The Orb contained or stored the DNA-strands and memories of Krypton's army along with Krypton's two greatest heroes: Jor-El and Major Zod. It possessed the power to generate clones of these Kandorians in the event that the Orb was opened. Along with the Stones of Power, which stored all the knowledge of the known 28 galaxies, these Kryptonian crystals ensured that the people and knowledge of Krypton would always have a chance of surviving. Because of its immense power and importance, the Orb had certain safeguards built in: hints of its existence were left around the world, like maps of its location were hidden by a secret society, and pieces of it were hidden around Earth. It also possessed the ability to "control" the Traveler in the event that he turned against humanity, by stripping him of his powers and destroying the Fortress of Solitude and turning it back into the Crystal of Knowledge.
Publication Information
- Smallville : The Orb
- Version : Smallville
- Type : Kryptonian spherical device
- Creator : Jor-El
- Usage : Contained or stored the DNA-strands and memories
- Season : Smallville
When Jor-El was forced to complete the experiment, he radiated the Orb with blue kryptonite, meaning the clones would not get their natural powers under a yellow sun. Jor-El's and Major Zod's DNA were also added to the Orb. Jor-El later added another function to the Orb: The ability to control his son Kal-El and strip him of his powers. The orb doesn't actually "control" Clark but it takes away his abilities. Jor-El added this to stop Kal-El if ever he decided to use his powers for his own purpose and not to follow his destiny, knowing if Kal-El ever turned against humanity, they would not stand a chance.
Physical
The Orb itself is a geodesic-like Kryptonian crystal, appearing in colors ranging from metallic blue to purple. The Orb has a detachable piece with a distinctive symbol on it: Four diamond-shaped figures opposite of each other, 2 by 2. Tess Mercer used the symbol as an emblem for her team of meteor freaks. When Major Zod arrived at the Luthor Mansion, the symbol could be seen shining on his back. Several banners of the Kandorian army also have the Orb symbol, implying that it is a military crest of some sort.
Creation of the clones
The Orb is also able to communicate with its bearer in order to get the person to "open" it. It's unclear what exactly triggers or enables this communication application, but it is probably a delayed effect after inserting the missing piece in the Orb. Once its bearer has followed the commands from the Orb and it is ready to "open" following the Ultimate Destroyer being defeated, the Orb can create clones of the individuals whose DNA has been stored inside of it. Twenty years before Krypton's destruction, Jor-El stored the blood of several Kryptonians inside.
These clones have the memories of their original counterparts at the time that the blood was drawn from them. Because of Jor-El's corruption of the Orb using blue kryptonite, these clones don't have the abilities that regular Kryptonians would get under a yellow sun. When the Orb was opened, the clones appeared throughout the Earth on top of their designated house symbol which gets scorched into the ground. Zod appeared at the Luthor Mansion and Jor-El's clone appeared in the Turkish desert. It appears that when the clones were created via the Orb on Earth, they were without garments.
Abilities
- The Orb was embedded with several power functions including to "control" Clark Kent and producing the Kandorian clones.
- As a safeguard to allow only humans to use the Orb for its functions, the Orb is protected so that Kryptonians and even Brainiac are not able to use it as it seems to have some kind of a kryptonite-like effect.
Kryptonian Beacon
Kryptonian beacons are high-pitched ringing or wailing sounds which are emitted from Kryptonian devices, artifacts, or even symbols. Every Kryptonian house family has a specific beacon with a unique tone, making it distinctive. It has been shown that only Kryptonians can hear beacons, although Jonathan, while acting as Jor-El's vessel, was able to mentally connect with the Key. Much like with symbols, it can also be possible to sound a beacon through Kryptonian writing.
Lionel Luthor was able to emit a beacon by writing the symbol for "power" in Kryptonian. According to the Martian Manhunter, this was the same beacon used by Jor-El when they worked together on Krypton. Sounds given off by beacons are able to cause Kryptonians pain, as evidenced by Clark Kent when he is seen clutching his ears with visible discomfort whenever he hears such a beacon.
Chloe Sullivan, through Brainiac, drew the Kryptonian mark for 'Doom', which emitted a Kryptonian beacon that somehow triggered the beast Doomsday through Davis Bloome to him. As Chloe was losing her memories, the only person that she retained any recollection of was Davis.
Crystal of Knowledge
Crystal of Knowledge is a five-sided Kryptonian crystal that can be used to create the Fortress of Solitude. The crystal contains all the knowledge of the planet Krypton and all the knowledge of the universe gathered by Kryptonians. Hundreds of years ago, the three Stones of Power: The Crystal of Fire, the Crystal of Water, and the Crystal of Air were brought to Earth.
These three relics were hidden around Earth by an ancestor of Kal-El, who hid them in Egypt, Central America, and East China. A map was also left behind to the Crystal of Air. The legend on Earth was that, when united, the stones would point the way to a treasury of knowledge that put the Library of Alexandria to shame.
Important figures in history have searched for the three stones, including Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux and Duchess Gertrude. Greed had driven others to hunt the stones, but if humans united them before the destined Kryptonian, they would not be able to withstand the temptation and drive the world to famine, war, and Earth's ultimate destruction. The Crystal of Knowledge was made up of three component crystals:
- Crystal of Fire : Many centuries ago, someone came from Krypton to Earth and hid this crystal inside a relic somewhere in Egypt. While on Earth, this stone was safely contained within an Egyptian tablet, and as such, it served as a vessel for the stone to abide inside. While being fused with the other two stones, it emitted a yellow light.
- Crystal of Water : Many centuries ago, a Kryptonian came to Earth and hid this crystal inside a statue somewhere in Honduras, Central America. While on Earth, this stone was safely contained within a Mayan rain god statue, and as such, it served as a vessel for the stone to abide inside. While being fused with the other two stones, it emitted a blue light.
- Crystal of Air : Many centuries ago, a Kryptonian came to Earth and hid this crystal inside a statue somewhere in Shanghai, East China. While on Earth, this stone was safely contained within a horse statue, and as such, it served as a vessel for the stone to abide inside. While being fused with the other two stones, it emitted a red light.
- The three stones of power : As the Crystal of Knowledge, can transform into the Fortress of Solitude. Clark Kent was able to do this twice after throwing it into the snow in the Arctic Circle.
- The crystal is a Kryptonian computer hard drive : Which contains the knowledge of the universe, houses the artificial intelligence of Jor-El, and has the ability to transport people to the Phantom Zone.
