Originally aired October 15, 2003
Written by Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer
Directed by Michael Katleman
Van McNulty, one of Clark's classmates, is hunting and killing Kryptonite-infected humans. After Van learns about Clark's powers and weakness, he makes Kryptonite bullets and shoots Clark. Lex begins working at LuthorCorp again.
Tropes present in the episode:
- Series Continuity Error: Van makes bullets by melting kryptonite. The problem is the fact kryptonite is rock not metal it can't be melted like a metal to make into a mold.
- Lex mentions never having gotten sick after the meteor shower, and yet just the episode prior he was noted to have recovered from malaria, a very serious disease. A later episode in the season revealed that he indeed didn't have malaria, but he believed that he had it.
- Artistic License – Physics: Kyrptonite is a rock. Technically it is a non-metal element. Non-metal elements have a extremely high melting point, they can't be melted by a simple campfire. It takes millions of degrees and teraapascals of pressure not to a very long time for non-metals to liquify. But Van does just that.
- Applied Phlebotinum: Van makes Kryptonite bullets so he can kill Clark.
- Badass Normal: Van, a normal human who hunts super-powered individuals and shoots Clark with a Kryptonite bullet.
- Blackmail: When Chloe tries to get out of her arrangement with Lionel, he forces her to adhere by threatening to fire her father who had just received a major promotion at LuthorCorp.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Van's late father was the Marine lieutenant who, back in Season 2, came to inform Mrs. Fordman that Whitney had died in combat, only to be killed by Tina Greer. This is what caused Van to go on his crusade against meteor freaks.
- Cynicism Catalyst: The murder of Van's father at the hands of Tina Greer is what motivates Van to head out on a one-man killing spree against meteor freaks.
- Groin Attack: Lana executes one on Van in the final act.
- Mundanger: Simply put, Van is one of the few characters who comes closest to killing Clark.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Chloe's response after Clark rips her a new one for keeping notes on people suspected of being meteor freaks. (See What the Hell, Hero? below.)
- Mythology Gag: The usage of Kryptonite bullets.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: It turns out Chloe's been keeping notes on suspected meteor freaks, and that Van stole the notes and used them to make his own hit list. This earns Chloe a telling-off from Clark, and she then feels guilty for what happened.
- Papa Wolf: In the final scene, Lionel, who's clearly found out that Chloe had notes on Lex (which caused Van to try and assassinate Lex), comes by the Torch and sternly warns Chloe if he ever finds out she's been investigating any member of his family, "a computer glitch will be the least of your worries."
- Self-Surgery: Clark is shot by a Kryptonite bullet, and Jonathan and Martha have to perform surgery in their own kitchen before Clark dies from the radiation.
- Shame If Something Happened: When Chloe tries to back out of their deal, Lionel traps her by subtly threatening to fire her father, who's just been promoted.
- Tragic Bigot: Van became an anti-meteor-freak vigilante after the meteor-augmented Tina Greer murdered his father.
- Van Helsing Hate Crimes: Van targets and kills meteor freaks, not taking into account whether or not they had actually done any harm.
- Villain of the Week: Van McNulty, a teenager who hunts meteor-infected humans.
- We Have to Get the Bullet Out!: After Clark is shot with a Kryptonite bullet, Martha and Jonathan successfully remove the bullet before it kills him.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Clark's reaction to Chloe after he learns she's been keeping notes on people she suspects of being meteor-infected, notes that Van actually has been using in his crusade.
