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Metropolis

The Metropolis skyline as depicted on Season 3.

HobbsRiverDetective

Map of Metropolis as seen in Detective.

Metropolis is a major city in the state of Kansas. It is home to many businesses and organizations, including the Daily Planet, LuthorCorp, Queen Industries and the Isis Foundation. The Luthor family keeps a prominent presence in this city, owning major stakes in LuthorCorp, various Metropolis real estate, the city's professional football team the Metropolis Sharks, as well as owning the city's main and greatest newspaper the Daily Planet. The city is an urban area near Smallville.

Overview[]

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Clark walking down the main street of Metropolis.

As with all major cities, Metropolis has very high levels of crime,[1] especially in the neighborhoods of Suicide Slums. It has also been ravaged by an alien serial killer, an enraged Kryptonian phantom wraith, and infected with a zombie virus. This has inspired several super-powered vigilantes, ranging from the Angel of Vengeance to Green Arrow and the Blur/Superman.

In an alternate future where Major Zod's army regained their Kryptonian powers and took over Earth, the city was deserted and off-limits to humans.[2]

Neighborhoods[]

Metropolis is made up of several neighborhoods.

Suicide Slums[]

See main article: Suicide Slums

Smallville0090

Suicide Slums.

Suicide Slums is the neighborhood that Lionel Luthor and Morgan Edge grew up in. It is a crime-filled neighborhood, and is where Martha Kent was robbed of Jonathan Kent's watch. It is also the location where Lionel killed both of his parents to collect insurance money to start his company LuthorCorp. Suicide Slums is also where Brainiac sought refuge after regenerating.[3]

Suicide Slums has the highest crime rates and the lowest property values, and is probably the most commonly mentioned neighborhood.

Downtown[]

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The Daily Planet and a few other downtown skyscrapers dressed up for Christmas.

Downtown Metropolis is where most of the businesses like LuthorCorp Plaza and the Daily Planet are, and is probably the most commonly shown district on the show.

Outskirts[]

The outskirts are at the very edge of Metropolis. Summerholt Institute is located here.

Residents[]

Current Residents[]

Former Residents[]

Businesses[]

Metropolis is home to several major and minor businesses.

LuthorCorp[]

See main article: LuthorCorp

LC Plaza 2

LuthorCorp Plaza.

LuthorCorp Plaza, the headquarter of LuthorCorp, is in Downtown Metropolis, right across the street from Daily Planet. LuthorCorp is in many fields of business, but mainly biotechnology. LuthorCorp Plaza is also home to Level 33.1, a secret floor dedicated to metahuman research and experimentation. The Luthors own the Metropolis Alexandria Hotel, Metron Pharmaceutical Labs, the Metropolis Inquisitor and later even the Daily Planet. LuthorCorp Plaza is also the crime scene where Lionel Luthor was pushed out of his office window by his son Lex Luthor in 2008.

Lionel founded LuthorCorp, but the company was taken over by Lex after Lionel was sent to prison in 2004; Lex has retained ownership ever since. Since Lex was presumed dead by the government, his protégé Tess Mercer has taken over the reins of LuthorCorp. In the fall of 2009, LuthorCorp has entered into a partnership with RAO Corporation to construct a solar tower. In February 2011, a parallel reality Lionel Luthor became the current head of LuthorCorp by buying back assests and the board took control of LuthorCorp and Queen Industries (since the two companies are merged into the same company). Sometime later Tess managed to regain control of LuthorCorp after proving that Lionel is not the "real" Lionel Luthor but a "fake" one.

However by mid-2011, Lex had returned and killed Tess. He took over LuthorCorp but after losing his memories, he changed the company name to LexCorp, named after himself.

Queen Industries[]

See main article: Queen Industries

Queen Tower

Queen Tower.

Queen Tower is the Metropolis branch office of Queen Industries. CEO Oliver Queen sometimes lives in the loft apartment of Queen Tower.

Queen Industries is a technology company and had the only working satellite on Dark Thursday, which Oliver keeps as a trade secret. The founder of Queen Industries, Robert Queen, and his wife Laura Queen, are both deceased.

Queen Industries also paid Pamela Black to develop a healing drug called RL65.

Other[]

Exile1

The bank Kal robs.

  • Metropolis has at least two banks; one that Kal robs and one that he saves (and then robs).
  • Metropolis has a luxury car dealership.
  • Metropolis has a renowned steakhouse, outside of which Grant Gabriel was murdered. Jimmy Olsen also made plans to take Chloe Sullivan on a date to an unnamed expensive restaurant.
  • Metropolis also has a number of skyscrapers visible in its skyline.
  • Metro Coffee Stop is a coffee shop also located in Metropolis where Clark Kent, Lois, and Chloe commonly attend.

Museums[]

Newspapers[]

Metropolis has four newspapers, three of which has been influenced by Lex Luthor at some point in the past seven years. It has two respectable newspapers and a tabloid. Many main characters have worked owned or been influenced some way by these three newspapers.

Daily Star[]

See main article: Daily Star

The Daily Star appeared in Season Ten's Icarus making comments on the Superhero/Vigilante Registration Act.

Daily Planet[]

See main article: Daily Planet

Daily Planet

The Daily Planet.

The Daily Planet is the city's oldest and most world-renowned newspaper. It has a reputation for getting at the truth of every story. The reporters are known for high levels of personal integrity. The Planet is located across the street from LuthorCorp Plaza.

Lex Luthor bought the Planet around Christmas of 2007. However, sometime later Lex sold the company because he felt that the newspaper has become more tabloid than news source. [11]

The current editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet is Franklin Stern. It is also the current workplace of Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Though, Perry White is confirmed to become the editor-in-chief as seen in Finale, Part 2.

Metropolis Inquisitor[]

See main article: Metropolis Inquisitor

The Metropolis Inquisitor is often referred to as a rag or a tabloid, but even with such a bad reputation, it is still very popular. Roger Nixon worked for the Inquisitor. Until his death, he had a special arrangement with Lex: Lex fed him stories and Roger made Lex look good. Lois Lane started her journalism career at the Inquisitor before being hired at the Daily Planet by Grant Gabriel.

Metropolis Journal[]

See main article: Metropolis Journal

118x0133

Metropolis Journal editor Carrie Castle.

Thanks to Lex Luthor, Carrie Castle is the managing editor of the Metropolis Journal. Carrie came to Smallville to do an article on Lex. At first he refused, but she managed to win him over. Carrie did not write the flattering expose that she promised, so Lex arranged for her to become managing editor if she altered the story, which she did.

The Metropolis Journal is extremely rarely mentioned on the show anymore. Unlike the Metropolis Inquisitor, it is not a tabloid but it is still not nearly as respected as the Daily Planet.

Television Stations[]

Metropolis has its own TV stations through which they provide information and entertainment to the residents.

KZXP[]

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The Good Morning Metropolis promo.

The KZXP is one of the most famous television stations in the city. The channel also carries the same name KZXP TV and is where the show Good Morning Metropolis, hosted by Catherine Grant, is broadcast. Before Catherine was selected to host the show, potentials hosts have been Lois Lane and Clark Kent.

It also has its news segment that covered the events of Dark Thursday in 2006.

News Channel[]

It is the Metropolis News Channel. In 2009, Linda Lake did a press conference to expose Clark in an alternate timeline and was broadcast live through this channel.[12]

Medical Centers[]

Metropolis has many medical centers. It has two hospitals, a mental asylum, a cosmetics center, a neuroscience center, a surgical clinic and two pharmaceutical companies. Metropolis also had a private clinic that helped cure meteor-infected humans.

Metropolis General Hospital[]

See main article: Metropolis General Hospital

MetropolisGeneralHospital

Metropolis General Hospital.

The Metropolis General Hospital is where Lex Luthor was treated by then-medical student Helen Bryce for alcohol poisoning several years before they officially met.

Until Sarah Conroy moved to Smallville with her uncle, she was treated at Metropolis General for a coma.

Lana Lang was treated here for a minor injury from a motor vehicle accident when she hit Victor Stone with her car. (Victor was not injured and took Lana to the hospital.)

Davis Bloome worked at the Metropolis General Hospital as a paramedic. When a bus exploded outside the Daily Planet, Davis and a host of other paramedics were on hand to offer assistance. Davis checked out Bette Sans Souci when she was dazed after the bus explosion. Lois and Clark also entered the hospital to investigate Tommy Walker, who was suspected of causing the explosion.

Metropolis Children's Hospital[]

The Metropolis Children's Hospital is where Justin Gaines was treated for his severe hand injuries following a hit-and-run accident. Nathan Wells was a surgeon there until he had an elevator accident where his hands were cut off. In the hospital's ER, they re-attached Wells' hands, but he no longer had the necessary fine motor skills to be a surgeon. Wells also had many malpractice suits filed against him in Lowell County. Metropolis Children's hospital is affiliated with the University of Metropolis, and is also called Metropolis University Children's Hospital.

Belle Reve Sanitarium[]

See main article: Belle Reve Sanitarium

Action belle reve sanitarium

Belle Reve Sanitarium.

The Belle Reve Sanitarium is a mental institution run by the United States government. In addition to the mentally ill, the sanitarium is also where several criminally-psychotic metahumans from Smallville are receiving treatment.

The staff at Belle Reve is notoriously corrupt. Belle Reve lacks security in order to deal with most metahumans, and many patients have died or been transferred to Level 33.1. Not many patients ever end up being released. Belle Reve is probably the most frequently-mentioned and well-known Metropolis medical center.

In French, "Belle Reve" means "beautiful dream."

Summerholt Institute[]

See main article: Summerholt Institute

Summerholt

The Summerholt entrance.

The Summerholt Institute is a neuroscience institution located on the outskirts of Metropolis; it is dedicated to research in memory manipulation.

Lex Luthor tried to retrieve memories that he had lost during electroshock therapy at Belle Reeve here. Some other patients who went here were Molly Griggs, Ryan James and Kevin Grady. Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan were forced against their will to receive treatment here; luckily for both of them, it was stopped just in time before it was too late.

Just like Belle Reve, Summerholt has many corrupt staff members. Dr. Lawrence Garner was the chief neurologist and founder of Summerholt. Summerholt also employs a number of orderlies.

Metron Pharmaceutical Labs[]

The Metron Pharmaceutical Labs is a pharmaceutical company owned by LuthorCorp. It conducted research on the Lazarus Serum, a drug made from Clark Kent's blood and designed to bring back the dead. Adam Knight, a patient on the drug, later killed many of the staff at Metron. Molecular biologist Dr. Lia Teng helped develop the serum.

Other Clinics[]

DrKnox

BCE neurosurgeon Dr. Curtis Knox.

  • The BCE Clinic was a clinic that helped cure meteor-infected victims. Dr. Curtis Knox was a neurosurgeon who worked there. He was apparently immortal, and had been alive for centuries. Knox killed his patients and harvested their organs to keep his wife alive since he had seen so many women that he loved die and turn to dust. It is currently non-operational.
  • Beechwood Medical Center was where Elise Fine practiced cosmetic surgery. She used a meteor rock-based procedure to enhance cosmetic surgery procedures, but it caused decreases in serotonin levels and hallucinations.
  • The Davis Clinic is the clinic that Lionel Luthor transferred his son Lex Luthor to for a risky surgery when Lex was shot during a robbery on Christmas Eve 2005. It was expected that Lex would be paralyzed, but despite the odds, Lex made a full recovery.

Non-Profit Organizations[]

Metropolis has a few non-profit organizations.

Isis Foundation[]

Wrath532

Isis Foundation founder Lana Lang with Chloe Sullivan.

See main article: Isis Foundation

The Isis Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Lana Lang, and dedicated to helping meteor-infected metahumans. It was started with 10 million dollars that Lana claimed was part of her and Lex Luthor's divorce settlement. After Lana's disappearance, Chloe Sullivan worked there in Lana's absence after she was fired from the Daily Planet by Lex, and managed to build the foundation into a decently reputable support center for meteor freaks. The foundation's office also served as the first dedicated secret command center for Metropolis' vigilante heroes. The current status of the Isis Foundation is unknown as Chloe took permanent leave after the death of her husband Jimmy, and later turned to running the Watchtower full-time instead.

Watchtower[]

Watchtower2

The Watchtower standing at the center of Metropolis.

See main article: Watchtower

The Watchtower is the nickname of a loft apartment on one of the (if not the) tallest building in Downtown Metropolis. It is also the headquarter of a secret vigilante organization managed by Chloe Sullivan (and later Tess Mercer) to coordinate missions for superheroes such as the Red-Blue Blur, Green Arrow, Impulse, Aquaman, Cyborg and Black Canary, and later also their Justice Society of America allies.

Metropolis United Charities[]

Metropolis United Charities was founded in 1989 by Lionel Luthor. It was supposedly responsible for legalizing Clark Kent's adoption by the Kents, but in reality it was a sham organization that had ever only handled one adoption case.

Entertainment and Sports[]

  • Metropolis has a world-class museum, in which the Luthors have a wing.
  • Metropolis also has a theater, the Metropolis Play House.
  • Metropolis has a professional football team called the Metropolis Sharks, two professional baseball teams, one of which is called the Metropolis Meteors for which Mike Dawson played before his death,[13] and one called the Metropolis Monarchs (Clark Kent's favorite baseball team in the comics), and a basketball team called the Metropolis Vipers.[14] Metropolis also has a sports stadium called the LuthorDome.
  • The Metropolis City Center houses a powerful NSA (National Security Agency) satellite that, in the same building, contains a hip nightclub called the Ace of Clubs.

Nightlife[]

Zero Consequences

Club Zero.

  • Club Zero was a nightclub in Metropolis. Its slogan was "Zero consequences." Lex Luthor was a frequent patron before he moved to Smallville. After Jude Royce was shot there, the place was eventually closed down, but its legacy returned to haunt Lex. Max Kasich was an employee there.
  • Club Atlantis is a club that Clark Kent frequented when he exiled himself as Kal to Metropolis for three months in the summer of 2003.
  • The Windgate Club is a gentleman's club in Metropolis. Chloe Sullivan, Lois Lane and Clark Kent went investigating there to solve the murder of a dancer.
  • The Ace of Clubs is located inside the City Center at the top of the NSA Satellite Building. It held its grand opening in the Spring of 2008.

Education[]

Metropolis University's Football Field

The Metropolis University football field.

  • Metropolis has a renowned university, the University of Metropolis (or "Met U"), which sustained extensive damage during Dark Thursday. Chloe Sullivan studied journalism there. Lois Lane also attended until she was expelled for disciplinary offenses. Lana Lang used to attend astronomy classes there. Met U has a very strong athletic program with a nationally competitive football team, the Metropolis Bulldogs, for which both Jason Teague and Geoff Johns used to play. Martha Kent and Jonathan Kent also both graduated from here.
  • Metropolis also has at least one high school, the Metropolis High School, whose alumni include Jimmy Olsen and Victor Stone.
  • It's unknown if Martha Kent attended the Metropolis High School, but she was a city girl, so it's possible she did, or some other mega city like Star City High School.

Government and Law Enforcement[]

Metropolis has the same law, means and resources of any major metropolitan city. In addition, there are also several federal government facilities within the city.

NSA[]

Metropolis is home to a National Security Agency base. It has a satellite center inside the same building as the Ace of Clubs. Chloe Sullivan used the base to help locate Kara.

Department of Domestic Security[]

See main article: Department of Domestic Security

Vanessa webber

DDS special agent Vanessa Webber.

The Department of Domestic Security (DDS, based on the real Department of Homeland Security) has a base in Metropolis, where Special Agent Vanessa Webber worked. The DDS base is in charge of Project Starhawk which monitors threats from the stars. Agent Carter was an agent for the DDS until he was shot and killed by Lionel Luthor.

Metropolis Police Department[]

Officer Mason

Former MPD officer Mason.

The Metropolis Police Department (MPD) is Metropolis' main law enforcement agency. They arrested Lex Luthor after the murder of Lia Teng and her research team. Officer Mason was in charge the case where a tenement fire killed Lionel Luthor's parents.

The MPD was also called to Lois Lane's dorm room when they suspected her of paralyzing another Metropolis University student. She was arrested but granted bail, until the charges were later dropped.

Maggie Sawyer is the police captain. She trailed Kal's crime spree in 2003, questioned Senator Jack Jennings about the murder of a Windgate Club dancer in 2005, and investigated Lionel's murder in 2008.

Vigilantes[]

Angel of Vengeance[]

In early 2006, a vigilante known as the Angel of Vengeance arrived in Metropolis to protect its citizens from gangsters in Suicide Slums.

Green Arrow[]

In late 2006, a vigilante who became commonly known as the Green Arrow stole illegal goods from rich tycoons and gave it to charities. He also stopped thieves and robbers in and around Metropolis using a variety of trick bows and arrows. Green Arrow was last spotted in Metropolis in January 2008 and had yet to be seen since. Green Arrow has recently returned to Metropolis in 2009 but again went missing, but has since been seen in late 2009. In late 2010, Green Arrow revealed himself to the public as Oliver Queen.

The Red-Blue Blur/Superman[]

Clark Watch

The Blur watching over Metropolis.

In late 2008, an unknown hero began to rid Metropolis of crime and was soon photographed by Jimmy Olsen as a fast-moving red-and-blue blur. This "Good Samaritan" became the talk of the city after his photo was put on the Daily Planet front page and since then has become known popularly as the Red-Blue Blur, but he called and asked Lois Lane to think of a different name. Now commonly known as The Blur, he gets around and saves all of Metropolis on a near full-time basis, leaving his symbol to give hope to the citizens of Metropolis.

Season 11 Superman

The Blur becomes Superman.

With the VRA overthrown, The Blur began to catch criminals around the world but at the same time began to risk his identity in public, even able to get a key from the Mayor. The Blur then flew and managed to save Air Force One from crashing with the President and Lois on board. He then used his powers to push the planet Apokolips into the depths of space. After performing this act, he lingered in space, watching Apokolips drift further away and then turned his attention towards Earth with him finally becoming the Earth's greatest savior, who Lois names "Superman".

Natural disasters[]

A number of natural disasters, man made disasters and extraterrestrial disaters have made their way to Metropolis. They are represented in the following:

  • Dark Thursday - Brainiac shut down all the computers, electronics, and technology in the city, causing black outs, wide spread panic, looting, etc.
  • Flooding - Linda Lake caused massive rain fall and flooding when she was going to go public with Clark Kent's secret identity.
  • Dark Thursday 2.0 - Brainiac made the attempt to absorb all of the internet's information, but was this was put an end to by the Legion.
  • Doomsday - Doomsday was going to bring an apocalyptic event of ultimate destruction to Earth by fighting Superman, however, the major consequences of this was averted by Clark.

Location[]

Geographical Location[]

Hub City

Metropolis' neighbor Hub City.

Metropolis is located in the state of Kansas, right in center of continental United States of America, next to a very large river.[15] Notable towns/cities neighboring it include Smallville, Granville, Hub City, Gotham and Edge City.

The distance between Metropolis and Smallville is unclear because the dialogue and actions of the characters contradict. Chloe Sullivan has twice mentioned[16] that the LuthorCorp Plaza was a three-hour drive away, then indicated that the drive was about two hours.[17] In addition, producers have stated that they also consider it to be three hours away.[citation needed] However, the fact that the Metropolis skyline can be seen by the naked eye from the top of the top of the windmill in Chandler's Field indicates that it is less than 100 miles away. In 1989, before their departure from Metropolis to Smallville, Lionel Luthor told his son Lex that they were going to a town "just outside the city". In addition, the characters often commute from Metropolis to Smallville several times a day for school or work in considerably less than three hours. However, Lois once expressed frustration on a commute (presumably between Smallville and Metropolis) having taken two hours, because the monorail was down.[18]

The Season Eleven story Detective establishes the large river seen running through Metropolis on the show, as being a fictional body of water named Hobbs' River, rather than a real-world river. According to Clark, Hobb's River connects to the Mississippi River.[19]

In the Season Six finale Phantom, Lois Lane discovers that the coordinates 38°52'N, 95°32'W lead to Reeves Dam, which is outside of Smallville's town limits. These coordinates in real life are in the extreme northeastern corner of Osage County, Kansas, the nearest towns being Overbrook and Carbondale.

In the Season Seven episode Sleeper, Chloe is looking at a satellite view for Metropolis; in reality she is viewing aerial shots to Kansas City, Kansas.

So, if Smallville fans have Kansas City (either on the Kansas side or the much larger Missouri side) as their de facto Metropolis substitute, an Osage County location for a Lowell County setting is therefore realistic. The real life distance or quickest drive between Overbrook and Kansas City, Missouri is 66 miles, or a 1 hour and 8 minutes drive if taking Kansas State Highway 10 (K-10) for a majority of the route. From this location or somewhere in the vicinity, a Smallville resident could make a "two-hour drive" to Metropolis.

Real Location[]

Chicago20skyline

Chicago

Smallville is filmed and produced in British Columbia, Canada, largely in the suburbs of Greater Vancouver. A respectable city in both size (third largest city in Canada) and diversity, Downtown Vancouver's cityscape doubles for Metropolis in the show.[20] It is also on the Strait of Georgia coastline and opens to the Salish Sea (a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean), which provides a very large body of water for the show's coastal landscape.

For the wider CGI shots, the template from Salvation onwards is the city of Chicago where Christopher Nolan's Batman films are made (excluding the Dark Knight Rises, which was filmed mostly in Boston). LuthorCorp Plaza is put in place of Water Tower Place.

Gallery[]

In the Comics[]

156377-165594-metropolis

Superman flying over Metropolis in the comics

Because the characterization of Metropolis in the show is relatively limited, only a few conclusions can be drawn in terms of the liberties the show takes from the source material.

The most obvious difference between the two is geographical location. In the comics, Metropolis is a city on the east coast, neighboring New York City and Gotham City. By placing Metropolis in the state of Kansas, the producers created a point of easy access for its characters, but also slightly baffled audiences with the large bodies of water surrounding the city. Kansas is a land-locked state, so the waters depicted are most likely a lake or very large river. (Most likely the Missouri River, as it is the only large body of water in or near Kansas, and that would make Kansas City the most probable location for Metropolis.)

Metropolis-skyline

The Metropolis skyline view

The city is known for being one of largest and wealthiest cities on Earth, nicknamed "The Big Apricot." It is the home of Superman and his family. It is also home to the Daily Planet newspaper, and is the location of the world headquarters of LexCorp. Speculation from comic readers lead them to believe that before the show ends, LuthorCorp will in fact become LexCorp. This is alluded to in Finale, Part 2 when lightning strikes the LuthorCorp logo.

SmallMetroLocation

Map from Superboy Vol 2 #22 (October, 1981), showing the then locations of Smallville and Metropolis.

Prior to the John Byrne reboot in 1987, Metropolis was depicted as being nearby the town of Smallville, like it is depicted on the show.

The two tallest buildings in the city are the Emperor Building and the 96 Floor LexCorp Headquarters.

In the comics, nearly all the action takes place in Metropolis, while in the show, a large portion of the show takes place in Smallville in the early seasons, and then is divided between Smallville and Metropolis in the later seasons

See also[]

Places in Smallville
Smallville Crater LakeHigh SchoolKawatche CavesKent Farm (barn, house, storm cellar) • Luthor MansionLuthorCorp Fertilizer Plant Number ThreeMain Street (Beanery) • Medical CenterMiller's FieldTalon (apartment, basement)
Metropolis Ace of ClubsBelle ReveCadmus LabsC&L's apartmentDaily PlanetIsis FoundationGeneral HospitalLuthorCorp Plaza (Level 33.1) • Queen TowerSuicide SlumsSummerholt InstituteUniversityWatchtower
Other Black CreekCheckmate CastleD.E.O. headquartersEgyptFortress of SolitudeGotham City (Arkham Asylum, Batcave, Wayne Manor) • GranvilleS.T.A.R. LabsStar CityThemyscira
Planets AlmeracApokolipsEarth-1Earth-2Earth-MajesticKrypton (Kandor, New Krypton, Phantom Zone) • MarsOa

References[]

  1. Vengeance, Identity, Bulletproof
  2. Pandora
  3. Persona
  4. Bloodline
  5. Savior
  6. Kent
  7. Descent
  8. Exile
  9. He states his address in Sleeper.
  10. Rogue
  11. Guardian
  12. Infamous
  13. Dawson appeared in Hydro.
  14. The basketball team is playing in Crisis.
  15. Location by river confirmed in Extinction.
  16. She stated this in Whisper and Truth.
  17. She states this in Abyss.
  18. Idol.
  19. Detective.
  20. Metropolis' skyline is here with the Daily Planet and LuthorCorp Tower digitally added, while Vancouver's can be seen here.

External links[]

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