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I would like to see Chloe pull the group together, even if that means her going elsewhere. If Allison leaves the show, this could be why. It's better than killing her off.


I'm confused about something. I keep seeing references to "Warrior" being delayed because of the Haiti telethon. Does that mean that it was supposed to air before Absolute Justice?

As much as I love Geoff Johns' writing in comics (one of the best out there now, if not the best), I found a lot of the dialogue in this episode to be... well... pretty cheesy/lame.  Michael Shanks did an interesting job portraying Hawkman, but the voice was a bit much.  Ha.

Overall, though, I did like the ep.  But I have to admit that I'm getting pretty tired of the constant foreshadowing.  Just call them the Justice League already. 

Dr. Fate was well done, though.

It's the same problem as Legion. Comic book characters can be written in a certain way for comic books, but if you try to directly translate those characters to film, they often seem absurd. Johns seems to know the comic book characters well, but doesn't translate them for the screen. He's given the job because he knows which notes to play with the characters, but he should really be partnered with someone who has more experience writing TV characters. The energy is different.

I really loved "Absolute Justice" and here is why.

From the second to seventh season, "Smallville" existed in this hideous WB/CW world of plastic twentysomethings existing onscreen to sell image-oriented ideas and consumer-driven values. It was the very antithesis of Superman and unworthy of him. With the eighth season, the show reoriented itself back towards heroism; I doubt it was an accident that the second episode focused itself on the fact that Clark SAVES people, as opposed to moping around on the farm pining for Kristin Kreuk.

However, the show was still often struggling with the weight of the past years of frivolity and stupidity. "Smallville" still existed in a CW-style universe -- until now. With "Legion", the show reminded the characters and itself that Clark has a heroic destiny. And with "Absolute Justice", the universe of "Smallville" is established as a *superhero* universe where such beings have existed throughout history -- and Clark Kent will one day join their number.

"Absolute Justice" established a legacy of heroism that Clark will follow and finally made "Smallville" a part of Superman's world as opposed to "One Tree Hill"'s world. And there is great power in tapping into that sense of myth, legend and history. It came through beautifully as Clark watched the film-reel of these defeated, trounced heroes standing side by side, and then pulled the tarps and covers off the display cases to reveal the Justice Society's history. And I think that's something truly worthy and special.

I wish this had happened sooner; I might never have stopped watching "Smallville".

- Ibrahim Ng

Last edited by ireactions (2010-02-07 7:50 pm)

Yeah, the film reel stuff was weird, but Hawkman's "museum" was even stranger.  So Clark just walks into this door (that he says is open) and Hawkman comes out and says that the museum is closed...permanently.

That means that the museum was open at some point.  As far as I remember, it never said what the museum was for, and all of the exhibits were covered up.

Fast forward to the scene where Clark is discovering the Justice Society.  He removes several sheets (just like in the museum setting), revealing a very museum-like room.  The painting and glass-enclosed weapons (with identifying tags) looked liked the whole thing had been set up as a museum to the JSA.

But here's the problem - no one knew about them.  So how can you have a museum dedicated to a group of superheroes that no one knows about?  Was Hawkman trying to tell people about the JSA and simply failed miserably?  Because you'd think, as excited as Chloe has been about superhero stuff, she would've heard something about a superhero museum at some point.

That struck me as very odd.

I took that as a colloquialism. "Kitchen's closed." In this case, in a reference to the house being old and full of artifacts: "Museum's closed!"

Smallville's dialogue often gets a little overstylized for its own good. Admittedly, it's better than having no style at all, as it was before Gough and Millar left...

- Ibrahim Ng

Well, it was undoubtedly a reference to the fact that in the comics, the JSA do have a museum open to the public. Within the context of the episode, though, I think it has to be colloquial phrasing -- although I admit, "Smallville", even at its best, operates on the fuzzy logic of the superhero genre.

I was a huge fan of the first season and found even Lana perfectly tolerable in those days. I really wish there had been a more organic growth from the first season to the eighth season. The eighth season feels like where the first season was ultimately headed, it's just that there were six years of bad storytelling in between. It was like after nine-tenths of the first season's writers left, the approach was to simply fill a timeslot with plastic pretty people and drag things out until a syndication episode count was reached.

We'll have to disagree on Clark and Chloe. Clark, I found drifting into blandness when he wasn't being selfish or stupid or appallingly useless, while Chloe seemed to fade into the background in favour of giving her role to Lois. While the 'Watchtower' direction isn't what I'd hoped for with Chloe, at least it's a vital, worthwhile role that uses her effectively and presents her with all her strengths and weaknesses.

As an aside... I just went back and re-read the first six issues of the 1999 JSA series. I have to say, these are not terribly interesting stories or characters, unless you're pre-invested in the DC Universe to begin with, which I'm not. And in trying to read some recent DC comics, I found myself hopelessly confused by the permanent state of crossover that most of the comics seem to exist in. The JSA were effective for me as a backdrop for Clark's future, but as characters on their own, they don't really grab me. They don't represent alienated youth (Spider-Man) or the aging trying to maintain relevance (Nick Fury) or technology versus humanity (Iron Man). They don't seem to represent anything independently.

- Ibrahim Ng

Last edited by ireactions (2010-02-08 12:55 pm)

Maybe it's just me, but I think the series works better when it takes place in the DC Universe. From a production standpoint, "Smallville" doesn't have the budget to render superpowers and costumes like the JSA on a regular basis. Even before the budget cuts of the second and eighth seasons, it was probably never possible.

However, from the eighth season on, the series has felt less like a sub-"Dawson's Creek" series and more like a Superman series. The production design of the series has focused on creating a sense of awe and dimension for the world of Metropolis. Stuff like Chloe absorbing Braniac's powers and the imagery of the Red Blue Blur and the burned S-insignia have made "Smallville" a series I recognize as a Superman fan.

Personally, I wish Lana and Clark's love story had been left alone after the first season resolved it, and I'm not in favour of Senator Martha Kent either (although I never saw those episodes). However, I don't like the evil Jor-El idea, either, but I didn't think it was worth any time overturning, either. It was best to simply ignore the problems (the way "Kandor" did) or try to work with them (the way Jimmy found Chloe's letter to Clark from season two and Chloe realized she was over Clark now). Always look forward.

- Ibrahim Ng

The first season, at least, had some optimism to it.  The future was bright for these people, and, to me, it balanced the human struggles with a sense of the hope that Clark was supposed to represent.  Jonathan and Martha brought a lot of warmth.

Although there were quite a few faults, I did like how Absolute Justice tipped its hat to how things have changed and clearly stated that things need to get better (and will, once Clark becomes Superman).

Now... if they'll just go ahead and reveal that the Jonathan Kent who died was one of Lex's first experiments at cloning and bring back good ol' Bo Duke for season 10, I'll be happy.

Last edited by Arturo6 (2010-02-08 10:19 pm)

Haha.  It's true that that was a powerful moment.  But, man... Bo Duke!!  Haha.

If Martha had stayed on, they could have kept that feel.  I won't fault Annette for wanting to move on, but it largely killed that part of the show.

I'm not entirely sure... Good question.

I haven't had much time to get on here and talk about Absolute Justice, and I still don't at the moment, but I just wanted to phone in real quick: Clark found out about Lionel in "Oracle."  Brainiac disguised as Jonathon's ghost told Clark to get him to kill Lionel.