James Beels worked for Lionel Luthor. One day when he was helping Steven Hamilton move some equipment in his lab, he saw the Nicodemus flower. Later, he went back to the lab and stole one. He nearly killed himself trying to drive the flower back to Lionel in Metropolis. Jonathan Kent pulled him out of his overturned vehicle just before it exploded, but James succumbed to the effects of the flower's deadly toxins while being treated at Smallville Medical Center.