| “ | Control myself? That's easy for you to say. It doesn't take... much to stay in control when you watch from the shadows. You stand apart from the world... while the rest of us live in it. Even when it breaks your heart. | „ |
| ~ John to The Blur in "Metallo." |
John Corben, also known as Metallo is a minor antagonist in the CW television series Smallville. He served as the titular main antagonist of the Season Nine episode "Metallo".
He was portrayed by Brian Austin Green in Season Nine and by Dominic Downer in Season Ten.
History[]
John Corben went to work for the Daily Planet in Metropolis as a replacement reporter for Clark Kent after the latter disappeared following Doomsday's rampage several months prior. He took an immediate liking to Lois Lane his new partner, though Lois found herself at odds with Corben due to his animosity towards The Blur, Metropolis' mysterious savior.
John was later ran over by a truck and rebuilt by the Kandorians, gaining a kryptonite heart. Under kryptonite psychosis, he attempted to kill The Blur, whom he hated for failing to save his sister. He kidnapped Lois to use her as bait, and Clark later came to her rescue. In the ensuing battle, Corben accidentally ripped out his Kryptonite heart, causing his body to shut-down.
In the episode "Upgrade", a reformed John Corben set out to live a normal life once he broke out of a LuthorCorp lab and reunited with Lane. When Lois tried to help him escape to her father's command post, John was chipped by agents of Tess Mercer and Chloe Sullivan who sent him to stop Clark (under Red K) and Major Zod.
He then left Metropolis after saving Clark, and being rejected by Lois. He decided to become a hired gun and in the process Winslow Schott supplied him with a new Kryptonite heart that could absorb meteor rocks. He later joined Marionette Ventures and was tasked by Toyman to kill Supergirl, but set out on his own once the group had disbanded.
Sometime later on, Corben encountered Lois Lane and Lana Lang in Africa while attacking rebel forces. After absorbing Lana's kryptonite-powered nannites, Corben gained the ability to assimilate metallic or mechanical constructs. After having his power source removed, Corben was imprisoned by the U.S. government.
Personality[]
| “ | Take it from someone who's been there, we don't always know when we need saving. | „ |
| ~ John to Clark Kent in "Upgrade". |
Before he became Metallo, John appeared as a charismatic, witty and charming reporter when he first met Lois Lane following the bizarre train derailment. He cared very deeply for his younger sister, Rebecca and was devastated when he learned she had been killed while living in Metropolis. He also kept a photograph of Rebecca in his wallet and bought the apartment she had lived in so he could have some lingering connection with her.
John had a distaste of the Blur which Lois found odd considering all the good the Blur did for the citizens of Metropolis, but John believed the Blur was showboating vigilante especially after he started signing his work. He was soon revealed to have developed a near pathological obsession and hatred of the Blur who he had come to blame for his sister's death after the hero had saved a bus full of criminals, as one of them escaped in the confusion and later murdered John's sister.
After the implantation of the kryptonite heart by the Kandorians, John's hatred of the Blur and the device's design flaws resulted in an adrenal overload which drove Corben homicidal. His warped delusions caused Corben to believe that the accident and surgery were gifts that have given him the ability to kill the Blur. Between the time of his deactivation and reactivation by Tess Mercer's scientists, the adrenal flaw of the heart was corrected, restoring Corben's sanity.
Trivia[]
- Although John Corben is best known in the comics as Metallo, and until "Prophecy", he was never referenced as such in the show (outside of the title of an episode).
- While this version of Metallo, is John Corben, his vendetta against the Blur (who he blames for the death of his sister), mirrors the vendetta of the Silver Age Roger Corben (who became the second Metallo, following his brother's death), against Superman (whom he blamed, for John's death).
External Link[]
- John Corben on the Smallville Wiki.
