City is the eighth and final volume in a series of novels about Smallville.
The novel was written by Devin Grayson and printed on March, 2004.
Summary[]
(Provided on page 41 of Smallville #9)
When Clark and Lex visit Metropolis, the experience almost becomes too much for Clark, whose secret is nearly exposed when they must cope with kidnappers, Yakuza hit men and a psychopathic alien-hunter.
Featured characters[]
- Clark Kent
- Lana Lang
- Lex Luthor
- Pete Ross
- Chloe Sullivan
- Martha Kent
- Jonathan Kent
- Mayer Greenbae/Agent Green
- Annora Washburn
- Tad Nickels
- Lorelei Lasser
- Lionel Luthor
- Watanabe
- Matsushita
- Jack
- Matt
- Cynthia
- Jolene
- Detective Ross Salter
- Ralph Harley
- Mike Morganson
- Whitney Fordman (Mentioned only)
- Greg Arkin (Mentioned only)
- Coach Walt Arnold (Mentioned only)
- Sean Kelvin (Mentioned only)
- Tina Greer (Mentioned only)
- Jeremy Creek (Mentioned only)
- Cassandra Carver (Mentioned only)
- Victoria Hardwick (Mentioned only)
- Harry Hardwick (Mentioned only)
- Jeff Palmer (Mentioned only)
- Earl Jenkins (Mentioned only)
- Lillian Luthor (Mentioned only)
- Charlie (Mentioned only)
- Korean Boy (Mentioned only)
Notes[]
- Mayer Greenbae mentions that Tad is from Otisburg. In Superman: The Movie, "Otisburg" is a suggested town or city on Lex Luthor's "new west coast", that had been added to the map by henchman Otis (without Luthor's approval). The name is the basis for the name Otis Berg, the Smallville adaptation of the character. Otisburg was introduced into the comics in Batman: No Man's Land #1 (March, 1999), where it was established to be a residential district in Gotham City (which it also appears to be in this novel).
- Maggin Tower might be named after Elliot S. Maggin, a prolific Superman writer.
- Collyer Street might be a reference to actor Bud Collyer, who voiced Superman on radio and in animation, starting in 1940 and going up to the 1960s.
- Mayer Greenbae poses as an agent of the CBI. In the comics, CBI is short for Central Bureau of Investigation, and is a fictionalized version of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (which also exists as a separate agency).
Continuity[]
It is said to take place fourteen years after the meteor shower. Since the meteor shower occurred in 1989, that would place the novel in 2003 (so late season 2 or early season 3). Along with many early season 1 villains an "alien parasite" is referenced which seem to be referring to the creature from Rush although the episode says they were sent to Cadmus Labs at the end while the book says S.T.A.R. Labs. Although it may have transferred from one to the other at some point. Some of the characters reference meeting Lionel without remotely mentioning his blindness so this probably places it after Prodigal where his lack of blindness was revealed. Lastly, Pete is specifically mentioned to be the only person (besides Clark's parents) to know his secret and it is stated to be just before Fall break. So that must mean that it is early in season 3 to make the time of year line up.
The only flaw with this theory is that it says Chloe has lived in Smallville for "less than two years". She arrived in Smallville in 2000 which would actually make the year 2002 (which contradicts all of the other data). This can't be right as the novel specifically takes place after Prodigal (which took place in 2003). Lex is stated to be 23 which also lines up with the the year being 2003 (Lex was born in 1980). Also, Clark says "freshman year" to Lex rather than "last year" which would be the much more common terminology if it was his sophomore year. The twisters from Tempest are confusing mentioned as happening just a few months earlier, although if the novel was in Fall 2003 then the twisters would have been over a year earlier. No references seem to be made to events from late season 2 which just confounds the issue. My best placement is to say that it is late season 2 during Spring Break (instead of "Fall Break") which makes it 2003, gets most of the ages right, gets the powers right, places Lex/Clark and Clark/Lana relationships in the right place, makes Chloe's amount of time in Smallville pretty close to two years, and also makes the twisters in Tempest not too much earlier.
Locations[]
- Kansas
- Smallville
- Kent Farm
- Smallville High School
- LexCorp/LuthorCorp Fertilizer Plant Number Three
- Annora's Heartland Homestay Bed and Breakfast
- Talon
- Sullivan house
- Metropolis
- Lex's apartment
- S.T.A.R. Labs
- The Maggin Tower
- LuthorCorp Plaza
- Daily Planet
- Smallville
- Gotham City (Mentioned only)
- Otisburg (Mentioned only)
- England
- Scotland (Mentioned only)
- Japan (Mentioned only)
- China (Mentioned only)
- Korea (Mentioned only)
See also[]
- Volume 1: Strange Visitors
- Volume 2: Dragon
- Volume 3: Hauntings
- Volume 4: Whodunnit
- Volume 5: Shadows
- Volume 6: Silence
- Volume 7: Curse