 Sheriff Ethan is portrayed by Mitchell Kosterman in seventeen episodes spanning seasons one and two . Kosterman 's first scene as Ethan came in " Jitters " , which was originally scheduled to be the third episode of season one but was pushed back to eighth . Season one 's " Rogue " introduced the idea Sheriff Ethan had a history with Jonathan , and it was that moment that Kosterman felt like he was more than a background image for the show . That history was used against Jonathan in season two 's " Suspect " , when Ethan framed him for the attempted murder of Lionel Luthor . Ethan 's subterfuge was discovered by Clark and Pete , who set up a scheme of their own to bring Ethan 's action to light , which resulted in Ethan 's surrender and arrest . 
