Smallville timeline

The following is an as-accurate-as-possible timeline for the canon/continuity of the television show Smallville.

16th century

1502 AD: An ancestor of Kal-El's comes to Earth with several radiated rocks of Krypton. He falls in love with a Native American woman, resulting in the genesis of the Kawatche people. At some point, this prophetic Kryptonian man forged the prophecies in the Kawatche caves, hiding several "parasites" from his home-world within the cave walls, and burying the ancient "star blade" so that it would take at least 500 years to recover it. Knowing his destiny did not lie on Earth with the first of the Kawatche, Kal-El's ancestor bids them farewell, promising he (or rather his descendant, "Na-Man") would return to protect them all again. He then swiftly flies off and hides the sacred Kryptonian crystals of Fire, Water, and Air all around the world, while building the reputation as a mighty "god" along the way. He then leaves for Krypton once and for all, swearing to the natives of China that he would one day return for what was his (the Air crystal).

17th century

1604 AD: Lana Lang's ancestor, Countess Marguerite Isobel Theroux, is burned alive for witchcraft by Duchess Gertrude, ancestor of Genevieve and Jason Teague, alongside her comrades and fellow witches Madeleine and Brianna. Before she is burned, Isobel invokes a spell to stencil her symbol onto her skin. As the Countess and her companions burn, she prophesies that her heir would awaken her and she would have vengeance upon her persecutors.

18th century

1775: The world-famous Daily Planet newspaper is founded in Metropolis.

19th century

Early 1840s: Ezra Small, Lana Lang's biological ancestor, establishes a trading post in what would eventually become the state of Kansas. From then on, mud and thatch huts are built, and the town is proclaimed "Smallville." At some point, Ezra suffers a massive trampling attack, cursing him with the ability of foresight for the rest of his life. He has been known to foresee many ambiguous events that circle around Clark Kent, Lex Luthor, and the meteor showers, among many other elements.

1861-1865: The town of Smallville survives its share of living hell as the U.S. Civil War erupts, with many of the townsfolk either joining the war or helping with the Underground Railroad.

20th century

1938: The family of Lewis Lang moves to Smallville.

1961: A twenty-six year-old Jor-El comes to Earth to undergo a "Rite of Passage" in checking over everything with the Kryptonian crystals as instructed by his father, but to also inspect the town of Smallville for a suitable place to send his destined son upon Krypton's end. While on Earth, Jor-El passes himself off as a "drifter" mortal man, going by the alias "Joe." He unexpectedly falls in love with Lana Lang's maternal great-aunt, Louise McCallum. It is during this time that Jor-El learns lessons his father never intended for him to learn: Those of human emotions and love, but also those of pain of loss, which he knew his son would have to undergo. After seeing his Earth love, Louise, killed by Lachlan Luthor (Lex's grandfather), Jor-El bucks up and realizes he has to leave the planet now if he is to serve the greater good. While on his way to the Kawatche caves to make contact with a fellow Kryptonian vessel, he meets Hiram Kent, the very-soon-to-be father of an unborn Jonathan. It is with Hiram's selfless bravery and help that Jor-El makes it to the Kawatche caves without having to resort to violence, where he bids Hiram farewell, promising he would remember the bravery Hiram showed. After Hiram leaves the cave, Jor-El uses the "Key" to open a small subsection in the cave walls, hiding a journalistic pendant so that his father would never know of the human experiences he learned. Jor-El then seals it, collapsing the entrance to the caves as well, and returns to Krypton.

Late 1961: Jonathan Kent is born.

Late 1963: Lionel Luthor agrees to an arrangement with a slum lord of the Suicide district to have Morgan Edge kill his parents. Lionel only survives because he moonlights at a print shop during the "incident." The young senior Luthor then gets his cut of the insurance money and plans to put himself through an Ivy League college, eventually starting up LuthorCorp.

1980: Lex Luthor and Oliver Queen are born.

1985: Lois Lane is born.

1986: The planet Krypton explodes, as a result of its sun going supernova. The already-born infant Kal-El begins his journey toward Earth.

September 1986: Lana Lang is born.

November 1986: Chloe Sullivan is born.

Early 1987: Pete Ross is born.

May 1987: The date of birth on Clark Kent's forged birth certificate. But, in the comics, Clark's birthday is typically February 28th (or 29th depending if the year of publication of the comic is on a leap year).

Late 1980s: Jimmy Olsen is born.

Monday, October 16, 1989: Smallville is assaulted with the first of two meteor showers in 16 years, a meteor shower that rains Kryptonite like fire from the sky, amid which the toddler Kal-El's ship crash lands, narrowly missing crop duster Eddie Cole's plane. Precisely 10 people are killed by the assault, including Lana's parents Lewis and Laura Lang, the parents of a young boy who glimpsed Kal-El's ship as it came down, the mother of a newborn baby boy named Jordan Cross, the mother of Lindsey Harrison, as Lindsey is also presumed dead (though is in fact saved by Jor-El's Earthbound essence in case of future rejection from Kal-El), and a few others as well. Dozens among dozens of people are also injured, many of whom were cursed by the radiating meteors with supernatural abilities. The one true miracle of this day was granted to young Jonathan and Martha Kent who find, or are rather found by, a wandering toddler after their truck crashes. After loading the ship on their truck (with Clark's help), they run into Lionel Luthor, who is in shock after finding his son, Lex, losing every trace of his hair after being consumed by meteor dust. Jonathan helps Lionel save Lex, where Lionel promises a favor if he ever needs anything, and in the process Lex and Kal-El glimpse each other for the very first time during a ride to the hospital. Later on in the day when the couple are visited by young Ethan Miller while debating what to do with the boy, Martha suddenly comes up with the idea to name him Clark after her family name, saying that they just adopted and brought the boy home that day. It would not be long before Jonathan realized he would have to cash in that favor of Lionel's, which would have far-reaching repercussions for the citizens of Smallville.

1992: Julian Luthor is born, and later on he is killed by his and Lex's mother, Lillian. Lex takes the fall to protect his mother from the ruthless Lionel, eventually repressing his memory of this day which nearly leads him to believe he actually did kill Julian. This event scars Lex from that point on, as he not only witnessed his mother kill his infant brother, but his relationship with his father would never have any hope of the love that his twelfth birthday showed promise for.

Late 1992: Clark has his very first experience with super-speed while playing tag with Jonathan, when suddenly he starts running faster than he ever had in his life, getting lost in Palmer Woods for nearly a full day.

1994: Chloe's mother leaves home.

1995: Fifteen year-olds Lex Luthor and Oliver Queen meet in boarding school. Oliver's bullying eventually leads to Lex's first true glimpse of darkness as he nearly pummels his best friend to death just to get in Oliver's "gang."

Early 1998: A seventeen year-old Lex accidentally causes chaos at the Metropolis night club Club Zero when he tries to take advantage of a situation with his first true love, a young lady named Amanda. After getting her fiancé, Jude Royce, angry when he exposes Royce's infidelity, Lex gets stabbed in the shoulder and witnesses Amanda kill Jude. Lex takes the fall for killing Jude so that Lionel would orchestrate a police cover-up with Detective Sam Phelan, sparing Amanda a life in prison.

Mid 1998: Lex graduates from high school.

New millennium

Early October 2001: Well past a month since beginning freshman year, Clark Kent and best friend Pete Ross eagerly want to join the Smallville High football team. Jonathan's stern answer is always "No", so Clark begins a typical day at school just like any other; outrunning the school bus after it misses him, weakening from Lana's Kryptonite necklace as he approaches her, and as always confused about where his future lies. However, it is after this particular day of school that Clark ponders atop a bridge where a twenty-one year-old Lex Luthor is driving after his first day of work at his father's fertilizer plant. Lex's sixty miles-per-hour speeding Porsche hit a straggling bail of wire and swerved into the surprised Clark, who experiences his first true taste of invulnerability. Clark saves the drowning Lex's life, Lex thanks Clark and is just as surprised at the damage to his Porsche. Lex makes it a mission to build a friendship with Clark, looking up to him as such a virtuous person, though deep down he would always desire and pine for the kind of family and life Clark had. Soon enough following a high-school prank, Clark meets his first meteor freak, saving Smallville High's Homecoming Dance.

Late May 2005: Clark, Chloe, and Lana graduate from Smallville High School on the same day as Smallville's second meteor shower.

Saturday, December 24, 2005: Lex is shot several times and falls into a temporary coma where his mother shows him a possible future. Clark races around Metropolis delivering presents for Chloe.

Late January 2006: Jonathan Kent dies of a heart attack.

Thursday, May 11, 2006: Lex becomes the host of Zod after Zod is released from the Phantom Zone by Brainiac. Zod traps Clark in the Phantom Zone then causes "Dark Thursday".

Friday, May 12, 2006: Clark escapes from the Phantom Zone with the help of Raya; several Phantom Zone criminals escape with them. Clark battles Zod to eventually trap him in the House Of El Crystal. Peace is restored on Earth. While playing basketball, a man named Lamar becomes the vessel for Phantom Zone escapee, Baern; after killing his friend, he sets out to find Clark.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006: Lex holds the Dark Thursday Benefit, Lois and Oliver begin their relationship.

Mid November, 2006: Raya visits Clark, and together they fight Baern, Raya dies battling Baern.

Thursday, November 23, 2006: Clark, Martha, Lois, Oliver, Chloe and Lionel celebrate Thanksgiving Day at the Kent Farm.

Thursday, May 17, 2007: Kara Zor-El is released as a result of the dam exploding and Bizarro, the last phantom, uses some of Clark's DNA to copy his form

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