Originally aired April 20, 2006
Written by Steven S De Knight
Directed by James Marshall
Lionel and Martha are kidnapped and held captive by a masked villain who forces them to solve a series of deadly puzzles in order to survive.
Tropes present in the episode:
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: When the villain accuses Lionel of ruining his life, the latter remarks it doesn't narrow things down that much.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Lionel Luthor.
- Enemy Mine: Clark and Lex work together to find Lionel and Martha.
- Malevolent Masked Man: Lincoln Cole when he's wearing his silver mask.
- Mythology Gag: Martha's speech includes the line "truth, justice, and the American way," which Clark then remarks are words to live by.
- Pet the Dog: Lionel covers his dead employee with his own jacket after he's killed.
- Reformed, but Rejected: The chat they have at the end of the episode makes it clear, Lionel is this to Clark Kent at the moment.
- Shout-Out: This episode bears many similarities to the Saw franchise. A masked figure kidnaps someone, taunts them through video messages, and forces them to take part in a Deadly Game to teach them a "lesson". Though thankfully it has much less Gorn.
- Villain of the Week: Lincoln Cole, who wants revenge on Lionel for ruining his life with his attempted takeover of LuthorCorp using the Apex Group.
- Villainous Breakdown: It happened to Lincoln Cole off-screen. Lex mentions that Lincoln was caught in a bar toasting to Lionel's "demise", not even caring that he was going to get caught. But after he learned Lionel had survived he had to be sedated while he was being arrested.
