Stones of Power
20 years before the destruction of Krypton, the stones were created by Jor-El, alongside the Orb, under orders from the Ruling Council. Their purpose was to supply the Kryptonian clones on Earth, with all Kryptonian knowledge. The stones were sent by portal to Earth's past, and were hidden at different points on the planet. Waiting for someone to find and unite them.
Humanity learned of these "stones of power", many families spending centuries searching for them.
Crystal of Fire
The Crystal of Fire was hidden on Earth in Egypt by a Kryptonian centuries before Kal-El’s arrival.
In 2004, Lex unearthed an ancient statue of the Egyptian god of wisdom, Thoth, which contained the crystal. Lex possessed the Crystal of Fire for only a few hours before Clark, brainwashed and believing himself to be Kal-El, stole it from Lex’s jet and placed it on an altar in a hidden chamber within the Kawatche Caves near Smallville. Isobel later attempted to remove the crystal from the altar.
Subsequently, Clark’s powers were magically stripped by Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, who had possessed Lana Lang and begun a quest to locate the Stones of Power. The loss of Clark’s abilities was symbolized by a burst of colorful light emitted from his chest. When Isobel attempted to remove the Crystal of Fire from the altar, it burned her hand. When Clark then grasped the crystal, his powers were restored, represented by the same light leaving the crystal and reentering his body.
It remains unclear whether the crystal disrupted Isobel’s spell upon her touch and returned Clark’s powers, or whether it temporarily absorbed and stored his abilities while he was unable to physically or mentally interface with it to recharge himself.
Later, when Clark combined the Crystal of Fire with the Crystal of Air, the two revealed the location of the Crystal of Water.
Crystal of Water
The Crystal of Water was hidden on Earth by a Kryptonian centuries before Kal-El’s arrival. It was later discovered by Edgar Cole within a Mayan rain god statue in Honduras.
Edgar eventually gave the crystal to Lionel Luthor, intending for it to be used to exchange Lionel’s body with Lex Luthor’s. Instead, the crystal caused Lionel to switch bodies with Clark Kent. After Edgar contacted Lionel and falsely claimed that the transference would only become permanent if Lionel killed his original body, Clark was able to manipulate the situation and use the crystal to reverse the exchange. During the transference, a portion of Clark’s energy cured Lionel’s fatal liver disease. Once the process was complete, the Crystal of Water erased Lionel’s memory of his time in Clark’s body. Clark believed that something within him had permanently altered Lionel as a result of the experience.
Edgar later regained possession of the Crystal of Water and passed it to Dr. Bridgette Crosby. When Jason Teague learned that Crosby had the crystal, he murdered her and delivered it to his mother, Genevieve Teague. Lionel subsequently coerced Genevieve into surrendering the crystal. At one point, Lex Luthor used the crystal as part of a trap, during which he observed it emitting a mysterious glow.
When Clark later recombined the Crystal of Fire and the Crystal of Air, the Crystal of Water was activated. It transmitted Kryptonian knowledge into Lionel while simultaneously emitting a beacon that allowed Clark to locate it. The process left Lionel catatonic for several weeks. Although Clark was weakened by nearby kryptonite, Chloe Sullivan was able to move him out of its range, allowing him to recover. Clark then united the Crystal of Water with the other two stones, forming the Crystal of Knowledge.
Crystal of Air
The Crystal of Air was hidden on Earth in Shanghai, East China by a Kryptonian centuries before Clark Kent’s arrival.
In 2005, the Crystal of Air was located through an ancient manuscript purchased by Lex Luthor, who eventually discovered that it concealed a hidden map. Accompanied by Jason Teague, Lex traveled to a remote temple in Shanghai. Both men were captured and tortured by Chinese authorities. When Clark Kent and Lana Lang followed them to Shanghai, Lana was also taken prisoner and tortured, triggering the return of Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux’s possession.
While Clark was incapacitated by Isobel, she succeeded in locating the Crystal of Air. Clark later confronted her, but during the struggle the crystal was lost. Unnoticed, Jason retrieved it and mailed it to himself in Smallville, later revealing its existence to Lana. Lana subsequently staged a break in at their apartment above the Talon, leading Jason to believe that Lionel Luthor had stolen the Crystal of Air.
Later, Jason and his mother, Genevieve Teague, kidnapped Lex and Lionel Luthor and tortured them in an attempt to recover the Crystal of Water, which Lionel had taken from them. Lionel falsely claimed that he had given the stone to Lana. Genevieve confronted Lana and demanded it, and the two struggled. When Genevieve began to strangle Lana, Isobel again emerged and used the Crystal of Air to stab Genevieve in the chest, killing her. After staining the crystal with human blood, Isobel withdrew, and the Mark of Transference vanished from Lana’s back.
The bloodied Crystal of Air subsequently acted as a signal, triggering another meteor shower toward Earth, particularly over Smallville. This activation presumably served as a beacon to other Kryptonian forces, awakening the Black Ship and the Disciples of Zod and altering its trajectory from high orbit.
Lana entrusted the crystal to Clark for safekeeping. Clark brought the Crystal of Air to the Kawatche Caves, where he united it with the Crystal of Fire. Together, the two stones revealed the location of the Crystal of Water.
Crystal of Knowledge
Clark Kent united the three Stones of Power, forming the Crystal of Knowledge. He cast it into the frozen expanse of the Arctic Circle. As the crystal merged with the ice, it expanded and transformed into a vast crystalline structure known as the Fortress of Solitude.
Like the Crystal of Knowledge itself, the Fortress of Solitude served as a repository of Kryptonian knowledge, containing the accumulated wisdom of the Kryptonian civilization, including records of their long destroyed home world, Krypton. For this reason, the Zoners General Zod and Baern both referred to the structure as the “Fortress of Knowledge.”
Three years after its creation, Lex Luthor placed the Orb into the Fortress’s central console, causing the structure to collapse back into the Crystal of Knowledge. Four weeks later, a LuthorCorp recovery team searching for Lex discovered the crystal near the excavation site. While nearly identical in form to the original Crystal of Knowledge, it appeared a deeper shade of blue. This difference may indicate that the crystal was partially depleted or that its luminous brilliance only manifests during initial activation.
Tess Mercer later came into possession of the crystal and assigned a research team, led by Dr. Edward Groll, to study it. The team identified its alien origin and attempted to unlock its functions, inadvertently triggering a beacon that broadcast into space. Tess subsequently approached Chloe Sullivan, asking her to unlock the crystal and referring to it as a “supercomputer.” Tess later revealed the crystal to Clark, who was visibly shaken upon seeing it. Clark later told Chloe that the crystal was necessary to rebuild the Fortress of Solitude so he could communicate with Jor-El and cure Chloe of Brainiac’s infection.
When Chloe later confronted Tess, Tess claimed that the crystal had been stolen. The individual responsible later contacted Tess by email, stating that she was not ready for it.
The crystal was eventually returned to Clark. Shortly thereafter, it activated and transported Clark Kent and Lois Lane to the Phantom Zone. Chloe later discovered the crystal on the floor and concealed it in her purse. Moments later, Tess arrived after receiving reports of an energy surge and questioned Chloe about the crystal, but Chloe denied having seen it.
Chloe later enlisted Oliver Queen to steal the crystal’s power generator from Tess. After he succeeded, Chloe placed the crystal into the generator and used her Brainiac abilities to reverse its effects, returning Clark along with Kara from the Phantom Zone. Clark later used the crystal once more to recreate the Fortress of Solitude, ultimately saving Chloe from Brainiac’s control.