Smallville Teased Lex Being Clark's True Enemy In Season 3
Smallville’s Clark Kent (Tom Welling) was only 16 years old when he received what should have been a clear warning that Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) would become his greatest enemy. During the first four seasons of the Superman prequel series, Clark and Lex were close friends. It wasn’t until Smallville season 5 that their friendship completely fell apart. Then by season 6, the resentment and disdain they held for each other was unmistakable.
Smallville’s 10-season run slowly built toward Clark becoming the hero from the comic books, and Lex becoming the villain he was always meant to be. One way that the series inched Clark closer to being Superman was through the discovery of the Kawatche Caves. In Smallville season 2, Clark stumbled across some caves that once belonged to a Native American tribe. Apparently, these Native Americans believed in a prophecy written on the cave walls about a hero who would fall from the stars and save their people. This hero was called “Naman”. His alien origins and ability to shoot fire from his eyes left little doubt that the person in question was Clark Kent.
A season 3 episode further elaborated on the story of Naman. It was said that Naman’s greatest threat was a warrior named Sageeth, a former friend who Naman once treated as a brother. According to Kawatche descendant Professor Willowbrook (Gordon Tootootis), Sageeth would turn on Naman and become “the bearer of darkness”. Willowbrook, knowing that Clark was Naman, sent him on a mission to retrieve a sacred dagger meant for Naman. He was told that if Sageeth ever touched the dagger, it would disintegrate - and that’s exactly what happened when both Lex and Lionel Luthor (John Glover) made a grab for it toward the end of the episode.
Clark was present when the dagger was destroyed, and he was torn by what he saw. He couldn’t be sure who touched it first, and he told his parents that he suspected Sageeth was Lionel, whereas they were more open to the idea of it being Lex. The problem with Clark’s theory is that, at the time, Lionel didn’t fit Sageeth’s description. He was never a “brother” to Clark, nor was he considered trustworthy. Lex’s transformation into the villain from the comics was further foreshadowed in the same episode when Lex suggested that Sageeth was the real hero of the story, because it would take true courage to battle someone as powerful as Naman.
This wasn’t the first time that Smallville teased Lex turning bad. In season 1, a vision experienced by an old woman who could see the future imagined Lex as an evil President of the United States. But Clark never knew about that. He did, however, see what happened with the dagger. Regardless, the warning was forgotten and dismissed. Fortunately though, it didn’t take much longer for Clark to become wise to Lex’s true nature. After their friendship dissolved, Clark was always among the first to suspect Lex whenever something went wrong.