Superboy/Rites of Passage (2)

Rites of Passage (2)
Season 4, Episode 22
Airdate	May 17, 1992
Written by	Michael Carlin & Andy Helfer
Directed by	David Grossman
← 4x21 Rites of Passage (1)	— N/A
Superboy — Season Four

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Rites of Passage (2) is the twenty-second episode of the fourth season of The Adventures of Superboy, and the one hundredth episode overall.

Gerard Christopher (Clark Kent / Superboy), Stacy Haiduk (Lana Lang)

Also Starring: Peter Jay Fernandez (Matt Ritter), Robert Levine (C. Dennis Jackson)

Guest Stars: Stuart Whitman (Jonathan Kent), Salome Jens (Martha Kent)

Featuring: Richard Casey (Elder), Nancy Duerr (Grace), Rob Richards (Dick)

Plot Overview

Without his powers, Clark has to stay one step ahead of a suspicious Lana and recover the purple crystal he needs.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Clark tries to get the purple crystal from the post office, but is blocked by an old bully. Ritter also fails, but Clark puts on this Superboy uniform to bluff clerk into surrendering it and then talking Ritter into letting him have it. Clark then succeeds in returning the crystal to the ship and his powers are restored.

• Jackson splits from the others and gets lost. He soon meets a farmer and after some time, she convinces him to relax. By the time he reunites with everyone, he is not bothered that the crystal might have been lost in the mail and his case is unresolved.

• Lana pieces together the timing and place of the meteor with Clark and is convinced he's Superboy. However, when she pricks him with a pin, he bleeds. Her suspicions are affirmed when she then sees Superboy stub his toe, but by the time she catches him and tests again, his powers are restored. Just as they are readying to leave Smallville, she tries again with the pin, but we are not privy to the outcome.

Trivia

Behind the Scenes

• The idea of having Superboy ascend into Superman for this two-parter was based on the assumption that episode 100 would be the last since Viacom wanted to end their deficit financing and hoped to recover their investment in syndication. However, halfway into the writing, Ilya Salkind had this concept scaled back because he believed the show might have gone into production for another season, denying the character the full achievement of manhood (for the episode and ultimately the show).