Tyler Randall, aka The Reaper, was the misunderstood main antagonist from the First Season of Smallville, appearing in the episode "Reaper".
He was portrayed by Reynaldo Rosales.
Personality[]
Tyler was the "freak of the week" for the episode, though he was not truly villainous like most of the others. He used his Metahuman ability of tactile disintegration to relieve the suffering of terminally ill people and saw himself as something of an angel of mercy.
History[]
Reaper[]
Tyler was taking large doses of painkillers for unexplained reasons. These drugs would be a contributing factor to how Tyler gained his powers. Tyler visited his elderly dying mother in a Metropolis hospital. She asked him to help her die because she was in pain for being kept on life-support machines and requested to be buried in Smallville. Tyler attempted to smother his mother with a pillow, but hospital orderlies came in to stop him. He attempted to euthanize his sick mother when she was suffering.
Upon getting caught, a struggled ensued and Tyler was accidentally shoved through a window and fell 20 feet to his death. However, when his body was taken down to the morgue, Tyler was suddenly revived. He had worn a piece of meteorite on a bracelet and the green stone had become lodged in his wrist after his fatal fall. The stone's properties reacted with the painkillers still in Tyler's blood system and this is what supposedly revived him and granted him his powers. After awakening, Tyler grabbed the coroner's arm and accidentally reduced him to ash before running away.
A few days later, Tyler met the Kents while working as a driver for Mobile Meals in Smallville. Together they visited the home of elderly Mrs. Sikes and Tyler was saddened to find that she sickly and bedridden. Mrs. Sikes mistook Tyler for Clark Kent but Martha Kent politely corrected her. They brought her irises today and she asks them to bring her white roses the next day.
Later that night, Tyler Randall arrived at Mrs. Sikes' home having come to put her out of her misery. As Tyler walked in the door, her dog Pepper began barking as usual but Tyler touches Pepper, quieting the dog forever and gave Mrs. Sikes a white rose. He asks her if she wanted to end her pain and takes her by the hand, and she turns to ash.
Some time later, Tyler met with Martha Kent and offered to help carry a crate of vegetables or her. However, he wasn't wearing gloves at that moment and his fingers touched the produce and reduced it to ash. Martha horrified realized he killed Mrs. Sikes. Clark saw his mother cornered by Tyler and stepped in to save her.
Although Tyler touched Clark's face, his power didn't seem to work as Clark's Kryptonian physiology healed his cells faster than Tyler could disintegrate them. Clark's skin turned gray and he winces in pain, but he threw Tyler across the room, and his face returns to normal.
Tyler vanished. After hearing about the failing health of George Fordman, Tyler tells Lana Lang he doesn't want to hurt anybody. He just wants to help them and decides to visit the hospital and relieve Whitney's father's suffering. Clark found Tyler in Mr. Fordman's room who knocked Whitney unconscious. Clark appeared to stop Tyler and told him that all he was doing was murdering people after throwing him out of the room.
He also informed Tyler that his mother was still alive, having recovered after his last visit and was in Smallville, resting. Clark took Tyler to find his mother sleeping peacefully at home. Tyler realized he hasn't been relieving people of their pain; he had been reliving himself of his own pain. Tyler was overcome with guilt because of what he had done and chose to atone by destroying himself. He put his hands together seemingly in prayer and was disintegrated by his own power.
