So after seeing the L.O.D., I was inspired to look back at the Superman villains who have appeared on the show. While the movie franchise has only battled Lex and Zod multiple times, over the last decade, Clark has encountered pretty much everybody in Superman’s rogues gallery, including such iconic Supes villains as Bizarro, Doomsday and Darkseid. And he ain’t even Superman yet.

Of all the villains who’ve been portrayed on the show, however, two stand out as the best* and worst. We’ll start with the bad news first.

*I’m forgoing covering Lex since you could check out here and here for my take on Lex Luthor’s most villainous moments.

The Worst:
Mxyzptlk
We’ll start our rundown with Superman’s silliest nemesis, Mr. Mxyzptlk. As we go down the list of Superman villains, Mxyzptlk is by far the wildest divergence from his comic book counterpart. Whereas the comic version is tricksy imp from the Fifth Dimension, Smallville‘s version, as seen in the fourth season episode “Jinx,” is a hunky foreign exchange student, played by Trent Ford, who has mind control powers that can only be stopped by a swarm of locusts. Yes, really. After he’s defeated, Lex Luthor recruits him to join his mysterious Level 33.1 (a precursor to the Legion oF Doom, perhaps?) Clearly, Mxyzptlk existed during the era of the show when the creators felt less beholden to established comic book lore.

The Best:
Brainiac
In the fifth season, we were introduced to the show’s first recurring Superman villain not named Luthor. Brainiac’s first appearance on the show was actually in the fourth season finale “Commencement” as the “Black Ship” that crashes during the second meteor shower, though James Marsters officially debuted (in his Milton Fine persona) in the fifth season opener “Arrival.” As the main threat throughout season five, Brainiac would torment Clark off and on for the next three seasons until he was finally dealt with by Clark and the Legion of Super-Heroes in the eighth season “Legion” episode. Unlike his comic counterpart, Smallville‘s Brainiac is an artificial intelligence being created by Jor-El and later corrupted by Zod so he also has all of the Kryptonian powers under a yellow sun. In fact, in the SV-verse, BrainIAC is an acronym for the “Brain InterActive Construct.” Marsters would resurface again in the final season, but this time as the good guy version, Brainiac Five.

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Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team.

My fears were confirmed later in the day when TVShowsOnDVD.com followed up with an interview with WHV regarding the lack of blu-ray mentions in the press release. TVShowsOnDVD.com’s David Lamberet even quoted a WHV exec:

“The special effects were created and output for standard definition broadcast using the tools and formats of that time. Elevating the special effects to an acceptable level for HD may require going back to original film elements and re-creating new special effects from scratch to marry with the film elements, which is extremely costly.”

Come again?

In other words, Warner Bros. is to cheap to author new blu-ray discs for seasons 1-5 (you’d think Season 5 on blu would be a no-brainer at least since it was already made for the failed HD-DVD format). Also, the bit about the special effects being “created and output for standard definition broadcast” rings hollow because early seasons of Smallville have been airing on HDNet and available as HD downloads on iTunes for several years now.

Not to mention this article from 2003 that talks about how the Smallville post-production SFX team simultaneously worked in both HD and SD in order to “future-proof” the show for future broadcasts in HD (and presumably High Definition media). In fact, according to the article, the studio had been working in HD from the very beginning.

The financial impact of protecting and posting for two aspect ratios is significant for anyone planning workflow. Tim Scanlan, coproducer on Smallville for Warner Bros. Television, says WB asked for delivery of that show on both HD and SD masters from a Super-35 shoot. “Fortunately,” he says, “WB agreed to subsidize part of the cost increase — estimated to run about 25 percent more.” Even though the primary viewership remains entrenched in SD, the extra cost is justified to guarantee the show’s future syndication viability.

I’m sure the bean counters at Warner Home Video thought twice about recouping the costs of what would likely be a hard sell. I admit 10 seasons worth of blu-rays would likely be a bane on anyone’s wallet. But I am more than ready to blow a wad of cash on a complete series blu-ray set. I can’t be the only one, can I?

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Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team.

Though the show initially started out with a “no tights, no flights” rule, that edict was pretty much abandoned in Season Six with the debut of Justin Hartley as Green Arrow. Though other DC characters had appeared in the five previous seasons, Green Arrow was the first time one of those characters actually looked like a DC character, opening up a whole new box of toys for subsequent seasons to play with. And we can all thank designer Andy Poon for initiating the silver age of costumed heroism on Smallville.

Recently, I had a chance to talk with the Vancouver-based artist about developing some of the superhero looks on the show, including the creation of the iconic Green Arrow costume and his work on the Booster Gold costume seen in tonight’s episode.

So how did you get involved with Smallville?
I believe the costume designer, Caroline Cranstoun, got my name from another costumer in the department. They were probably aware of the work I had done on the Will Smith movie I, Robot several years earlier.

Were you a fan of the show before you started working on it?
Yup. Pretty hard to pass on a show about a young Superman.

What was your first reaction when you learned you were the guy who was going to adapt Green Arrow for live action? That must have been pretty cool.
Oh it was! I had a funny phone conversation with Caroline. She called and asked if I was available and if I had heard of Smallville. And I instantly said “yes” without even knowing what I’d be doing on the show. As soon as she mentioned Green Arrow, and me being a comic book fan, I said instantly that I’d have sketches ready by the next morning!

How close were your initial designs to what we ultimately saw on Justin Hartley?
It was actually pretty close. I initially did four rough sketches of the suit, knowing that they wanted something practical and more modern—like the way they portrayed hero suits in X-Men. We eventually landed on more of a motorcycle suit look. I think both the producer and I mentioned about the hood and thought it would be something that was not too cheesy a disguise. And of course the shades to act as the old school mask!

Also, GA’s been known to wear a hood in the comics, so it was still pretty comic accurate at the same time.
Which is also appropriate because in the comics he was essentially based on Robin Hood. So the hood just came naturally.

Speaking of comics, did you ever see the cover of Green Arrow #31?
No! They actually used the suit?!

Mauro Cascioli’s original art for the cover was your design. I don’t think Ollie actually wears it in continuity though.
That is awesome! And they have the goatee!

Heh. I do kind of wish Justin would have grown some facial hair during his time on the show!
Yeah, I believe they want to keep him clean cut and handsome for the ladies!

So how did your work on “Arrow” lead to what you did with the JLA in the episode “Justice?”
After “Arrow,” I was pretty much the “super suit guy” for the show.

Were you happy with how the “Justice” suits turned out?
Yes, it works for the show. “Arrow” had the highest budget because he was a long term character. Impulse, Cyborg and Aquaman were kind of one-offs, and they were all designed and built for that one episode so the budget had to be split into three different costumes. So part of it was to design the best I could within the budget limitation. But I think it all worked out well. I do wish they chose fabric that wasn’t as bright though.

What’s one example of a costume that changed from design to production?
On Aquaman’s suit, I originally had a mesh overlay on top of his side panelings to create the illusion of his costume’s signature scale pattern.

Wow! That would’ve looked amazing! By the way, how cool was it when DC Direct released action figures based on your designs?
Oh yeah, I was shocked because I remembered the first wave wasn’t very good at all. But the JLA figures were pretty cool!

Were you involved with the designs of other DC heroes — like Black Canary, the Legion or the JSA?
No, unfortunately. There was a bit of a transition period when I didn’t work on the suits for various reasons. There was also a budget cut because the show was heading toward the end of the whole series. However, I did work on Warrior Angel, and I did a concept for when Lex was possessed by Zod. I wish I got to be involved with Dr. Fate and Hawkman, though! I thought they were a little too literal and old school for my own taste, especially Stargirl.

Interesting. What would you have done differently?
I think I’d just stay away from the spandex look a little more. I actually really liked Dr. Fate! And for Hawkman, I would have probably done most of the body plating with leather instead of one molded piece. The wings are supposed to be always attached too, but I understand why they had to make them detachable wings, so that’s just me talking as a nerd!

How did you approach Booster Gold when you got the call?
The writers had the idea of Booster as a celebrity superhero so I thought I could definitely play up his cheese factor! They really liked Green Arrow, so they said to do something similar, but I wanted his suit to look more obviously like human muscles, but still look like a racing suit.

What did you think of the way the actual suit turned out?
Pretty good. I was hoping it would be a bit more different on the textures of the different materials instead of an overall shiny material. And the way I drew the gold shoulder pads turned out closer to a racing suit than a hero suit. But I understand their limitations on time and budget so it works well for the show. I was really hoping I could do something that retained his popped up collar.

So since season six you’ve designed the costumes for Green Arrow, Aquaman, Flash, Cyborg, Lex-Zod and Booster Gold. Did I leave anyone out?
I also did an illustration for Supergirl when she first landed in Smallville. And Warrior Angel, though he’s not really a superhero.

A lot has changed since season six. When you worked on “Justice,” having DC heroes on the show was a rare occurrence, and even when they showed up, they had a very Smallville look to them. Now, the DC characters that show up look more comic accurate. Do you wish you were able to make the JLAers look closer to their comic counterparts?
I think, if it was up to me, I would have gone the other way and updated the rest of the characters’ looks to suit more in the Smallville universe. In other words, I would make the DC characters look more modern and grounded rather than so accurate to the comics.

Did you have any hand in designing Clark’s “Blur” outfits?
No. I think I just missed it. I remembered getting a call about it while I was away.

From the promos (and even earlier this season) it looks like the show is going with the Brandon Routh costume from Superman Returns rather than designing a new one for Welling. If you were given the job, how would you have redesigned the Supersuit for Smallville? Would you go with a more comic accurate costume for Superman himself? Or reimagine it like you did with the League?
I had a concept for the Supersuit that I did on my own that fits with the Green Arrow style. I mean, it is the Superman suit after all. You can’t change it too much! I would have probably gone with more of the Alex Ross “Kingdom Come” symbol too. The suit wouldn’t be so bright except for the cape and all the red parts. My other idea was to have Superman always have the red heats vision eyes to kind of hide his identity.

Since you live in Vancouver, were you ever able to visit any of the sets or meet any of the cast and crew?
I have been on set a few times, but usually they are in tight schedules so it’s pretty hard to sneak in. Oh, I actually went to school with Kristin Kruek. She was a year older than me. We had mutual friends.

As a fan of the show, and as a DC fanboy in general, how would you describe your experience working on Smallville?
It’s a childhood dream come true to be a part of the comic book world, and be able to project my own creativity into it. And the crew is very creative! It was great!

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Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team.

I admit that when I was little, I was a big fan of the show Dukes of Hazzard. At the time, it didn’t really register in my six-year-old brain that they were driving around in a Dodge Charger named after Robert E. Lee or that they were smuggling moonshine across county lines. I, like most kids in my town, had the little die-cast General Lee and tried on more than one occasion to slide across the hood of the family station wagon and jump in through the window. So when it was announced that the former Bo Duke was playing Pa Kent in a new version of Superman, I was intrigued for sure. Mostly because in 2001, John Schneider was 40 years old and honestly, a little young to play a character who had always been portrayed as a senior citizen in most iterations of the mythos. Throw in Annette O’Toole as Martha, and it was clear that The WB had reinvented Ma and Pa Kent and decided to make them kinda hot. (Needless to say, when Zack Snyder decided to go with Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as sexy versions of Ma and Pa Kent in the new Supes movie, us Smallville fans merely yawned “been there, done that.”)

People might dismiss the influence Smallville has had on the Superman legend in general, but I think de-aging the Kents was a genius move by the show’s creators. Having the Kents actually portrayed as Clark’s parents (rather than his grandparents essentially) made the family drama more relateable to modern audiences. And isn’t that always the knock against Superman? In 2004, when DC Comics launched “Superman: Birthright” (a modern reinterpretation of Superman), Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu took a page out of the Smallville playbook and also brought Ma and Pa into the 21st century. And for a time, young Jonathan and young Martha carried over into mainstream DC continuity as witnessed by this panel from “Superman/Batman” #16. Of course, the Kents have reverted back to being portrayed as the elderly type in the comics, but the casting of the movie implies that the Schneider/O’Toole paradigm is still in full effect.

It’s unfortunate that Smallville had to kill Jonathan off in Season Five. I think that decision was made in a misguided effort to line the Smallville mythos up with “Superman Returns” which was premiering the same year and using the Richard Donner/Christopher Reeve continuity as a jumping off point. One of the things I always appreciated about Superman in the comics was that his superhero persona wasn’t born out of tragedy (unlike, say, Batman). I liked that he could fly to Kansas in an instant and have dinner with Ma and Pa. I was hoping the Smallville folks would continue in that tradition (because seriously, what’s the point of de-aging the Kents in the first place?) Sure the show has evolved a great deal since the Kents were cast regulars, but it still would be nice to see Ma and Pa working the farm again instead of being ghosts from an alternate universe or clandestine agents of the government. It’s the little things that make me happy.

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Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team.

Coincidentally, The CW’s Pilot rebroadcast isn’t the only Smallville Season One episode making the news. A couple of weeks ago, word broke that a former Freak of the Week from the episode “Craving” was cast as the new Lois Lane in Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot. What’s that? You didn’t realize multiple Oscar-nominee Amy Adams played a fat-sucking meteor freak in the early days of Smallville? But now that the former Jodi Melville is now Lois Lane, I thought I’d take this week to look back at other current Hollywood stars who graduated from Smallville High. But first, let’s look back at our new Lois Lane’s first trip through Smallville.

AMY ADAMS
CRAVING: Season 1, Episode 7
As Jodi, Adams played a Smallville High student struggling with her weight. After drinking a kryptonite-infused protein shake, though, Jodi sheds the ill-fitting fatsuit and becomes an instant object of desire for all the jocks in the school. Unfortunately, one of the nasty side effects of the krypto-shake involves Jodi having to use her mutated lizard jaw to vacuum the fat out of any living organism. Who knew that sucking the lard out of roadkill and high school football players would be a precursor to Disney Princesshood and Oscar red carpet glory?

ADRIANNE PALICKI
COVENANT: Season 3, Episode 22
Alas, Amy Adams isn’t the only future DC Comics heroine to cross paths with Clark over the last decade. Back in 2004, Clark met the upcoming Wonder Woman when Adrianne Palicki guest-starred in the Season Four Finale “Covenant” as the mysterious Kara — though not the Supergirl version (she’d debut three years later and be portrayed by V‘s Laura Vandervoort). Instead of being Kal-El’s cousin, though, this Kara was actually a girl named Lindsay who Jor-El had “reprogrammed” to seduce Clark in order to, and I’m guessing, mate and populate the Earth with Superbabies? Why Jor-El named his seductress after Clark’s cousin, I’ll never know. Either way, she’s Wonder Woman now.

COBIE SMULDERS
BOUND: Season Four, Episode 9
Speaking of Wonder Woman, an actress who was long attached to the role — especially when nerd messiah Joss Whedon was in charge of the flick — is the star of How I Met Your Mother Cobie Smulders. Though she never got the chance to don the tiara, bodice, or golden lasso of truth, Smulders still gets to be a comic book character since she’ll be S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in Whedon’s mega-superhero opus “The Avengers” next year. But before she was Robin “Sparkles” on HIMYM, she was setting Lex Luthor on fire on Smallville. In the episode “Bound,” Smulders played Shannon Bell, one of Lex’s scorned lovers who exacts her revenge after getting blown off one too many times by taking Lex to the mall! Maybe I’m getting my shows mixed up.

LIZZY CAPLAN
X-RAY: Season One, Episode 4
In the first season episode that introduced Clark’s x-ray vision, True Blood star Lizzy Caplan played Tina Greer, a shape-shifting freak of the week with an unhealthy Lana fixation (surprise!). Tina proved to be such a popular villain, she was brought back in the second season episode “Visage,” masquerading as Lana’s boyfriend Whitney. Though her mutation was never sufficiently explained, it was never clear on how Lana went from wanting to be like Lana to wanting to be with Lana. But back in the first season, it was never important why all of the kids in school wanted to be with Lana anyway. Other than the fact that she was played by Kristin Kreuk.

EVANGELINE LILLY
KINETIC: Season One, Episode 13
Since we’re talking about Whitney, it makes sense to bring up “Kinetic,” the sole Smallville episode that featured him in the main narrative. But how is this episode relevant to the topic of the post? Apparently, in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, the future Kate Austen played the girlfriend of one of the krypyo-tatted jocks who were getting Whitney in trouble. I don’t recall if Lilly had any lines. But I do know that she was only credited as “Girlfriend,” so I’d assume the answer is no.

IAN SOMERHALDER
ASYLUM: Season 3, Episode 9
Believe it or not, Kate isn’t the only future Lostie to find themselves in Smallville, Kansas before boarding Oceanic 815. Before he played a dead guy on Lost, he played an undead guy on Smallville. Introduced in the episode “Asylum” as a potential love interest for Lana, speculation soon followed that Somerhalder’s Adam Knight character was actually a sly way for the producers to sneak Bruce Wayne on the show. (Get it? Adam–as in West, and Knight–as in “The Dark…”) Eventually, Somerhalder’s multiple-arc run on the show witnessed Knight’s (d)evolution from potential Lana boyfriend (and proto-Batman) to a zombie with an addiction to an experimental serum created by Lionel. And now he’s a vampire on The CW. Wasn’t Boone a ghost on Lost too? Maybe Somerhalder should play a werewolf next.

PAUL WESLEY
PRODIGAL: Season 2, Episode 15
Somerhalder’s not the only vampire to have been a central figure in the Smallville universe. Back in Season 2, The Vampire Diaries‘ Paul Wesley played Lucas Luthor, Lionel’s illegitimate son. While both Lex and Lionel each tried to use Lucas as a pawn in their ongoing family feud, in this episode at least, they both conveniently forgot about Lucas in later seasons. And once the show introduced even more illegitimate Luthor kids — season 7′s Julian and season 8′s Tess — it seemed that the writers forgot about Lucas as well.

ADAM BRODY
CRUSH: Season 1, Episode 19
It’s interesting to look back at Smallville’s inaugural season and see how many meteor freaks ended up starring on other hit shows. Before playing The O.C.‘s pop culture-referencing fanboy Seth Cohen, he was Justin Gaines, a freak of the week with a Chloe obsession. (What, was Lana absent from school that day?) Since Seth was a huge comic book nerd on The O.C., I wonder if he watched Smallville?

JESSE METCALF
EXTINCTION: Season 3, Episode 3
Another popular villain to make multiple appearances on Smallville is Jesse Metcalf’s Van McNulty. In a twist on the meteor freak formula, McNulty was introduced in Season Three as a meteor freak hunter rather than a kryptonite-imbued teenager with a Lana obsession. He came back six episodes later to team up with other FOTW HOFers Eric Summers (X-Men‘s Shawn Ashmore) and Ian Randall (Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Yes, JTT himself!). Metcalf parlayed his Smallville guest spots into a recurring role on ABC’s Desperate Housewives and will be playing a lead role as J.R. Ewing’s son Christopher in TNT’s Dallas reboot this fall.

CORY MONTEITH
THIRST: Season 5, Episode 5
Before he was a Journey-singing quarterback at McKinley High on Glee, the future Finn Hudson was spotted at Metropolis University in a blink-and-you-miss-him cameo in Smallville‘s Season Five homage to vampires (of the Buffy variety and not the sparkly kind). Credited simply as Frat Cowboy, I couldn’t tell you what Monteith did on the episode or if he even interacted with any of the main cast. To be honest, this whole post was an excuse to run that ridiculous photo. Frat Cowboy, indeed.

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Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team.

Conner Kent
Not sure which direction the show will go in during the episode “Scion,” but this teaser image was released a few weeks ago. Needless to say,it strongly alludes to the fact that the Lex clone (played by Lucas Gabreel) may have had some of Clark’s DNA mixed in (mini-Lex’s last appearance in the episode “Beacon” revealed that he possessed invulnerability). Whether or not the showrunners are really going with the Conner Kent/Superboy angle remains to be seen. Still, Kon-El won’t be the first member of the House of El to be on the show.

Jor-El
Way back in season two, Clark first heard the voice of his biological father (played in voice-over by Superman the Movie‘s Terrence Stamp) emanating from the rocketship hidden in the Kent Farm’s cellar. Later, Jor-El’s disembodied voice found a home in a series of caves underneath Smallville. Finally, Jor-El’s voice was located to the Fortress of Solitude in Season Five and has remained there ever since. Like past live action incarnations, “Jor-El” is merely an A.I. program coded into the Fortress of Solitude to impart the “total accumulation of all knowledge spanning the 28 known galaxies” to Superman. Unlike past versions, though, Smallville‘s Jor-El was a bit of a jerk. When A.I. Daddy didn’t get his way, he’d usually do things like strip Clark of his powers, or freeze him in a block of ice, or suspend him inside a cave wall. Stuff like that. In the ninth season, though, we learned that Jor-El wasn’t really as douchey as his artificially intelligent avatar. As played by Julian Sands, Jor-El on Krypton was, like his comic counterpart, actually quite noble and heroic. Turns out that when Jor-El created his artificial parenting program, he didn’t imbue the crystals with his “personality,” only his “knowledge.” And apparently, Jor-El’s “knowledge” is a hardass.

Lara
Somewhat less of a hardass parent was Kal-El’s birth mother. The first mention of Lara was actually in the great Season Three episode “Memoria,” in which we learn Clark’s earliest memory was being placed in the rocketship by his parents as Krypton was collapsing around them. In the Smallville tradition of casting Superman alumni in important roles, the actual Lara El was portrayed in several episodes by former movie Supergirl Helen Slater. Smallville‘s version of Lara was a bit flightier than she’s been portrayed before. Maybe I’m just biased because I thought Season Seven’s whole “House of El” soap opera was a lowpoint in the series’ history. What do I mean by “soap opera?” Well…

Zor-El
Turns out that the House of El was a tiny bit more dysfunctional than we were led to believe in the past. None more so than Jor-El’s younger brother Zor-El. While he’s a fairly minor character in the comics (other than siring Supergirl, what else did he do?), the Zor-El of the Smallville-verse is a megalomaniacal mad scientist who was not only directly responsible for the destruction of Krypton, he also had a thing for his sister-in-law Lara. After his (creepy) romantic advances were rejected by Lara, Zor-El promised her they’d be together one day. THROUGH SCIENCE! What does that even mean? That’s a mad scientist for you. Trust me, that whole House of El melodrama was a weird story arc all around.

Kara/Supergirl
All of that family drama was backstory for the addition of Laura Vandervoort as Kara Zor-El to the main cast. Laura’s Kara is not to be confused with the fake “Kara” (coincidentally, played by future Wonder Woman Adrianne Palicki) who seduced Clark in the Season Three finale “Covenant.” Also, it’s pretty weird of Jor-El to name the naked chick he sends to get freaky with Clark after his only cousin. What part of Krypton are they from? West Virginia? (sorry all of my readers in WVA!) Anyway, the Kara intro’d in Season Seven was the real deal and her Smallville-verse origin was very similar to Supergirl’s Jeph Loeb-penned re-introduction to DC Comics. Introducing a teenaged Kara to the show also gave the writers a chance to rehash many of the high school coming-of-age stories that the main cast had outgrown. After only lasting one season in the main cast, Laura returned for a cameo in Season Eight and again this season as a full-fledged superhero called Supergirl. That’s right, in this universe Kara is called “Supergirl” before Clark is called “Superman.” Hey, I never said the show got everything right!

Krypto/Shelby
They did get the dog right, however. So he isn’t really Krypto. But Shelby is the name of the Kents’ family dog in the comics at least. And while this Superdog doesn’t have superpowers (anymore), he does have the meta-canine ability to be freaking adorable!

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Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team.

DESCENT
Season 7, Episode 16
As we saw in many of the episodes recapped last week, Lex spent his first six and a half years in Smallville as a conflicted young man who just wanted a hug! Well, by the time we find him in this pivotal season seven episode, Lex has fully succumbed to the dark side. He even kills Lionel before the teaser is over! But by far, the most disturbing scene occurs when Lex literally kills his own conscience. Remember how Lex was split into a good version and an evil one in the episode “Onyx?” This is the episode where we learn which Lex would emerge from that internal struggle.

ARCTIC
Season 7, Episode 20
The seventh season finale was, until this season’s finale, also Michael Rosenbaum’s last hurrah as Lex Luthor. In the culmination of the season-long “Veritas” storyline, in which we learned that a secret group of the world’s most powerful people were charged to be caretakers for a prophesied alien “Traveler,” Lex’s series-long suspicions were finally confirmed: Clark Kent had indeed been hiding his true nature from the world. Thinking that this deception proved that Clark was a threat to mankind, Luthor descends upon the Fortress of Solitude to confront his onetime best friend. Welling and Rosenbaum’s final scene, while epic, also felt somewhat anti-climactic. As the Fortress crystals crashed down all around, millions of Smallville fans around the world were thinking, “Is this really how Lex was going to go out?”

REQUIEM
Season 8, Episode 14
While “Arctic” was Rosenbaum’s last episode of Smallville, it wasn’t the last one to feature Lex Luthor. We first assume Lex is still alive in the eighth season episode “Bride” when a mysterious bald man hooked to feeding tubes is shown watching footage of Chloe and Jimmy’s wedding. Several episodes later, it’s revealed that Lex had indeed survived the Fortress collapse and was currently planning his revenge on Clark and Lana. He even goes so far as to plant a kryptonite bomb/death trap on the roof of the Daily Planet! Luckily Lana saves the day by absorbing all of the krypto-radiation for Clark. Wait, what? Since Rosenbaum was done with the show at this point, the writers decided to go with Darth Vader-esque version of Lex, breathing mask and distorted voice included. Oh, and no sooner do we find Lex alive then the show ups and kills him again! Ollie plants one of Toyman(!)’s bombs on Lex’s tractor trailer of terror and blows him up real good this time. And unlike the end of “Arctic,” when Lex’s body was never recovered after the Fortress collapse, Lex’s DNA is literally all over the place after the explosion. So yeah, they kill off Lex, turn Lana into a kryptonite-infused superheroine, and make the Green Arrow into a cold-blooded killer all in one episode. Maybe I should rethink this being on the list after all. This episode sounds horrible.

LAZARUS
Season 10, Episode 01
So after “killing” Lex. Twice. Season 10 kicks off with more revelations that Lex is an evil genius. Turns out he had been cloning himself at Cadmus Labs for some time now. The Luthors’ affinity for creating clones has been an aspect of Smallville since the second season’s “Accelerate” and reared its head in the sixth season’s super soldier plotline and seventh season’s Julian Luthor subplot. So it was only a matter of time before Lex would use the technology to bring him back from “the dead.” We’ve also known Lex wasn’t dead (despite being blown up by Ollie) when Dr. Fate pretty much confirmed as much in the season nine mini-movie “Absolute Justice.” And Lex not only cloned himself, he apparently cloned himself a bunch of times. One such clone is a less than stable one and is able to escape Cadmus and wreak havoc on the citizens of Metropolis. And this particular Lex clone has a predilection for death traps too! In the episode’s action climax, Lex clone has Lois strung up in a corn field (in a nice callback to the pilot) and is about to be set on fire Joan of Arc-style. Meanwhile, he has conveniently rigged the Daily Planet globe to explode at the same time. What’s a Superman to do? Personally, the clone saga that’s set up in Smallville’s final season premiere was a rather ingenious way to bring Lex Luthor back to the show after the creators had kind of painted themselves into a corner by killing him off. Twice. And while Mackenzie Grey did an adequate job portraying an older, imperfect Lex clone. Michael Rosenbaum, he ain’t. Which is what makes the next ep on the list the most anticipated episode in the show’s long history.

FINALE
Season 10, Episodes 22-23
It’s all but guaranteed that the Lex that went kablooey in “Requiem” will be revealed as merely a clone. At least I hope so. Because Rosenbaum should only come back if he’s playing the one and only Lex Luthor. We won’t know until May 13. What I do know is that Friday night can’t come soon enough!

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Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team.

Seriously, for a few hours Friday night, “Michael Rosenbaum” and “Lex Luthor” were two of the highest trending topics on Twitter, out-trending the likes of Egypt and even Justin Bieber! So it’s good to know we have our priorities straight. What made the announcement that much more shocking was the fact that, just days earlier, Entertainment Weekly was reporting that Rosenbaum had turned down any and all offers to return, to the dismay of most of his fans.

So in honor of the original Lex Luthor, and to prepare for his imminent return to Smallville, over the next two weeks, we’re going to look back at ten of Lex’s most iconic moments and defining episodes in the history of the show. Today, we’ll count down the first five. So let’s start at the very beginning.

PILOT
Season 1, Episode 01
This is where it all started, way back in October 2001. Smallville‘s pilot episode firmly established that the show would be a 21st century retelling of the classic Superman myth. The biggest twist Al Gough and Miles Millar added to their interpretation was actually a throwback to DC Comics’ Silver Age: Lex and Clark were friends in Smallville. “Pilot” explained how Lex came to Smallville and witnessed the first time Lex Luthor met Clark Kent (after Lex smashed into Superman in his Porsche and careened of a bridge). Lex even got the chance to play hero by saving Clark from a meteor rock-infused hazing by Smallville High’s douchebag brigade. In fact, the early years of Smallville expertly set up Lex Luthor as a sympathetic, almost heroic, protagonist which would make Lex’s gradual descent to the dark side six seasons later that much more powerful. Most importantly, we learned that Smallville was not only a show about Clark Kent becoming the world’s greatest superhero, it was about how Lex Luthor would become Superman’s greatest enemy.

HOURGLASS
Season 1, Episode 06
“Hourglass” is essentially another throwaway “freak of the week” episode that aired frequently during Smallville‘s freshman season. The plot had something to do with a de-aged senior citizen who was murdering folks all over town. Also, there’s an old lady at the senior center who can see people’s future. Pretty silly, actually. However, the only reason this episode makes the list is for its last scene. After the story is all wrapped up, Lex decides to pay a visit to the soothsaying senior and learn about his future. Unfortunately for Cassandra, the vision is so intense, she dies. Fortunately for us, we’re treated to those visions: Future Luthor in the White House, surrounded by death and a sky full of blood.

SHATTERED
Season 3, Episode 08
You may have noticed that I completely skipped Season Two. Usually, I claim that season as my favorite because it was mostly about Clark discovering his Kryptonian heritage. While it was a very Clark-centric season, I don’t recall anything important in Lex’s development. In the third season, though, we started to see cracks in Lex’s psyche. He started the season stranded on a desert island, after being swindled by a gold digging doctor in the second season finale, and in a declining mental state. This plotline culminated in the episode “Shattered.” In addition to Rosenbaum’s bravura acting as a Lex slowly descending into madness, we also find out that Lex’s fractured psyche has as much to do with his dysfunctional relationship with his father as with anything else. Lex also learns the truth about how his grandparents died–Lionel conspired with Morgan Edge to murder the elder Luthors for the insurance money–which establishes the Luthor tradition of patricide, and will come full circle in Season Seven. Another seventh season plotline was seeded in this episode when we learn that Lex blames himself for the death of his baby brother Julian. Finally, the episode’s closing montage is one of the best uses of Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt” on a TV show.

ONYX
Season 4, Episode 17
As stated earlier, Smallville is as much about Lex’s fall as it is about Superman’s rise. And for three and a half seasons, viewers only saw flashes of Lex’s dark side. In the Season Four episode “Onyx,” we finally got a taste of what kind of evil lurks inside a Luthor. After conducting some heat experiments on green kryptonite, Lex and his scientists accidentally discover black kryptonite, which in turn, splits Lex into a “good” version and an “evil” one. Needless to say, having a Lex Luthor run around Smallville unburdened by guilt and free to let his villain flag fly made for some great television. And it was nice to get a glimpse at how Rosenbaum would play Lex as a fully realized super villain. Heck, evil Lex even sported the iconic kryptonite ring from the comics! Bad Lex’s confrontation with the Kents has to go down as a classic moment in the series.

VESSEL/ZOD
Season 5, Episode 22
Season 6, Episode 01
Smallville likes to do a lot of “possession” episodes because it allows the show to have on new characters without having to actually hire new actors. In the fifth season finale and sixth season premiere, the show got away with introducing the second most infamous villain in Superman’s rogues’ gallery without having to cast a young Terrence Stamp. Instead, Lex, with the help of Brainiac, became the vessel for the phantom of General Zod. At the time, introducing Zod this way meant we got a chance to see Rosenbaum play a badass again. Who knew that a few seasons later, we’d get Callum Blue to play a younger version of Zod? The second half of these two episodes also featured an actual superfight. Such depictions of super powered figts are rare in Smallville, so it was neat to see Clark and Lex go at it in such a fashion. Even if it wasn’t really Lex. Or really Zod either.

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Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team.

Clark (Tom Welling) is surprised to see Martha (Annette O’Toole) on the news speaking at a pro-vigilante rally. However, surprise quickly turns to horror when he and Lois (Erica Durance) watch as Martha gets shot on national television.

Granted, the writers of the show came up with the idea long before the tragic events of Tucson, but the parallels are eerily similar. For those of you who don’t watch the show (what are you doing reading these columns anyway?), you might be wondering why Ma Kent is getting shot on national television in the first place. And what does any of that have to do with what happened to Congresswoman Giffords? Well, you see, in the Smallville-verse, Martha Kent is a U.S. Senator from Kansas. Yep. That’s right.

Since its inception, it’s no secret that Smallville has followed its own version of the Superman legend. When it comes to borrowing characters from the DC Universe, the producers have been pretty good at finding a balance between comics accuracy and new interpretation. That said, the writers have not been shy to wildly re-imagine longstanding Superman characters either. Some of these changes have worked out. And some have gone spectacularly wrong.

I’ve always loved Smallville‘s take on the Kents. The family dynamic between Jonathan, Martha, and Clark was my favorite part of the early seasons of the show. They were Clark’s moral center and taught him what it meant to be human. It also helped that the casting was spot on. John Schneider embodied the salt of the earthiness that is Jonathan (I was a huge Dukes of Hazzard fan as a kid–see, I grew up in the South). And Annette O’Toole depicted Martha as a loving mother and wife, but a woman torn between life on the farm and life in the big city.

Things took a turn for the weird some time around Season Five when Jonathan decided to run against Lex Luthor for a state senate seat. Also, in a nod to appease the creators of the forthcoming blockbuster (flop) Superman Returns, the Smallville braintrust decided to kill off Jonathan the night he was elected. This chain of events led to Martha taking over her husband’s seat. Somehow along the way, this ascension to local office eventually landed Martha in a U.S. Senate seat (thanks to some of Lionel Luthor’s machinations).

Senator Ma Kent is weird on several levels. For one thing, you’d think that with all the scrutiny that surrounds national politicians, having an alien son with super powers would be a constant topic on the Smallville-verse’s version of The Glenn Beck Show. It also begs the question: Why is Martha still a Senator when various government agencies–from Checkmate to the Department of Domestic Security to the Vigilante Registration Agency–know that Clark Kent is the Blur? One reason may be that Martha’s election to higher office isn’t her only claim to fame. In the Season 9 episode “Hostage,” it was revealed that Martha was also the mysterious Red Queen.

So that’s Ma Kent’s character progress on the show: a farmer’s wife -> local politician -> mysterious manipulator -> assassination target. A crazy ride, for sure. Still, it’s way more interesting than playing Scrabble with Ben Hubbard.

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Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team.

Anyway, barring any last minute scheduling changes, tonight’s Smallville marks the start of the final push towards Clark Kent’s red, blue, and yellow destiny. Since I’ve been a fan of the show from the beginning, I figured I’d use this space to talk about the show that single-handedly reinvigorated my love for the Superman universe. So what better way to kick off a weekly Smallville column than by discussing the casting of Henry Cavill as Superman? Wait, what?!

The Superman Exists. And he is British.
Last week’s announcement of The Tudors star Henry Cavill being cast in Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot definitely sent shockwaves throughout the fanboy community. Most observers seem split down the middle, with many objecting to the fact that Cavill hails from the U.K. Personally, I have no issue with this fact. So far, I’m digging what I’m seeing from Andrew Garfield as Spidey, and my mancrush on Christian Bale’s Batman is well known. So the fact that Cavill wasn’t born in Kansas has no bearing on his ability to play the Last Son of Krypton. With Snyder at the helm and Christopher Nolan behind the scenes, I have no doubt that The Man of Steel will be the Superman movie fans have been waiting 30+ years to see. The casting also clearly breaks the Snyder/Nolan Superman from the Richard Donner Superman films and their misguided quasi-sequel Superman Returns. (Duh, it’s a reboot, after all!)

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… the Blur?
Now that we have a new Superman in our midst, what does that mean for the guy who’s already (almost) Superman now? Well, the show itself has basically become a Superman show in its own right. Even though Clark hasn’t put on the red and blue pajamas yet (though the costume was finally introduced in the season premiere), he does sport a nifty leather jacket emblazoned with the crest of the House of El. Aside from Clark’s dual identity, other iconic aspects of the Superman legend already embraced by the show include: Clark and Lois’ romance, the two working as partners at the Daily Planet, the Fortress of Solitude, and even shirt rips and phone booths! The producers are also feverishly trying to reinsert Lex Luthor back into the mix after “killing” him off three seasons ago (though Michael Rosenbaum is still not committed to returning to the show). All that’s missing are the tights. And the glasses. And the flying. Okay, so there are still a few arrows left in the Superman quiver (hands off, Oliver!) but with only eleven episodes left, will the writers be able wrap up season-long story arcs (you know, little story bits like Lex clones, the Suicide Squad, the Vigilante Registration Act, Clark and Lois’ wedding, the return of Lionel Luthor, the return of Zod, and um, Darkseid!) introduced this season and still give fans the expected Superman iconography by the finale? It’s a daunting task for sure. And these last eleven hours are the Smallville crew’s last shot at truly defining their version of Superman. Especially since there will be yet another version of Superman coming in December 2012.

A Smallville Superman movie?
I’d imagine that the odds that Smallville gets a two-hour series finale is pretty high. I mean, last year’s Justice Society episode was expanded into a “two-hour movie event” so why wouldn’t the culmination of ten years of Clark-teasing not get the same treatment? If we do get a two-hour finale, then my request to the showrunners is that they make sure the finale is the Superman movie Smallville fans have always wanted.

It’s no secret that I always thought WB should’ve migrated the Smallville cast to the big screen a long time ago. When the show began in 2001, original creators Al Gough and Miles Millar often talked about their “five year plan” for the series. This would have been ideal since it would have cut down on a lot of the times in which the show was treading water and keeping Clark from being Superman because it kept getting renewed by the network. If they stuck to their five year plan and then took Smallville to the big screen in 2006, we might have also been spared Superman Returns. Though, many fanboys wouldve probably hated a “Smallville” movie just as much.

But since I’ll never get to see Tom Welling and Erica Durance portray Superman and Lois Lane on the big screen, I hope that we are treated to an epic series finale with all the iconic Superman beats we’ve all come to expect. With all the Superman iconography that has already been on the show, especially in the last three seasons, waiting until the last second of the last scene of the finale to reveal Welling in the red and yellow S-shield will be unacceptable. I want a full on Superman movie for the last two hours of Smallville, damn it!

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Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team.

The events of “Escape” also set up the action involving Zod, the Kandorians, and Checkmate that will carry through to the end of the season. Of course, speculation has centered around whether or not the endgame of season nine would ultimately be the run up to a series finale. That mystery was answered, however, when it was recently announced that Smallville would be returning for an unprecedented tenth season. Which begs the question: will season 10 be the last one?

Last week, I had a few minutes with Kelly Souders, one-half of the showrunning team, to find out.

Wow, ten seasons, huh? Congratulations on reaching such a milestone! Now that we know you’re coming back, I think the one thing everyone wants to know is if it’s the final season.
It’s funny because over each of the last few seasons, people have speculated “oh this must be the last season!” So I’ve learned to never ever bet against Smallville.

Most genre shows rarely go beyond six or seven seasons, if that. Superhero shows usually fare much worse even. What do you think attributes to this kind of longevity? I mean, Tom Welling has already played Clark Kent longer than any other actor in history.
That’s true. Everybody on our crew and in our cast approaches every season like it needs to be the best season of Smallville. And because of that passion, I think that’s why we’re still on the air. Nobody comes in thinking, “oh this is the last season, I don’t need to work that hard.” Otherwise, we would’ve ended the show years ago. But I also think 10 is a nice round number and everybody feels very thrilled and privileged to get this far, so I definitely wouldn’t assume it’s not the end just because we’ve had an incredible run.

The converse of that, though, is that instead of saying “this is the end, let’s not work that hard,” you could do what the folks over at Lost have done and say “this is it; we’re going to throw everything out there and build toward the ending.”
Yes. Definitely

And in the case of Smallville, we all know what that ending is. Speaking of which, do you already have an endgame planned? And if so, how similar or dissimilar is it to what the show’s creators—Al Gough and Miles Millar—envisioned?
Whenever the final episode airs—whenever that is—there are moments that Al and Miles always talked about, and those are moments that we want to use to preserve their vision. They’re really great steps to getting into the full Superman mythos. So what will be a part of that episode, whenever it is, will be their vision. And every season, we think of more moments that would be really cool in the final episode. So we’ve been gathering these jewels along the way each year.

How many more jewels do you guys have up your sleeves? Because I have to admit, these last two seasons have been jam-packed with iconic Superman moments. For example, fans have long speculated that the final, final scene of the series would be Clark ripping open his shirt and revealing the iconic S-symbol underneath. The thing is, you already did that this season in the episode “Warrior!” So doesn’t that just up the ante for what we can expect in the series finale? How do you walk the line between giving fans what they want without showing your hand too much too early?
That’s what’s so great about Superman. There’s always something down the road. You never really run out of things to play with!

Speaking of upping the ante, February’s “Absolute Justice” was a landmark episode for the series. Not only did it mark your first ever two-hour movie, it did phenomenally well for you. I can only assume that the eventual series finale kind of has to be a similar extended event.
Yeah. We try to up the ante every year and challenge ourselves to do something new. We’re always looking for an aspect of the show that fans haven’t seen. So [“Absolute Justice”] brought in a new level of integration of the DC world and characters [into Smallville].

That episode also set up the whole Checkmate storyline that will play out the rest of this season. And I must say there’s pretty much a consensus that believes Pam Grier as Amanda Waller is genius casting!
She’s been so much fun! I love her Amanda Waller. You never know exactly what she’s going to do. She makes her unpredictable and wonderful.

Geoff Johns was such a big part of why “Absolute Justice” worked so well, and he’s done a lot when it comes to introducing the DCU into Smallville. During your hiatus, it was announced that Geoff was named Chief Creative Officer of the newly restructured DC Entertainment. Since Geoff is part of the Smallville extended family, what will his new role mean for the show?
It’s funny because we just came from lunch with Geoff! We’ve known Geoff a long time and absolutely love working with him. It’s just been a really great working experience. He’s always been completely supportive of Smallville. Every year we work with him to try to bring in some new characters. So certainly next year won’t be an exception. We’ll definitely be taking a new step towards the goal of expanding the DC world and hopefully everybody will like what we come up with!

From what I understand, DC Entertainment was formed to act as a liaison between the comics and Hollywood.
I think that what they’re doing is trying to expand the DC Comics’ reach even further. Obviously, having Smallville on for close to a decade has shown how viable television is as far as expanding DC’s world. Now with Human Target‘s success, that’s going to be a focus for them as well as the features side. We just expect that world to keep going because it’s filled with great characters and great stories that fans love seeing in multiple formats.

In the past, it seemed as if the features side of Warner always had restrictions on what you could and couldn’t show on Smallville. For example, certain characters are barred from ever appearing because of movie developments and so on. Has that changed? Will that change at all?
What’s important to the people at DC, just like any company that’s trying to oversee multiple properties, is to make sure everything lines up properly. To make sure that if something’s developing on the feature side that there isn’t a conflict somewhere else. With a lot more focus on DC, things will probably be happening that will allow for some of that. But it’s kind of complicated because we don’t really know just how things are going change that much. But I think it’s just going to be people making sure properties are protected and used in the best way.

I’ve never really understood the movie vs. television conflict anyway. I mean, Warner was able to develop, produce and release a Superman film while you guys were on the air. Now, it looks like the studio and Christopher Nolan are putting into motion another Superman feature. Will this new movie have any effect on what you do on the show?
Nobody’s called over [from the movie side] to say “hey, you can’t do that, we’re doing this over here.” You know, we’ve been on for so long that I think everybody sort of sees Smallville as its own little universe. But certainly, everyone’s big idea is to sort of string everything together.

Sorry for the brief tangent, but in talking about the Superman movies, it always frustrates me whenever I read an article about the failure of Superman as a film franchise, the writer usually bemoans the fact that as a character, Superman is inherently unrelatable to 21st century audiences. And I’m like, what about Smallville? They’ve been making Superman relate-able and appealing forever!
I find Superman to be incredibly easy to relate to. I mean, he’s alienated, he feels alone, he’s not sure he fits in. Everybody’s experienced that so for us, that’s definitely not an issue that we run in to.

Sorry for the rant. Going back to the show, and this season in particular, Tom Welling has spent considerable amount of time in the director’s chair over the last few seasons. Any more plans for Tom to direct this season or next?
Definitely. Tom’s a really great director. With his background, he really knows a lot about the other actors and finding the right motivation for a scene. And he’s really had some wonderful material to work with.

Speaking of directors, one of the show’s originals is coming back in the form of Greg Beeman. Other familiar faces returning this season include Michael McKean as Perry White and Annette O’Toole as Martha. Can you talk about what it’s like having these old school alums back in Smallville?
It’s been a blast. Brian and I have always enjoyed working with Annette. Obviously, Michael’s version of Perry White is unforgettable. He’s really brings a lot of energy and life to that character. And Greg had a lot to do with the production for many years. And while we’re not saying whether or not it’s the end, everybody knows the show is definitely in its homestretch, so it’s nice to see some familiar faces again.

Speaking of familiar faces, any chances Laura Vandervoort will be coming back as Kara? Last we saw her, she was searching for Kandor and the Kandorians have been such a major plot point this season.
Well, Laura’s on V so she’s been a little busy. But her name does come up a lot so you never know.

Fair enough. How about Clark’s glasses? Are we going to see them return? Ever since Clark showed them to Lois in “Crossfire,” they’ve kind of gone missing. Are there plans to address the iconic Clark Kent disguise?
We definitely inch a little bit closer to that every year. So without a doubt, next year we’ll take maybe more than an inch or two towards that famous Clark Kent look.

So if you do plan to incorporate Clark’s “disguise,” do you have a plan to address how no one recognizes Clark in the glasses?
That’s really the great question of all time, isn’t it? How does someone not recognize someone behind a pair of glasses? For us, it’s more about the double identity to be honest, about getting both images together.

Of course, the other disguise people are clamoring for is another one for Clark’s superhero persona. Back in San Diego, I believe Brian mentioned that the black trenchcoat look was just the first prototype. Are there others along the way before we get to the iconic Superman costume?
I think we all know that what he’s wearing now is just the interim to what he eventually wears. We’re about to get into this discussion over the next couple weeks over hiatus! So stay tuned, I guess.

What about the final Superman costume? Will we ever see Tom don the iconic red and blue?
Now that I can’t answer! People have been asking us that for years! I can’t blow it now!

Touche. So, finally, how do you maintain the balance of the original intent of Smallville without making it a full blown Superman show?
Each year, it’s a different challenge because we don’t want him to completely stall. We always want him to keep making progress and move toward becoming Superman. So at the beginning of each season, we sit down and talk about Clark psychologically. What’s going on with him, why he hasn’t put on the outfit, the lessons he has to learn. So each year, we look over what the final stages are that he has to get through being Superman 100%. You know, not just going around saving people, but actually embracing his persona and being that symbol of hope.
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Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team.

People say funny things on TV all the time.  What if we took that stuff and put it on a t-shirt?  That’s a multi-millionaire dollar industry right there.  We’d be Shamow and Snuggie-rich!  So, let’s fire up the ole’ silkscreen machine in the basement we used to print our crappy band’s t-shirts with and make something worth wearing!

Read the rest at UGO –>

And while Smallville is the Energizer bunny of superhero shows, one thing it’s always been lacking is the amount of swag associated with the franchise. Even the DVD box sets are pretty spare when it comes to commentaries and special features. Especially when compared to the plethora of bells and whistles that typically come with genre TV series DVDs. That said, the show has spawned to series of action figure lines by DC Direct. The first (Clark, Lex and Lana) came out when the show debuted, and unfortunately, the quality of the figures reflected the lack of sophistication in action figure sculpting and articulation that plagued DCD toys of the early-Aughts. Several years later, a second series featuring the members of the Smallville-verse’s nascent Justice League was released. This set featured much better likenesses and greater articulation. But to be completely honest, other than Clark and Ollie, the other junior-Leaguers’ costume aesthetics are less than stellar.

Anyway, in the years since that series was released, Smallville has seriously embraced its comic book-y side. In addition to the live action debuts of future JLAers Zatanna and Black Canary, we’ve seen Braniac, Bizzaro, Metallo, the Legion, Zod and even a young Jor-El show up in Kansas’ leafy little hamlet. But no single episode has been riper for plastic immortality than the Absolute Justice mini-movie.

So here’s what I think should make up Smallville’s third series of action figures. Are you listening DC Direct?

Clark Kent/The Blur
Considering Clark’s the main character, it only makes sense that each series of figures should include one of the main guy. Since Series Two gave us his iconic red and blue jacket/jeans combo, it only makes sense that the “Absolute Justice” line would feature Clark in his Season 9, Matrix-y “Blur” getup. Not only is he (finally) rocking the family crest on his chest, the black trench coated Clark would just make a nice variation on the previous Tom Welling action figures we’ve seen from DCD. While we’re at it, give him a swappable head with “heat vision eyes” and you’ve got an awesome proto-Superman figure for my toy shelf! And hopefully, in the near future, we’ll get the opportunity to see an action figure of Welling in the red and blue tights. Until then, you can always swap out the head from the Smallville Series Two one and plunk it down on the body of the Alex Ross Superman figure from DC Direct.

Carter Hall/Hawkman
The most hyped up character in Absolute Justice has got to be the live action debut of Hawkman. Sure, a lot of people laughed at the sneak peeks of Michael Shanks in Thanagarian disguise–and some of flying F/X was pretty suspect, but c’mon, Hawkman’s an innately goofy looking character, especially when translated to live action. Still, what we got on screen was pretty cool and effective. And what might not work on your HDTV can be pretty badass on your toyshelf. Besides, Hawkman has been one of my fave DCU toys since the Super Powers fig with the flapping wings! For the Smallville edition, I’d like flapping wings, a removable helmet and of course his trusty mace!

Kent Nelson/Dr. Fate
Arguably, the coolest character in “Absolute Justice” was Dr. Fate. In all my years as a fan of the DCU and Smallville, never did I think I’d see Dr. Fate translated so brilliantly to the big screen. (Hey, even though it was a TV movie on a little-watched network is irrelevant. I challenge any big budget studio to come as correct as the SV folks did in bringing Kent Nelson to life!) While Brent Stait maybe a little vertically challenged as Fate (and I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Most dudes look puny when sharing a two-shot with the 6’4″ Welling), his depiction was spot on. Nelson’s transformation into Fate was easily one of the most goosebump-inducing moments in the show’s nine-season history. For his action figure, I’d like to see Fate come with a removable helmet of Nabu, a bowling ball bag (for Nelson to carry the helmet in), and to take a page out of the Mattel DCUC Fate figure, a snap-on ankh-shaped energy blast.

J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter
Longtime Smallville viewers have been waiting with bated breath for the reveal of John Jones’ Martian form ever since Phil Morris made his first appearance as the Martian Manhunter in the sixth season episode “Labyrinth.” Well, we finally got our wish, if only for a brief second when Fate sent J’onn through a portal to regain his Martian abilities. To commemorate such a momentous occasion, our “Absolute Justice” Manhunter fig should come with a swappable head: one which depicts J’onn in his human, Jackie Chiles-like visage, and one in all its salsa verde splendor! I’d also like to see him packing heat with the double glocks that fit neatly into his criss-crossed gun holster.

So those are the four figures that I think must be included in an “Absolute Justice” line of figures. Of course, it’d be great to see action figures based on Smallville‘s live action interpretations of Stargirl, the Golden Age Sandman, the Star Spangled Kid, and Amanda Waller (I can do without an Icicle, Jr. fig, thank you very much). Buy, hey, that’s what Wave Four is for, right?

So what are ya waiting for, DC Direct! Hop to it!

Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team

It’s a convenient way to approach one of the key philosophical debates within human existence: predestination vs. free will. Are we bound by some complex law of cause and effect or the whims of a higher power with complete control, or do we have the ability to change probabilities and shape our own destiny? It is a question at the heart of humanity’s spiritual struggles, and as such, it rightfully serves as the center of much of our popular culture myths.

In a sense, “Smallville” has always been a story about destiny vs. free will on several levels. There are the obvious expectations laid at Clark’s feet by his father, and the question of whether or not he can find his own path within the confines of those expectations. But there is also the approach taken with the series: how closely must the story of “Smallville” conform to the expectations of the Superman myth, as known within modern culture? How far can the story deviate before it becomes too different for its own good? (Many might say that ship has long since sailed.)

The writers did themselves a favor by setting Lois’ experience of the future only one year ahead of the end of the eighth season, confining the struggle to prevent the fall of humanity to this season. It’s a fair bet that Clark will manage to prevent Zod and his minions from completing their bizarre plan to harness the power of an altered sun, but he cannot know which path will take him to what end.

What is interesting is that Tess and Clark both have partial knowledge of this future disaster now. Tess had her misgivings about Zod in previous episodes, but now she knows that standing with Zod will not end well for her. Just like Clark, Tess may try to shift her strategy in the hope of preventing Zod from executing his plan. The question is: will the attempt to prevent the future bring about the circumstances of its arrival?

It’s already clear that Lois’ memories depict a timeline of events that differ from the continuity of the episodes since the season premiere. The fact that Lois came back from the future altered the sequence of events. So it’s possible that everyone will be reacting to prevent a future that is already obsolete to some degree. Because they have very limited information, they could change things and actually make the future worse in comparison.

For that matter, I’m intrigued by this idea that Zod thought he was saving the world. It seems clear that the alterations to the sun brought about massive negative climate change (as one would expect), so how exactly was Zod creating this new Golden Age? He might have been talking about saving the world for his own people, except that Tess was almost fanatically convinced that following Zod to the bitter end was the right thing to do. So there is a huge piece of information missing from the equation.

I’m also not sure about how Zod’s scheme is supposed to work. The tower somehow alters the sun to shift from yellow (and its subsequent radiation) to red. Generally speaking, red stars are huge. The sun looked much bigger in the episode, but most estimates suggest that when the sun goes to red giant, it will have a diameter encompassing Earth’s orbit. So the writers were taking some creative license, without a doubt. (And this is “Smallville”, so of course they are!)

But more to the point of the mythos, it is the yellow sun’s characteristics that give Clark his abilities. The Kryptonians, living under a red star, did not have abilities. That is their default, normal state. So how would changing the sun to a red star give Zod and his minions their abilities, while taking Clark’s abilities away? It’s obviously just a plot device, similar to what occurred at the end of “Superman II”, but it would have been nice if it had made a little more sense within the context of the established series mythology.

The details of Zod’s plot, however, are a minor annoyance, and pale in comparison to the strength of the rest of the narrative. One can see the seeds of that terrible future in the current status quo, and it should be very interesting to see how the characters try to change things to thwart Zod. It will be a long wait for the new episodes to resume in January 2010.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

Midtown Comics Monday Podcast: Was Superman A Spy?, JSA Smallville

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I’ll leave the individual episode reviews to John Keegan’s excellent Critical Myth column. Instead, I want to take this opportunity to look back at the last eight and a half seasons of the show since tonight’s episode “Pandora” marks the mid-season finale of what has become the Supermanliest of Smallville seasons.

When the show debuted back in 2001, I was as skeptical as the next guy. While a show about a teenaged Clark Kent sounded interesting, I was worried that it would either be campy (a la those old “Superboy” shows) or melodramatic (like everything else on The WB at the time). And sure, those early episodes definitely had a “7th Heaven/Dawson’s Creek” vibe, what with all the pining after Lana and over reliance on a pop music soundtrack. But I thought overall it was still a good show with just enough nods to the Superman legend to please my inner-nerd.

What I really dug from the outset was the casting. As a guy who also grew up on “Dukes of Hazzard” (What can I say? I’m from rural Virginia, after all), seeing Bo Duke play Pa Kent was awesome sauce. Also loved the idea of former cinematic Lana Lang Annette O’Toole as Martha and John Glover as Papa Luthor. (Brief tangent: but one of my favorite aspects of the early seasons of “Smallville” was the family dynamic. I always liked that Superman was one of the only superheroes that was not thrust into superheroics because of tragedy–a la Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker–and actually had a grounded family he could always return to. So yes, I prefer a Superman with Ma and Pa still around. End rant.) And while I’d never heard of Michael Rosenbaum or Tom Welling at the time, each actor has gone on to be the definitive Lex and Clark in my mind. And they made Lana Lang Asian American. I mean, I had to watch!

But it didn’t become my favorite show until midway through its second season with the episode “Rosetta.” For the uninitiated, that was the episode where Clark learned of his Kryptonian origins. Oh, and it guest starred Christopher Reeve.

The one thing that I don’t think people give the show enough credit for is the fact that it has made the Superman story relatable to modern audiences. That’s one of the knocks against Superman whenever a Superman franchise crashes and burns [*coughSupermanReturnscough*]. Part of its appeal is that the characters are able to grow and develop. I like to think of “Smallville” as a 220-hour “Superman” movie. In fact, my hope is that if we can never get a theatrical Superman movie starring Welling, Rosenbaum and Erica Durance, than I hope the series finale will be a two-hour movie event called “Superman.”

I think the reason “Smallville” works for me is because I appreciate it for what it is, a 21st century retelling of the Superman myth. When detractors berate the show for “not lining up with the comics,” I always ask myself, which comics are you talking about? The ones where Superman doesn’t fly? The ones where Lex and Clark grew up in Smallville together? I mean, who picks up a copy of Superman: Red Son and says to himself “Heresy! Superman’s spaceship didn’t land in Russia!” These guys have never hidden the fact that this is a reinterpretation of Superman. And hasn’t the mainline DC continuity been rebooted more times than a five-year-old PC running Windows? Plus, I think the SV creators have enriched a lot of the Superman legend with elements like the meteor shower, de-aging the Kents and characters like Lionel Luthor and Chloe Sullivan. To be fair, though, the producers have made some ill-conceived missteps, too: making Smallville essentially a suburb of Metropolis, a Kryptonite-powered Lana, Chloe Sullivan fans, etc.

I mean, I’ll be the first to call “Smallville” out on the carpet when it screws up. For example, during most of Season 7, I was firmly in the camp that the show should end sooner than later. And I do get the feeling that the showrunners like taking three steps back for every step forward, prolonging the inevitable. I always felt the smartest thing the “Lost” ‘runners did was establish an endgame and gear its storytelling to that point. The one thing “Smallville” has had since the beginning was its endpoint. We all know Clark Kent will become Superman, so it’s painfully obvious whenever the story stalls. But I have to admit, the show has a renewed energy this season, its ninth, because it has essentially embraced the Superman. I didn’t think it had it in them, but the show has become a live-action comic book (having abandoned its “Dawson’s Creek”-like melodrama years ago). This season alone has featured live action interpretations of Zod, Metallo, Toyman, Roulette, Speedy, Jor-El, the Wonder Twins, and will be getting the JSA and Amanda Waller later in the season.

For the fans who complained that “Smallville” was more teen drama than live action superhero show, I hope they’re tuning in this season. If not, tonight’s episode, the mid-season finale and last of 2009, might be the best jumping-on point. In it, Lois is transported to an apocalyptic, alternate future in which Zod and his minions have taken over the planet. You don’t get more comic book-y than that, right?

Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team

I will be the first to admit that enjoyment of recent seasons might be predicated on one’s enjoyment of the Clark/Lois dynamic. That element has certainly been ramping up this season, and by making it a critical part of the season arc, the writers resolve one of the issues with its treatment last season.

Unfortunately, there is a drawback. The writers are trying to play on the nostalgic factor of the Lois and Clark relationship. There is a certain degree of expectation and anticipation (and I say that personally). It’s not all that different from the anticipation of Clark donning the familiar red and blue, taking flight, or managing to craft a believable secret identity when everyone and their brother has seen his face without glasses for all this time.

It’s a game of inches, and the writers want to touch on the Lois’ constant suspicions about Clark and his true nature without pulling the trigger. But just as it became ridiculous after years of teasing during the Clark/Lana era, it’s getting old now. In fact, having seen it all before, patience is becoming elusive.

Maybe this is one of those few remaining constraints on the producers, something they’re not allowed to have happen on the show. That would be unfortunate. The writers have already strayed so far from the traditional canon that they really could ignore the “rules” and have things happen much earlier in the timeline. In my opinion, the show would be much stronger as a result.

Because it was clear that Lois wouldn’t get to the end of the episode with her realization intact, my pleasure over some of the more iconic moments was mitigated. The saving grace was how Lois was convinced that Clark was not the Blur. Having Chloe abuse her power as Watchtower once again was a smart move. I like the darker direction that Chloe has been taking since her experiences last season, and how it threatens her relationship with Clark. If Chloe’s death (once again used as a tease) doesn’t come to pass, I begin to wonder if she’ll go darkside in the future.

The introduction of the Wonder Twins didn’t bother me, even if there were indications that the writers once again assumed a certain amount of backstory knowledge on the part of the audience. I recalled just enough from childhood cartoons, I think! They served a purpose within the context of the story, helped indirectly elevate the legend of the Blur and the status of the familiar sigil as a symbol of hope, and gave Clark a chance to show some rare wisdom.

Perhaps the best part of the episode was the final scene, and how it dovetailed with the vision in the teaser. A lot of the small details from earlier episodes are coming together to form a bleak picture, and I like where it’s all going. As long as the writers keep their eyes on a solid plan for the whole season, this could turn out to be another winner.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

What’s interesting is that this did not have to happen. Much is based on misunderstanding and anger. Zod’s behavior since his arrival on Earth is a direct consequence of his last memories: betrayal by his dearest friend. Clark makes the logical assumption that Jor-El was killed by Zod, and he refuses to take steps to restore Zod to the man he used to be. The real question is this: who killed Jor-El, and why?

It’s quite possible that Zod was not the one who killed Jor-El. It would explain why Zod knew how to find Clark; following Jor-El right to Clark would have been simplicity itself. But that seems a bit too easy. I think it would be a lot more interesting if someone like Tess had Jor-El killed, all in the hopes of becoming his ally against Zod in the coming months. Provided he never found out, it would allow Tess to get closer to the Traveler, while also correcting the mistake she made by unleashing the Kryptonians from within the Orb.

Julian Sands does a capable enough job as Jor-El, but it does create something of a discontinuity. Jor-El references his earlier time on Earth among the Kents (seen in “Relic”), but this Jor-El is clearly much older than the Jor-El (played by Tom Welling) seen in “Relic”. Also, the destruction of Kandor, while a fitting impetus to Zod’s plan to destroy Kal-El with a genetically engineered son in the eighth season, contradicts much of what had been previously revealed.

For example, in the supplementary animated material “Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton”, meant to flesh out the story of the House of El, it is General Zod that is attacking an intact Kandor that leads to the destruction of the planet, all as part of a plan concocted by Zor-El to fulfill an ancient prophecy. That prophecy has, in fact, been mentioned in passing throughout the past couple seasons, notably in ”Injustice”.

While one would assume that “Kandor” would be considered canon over the animated material, “Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton” was designed to fit the mythology as laid out in the seventh season. Also, other ancillary material has eventually been proven as canon, such as the Veritas organization. It would be reasonable to assume that Kandor was rebuilt on the ruins of the original city, but it seems like an unnecessary complication to the timeline.

Even so, I liked the other connections made regarding the Stones of Power, the use of blue kryptonite, and cloning. This seems to connect very well with “Blue” and the cloning that Zor-El conducted with Clark’s mother. (Granted, both the Stones and the Orb were supposedly much older than this episode would indicate, but this could easily be explained through oddities in the transit between Krypton and Earth.)

I’m sure the writers could figure out a way to make it all fit together, but I’m not sure it would matter. The purpose of the back story for this episode is clear enough, and while I’m sure there are a ton of insider references I missed along the way (for example, the reference to Black Zero), I still thought this was an excellent way to push the season arc into the complication phase.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10