Veritas

This article is about the secret society. For the article about the Season 7 episode, please see Veritas (episode).

Veritas was a society who looked to the skies for coming life, most especially "The Traveler".

The prophecy of the Traveler was the basis of the group's formation and its main subject. Forged by Dr. Virgil Swann around 1987, the Traveler theory told of a being that would come to Earth and then would need protecting before he was able to save the planet from destruction. Dr. Swann founded a secret society called Veritas whose members were all from influential families.

Known Members[]

Dr. Virgil Swann - Founder of the Veritas Society and Traveler prophecy. Held one of the Veritas keys. Died 15 years after the Traveler came to Earth. Believed by Patricia Swann and Edward Teague to have been poisoned by Lionel Luthor, though given the timing it is more likely that he was killed by Genevieve Teague, if he was murdered at all. (Deceased, Sacred)
- His Earth-2 counterpart was murdered by Clark Luthor (as Ultraman). Luthor
Bridgette Crosby - Assisted Dr. Swann in his Veritas work. Murdered by Jason Teague and Genevieve Teague. (Deceased, Spirit)

Lionel Luthor (Earth-1) - Murdered Robert and Laura Queen to control the Traveler for himself. Killed by his son Lex Luthor. (Deceased, Descent)
- Lionel Luthor (Earth-2) - Murdered Robert and Laura Queen to control the Traveler for himself. Raised the traveler as his adopted son Clark Luthor (Ultraman). Sacrificed himself to Darkseid for his biological son Lex Luthor's Earth-1 counterpart.

Robert Queen - Emissary of Dr. Swann and was keeper of the other Veritas key. Murdered by Lionel Luthor in both the Earth-1 and Earth-2 universes. (Deceased, Pilot)
Laura Queen - Helped and supported her husband Robert with his Veritas work. Murdered by Lionel Luthor in both the Earth-1 and Earth-2 universes. (Deceased, Pilot)

Edward Teague - Key member of Veritas who searched for the Stones of Power. Killed by Brainiac. (Deceased, Arctic)
Genevieve Teague - Helped her husband Edward to search for the Stones. Killed by Lana Lang (possessed by Margaret Isobel Thoreaux). (Deceased, Commencement)

Known Heirs[]

Patricia Swann - Daughter of Virgil Swann. Murdered by Lex Luthor. (Deceased, Traveler)
- Her Earth-2 counterpart was murdered by Clark Luthor (Ultraman). (Luthor)
Oliver Queen (Earth-1)/Oliver Queen (Earth-2)- Son of Robert Queen and Laura Queen. (Alive: Earth-1, Deceased: Earth-2).
- Earth-2 counterpart murdered by Ultraman (Clark Luthor). (Kent)
Jason Teague - Son of Genevieve Teague and Edward Teague. Killed in the second meteor shower. (Deceased, Commencement)
Lex Luthor (Earth-1) - Son (first child) of Earth-1 Lionel Luthor and Lillian Luthor. (Alive)
- Lex Luthor (Earth-2)- Biological Son (first child) of Earth-2 Lionel Luthor and Lillian Luthor. Deceased. Murdered by Clark Luthor. (Luthor)
Tess Mercer (Lutessa Lena Luthor) - Daughter (second child) of Lionel Luthor and Pamela Jenkins. Murdered by Lex Luthor. (Alive, resurrected as artificial intelligence)
- Tess Luthor- Daughter (second child) of Earth-2 Lionel Luthor and Pamela Jenkins.
Lucas Luthor - Son (third child) of Lionel Luthor and Rachel Dunleavy. (Alive)
Julian Luthor - Son (fourth child) of Lionel Luthor and Lillian Luthor. Died as an infant.
Clark Luthor- Adopted Son (Second Child) of Earth-2 Lionel Luthor and Lillian Luthor.

History[]

Centuries ago, around the 1600s, the ancestors of both Edward and Genevieve Teague were dedicated to protecting and utilizing the mysteries connected to "the Traveler".

Genevieve's ancestor, Duchess Gertrude, searched for the Stones of Power. Gertrude requested the help of the sorceress Countess Thoreau (ancestor of Lana Lang) to retrieve the Stones, however Isobel betrayed her and for her betrayal, ended burned to the stake as a witch. Isobel vowed to seek vengeance against the heirs of Gertrude. Through a series of dreams, Genevieve managed to keep a diary of what she saw and relayed them to Dr. Virgil Swann which he drawn a theory about.

Using his company's technology, Swann was able to intercept incoming transmission from Krypton, sent by Jor-El and Future-Kara Kent, and was able to translate them as it concerned a heroic, Kryptonian traveler (Kal-El).

Swann then joined forces with other wealthy patrons: Edward & Genevieve Teague, Robert & Laura Queen, Bridgette Crosby, and Lionel Luthor. Around the summer times, they would have their meetings concerning the Traveler who is due to arrive on Earth. Swann utilized the efforts of outbound help such as a German watchmaker to make a clock to hide a specific piece to a Kryptonian artifact. At one point Thomas Wayne was offered a chance to join Veritas, but declined.^[1]

Smallville traveler 236 — Lex's painting of the Veritas symbol.

Unlike Laura Queen and Genevieve Teague, Lillian Luthor was not part of the group. Lionel attempted to keep his dealings with the group secret, but eventually Lillian at one point broke into Lionel's briefcase and demanded answers. Lionel was furious with her and told her to stay out of his business, hitting her and throwing her to the floor.

Swann used his own satellite company to detect possible invasions. He proposed that Lionel Luthor use LuthorCorp's budding Level Three project to help humans gain phenomenal powers to fight against a possible invasion, but Lionel disagreed that this plan would succeed. The Teagues' role was to track down and decipher mysterious symbols and artifacts that had appeared all over the globe.[1]

Lionel Luthor believed that they should not only protect the Traveler, but control him as well. Dr. Swann proposed a way to control Lionel's thirst for power but also preserve the group's original intention to protect him as well. He locked an important component, the cryptograph, in a safety deposit box and gave one of the keys to Robert Queen, and kept the other one to himself. Swann realized that a Kryptonian Orb was found in a castle-mansion that would be known as the Luthor Mansion.

Luthor had sabotaged the Queens' plane so it would crash and kill them. He eventually got ahold of their Veritas key. It seemed he had a partner in his endeavors to control the powers of Krypton (Traveler and the Stones), quite possibly being Genevieve Teague. When Clark managed to land on Earth, along with Doomsday, he was already found by the Kents and Doomsday was found by a special ops group of Veritas. He was held at the Luthor Mansion, while Veritas ran tests over him. However, Doomsday proved to be the wrong "Traveler" and was released to the streets.

Years later, the Traveler was growing into manhood. With Swann disbanding the group, Lionel and Genevieve continued in their search for the Stones of Power, and Lionel grew an interest in the Kawatche Caves. As the two search for the infinite knowledge, Lionel had hoped they will save his life from a fatal cancer. Once the Traveler, now known as Clark Kent, met with Dr. Swann, both Bridgette Crosby and Lionel Luthor paid close attention to him. However, as the Stones of Power were being uncovered, it resulted in the many deaths in the Veritas society: Virgil Swann, Bridgette Crosby, Genevieve Teague and Jason Teague.

Chosen as Jor-El's emissary and oracle, Lionel dedicated himself to uphold the purpose and intentions of Veritas to aid Clark. With Swann, Genevieve and Jason Swann dead, Edward Teague had gone into hiding at a monastery where one of the Kryptonian relics were hidden. About two to three years later Patricia Swann confronted Lionel about his involvements in the murders of the Veritas members, Lex discovered that the two (Patricia and Lionel) were the keys to unlocking the mysteries that plagued him his whole life and decided to kill them and steal the Veritas keys that they possessed.

Edward Teague, now the last member of Veritas, was found in a Canadian monastery, protecting one of the hidden clues to the Kryptonian Orb. He was later killed in his private jet as it started crumbling to pieces. Brainiac disguised himself as Kara Kent and probed Teague for answers to Veritas: he decided that since he can't destroy Kal-El he would then try to control him. He was unsuccessful and set the plane falling out of the sky, but before Brainiac died acting as Kara he was able to plant a seed of doubt into Lex's mind before he went to the Arctic. Possibly enough to encourage most of the fear that Lex had about an alien invasion.

The surviving heirs to the Veritas legacy, Oliver Queen and Tess Mercer, saw the kind of potential that Clark/Traveler possessed to be a hero. Both of them insisted on him to accept his destiny, which he eventually did. And he ended up working side by side with both Oliver and Tess for the greater good.

The Traveler[]

See also: The Traveler

Traveler08 — The Traveler, Clark Kent, is held captive on the orders of Lionel Luthor.

Veritas foretold of a chosen savior (Clark Kent/Kal-El) – the light that will inspire this world out of darkness (Darkseid).

Dr. Swann himself eventually became a recluse and individually devoted his life to understanding communication from the stars. By 2002, he had translated a message and located the Traveler, a 15-year-old adopted boy from Kansas, named Clark Kent. Presumably, Veritas was disbanded by this time, because Dr. Swann upheld his promise to keep Clark Kent's identity a secret, instead of informing the living members, the Teagues and Lionel, of his find. Genevieve Teague reconnected with Lionel Luthor in 2004, but neither of them expressed that they knew of the Traveler's identity. Genevieve's son Jason Teague even coached Clark on the high school football team. However, Clark's close relationship with Lex Luthor eventually caused Lionel to realize that Clark was the Traveler in 2006, almost a year after Swann's death. Lionel's past intentions to control the Traveler were never realized (on Earth-1) because ironically, he became the emissary for Jor-El, Clark's biological father, and carried out the group's original intention to protect the Traveler.

Siren628 — The Veritas Letter of Patricia.

In 2008, Lionel Luthor received threatening letters with wax seals of the Veritas symbol. They were from Patricia Swann, who was trying to learn the identity of the Traveler from Lionel. She hinted to Lex at what the society was and told Lionel that she knew he killed Edward Teague, Laura and Robert Queen, and probably Virgil Swann. She claimed to have evidence linking him to the murders. Lionel agreed to let Patricia meet the Traveler if she turned over the evidence. To protect him from Patricia, Lionel had Clark kidnapped and held in a kryptonite-lined cage. He hired Pierce to oversee Clark's capture, but Pierce instead tortured Clark. Patricia arrived at the facility and stated that she intended to take Clark with her, but Lionel knocked her unconscious and took the evidence. He tried to return Clark back to his farm, but Pierce knocked him unconscious and tried to murder Clark. Kara came to Clark's rescue and after she threw the cage into the observation glass Pierce tried to shot them with the Kryptonite stun gun. Lionel came to and hit him over the head, sending him to death. Clark and Kara must have taken Patricia away from Lionel, because later Clark and Patricia talk in his home in Smallville.

Patricia gave Clark her father's diary, which told of the change the Traveler would bring.

When Gina found out that Clark was the Traveler, the last remaining member of Veritas fulfilled the prophecy of protecting the Traveler by poisoning her so that she couldn't reveal Clark to Lex. He was revealed to be Edward Teague, who thought it was his calling to capture the Traveler and sacrifice him to prevent him from taking over the planet. He lured Clark to the St. Christopher Cathedral in Montreal and tried to perform the ritual, but Clark was saved by Chloe Sullivan. Teague then tried to kill Lex Luthor for interfering, but Clark interrupted the battle.

The Veritas keys[]

715Smallville0340 — Dr. Virgil Swann's Key.

The Veritas keys are two separate keys that were hidden away in two separate lockets. Together, they unlock a safe deposit box in a bank in Zürich, which contains a clue about how to control the Traveler. Lionel believed that controlling the Traveler would give them ultimate power, but Dr. Swann realized that Lionel's thirst for power was dangerous, so the Society agreed to separate and guard the keys. Dr. Swann gave one of the keys to his close friend and fellow Veritas member, Robert Queen. Lionel had Robert Queen's plane crashed and recovered the necklace which he kept at all times around his neck.

When Dr. Swann died, he gave his necklace to his only daughter, Patricia Swann, and told her to wear it at all times. She didn't know what it was for, but came to Metropolis to confront and question Lionel about the Traveler and Veritas. Patricia also visited Lex Luthor, who was also becoming increasingly intrigued with Veritas. As she was leaving town, Lex had Patricia murdered and stole her locket. He prepared to go to Zürich, but discovered that he needed two keys.

When Lionel realized that something terrible was coming, he attempted to give his key to Clark for safekeeping. But Clark was angry with Lionel for kidnapping him, so he ignored him. Lionel then tried to give it to Chloe Sullivan, but she too would not listen. He left the key in Chloe's desk drawer at the Daily Planet in an envelope bearing the Kryptonian symbol for the House of El on it.

Shortly afterward, Lex's childhood memories made him realize that his father had the locket containing the other key. He confronted Lionel and demanded the locket, then killed him by pushing him out of the window of LuthorCorp Plaza. When he realized the locket was empty, he began to retrace his father's footsteps to retrieve the key.

Chloe quickly found the key. She tried to hide it from an approaching Lex, but he discovered it and fired her for lying.

Lex eventually made it to Zürich with both keys and unlocked the box.

The Veritas Cryptograph[]

The Cryptograph is an important component to controlling the "Traveler," also known as Clark Kent. It was kept in a safety deposit box in a Zürich bank, by the Veritas Society.

Lionel Luthor tried to convince the other Veritas members to control the Traveler for obtaining absolute power. But they disagreed with him and all decided to keep it hidden in the safe deposit box, needing two separate keys to open it.

After Lex obtained both keys, killing Patricia Swann and Lionel Luthor, he flew to the bank in Zürich and opened the safety deposit box. Inside was the cryptograph, hidden in a false bottom, with two numbers inscribed onto it: 86 and 23. Shortly after Lex discovered the map, he was almost strangled by a bank guard who said Lex was not "one of them."

Lex had one of North America’s greatest cryptographers named Milash to examine it. Lex learned that a German watch maker named Dietrich Brauer made it while in seclusion as a timepiece to be inserted into a clock (Brauer's standard), rumor was that a wealthy patron (of the Veritas Society) commissioned him to make the clock. Although only one sketch of the Clock existed after the clock disappeared after the Second World War, the Clock resurfaced at some time as a donation from a wealthy Virgil Swann to St. Christopher's Cathedral in Montreal though it was without the cryptograph in it.

Putting the crypthograph in it, the clock began to play a melody, "The Birks of Saint Kilda," a Scottish folk song. Before an altercation between Lex and Edward Teague Lex retrieved an emblem from the clock, the clock itself was destroyed by Clark, while attempting to stop the fight.

Later Lex recognized the melody and thought it was directing him to Scotland, but then learned that it pointed to a castle, the very one that Lionel moved to Smallville brick-by-brick and that Lex had, in fact, been living in for the last seven years. He returned to the mansion where the cryptograph and clock led him to a holographic device hidden in the mantle.

Veritas Journal[]

818Smallville0395 — Lionel's Veritas Journal.

A journal was found or at least stolen by Tess Mercer, which belonged to Lionel Luthor. After reading it and looking at the pictures, she managed to put the pieces together to discover that Clark Kent was the Traveler - Kal-El... and another boy who came with him that was meant to be his destroyer. She wanted to help Clark meet his destiny, by any means necessary to her.

Oliver discovered a Veritas journal from his own family, with information about constellations, such as the figure of Orion. Oliver wanted to use the Bow of Orion to get rid of Darkseid, so he uses the notes of Veritas and Carter Hall to find the Bow.

After his resurrection by Darkseid, Lex Luthor revealed that the Veritas Journal's final pages wrote of Darkseid and his coming Apokolips. It also, "fortold of a chosen savior, the light that will inspire this world out of darkness".

Notes[]

The Veritas logo is seen for the first time in a letter in Lionel office in Siren, is mentioned in Fracture, seen in the Justice & Doom web series, and explored in Traveler, Veritas, Descent and Quest.
Before Season Four began, a planned story arc revolved around the "Seers". This group included all of the members of the now-called Veritas society and Bridgette Crosby and Genevieve Teague. Due to Christopher Reeve's death, the arc was not possible and it was abolished, although hints of it continued and were around even in the first episode. ^{[citation needed]}
Veritas was introduced in an online game tied to the Justice and Doom comic. Players completed "missions" to receive clues about the society, such as meeting notes and diary pages.
Oliver Queen and Lex Luthor are the only living people that have been shown to have any kind of direct connection to the Veritas Society.
The children of the Veritas members took on their parents' roles. Jason Teague helped his mother search for the stones. Lex Luthor attempted to control the Traveler like his father originally wanted to do (On Earth-1). Patricia Swann and Oliver Queen helped Clark embrace his destiny after they met him and became trusted secret keepers (On Eath-1). All of the children have been a main character in a season of Smallville except for Patricia and Lucas.
The members of the Teague family are the only people who haven't been murdered by the other members or their children. Genevieve was killed by a possessed Lana Lang, while she was trying to steal the Crystal of Air from Lana. Jason was killed by the meteor shower and Edward Teague was killed by Brainiac.
In one of the many attempts to get Bruce Wayne on the show, Thomas Wayne was originally going to be a member of the Secret Society that became Veritas and it would be explained that Lionel hired Joe Chill to murder Thomas and Martha Wayne. Due to the embargo on Batman and the complications that happened with the society plan, that element was abolished: this most likely stems from Superman/Batman #50, where in a flashback it is shown that Thomas Wayne was the one who [indirectly] convinced Jor-El to send his son to Earth. The idea of Lionel murdering Oliver Queen's parents came from this idea. ^{[citation needed]} Yet this idea would later be used in the Season 11 comic book continuation of the series were Batman was not longer restricted and was allowed to be used where it is revealed that Lionel Luthor tried to recruit him into Veritas but Thomas always rejected Lionel's offer.
Virgil Swann's death was revealed in the Season 4 episode Sacred. This was done because Swann's actor, Christopher Reeve had just died. The accusation that Lionel had Swann murdered was made by Patricia Swann in the Season 7 episode, Traveler. This accusation clashes seriously with Season 4 continuity since at the time of Swann's death, Lionel was in a conversion experience to be more peaceful and compassionate. This conversion experience didn't last, but it didn't end until some time after Swann's death.
In the comics after the DC famous relaunch, a new character was created to appear in the Superman series. Dr. Shay Veritas, whose last name is possibly a nod to the Veritas Society, is a scientific genius and consultant/confidante to Superman. Dr. Veritas created 'The Block', a facility near the center of the Earth and the only place where Superman can physically train and actually see results. She aides Superman, Supergirl and Superboy in scientific matters. It is revealed that during Shay's first days in the facility, Superman saved the Block from some cosmic storm called the "Eternal Maelstrom". But that save resulted a number of strange consequences like the fact that the Block is now out of phase with reality in the core of the Earth, all the other scientists had their genetic codes rewritten with Veritas' genome and everyone is trapped because leaving the block could cause a space/time rift.

Trivia[]

The original members of the group would meet every summer at the Queen Mansion for secret meetings while their children were off in other rooms. The group's symbol had a star alignment on them that occurred on October 7, 1989, around the day of the first meteor shower. ^{[citation needed]}
In both the Earth-1 and Earth-2 universes, Lionel arranged for the deaths of Robert Queen and Laura Queen. In the Earth-2 universe, he also had both Virgil Swann and his daughter Patricia Swann murdered by Clark Luthor as Ultraman.