Bob Rickman

Species: Metahuman

Appearances: S1: Hug

Family: unknown

Bio: Bob Rickman had been a 'meteor freak' with the ability to coerce anyone into doing anything simply by shaking their hand. In 1989, he and Kyle Tippet had been traveling salesmen passing through Smallville, when the meteor shower had struck, trapping them in their car for two days. Prior to the meteors, they'd been the worst salesmen, but afterwards, were each left with the ability of persuasion and had each won Salesman of the Year 1989, 1990, and '91. Kyle had eventually retreated into solitude because of his power, while Bob had plowed on, using his power to start Rickman Industries and keep his chemical plants open, despite the fact that their emissions caused cancer. In early 2002, Bob had met with Paul Hendrix, an agent for the Center for Environmental Protection. Bob had had plans to open a plant in Smallville, but Paul had been working to put a stop to that, revealing that he'd been investigating Bob's other plants and had found that the groundwater in the last town where Bob had built a plant had been contaminated. Not one to let anything to get in his way, Bob had used his power to coerce Paul into committing suicide. Later, Bob had returned to Smallville, despite a promise to Kyle that he'd stay away. While in town, Bob had persuaded Jonathan Kent to sign away his land to him, as Bob had wanted to built his plant there. Meanwhile, Kyle had threatened to reveal Bob's plans if he didn't leave, and so, Bob had tried to send others to kill his old partner for him, including Whitney Fordman and Lex Luthor. Fortunately, Jonathan's son Clark had been immune to Bob's power, and had been able to stop the attempts on Kyle's life. Kyle, in turn, had used his power to convince Bob to kill himself, after he and Bob had struggled over Bob's gun. With the CEO dead, Rickman Industries had opted not to expand into Smallville, and had been more than happy to let Jonathan out of his contract.

Played By: Rick Peters