- This article is about the loft apartment in Metropolis. For the members of the Justice League see Chloe Sullivan and Tess Mercer (Watchtower II).
The Watchtower was the name given to a Metropolis loft apartment used by Chloe Sullivan as a headquarter to coordinate superhero missions for Clark Kent, Green Arrow and their team of heroes.
The name was initially used as Chloe's operational codename since she started to work part-time as the heroes' information broker, working as a Daily Planet journalist by day, assisting heroes with her computer skills by night. After being fired from the Planet and her marriage with Jimmy Olsen broke down, a disillusioned Chloe decided to dedicate full-time as Watchtower, operating from the secret back office of the Isis Foundation.
The loft apartment was originally purchased by Jimmy as a wedding present to Chloe, but he never got the chance to tell her due to his injury and the complication of their relationship, and the loft was still being renovated when Jimmy was murdered by Davis Bloome. After weeks of grief, Chloe eventually moved her entire operation over to the loft with help from Emil Hamilton, in order to better communicate with the heroes.
After Chloe's sudden disappearance and subsequent departure to Star City, Tess Mercer took over the role of Watchtower.
Physical Appearance[]
The Watchtower was a large tower building located in the heart of Metropolis, with a loft apartment overlooking the whole of the city. It was the tallest building in Metropolis, towering over LuthorCorp Plaza.
- Outside
The external appearance of the loft is similar to an observatory with a copper clad roof, giving it its distinctive green appearance. It has circular windows surrounding it and one main window through which one can see the whole city. At the top has what appears to be a bell-tower like the cathedrals typically have.
The Watchtower building is located in a corner and covers an entire block.[1] It has many small windows and the tower rises from the middle of edificion. The tower widens as it approaches the ground and this causes that three divisions can be seen on it. The first set ends with in a rooftop of the main building from where the other two sections rise up finishing in the apartment.
To access Watchtower, visitors use an elevator which is equipped with a sophisticated security system to prevent unauthorized access to the building.
- Inside
Inside, Watchtower is divided into two floors with stairs on both sides of the room. It has hanging lights and the walls are decorated with reliefs.
In the downstairs section is the main door, which is shaped like a semicircle with stained glass and is the only route to the elevator. There is also a door located on the right side that leads to a hallway. Several drawers and furniture are scattered about the room as well as several books and a coffee machine.
In the main area, Watchtower has high tech computers and computer equipment and serves as the meeting center. It is decorated as an office with a sofa and a modern desktop as well as several computers on all the walls. As seen in Scion, the sofa either has a pull-out bed, or one stored somewhere in Watchtower.
One of these (at least) has what appears to be the insignia of the Justice League as its screensaver. This point is particularly interesting because the name has yet to be formally used on the show. (Clark, when asked for a name, calls his team 'a work in progress'.)
The main window is located on this floor and provides a comprehensive overview of the city. It has stained glass with the predominantly colors green, yellow and red, and is considerably larger in size to the point that a person can stand on it. In emergencies the window can be sealed with a metal plates operating similar to a photo lens.
A medical laboratory located in the upstairs. This section is equipped with stretchers, medical equipment and also with multiple monitors. Some documents and tools are also stored in the upstairs.
Technology[]
Watchtower is equipped with technology that is provided by Queen Industries. After Tess Mercer takes it over, she presumably also outfits it with LuthorCorp technology. Later, Booster Gold contributes some of his technology from the future to the systems.
The Watchtower computers are capable of downloading large amounts of information at high speed, has a fairly comprehensive database and uses the most modern technology in communication.
The desk used by Chloe is quite modern with a touch screen in the center from which she can operate several actions and is connected to the main monitors.
Chloe connected the server of Watchtower to all the cameras on the streets of Metropolis and thus produced a high surveillance system that proved useful on more than one occasion. Watchtower also has its own dedicated orbital satellite which was also developed and provided by Queen Industries. It also features a GPS system to track abnormal activity around the globe and also serves to track the team members.
Among the software with that account, it include a program that can track and edit the voice calls, a face recognition and fingerprinting software and a modern system of holograms. Also his scan system is quite advanced because it can search for data by just putting an object on the scanner.[2]
The medical equipment available ranging from first aid materials to a laboratory to test samples and create antidotes. This equipment is normally used by the medical team's header, Emil Hamilton, although on occasions, also have been be used by othermembers of the team.
Watchtower systems are powered by a central power box that uses nitrogen to keep cool. If the cooling system fails, the whole system collapses.[3]
Security and Vulnerabilities[]
Initially, Watchtower did not have much of a security system and could allow anyone to track the signals transmitted and find its location. When this became an issue, Chloe developed a modern security system using funds from Watchtower's main supplier, Queen Industries.[4]
The main elevator has a secret fingerprint detection system, leading to a digital scan and a password system. Although only team members have access to these passwords and system, the security can be circumvented using a handheld fingerprint scanner and a password hacker.[5]
If an intruder breaks into Watchtower or the computer databases are at risk of being compromised, Watchtower begins a lockdown protocol and seals all exits. The system is sealed with bullet-proof doors, and also cuts off all air flow, reducing the supply of oxygen, and blocks communication with the outside. Unfortunately, the fact that someone other than the intruder might be trapped inside or held hostage was not taken into account, causing members of the team to be stuck inside with no emergency exit.
Despite having advanced technology, the Watchtower can be hacked. While Watchtower is capable of downloading what amounts to the Library of Congress every 3 seconds, the organization Checkmate could download Watchtower's database in half that time. Provided Checkmate got past Watchtower's firewalls and interference halos, Checkmate narrowed Watchtower's location down to within a 20 block radius.
The Watchtower communication systems could also be switched off manually, but after the launching of its own dedicated satellite, this problem was partially solved.[6]
The systems of the Watchtower can be restarted and as a result, relevant information can be lost.[7]
Early History[]
Jimmy bought the apartment hoping that it could be a place where he and Chloe could start their lives together once they were married. However, after the events of their disastrous wedding and their subsequent separation, Jimmy decided that it wasn't the time to give it to her.
Season Eight[]
"You don't get it, Clark... Jimmy is here. He's watching over me. He knew me so well, he knew this place would be perfect..." Chloe Sullivan to Clark Kent, Doomsday
Jimmy brought Chloe and Davis to the Watchtower on Clark's request to keep them safe after Davis was separated from Doomsday. There there he confessed to her that it was her wedding present; and that he was going to give it to her after the reception. After Jimmy revealed to her that he knew Clark's secret, she apologized about everything that happened and affirmed that it had all been to protect Clark from being killed by Doomsday. After Jimmy told her that he understood, they proclaimed their love for each other and reaffirmed their relationship. Feeling betrayed by Chloe and the lies that she told him, an enraged Davis then murdered Jimmy by stabbing a pole through his chest. Davis was about to kill her Chloe, too, but Jimmy stepped in using the last of his strength and pushed Davis into a spike, killing him. Jimmy told Chloe that he loved her and then died in her arms.
After Jimmy's funeral, Clark went to the tower to visit Chloe. After talking with her, he told Chloe she should just leave the apartment and walk away. Chloe refused the idea insisting that Jimmy was still there and watching over her. Then she revealed that she planned to use the building as a base, a Watchtower like her codename, to bring the heroes together. Clark brusquely told her that heroes don't have homes, that Clark Kent was now dead, and telling Chloe good-bye, walked away, leaving Chloe broken hearted and alone in the building.
Season Nine[]
"Watchtower is in control now." - Chloe Sullivan, Sacrifice
Chloe took refuge at the Watchtower after the death of Jimmy and sat alone for three weeks trying to find Lois, who had been missing since the night of the Doomsday battle. Hearing a noise at the entrance of Watchtower, Chloe grabbed her gun and went to investigate only to find Emil Hamilton who had been looking for her. Glad to see him, Chloe explained that she had been trying to locate Oliver or any of the other Leaguers but had been unsuccessful. Emil then told Chloe that she couldn't find them because none of them wanted to be found.
After a touching and optimistic speech of Chloe's, Emil surprised her by outfitting Watchtower with numerous high tech computers. Using the new technology at her disposal, Chloe found that her cousin had definitely been in the future. Chloe then began to pursue her work at Watchtower, emphasizing her quest to locate and watch the team members and create a surveillance system throughout the city and the world.
When Lois was kidnapped by John Corben, Clark went to Chloe's Watchtower looking for help. Chloe used the computers to locate the building which could be hosting Corben. Once Clark saved Lois, he returned to the Watchtower and saw the whole city from the stained glass window. He said that Jimmy had done well to choose the site and then apologized to Chloe for leaving her when she needed him. Chloe admitted that she missed Jimmy and then apologized to Clark for thinking that he had gone ahead without looking back. After an emotional moment, they reconciled their friendship at Watchtower and then Chloe advised Clark to return to his double life at the Daily Planet to protect Lois from Tess.
Following her monitoring, Chloe used the tower above all to observe Oliver as he was the most difficult to locate. When an airborne virus was released in the air, Chloe worked with Clark and Dr. Hamilton to find a cure. From the Watchtower, Chloe was able to infiltrate the security cameras of the Luthor Mansion to find out what was happening and when Clark brought a blood sample from Tess Mercer with which the virus could be analyzed in detail, she and Hamilton managed to use the medical laboratory located in the tower to remove a blood sample from Clark and make a cure.
When the Toyman reappeared, Chloe tracked him down with the tower and along with Clark, delivered him to the police. Later, Chloe used the computers to investigate a mysterious woman who had kidnapped Oliver and had looted his bank account. She also discovered that several Kryptonians had landed on the planet and managed to locate the exact places where they had appeared.
Trying to locate the Kryptonians, Chloe wanted to hack into the computer networks of Tess's to look into her projects in order to find something but was constantly neutralized by the firewall of the system. After an arduous battle, and after one hundred disabled firewalls, Chloe eventually managed to find her adversary and using a modern system of fingerprint detection, was able to get the files of her opponent and recluted him.
Finally Clark discovered the reason for which Chloe was using the Watchtower surveillance system and was angry with her because she had violated the privacy of her friends. Chloe defended herself saying that thanks to this they were able to avoid several difficulties and demonstrated the production of her actions helping Clark to locate Jor-El after he was kidnapped and deceiving Lois to divert her suspicions when she thought that Clark was the Blur. Despite this, Clark continued distrust Chloe and made again a tear in they friendship.
Later, people like the Dark Archer or Sylvester Pemberton found out about Watchtower and more recently the government agency Checkmate wanted to know where its location was. Chloe upgraded Watchtower's system because, of these threats.
Soon, Tess Mercer broke into Watchtower and triggered an alarm that shut down the doors that trapped both Chloe and Tess in the building. Chloe discovered that Tess had a bug in her body and that Checkmate was closing in their location in order to kill them. They thought they were done for and Tess confessed that Oliver was lucky to have someone like Chloe and then Chloe found out how to escape, but at the cost of shutting down Watchtower. They are able to bust the metal doors of Watchtower but it shut down as a result.
Chloe was later able to repair most of Watchtower and was afraid at first, until Clark convinced her that the world needed her to do this and that he needed her to do this. This convinced her to activate Watchtower again and open the doors.
Later, when the Kandorians started to attack the planet, the heroes gathered where Clark told them that he planned to use the Book of Rao to exile all the Kandorians to a new world where they won't be a threat to anyone and that he would be forced to join them as a result of this action. They tried to make Clark reconsider but he told them that this was the only way to settle the matter without going into war and losing lives. The heroes said their goodbyes to Clark and signed off.
The Kandorians cut off communications from Watchtower, so Oliver prepared to leave in order to get the connection back up with Watchtower via a satellite that Chloe was unaware of and they shared a passionate kiss before he departed. Chloe was navigating Oliver through the ventilation shafts in order to get to the connection up. He succeeds but then Chloe detects many others surrounding Oliver and started to attack the shafts, putting dents. They proclaim their love for each other and Oliver told Chloe that they weren't Kandorians before the line went dead.
Season Ten[]
Chloe successfully restored the video feed and discovered Oliver had been kidnapped by a mysterious man who threatened the other supers saying they are next. Determined to find Oliver, Chloe retrieved the key which would lead her to the Helmet of Nabu. However, before she headed out Clark returned and told her about his fight with Zod amidst with blue kryptonite and his near-death experience, but was worried if the Kandorians made it there safely. Chloe was more surprised that Clark stayed and that he died. Clark then foretold her about a great evil coming and seeing Lex in the limbo.
Chloe used the computer to check that all of Lex's projects such as Level Three, Project 33.1, and Metron Pharmaceuticals were all shut down and disbanded. She mentions to Clark that maybe the Daily Planet could have hard files on another project Lex could have kept. While Clark heads off, Chloe heads to the JLA Brownstone to use Dr. Fate's helmet to find Oliver. When Chloe used the helmet and see a lot of forthcoming events, it caused her to go in a short-term coma. Clark brings her back to the Watchtower with Dr. Hamilton treating her. Chloe soon wakes up and tells Clark about Oliver's abduction and Clark's future wearing different colors other than black; she also tells him that Cadamus Labs is on fire leaving Clark to investigate it. Chloe then tells him goodbye knowing what’s going to happen next.
Oliver being released from his captor, he begins trying to find Chloe after discovering the Watchtower being shut down. He brings Tess over to help. He investigates further to discover that she had set a plan for her departure after finding a bottle of cyanide antidote. He later learns by Rick Flag, the man who captured him that Chloe made a trade for Oliver's release. Flag tells him that Chloe died and is willingly to join his group. Clark discovers the Watchtower shut down and Oliver tells him that Chloe faked her death.
Clark takes Kara to Watchtower and they check the news broadcast to find where the darkness might be. Clark notices that Godfrey is all over the media, with their super hearing both Clark and Kara hear a darker toned voice hidden in the broadcast. They both realize that the darkness is inhabiting Godfrey, so Kara checks the security cameras in Metropolis to locate him. Clark realizes that the limo driver is Lois as Kara zooms in on the video frame. Tracking Lois' cell phone, they both super speed to Maxwell's.
Without Chloe running the Watchtower, Clark and Oliver find their resources at half-power due to the fact that neither of them are adept at the computers as Chloe was. When Lois is possessed by Isis, Clark suggests that Tess Mercer be brought in to help, as she is an expert at computers. Oliver refuses initially, but Tess helps regardless. Afterwards, both Oliver and Clark agree that Tess could prove a great help to them, and so they offer her the chance to step in as the new Watchtower. Tess thanks the two, but quickly runs out, feeling overwhelmed by their trust, and breaks down crying.
Tess immediately makes herself at home at the Watchtower, changing aspects of the layout and how the tower runs. This does not go over well, for Oliver who feels that she does not have the right to change what Chloe built. Eventually, Oliver comes to accept that things need to change, and that the only reason he had such an issue with Tess, was because he didn't want to feel like he was further losing Chloe. The two share a drink together, before Oliver reveals he will not return to Watchtower, due to the fact that the tracking tattoo that the Suicide Squad planted on him, plus his exposed identity as Green Arrow has made him a risk to the security of the Watchtower.
Two weeks later Oliver was asked to come to the Watchtower because
Emil had found a way to remove the Suicide Squad's tags. Clark and Emil then revealed to Oliver that they believed A.C. was responsible for the destruction of a government explosion. Clark later brought Lois to the Watchtower where her and Tess officially welcomed her to the Justice League. Oliver arrived and Clark told the three that Darkseid had begun taking over people.
When Clark Kent and Clark Luthor switched places due to the mirror box, Oliver, Tess and Lois were left to battle him at the Watchtower on Earth-1. When Kent returned they almost killed him by mistake until he convinced Lois that it was really him. Watchtower was damaged in the process, but has since been repaired.
After Clark proposed to Lois, the team became aware of their engagement. Tess told the two of them to be at Watchtower because she was enhancing security, but she,Oliver, Emil, Carter, and Courtney through them a surprise engagement party. When Oliver left the party he attacked a thug and he was mistaken as the criminal. Carter and Courtney came to his aid and the three retreated at Watchtower. Clark arrived and The four along, with
Black Canary who was skyped in, discovered that the VRA had gotten worse. Clark decided that the team was to go underground and he shut down Watchtower.
After being captured by the VRA the Justice League was put in an alternate reality. While in this Alternate reality, Clark went to the non-operational Watchtower, where he encountered Dinah. The two discovered that they each were having visions of Chloe doing experiments on them. Dinah used the Watchtower as a hideout.
When the team was back in reality after being saved by Chloe, Chloe met Oliver at the Watchtower where the two talked about how Chloe's leaving affected he and the team. Chloe apologized and she told Oliver that she would stick around for awhile. The two then shared a passionate kiss.
The citizens of Metropolis started a rally to support the heroes and to encourage the government to repeal the VRA bill. Senator Martha Kent plays a key role in their success. After the bill is repealed Clark, Lois, and Chloe, reopen Watchtower. The three look out of the main window as they are confident that Earth's heroes can operate above ground again.
Two weeks later Oliver, Chloe, Emil, and Tess through Clark and Lois a real engagement party. Zatanna sent a sparked bottle of champagne that caused everyone to get drunk and lose their memory. Tess used Watchtower to help Clark retrace his steps and get some answers for the night before. The team later comes together to watch a video from the night before.The night ends with Oliver and Chloe discovering that they are married and the two deciding to move to Star City.
John later helped out Tess at Watchtower by turning Watchtower's new space station online.
At Watchtower, Tess was desperately trying to access Watchtower's satellites, only to be blocked out at every try. She orders Watchtower to access security footage which reveals Oliver as the person who disabled the satellites. She then tells Watchtower to bring up previous satellite footage which reveals a massive fireball planet descending towards Earth.
Season Eleven[]
Six months later, Watchtower appears yet again. Chloe and her husband Oliver Queen currently resides within the walls of Watchtower, back in Metropolis. The two share a coffee together as they wait for any signs of Superman before resuming their previous plans. Chloe later does some in depth research on the spacecraft from Russia for Clark. She and Lois share coffee together where they see a spacecraft in debris at the end of the Issue. Chloe confides in Lois that Oliver is currently rebuilding Queen Industries while going out and being a hero, as she's busy taking care of Watchtower and setting up similar Watchtower hubs in each of the Justice League member's home cities while working her day job as a reporter for the Star City Gazette.
Lex reveals to Oliver that he knows that Oliver is building a secret moon base for his team and threatens to reveal this to the public.
In S.T.A.R. Labs, 10 minutes before the flight of a LexCorp Shuttle, Emil tells Chloe that the scanner Clark used has picked up a trail, and that the rocket that came to Earth has landed somewhere in Kansas. At the launch site, the shuttle explodes, surprising the masses. Clark runs off and changes into his Superman suit, with Chloe guiding him from Watchtower. Superman catches up to the shuttle and sets out the fire caused by the explosion, and removes the last fuel tank before it explodes. Using his gamma vision, he's able to see that there is a radiation leak.
Superman has Chloe contact Commander Henshaw through LexCorp mission control, where he informs them that he can save them, but needs to pry open the shuttle as it will depressurize, but Henshaw insist that Superman save his crew members first, in order to pilot the shuttle into orbit as the shuttle is leaking radiation. But before Superman leaves to save the crew, Henshaw reveals a secret. Superman saves the crew and returns to the shuttle as the oxygen levels reach zero and Henshaw passes out.
Henshaw wakes up on a stretcher, with burns from the radiation exposure. As the paramedics begin to transport him, Superman instructs them to send him to Emil at S.T.A.R. Labs and Chloe to get the road cleared for them to get there.
Days later, Chloe gets a disturbing phone call from Emil at S.T.A.R. Labs. Oliver arrives with coffee for Chloe. Chloe tells Oliver that Emil is close to accessing the black box from the late Earth-2 Chloe's space ship. Meanwhile, Oliver has no lead on whoever it was in the cornfields that killed Chloe's doppelgänger. Plus Oliver's been getting gibberish emails that he'd like Chloe to get to the bottom of, if she's not too distracted by this "Crisis". Later, Watchtower's Trouble Alert alerts them to a prison breakout at Stryker's Island. Oliver gets his Green Arrow suit and bow and arrow and immediately heads to Stryker's.
When Oliver returns, Chloe jokes with him over getting beat up by a 19-20 year old girl, mentioning that the Wonder Twins are a call away. The talk leads to encrypted e-mails Ollie's been getting, and while there is a pattern, Chloe says he won't like where it leads.
While the Batmobile, with Batman and a wounded Superman inside, is chased by the police and Green Arrow along with Lois following Chloe is hacking into the traffic system so no one is hurt during the chase. Nightwing then, who has asked Superman who to call to help them with the situation, calls Chloe, who in turn calls a choked up Lois and Nightwing gives her the situation. When Batman succeeds to save Clark's life, he informs Chloe who is relieved that it's over.
Later on the moon at the construction site for Queen Industries' new Moon Base, Superman and Martian Manhunter oversee the construction which the S.T.A.R. Labs H.E.D drones help in the process. Clark shares some Double Stuff Oreo cookies with his friend and mentor when he receives an alert about an attack on Metropolis involving former Project Ares subject, Psimon. As Superman speeds off to deal with the threat, J'onn decides to return to his apartment in Metropolis.
Superman and Impulse receive a call from Chloe at Watchtower. She tells them that a situation with art thieves in Paris has arisen and, as they don't have any agents in Europe as of yet, they are the two closest to respond.
Later Oliver Queen sits at the desk, drawing plans for a jetcraft amidst a number of parenting books. Chloe practices shooting his bow and arrows and Oliver notes that she seems to be getting better. Chloe attributes it to their child growing within her. When Ollie notes that he's the only one of the two who has spent any time with the books, Chloe teases him that he's only been doodling images of the Batwing. He shows her his plans and proudly proclaims it is the Arrowjet.
Ollie then asks why she hasn't told her best friend or her cousin about the pregnancy and admits to being anxious to let everyone know. Chloe reminds him that as long as Clark is irradiated and being tracked by Lex, she doesn't want to risk Watchtower's location being discovered. Besides, she is more concerned, at the moment, with decrypting the warning her doppelganger gave regarding "the Crisis" that is coming. Ollie laments that they can't just ask her as she is dead. Chloe makes a suggestion that there might be a way that they could.
Later Chloe gets frustrated that she can't do help more and can't sort out her counterpart's memories through Project Intercept, which was stolen from LexCorp by Oliver. Suddenly, she's stricken by a memory and falls into Oliver's arms. When she wakes up she mutters dismayed words from the memory.
Batman radios Chloe Sullivan at Watchtower in Metropolis. He alerts her that something might be going down in the city and asks about Superman's location. Chloe says he's away on a mission in Utah. Yet, before she can suggest someone else to help, the Dark Knight breaks contact.
Some time later Chloe finishes explaining another memory to Ollie while in the tub. They're both baffled by the supposed romantic encounter between their doppelganger. Chloe asks if Clark and Bart had any luck in Utah. A speed storm alert on Ollie's phone tells them no.
Martian Manhunter and Batman go to Watchtower, where they talk about John's origin. Shortly after the conversation, Batman calls the Batcave and is informed that Barbara is fully recovered from the White Martian's attack. Later the two detectives connects all of the creature's victims at the Watchtower and finds out that the trail of corpses began in Colorado, where it was situated Checkmate's Headquarters.
Clark fields communication from Chloe at Watchtower. He asks how she is and she tells him she's coping. She alerts him to a speed storm brewing in Las Vegas, a huge one that isn't slowing down and many dying. Clark relays the message to Bart, who tries running off on his own. Clark tells Chloe that they didn't come up with a solution. She responds that S.T.A.R. Labs might have something.
Chloe sheds a tear from another flashback that she had and doesn't want to talk about it with Oliver. She's too busy tracking Bart, who is running faster than he's ever run before.
Later Chloe flashes to her Earth-2 counterpart's final moments. She wakes up in Oliver arms with her wondering with what happened with Bart, the lives the other Oliver and Chloe lead, the lives Green Arrow and Watchtower lead, the destruction of Earth 2, how can they bring a baby with a crisis on the way.
Clark, Lois and Oliver stands patience as Emil downloads a grateful Tess into a computer system making her a hologram, after removing her consciousness from Lex's brain. Clark wonders where Chloe,Oliver reveals she's outside waiting to reveal something to him. Chloe tells Clark about the Monitors and then she tells Clark about the baby she is about to have. As Clark is overjoyed and takes Chloe on a flight, she later reveals that she and Oliver needs to leave so the baby can come safely to term with Clark understanding since that is what both Jor-El and Lara as well as Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent did for him. As Oliver and Lois watch Chloe and Clark in the sky, she wonders out loud, "How cool is it that your kids will have an uncle that can fly?" with Oliver dryly saying don't remind me as the group says their goodbyes for now.
Days later while performing monitor duty over her allies in her newly digitized form, Tess gets an unexpected visit from Skeets who tells her Superman and Booster Gold were accidentally transported to the future. Tess doesn't see how she can help Skeets giving her artificial state. Skeets offers to help her discover the joys of being an A.I. after this crisis is dealt with, but right now he needs money. Tess mentions that Booster is connected very well to Ted Kord. But Skeets insist that he needs someone who has more money so he can purchase land with a thousand year lease as a means to place himself in a time capsule. So he can wait until a thousand years to be their when they arrive.
Some time later Professor Hamilton arrives at Watchtower, where he updates the software and "wakes up" the consciousness of Tess Mercer. He tells her he could make a uniform especially for her so she can put some clothes on her holographic representation. Tess doesn't seem to be interested in that idea because as she says clothes are for people and at the moment she is not an actual person. They also talk about whether she dreams when she is in stand-by but their conversation is interrupted by an assault at Seattle, involving men with robotic suits.
Later while watching Lex, Tess remotely locks the doors of LexCorp preventing Otis to accompany Lex, and outside there are three former employees of LexCorp heading towards Lex, who start to beat him up while Tess observes the situation and discards the option of calling 911 to save her brother.
Clark communicates with Tess asking her to sent him the coordinates for D.E.O.'s headquarters. When he arrives at the place he finds nothing in sight and calls Tess again but she verifies that this is the place where D.E.O.'s basis should be. Clark then finds out that the facility was actually underground.
Tess observes the activities of the network cameras monitoring the hospital, where Lex now is and she is about to change the medication oxycodone, but she fails because she has to answer to an emergency call and so eventually Lex is discharged and leaves.
The emergency call was for a fire in the lower area of Metropolis. A father and daughter are trapped and firefighters can not come to their rescue. Tess tries to communicate with any member of the team but no one seem to be available at the moment so she decides to take action herself. With her control over all systems, Tess takes command of a helicopter and a crane arm, and manages to create a bridge by which the two escape from the flames. People are surprised at what has happened, and attribute it to a kind of invisible hero.
Tess communicates with Clark and tells him that she had tracked down the hostiles that he, Lois and Diana encountered at the cathedral the previous day and then she sends him the coordinates. Diana, listening to their conversation, asks who is this "Watchtower" and Clark replies by complimenting her super-hearing.
When Lex's henchmen attack S.T.A.R. Labs and Emil Hamilton gets shot Tess, who was also at the facility, transports herself back to Watchtower and takes the control of a huge robot inside the labs, heading towards the wounded Emil saying to him to hold on.
Tess, while controlling a huge robot from the Watchtower, attacks the soldiers sent by Lex in S.T.A.R. Labs and then breaks into the place, where Lex and Otis are but she decides to spare the life of her brother.
Later when Emil leaves the hospital, after being shot, he visits Tess and they talk about what happened earlier. She says she did not kill Lex because she dreams, and if she has dreams, it must means something. Not knowing why, she feels that if she is getting a second chance, she does not want any blood on her hands or darkness in her heart. Tess also tells Emil that she has reconsidered his idea of making a uniform, clothing her holographic design.
Tess communicates with Clark and tells him that she had tracked down the hostiles that he, Lois and Diana encountered at the cathedral the previous day and then she sends him the coordinates.
In Japan, there is a bullet train that cannot be stopped, so Tess, who observes the situation and supports Superman from the Watchtower, informs "Boy Scout" of a fluctuation in Earth's magnetic pole that has destabilized the train's track system but still she does not know what caused it.
Chloe, Tess, Clark and Lois discuss about Earth-2, which was presumably annihilated by the Monitors, and Clark wonders what crime could that Earth have committed to deserve to merit annihilation. Chloe says everything she knows about the alternate Earth and the Monitors but also informs them that the memories, that were transported to her from her doppelganger never actually took root and she only gets fleeting glimpses. Tess informs them that Lex is preparing his jet to visit Moscow and Lois thinks of a way to sneak in as a press attache and go to Russia with Lex so she can keep an eye on him. Clark then says he has a better idea and the proceeds to communicate with another member of the team, asking for a favor.
At Watchtower, Diana Prince contacts Tess in search of a prospect with magical powers that will help D.E.O. deal with magical and mythological threats. Tess says she knows just the person for the job but Diana has to get a hold of her agent first, suggesting Zatanna.
After his battle with the Monitor, Superman communicates with Tess at the Watchtower and tells her that now they have two priorities: to find out where the Monitor is hiding and how was Ray-Lan able to hurt him. Tess then transfers data to Dr. Hamilton at S.T.A.R. Labs, so he can find out how Superman got hurt, and she then says that she will easily trace the Monitor thanks to the satellites she is controlling.
While regaining his strength, Superman communicates with Tess and Emil Hamilton at the Watchtower, who explain to him why they believe the Monitor can hurt him without the help of any kind of kryptonite or red solar radiation. They say that the Monitors are beings outside the laws governing their universe, their energy is not governed by the physical laws of our own, which also makes Superman vulnerable to their attacks. Emil tells Clark to seek help from Supergirl but he refuses because as he says if the Monitor can hurt him, he can hurt Kara too. Clark then descends and gets ready to face his enemy once again improvising.
Lois, Chloe, Clark and Tess read an article on the Daily Planet, titled "The New Cold War" and written by Cat Grant, presenting Superman as a threat and even stating that the Monitor's ship was actually his. Lois is furious with Cat's article and gets even more angry because of the fact that Franklin Stern didn't publish her story about the murder in Gotham. Clark says that they have bigger problems to worry about as the danger of the "Crisis" hasn't passed yet. Suddenly Bruce appears and says that even though he knew that the man in Gotham wasn't actually Clark he is happy to see him standing on his feet. Bruce also informs them his evil doppelganger is safely in custody with John Jones. Moreover he says that because of the "Crisis" he has decided to join the team, at least temporarily, so they can face the threat together.
Clark discusses his new powers and the history of the Green Lantern Corps with a projection of Tomar-Re while Lois, Tess, and John Stewart watch. John tells Clark that the rings are powered by the willpower of their wearers which is why they chose people like himself, Kyle Rayner and Hal Jordan as Corps members in the past. Lois and Tess disbelieve that John has a stronger will than them or any of the 6 billion people on Earth, with Tess wondering how did Alan Scott get hold of one of their rings and John admits he doesn't know what loophole Alan used to get a ring of his own. Clark then questions what gives a Guardian or whoever is left the right to force other sentient beings into service. John retorts that orders are orders and Superman is a soldier now.
Oliver and Chloe ask Tess to help them investigate a mysterious robbery but Tess questions whether they will keep their promise to abstain from "hero work" until the baby is born. They both insist that this has anything to do with "hero work" and Chloe says that they are just sleuthing but Tess notes that "sleuthing" got her into trouble with Batman weeks ago. Tess decides to help them with their investigation but she warns them that she will keep an eye on them both. She reveals, as Oliver suspected, that the heist was just a faint. At the same time the alarms were tripped at the bank, silent alarms lit up at an unregistered address in the Suicide Slums and even though Tess couldn't find out what was stolen, she found that it led back to the D.E.O.
Tess tells Lois and Chloe about the fight on the Moon. Lois says that Oliver might have been right to tell her to be a little more concerned about Clark and then Chloe asks where is he, with Lois being surprised that he hasn't told her.
Later, Oliver, Chloe, and Tess are monitoring the yellow rings and the subsequent mayhem they're causing. They communicate with Superman, who is fighting with the Yellow Lanterns in Gotham and tells them to focus on threats that are unrelated to the rings and let him deal with them because a situation like this is the perfect chance for other minor threats to go unnoticed. Intent on joining the fray, Oliver programs a 3-D printer to create a new armored suit so he can go after Prometheus despite being recently beat up by him.
Tess and the rest of team in the Watchtower monitor the yellow ring situation in Arkham Asylum.
Director Trevor confirms to Watchtower that there have been incidents related to the yellow rings in Washington, D.C. as well. Then Trevor informs Green Arrow that new activity was detected by D.E.O.'s mystics in the boom tube Prometheus has been using. Steve asks Oliver if he is ready for the mission and he responds positively so Steve tells Zatanna to teleport him with one of her spells to where Prometheus was spotted.
Shortly after Green Arrow vanishes, Tess asks Chloe if she is really okay with Oliver being back out in the field and Chloe says that in a situation like this there is no other place for them to be. Tess and Chloe then contact Emil Hamilton at S.T.A.R. Labs, who informs them that unlike the green rings, the yellow rings actually control the people wielding them. Emil takes that notion a step further and determines that the ring may also share a single communication frequency and if they could isolate the communication channel, as they did with Superman's ring, maybe they could interfere.
Batman receives a call from the ladies in the Watchtower, who ask him to secure a single yellow ring for them so Batman says he will see what he can do for them.
Batman finds the chance and takes the yellow ring from Firefly and then puts it on his analyzer on the Batplane and sends the data to Watchtower and S.T.A.R. Labs, who verify that they can't turn the rings off but they can reboot them. Unfortunately, that would reboot both green and yellow rings in the area.
Watchtower informs Superman about their plan and then he tells to his teammates to reset the rings.
Tess contacts with Valkyrie in Africa and gets informed about Professor Bryce Gordon, who has been possessed by an evil spirit, which is somehow related to a strange black diamond, and right now he fights Superman in Metropolis. Tess then informs Superman about the Professor and that he did not displayed any such abilities back in Africa.
Tess contacts Emil Hamilton to inform him about the effect of Eclipso that is spreading all over the city. Emil tells her that he is already aware of the situation as possessed citizens are attacking S.T.A.R. Labs, at the same time. Suddenly their link is terminated and Tess loses contact with Emil. An overwhelmed Tess is trying to contain the mess, launching an SOS signal to all the heroes who are available, even though all of them seem to be off-line, as havoc breaks loose in Metropolis thanks to the ever-growing army of Eclipso.
A man possessed by Eclipso wreaks havoc on a passenger plane headed for Tokyo. Tess monitors its descent but warns other heroes to stay away from the city in order to prevent them from being possessed by the entity. However, there are still a few heroes left, who have already arrived in Metropolis before Tess decided to keep everyone away.
Professor Emil Hamilton and his cohorts from S.T.A.R. Labs work with Tess at Watchtower. The scientists try study the synthesized gem serum while Tess and the others try to locate the original person under the sway of Eclipso, Bryce Gordon. Superboy, Supergirl, and Hank Henshaw volunteer to find him, and luckily enough, Tess has a lock on his position and sends them where Bryce is.
Watchtower was destroyed, during the battle with the Monitors, when the pod of the Omega Monitor crushed on it. Some of its remains were used to build the new base of the Justice League on the moon.
Appearances[]
- Season Eight: Doomsday
- Season Nine: Savior, Metallo, Rabid, Echo, Roulette, Crossfire, Kandor, Idol, Pandora, Disciple, Absolute Justice, Warrior, Persuasion, Conspiracy, Checkmate, Upgrade, Charade, Sacrifice, Hostage, Salvation
- Season Ten: Lazarus, Shield, Supergirl, Isis, Ambush, Abandoned, Patriot, Luthor, Icarus, Collateral, Beacon, Masquerade, Fortune, Kent, Booster, Dominion, Prophecy, Finale, Part 1, Finale, Part 2
- Season Eleven: Guardian, Detective, Haunted, Effigy, Argo, Olympus, Hollow
- Smallville Miniseries: Alien, Harbinger, Lantern, Chaos, Continuity
In the Comics[]
The Watchtower is the name of various bases used by the Justice League of America in DC Comics and various other media. It has been portrayed, in DC comics as a building on the moon and as a space-station in orbit, in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. The space station version of the Watchtower was introduced into the comics several years back. Throughout its history, the Watchtower was financed by Bruce Wayne. In the animated series Batman Beyond, the headquarters of the Justice League of the future is called the Watchtower, and is located in Metropolis(Similar to Smallville Watchtower). It has a training room, plus a tank for Aquagirl. It first appeared in the season three episode "The Call: Part One."
The Watchtower debuted in JLA # 4 during Grant Morrison's run on the title. It is constructed of promethium (the DC Universe's equivalent of Marvel's adamantium) and used highly advanced Martian, Thanagarian, Kryptonian, and Earth technology. The arrival of Orion and Big Barda added the technology of New Genesis and Apokolips to the systems within.
There has also been various landbases where the Justice League resides. One includes the Secret Sanctuary(original headquarters of the Justice League of America and briefly headquarters of the Doom Patrol) which first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #28 (1960) located in a large cave deep inside of a mountain base in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. Shortly after the Appellaxian invasion, the newly formed Justice League of America decided to use the cave as their secret headquarters. In Justice League of America (vol.1) #77, honorary member Snapper Carr betrays the location of the Secret Sanctuary to the Joker. The League subsequently moves its base to a new secure headquarters, an orbiting satellite 22,300 miles above the Earth, in Justice League of America (vol.1) #78 (February 1970).
The most famous land base has been the Hall of Justice which first appeared in the very first episode of the Super Friends series, which premiered on September 8, 1973. It was originally drawn by Al Gmuer, background supervisor for Hanna-Barbera for more than 30 years. Gmuer modeled the fortress after the famous Union Terminal in Cincinnati, Ohio, train station turned museum. The Hall, located in Metropolis(just like Smallville Watchtower), serves as the central meeting point for the Super Friends. The Hall contains the Trouble Alert, a computerized monitoring station that would warn the heroes of a new threat. The Hall also houses a giant computer that the Super Friends use to analyze clues. By the mid-1980s, The Hall of Justice had a major remodel, at the same time the Super Friends changed their superhero team name to the "Super Powers Team." The Hall has been featured many times in various comics and TV shows.
Following the events of the Infinite Crisis and One Year Later, the Hall of Justice is truly introduced into DC Comics continuity in Justice League of America vol. 2 #7 (May 2007). After the previous Watchtower was destroyed and the League had disbanded, one year later, the JLA reforms and with it a new Satellite Watchtower is constructed in space, along with an updated version of the Hall of Justice on Earth.
The newest Hall is located in Washington, D.C. on top of the location of the former bases of the Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron, previously known as the Perisphere, which existed there during World War 2. The Hall was designed by John Stewart and Wonder Woman and was financed by Batman. Unlike the Super Friends' Hall, it is not designed to be the central headquarters for the heroes, but rather more a museum of sorts so as to allow the public to witness firsthand what the heroes do. There are many exhibits, including trophy rooms of weapons used by villains and heroes (all of which were dismantled and made useless by Batman). It does have a primary meeting hall in which many JLA meetings are held, with Black Canary as chairperson. The Hall also works as a transfer station for the heroes in which it is connected, via "slideways" teleporters, to the League's orbiting Satellite Watchtower, which is considered a more secured location for the JLA to assemble.
The Hall of Justice is then appropriated by the United Nations as the headquarters for the new Justice League International, shortly after the events of FLASHPOINT, in which a new continuity, aka 'The New 52', has been established. This causes public outrage, with many citizens taking offense to the idea of superheroes from foreign countries using an American landmark as their base of operations, and cause a few civilians to blow up the Hall of Justice while the team is on an away mission. The Watchtower of Smallville also shares similarities with the Gotham Clocktower, used by Barbara Gordon, AKA Oracle, who like Chloe plays the role of the information broker for the Justice League. Both the Smallville's Watchtower and the Oracle Clocktower are set at the top of a city skyscraper and are filled with advance computers uses to monitor world events.
Justice League Headquarters in other media[]
Quotes[]
- Clark: This place, Chloe... just get rid of it. Just walk away and don't look back.
- Chloe: You don't get it, Clark. Jimmy is here. He's watching over me. He knew me so well, he knew this place would be perfect. Jimmy wanted to know that no matter where I was in this city, I could look up here and see this beacon... the watchtower. And look -- Dinah, Oliver, and Bart all disappeared. Maybe it's up to us to bring them back home.
- Clark: Home? I don't
- Season Eight, Doomsday
- Lois: Okay, Chloe, remember when we were ten and I kicked you out of my clubhouse for spilling soda and you said you'd just build a cooler one? You win.
- Season Nine, Pandora
Notes[]
- The code name Watchtower was also originally Chloe Sullivan's designation in Green Arrow's team of heroes.[8] Later on Tess Mercer was running Watchtower in Chloe's absence, until she was seemingly murdered by Lex Luthor.[9] After that, Chloe briefly retook the mantle,[10] until Tess returned as an A.I. program, and Chloe retired to have a baby.[11]
- Chloe's job as super-hero information broker as well as operating in a tower-base in the center of the city is presumably an homage to Barbara Gordon, who as Oracle plays the same role, and who also lived in a tower in the center of Gotham City. Sue Dibny (the wife of the Elongated Man) served a similar function for Justice League Europe, starting in 1989.[12]
- Queen Industries paid for the technology in Watchtower, this was done while Oliver Queen was depressed and out of control during the first couple of episodes of Season Nine.
- It is never revealed how Jimmy, being a modestly employed photographer, was able to buy what must have been a hugely expensive penthouse apartment in a building which dwarfs even the LuthorCorp building.
- The Watchtower is featured prominently on the Season 9 DVD cover.
- The new Watchtower Satellite that Oliver mentions in Salvation, has an association with the actual Satellite Watchtower that appears in the comics, which is also the team's central headquarters.
- In the Finale, Part 1, as Tess tries to gain visual of outer space, Watchtower's computer says "Manhunter has put the new space station online per your request", which also possibly could be referring to the future Watchtower that is seen orbiting space just like in the comics.
- The Watchtower was shut down three times, before the destruction of the building. The first shutdown happened during Sacrifice and Hostage and the second happened in Shield and the third between Icarus and Beacon.
- Chloe and Oliver shared their first kiss at the Watchtower. (Warrior)
- Chloe's password to Watchtower is 051409. This is the original airdate of Doomsday and the supposed date of her ex-husband Jimmy's death. However, in Savior, the date was shown as September 25, 2009, which took place three weeks after the events of Doomsday. So, Jimmy's death actually would've taken place in September, not in May.
- The Watchtower was featured in three season finales in a row: Doomsday, Salvation and Finale, Part 2.
- Zod was the only main character to never set foot inside Watchtower in Season Nine.
Behind the Scenes[]
- The Watchtower's exterior appearance is based on the real-life Sun Tower in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, although it was digitally made much taller.
See also[]
- Chloe Sullivan
- Tess Mercer
- Justice League
- Watchtower Outpost
- Queen Industries
- Queen Tower
- Isis Foundation
Justice League Headquarters External links[]
- Justice League Satellite on Wikipedia
- Justice League Watchtower on Wikipedia
- Hall of Justice (comics) on Wikipedia
- Secret Sanctuary on DC Database
- Hall of Justice on DC Database
- Justice League Watchtower on DC Database
- Justice League Satellite on DC Database
- Watchtower on Wikia DCAU
- Mount Justice on Young Justice Wikia
- Hall of Justice on Young Justice Wikia
- The Watchtower on Young Justice Wikia
- Secret Sanctuary on Super Friends Wikia
- Hall of Justice on Super Friends Wikia
- Justice League Satellites on Super Friends Wikia
- JLA Watchtower on DC Universe Online Wikia
- Hall of Justice on Injustice: Gods Among Us Wikia
- The Watchtower on Injustice: Gods Among Us Wikia
- Smallville: Justice and Doom - Watchtower Reveal
- Secret Sanctuary on Comicvine
- Justice League Satellite on Comicvine
- Hall of Justice on Comicvine
- Justice League Watchtower on Comicvine
References[]
- ↑ This can be seen in Rabid when Clark leaves the Watchtower and goes in search of Lois.
- ↑ These software can be appreciated in Roulette, Crossfire, Idol and Abandoned.
- ↑ Oliver mentions a satellite in Salvation.
- ↑ In Charade, Tess found Chloe at Oliver´s office in LuthorCorp diverting money from his bank account. In Sacrifice, Chloe states that she improved a security system using that money to prevent Checkmate from localize and access the Watchtower.
- ↑ Tess states this in Sacrifice when she tells Chloe that her fingerprints were scattered throughout Oliver´s office.
- ↑ Zod and his troops were able to leave the Justice League without communication in Salvation.
- ↑ Chloe uses this to prepares her departure as is revealed in Shield
- ↑ This is revealed in the Season Eight episode, Hex.
- ↑ She became Watchtower in the Season Ten episode, Isis (episode), and murdered in Finale, Part 2.
- ↑ Guardian
- ↑ Haunted
- ↑ Justice League Europe Vol 1 2 (May, 1989)
Chloe Sullivan in Smallville
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Places in Smallville
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