- "No, I've slept enough. We need to find him. The man who did this, he needs to suffer like she did."
- — Gretchen (in Chloe Sullivan's body) to Clark Kent, Tomb
- "Gretchen Winters, you remember her, don't you?... She didn't deserve to die like that, you son of a bitch!"
- — Gretchen to Michael Westmore, Tomb
Gretchen Eileen Winters was a teenager whose vengeful spirit possessed Chloe Sullivan after her body was discovered stuffed in the wall of the Talon apartment. It was later revealed she had been killed by a psychotic orderly who pretented to be her friend.
Early life[]
Michael Westmore had befriended the young girl, listening to her problems, before deciding that murdering her was the only way she would be at peace. He then sealed her corpse inside the bathroom wall of the Talon apartment, with a green kryptonite-bejewelled bracelet still on her left wrist.
Season Five[]
Gretchen's spirit was awakened during a night of particularly violent thunderstorm and immediately began to haunt Chloe, who was having a shower, leading her to slash her own wrists. At the hospital, Gretchen's ghost continued to appear as brief visions, causing the panicked Chloe to be forcefully sedated and referred for admission into the Belle Reve Sanitarium. After Clark Kent absconded Chloe out before the transfer could happen, Chloe was able to convince Clark that she was not crazy after Clark's X-ray vision revealed Gretchen’s remains inside the bathroom wall. When Chloe touched the corpse's green kryptonite bracelet, Gretchen's spirit was able to fully possess Chloe. Clark and Chloe's cousin Lois Lane then called the newly appointed (but still inexperienced) Sheriff Carson[1], who informed them that Gretchen was not the only victim of such murder.
Using Chloe's body, Gretchen went to track down Michael Westmore, the orderly who murdered her. She retrieved a taser from Chloe's Metropolis University dorm, stunning Lex Luthor on the way out. She then confronted Westmore at his house, subdued him with Chloe's taser, but was knocked unconscious when attempting to untie a kidnapped Lois. When Westmore attempt to kill Lois, Clark arrived to stop him but was weakened by the kryptonite bracelet that Westmore put on Chloe’s wrist. Before Westmore could stab the knocked-out Clark, Gretchen-Chloe distracted him and drew him near enough to touch him with the bracelet, transferring Gretchen’s spirit onto Westmore, and possessed him to stab himself. Once Westmore was dead, Gretchen completed her revenge and her spirit disappeared.
Notes[]
- Leela Savasta also portrayed an unnamed Talon Girl in the Season Four episode Spirit.
- Gretchen is similar to earlier character, Dawn Stiles. Both are spirits/ghosts possessing people. Gretchen is also similar to DC Comics character Deadman.
Appearances[]
- Season Five: Tomb
- Vengeance Chronicles (flashback only)
References[]
- ↑ Name given in an article about Michael Westmore.