Ryan James is a 13 or 14-year-old boy who has psychic abilities. His mother married a man named James Gibson, but then died, leaving him to live with his stepfather, until he found a new wife. They used his abilities to steal. One night Ryan made a run for it and was hit by Martha Kent's car. After being checked out by hospital for the accident, the nurse noticed that he had abuse scars as well, tipping off that he may be on the run from someone. Ryan lived with his aunt for a while in Edge City, but she was freaked out by his abilities and gave him to the Summerholt Institute. Dr. Garner at Summerholt experimented on him until Clark broke him out. Ryan ended up dying from a brain tumor.