Dr. Lawrence Garner is a recurring villain appearing in three episodes of both the Second and Third seasons of the WB television series Smallville.
He was portrayed by Martin Cummins.
Biography[]
Dr. Garner was the founder and head administrator of the Summerholt Neurological Institute, a Metropolis-based research facility specializing in neurology. When Ryan James, a young boy with telepathic abilities, began experiencing headaches and nosebleeds, Garner offered to help him. He took Ryan away from his aunt and kept him prisoner at Summerholt, where he experimented on the boy. Dr. Garner had Ryan tell him what image he was looking at and even pressures him on despite Ryan clearly suffering a headache.
When Ryan tricks him into leaving the room, Garner tracked Ryan to a room where he manages to call his friend Clark Kent for help. Clark, with the help of his friend Chloe Sullivan, traced the phone call to Summerholt. When his parents were unable to get in contact with the facility, Clark heads to Summerholt himself and demands to see Ryan. When Garner denied that Ryan was at the facility, Clark found evidence proving otherwise and freed Ryan, taking him to the Luthor Mansion.
When he returns home, Clark found Garner waiting for him with the authorities and a warrant to search the Kent Farm. Lex Luthor intervenes with his own court order and Garner gave him until the next morning to bring Ryan to him. Garner arrives at the Kent Farm the next day with the sheriff, hoping to take Ryan back, only to be barred by Clark and his father Jonathan Kent. Lex arrives with a court order granting the Kents temporary custody of Ryan, forcing an angered Garner to leave the farm.
In the Season 3 episode "Delete", Garner was confronted by Lex, who asked him to help him recover his missing memories he lost in Belle Reve. Dr. Garner helped Molly Griggs adjust to her abilities and function in society. Garner used her computer skills for his own purposes and the two eventually became romantically involved. Dr. Garner visits Molly in her loft apartment. He tells her that Max Taylor was questioning him about Chloe's scathing article on his dubious research.
He manipulated her into killing Taylor by sending a cryptic e-mail message to his assistant brainwashing her into killing Max. Lex approaches Dr. Garner and warns him against any further attempts on Chloe's life. He admits to having stashed Molly away somewhere safe. Then he blackmailed him with Chloe's article. He threatens to have it published unless Dr. Garner helps him recover his seven weeks of missing memories.
In "Memoria", Lex has been meeting with Garner, who's been subjecting Lex to an experimental memory treatment involving lowering a patient into a vat of Kryptonite-based solution. Lionel Luthor later had Garner stop Lex's treatments in exchange for exposing Clark to the same procedure as part of his efforts to discover Clark's secret. Dr. Garner prepares to lower Clark into the meteorite liquid with Lionel in attendance. Lex arrived for his own treatment, demanding to talk to Dr. Garner about canceling their session.
He calls Lionel and says he remembers everything. Lionel went to the lobby to meet him, telling Dr. Garner to wait. As soon as he leaves, however, Dr. Garner said he's not waiting for anyone and lowers Clark into the tank. As soon as his body touches the green liquid, Clark started writhing and shaking in convulsions.
He goes into seizures and Dr. Garner tries to coax his earliest memory from him. He discovers Clark's origins from Krypton and learns his mother's name Lara. When the procedure goes awry due to Clark's vulnerability to kryptonite, the equipment shorted out and Garner was caught in the resulting explosion that left him in a coma.
