Greg Arkin (Earth 1) - SirJeffCena

*"I kind of got...caught up in my web of obsession and he set me straight."* - Greg Arkin, about Clark Kent, *Homecoming*.
**Gregory "Greg" Arkin**, aka **Bugboy**, was a reclusive teenager at Smallville High who dedicated his time to collecting insects.

## Personality

As a youth, Greg hung out with Clark and Pete, but as they reached high school, they stopped seeing each other. Greg studied and loved to play with bugs and insects, and had a major crush on Lana Lang, to such a degree that he spied on her, videotaped her, and left her gifts.

Upon getting bitten by kryptonite-infected bugs, Greg became very controlling, going out of his way to hurt Whitney, trying to mate with Lana, and even killed his own mother.

When he returned to the five year high school reunion, he somehow gained a normal and regular personality. It seems that Clark has somewhat taught him a lesson and other people that Clark has taken care of.

## Powers and Abilities

Greg obtained his superhuman abilities after he got bitten by many kryptonite-infected bugs.

* **Super Strength**: Being bitten by kryptonite-infected bugs, Greg's body can exert or apply much higher amounts of force to people and objects. He casually shoved Whitney with one hand and knocked him out. He could also hold his own in a fight with Clark, who was slightly stronger.
* **Super Speed**: Greg can vanish and reappear somewhere else in the blink of an eye, although he is not nearly as fast as Kryptonians.
* **Super Agility**: Greg could move and leap with much greater agility and mobility than a human.
* **Super Leaping**: Greg can leap quite high, as he was able to scale a fence.
* **Healing Factor**: Greg's nearsighted eyes and acnes were healed after being bitten by kryptonite-infected bugs.
* **Invulnerability**: Greg showed little pain when Clark grabbed him and shoved him to a wall, when Clark came out and sneak attacked Greg.
* **Web Projection**: Greg can shower people and things with webbing out of his mouth.
* **Surface Crawling**: Greg can walk or move along vertical surfaces.
* **Swarm Form**: Greg can turn himself into a swarm of bugs to avoid injuries like crushing and to escape dangers. It is unclear if he can use it by will or only by instinct, and the limits of this ability are unknown.

## Vulnerabilties

Greg's skin will rot and molt, as once shown in the shower. He was later crushed away in the foundry into a swarm of bugs. Clark could've outright killed him, but didn't because he was brought up with strong values and morals by the Kents. ﻿

## History

### Early Life

Greg was once best friends with Clark Kent and Pete Ross in grade school. The three of them spent time in a treehouse Greg's father had built them, although Clark always felt uncomfortable climbing it due to his aversion to heights. Greg later stopped hanging around Clark and Pete after his parents' divorce, and stopped returning their calls. Clark characterized their relationship in high school as merely seeing each other in the halls.

Whilst searching around Greg's house, Clark and Pete tell Chloe that Greg's mother was obsessed with being tidy and would make Clark and Pete take their shoes off before entering the house.

### Year One

Greg was attacked by a swarm of meteor rock-infected bugs which gave him superhuman powers. He had improved eyesight, superhuman strength, and the ability to spin webbing. With his newfound insect abilities, Greg had one thing on his mind: mating with Lana Lang. After killing his mother and molting in the shower layers of his skin literally peeling off he kidnapped Lana.

Clark found them in Greg's old treehouse, and they battled in the nearby foundry. During the battle, Clark used lead to protect himself from the meteor rocks throughout the foundry. Greg was crushed under heavy machinery during the struggle, with multiple smaller bugs subsequently appearing from under the machine and into the mass around the foundry.

### Year Ten

*"You know Clark is the reason a lot of us are still here. I kind of got caught up in my web of obsession and he set me straight. It's not every place that has a hometown hero like Clark Kent. Just tell him... tell him thank you."* Greg to Lois, *Homecoming*
Greg reappears ten years later at a reunion at Smallville High School. Although Clark is understandably concerned by his presence, Greg has somehow regained his human form and sanity. Greg displays none of his violent insectoid behavior, instead appearing happy and peaceful. He is also aware of Clark's double-life and present relationships: he deliberately seeks out Lois at the reunion and sincerely asks her to send Clark his thanks. Greg declares that Clark is a hero who saved Greg from his "web of obsession", indicating that he considers Clark to have rescued him and his potential victims from his previously hostile insectoid nature.

## Notes

* Greg was the first villain that Clark faced who possessed super strength approximately equal to his.
* Greg has some similarities to Marvel Comics Spider-Man, and the music being played at the Smallville High reunion, was an altered version of the classic Spider-Man theme. Another similarity is the character of Seth Brundle from the remake of *The Fly*, where his personality, much like Greg's, began to shift to a more violent one that enforces "insect politics."
* Greg has the longest time between appearances in the series, having first appeared in the second episode of Season 1, and not appearing again until the fourth episode of Season 10, a total of 198 episodes.
* Greg's last name is a reference to Orkin termite and pest control services.
* Greg is the only character who was never a main character to appear in both season 1 and Season 10.

## Trivia

* Greg Arkin's powers are very similar to Hellgrammite's of DC Comics.