Ryan James

*This article focuses on the character, **Ryan James**. For the Season Two episode, see **"Ryan"**. For the actor, see **Ryan Kelley**.*

## Biographical Information

### Relatives

* James Gibson (stepfather)
* Debra Burch (stepmother)

## Show Information

### Last appeared

"Ryan"

**Ryan James** was a character on The CW's *Smallville*. He first appears in the sixteenth episode of the first season. He is portrayed by guest star Ryan Kelley.

## History

Ryan is trying to pawn a small angel figurine. The pawnborker tells him it's fake but Ryan wins him over by saying his mother is dead. Across the street, Ryan climbs into a car with James and Debra, his stepparents. He tells them the combination to the safe; the two exit the car. Ryan follows them out and sees his father shoot and kill the broker. He then runs away into the woods. While trying to cross the street, he is struck by a car being driven by Martha Kent. Martha collects the boy and drives him to the hospital just as James and Debra arrive. At the hospital, Ryan only has minor injuries. Martha offers to look after him at the farm until child services arrive. The next morning, the Kents awake to a homemade breakfast courtesy of Ryan, who proceeds to correctly guess exactly how they like their pancakes, but he can't guess for Clark. Jonathan asks him why he was out on the highway that night and he gets defensive, says he doesn't remember, and leaves the table abruptly. Clark finds him on the tractor. Ryan is afraid that the Kents won't like him if they discover that he did "bad things" before they found him. Clark gets him to loosen up by playing basketball. Clark takes Ryan to the Torch office to meet Chloe. When she is out of earshot, Ryan tells Clark that Chloe likes him and wants him to ask her to the upcoming school dance. Clark then takes Ryan to the Talon to meet Lana and Lex. Ryan sees James in the coffee shop and runs away out the back with James in pursuit. Ryan crawls into a Dumpster to hide. Clark arrives in the alley and is horrified to see it being picked up by a dumptruck. He pries the side of the Dumpster off and Ryan is able to crawl out safely. Later, Jonathan takes Ryan to the Talon as a reward for helping out. Before they leave, he informs Lana that one of her employees is a bad person. At the farm, Ryan asks Martha cryptic and probing questions, unnerving her. She sends him outside to play. Clark catches Ryan looking at his spaceship in the storm cellar. He is angry, but Ryan promises not to tell. He confesses his ability to read people's thoughts. He begins to cry as he explains that his mother died and his step-parents abused him and made him steal. Debra later arrives at the Kent house posing as a child services advocate. She threatens to kill the Kents unless Ryan plays along and he has to leave before saying goodbye to Clark. Dabra and James then drive off in Lex's limousine with Lex inside. The Gibsons intend to hack into Lex's account with a laptop. Ryan reads Lex's mind and gets the password. They then dump Lex on the side of the road. The Gibsons stop at a bowling alley to torch the limo and hack into Lex's account with a laptop. James grows infuriated when the password doesn't work and threatens Ryan. Debra wants to kill Ryan but he tells her that James is only going to kill her once they get the money. He kills Debra, then chases Ryan into the bowling alley. Clark arrives and uses his x-ray vision to find James and Ryan. He throws a bowling ball and hits James in the chest. Clark takes Ryan to the Talon to say goodbye to Lana, who gives him a goodbye kiss. His aunt from Edge City comes to the farm to collect him. He also reveals Johnathan and Martha's secret: The real identity of Clark but he promises to keep it a secret. Ryan gives Clark his comics collection and again warns him about Lex. Clark looks subdued as the Kents wave goodbye.

When he began to have unexplained migraines, his aunt took him to the Summerholt Research Facility in Metropolis. Dr. Lawrence Garner discovered that Ryan had a brain tumor which was causing his telepathy. Ryan's aunt left him with the doctor and moved to Arizona. Ryan called Clark to tell him that Dr. Garner was holding him against his will and experimenting on him. Clark broke Ryan out and with Lex and Judge Ross' help, he got a restraining order to grant the Kents temporary custody. Clark considered Ryan the little brother he never had, but shortly after, Ryan fell ill and had to be admitted to the hospital. It was discovered that he had an inoperable brain tumor and Clark did everything he could to prevent his death, including running over 400 miles to convince a famous doctor to treat the boy. However, his treatment was not completely successful and only gave him a few extra days. At Ryan's request, he spent his last few days with Clark: Ryan later died, leaving Clark devastated.

## Powers

* **Telepathy:** Ryan could read the minds of other people but only what was on the surface. The only mind he couldn't read was Clark's.

## References

1. ↑ "Stray"
2. ↑ "Ryan (Episode)"