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Recap / Smallville S 06 E 17 Combat

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Originally aired March 22, 2007

Written by Turi Meyer & Al Septien

Directed by James Marshall

Clark follows a tip from Oliver and investigates an underground fight club whose newest star, Titan, turns out to be a Phantom Zone prisoner.


Tropes present in the episode:

  • Amazonian Beauty: Athena, the security guard of The Live or Die Fight Club has a muscular but attractive figure.
  • Awesomeness by Analysis: While Chloe is racking her brains over how to find the fight club, Lois takes one look at the screenshot and gets the exact location from a wall marking. Since her father is an army general in Smallville, identifying a military installation isn't that improbable for her.
  • Ambiguously Gay: Athena. Given that she hits on Lois, this would make her one of few LGBTQ characters in the series.
  • Bald of Evil: Titan has very little hair on his head.
  • Blade Below the Shoulder: Titan has an arm spike.
  • Blood Knight: Titan loves fighting and welcomes the challenge that Clark actually gives him.
  • Blood Sport: The fights in the club are broadcast to the internet for an extremely high fee. The viewers can even vote if a fight will be to the death, just like a gladiator game.
  • Bullet Catch: Clark uses this ability to convince Maddox to let him join the Live or Die Fight Club.
  • Casting Gag: Athena & Titan are played by then-WWE Superstars Ashley Massaro & Glenn "Kane" Jacobs.
  • Catholic School Girls Rule: Athena's outfit as a fighter.
  • Clark Kenting: Richter Maddox pulls this in his guise as a psychiatrist at Belle Reve.
  • Contrived Coincidence: Lois complaining about needing a new story fast or she could lose her job... at the same time that Chloe is investigating the fight club. Though this pales against Lana's Convenient Miscarriage just after the wedding.
  • Curbstomp Battle: Lois defeats Athena with ease when they fight.
  • Deadly Game: The viewers of the fights can vote if each match should end in death for one of the opponents; if death is chosen, the fight will continue until one of the combatants is dead.
  • Designated Girl Fight: Lois and Athena, Lois wins. Subverted later when Lois and Clark are paired up to fight.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Titan is impaled when he falls on his own arm spike.
  • Fanservice:
    • Lois's undercover outfit is a red latex number. During her match with Clark, it gets its midriff area exposed.
    • The camera gives Athena a lot of slow close-up shots as she's getting dressed, showing a lot of her legs, stomach, and cleavage.
  • Fight Clubbing: The Live or Die Fight Club an underground metahuman fight club.
  • Forced Prize Fight: The Live or Die Fight Club.
  • In Medias Res: In the cold opening, Clark is fighting in the arena with Titan. After the credits, it jumps back 46 hours.
  • Killed Off for Real: Titan is accidentally killed by Clark when he's impaled by his own weapon.
  • Large Ham: Maddox when he's acting as the ring announcer
  • Ms. Fanservice: Athena, played by former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro. Most of the outfits she wears through the episode would qualify as Stripperiffic.
  • Modesty Towel: Athena exits the locker room showers wrapping herself in one briefly as she makes her way to her locker and drops it in order to get dressed.
  • Mythology Gag:
    • Clark gets the Kayfabe name "Man of Steel", which is practically Contrived Coincidence since Chloe says it the week before.
    • Not as contrived, Lois getting the name "Vixen" since that's an actual DC superhero.
  • No-Sell: Titan doesn't react to the first few punches Clark gives him. Clark has to exert himself and really punch him hard to hurt him.
  • Offhand Backhand: Lois gives one to Athena when she has her a gunpoint to disarm her.
  • The Peeping Tom: One of the guards watches Athena getting dressed in the locker room.
  • Punched Across the Room: Titan establishes himself as a threat when he manages to do this to Clark, even drawing blood from him.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: Titan is one of the prisoners that escaped from the Phantom Zone along with Clark at the start of the season.
  • Tap on the Head: The reason that Lois doesn't learn Clark's secret.
  • Tempting Fate: Lois decides against all reason to hit Clark for real in the Kayfabe fight. After which it sounds like she broke something.
  • Tattooed Crook: Titan has Kryptonian prison tattoos.
  • Villain of the Week: Richtor Maddox and Titan.
  • Villain Respect: Before he dies, Titan tells Clark "Good fight."
  • Worthy Opponent: Upon recognizing Clark, he immediately rushed to fight him for this reason.

 
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Video Example(s):

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Athena In The Locker Room

The camera gives several gratuitous close up shots of Athena's body as she gets dressed.

How well does it match the trope?

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Example of:

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