Dr. Steven Hamilton, also known as The Meteor Freak, is a supporting antagonist from the First and Second Seasons of Smallville appearing in 4 episodes of the series.
He is a mineralogist with a deep obsession of the meteor rocks that fell upon Smallville in 1989 and has dedicated himself to studying their unusual properties and suspected that aliens came to Earth.
He was portrayed by Joe Morton, who also played Rowan Pope in Scandal.
History[]
Early life[]
Hamilton was a former professor at Metropolis University who lost his tenure after pursuing inappropriate relations with a student. Following the 1989 meteor shower, he lived as a recluse outside of Smallville, Kansas and sold fake meteor rocks to tourists while conducting haphazard research on real ones in his shack. He was a former close associate with Doctor Donovan Jamison. He became known as "The Meteor Freak" to the locals due to his obsession with them and his hermit lifestyle.
Season One[]
Lex Luthor eventually took an interest in his work and offered to fund his research as a mineralogist but Dr. Hamilton refused his offer. Lex again went to visit Hamilton and gave him a check for $100,000, insisting that he continue his research regarding the link between meteors and human health, offering funding and proper facilities to carry out his research.
Dr. Hamilton believed that the meteor rocks turned people into corrupted versions of themselves and that the whole town has changed. He had done experiments with the meteorites to study its properties. Doctor Hamilton used green meteorite radiation on dormant plant seeds to revive a once extinct flower known as the Nicodemus flower. It was believed that the flower released spores that would remove one's inhibitions, releasing their innermost urges.
However, the altered spores proved to be extremely harmful, and several individuals were infected and made ill including Jonathan Kent, Pete Ross and Lana Lang. Hamilton succeeded in finding a cure for this condition through an Indian diary. Later, Dr. Hamilton led the excavation team at Miller's Field and found something interesting. Another component to the mystery of the meteors: an octagonal-shaped disk made from an extraterrestrial alloy. He gave the disk to Lex but the disk would later be stolen by Roger Nixon during a storm.
Season Two[]
Due to his constant exposure to meteor rocks, Dr. Hamilton started having constant seizures. One night, Hamilton arrived at the Luthor Mansion, twitching uncontrollably and complained about the problems he was having doing his research. Seeming even more unstable, Dr. Hamilton leaves and caused a traffic accident in which a van went off the road and overturns into a cornfield. Pete Ross comes upon the scene just as Dr. Hamilton speeds away and discovers a spaceship in the field.
Later, Dr. Hamilton heard about a man who claimed to have seen a spaceship in a cornfield -- Ray Wallace, the same man he ran off the road. Hamilton knew the ship was no longer in the cornfield and demands answers from Ray. Ray tells him that Pete Ross pulled him out but when he recognizes Dr. Hamilton, he kills Ray with a lethal dose of morphine.
Dr. Hamilton discovered Clark Kent's spacecraft after Ray blabbed about it. The ship was recovered by Pete Ross, but Hamilton stole it from Pete's garage. In his barn, Dr. Hamilton is frantically trying to open the spaceship when he discovers a space opening which reminded him of a piece he found during the excavation of Miller's Field.
He goes to the mansion to retrieve the disc from Lex, but Lex no longer has it. On his way out, Hamilton runs into Lionel Luthor in the corridor and persuades him consider funding his research. Guiding Lionel's hand around the ship, Dr. Hamilton tells him about the missing piece. Lionel promises that when Hamilton finds it, he might get his funding. Later Pete found Hamilton searching his tool shed. When threatened, Pete accidentally blurts out something about the ship's owner. Newly determined, Hamilton kidnaps Pete and hauls him back to his barn.
He demanded to know where the octagonal key was located. Hamilton also suspected that Pete knew who the ship belonged to and threatened to inject him with liquid kryptonite if Pete didn't tell him what he wanted to know. Hamilton believes he is dying from prolonged exposure to the meteor rocks, but he is determined to establish himself as a credible scientist before he dies. Chloe provides Clark with the link between Hamilton, the accident and Pete, so Clark rushes off to investigate Hamilton.
Hamilton is about to inject Pete with a green liquid, telling him that it will cause the same tremors that he has. Pete bravely refuses to say anything. Clark bursts through the door just as he's lowering the needle. Using his heat vision, Clark destroys the needle then throws Hamilton across the room. He tried to free Pete, but the meteor rocks all around the barn overcome him.
Hamilton overheard Clark tell Pete he's allergic to the meteor rocks and grabs a beaker of the liquid. He screams for Clark to tell him how to open the ship and threatens to pour the contents of the beaker on him, when Pete hits him over the head. As he falls, he knocked some of the meteor liquid onto himself and began to have a violent seizure. He suffered seizures that were even more powerful causing a heart attack that killed him.