Blackmail

"*Sometimes the people you think you know the best are the ones you don't really know at all. Secrets never stay hidden forever.*"
—Naomi
 **Blackmail** is the ninth episode of the first season of The CW's superhero drama *Mighty-man*. It aired on March 29, 2022.

## Synopsis

Dan Phelan is a rogue cop who learns Sam's secret, but his attempts to blackmail Sam backfire when he is killed in a shootout during a museum heist. Meanwhile, Katie Jones is fired as editor of the Template:Brookcity Torch, and Alex Luthor has an old girlfriend reenter his life with a plan to destroy his father.

## Plot

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At the charity gala in the Luthor Hall Collection of the Metropolis Museum, Sam Jackson and Alex Luthor admire a piece of jewel-encrusted armor that belonged to Alexander the Great. The jewels are red and blue and a snake appears on the chest, shaped like an S. Nelly Watson is also there, but when she invites Sam to join her and her boyfriend Derreck Fordman, he retreats to get some air.

Outside the museum, Detective Dan Phelan a police officer is beating someone up, ranting about obtaining his file at internal affairs. As Sam walks down the steps of the museum, a bus comes around a corner. When the driver has a heart attack, the bus starts plowing through the parked cars along the side of the road. Just before the bus crashes into a bus stop where a man is sleeping, Sam uses his super speed and his super strength to get in front of the bus and let it crash into him.

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There is a terrific explosion as the bus wraps around Sam's body. Sam is unharmed. When people begin pouring out of the museum to see what caused the commotion, Sam zooms away. When Sam investigates the scene, he guesses that Sam stopped the bus.

The next morning, Sam helps his dad raise a large generator up high in the rafters of the barn. Sam tells his parents what happened in Metropolis with the bus. Back in Metropolis Phelan is blackmailing a guard, saying he will expose the guard's previous DUI charge if he doesn't comply. The guard gives Phelan surveillance photos from the gala the night before. Phelan seems most interested in a photo of Alex and Sam together. At the Luthor Mansion, Alex and Victoria Hardwick are having breakfast. Victoria is the daughter of a multinational industrialist, Harry Hardwick, and one of his vice presidents. She has come to propose a deal that will let Alex get back at his father.

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At Brookcity High School, Chloe Sullivan is showing off her latest scathing editorial. Principal Kwan arrives to let her know that he's very unhappy that her paper focuses on the weirdness of Smallville and not actual school events. He tells her she can no longer edit the paper and it will be suspended until he can find a new one. Lana promises to try to help.

At the Beanery, Alex runs into Dan Phelan. He reveals that Dan was on Norman Luthor's payroll and helped Alex out of a few scrapes, but Alex hates him. He asks Alex if he knows the boy in the photo with him. Alex claims that he doesn't know who it is.

As Sam walks through the barn the generator he helped raise into the rafters falls on top of him. He throws it off just as Dan Phelan comes down out of the loft. He explains that he needs Sam's help. Without knowing exactly what he needs, Sam senses that Phelan's intentions are not good and he flatly refused to help. Dan threatens to reveal Sam's secret and asks him to meet with him tomorrow afternoon at the Beanery. Sam tells his parents what happened. Template:Jefferson plans to go see Detective Phelan the next afternoon. That night, Sam is in his loft when Alex arrives. Alex warns Sam that Phelan is bad news.

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The next day at the Beanery, the meeting between Dan Phelan and Jefferson Jackson does not go well. Phelan says only that he wants Sam's help, but he won't say why. Jefferson refuses to allow him to exploit Sam. Phelan threatens to tell Sam's secret and Jefferson loses his temper. At school, Nelly has some good news and some bad news. The good news is that she talked with Principal Kwan, and he has reinstituted the school paper. The bad news is that Nelly is the new editor. Even though Nelly says Katie will still be in charge, Katie is still very upset. She lashes out at Sam and Nelly and storms away in tears.

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Alex proposes to Victoria that instead of helping her and her father take over LuthorCorp that he and she ought to take over both LuthorCorp and her father's company. In Metropolis, Phelan reveals what he wants Sam to do. He convinces him to break into the head of internal affairs' apartment and steal Phelan's file. Sam pops the lock and uses his X-ray vision to locate the safe in the wall. Then he drops it five stories right on top of Phelan's car and zooms away as the police arrive.

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The next morning, Sam lies to his parents about where he was the night before. Deputy Ethan Miller arrives with a warrant to search the farm. They find a dead body in the barn and take Jefferson into custody. Marie Jackson follows in the car while Sam returns to the house fuming. Phelan arrives at the farm and Sam attacks him. Just before Phelan is seriously injured, Sam regains control and lets him go. Sam visits his dad in jail and confesses to having gone to Metropolis the night before. He also admits to nearly killing Phelan that morning.

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At the Beanery, Sam refuses Alex's offer to help, but when Phelan takes Sam to Metropolis again that night, Alex is following them. Phelan takes Sam to the museum. He wants him to steal the breastplate for him. They disable the security system and call in a bomb threat to get the guards out. Alex finds a plain brown package in the newspaper dispenser. He opens it up to find an alarm clock inside. Inside the museum, Sam bends the bars and breaks the glass protecting the breastplate. Phelan places the breastplate in a duffel bag and Sam throws it through a window to land at the feet of the guards on the sidewalk. Enraged by this double cross, Phelan pulls out his gun and fires. Sam uses his super speed to dodge the bullet. When the guards reenter the museum, Phelan fires at them and they shoot him down.

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The next morning, all the charges against Jefferson have been dropped and he returns home. Sam assures his mother that no one saw him that night. At school, Nelly is in trouble with Principal Kwan for her scathing editorial: "Kwan Crushes Freedom of Speech," but she successfully argues that it meets his conditions in that it is about a student and school sponsored club, without any mutants. Principal Kwan agrees to reinstate Katie as long as she promises not to print what she can't prove. Katie apologizes for getting upset at Nelly's attempts to help.

Alex is reviewing security footage of the museum in which Sam appears as a blur.

## Cast

### Starring

* T.J.Williams as Samuel Jackson
* Devenity perkins as Nelly Watson
* Jace Norman as Alex Luthor
* Andrew Caldwood as Derreck Fordman
* Sean Ryan Fox as Jack Diamond
* Maeve Tomalty as Katie Jones
* Angel Parker as Marie Jackson
* Adrian Holmes as Jefferson Jackson

### Guest Starring

* Kelly Brook as Victoria Hardwick
* Cameron Dye as Dan Phelan
* Hiro Kanagawa as Principal James Kwan

### Co-Starring

* Mitchell Kosterman as Ethan Miller
* Danny Wattley as Deputy
* Costa Spanos as Phelan's Snitch
* J.B. Bivens as Museum Security Guard

## Trivia

* This is the first episode where Sam is caught on video using his super speed power.
* Whitney has a non speaking role in this episode.
* The "**S**" on Alexander the Great's chest plate is similar to the Superman crest. The S also seems to be a snake, and the S in the crest is sometimes refers to a snake. The crest also has a diamond shape and the chest plate is adorned with rubies and sapphires. Sam mentions he "can't imagine going into battle with that thing on my chest."
* When Sam is about to shoot Sam he says that "you're not bulletproof". Two episodes later it would be proven that Sam is indeed impervious to bullets.
* The events of this episode demonstrate why Sam will eventually have to assume a dual identity.

## References

1. ↑ "Recently Added Episode Titles - Various Shows - 24th February 2022" - Spoiler TV