Before ‘Tracker,’ Justin Hartley Faces Off Against This Week’s Villain on ‘Smallville’
In the latest Tracker episode, “Preternatural,” Justin Hartley’s Colter Shaw travels to rural Kentucky, where he finds himself caught in the middle of a drug operation run by a local gang called the Drell Clan. For Tracker fans, it’s just another day at work for Shaw — albeit one that nearly kills him. However, longtime Hartley fans may have noticed a familiar face among the Drell brothers. It turns out, one of them has crossed paths with Hartley before, when the two actors faced off on Smallville.
The Tracker episode, “Preternatural,” pits Colter Shaw against the Drell brothers, Axel (Travis Hammer) and Gideon (Steve Bacic), but only one of them has faced off against Hartley in the previous battle. In the Smallville Season 9 episode “Disciple,” Bacic (who certainly played a different role in the series’ first episode) appeared as the Dark Archer, aka Vordigan, Oliver Queen’s (Hartley) former mentor-turned-enemy. As a member of the Brotherhood of Sion, Colter Shaw faced off against the Drell brothers, Axel (Travis Hammer) and Gideon (Steve Bacic), in Tracker’s “Preternatural,” though only one of them had ever fought Hartley’s character. Back in Smallville Season 9’s “Disciple,” Bacic guest-starred as the Dark Archer, aka Vordigan, Oliver Queen’s (Hartley) former mentor-turned-enemy. As a member of the Brotherhood of Sion, Vordigan taught Oliver everything he knew to become the billionaire playboy-turned-vigilante “master archer.” But as Oliver begins training his apprentice, Mia Dearden (Elise Gatien), Vordigan shows up in Metropolis to haunt his former student, all under the guise of testing him.
In a climactic fight, Vordigan injures Oliver’s former love, Lois Lane (Erica Durance), and kidnaps Mia. Vordigan eventually threatens Mia’s life, forcing Oliver to jump between them as Dark Archer loses three arrows. If this were Tracker, Oliver would likely be stabbed by all three arrows, but since this is Smallville, a prequel to Superman, Clark Kent (Tom Welling) stands between Oliver and his imminent death, giving Green Arrow the opportunity to fire an arrow straight into his former mentor’s chest. With a single shot, Emerald Archer takes out Dark Archer, sending him straight to prison.
Not only is “Disciple” a great episode of Smallville, but the rivalry between Oliver and his former mentor is something we wish the show could have explored more. Although Vordigan made a cameo appearance the following season, Steve Bacic did not return. It would be nearly 15 years before Bacic and Hartley faced off in battle again, and things were pretty even. When Colter Shaw arrived to rescue a young Emmaline (Alison Thornton), he promptly shot Gideon Drell in the chest, knocking him to the floor. Like in Smallville, the Tracker battles between Hartley and Bacic were short, and each time, the latter fell to the floor, impaled by the former’s weapon of choice. Still, it was fun to watch these two fight, even if we, as Smallville fans, didn’t get to see the rematch we’ve been dreaming of.
