Originally aired October 25, 2007
Written by Caroline Dries
Directed by Mairzee Almas
Clark saves the life of the lead actress in a live-action adaptation of Warrior Angel. Lionel's whereabouts are revealed.
Tropes present in the episode:
- Almost Kiss: Rachel is leaning in towards a reluctant Clark for a kiss when Lana walks in and interrupts them.
- Continuity Nod: The Warrior Angel comic is featured in several episodes.
- Damsel in Distress: Rachel, several times.
- Distracted by the Sexy: When Clark catches Rachel having a massage in his living room, he is very uncomfortable and tries to keep his eyes averted while she puts a robe on.
- Fanboy: Ben Myers is an obsessive fan of Warrior Angel. Later becomes one to Clark.
- Going for the Big Scoop: Lois would rather investigate Lex than trying to get a story about the Warrior Angel movie.
- Hero-Worshipper: Ben becomes one to Clark, once he finds out about his powers.
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die: This trope gets spun into a legit plot point - at first Ben was unhappy that the Warrior Angel movie would remove it altogether, and took matters into his own hands by trying to kill Rachel - which was precisely what led him to discover Clark's powers. Now he's under the impression that Clark can be the hero the world deserves by replicating the trope in real life... by killing Lana.
- Life-or-Limb Decision: Not a complete case, but Lionel removing a bear trap from his hand despite its teeth...
- Mundanger: Ben Myers has no superhuman powers.
- Mythology Gag:
- The comic that Lex shows Clark has a scene of Warrior Angel shouting while holding the body of his girlfriend, just like Superman did in the 1978 movie, or Clark himself did with Alicia's body in "Pariah."
- We see a lot of DC Comics character figurines (Mr. Freeze, among others).
- In the final scene, Rachel gives Clark a present—a red cape.
- Not-So-Fake Prop Weapon: One of the attempts to kill Rachel involves switching the blanks for live bullets in the scene where she's supposed to die according to the source material.
- Rescue Romance: Rachel develops a crush on Clark after he rescues her.
- Secret-Keeper: Ben becomes one for Clark, refusing to tell Lex about his powers because he knows Lex is the villain.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: Rachel is very nonchalant about having a massage in the middle of Clark's living room while wearing only a Modesty Towel.
- Shout-Out: When we finally see Lionel, it looks like he's basically on the set of Misery. Quite appropriate with a psycho fan figuring into the plot.
- Spared by the Adaptation: In-Universe, Warrior Angel's Love Interest, who was murdered by his arch-nemesis, Devilicus, in the comics, is saved by Warrior Angel in the movie. A lot of people, like Ben, aren't happy with the change.
- Stalker without a Crush: Ben Myers, who's obsessed with making sure that the Warrior Angel movie is very loyal to the comics.
- Straw Fan: Ben was sabotaging the set of the Warrior Angel film because he didn't like the changes made from the source material.
- They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: In-Universe. There is a lot of controversy over the Spared By Adaptation change. Ben takes it too far.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom
- Villain of the Week: Ben Myers
- We Were Rehearsing a Play: When Lana catches Rachel trying to seduce Clark, he is eager to point this out. To be fair they actually were until Rachel took it too far.
- Wham Line: Lionel manages to flee from the mad woman, but someone else is on hand to lay him out cold with a shovel. And it's...Lana: What am I paying you for, Marilyn?
