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"There's nothing to demonstrate. I've never been able to control anybody but Chloe." - Moira to Lex Luthor, Progeny

Moira Sullivan (born September 20, 1960) is the mother of Chloe Sullivan and the ex-wife of Gabe Sullivan. She is a metahuman with the ability to mind-control other meteor-infected individuals.

Powers and Abilities[]

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Moira uses her power to control Chloe

  • Mind control: Moira had the power of mind control. Her powers seemed to be limited to other "meteor freaks": metahumans who acquired their power from kryptonite. However, since Oliver Queen was vulnerable to the mind control chemical derived from her spinal fluid, it may have some effect on ordinary humans as well. Her powers did not require line of sight; she was able to control Chloe several times from miles away. They seemed to rely on her holding, or at least making contact with, an object belonging to the metahuman as well.

When under Moira's influence, individuals demonstrated a single-minded focus on their objective even if others attempted to dissuade them from their current course of action; Chloe even resorted to using kryptonite to stop Clark when Moira ordered Chloe to leave town to protect her from Lex even when Clark could have easily protected her. Her power could be controlled deliberately, but she was also shown to use it without knowing it, such as once telling Chloe to wash her hands only for Chloe to scrub her hands until her fingers bled.

Her case file mentioned that Moira "may be the key to finalizing Project Ares", a project that took DNA from metahumans in order to produce super-soldiers. With her powers of mind control over meteor freaks, Moira could command an army of super soldiers. Most likely, Moira's DNA was successfully added to the project, as super-soldier Wes Keenan was mind controlled. However, Wes was able to temporarily resist his mind control though, suggesting that Project Ares was unable to duplicate the full range of Moira's powers; no metahuman was ever shown to be capable of resisting Moira's mind control.

Early life[]

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Moira hugs Chloe goodbye

It is unknown when Moira was exposed to and infected by the meteor rocks of Smallville, or precisely when she began to display powers. In 1995, when Chloe was eight, Moira realized that she had the power to telepathically control others. One day, when Chloe came home with ink all over her hands, Moira told her to go wash them. However, Chloe decided instead to play on her computer, and an enraged Moira unintentionally used her power and ordered Chloe to scrub hands until all of the ink was gone. When Moira came to check on Chloe, there was blood all over the bathroom because Chloe had scrubbed her hands raw. Horrified at what she had done, Moira voluntarily admitted herself into a psychiatric institution in order to protect Chloe from her.

Season Four[]

When Chloe was a high school senior, she discovered that Moira had been in a mental institution since she was twelve. She also found out that the supposed "mental illness" that her mother suffered from was hereditary.

Season Five[]

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Chloe visits her mom for the first time

When Chloe was possessed by the spirit of a girl who was murdered, she began showing signs of "mental illness" including delusions and self-harm. She was actually reliving the dead girl's last memories, and was later cleared. At Clark's insistence she visited her mother for the first time.

Season Six[]

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Moira reunites with her daughter

When Chloe was twenty years old, she began to realize her actions were being manipulated by an outside source. She assaulted Lex Luthor and stole a flash drive from him, but could not clearly remember doing so. Lex had transferred Moira out of Forest Glen Sanitarium into Level 33.1 and was trying to use her powers for his benefit. He told Moira that if she did not obey, she would never see Chloe. Moira controlled Chloe to alert her of her captivity.

Although Moira maintained that she could only control her daughter, Lex proved her wrong by commanding a metahuman named Lowell to attack her. When a violent psychopath escaped, Moira used her powers against Lex by commanding the escapee to kill Lex. When Lex discovered what she had done, because of her refusal to cooperate, Lex threatened Chloe's life. Moira tried to get Chloe to leave Smallville as quickly as possible, but she was intercepted by Lex's men and thrown into Level 33.1 as a prisoner in the same cell as her mother. There, Chloe discovered her mother was the one controlling her, and that Lex has developed a drug to wake her from her catatonic state. Chloe and Moira attempted to escape by using Lowell. Moira was caught but Chloe was able to overpower a guard and took a smoke grenade launcher from him, which she fired at Lex when he attempted to block her escape. Clark Kent arrived and saved Lex's life and broke out Chloe and Moira out of Level 33.1.

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Moira slips into catatonia

Clark took Moira and Chloe to Queen Tower for safety. While Chloe left to secure a permanent safe place for her, Moira revealed that the drug only works for twenty-four hours. As she slipped back into her catatonia, Clark told her all about her daughter's accomplishments. After Chloe returned, she begged her mother to make a deal with Lex for the drug, but Moira refused. Minutes later she relapsed into her catatonic state.

With the help of her friend Oliver Queen, Chloe transferred her to a safer facility in Oliver's town, Star City.

Season Eight[]

Two years later, it was revealed that LuthorCorp had saved vials of Moira's spinal fluid and made it into an injectable serum. They used the serum on Chloe to force her into tracking down Green Arrow, and on Oliver to make him find out what happened to Lex Luthor. While under the influence of the fluid, Oliver shot Clark through the heart while Clark was temporarily deprived of his powers and almost killed him before a friend of Clark's managed to help him regain his powers. However, the serum seemed to be experimental, since it wore off after a few minutes.

Moira's Case file[]

Moira's psychological profile can be seen on the screen when Chloe looks up her mother's case file on the flashdrive.

She has blue eyes and brown hair, is 5'8", was born September 20, 1960, and admitted herself to Forest Glen Sanitarium approximately nine years ago. Considered delusional and underwent intensive psychotherapy.
Patient eventually fell into a catatonic state, rendering further treatment ineffective.
First contact: Patient came to our attention while researching her daughter, also suspected of possessing special abilities. Upon first attempting to communicate with the patient, we found her still catatonic and unresponsive. Patient was given a newly developed drug intended to disrupt the catatonia and 'Wake' the patient. Drug proved successful only when administered every --"government utilization" and special forces. They want to use this person as a weapon: "Patient may be the key to finalizing Project Ares." They want to create peptide-enhanced beings. "Result: the world's first unstoppable army."

Notes[]

Trivia[]

  • In Lineage, Moira is said to have left when Chloe was five-years-old (1992). In the episode, Chloe claims to know where her mother is. Both statements were retconned by the reveal in Scare (that Chloe had recently found her mother, in an mental hospital) and the flashback in Progeny, which showed Moira leaving in 1995 (making Chloe eight-years-old).
Chloe Sullivan in Smallville
Family Gabe SullivanMoira SullivanLois Lane
'Ships ClarkLoisLanaPeteLexLionelJimmyOliverDavisEmil
Work Smallville Torch (poll) • Daily PlanetIsis FoundationSuicide SquadJustice LeagueWatchtowerStar City Register
Chronicles Chloe ChroniclesVolume TwoVengeance Chronicles
Other Wall of WeirdSullivan's TravelsChloe's letterChlois theoryNear-death experiencesEpisodes

References[]

  1. A twitter user asked if "@alseptien when exactly Chloe and Moira becomes infected with kryptonite?? Can we see that in the show? or at least mentioned?" He then answered, "@FalangelR I believe they were infected during the shower in '89, if I'm not mistaken. they were driving through Smallville." http://twitter.com/alseptien/status/25720837392.
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