The Smallville Torch, often referred to simply as The Torch, was Smallville High School's student newspaper. As such, it was supposed to report on relevant school events: Sports, dances, clubs. However, under Chloe Sullivan, the Torch became what Principal Kwan viewed as Chloe's own tabloid: reporting on the supposed weird stuff happening around the town of Smallville, rather than on school events.[1]
Staff
While attending Smallville High, Chloe Sullivan was the editor of the Torch, from her freshman year to her senior year. Chloe considered the paper her pride and joy, and her editorial was a big part of her school identity. Especially during the freshman year, it was the only place where Chloe could regularly interact with her fellow reporter and unrequited love interest, Clark Kent.
In addition to Clark and Chloe, other reporters for the Torch included Pete Ross (sports columnist) and Lana Lang, who briefly served as the substitute editor when Principal Kwan suspended Chloe from duty for writing unverifiable meteor freak stories. Chloe's cousin Lois Lane also reluctantly started writing for the Torch during her short time at the school in 2004, in order to accumulate missing extracurricular points for admission into Metropolis University.
Ironically, former Torch staff have a long history of becoming psychotic and committing murder:
- Greg Arkin - used to work as a science columnist and had a strong entomology interest. He killed his own mother and kidnapped Lana.
- Justin Gaines - illustrated a serialized comic Flaming Crows Feet for the Torch. He eventually killed Principal Kwan and attempted to murder his former colleague (and romantic interest) Chloe.
- Van McNulty - used to service the Torch computers. He shot and killed two people, Leonard Wallace and Jake Pollen, and attempted to kill Clark Kent and Lex Luthor.
- Tim Westcott - occasionally submitted op-ed articles for the Torch. He attacked Lana Lang and Jason Teague, framed Alicia Baker and later murdered her.
- Brendan Nash - one of the photographers for the paper. He built a replica of Smallville High in a warehouse and kidnapped six of his former classmates from the school yearbook's senior "Who's who" list, including Chloe and Lana. He turned them into wax statues and murdered one of them when they attempted to escape.
- Gabriel Duncan - serviced the Torch computers. He murdered his own father (a USAF colonel), hijacked a missile silo (killing two silo workers), shot and killed a de-powered Clark (who was later revived), and launched a nuclear missile aimed at the town of Smallville.
History
The Torch was burned down by Coach Walt Arnold during Chloe's freshman year (Hothead). It was rebuilt, and Lex Luthor donated computers for a new lab at the Torch (Craving). The Torch was again wrecked a year later (Witness). Eventually Lionel Luthor seized the computers back to get Chloe Sullivan's hard drive, revealing that the computer had not been donated but leased (Delete).
The Torch seemingly closed down after Chloe and Clark graduated. When Clark returned to the school in 2010, he found the old Torch office abandoned, and seemingly turned into a storage area. However, when he met new Smallville High students Zoe and Clayton, Clark learned that one aspect of the Torch was still alive, in a new digital form: the Wall of Weird.
Wall of Weird
Chloe's Wall of Weird
The Wall of Weird was a mural made of magazine and newspaper articles detailing the strange and bizarre things happening as the result of the 1989 meteor shower. It started out as a scrapbook that Chloe Sullivan kept but she eventually began to hang the articles up in the darkroom of the Torch office. She later took down the Wall of Weird permanently when she graduated. Even after it was dismantled, Clark and Chloe would sometimes speculate on whether or not strange events were "Wall of Weird material". [citation needed]
By 2010, students Zoe and Clayton had continued the Wall of Weird legacy by uploading it online.
Issues
The Torch
The Smallville Torch website was regularly updated during the time Clark and his friends attended Smallville High School. It currently remains defunct, but many back issues can sometimes be viewed on the UK-hosted site.
Season One
- Volume 50, Issue 45- Priorities., Torch burned down, Reader heroes
- Volume 50, Issue 46- Crows win state championship., be a decent boyfriend, Chloe's freaky experiences
- Volume 50, Issue 47- Smallville America's strangest town., Pete recommends limos, Laura Potter's speech
- Volume 50, Issue 48- Chloe talks about Smallville being named America's strangest town., Normal girls unite, Pete reports from the sidelines
- Volume 50, Issue 49- Chloe talks about Smallville being named America's strangest town., more smalltown weirdness, Pete talks about respect (alluding to Jodi Melville)
- Volume 50, Issue 50- Lana reports on Chloe being fired, Pete offers support of Chloe, upcoming blood drive
- Volume 50, Issue 51- Chloe's back, Lana's blood drive successful, songs for school dance
- Volume 50, Issue 52- Mr. Summers profile, worn-out textbooks, songs for school dance chosen
- Volume 50, Issue 53- Pick-up basketball during lunch, the heroic acts of Eric Summers, and an update on textbooks
- Volume 50, Issue 54- Talon closed, kids go back to the Beanery, Chloe talks about her recent hospital stay(from Kinetic), textbook update.
- Winter 2003, Volume 50, Issue 55- Student Store, Talon reopens, upcoming dance.
- Volume 51, Issue 56- Chloe's torch survey, SGA elections coming, basketball team sucks.
- Volume 51, Issue 57- Chloe's Lex interview, (before she fell out the window) Chloe reports on psychics, Pete'siblings!.
- Volume 51, Issue 58- Spring Dance details, SGA elections, Sports roundup.
- Volume 51, Issue 59- Paul Chan wins, Government, Chloe endorses Paul.
- Volume 51, Issue 60- Kwan obit, Pete defines BEST FRIEND, (listen up, Clark!) Remy Zero is playing the formal.
- Volume 51, Issue 61- Chloe buried alive, random end of schoolyear notes, stop being bitter about High school.
- Volume 51, Issue 62- What I learned in school this year, Year in review, those who serve.
- Volume 51, Issue 63- Spring Dance report, Tornado damage, Heroes of the storm.
Season Two
- Volume 52, Issue 1- Clark's heat vision fire, Crows lose without Whitney, New sushi restaurant
- Volume 52, Issue 2- Pete saves guy, finds ship, Class rings on sale, Essay winner
- Volume 52, Issue 3- Rings are fake, Dress code debate, Wild Coyote serves minors.
- Volume 52 Issue 4- Byron Moore case, School store, Dating tactics.
- Volume 52 Issue 5- Spirit Week cancelled, T Reynolds interview, Mayor Tate book deal,
- Volume 52 Issue 6- Grade inflation?, Dunleavy kidnaps Lex, Anonymous apology to Clark from Chloe,
- Volume 52 Issue 7- Why Lana loves SV, Lunch menu, (the rest of the issues have no third article)
- Volume 52 Issue 8- Chloe questions meteor rock effects (instead of the Ian Randall story) Frankel obit
- Volume 52 Issue 9- Everybody should pitch in, Fall Sports,
- Volume 52 Issue 10- Tina Greer returns, Student contributions
- Volume 52 Issue 11- Meteor rocks are harmful, the town is boring
- Volume 52 Issue 12- If you're bored..., Student contribs
- Volume 52 Issue 13- Belinda Jenkins interview, Kids and drugs
- Volume 52 Issue 14- Lucas Luthor comes to town, Food bank next week.
- Volume 52 Issue 15- Mold at the Kent farm, Food bank a success
- Volume 52 Issue 16- Kent barn burned, Talon Mix for sale,
- Volume 52 Issue 17- Eric Marsh is awesome, Why are we evil?
- Volume 52 Issue 18- Andy Arthur and Clark arrested, Grrl power
- Volume 52 Issue 19- Video Torch debut, Ezra Small
- Volume 52 Issue 20- Arthur Walsh investigation, Missing Dinsmore clone
- Volume 52 Issue 21- Walden obit, Ferrets in the air ducts!
- Volume 52 Issue 22- Sophomore wrap-up by Chloe Year in review
Season Three
- Volume 53, Issue 1- Back to school, Clark still missing, Smallville.net open
- Volume 53, Issue 2- Crows season starts out strong, pool open after school, Students share summer
- Volume 53, Issue 3- Clark's Van McNulty article, Chloe admits responsibility for jake Pollen's death, after school swimming cancelled
- Volume 53, Issue 4- Rebuttals for Clark's Van McNulty article, new gym mats, Students share dreams
- Volume 53, Issue 5- Perry white used to be great, Van Mc not guilty, Josh Kelly concert
- Volume 53, Issue 6- Football, Dance planned, Stern Warnings(this is an archive issue from the school in 1961)
- Volume 53, Issue 7- Meteor rocks make people crazy, Fair and Josh Kelley, Claire Foster.
- Volume 53, Issue 8- Lana vs horse, Class cup, Letter from the Principal.
- Volume 53, Issue 9- McNulty obit, Mock trial, One of Chloe's DP columns.
- Volume 53, Issue 10- Pete survives kidnapping, Molly Griggs interview, Streetracing.
- Volume 53, Issue 11- Chloe Lana fight, Killer emails, Julia Altman obit.
- Volume 53, Issue 12- Coach Altman obit, Science fair, science lectures.
- Volume 53, Issue 13- Jason Dante obit, field trip to LuthorCorp, new driver's ed teacher.
- Volume 53, Issue 14- ClarkAlicia elevator mishap, int'l weird schools, crisis line.
- Volume 53, Issue 15- Garret Davis obit, int'l weird schools, dvd yearbook.
- Volume 53, Issue 16- Adam Knight obit, other weird schools, Crisis Line.
- Volume 53, Issue 17- Chloe Chronicles investigation, Digital WoW, teacher of the Year candidates.
- Volume 53, Issue 18 Chloe wreaks truth havoc, Chloe interviews Dr. Walsh, Mrs. Taylor arrested.
Season Four
- May 19-Jun 2, 2004, Volume 53 Issue 22- Junior Year wrap-up. Bidding goodbye to Lana as she departs for Paris, 22 Things Chloe learned that year, Smallville's sister city in Spain.
- Mar 2- Apr 15, 2005, Volume 54, Issue 16- Chloe writes about her cousin Lucy Lane's visit to Smallville.
- May 11-18, 2005, Volume 54, Issue 21- Chloe's last issue, in which she "passes the torch" and says goodbye.
Notes
- The name of the paper might be a reference to The Glenville Torch, a high school newspaper that Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster collaborated on or Torchy Blane, a 1930s movie character, who inspired the character of Lois Lane.
- While the Torch was sometimes depicted as having additional staff (consisting of one-off guest stars, who had never been mentioned before), it was generally depicted as consisting of just a few of the main characters. In Devoted, Chloe states that she only has two reporters: Lois Lane (who left the school at the end of the episode, to attend Metropolis University) and Clark Kent (whose involvement with the Smallville Crows, his senior year, forced him to dial back his involvement with the Torch), leaving Chloe to do a lot of the work herself.[2]
- It is never explained how Chloe ended up being the editor of the Torch, at the start of her freshman year (and remained the editor until her graduation, four years later). Though, the newspaper's near complete lack of students involved (as highlighted by the episode Devoted),[2] and Homecoming depicting the Torch as having died after Chloe's graduation,[3] makes it possible that no other students were interested.
- The Torch and its contents appears to have been unpopular with students and the local population. In Rogue, Chloe is briefly forced out of her position as editor, due to complaints from parents about the newspaper's content.[1] Alicia Baker, a metahuman and former Smallville High student, accused Chloe of having engaged in poisoned pen writing with her articles about "meteor freaks".[4] It is unknown if other meteor infected/metahuman Smallville High students felt the same as Alicia. It is also unknown how said articles might have affected the mental health of the school's meteor infected/metahuman Smallville High students. A 2003 Torch article shows the views of the newspaper among the students ranged from feeling that it engaged in irresponsible journalism, and being tired of the constant meteor stories, to (especially in the wake of the deaths of Leonard Wallace and Jake Pollen, whose murders could be linked to the Torch) outright hating the school newspaper.
2003 Smallville Torch article about the students feeling about the school newspaper.
See also
- Smallville High School
- Chloe Sullivan - The chief editor and reporter of the paper.
- Torch poll - a school poll conducted by Chloe her freshman year, detailing the students' deepest desires.
References
Chloe Sullivan in Smallville
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Clark Kent in Smallville
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