One of the most interesting characters developed for the television series "Smallville" has been Chloe Sullivan.  From the beginning of the series, we have seen Chloe grow to establish herself in the third corner of the show's often overplayed love triangle.  But with each revelation about Chloe's past, it only led to even more questions of how she would somehow, someday, fit into the Superman Legend.  Did the writers create Chloe as simply a runner-up to Clark's affections for Lana or did they have something more in mind?  Is it possible they wanted Chloe to possibly represent a character or an amalgam of characters already created in the Superman mythos?

Who Is Chloe Sullivan?

Before we start trying to figure out what we don't know about Chloe, it might be a good idea to review what we DO know about her.

Chloe Sullivan was born in Metropolis.  Her mother left her and her father when she was five years old for unknown reasons.  When Chloe was about to enter the eighth grade, her father, Gabe, accepted a position at LuthorCorp Fertilizer Plant No. 3 in Smallville.  Chloe has always had a penchant for journalism, planning to one day move back to Metropolis to become a columnist for the Daily Planet.  One of her obsessions was with strange items in the news, keeping news clippings and photographs she collected on her "Wall of Weird".

Basically, those are the facts that we know about her. Now, before you start screaming "What about...?" and "Hey, you forgot...!", let me just say that what I have above is the basic information known about her and that I am aware that there are many other things.  For instance, we have been told that Lois Lane is Chloe's cousin.  Until recently, this was only hinted at.  Now, with Lois' expected ten to twelve episode appearances in the upcoming season, we have to believe this to finally be confirmed.

Possible Suspects

As with my past article comparing television's "Smallville" to comics' Smallville, a lot of what we are presented with needs to be extrapolated and certain conclusions must be drawn based on those extrapolations.  This is not by any means to say that the following personalities are who Chloe really is or anything like that.  It is only saying that due to some of the liberties the writers of "Smallville" have taken with the Superman legend, one must assume the same liberties are taken when considering the possibilities surrounding Chloe and her possible identity.  In other words, until things play out over the next couple of years on the show, take everything presented here with a grain of salt!

Lucy Lane

One possible person from whom Chloe is based could the Lois' sister, Lucy.  Current comic history states that Lois Lane's family consists of her father, General Samuel Lane; her mother, Ellen; and her sister, Lucy.  No other family has really been documented.  When we first met Lucy Lane, we found out that she was a airline stewardess before a terrorist threw a vial of chemicals into her eyes, blinding her.  Lucy was living with Lois at the time and extremely depressed over her situation.  Like her sister, she had chosen her career early in life and, due to her accident, she could no longer live out that choice.  Seeing herself as a burden on her sister, Lucy decides to throw herself off the balcony of their apartment.  Her plan is thwarted though when she is saved by a familiar red and blue figure.  However, that figure is not Superman.  He's Bizarro.  Her contact with Bizarro seems to make her eyesight start to clear.  It is only after Superman destroys the creature and the dust-like material that remains rains down and restores Lucy's eyesight for good.

The reason she is a possibility is mainly through the family relations tie that Chloe has with Lois.  Right now, we don't what "Smallville's" writers have planned for Lois, (rumors are that not only Lois but her father will also appear) but it is possible that they will forego the character of Lucy in favor of Chloe.  Which is not suggesting that Chloe is ACTUALLY Lois' sister or anything like that, just that relationship that Lois in the comics has with Lucy could be with Chloe on "Smallville", okay?  Also, rumor has it that the Lois Lane to be presented on "Smallville" will have no interest in journalism and is only in Smallville to investigate Chloe's mysterious "death".  Given Chloe's longing for a career in journalism, it is possible the writers are planning on making her death the springboard for Lois to go into that field (as well as Clark) if they present Chloe and Lois' relationship like that of two sisters.

Lena Thorul

Fans of Superman's earlier comic adventures may remember that Lex Luthor had a sister named Lena Thorul.  It was discovered that when Lex started a career as a criminal and arch-enemy of Superboy, his family, in an effort to escape the embarrassment that Lex had brought to the family name, left Smallville and changed their names hoping to leave Lex far behind them.  As fate would have it, it was Superman's cousin, Supergirl, who discovers the truth.  Lena, due to a childhood accident (she was exposed to an alien brain!), has the ability to read minds.  She believed this ability would make her an ideal candidate for becoming an agent for the FBI.  The FBI, though, will have nothing to do with her.  When Lena's friend Supergirl goes to the FBI to vouch for her friend, she learns the reason she was turned down was because of her relation to Lex Luthor.  Lex enters the picture when he comes to Supergirl and asks her not to reveal to Lena what she's learned.  Supergirl agrees but does tell Superman.  Lena appears quite a few times in both adventures involving Supergirl and Superman, usually either as a hostage or something equally benign.  Lena did learn the truth eventually and, along with Superman, believed that Lex could one day be reformed from his criminal ways.

The reason that Lena is a possibility is mainly due to Chloe's relationship with Lionel and her father's mysterious reasons for leaving Metropolis and moving to Smallville.  The writers of "Smallville" are not idiots.  In fact, I have been very impressed by how they have kept the show on a pretty straight path and not allowed it to meander down dead-end paths all for reasons of "character development".  This being the case, I have a very difficult time accepting that Chloe is not there for some overall, higher-meaning purpose and making her the illegitimate daughter of Lionel Luthor would definitely qualify.

Cat Grant

Another character from the comics who Chloe could possibly be is Catherine "Cat" Grant.  Cat Grant was originally a gossip columnist at the Daily Planet; but she left the Daily Planet when she was offered a correspondent position at WGBS.  Cat Grant, in the comics, had a son, who was murdered by Toyman.  Grant only got through it by relying on her friendship with Jimmy Olsen.  Cat also appeared on various episodes of ABC's "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" where she was portrayed by Tracy Scoggins.

Like Lucy Lane, I'm not really saying that Chloe will change her name and become Cat Grant; I'm saying that as a character being adapted to the Superman legend, Chloe could fit in as someone like Cat.  In fact, from the way Cat has been historically  portrayed in the comics, Chloe's personality is probably the most like her than any of the others mentioned here.  Both are very assertive and willing to dive in even when they know they shouldn't.  And both are willing to give all for the story.

Conclusion

As I have said in other articles before, there are a number of women in Superman's life, some with whom he had a relationship, others only his friends.  And if the writers of "Smallville" were basing Chloe on any one of them (or a combination of them) will be something we'll just have to wait and see.  I have only mentioned three possible characters, there are many other.  But, as fans of "Smallville" one thing is certain: the writers are not following the comic books to the letter and so, anything is possible.

And if you disagree with my speculations, I invite you to let me know over at the message board.

SPECIAL NOTE:  My apologies for not being able to provide illustrations of the characters mentioned in this article.  Try as I might, I could not locate a picture of Lena anywhere.  That being the case, I felt I would be doing her a disservice by providing pictures of the other two and leaving her out.  I'm sorry for that.  If anyone has a picture of Lena, let me know and I'll include it later on.