Sarah Cortez[1], born Sarah Cushing, is a teenager from Smallville and daughter of Superman's old friend Lana Lang. She is good friends with Jon and Jordan Kent and Natalie Lane Irons. She and Jordan also previously dated.
History
Early Life
Sarah's childhood was fairly happy, but as she got older she became increasingly aware of the serious problems affecting both Smallville and her family. Feeling trapped by her life and seeing no way to escape, she impulsively attempted suicide by swallowing a handful of her mother's sleeping pills. Her life was saved and her mother insisted on her attending regular therapy which Sarah felt she did not need, and was annoyed by Lana's attempts to portray the family as happy and functional when they were not.[2] [3]
Season One
The Cushings attended the funeral of Martha Kent, where she saw Martha's grandson Jordan taking his anti-anxiety medication. Recognising Jordan as a kindred spirit she approached him to talk and gave him her phone number so they could text, which Jordan misinterpreted as romantic interest. When she and the Kent twins went into the barn a stack of heavy poles fell on the boys, seemingly crushing them, but they walked away unscathed.
Sarah invited Jordan to a keg party at the disused mines just outside of town. She told Jordan about her own mental health struggles and he impulsively kissed her. Sarah's boyfriend Sean attacked Jordan and then his brother Jonathan when he tried to intervene. Sean and his friends beat up the twins until the bonfire at the party mysteriously exploded, supposedly due to a methane pocket.[4]
Sarah was upset by Sean's ongoing harassment of the Kent brothers and found it difficult to defend him when Jonathan asked her why she was attracted to him.[5] She continued to be friends with Jordan despite Sean's disapproval and eventually broke up with him.[6]
Sarah quit the school's cheerleading squad, which Lana coached, and walked out in the middle of practice. After school she and her mother had a public fight where Sarah chastised her mother for denying and hiding their family's problems rather than confronting them. That night the two tentatively reconciled and Sarah assured Lana that if she ever felt suicidal she would talk to her.[6]
Sarah asked Jordan to go on a date to Smallville's Harvest Festival with her, which he agreed to at Jonathan's prompting. The night of the Festival, her father came home drunk after one of his firefighters was injured in the line of duty. Sarah agreed to stay behind to look after him but rebuffed Kyle's attempts to bond with her and left.
At the Festival Sarah and Jordan talked and got closer, however the moment was ruined when Jonathan arrived with two older boys and drunkenly made fun of them both. Disgusted with his behavior due to her father's alcoholism, she stormed off. The next day she told Jordan she was not ready to date anyone at the moment, but asked that they stay friends, which he agreed to.[7]
The next day at school Sarah saw bruises on Jordan's face, which the twins unconvincingly claimed was the result of an accident. Sarah planned to go to the Crows' big game against Metropolis High School but stayed behind to babysit her sister to allow her parents to go out to celebrate Lana's promotion. Tag Harris, a friend of Sarah's who had suddenly left town weeks ago, came to her house. Tag wanted to talk to her but he lost control of his powers for a moment and scared her, then accidentally knocked her unconscious when she tried to run away from him.
Tag kidnapped Sarah and took her to his hideout in Metropolis. He told her about how he had gained superpowers and showed her a clip of the night the bonfire exploded, including a flare travelling from Jordan to the bonfire right before the explosion, and explained his theory that Jordan was responsible for his powers.
Superman arrived to rescue her, followed shortly by a squad of soldiers sent by the Department of Defence. The soldiers attempted to shoot Tag but Superman stopped the bullets. Tag was taken into custody and Sarah was returned home. The next day Sarah told Jordan Tag's theory and assured him that if something was going on he could tell her. Jordan told her he had no idea what Tag was talking about but she was unconvinced.[8]
Because she could tell Jordan was hiding something from her, Sarah was standoffish with Jonathan the next day, asking why Jordan had not come to school. Jonathan told her that Jordan had been attacked by Tag and was suffering severe headaches, explaining the bruises and Jordan's absence, claiming that Jordan didn't tell her so she wouldn't worry about him. Sarah felt guilty about assuming the worst and for not asking Jonathan about his broken wrist. Later she apologised to Jonathan and teased him over his attraction to Tegan Wickhem, one of the most popular girls in school, warning him to stay away from her. The two had a friendly conversation, which Jordan overheard with his super-hearing and mistook for Jonathan making moves on her, leading to an argument between them when Jonathan went home.[9]
A grade school friend she hadn't spoken to in years invited Sarah to audition for a musical revue at school. She was initially reluctant as she suffered from severe stage fright, but Kyle promised to come to the audition to accompany her on his guitar; and Jordan also encouraged her to try out as he had been forced to quit piano as a child when his anxiety got too bad. At the audition Kyle failed to show up and Sarah was too scared to perform alone, so Jordan accompanied her on the piano as she sang and the two gave an excellent performance. That night, Kyle tried to explain his absence but Sarah refused to listen, and told him never to promise her anything again.[10]
The day of the revue, Jordan suddenly ran out of school and did not return. Sarah was too scared to perform alone but Kyle accompanied her on his guitar as promised. Kyle walked out shortly after Sarah's performance and disappeared for hours, eventually coming home late at night claiming to have woken up in a field with bruised ribs and no idea how he got there.[11] Assuming he was drunk again, Sarah told Lana she should kick him out and stormed out when Lana defended him.
The next day, Jordan and Jonathan told her that her father had been possessed by an alien consciousness and was being held prisoner by the military. Jon was able to convince their grandfather General Lane to let her visit Kyle. The Kryptonian possessing him mocked Sarah, telling her that her father was dead, and Sarah felt terrible that the last thing her father heard her say was her calling him a drunk. Jordan tried to comfort her and encouraged her to hold onto hope. When the Subjekts were all activated and attacked Superman Sarah did not seek shelter like the rest of the town, but went to Kyle's cell to try to reach out to him. Kyle and the rest of the Subjekts were depowered by Superman and Sarah reunited with her parents.[12]
Lois and the twins took the Cushings home. Sarah thanked the twins for being honest with her and told them she hated how families kept secrets from each other, unaware they were still not telling her the full story. She asked Jon to give her and Jordan a moment alone, and when he did she kissed Jordan and told him she wanted to be more than friends.[13]
The Cushings were ostracised by the town, who blamed Kyle and Lana for what had happened, but this shared adversity brought the family closer together.[14] Sick of the treatment from the other students, Sarah walked out of school and Jordan followed her. She took him to a lake she used to visit with her grandmother and they kissed, but they were caught by a sheriff's deputy and arrested for trespassing as they were technically on private property. They were let off with a warning and handed over to their parents.[15]
Over the next three weeks, Sarah and Jordan's relationship blossomed. Her parents planned to leave Smallville but she assured Jordan that would not happen as they had only a received a single very low offer for their house. Sean invited Jon and Jordan to a party and noticeably snubbed Sarah. Jordan did not want to go without her but she encouraged him to, as she already had plans with her sister. Later that day, Kyle and Lana announced to the girls that Kyle had accepted a job in Bristol County and the family would be moving. Sarah did not want to leave and called out her parents for giving up on Smallville so easily, and blamed them for the damage Edge had done. She stormed off to the party and told Jordan what had happened. Jordan wanted to try to keep their relationship going long-distance but Sarah was unsure if they could make it work.
That evening, Sam tracked Jon and Jordan to the party and took them home, bringing Sarah along. Morgan Edge appeared in front of their car and they hit him, but they were thrown off the road while Edge was unharmed, much to her shock. Jon tried to shoot Edge with Sam's Kryptonite gun, however Edge was too fast and easily dodged the bullet and kidnapped Jordan. Just before he was taken, Jordan told Sarah he loved her. Jonathan told her to go for help.[16]
Sarah ran home and told her parents what had happened. They drove back to the wreck, helped Jon and Sam out of the car and patched up their injuries. They took Jon and Sam back to town and found the townspeople protesting the DoD. Faced with the choice to either leave or stay and help with the evacuation, the Cushings decided to stay. During the evacuation, Kyle rescued a woman from a burning building, winning back the respect of the town. He was offered his job back and the family decided to stay in Smallville.
At a victory party at the Cushing's house after Edge was defeated, Jordan reaffirmed to Sarah that he loved her, and she replied that she loved him too.[17]
Season Two
However, over the summer Sarah and Jordan drifted apart and Sarah felt overwhelmed by Jordan's attempts to keep their relationship going.[18] While working as a summer camp counsellor, she kissed a girl named Aubrey. Natalie Irons, a new girl staying with the Kents whose father was apparently an old friend of Clark's from Metropolis, advised Sarah to be honest with Jordan and she told him what had happened.[19]
Jordan was upset by this and at school the next day said he did not know how their relationship could continue even though Sarah insisted she loved him and the kiss meant nothing. That night Jordan came to her house and told Sarah that he loved her and wanted to be with her, and gave her a pendant which his grandfather had given his grandmother when they were teenagers, and they reconciled.[20]
Emily Phan warned Lana that Mayor Dean was digging into her family's past and had been asking questions about Sarah. Lana and Kyle were worried that Dean would reveal Sarah's suicide attempt and cause her to backslide into depression. However, Sarah assured them she had overcome the problems that led her to try to kill herself and she was not afraid.[21]
The Cushings held a quinceanera party for Sarah's fifteenth birthday, where Sarah was planning to announce that she would return to her family's original Spanish surname "Cortez". She and Jordan left the building for a while to get some air and they overheard her father talking to a woman named Tanya, learning that the two had had an affair. Sarah had a panic attack during the father-daughter dance and ran out. Kyle and Lana followed her and Sarah told Lana about the affair. Lana told Sarah not to let what had happened ruin her night and they went back inside, where Lana gave a speech telling Sarah how much she loved her, and how her daughter's strength inspired her.[22]
Lana kicked Kyle out of the house, and he repeatedly tried to call Sarah but she was unsure if she should talk to him. She wanted to discuss the situation with somebody but believed Jordan would not be able to help as he had a very positive relationship with his father. She decided to reach out to Aubrey, whose parents were divorced. Aubrey told Sarah that when her parents split, she had refused to speak to her father for a full year, but eventually realised that she was only hurting herself and him. That night, Sarah went to see Kyle.[23] Kyle and Lana agreed to a co-parenting arrangement, allowing Sarah and Sophie to spend time with Kyle.
A week later, Sarah told Jordan that she had been talking to Aubrey and told him that she wanted the three of them to be friends. She invited Jordan to hang out with them after school and he agreed, but Sarah sensed he did not want to and he ultimately did not show up.[24]
Over the next month, Jordan distanced himself from Sarah, not answering her calls or spending much time with her. On the day of the mayoral election, Lana got a call that Kyle had been injured in a fire and was at the hospital. Lana, Sarah and Sophie went to see him but Kyle insisted he was fine and was discharged. Sarah went to his apartment to keep him company, and saw its bleak, barely furnished state as he had still not moved in his possessions. She was worried about him and asked Lana to let Kyle move back in, but Lana refused, saying Kyle had made his own choices. Sarah collected Kyle's things from the Cushing's house and took them to his apartment, hoping to make his new home more comfortable. Kyle initially resisted, since moving in fully would mean accepting that the separation was not merely temporary, but he eventually agreed. While they were unpacking, Sarah told Kyle how Jordan had been distancing himself from her, and Kyle told her that his and Lana's marriage had failed because he had never put Lana first, and advised her that she deserved better.
Sarah returned to Lana's campaign headquarters and found that Jordan had disappeared, only showing up after Lana was declared the victor. Jordan told her that he could not tell her what he had been doing and she broke up with him, returning Martha Kent's necklace. Instead of going home she went to Kyle's apartment and tearfully asked to stay the night.[1] Jordan tried to text her all night but she ignored him.
The next morning she went home and decided to text Jordan back, but he did not reply. When she talked to Lana about it, Lana told her that she had bumped into Clark and he was also acting strangely. She said that there had always been a part of him that kept people at a distance and Sarah replied that Jordan was like that too. Lana revealed that she and Kyle had bought Sarah her own car and Sarah excitedly left to drive some boxes of papers to Lana's new office. As she was pulling out she saw what she believed was Jon Kent, dressed strangely and acting weird and rude.
While Sarah was setting up Lana's new office, Lois Lane came to city hall looking for Lana. She and Sarah talked about the breakup and the issues their families were going through. When Sarah mentioned she had seen Jon earlier that day Lois hurriedly left the office. An hour later, Lana had still not shown up so Sarah went home to look for her but found Lana missing and her house ransacked. She went to the Kent Farm to ask Jon if he had seen anything, but Lois told her Jon had gone straight to his girlfriend's house and hadn't seen anything. Lois told Sarah to go back to Lana's office and said that she would call her as soon as she heard anything. As she was leaving Jordan tried to give her a letter detailing his feelings but she refused to take it.[25]
Sarah channeled her feelings into songwriting, planning to produce a full album. Kyle was impressed by her work and took her to an open mic night at Tanya's bar to try out her material. Despite initial nervousness, she was able to perform her songs in public.[26] The next morning, Sarah told Lana what had happened and, although Lana was proud of her, she was angered when she learned where Sarah had performed even though Tanya had not been there. Sarah told Kyle what had happened and he promised to smooth things over with Lana. Lana admitted she had reacted poorly because she was under stress from other problems she was having and that night the family had dinner together for the first time in months.[27]
A few days later, a mysterious broadcast appeared on the family's TV, showing a strange woman lit in red light declaring that "the worlds" were about to merge. When they went outside, they saw a second, red, cube-shaped sun in the sky. That day Lana called a town hall meeting and told the townspeople that their world was being forcibly merged with another and Superman would not be able to help them. The townspeople did not believe her, but Superman showed up personally and told them that everything Lana said was true, much to Sarah's amazement. Jordan also came to the meeting and admitted he had known about the other world for months as his mother had been investigating it.
They went to talk privately and Sarah asked Jordan if the inverse world was the reason he had been distant for months. He said it was and she asked him to tell her everything he knew, assuring him she could handle it. Before he could Lana found them and told Sarah to come home. Suddenly Lana's doppleganger from the other world appeared and Jordan yelled at them to run, his eyes glowing red and revealing that he had powers. Sarah and Lana fled home.
When they got home, Sarah realised that Lana had not been surprised by Jordan's powers. She figured out that Clark Kent was Superman, and that Lana already knew and had found out when she disappeared on her first day in office. Sarah confronted Lana about keeping what she knew about Jordan from her and Lana told her that she could not tell anyone what she had learned. Just as they started to argue about it their house began to change around them and Kyle disappeared.[28] Lana took Sarah and Sophie out to look for Kyle, braving the chaos as people and objects randomly switched between the two worlds. Kyle had been transported to the other world but returned and reunited with them. Superman was able to regain his powers and save the world.
At a celebration afterwards, Sarah apologised to Jordan for kissing Aubrey and initially keeping it a secret. They agreed to start over as friends and he told her the truth about everything that had happened to him since the poles fell on him in the barn.[29]
Season Three
Despite Sarah's wish that they just be friends, Jordan continued to treat her as if she was his girlfriend, much to her discomfort. She asked him to stop and he overcorrected by avoiding her entirely. She confronted him at the twins' birthday party and he admitted that he still wanted to be with her and found it difficult to be around her if they weren't dating. She told him that she still cared deeply for him but she needed some time away to herself and asked him to respect that, which he agreed to.[30]
School was closed due to a black mould infestation and so Sarah met up with Natalie to study, although Sarah was more interested in talking about Nat's dating history. Natalie eventually admitted that there was a boy on her world called Travis Michaels she had had a crush on and Sarah quickly found his counterpart on social media. Sarah discovered that Travis was having a party at his family's Metropolis mansion that day and told Natalie they should go. Natalie reluctantly agreed and they drove to Metropolis, with Sarah telling Lana that she was going to Nat's house for a movie night.
When the girls arrived at the party they discovered that Travis was a spoiled rich kid who already had a girlfriend, but Sarah was determined to be Natalie's "wing-woman" and got a boy she noticed staring at Nat to talk to her. She went inside and saw Jordan, who was also aty the party with Jonathan, bump into Travis and spill his beer. Jordan told Sarah he got nervous around her now that they were not dating and Sarah replied that she sincerely wanted them to be friends and for him to be as comfortable around her as he was around Jon and Nat. To help him loosen up, she suggested they hustle Travis at beer pong. They had fun beating Travis and winning his money, but afterwards he made fun of Jordan. Sarah stepped in to defend him and they had an argument that ended with Sarah throwing a drink in his face. The Smallville kids had to run from the house, although Jordan did freeze Travis's treasured SUV with his super-breath before they went home. When they returned home, John Henry and Lana told Nat and Sarah that they had been attacked by a mysterious metahuman in a mask.[31]
Sarah was grounded for sneaking out to the party, but the others were not punished by their parents, much to her annoyance. She mentioned to Kyle that John Henry Irons had installed a new security system in their house and Kyle suspected that Lana may be in a relationship with him. Kyle went to talk to Lana and try and gauge if it was true, but Lana realised what he was doing and told him to go away. That evening Lana, who was still irritated, told Sarah to watch what she said around her father. This sparked an argument between them which culminated in Lana slapping Sarah when Sarah blamed Kyle's infidelity on Lana's bossy attitude. Sarah ran up to her room and then climbed out of her window and left the house. She walked into town and met up with Kyle.[32]
Sarah told Kyle that she had had a falling out with her mother but would not tell him why. She stayed the night in his apartment and the next morning ignored multiple texts and calls from Lana, even hanging up when Kyle answered the phone and handed it to her. Sarah told Kyle that Lana had slapped her, but made it seem like Lana had been angry at her because of Kyle snooping into Lana's personal life after what Sarah had told him about John Henry, not mentioning that she had blamed Lana for Kyle cheating. Kyle went to confront Lana, who told him that she had slapped Sarah when she blamed Lana for Kyle cheating on her.
Kyle returned to the apartment and told her that, while Lana hitting her was unacceptable, she should not have tired to weaponise Kyle's affair against Lana. He asked Sarah to give Lana a chance to apologise, telling her that Lana had been the one who found her when she attempted suicide and had performed CPR on her until the paramedics arrived and hadn't left her side until she woke up. They met at the diner that evening where Lana asked Sarah to forgive her and promised she would never hit her again. Sarah apologised for what she said and agreed to come home, but would not let Lana take her hand when she reached for her.[33]
Natalie had met a boy named Matteo at the Metropolis party and hit it off with him, but hadn't been able to get his number before they fled. Matteo tracked Sarah down on social media and asked her for Nat's number, but she invited him to come to Smallville and take Nat to Smallville High's Valentine's dance instead. The day of the dance, she and Lana were confronted by her former friend George Dean, Jr., who accused Lana of stealing the election and trying to erase his father's legacy.
That night at Smallville High's Valentine's dance, Lana announced that the mould was almost cleared out and the school would be reopening shortly. As she was talking, George Junior stormed out and Sarah followed him out to check on him. He broke down crying, telling her he missed his father, and she comforted him. Junior apologised and Sarah suggested they start over again as friends.[34]
Sarah and Sophie were left alone one Sunday as both of their parents were busy with their own lives. Sarah was supposed to watch Sophie but she was also distracted studying for a geometry test and didn't notice when she walked out. They only realised she was gone when Lana came to the apartment an hour later. Jon and Sarah went to the Cushing's house to look for Sophie. She wasn't there and Sarah blamed herself, claiming she always let her family down, but Jon was able to calm her and think about anywhere else Sophie may have gone. Sarah realised that Sophie may have gone to the fairground, as she had asked when the county fair was coming to town. They found her at the fairground but Sophie initially refused to leave with them, believing that her family didn't want her. Jon was able to empathise with her and convince her that her family would always be there for her, even if it didn't seem like it. Sarah took Sophie home and she and Lana both apologised for making her feel left out and promised to make more time for her.[35]
Kyle revealed that he was dating Chrissy Beppo, much to Sarah's disgust as she was significantly younger than him. When Chrissy suggested that she come along with Kyle and Sarah to the movies in the hopes of getting to know her, Sarah initially refused to go with her. Chrissy snapped at Sarah and told her that she knew it was hard for a girl to see her father dating, but that didn't give her the right to treat Chrissy the way she had. Kyle cancelled at the last minute and Sarah agreed to go with Chrissy alone, feeling guilty for how she had acted.
Sarah and Chrissy went to the movies, and the ice was broken when Sarah discovered marijuana edibles in Chrissy's purse from her annual visit to Coachella. They had a good time at the movies, but when they left the theatre Sarah notice Lana rapidly walking away and attempting not to be noticed. When Sarah came home she asked Lana why she had tried to avoid them, and promised that Chrissy would not replace Lana as her mother. Lana admitted she felt stuck since the divorce while everyone else seemed to be moving on. They found catharsis by setting off an entire box of fireworks at once.[36]
Lana invited Sarah to come with her to a The Cure concert which she and Kyle had bought tickets for before the divorce. Sarah refused as she was not a fan of their music, to Lana's disappointment. That night, she listened to their music with Jordan and found that he enjoyed it. Suddenly Jon , who had been volunteering with the fire department, burst in and yelled at Jordan for saving a man from a burning earlier that day, as Kyle believed that Jon had run into the burning building against orders and would probably fire him. The twins argued until Jordan said that he should be the one to save people as he had powers. Jon stormed off, ignoring Jordan's attempts to apologise.
Sarah told Jordan off for seeming to rub the fact that he had powers in Jon's face and told him that working for the fire department made him feel special like Jordan's powers did for him, and told him that he should go and talk to him. Jordan admitted she was right, and pointed out that Lana had invited her to the concert because she wanted to spend time with her. She went home and danced to The Cure with Lana.[37]
Sarah and the twins helped Natalie meet with Matteo, who John Henry had forbidden her from seeing. Jordan apologised to Jon and they reconciled. Sarah forced them to hug their feelings out, and snuck in to hug them both.[38]
George Junior invited Sarah to a senior kegger on the same day that the Governor came to town to meet Lana. Sarah agreed and also invited the Kent twins to come. When Jordan arrived Sarah was busy talking to Junior and Jordan repeatedly tried to interject into their conversation until Sarah gently asked him to leave. When Junior was finished with his story Sarah went to talk to Jordan by the kegs and asked him if he was always going to be hostile whenever he saw her talking to another boy and told him to stop making her feel uncomfortable. Jordan told her that he wished he had never fallen in love with her, she replied that she felt the same way and walked away.
That evening, the sheriff's department raided the party and the teens scattered. Sarah fled with Junior in her car and turned off the lights to avoid detection. When they were sure they had gotten away she turned the lights on again and saw a deer just ahead. She swerved to avoid hitting it and ran off the road, flipping her car. Jordan flew in and pulled them out before they hit a tree, and they both saw him standing in front of them for a moment before he flew away. The police caught up with them and called Kyle, who drove out to the crash site. Sarah was charged with a DUI as she had been drinking and Kyle was furious with her. Junior told Kyle that they had been saved by someone with powers; Sarah claimed she saw nothing, although neither of them believed her.
Kyle drove her home and both her parents yelled at her for what she had done. Kyle accused her of still not telling the full truth and when Lana asked what he meant, Sarah told her that Kyle believed she had been saved by a "superhero", obliquely telling Lana that Jordan had saved her. Lana told Kyle his theory made no sense to help cover for the Kents and he stormed off in frustration.[39] Kyle went to the Kent's home, convinced that Jon was the one with powers, and Clark was eventually forced to reveal that he was Superman.
The next day, Lana and Sarah joined the Kents and John Henry and Natalie for dinner the night before Lois's surgery. Sarah didn't want to go as she knew Jordan was upset with her, but Lana refused to let her out of her sight. Jordan avoided Sarah all night until she confronted him; she tried to make up, saying it had been a stupid fight and neither of them had meant what they said, but Jordan replied that he had meant it and truly wished he never had fallen in love with her. Sarah seemingly shrugged it off but this sent her into a depressive spiral and was unable to sleep all night. The next morning, she told Lana that Jordan was right to hate her and she had ruined her life with her DUI, as it would prevent her getting into college. Lana tried to get her to speak to her therapist but Sarah refused, saying it was pointless.
Later both Kyle and Lana sat down with her to talk about her problems. Kyle told Sarah how his own drinking problems started when he was her age, as he was trying to deal with the loss of his mother and his struggles at school making him feel like he was stupid. He said that he was only able to make a change and start getting his life back on track when he hit rock bottom, but Sarah said she didn't even know if she had hit bottom yet. Kyle told her that he had found purpose in life as a firefighter and her father to help him overcome the feelings of sadness and inadequacy that lead him to drink in the first place. He advised her to find something similar for her and suggested he take Candice's vacant job as a waitress at the diner as a first step.[40]
Despite Sarah's attempts to get him to drop it, Junior continued to pursue the "Smallville Saviour", even giving an interview to a major news network. When Junior told other kids at school that he believed there was a teenaged superhero out there, Jordan supported him even as the others made fun of him, and boasted about what a "badass" the new hero was, to Sarah's disgust. Sarah told Lana what Jordan was doing, furious that he was endangering his secret when Sarah made so many sacrifices to keep it safe. Lana went to speak to Lois and Clark and told them what Sarah had told her, which upset Sarah because she knew Jordan would blame her for getting him in trouble. Jordan came to the diner to confront Sarah and she told him that she was trying to move on from the accident, and it felt like he was trying to drag her back by constantly talking about it. Before they could talk any more, a tornado alert was broadcast through the town.
Jordan ran out and helped Clark stop the tornado, and was caught on camera. Junior excitedly ran to the diner to show Sarah the video, which had already been uploaded to the internet. He told Sarah that this proved he was right, and that two appearances in Smallville in a such a short time meant the new hero probably lived in the town and, based on his age, they likely knew him. Sarah went home and Lana apologised for speaking to the Kents, but Sarah said she was exhausted by the whole thing and it didn't matter as Jordan's cover was blown. Lana asked her what she would do if she could choose anything, like Sarah had asked her before they set off the fireworks. Sarah said she wanted to colour her hair as a break with the past, and they put blonde highlights in her hair.[41]
Thirty-two days later, Kyle told them that Chrissy was pregnant, to Sarah's shock. Later that day, while the Kents were eating in the diner, Jordan was rude and hostile to Sarah. Clark made Jordan talk to her and he admitted to her that he was still angry at her for breaking up with him had been looking for reasons to be upset with her. They agreed that they shouldn't even be friends anymore.[42]
Season Four
A monster dropped Superman's dead body on Smallville's main street in front of the townspeople, including Lana and Sarah. The people began to crowd around but Lana got them to disperse to allow the Kents privacy and for Jordan to carry his father's body away. They then went to the farm to comfort Lois and Jon. Jon admitted to Sarah that he was not sure Lois and Jordan would be able to handle Clark's death.
The next morning, Lana told Sarah that Lex Luthor had moved to Smallville and was living in the abandoned Pomona Hotel. Later at the diner, Jon told her that Jordan was going after Luthor for Clark's heart, which they might be able to use to bring him back to life. That night, Luthor came into the diner, leaving the hotel unlocked. Sarah called Jon and told him this, saying it was his chance to search the building. Sarah promised to stall Luthor, unaware that he had no intention of going back. Lana came in and saw that Luthor was there. Sarah admitted that she was distracting Luthor while Jon searched his hotel room, but Lana told her that was a bad idea and to text Jon to get out. They then saw that Luthor had left the diner. Lana rushed into the hotel and pulled Jon out. Luthor ultimately destroyed Clark's heart.[43]
Fortunately, Clark returned to life after Sam Lane's heart was transplanted into his body. He remained in hiding on the Kent Farm so that Luthor would not know he was back. Three weeks later, on the day of Kyle and Chrissy's wedding, Sarah noticed that Jordan seemed miserable despite his father coming back and went to talk to him. He told her that he felt that he had failed as a hero because he hadn't been able to get Clark's heart; and didn't know what he was supposed to do if he wasn't a superhero. Sarah advised him not to worry about what he should do and think about what he wanted to do. She then went to check on Chrissy and found her in a manic state. Sarah tried to calm Chrissy down, but when she left to get Chrissy some water, she ran away from the wedding.
Lois found Chrissy and brought her back. She and Kyle agreed that they were moving too fast and decided that they would not be getting married that night, but told everyone to enjoy the party. Sarah danced with Jordan at the party and she and the Kent twins went to hang out in town afterwards, their relationship having recovered to the point that they could be friends again.[44]
Jordan told Sarah his parents had asked him to get a summer job and asked to work at the diner but she refused, saying that she did not want to work all day with her ex-boyfriend. She pointed out that, with his powers, he had the ability to go anywhere in the world for a job and said she wished he had his freedom, but Jordan told her she didn't need powers to go somewhere new. Sarah realised he was right and that evening told Lana she wanted to study abroad in the next school year, as she felt like she needed a big life changing experience to find the right path for herself. That night, Sarah was woken up by sounds of fighting and ran downstairs to see Lana being attacked. She knocked the attacked out with a bat. The Kents rushed over to their house to help them. Jon and Jordan both blamed themselves as they had not been listening in on them, although Sarah told them that it was not their fault and she didn't expect them to watch over her constantly.
After the police left, Lana told Sarah she was sorry that she had put her in harms way by challenging Luthor, but Sarah told her that she couldn't give in to people like that. Lana said that she was right, and that she should leave the country to study as she would be safer. Clark confronted Luthor outside the Pomona and warned him to stay away from Lana and Sarah. Luthor activated red sun lamps that he had hidden in all the streetlamps to remove Clark's powers. They brawled in the streets and Clark eventually overpowered Luthor, and told him to leave town that night.[45]
Emmitt Pergande, a criminal who Clark had also chased out of Smallville, showed up at the diner with a gun while Lois and Clark were having dinner. Despite Clark's attempts to deescalate Pergande shot him in front of everyone and the bullet bounced off, revealing his identity to the people there. Knowing it was only a matter of time before Luthor exposed his secret, Clark publicly revealed his identity to the world.[46]
Superman was able to defeat Luthor for good with the help of his friends and family. Sarah spent the next year studying in Greece, and returned to Smallville for Lana and John Henry's wedding at the Kent Farm. During the reception she snuck away and Jordan followed her. She told him that she planned to leave Smallville after graduating high school. She asked Jordan if he was happy with his life and being a superhero, and he told her that he was.[47]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Bilingualism: Sarah can speak English and Spanish fluently.[21]
- Music
- Singing
- Songwriting
Other Characteristics
Related
- Appearances of Sarah Cushing (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
- Images featuring Sarah Cushing (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
- Quotations by or about Sarah Cushing (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
- Character Gallery: Sarah Cushing (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Superman & Lois: "30 Days and 30 Nights"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Pilot"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Too Close to Home"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Pilot"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Heritage"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Superman & Lois: "The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "The Best of Smallville"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Broken Trust"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Man of Steel"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Holding the Wrench"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Loyal Subjekts"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "O Mother, Where Art Thou?"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Through The Valley Of Death"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Fail Safe"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "The Eradicator"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Last Sons of Krypton"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "What Lies Beneath"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "The Ties That Bind"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "The Thing in the Mines"
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Superman & Lois: "The Inverse Method"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Girl... You'll Be a Woman, Soon"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Anti-Hero"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Into Oblivion"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Truth and Consequences"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Lies That Bind"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "All Is Lost"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Worlds War Bizarre"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Waiting for Superman"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Closer"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Uncontrollable Forces"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "In Cold Blood"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Too Close to Home"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Head On"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Of Sound Mind"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Forever and Always"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "The Dress"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Collision Course"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Complications"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "Injustice"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "A World Without"
- ↑ Superman & Lois (TV Series) Episode: A Perfectly Good Wedding
- ↑ Superman & Lois (TV Series) Episode: When the Lights Come On
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "A Regular Guy"
- ↑ Superman & Lois: "It Went By So Fast"