Superman: Homegrown

Superman: Homegrown

• We see Kal El’s ship land in Kansas and Martha and Jon, Ma and Pa, Kent decide to take the baby.

• Some time passes and a 13-year-old Clark discovers he has powers when he saves Pa from being crushed by a hay bale conveyor belt in the barn. This is when his parents tell him about his crash landing. They still see him as their son.

• Six years later in a laboratory near Metropolis, we see Lionel Luther having a discussion with Dr. Jombes, a scientist related to the agriculture division of LuthorCorp. A younger Lex is with him as well. The scientist is detailing the advancements he has made in their new re-directive nutrient fertilizer formula. Their amazing new invention is able to act as a catalyst that can hyper-absorb nutrients from the air and soil once sprayed on the crop organism. This will effectively allow crops to be harvested by the time the next field has been planted. Lionel is amazed with this advancement and excited to host a showcase for the Farm Bureau and other local Agricultural Agencies. This is when the scientist sheepishly admits that this did come at a cost, the project went unexpectedly over budget by double in its final test period. Lionel is angry at this but then Lex acts furious and barades the scientist with a huge hissy fit. Lionel is extremely embarrassed and disappointed in Lex and apologizes to the scientist before scolding Lex. Lionel says that he will never run the company if he keeps acting like that. We then see what nobody noticed. In Lex’s unhinged rage, he hit one of the containers of fertilizer in a way that left a small breach that began slowly leaking into Dr. Jombes’s air compressor. 

• Clark is about 19 now, graduated from high school,  and he is living at home with Ma and Pa Kent. At breakfast, they talk about the fact that the paper’s top story is that the Smallville Angel strikes again. They know this is Clark and they are semi-hurt because they thought he told them about his good deeds. He doesn’t want to upset them by getting into danger. They know he is very powerful and can help anybody. They also make him feel embarrassed by mentioning that they also know he sneaks out to see Lana. They are proud but encourage to make more of a choice now that, unlike his aging parents, Clark is a young man. Will he continue what he is doing in Smallville or move on to something else?

• Pa then tells Clark that they have something exciting to see today. There is a showcase for a brand new miracle fertilizer at the LutherCorps Agriculture facility. Clark and Pa get in their truck to check it out.

• On an outdoor stage next to the experimental crops, Lionel is giving a rousing speech welcoming the farmers to the demonstration. In the lab, Dr. Jombes is preparing to do a large-scale demonstration of the fertilizer to the area’s farmers. Knowing that there are health risks in moving this much of the chemical, Dr. Jombes puts on his hazmat suit. The scientist uses the air compressor that was contaminated with chemicals to fill up his hazmat suit but the fertilizer causes him to become indisposed and collapse. He stews in the hazmat suit, appearing to die. Little does anyone know, he has begun a metamorphosis. 

• Lionel then gives Dr. Jombes his cue to bring the demonstration to the stage. The scientist appears to have missed his cue and Lionel is visibly upset. Lex jumps up to say he will go get him for his father. Lionel stops Lex, given how his last interaction with the scientist went. Lionel excuses himself from the stage to investigate the hold-up. Lionel sees Jombes unconscious on the floor. As Lionel approaches, Jombes fiercely wakes up and tears off his suit in a mindlessly feral nature. We now see that Dr. Jombes has become the Parasite. Lionel, looking on in terror is then approached by Parasite who grabs Lionel and drains him of his energy. 

• Lex hears his father scream from off-stage and runs to his aid. Just then, Parasite bursts through the wall and the crowd is terrified and scatters in chaos. Parasite then turns his attention to Lex to consume his energy when some of the farmers start shooting at the creature with their concealed weapons. The monster then turns its attention to the crowd and Lex says, “Thank heavens these poor people love the Second Amendment.” Clark tells his father to run back to the truck for safety. Pa says that Clark needs to come with him but Clark argues and stays. Lex runs in to see his father, now completely shriveled and dead. Parasite is attacking the gunmen, grasping their necks and draining them dead as their gunfire appears to do nothing to Parasite.

• Clark keeps managing to quickly get people to safety but Parasite senses Clark’s powerful aura and is drawn to it. Those civilians that were not drained of their life force are all cleared out and Parasite makes a B-line for Clark. Clark does manage to lay into Parasite with a massive punch, causing him to land in a vat of more fertilizer. Parasite shakes off the hit and runs back towards Clark. Clark goes to hit him again but Parasite dodges and puts both hands on Clark’s neck, feasting on his Kryptonian flavor. Clark falls to the ground, not dead, but severely drained. Parasite stands over Clark victoriously basking in the sun, absorbing the yellow light energy. Parasite begins freaking out as it experiences x-ray vision. It tries to cover its eyes with its hands and then ignites them with its new heat vision abilities. Parasite lets out a terrible roar of agony and as he screams, listering cold ice particles rush from his mouth. Clark looks on in bewilderment because he can’t believe this power could have come from him. Out of nowhere, Parasite then begins to ascend upward, yes, flying! Parasite flies right up into its own frost breath, freezing the creature solid.

• Lex emerges from the back and sees Parasite frozen. He calls for a group of LuthorCorp’s private security to secure the beast by immediately moving it to a cryo chamber. Still lying next to it, Clark weakly yells for help to Lex. Lex is amazed to see a survivor amongst the dead and also signals for a medic to come to his aid. 

• At the ambulance, we see Lex drilling Clark with questions about what he saw the creature do. In the crisis, power was lost to the facility so the cameras were not on. Clark complies but then a worried Pa Kent makes it to the ambulance and insists that Clark comes home to rest. Lex lets it go and the Kents get in the truck to leave.

• They arrive home and they all talk about what happened. Jon and Martha are very concerned and worried about Clark but Clark is adamant about doing what he can to get back out there and stop that thing. They tell him that LuthorCorp already has it under control. Clark thinks he can do more. His parents admit that they know with Clark’s power there is nothing that they can do to stop him and they have always trusted him and will continue to support what he decides to do. They turn on the television to see a public statement about the event from Lex Luthor who has now taken control and renamed his father’s company LexCorp. He blames the whole fiasco on the negligence of his father, even though we know this is not true. The Kents turn off the TV and go to bed.

• In the morning, Clark wakes up after oversleeping a little and Ma has breakfast ready for him. Ma says Jon has already started chores to give Clark a chance to recover even more. Clark just grabs a banana and goes to help Pa in the barn. Pa tells him about the potential he sees in Clark and Clark shares about the potential he is fearful of. He shares about what he says Parasite did after absorbing his nutrients. Clark fears what he may become but Pa calms him down by saying how much he loves his son and knows the power will never corrupt him. Pa says, “God is the most all-mighty of them all and he is also the most good. You will never fall into temptation because of your amazing…” Pa Kent then clasps his chest and falls to the ground. He is having a heart attack. Clark then yells and carries him back to the house. Clark tries to find his heart medication while Ma calls 911. Clark thinks he can still have a chance and wants to rush him to the emergency room. Ma then drops the phone and sobs as she feels Jon’s pulse stop. Pa has died. Clark is overwhelmed with emotion and runs out the front door.

• Inside the LexCorp lab, we see Lex talking to a team of scientists about the creature they have on ice. He demands that they figure out a way to either siphon off the energy from it to power their facilities or find a way to control the creature to sell to the military. If they accomplish neither, they are all fired. Lex leaves the room and we see Parasite twitch inside the ice.

• Cut to Lana Lang’s bedroom where she is getting ready while watching MTV. Clark appears and Lana flirtatiously gives him a hard time about not calling first. She then notices something is wrong and Clark tells her. Clark is about to tell her he has powers when a breaking news report comes in saying that the monstrous Parasite has broken out of the LexCorp facility and is wreaking havoc on the outskirts of Metropolis and is headed towards the city. Clark makes up an excuse and leaves to intercept the creature.

• He musters the courage to try and begins to fly towards Parasite. Clark is back to full strength and knows that he can’t let that thing touch him again. He finds Parasite in the middle of a cornfield, as he has left a path of withered plant life in its wake. The creature lunges at Clark, no longer seeming to have the ability to fly. Its energy is weaker than last time and it hungers again. Clark tries to get Parasite to turn around so that LexCorp can try to secure it again but it isn’t working. He hits it with trees, but it is drawn to the population of the city as well as Clark. Clark gets the idea to lead it back to the lab using himself as a carrot on a stick. However, Parasite is able to grab into Clark’s ankle and drain just enough power to be faster and stronger. Clark the tries and uses the ice breath on Parasite, freezing him again. Clark thinks he has done it, when all of a sudden, Parasite’s eyes glow red and it breaks out with a combination of heat vision and super strength. Clark is knocked down into the soil after being blasted with heat vision. Clark figures that since that hurt him, it can do the same to Parasite. He flies overhead keeping his distance and fires back at Parasite without holding back. This drills it down deeper and deeper into the Earth beneath him. Parasite is now trapped with walls that are too steep to climb out of. He also knocks a grain silo over top of the hole to trap him in.

• Days later it is Jon Kent’s funeral. Clark and Ma mourn and take the condolences of many townsfolk, including Lana. Clark tells Ma that he does intend to go off and figure out how he can save the most people so that what happened to Pa doesn’t happen to anyone else. Ma consoles him and says that what happened to Pa wasn’t his fault. Ma says, “You can do everything in your power to try to save somebody, but there are some things you don’t have the power to change.” It was Pa’s time had come there was nothing Clark could do, so there is no need to feel guilt. Just remember his love. Clark and Ma embrace and Clark says he has been thinking about journalism school. 

• In the last scene, we see multiple helicopters descending on the farm where Superman buried Parasite. The farmer hopes these are the insurance agents here to pay for his silo, but outside of the helicopter steps Lex Luther and his men. They blow a hole in the silo and shine their flashlights down at a shriveled purple corpse. Lex orders his men to keep their distance but preserve the body.