Bob Rickman



Bob Rickman is a minor character from the first season of Smallville, appearing as the villain of the episode "Hug". He is a crooked businessman who possesses the metahuman power to persuade others to do his bidding merely by touching them. He is played by Rick Peters. History EditBefore the events of the series began, Bob Rickman was a failing salesman along with his friend and partner Kyle Tippet. In 1989, he and Kyle were working in Smallville on the day of the meteor shower and one of the kryptonite meteors impacted near their location. Affected by the radiation burst caused by the meteor's impact, both Bob and Kyle found themselves with the inhuman ability to persuade others to do whatever they wished by touching them. Bob immediately decided to use this power to get rich by taking advantage of people whereas Kyle decided to hide his power from the world, opting to live in the forest just beyond Smallville. In 2001, Bob returned to Smallville hoping to expand his pesticide business by building a new chemical plant in town. He was fully aware that his company's products were harmful to the environment and simply did not care about the damage his plant would do to Smallville as long as he profited from it. He intended to build his new plant on the Kent family's land, but Jonathan Kent refused to sell. However, while meeting Jonathan in his barn, Bob feigned a sprained ankle and Jonathan held out a hand to help him up. When Bob took Jonathan's hand, he used his power of manipulation to make Jonathan sign over his land. After hearing of the Kents' predicament, Lex Luthor offered to help them break their contract with Rickman. Bob wasn't about to allow that and paid Lex a visit at his mansion, finally managing to urge a handshake out of Lex. This allowed Bob to persuade Lex into trying to kill Clark Kent and Kyle Tippet. Death EditWhile Clark dealt with a corrupted Lex inside a closed gas station, Bob was confronted by his former friend Kyle. Kyle wasn't affected by Bob's tactile persuasion power, having honed his willpower and control of his own ability over his years of isolation. He used his own persuasion power on Bob and successfully forced his old friend to kill himself by shooting himself in the head.