Even though there were no tights and capes, Smallville has been described as the perfect Superman story. Despite it being an origin story, Clark never had a dull day. He faced off against some of his biggest enemies such as Lex Luthor, Darkseid, and Doomsday. He also met some of his future Justice League associates like the Green Arrow and The Flash.
Considering the series premiere aired on October 16, 2001, it's understandable if the details of that episode were a bit hazy in the minds of the show's most loyal fans. Apart from Kar-El finding a new home on Earth, here are the other notable proceedings that took place.
Martha Made A Wish
Clark's future adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent went to town to visit a florist named Nell Potter and her niece Lana Lang (who would be one of Clark's future lovers). Nell was looking after Lana while her parents were watching a football game. Sadly, Lana's parents would get killed during the meteor showers.
As Jonathan bought some flowers from Nell, a sad Martha expressed her wish for a child. The show seemed to imply that the couple couldn't conceive because of infertility issues. However, little did Martha know that her wish was about to come true minutes later. The Meteor Showers began as they were driving back home and their truck overturned. As they tried to get out, a young boy approached them. It was Clark.
Jeremy Creek Was A Scarecrow
The Meteor Showers found Jeremy Creek tied to a cross in a cornfield. There was a letter 'S' painted on his chest too. This was done as a part of a tradition where members of the Smallville Crows (the Smallville High School football team) would tie a "loser" to a post, making him a scarecrow as part of their celebrations.
A 9-year-old Lex Luthor was wandering around the cornfields and stumbled upon Jeremy, who asked for help. Before Lex could, the meteor blasts hit Jeremy, after which he was taken to a hospital. He would lay in a coma for 12 years. When he woke up, he was a Meteor Freak who had the ability to manipulate electricity. He thus decided to seek revenge on those who bullied him.
Lionel Luther Was Still The Bad Father
As Lionel and his son Lex were flying to the Smallville factory in a helicopter, the weather began changing. This was due to the incoming meteors from Krypton. None of them knew what was happening at the time.
Lex, who generally didn't like flying, expressed his fear. Lionel wasn't too happy about his son's cowardice. He felt that the young boy was becoming weak hence he scolded him. This was the first sign of bad parenting from Lionel as he was never a good father for most of the series. When they landed, Lex was quite relieved.
Lex Luthor Became Bald
There are different stories in DC media explaining how Lex Luthor became bald. For example, in Batman V Superman, Lex mostly had hair. He only got his bald look after getting shaved in prison at the end of the film.
In Smallville, Lex became permanently bald after the Meteor Showers. As his father discussed a deal to buy land, Lex wandered off to a field then the showers began. One of the meteors created a shockwave, swallowing Jeremy and Lex. When Lex's father came to look for him, he found him lying on his back, with only a small patch of hair. Lex would remain that way forever.
Clark's Dad Denied Him The Opportunity To Play Football
After the Meteor Showers, the episode had a time jump of 12 years. The year was now 2001 and Clark was a freshman at Smallville High School. His relationship with his adoptive parents seemed good too.
When they called him down for breakfast, he asked them for permission to be a member of the Smallville Crows football team. The coach had already identified him as a potential star. All that was needed was for his parents to sign a permission slip. Jonathan refused, fearing Clark would hurt other students due to his powers. However, Clark would still pursue his dream for a while.
Lana's Greenstone Necklace
From the moment Clark laid eyes on Lana, it was pretty clear that he had been harboring a crush on her. However, when he began approaching her, he immediately became ill. This was because Lana was wearing a greenstone necklace made from minerals. Apparently, the stone was made from the same meteor that killed her parents.
Problem? The meteor was also carrying Green Kryptonite. This is one of the most destructive forms of Kryptonite. It had the ability to incapacitate Kryptonians and make them physically weak. That's why Clark immediately gets ill and fell to the ground. No one noticed what was wrong with him, including Lana and her boyfriend who walked away.
Clark Rescued Lex Luthor From An Accident
As Clark was heading back home from school, a truck passed him. Sharp debris from it fell off and slashed the tires of an oncoming vehicle. Apparently, it was Lex Luthor in the car. He had been sent to Smallville by his father to manage the town's branch of his father's company, though he wasn't too happy about the assignment.
Lex's car swerved and hit Clark before falling into the river. Lex became unconscious but Clark swam over to him and resuscitated him. Lex wondered how Clark was still alive but he brushed him home, lying that he hadn't hit him.
Chloe's Wall Of Weird
As Jeremy was exacting revenge on the players that tied him to a post a dozen years ago, the curious Chloe began investigating what was happening. She told Clark that there was a man walking around Smallville electrocuting people and putting them in comas. When Clark didn't believe her, she showed him her "Wall Of Weird."
This was a wall collage of news stories and pictures detailing strange events that had been happening in Smallville since the meteor showers of 1989. Clark's curiosity was thus triggered and he sought to find out more.
Clark's Parents Finally Told Him About His Origin
Lex Luthor delivered a truck to Clark's compound in exchange for saving his life. However, Jonathan wanted Clark to return it because he didn't like the Luthors. He informed Clark that Lex's father evicted farmers in order to acquire land to build LuthorCorp's factories. He figured that since the truck was bought from money made from LuthorCorp, they shouldn't keep it.
When Jonathan realized that Clark was angry, he told him that it was a normal reaction. Clark then turned on a wood chipper and stuck his hand in to prove he was anything but normal. A stunned Jonathan was thus forced to tell Clark about his origins. This didn't help cool Clark's anger as he felt he should have been told about it much sooner.
Clark Had The Perfect Revenge On Lana's Boyfriend
Clark was going to have a difficult time impressing Lana because her boyfriend, the Smallville High School star quarterback, Whitney Fordman, was quite the bully. He didn't like Clark either. In the episode, he and his friends decided that Clark was going to be the new Scarecrow.
Clark tried to fight Whitney off but he couldn't because he was wearing the greenstone necklace that Lana gave him. Lex later found Clark and untied him. But Clark wasn't going to let it go. When Whitney left the school dance, he found his truck on top of two others belonging to his fellow football players.