other actors also stepped into the role including:
  • Roan Curtis portrayed an eight year old Chloe in flashbacks in the episode "Progeny".
  • Victoria Duffield portrayed a 13 year old Chloe in flashbacks in the episode "Abyss".
  • Erica Durance portrayed Chloe, when her body had been turned into an exact double of Lois Lane, in the episode "Hex".
• Chloe and Oliver seemingly get married in "Fortune". However, according to Chloe, she checked with the chapel and learned that it had only been a drunk prank and wasn't legal (a fact she neglects to inform Oliver about).^[71][80] Meaning they never legally got married. Chloe can be seen wearing a wedding band and an engagement ring in 2018 (which she wasn't wearing in 2011), indicating that she's married. However, it's never established to whom.^[3]
  

Trivia

• Chloe Sullivan is seemingly a Christian.^[81]

Related

• 257 Appearances of Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)
• 43 Images featuring Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)
• 26 Quotations by or about Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)
• Character Gallery: Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)

Footnotes

Superman Family member This character is or was an incarnation of or an ally of Superman, and a member of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Family members" category.

Justice League member This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.

Daily Planet Staff member This character is or was an employee of the Daily Planet, a daily newspaper based in Metropolis. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Daily Planet Staff members" category.

D.E.O. member This character is or was a member of the D.E.O., a government agency dedicated to protecting the general public from extraterrestrial and superhuman threats, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "DEO members" and "Government Agents categories.