Let’s face it, comic fans are the biggest whiners on the planet. No, really, we are. But, nobody can say that it’s not justified. Especially with all of the recent complaints about the decisions made by writers and directors when it comes to putting our favorite superheroes on screen. The movie industry has a fantastic track record of JUST NOT GETTING IT. Here’s just a couple of examples, bear with me.
Spider-Man: Sam Raimi seems to think (yes, I’m going there, just hold your flame) that not only is it ok to ignore historical canon but it’s also ok to interpret the comics incorrectly and use outdated material. For the last 30 years, the only person who seems to have thought that Peter was still “puny Parker” was Flash Thompson, and of course Sam Raimi. Which is why he cast Tobey Maguire for the role. It’s as if someone gave Raimi, or his casting director, a couple old Steve Ditko (no disrespect intended whatsoever) comics and said, “there’s your Spider-Man boss, we’re off for lunch.”
No More Puny!
No! No! NONONONO! Toby’s a great actor, but he isn’t Peter Parker. For those of you who’ve forgotten, Peter grew up to be a freakin’ stud, he just never knew it. THIS, is Peter Parker!* He’s ripped with muscles, can lift a fridge with one hand and a school bus if he really tried. Hell, I’ve even seen him tip a rail car over with one finger!!! “So what! What’s this have to do with casting Wonder Woman?” We’re getting there, we’re getting there hold on. We’re not done b!tching yet.
What else was wrong with the Spider-Man (2002 – 2007) movies? Let’s just say, “lack of adherence to comic canon!” The one major ingredient to the inspired Geek-Rage when hero movies come out. E.g.
Finger talons in place of genuine, “don’t-ask-any-questions wall crawling abilities.”
Emo Parker.
Parker crying.
Skinny Eddie Brock! Yes, yes, we know the reason why Raimi picked Topher Grace (which is a fine actor) but Raimi still got it wrong!
Venom! Granted, you can’t include the entire Secret Wars story line, but still… Venom has a white symbol, WHITE! *Shakes fist!*
Mary JaneJ! MJ is a supermodel. SUPERMODEL! Kirsten Dunst (who’s a fine actress and very cute) simply isn’t a supermodel. (Sorry Kirsten, but neither are we.)
What did Raimi get right?
J. Jonah Jameson! J.K. Simmons was perfect!
Aunt May/Rosemary Harris and Uncle Ben/Cliff Robertson
Doc Ock
Gwen Stacy/Bryce Dallas Howard (smoking hot)
Betty Brant/Elizabeth Banks
And the costume eventually grew on us.
This same … “formula,” violating comic canon, miscast actors, pulling emo out of a writer’s a$$, is systemic. To spare you the details, here’s the nutshell:
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012): In the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), the costume is completely different, again. I can hear you flamers right now b!tching, “How can you judge the movie when you haven’t even seen it?!?” Shuddup already. Not judging the movie, judging the friggin’ costume. Give it a rest. Continuing on; mechanical web-shooters! That’s right, they can’t win when a comic geek’s complaining. If Raimi was such a damn genius, then we wouldn’t be going back to Peter’s sly inventions now, would we? But we are, and thank god for it, but they look ridiculous! If you want to see what the web-shooters are supposed to look like, click here. What else? Oh yeah, Peter’s parents are not only “back” (as seen in the comics) but apparently are there from the beginning! (which is not in the comics). Yeah, sure, it’s most likely a contrived ploy to fit in with the whole S.H.I.E.L.D. bit, but that’s what we hate, contrived, “square peg/round hole” manipulations to meet the directors ends, not our needs. BAH!
X-Men Origins: Wolverine: What was right? Hugh Jackman. What was wrong? The biggest gripe I can think of right now is Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds is fine, but that piece of garbage that was supposed to be Deadpool… someone should have been fired and shipped to Iraq for making such an idiot move. What In THEE HELL were they thinking? Adamantium blades, optic blast, sewn mouth and teleporting without a device (DP uses a mechanical device to teleport. It’s not an organic skill).
Superman Returns: Returns from what? Give me a break. Brandon Routh looks great, is tall, looks good and even plays a great Clark Kent, but I’m sorry, he’s no Superman. Simply because he’s not massive enough. Superman is huge, big, muscles everywhere. Brandon Routh has an Olympic swimmer’s body; lean, too lean, like a barracuda, and sure he has some muscles, yeah, but even Hugh Jackman had more mass than Routh, and that’s just wrong. What else? Swim suit shorts. BAH! And you just HAD to change the symbol, didn’t you. Had to leave YOUR mark, your signature, pissing on everything, “Singer was here!”
The list goes on, it literally doesn’t stop. Which brings us to Wonder Woman. Who should play Wonder Woman? The key is first figuring out what Wonder Woman is, and what she is not. It’s not that hard, really. All you have to do is open a couple dozen gorram Wonder Woman comic and start reading.
What Is Needed In A Wonder Woman?
A long list of very simple concepts.
Tall – Wonder Woman is 5’11″. At that height there aren’t that many applicants, but at least it screens out all of the shorter women.
Beautiful – Not just beautiful, but drop dead, traffic stopping beautiful.
Exotic – Not your average bombshell from California or Texas, but more of a Mediterranean look, slightly ethnic with olive skin.
Perfectly proportioned – Yeah, sure guys go nuts over the Pamella Anderson type Thunder Boobs look, but Wonder Woman isn’t about that. She’s statuesque, has curves without being ridiculously over endowed.
Has a build – Yeah,sure guys like skinny girls, but Wonder Woman is an Amazon, which means she has muscles. If you were to put a bunch of comic geeks in a room full of Mt. Dew and Cheetos, you’d hear them say that her strength is arguably just shy of Superman’s. If push came to shove, she can even hold her own against the Hulk. … for a while. Then she’d have to pull an Ultimates Wasp move on him if she wanted to stop him in his tracks.
Can fight – Movie makers never seem to understand that the audience can tell when a woman can’t fight on screen. It’s like, watching a girl throw a baseball (granted, there are lots of highly athletic girls/women out there, (who can throw better than 90% of the guys out there) but this comment is in reference to the very non-athletic girl throwing a ball). What comes to mind is casting someone like Michelle Yeoh in a fight scene.
Can act – Last, but definitely not least, we won’t be fooled by big boobs and panties. … ok, so we can be fooled but we’re going to b!tch about it after the movie’s done playing. Yeah, sure we’ll buy the DVD, but we’ll still b!tch about it. Wonder Woman has to act. We won’t let the movie people get away with just showing us cheese cake! … well, a little cheese cake is ok, but please don’t let the show ride on that alone.
Some Wonder Woman Applicants
We searched the interwebs for relative unknowns or missed opportunities and we found several beauties who we feel come close to the embodiment of Wonder Woman.
Elisabetta Canalis: At 5’7″ Elisabetta is a stunning Italian actress who also happens to be George Clooney’s girlfriend. (Go George!). She appeared in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo and romantic comedy Virgin Territory.
Laetitia Casta: Though, only 5’5″, Laetitia has many of the prerequisites to be Wonder Woman, if not another Amazon on Themyscira. She is a French model & actress. She was the official face of L’Oréal, Dior, and Chanel. She’s been featured in Tommy Hilfiger, Guess Jeans, Miu Miu and XOXO ad campaigns and has appeared on over 100 magazine covers including Victoria’s Secret catalogs, ELLE magazine, and Vogue magazine. She also appeared in 3 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues, Rolling Stone, and a Pirelli Calendar and was the face of Ralph Lauren’s newest fragrance, Notorious. Laetitia is no slouch.
Moran Atias: At a STUNNING 5’9″ Moran is mind shattering gorgeous Israeli actress and model. She’s so hot, she could be a waitress or …or an airline stewardess in the 60s. She was discovered in Italy by Roberto Cavalli and was cast in the Israeli “Strauss” commercial and chosen to lead the “Renuar” campaign. She has also won the title of Miss Israel. If you have ever known, or met Israeli women, you will know that they are some of the most beautiful women in the world. Ai chi-wawa!
Ayelet Zurer: Ayelet is another Israeli actress, best known for her roles in Nina’s Tragedies, Adam Resurrected, Munich, and Angels & Demons. Though. Though she is no spring chicken, she (at the very least) has what it takes to play Hippolyta. The one thing we do know about Isralie women. … they can fight. Everyone in Israel is drafted into the military for two years, though, unless you’re a supermodel, then you can dodge it, however it’s considered a big no-no there. … I think I’m going to have to go rent Angels & Demons now.
We could go on and on, but we think you get the idea. Let’s just hope that the people who come together to create the next Wonder Woman TV show or movie does their due diligence to research Wonder Woman and understand who she is and what she represents. If you’re looking to get a good understanding on DC’s retconned Wonder Woman, we highly suggest George Perez’s Wonder Woman: God and Mortals. Another good book to get is Wonder Woman: Hiketeia. And, as usual, your thoughts are welcome. We know many of you won’t agree, but at least we’re trying to set the standard.
George Perez's Wonder Woman: God And Mortals
* “No More Puny” What comic, issue, what year, and what page is this on? The first Person to send us the correct answer (at facebook @ superherostuff.com) to all of these questions wins a free t-shirt! Winner will be posted here.
So what’s to fill the void that after Clark goes off to Metropolis? Fans have had 10 years of foreplay, with no pay off, so we’re wondering, which superhero could fill Kal-El’s shoes on the TV screen; Wonder Woman or Batman? We’d love to see both, but we’re thinking that, with the ridiculously low budgets assigned to TV, Wonder Woman fighting mythical beasts might look like something out of a 1970s Sinbad movie. Much cheaper to move to Gotham and film a brooding teen learning his way into becoming the World’s Greatest Detective. But, how would they be envisioned? We’re giving it a shot.
Themyscira
George Perez pretty much set the bar with respect to Wonder Woman’s origin. She was molded out of Themysciran clay by her mother, Hipollita. Through divine means, her disembodied soul, which came from a murdered woman some 60,000 years ago, was nurtured in and retrieved from the Cavern of Souls. Once the soul was placed into the clay mold, it immediately came to life and was gifted with great powers by six Olympian Greek gods.
The six gods and their gifts are: Demeter: the goddess of agriculture and fertility, gifted Diana with strength drawn from the Earth spirit Gaea. Wonder Woman is one of the strongest heroes in the DC Universe, right up there with Superman. Her strength is to the length that she has prevented large chunks of the Moon from crashing into the Earth and has helped hold up bridges and even lifted entire railroad trains.
Though Diana is not invulnerable, she is still able to withstand huge explosive forces and can shrug off high-powered rifle fire with little to no injury. However, she can still be cut by magical or extremely sharp objects.
Aphrodite: the goddess of love and beauty, blessed Diana with great beauty and a loving heart.
Athena: the goddess of wisdom and war, granted Diana great intelligence, wisdom, and military prowess. Diana has gained mastery over a dozen languages, sciences and philosophy as well as leadership and military/armed and unarmed combat.
Artemis: the goddess of the hunt, animals, and the Moon, graced Diana with the Eyes of the Hunter and Unity with Beasts. The Eyes of the Hunter gives Diana enhanced senses. Unity with Beasts grants allows Diana to communicate with all forms of animal life and to calm even the most ferocious of beasts.
Hestia: goddess of hearth and home, granted Diana “sisterhood with fire, that it might open men’s hearts to her.” This allows Diana to control the “Fires of Truth,” which are wielded through her lasso, making anyone bound by it unable to lie. This ability also grants her resistance to both normal and supernatural fire.
Hermes: the messenger god of speed, granted Diana superhuman speed and the ability to fly. By concentrating, Diana can mystically defy the laws of gravity and propel herself through the air to achieve flight. She is swift enough to deflect bullets, lasers, and other projectiles with her virtually impenetrable bracelets.
Wonder Woman’s Weapons
Regarding Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth, it was forged by the god Hephaestus from the Golden Girdle of Gaea that was once worn by Antiope, sister of Hippolyta. It is so strong that not even Hercules can break it and is given to Diana after Hippolyta consults the Goddesses. Later it was retconned that it was given to Wonder Woman just before she left Paradise Island.
“Her bulletproof bracelets were formed from the remnants of Athena’s legendary shield, the Aegis, to be awarded to her champion. The shield was made from the indestructible hide of the great she-goat, Amalthea, who suckled Zeus as an infant. These forearm guards have thus far proven indestructible and able to absorb the impact of incoming attacks, allowing Wonder Woman to deflect automatic weapon fire and energy blasts. Diana can also slam the bracelets together to create a wave of concussive force capable of making Superman’s ears bleed. Recently, she gained the ability to channel Zeus’s lightning through her bracelets as well. Zeus explained to her that this power had been contained within the bracelets since their creation, because they were once part of the Aegis, and that he had only recently unlocked it for her use.” quote
And if you remember when Wonder Woman killed Max Lord, her Golden Tiara doubles as a flying dagger, or guillotine, returning to her like a boomerang. Its sharpness and mystical nature proved enough to cut even Superman’s throat.
It makes sense that it would take some time for Diana to grow into these powers. There are tons of stories that can be used to lay the groundwork for the building of her skills: Theseus’s Adventures, The Wanderings of Dionysus, Zeus’s Lovers, Creation of Man by Prometheus, Pandora’s box, The Story Of Echo & Narcissus, Daedalus and Iccarus, The Cyclops Cave & The Sirens, Jason and the Golden Fleece, King Midas & The Minotaur, Hades and the River Styx, Aphrodite and the Trojan War, Perseus and Medusa and then there are The 12 Labors of Hercules.
If you recall your Greek stories, Hercules had 12 Labors he had to accomplish. For the ninth labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the belt of Hippolyte, Wonder Woman’s mother. Queen Hippolyte had a special leather belt that the war god Ares had given to her, because she was the best warrior of all the Amazons. Hippolyte wore it across her chest to carry her sword and spear. Eurystheus wanted Hippolyte’s belt as a present to give to his daughter, so he sent Hercules to bring it back.
In Greek myth, Hercules kills Hippolyte. However, in DC mythos, George Perez had the Amazons enslaved and Hippolyte raped by Hercules. What better way to have Diana polish off her fighting skills than to kick in the doors of Hercules’ ship and beat the living crap out of him and his minions, freeing her mother and the rest of the Amazons. Lots of potential here for some great story telling.
Gotham By Night
Frank Miller set the stage for the young Bruce Wayne in Batman Year One. “The twenty-five year olf heir to the Wayne millions declined to comment on rumors of romance in his life… or on his plans on his return to Gotham after twelve years abroad. We’ll keep you posted on Gotham’s richest — and best looking — native son.”
Let’s see… twenty five minus 12 equals 13, carry the one. So, Bruce was somewhere younger than 13 when his parents were killed. That leaves at least, 12 – 15 years to train. I was able to uncover a short list of Bruce’s training, though all of these are when he was an adult, I don’t think it would be that hard to turn it into Bruce as a teen out touring the world learning how to become the World’s Greatest Detective. Here are some of the people I was able to identify that took a hand in Bruce’s training.
David Cain
Lady Shiva
Wildcat Ted Grant, a world-class heavyweight boxer
John Zatara (Zatanna’s father) taught him slight of hand/stage magic
Master Kirgi, who trained Ras League of Assassins,
In the Many Deaths of Batman someone was killing all the people who trained Bruce. Six Batmans ended up dead all over Gotham. All were experts in their fields: a race car driver, a demolitionist, a chemist, a body builder, a gymnast, a cross-bow expert.
Bruce also trained with a southern detective named Harvey Harris.
An Alaskan private investigator named Willie taught Bruce how to be a manhunter in Legends of the Dark Knight #1-5
In “Tao” LotDK #52-53, the story line focused on some of Bruce’s training in the Far East.
And, here’s a “Bit of Super Friends trivia- according to the text page in the 2nd issue of DC’s Super Friends comic, Wendy (of Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog fame) was Wendy Harris, the niece of Harvey Harris! Totally outside of continuity, I know, but still… Harvey trained Batman, and then Batman returned the favor by training Wendy.”
So, there’s tons of room for Bruce to learn how to become Batman and plenty of ground to cover for an excellent series. Let’s hope the TV execs can pick up on at least one of these concepts to create another Smallville, but, something that is just like Smallville, but completely different…. something, more better.
I’m sorry, but I just have to respond to you Smallville lovers who drank the Kool-Aid. I keep hearing, ad nauseam,
“The producers said in the beginning, ‘no tights no fights.’”
“It’s not about the suit man! It’s about Clark and his origins! Don’tchya get it?”
The problem, is that
You guys don’t get it,
You allow simple concepts such as legal issues and producers statements to make a difference in what SHOULD have taken place. These things are irrelevant as to what SHOULD have happened.
You simply swallow what the TV and movie producers feed you without expecting more.
You get pissed off when somebody disagrees with you!
You think valid criticism is the same as talking out our asses.
Here’s the deal, Smallville has been feeding the public soft porn for 10 years. “It’s not about the costume?” Bullshit. EVERY depiction of Clark and Smallville that has been used to market the show has some connection to Superman and the suit. Why do we see Green Arrow’s suit? Aquaman’s? Barry Allen’s? Canary’s? Fate’s, Beetle’s, Booster’s, and every other ridiculous excuse for a suit that the WB put in front of everyone … but not Superman’s suit? Why was this ok? Because you didn’t speak up and demand more. Because you drank the Kool-Aid and allowed them to get away with something they shouldn’t have. And here you are, defending it still. Accepting something sub par.
Notice in this (soft porn) poster (up top) of Clark’s reflection. It’s like every other poster WB puts in front of us, with the hint that they are taking us somewhere (where) with Superman’s outfit. They didn’t. When it comes to writing, the Eastern philosophy is more about the journey; Western is about the conclusion. Smallville had a story to tell, and they told it. What happened last night was the conclusion, the finale, the END of the story and writers have ONE SHOT to deliver. It was time to transition from the Eastern method of story telling and segue into the Western method with was to deliver something that would knock our socks off. They failed, and you defend them.
If it wasn’t about the Superman suit, then the Smallville promoters, producers, writers and marketers wouldn’t have constantly been hinted towards it. If it wasn’t about the suit, then they wouldn’t HAVE FCKING SHOWED IT to us a dozen times like they did, behind the crystals, in Clark’s hands, him actually flying with it IN HAND and then changing in flight, which I have to admit was very, very cool (and gave me goose bumps and choked me up) IF I COULD HAVE ONLY REALLY SEEN IT HAPPEN! But no, we didn’t see it, since it was behind yet more crystals. But we still hoped. Don’t deny it, you did too, you wanted it, you wanted to see Tom wear the suit, don’t lie to us or to yourself.
But, you’re right, the story wasn’t about the suit, nor about Superman. But, the finale was, and you’re confusing these two, though they are different. This is where you let flacid arguments sway you from the cold hard truth that Smallville let all of us down. Regular watchers as well as those who tuned in for the very last episode (hmm, I wonder why the tuned in). Smallville dropped the ball, they did not deliver. The soft porn never got us off. Clark, Tom Welling, should have flown in the Superman costume.
Clark should have gotten into the most spectacular brawl we have ever seen (I’m talking about Doomsday/Superman type of fighting). We should have seen Heat Vision, Super Breath, X-Ray vision, feats of strength that would have made us gasp. We should have seen Clark do the impossible. We should have seen Clark surprise even himself. We should have seen Pa Kent and Jor-El gasp from their graves and cry with pride in what Kal has become. Families across the globe should have been on the edge of their seat to see if Clark could save hundreds of people, stop a plane crash and kick Darkseid’s a$$ all at the same time. Mountains should have crumbled and skyscrapers topple, cats and dogs living together. We should have seen Green Arrow and the rest of the Justice League come out and EACH do their thing. Green Arrow should have taken on 50 men in black with guns, only with his bow and arrows. Flash should have… well, he should have run fast and done something. Aquaman could have… talked to some fish. ANYTHING to see them in action. But, what we got instead was Lionel (Lion-El) Luthor’s lame excuse for a presence of Darkseid and Clark… or what looks like Clark, push a big red flaming rock out of orbit. ….. and you defend this. SHAME ON YOU.
And there should have been a strapping, good looking brunette stud of a guy named Bruce from Gotham somewhere ANYWHERE in the story, but there wasn’t. And you people rolled over and accepted it. We deserve better. Thank god they listened and canned the Wonder Woman show, because we simply are not wanting or willing to go through less than perfect stories again. We deserve better. You deserve better.
I love Superman. I tear up when I hear John William’s wonderful theme song of the Superman movies, … the question is, do you? If it wasn’t about Superman and the costume, they wouldn’t have played the theme song.
Ok, our thoughts on Thor. As we said before, Superhero movies need to be taken in two types of contexts:
Is it entertainment on its own?
Does it honor the Comic Canon?
Many Superhero films fail w/respect to violating comic canon; Spider-Man organic web-shooters, Wonder Woman being a corporate executive, Superman having a kid with Lois, Batman having twin 30 caliber machine guns mounted in the Batmobile, Deadpool looking like an abortion, Catwoman… the list goes on
A sub category of not honoring comic canon is regarding the costumes; some just suck. Captain America’s rubber ears, Punisher not having a symbol, some characters in Smallville, Brandon Routh’s Superman outfit, Catwoman’s silly outfit and NBC’s Wonder Woman Brazilian bellhop outfit. There is never an end to movies ruining the superhero transition from comic to screen. They simply can’t get it right.
However, they did get it right with Thor. Starting with Kenneth Branagh, the director, himself.
Kenneth Branagh - In our not so humble opinion, Kenneth Branagh did an excellent job in having Thor meet expectations in both realms. The movie was entertaining in it’s own right and still managed to honor the comics to the extent that was needed, where higher profile superheroes need more attention to detail than lower profile superhero stories. Branagh also managed to bring in some new concepts of his own such as the implicit concept that the Asgardians aren’t really gods, just powerful beings from another realm.
Thor/Chris Hemsworth – Aussie Chris Hemsworth was perfect as Thor. The guy is a literally built like a Norse god, he’s freaking huge. And when you see him without his shirt, you can hear every woman in the room gasp, including my wife who I heard whisper, “Oh… My.. .GOD!” Yeah… he makes all us guys look bad, note to self, no more donuts and cookies for 6 months. Hemsworth played the petulant, arrogant trouble maker looking for a scrap with Frost giants with complete conviction. His internal growth was just as believable as well as he transitioned from the hot headed fool into someone with compassion who saw the value in not obliterating his enemies.
I had trouble with the costume when we first saw images of Thor last year; it just looked too sci-fi and techno. But Branagh did a good job in creating a convincing Celtic-Tech look that looked cool as well as functional for battle. Many times movies make costumes look good, but not practical with respect to fighting with swords and spears. Thor’s cape, as in the comics, was an impressive sight as it was lifted off of his shoulders. This is important because when you put the comic version of Thor next to Superman, Thor’s cape always has a certain type of lift to it that just makes him look like a truly heroic figure and not just some guy wearing a cape.
Mjölnir – Mjölnir is Thor’s hammer. In the original Norse story (pre Marvel) Loki makes a bet with the Dwarven brothers Sindri and Brokkr that they couldn’t make items (for the gods) more beautiful than those of Ivaldi’s sons. The bet is accepted and the two brothers begin working on three precious items. The first was a magic boar for Freyr, the second was Draupnir, Odin’s golden ring that makes duplicates from itself every ninth night. The third was an iron hammer that went to Thor, but with a shortened handle, making it a one handed hammer, due to Loki’s mischievous involvement in it’s creation.
The hammer is incredible powerful with its enchantments: no living being may lift the hammer unless deemed worthy by Odin or if they simply are worthy enough; it returns to the exact spot from which it is thrown and returns to Thor when summoned. You hear Thor yelling for it, “HAMMER!…. HAMMER!” when he finds himself on Midgard/Earth. In the comics, Thor can summon the elements of storm (lightning, wind, and rain) by stamping Mjölnir’s handle twice on the ground, it can manipulate the weather on an almost global scale, and even open interdimensional portals, allowing its wielder to travel to other dimensions (such as from Earth to Asgard) however in the movie, travel between Asgard and Earth is necessitated through Heimdallr opening the Bifrost brigde.
Also in the comics, is the inscription on the side of the hammer, “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Though not in the movie, we see Anthony Hopkins/Odin speak the words to Mjölnir when Thor is banished to Earth.
The Warriors Three - Thor’s three friends, and Sif, did complete justice to the Marvel comics. Fandral (Joshua Dallas), Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), and Hogun (Tadanabu Asano) and Sif (Jaimie Alexander) were perfect for the parts. Most impressive was Jaimie’s portrayal of Sif, the warrior “goddess” who is a love interest of Thor’s (in the comics), though takes a back seat to Earthling Natalie Portman in the movie.
You know how sometimes girls act tough in movies, how sometimes they just can’t quite pull it off? You know what I mean, every now and then a girl in a fight scene ends up looking awkward, like she’s throwing a baseball with her left hand, it just isn’t right, not convincing, she’s “acting.” Well not Jaimie Alexander! She rocked her role as Sif and was totally into character while fighting Frost Giants, enough so that Xena would have been proud. I loved seeing her in action. Plus she’s absolutely hot!
The movie was overall, very well done. The costumes, the acting, the funny scenes, the storyline itself, all of it was good. OH! I almost forgot. HOLY CRAP. I loved the seeing the Hawkeye cameo. Yeah, sure it was gratuitous and unnecessary, but was still cool. And for all of you recurve geeks out there, notice Hawkeye’s bow of choice was a wicked looking compound bow with tons of bells and whistles on it. The movie was well worth the money, though having seeing it in 2D, I can tell you, none of us were disappointed and we saved about $15 bucks in the process. The movie is entertaining and pays proper homage to the comics. I give it a good 9 out of 10.
Smallville Season 10, Episode 2 Review Written by Douglas Appich
The episode starts with Clark at the Daily Planet upset because Lois left for Africa. Suddenly, we see an annoying, bubbly, blonde girl walk in the building who goes by the name of Cat Grant. She gets on Clark’s nerves when she sits at Lois’ desk, so Clark tells her that Lois is coming back to work.
Cat tells him that Lois is not coming back, and that she is his new partner. They then get in the car to go off on an assignment, when a mysterious assassin shoots a gun from several blocks away using laser technology to guide the bullet into Clark and Cat’s tailpipe. The car blows up and Clark is barely able to save Cat in time. He then sees that the bullet that blew up their car has the name “Clark Kent” carved into it.
Deadshot
Meanwhile, we find out that this assassin is named Deadshot and that he is working for a group called the Suicide Squadwhich has hired him to kill Clark Kent for unknown reasons. To get to Clark, he decides that he needs to target Cat Grant since they are partners.
Because of this, Cat mistakenly thinks the assassin was hired by her crazy ex-husband to get their son, so she attempts to leave town. However, Deadshot tracks her down at the bus depot and shoots a bullet in her direction. Clark jumps in front of the bullet and thinks he’s saved her, but we find that the bullet actually imprinted a tracking device on Clark so that the Suicide Squad can track and study him. [However, that was what Deadshot was hoping for and the place where the bullet had made contact, formed the Suicide Squad seal beneath Clark's skin, successfully tagging him.]
We also find that similar tracking devices have been placed on Hawkman and Green Arrow.
[Who's the Suicide Squad? From Season 9, nothing much is known about the group, but they were only mentioned by Amanda Waller when she welcomed Cameron Mahkent to the Squad before firing a gun at him.
Rick Flag led the Suicide Squad in the abduction of Oliver Queen, proclaiming that they'd go after the rest of his team next. Rick kept Oliver in a secure location in Metropolis by the docks where he tortured him, beating him and electrocuting him for information on what he knew about the alien attacks on monuments around the world.
Oliver was very uncooperative but soon after his abduction, Chloe Sullivan, the Watchtower for Oliver's league of costumed vigilantes, set up an exchange with the squad, trading herself for Oliver. Before they got a chance to torture her, Chloe took a cyanide pill and supposedly killed herself. The Suicide Squad believed her dead and moved on to their next plan.
They learned the identities of the rest of Oliver's team and set out to tag them with tracers in order to track their movements. The superb marksman, Deadshot, set out for Clark Kent, also known as The Blur, targeting his writing partner at the time, Cat Grant, to lure him out.]
Clark's New Skivvies!
The episode ends with Clark standing on top of the Daily Planet building in his new costume, which is a red jacket with an “S engraved in the front. [Editor's Note: Yeah Baby!!] Also, Hawkman convinces Lois to leave Africa and return to Clark.
Overall, this was a pretty good episode, but not as good as the first one. We got see the first Smallville appearances of Cat Grant and Deadshot, which was fun. However, the episode could have used a little more action. Clark took out Deadshot in one punch, which sucked. It should have been more exciting. Overall though, it was a lot of fun and a positive contribution to the series. I give it a 7/10
Cat Grant (from the comics, borrowing Power Girl's boobs)
Smallville Season 10, Episode 1 Review Written by Douglas Appich
The season begins with Clark falling from the building after Zod stabbed him with the Blue Kryptonite Dagger. He falls to the ground and dies. While he is dead, we see a vision of him in a corn field with a tombstone that says “Here Lies Clark Kent,” and he hears Jor-El’s voice.
Clark then tells Jor-El he wants to be revived so that he can continue to protect the Earth, but Jor-El tells him that he has failed in his destiny and that he doesn’t deserve to be revived. Clark then sees a vision of Lex Luthor, but he is suddenly brought back to life because Lois takes the blue Kryptonite out of his chest and dissapears into the shadows before Clark wakes up and sees her. He then wakes up and super-speeds away, never knowing that Lois saved him.
The next scene in the episode involves Tess Mercer. After Zod killed her last season, she somehow wakes up in a lab called “Cadmus Labs”. [Editor's note:
Cadmus Labs is a scientific research facility that was once owned by LuthorCorp located just outside downtown Metropolis. Cadmus was just being used by Lex Luthor as part of a larger plan.] She then sees a little boy who takes her to a room full of grown men in test tubes. The boy tells her that these test tube people are clones of Lex Luthor, and that the boy is a clone himself.
Evil Bad Lex Clone
He then tells Tess that the clones somehow “healed” Tess from her injuries brought about by Zod. Tess then hears a knocking on the doors in the lab, and answers it. The little boy suddenly screams, “No! That’s the bad one!” Sure enough, an evil, deformed, older clone of Lex appears as soon as Tess opens the door, knocks Tess unconcious, and burns the lab down so the other clones die. The clone then tells Tess to tell Clark to meet him in the corn field where Lex first saved Clark from the Kryptonite necklace in season 1.
Lois Burning Stake
Clark goes to the field to see the evil Lex clone. He tells Clark that he planted some explosives on the Daily Planet globe, and that Clark has the choice to either save Lois in the corn field where she is burning on a stake or to save all the people from being blown up in the Daily Planet building.
The clone then dies of a degenerative clone disease in Clark’s arms. Clark then uses his super speed to put out the fire and save an unconcious Lois. He then super speeds over to the Daily Planet and flies in the air just in time to catch the giant globe as it falls towards a bunch of innocent people. Clark now realizes he has flown for the first time.
Afterwards, Clark tries to put on the suit his mother gave him last season, but Jor-El teleports both Clark and the suit to the fortress. Jor-El tells Clark that he will never be worthy to wear the suit and he encases the suit in ice so Clark can’t wear it.
Superman Suit Encased In Ice
At the end, we see that Lois took a job in Africa because she doesn’t know how to deal with Clark’s secret life as the Blur. Also, we see that the child clone of Lex survived and that Tess is trying to raise it as her own child. In the last scene, we see a figure in the shadows eerily similar to Darkseid.
The continuing review of Smallville over the last 10 years, by Douglas Appich.
Season 6
Smallville Season 6
This season begins exactly where season 5 left off. Zod/Lex is attempting to rule the Earth, and Clark must stop him. However, Zod imprisons Clark in the Phantom Zone. While in the Zone, he soon discovers a device that he can use to extract the Zod phantom from Lex’s body and send him back to the Phantom Zone, and he does so.
However, when Clark escapes from the Phantom Zone, many phantoms and criminals escape, too. For the rest of the season, Clark must go on a global search to find the criminals/phantoms that escaped and put them back into the Zone. He also discovers Martian Manhunter, who was friends with Jor-El and is able to help Clark put back the phantoms. But at the end of the season, the last phantom finds his way into British Columbia. Clark tries to capture him, but the phantom ends up merging with Clark’s Kryptonian DNA, creating a “bizarre” clone of Clark. This “bizzarro” Clark causes a dam in British Columbia to burst, and the season ends on a cliffhanger with Bizzarro flying away.
The cast of season 6
Lana Marries Lex
Lana Lang: This season begins with Lana trying to kill Zod/Lex and failing. However, after Zod is extracted from Lex, Lana and Lex begin to resume their relationship. But things get complicated when Lana finds out she is pregnant.
As a result, she agrees to marry Lex so that the baby is not born out of wedlock. Shortly after the wedding, though, Lana miscarries the baby. This situation is complicated further when Lana finds out that she was never really pregnant and that Lex injected her with hormones so that she would agree to marry him.
She also finally finds out about Clark’s secret, and realizes that he had been lying to her this whole time in order to protect her. After finding out all of this, Lana leaves Lex as he tells her, “do you think I am going to just let you walk away?” Sure enough, the season ends with Lana’s car exploding as soon as she turns the ignition. Everyone believes she is dead, and Lex is arrested and alleged of murdering his own wife.
Clark: Clark fighting one of the escapees from the Phantom Zone
Oliver Queen/Green Arrow - Justin Hartley
Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (played by Justin Hartley):Oliver Queen joins the cast this season as a recurring character. He first makes contact with Clark and discovers his secret while he is investigating LuthorCorp as his Green Arrow persona. Oliver tells Clark that Lex is involved in a project called 33.1 where he is capturing meteor freaks against their will and performing illicit experiments on them. To stop Lex, Oliver forms a team which is reminiscent of the Justice League. Team members include Arthur Curry (a.k.a Aquaman, first appeared in season 5), Bart Allen (a.k.a. Impulse/Kid Flash, first appeared in season 4) and Victor Stone (a.k.a. Cyborg, first appeared in season 5).
Together with Clark, they team up and begin to destroy Lex’s labs. Lex and Lionel Luthor: With Jonathan dead, Lionel gets closer to Martha Kent and helps her as she continues her job as a senator. In addition to the marriage between Lana, we also see that Lex is involved in many terrible projects this season, including 33.1 and Project: Ares, which takes military personnel against their will and experiments on them in an attempt to create a super soldier. The season ends with Lex arrested for allegedly murdering Lana
Chloe Heals Lois
Chloe Sullivan: Begins to call herself “Watchtower” and furthers her role as an assistant to super powered heroes. In addition to assisting Clark with her hacking skills, she also assists Oliver’s team by providing information about Lex’s labs. She also is continuing her job at the Daily Planet. At the end of the season, Chloe discovers she is a meteor freak with the power to heal others on the brink of death. When Lois is shot in the finale, Chloe heals her with a tear drop, but dies in the process. The season ends with Chloe dying, and Lois by her side in tears.
Henry James “Jimmy” Olsen (played by Aaron Ashmore)
Henry James “Jimmy” Olsen (played by Aaron Ashmore): The real Jimmy Olsen’s older brother. He is currently dating Chloe, but becomes jealous of Clark’s friendship with her.
Lois Lane: This season, Lois begins to date Oliver Queen and discovers her passion as a reporter. She first works at a tabloid called the Inquisitor, and then moves up to the Daily Planet with Chloe and Jimmy.
Martha Kent: Still a senator, Martha leaves Smallville to go work in Washington D.C. She still talks to Clark on the phone, but doesn’t appear again on the show until season 9.
Martian Manhunter - John Jones - Phil Morris
New Justice League Characters:
Martian Manhunter – John Jones is a super-powered alien from the planet Mars, who works as a homicide detective for the Metropolis Police Department. Before that, he worked as an intergalactic bounty hunter known as Martian Manhunter.
He was the last surviving member of an alien civilization that once existed on Mars; he once worked for Jor-El, trapping and imprisoning criminals from the 28 known galaxies.
Green Arrow - Oliver Jonas Queen is the billionaire CEO of Queen Industries. As Green Arrow, Oliver dresses in green and black and commands a variety of arrows and gadgets for many forms of defense. Oliver had a near life-long relationship Lex Luthor which began during their time together at boarding school. He descended into depression after learning Lionel killed his parents and turned towards a lifestyle of women, drinking, and partying, abandoning his Green Arrow duties. He was originally introduced in a guest run as a substitute for the restricted-rights character Batman.
Green Arrow - Oliver Jonas Queen - Justin Hartle
My Analysis: Like season 4, I had mixed feelings about this season. Many fans did not like this season due to the Lex and Lana marriage. While I agree that the relationship was distracting, I enjoyed the appearances of Zod, Martian Manhunter, Bizzarro, Green Arrow, and an early version of Justice League. I also enjoyed Clark’s storyline as he chased after the phantoms that had escaped from the Phantom Zone. Overall, this was a bittersweet season, but one that is still worth buying due to the appearances of all the characters I mentioned.
The Justice League
Season 7
Season 7
This season picks up right where season 6 left off. Bizzarro is roaming the world freely, and is a serious threat to Earth. At first, Clark does not know how to stop him. However, he soon discovers that Bizzarro is the exact opposite of Clark. Where Clark gets his strength from the sun, Bizzarro is weakened by the sun and gets his strength from Kryptonite.
Upon discovering this, Clark knocks Bizzarro into the sun and he is no longer a threat for the time being. The rest of the season revolves around a group called “Veritas,” which consists of a group of reclusive billionaires including Lionel Luthor and Oliver Queen’s parents. Back in the 1980’s, Veritas foresaw that an intergalactic traveler (in this case, Clark Kent) would be coming to Earth. They feared that the Traveler would take over the planet, so they discovered a way to take the Traveler’s powers away if he ever got out of control.
Veritas
Wanting to harness the power of the Traveler for himself, Lionel Luthor killed almost everyone in Veritas, including Oliver Queen’s parents. When Lex finds out about Veritas, he vows to kill the Traveler and stops at nothing to find the device that takes the Traveler’s powers away. When Lionel will not tell Lex where the device is, Lex kills his own father. The season ends with Lex taking Clark’s powers away and confronting him in his Fortress of Solitude. At this point, Lex knows Clark’s secret and vows to kill him. The season ends with Lex and Clark fighting in the Fortress of Solitude as it falls apart.
The cast of season 7
Clark: Clark ends up fighting Bizarro, who gets his strength from Kryptonite, but Clark knocks him into the sun. [editor's note: What the hell was Lyonel doing there?]
Lana Lang: At the beginning of the season, we soon discovered that Lana faked her death. Lana discovered that Lex had made a clone of her, and she placed a clone of herself in the front seat of the car to make it look like she had blown up. Upon discovering this, Lex apologizes to Lana and says he doesn’t blame her for doing what she did. He then gives her 10 million dollars in a divorce settlement. After this, Clark and Lana try to pick up where they left off and date again.
However, so much has happened at this point that it causes a lot of tension and complicates their relationship. Clark also discovers that Lana has been lying to him and is secretly trying to take down LuthorCorp by herself. Things are further complicated when Bizzarro returns to Smallville disguised as Clark while Clark is away in the Fortress of Solitude. Bizzarro charms Lana and makes her think that he is really Clark. When Clark comes back, he stops Bizzarro but is insulted that Lana could not tell the difference between him and his evil clone. Finally, at the end of the season, Lana seemingly walks out on Clark.
Bizarro Clark
Bizarro: Bizarro, was the last and possibly most dangerous Zoner. He was accidentally created in a laboratory on the planet Krypton, and was sent into the Phantom Zone by Jor-El and Martian Manhunter. He escaped when Clark Kent opened a portal to Earth so he could escape from the Zone.
Bizarro followed him and spent the next several weeks seeking a host that could sustain him. Bizarro eventually confronted Clark and stole a piece of DNA from him, allowing him to create an imperfect clone of the Kryptonian which would act as a permanent host body for Bizarro to inhabit.
Oliver Queen/Green Arrow This season, Green Arrow continues to blow up Lex Luthor’s labs and serve as a hero of Metropolis. Lex and Lionel Luthor: This season, Lionel is killed by his own son. Lex continues to become more and more evil. In addition to trying to kill Clark and killing Lionel, Lex also creates two clones of his dead brother Julian who died when he was a baby. After discovering that they are clones controlled by Lex, the two clones resent Lex, and Lex kills them for their defiance.
Kara-EL - Supergirl
New Justice League Character: Kara-EL a.k.a. Supergirl (played by Laura Vandervoort): Clark’s cousin Kara-El is introduced to us this season. Like Clark, she is from Krypton and is sent to Earth by her father Zor-El.
However, unlike Clark, her ship lands in the ocean and becomes trapped, putting Kara into a state of stasis for 18 years. She finally awakens from her stasis and seeks out Clark. Her and Clark have a rocky relationship at first, but finally agree to work together to stop Brainiac, who has returned after being seemingly destroyed in season 5.
The season ends with Braniac trapping Kara in the Phantom Zone. She does not appear until season 8, when Clark rescues her from the Phantom Zone and allows her to leave his custody so that she can roam the galaxy in search for surviving Kryptonians.
Chloe Sullivan: This season, Chloe continues to help Clark and the other heroes. She also becomes engaged to Jimmy Olsen.
Henry James “Jimmy” Olsen (played by Aaron Ashmore): Jimmy asks Chloe to marry him this season, and she says yes.
Lois Lane: Lois continues to work at the Daily Planet and begins a brief relationship with the clone of Lex’s dead brother. At the end of the season, she tells Clark about a job opening at the Daily Planet and encourages him to apply.
My Analysis: Three words: Worst! Season! EVER!!!! I think many fans will agree with me that this was the worst season of Smaville that was ever created. It was a miracle the show wasn’t cancelled after this joke of a season. Michael Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk, who were both in their last season of the show, looked like they were sleepwalking through their scenes. And the writing was AWFUL!!!
Where to start? Here are a couple examples of the bad writing that I’m talking about:
Lana falls in love with Bizzarro (lame),
Lana hires an old lady to kidnap and torture Lionel Luthor (SUPER LAME),
and Lex kills throws his father out of a window for absolutely no reason (MEGA LAME).
This wasn’t all the producers faults, however: this season was done in the midst of 2007-2008 writers strike, and I believe many episodes were delayed as a result. The strike also caused the season to only have 20 episodes instead of the usual 22, which seemed to cause the storyline to be rushed. Fortunately, the show has gotten much better since this awful season.
Season 8
Season 8
In light of the events at the end of last season, Clark and Lex are now missing after their fight at the Fortress of Solitude. While Lex’s body is never recovered, a powerless Clark somehow shows up in the middle of Russia where he is working as a slave and unable to leave. Oliver Queen finds him and brings him home. Clark then regains his powers when Martian Manhunter flies him into the center of his power source: the sun!
After this fiasco, Clark gets a job at the Daily Planet in Metropolis and decides to become the city’s protector. At this point, Clark has finally realized his destiny as protector of the Earth. However, in order to fully do this, he must begin his training with Jor-El in the Fortress of Solitude, which he starts to begin this season.
The rest of the season revolves around a new threat: Doomsday! It is discovered that Clark did not come to Earth alone. General Zod’s son, who happened to be a part of a genetic experiment that transformed him into a hideous monster is also here now lives on Earth and goes by the name of Davis Bloom.
He grew up in an orphanage but now works as an EMT. However, at night, he transforms into the hideous Doomsday monster and kills people. His transformations have begun to get out of control. After giving Clark a lot of trouble, he seemingly kills Doomsday after throwing him into a vat of explosives.
The cast of season 8
Lana Lang: Although Kristin Kreuk was no longer a regular on the show at this point, Lana still appeared in five episodes in a recurring role to wrap up her storyline from last season. Lana returns to Smallville and reveals to Clark that the reason she left him last season is because she had a gun pointed at her head by Lex’s men. After this, she vows to kill Lex and goes on a quest to retrieve a suit that will grant her powers similar to Clark’s.
She eventually finds the suit and her and Clark get back together. However, this reunion is interrupted when Lex returns. He tells Lana that there is a Kryptonite bomb in Metropolis. The only way she can defuse it is to absorb the Kryptonite with her super-suit. However, if she does this, she will never be able to be close to Clark again due to the fact that Kryptonite kills him. She agrees to do it, and her and Clark agree that they can never see each other again. She then gives him one last kiss that almost kills him, and leaves Smallville forever.
Winslow Schott - Toyman
Oliver Queen/Green Arrow This season, Green Arrow is on a mission to kill Lex Luthor as he decides that he is a threat to the planet. However, Lex wants to kill him first, so he hires an assassin named Winslow Schott who calls himself the Toyman. He uses toys dressed as explosives to try and kill Oliver, but fails. Oliver then blows up the truck that Lex is housed in and frames Toyman for it. Lex is seemingly killed in this explosion.
Lex Luthor: Even though Michael Rosenbaum left the show, another actor briefly plays Lex this season in order to wrap up his storylines. After the fight in the fortress last season, an injured and paralyzed Lex is confined to a truck where he sits brooding and manipulating events from behind the scenes. However, he is apparently blown up by Green Arrow. As of the beginning season 10, this storyline is still ongoing and has not concluded yet.
Tess Mercer Cassidy Freeman
Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman): A mysterious red-haired woman that Lex puts in charge of LuthorCorp after he is injured and no longer able to lead the company. No one knows who she is or what her connection to Lex is, but she knows all about Clark’s secret. However, unlike Lex, she has not threatened Clark and seems to even try to aid him sometimes, in her own way. At the end of season 8, Tess is seen opening an orb containing a mysterious energy.
Chloe Sullivan: At the beginning of season 8, Brainiac touches Chloe and infects her with a virus before he dissapears. As a result, Chloe’s meteor powers are gone, but she is able to read binary code and other complicated computer languages, something she couldn’t do before.
Suddenly, all her memories of her friends are erased. She cannot remember who Clark, Jimmy, Lois, or anyone close to her is. It is then she realizes that Brainiac has taken over body and wants to use her to conquer the planet. That is when the Legion of Superheroes comes from the future and tells Clark that if he doesn’t kill Chloe she is going to destroy the entire world.
Clark tells them that real heroes don’t kill. Finally, after arguing with the Legion for a long time, they then come up with the idea to combine their powers to perform a “techno-exorcism” which extracts the virus from Chloe’s body. After that, Chloe is normal again, and all of the stuff with her and Doomsday starts to happen.
Chloe and Jimmy get married this season. However, their marriage gets complicated when she develops a friendship with Davis Bloom, a.k.a. Doomsday. Chloe is determined to protect Davis and believes that he cannot control his Doomsday persona. She hides him in her basement, and hits Clark with Kryptonite when he tries to send Davis to the Phantom Zone. Angry that Chloe would choose to protect a serial killer, a frustrated Jimmy then leaves Chloe. [editor's note: Yaaaa!]
Henry James “Jimmy” Olsen: This season, Jimmy discovers that a mysterious “blur” figure is protecting the streets of Metropolis. Jimmy calls this figure “the red-blue blur”. Jimmy tells the rest of the people at the Daily Planet about The Blur, and numerous stories are written about this Blur. Later in the season, after leaving Chloe, Jimmy briefly goes to work for Oliver Queen. However, he becomes determined to get Chloe back, and asks her to come back with him. She agrees, and an enraged Davis Bloom kills Jimmy, angry that he can’t have Chloe for himself. Jimmy dies, and Chloe regrets ever protecting Davis. [editor's note: 0.O There are no stupid actors... just stupid writing.]
Doomsday
Davis Bloom a.k.a. Doomsday (played by Sam Witwer): This season, it is discovered that Clark did not come to Earth alone. General Zod’s son, who happened to be a part of a genetic experiment that transformed him into a hideous monster, is also here among us.
This man, who now lives on Earth and goes by the name of Davis Bloom, grew up in an orphanage but now works as an EMT. [editor's note: "An EMT? How ironically-random. Why not as the drive through employee at Burgerking? Is this for real?"] However, at night, he transforms into the hideous Doomsday monster and kills people. His transformations have begun to get out of control. After giving Clark a lot of trouble, he seemingly kills Doomsday after throwing him into a vat of explosives. [editor's note: 0.O]
Daily Planet
Lois Lane: This season, Lois finally gets Clark to come work at the Daily Planet with her. She teaches him how to dress professionally, and teaches him her rules for reporting. Lois and Clark almost become romantically involved this season, but their relationship is put on hold when Lana returns. The season ends with Lois finding a mysterious ring that sends her back in time. The ring is actually a time-travel ring that belonged to the Legion of Superheroes, who also appeared this season. She also forms a relationship with the Blur, who calls her on the phone and gives her an exclusive interview about his crime fighting exploits in Metropolis. She still has not figured out that the Blur is Clark. [editor's note: Oh Come ON!!]
Legion of Superheroes
My Analysis: This season was a huge improvement over season 7, but still had a lot of kinks. This season had new producers, Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders, after series creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough left due to a dispute with the network.
It was obvious that Souders and Peterson were trying to find their niche this season as the show’s new producers. The Doomsday storyline didn’t work as well as it should have, and the way Jimmy Olsen was killed felt forced and awkward. However, there were a lot of bright spots this season. We got to see some great characters from the comics, such as Maxima, the Legion of Superheroes, Faora, and Toyman. Also, for the first time, this season took place mainly in Metropolis instead of Smallville, which was cool. Overall, it was a good turning point for the series, but still had a few kinks that needed to be worked out for season 9.
Season 9
Smallville Season 9
This season takes place several weeks after season 8 ended. Clark continues his training with Jor-El in the Fortress; the same training that will lead him to become Superman later on. He has also began wearing a black costume with an “S” on it and is patrolling the streets of Metropolis as the city’s protector.
It is revealed later in the season that the orb Tess Mercer opened, last season, contained dozens of Kryptonian clones. In order to save their race from extinction, Jor-El cloned a bunch of Kryptonians from the capital city of Kandor and placed them in an orb that was sent to Earth. These clones are led by the evil General Zod, who was one of the Kryptonians that was cloned.
Upon discovering this, Clark decides that he wants to lead the Kryptonian clones and teach them how to blend in with the humans. Zod disagrees with Clark and feels that Kryptonians are superior to humans and should be in charge of Earth. Zod is also upset because none of the Kryptonians have powers due to the fact that Zod injected their orb with blue kryptonite (kryptonite that removes kryptonian powers) before he sent it to Earth. However, after Zod is shot, Clark revives him by giving Zod some of his blood.
Kandor
Not only is Zod revived, but he has the same powers as Clark, which proves that Kryptonians can pass on their powers to other Kryptonians through their blood. Zod then tells his wife Faora that he wants to give his powers to all of the Kryptonians on Earth so that they can rule the planet. When Faora disagrees, Zod kills her and blames it on humans.
Zod then tells the rest of the Kryptonians that the humans want to kill them and the only way to stop the humans is to rise up against them. When Clark sees that the Kryptonians are getting out of control, he uses the Book of Rao to transport the Kryptonians to an uninhabited planet. However, before the Book can send him away, Zod stabs Clark in the chest with a blue kryptonite dagger. A powerless Clark then falls to Earth and the season ends.
Zod about to stab Clark
The cast of season 9
Clark: right before Clark goes to fight Zod in the season 9 finale, his mother visits and leaves Clark a package. That night, Clark has a dream that he is wearing a red and blue suit and protecting Metropolis. Clark then wakes up, opens the package his mother left him, and sees the same red and blue suit that he just dreamt about. Two videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK11zdZTzDw&NR=1
Oh, and Clark and Lois kiss.
Oliver Queen/Green Arrow: After much disagreement between Clark and Green Arrow for several seasons, the two come to a catharsis this season and begin to work together as a team.
Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman): After freeing the Kryptonians from the orb, Tess begins a sexual relationship with Zod. She soon realizes Zod is crazy, but he burns off half her face with his heat vision. The season ends with her dying in the hospital while a mysterious old lady resembling Granny Goodness enters her hospital as Tess dies.
Chloe Sullivan: This season, Chloe gets her own headquarters where she can see the entire city of Metropolis. It has huge, expensive computers that Oliver Queen’s company paid for. She uses these computers to provide intelligence for the superhero community. She also begins a romantic relationship with Oliver Queen. [editor's note: I'm thinking... Oracle (Batgirl) from the DC/Batman Universe since the Batman legal people are being pricks and not working with Smallville. ... at least not yet.]
Clone of Zod (played by Callum Blue): At first, Clark thinks that he can reason with Zod and that Zod can be his Kryptonian brother. This doesn’t work, however, as the clone of Zod proves that he wants to dominate Earth the same way his counterpart dominated Krypton.
Lois Lane: At the beginning of the season, Lois picks up where she left off in season 8 as she goes forward in time one year where she discovers an apocalyptic future where Zod and the rest of the Kryptonian clones have taken over the planet. She then goes back to the present where she is able to warn Clark about what will happen to the future if he can’t stop Zod in the present. Her and Clark also begin to date this season and are able to maintain a serious relationship. The season ends with Lois discovering that Clark is really the Blur. [editor's note: GASP!]
My Analysis: I think most fans can agree that this season was a renaissance period for the show. We got to see TONS of characters from the comics this season, including Amanda Waller, the Justice Society, Speedy, Silver Banshee, the Wonder Twins, Metallo, the Dark Archer, and more! We also got to see Martha Kent come back for the first time since season 6. Overall, this was the best season of Smallville in a very long time.
Season 10 of Smallville just started! We got our resident Facebook Fan, and Smallville expert, Douglas Appich, to write up a run down on what has gone on over the last 10 years. If you’re like a lot of us, me included, you haven’t been keeping up. But, this is the 10th and final season of Smallville, so it’s important to let you know what exactly you’ve been missing out on, like Supergirl, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Flash, Cyborg and Lois Lane. Also, Clark flies and gets his costume this year.
Smallville: Ten Years To See Clark Fly – by Douglas Appich
The first season of Smallville begins with Clark in high school. At this point, he does not know that he is an alien and his powers are just beginning to develop. However, Clark begins to realize that something is not normal about him when a billionaire heir named Lex Luthor hits him with a car at 60 miles per hour and sends both himself and Clark flying off a bridge.
Clark is not only unhurt from the accident, but he is also able to save an unconscious Lex from drowning. It is at this point that Clark begins to question his parents, Jonathan and Martha, as to how he was able to get hit at 60 miles per hour and not feel a thing. It is at this point that Jonathan tells Clark that he is from another planet, and that he came to Earth in a meteor shower. Clark does not believe him at first, but then Jonathan shows him the spaceship.
It is at this point that Clark realizes he has super strength and speed, as well as X-ray vision. However, Clark faces a problem: during the meteor shower that he came to Earth in, many human beings were infected with green Kryptonite. This green Kryptonite gave many of them specialized powers such as the ability to turn into insects, the ability shape-shift, the ability to hypnotize people, and more. However, this same Kryptonite has made these humans insane, and thus many of them use their powers for nefarious purposes.
As a result, Clark spends pretty much the entire season trying to stop these “meteor freaks” from hurting others. After stopping meteor freak after meteor freak, the season ends on a cliffhanger as a twister hits Smallville with Clark and all of his friends stuck in Smallville as it hits. Can Clark use his newfound powers to save his friends and family from being hurt?
The cast of season 1, other than Clark:
Lana Lang - Kristin Kreuk
Lana Lang (played by Kristin Kreuk): Clark’s high school friend that he has a crush on pretty much the entire season. However, she is dating high school jock Whitney Fordham, so she doesn’t return his feelings. The season ends with her character trapped in the heart of the twister and her boyfriend Whitney going to war after his Dad dies, where he is eventually killed. Lex and Lionel Luthor (played by John Glover and Michael Rosenbaum): Lionel is in charge of a billion dollar corporation called Luthorcorp and Lex is his son. However, Lex resents his father for the way he was raised and the way Lionel rules Luthorcorp with an iron fist.
Lex and Lionel Luthor Michael Rosenbaum and John Glover
It should also be noted that Lex is bald due to being hit by a meteor during the same meteor shower that brought Clark to Earth. Lex becomes friends with Clark after Clark saves his life. However, Clark does not realize that Lex is secretly doing research on Clark in an attempt to figure out how Clark was able to survive the accident on the bridge. The season ends with the both the Luthor’s trapped in the Luthor mansion during the twister. Lex has the power to save his father from the twister, but will he?
Chloe, Pete - Allison Mack and Sam Jones III
Chloe Sullivan (played by Allison Mack): Another one of Clark’s friends from Smallville High who runs the school newspaper. She has a crush on Clark, but he never really returns her feelings.
Jonathan and Martha Kent - John Schneider and Annette O’Toole
Pete Ross (played by Sam Jones III): Clark’s best friend from Smallville High. He has a crush on Chloe, but she doesn’t return his feelings. Jonathan and Martha Kent (played by John Schneider and Annette O’Toole): Clark’s parents who raised him after he came to Earth in a meteor shower. The season ends with Jonathan trapped in the storm cellar during the twister alongside a reporter who discovered Clark’s secret. Jonathan will stop at nothing to protect Clark’s secret, but will he go so far as to kill the reporter who knows Clark’s secret?
Season 2,
The second season begins where the first season left off with the twister terrorizing Smallville. Clark saves Lana from the heart of the twister and Lex saves his father. Jonathan decides not to kill the reporter who finds out Clark’s secret, but the reporter turns around and tries to kill Jonathan. However, Lex ends up shooting and killing the reporter to save Jonathan. Little does Jonathan and Clark know that Lex secretly hired the reporter to do research on Clark because he is still trying to figure out how Clark survived the car accident during the first season. For the rest of the season, we see Clark trying to stop more meteor freaks. However, this season is different from the first season in the sense that we get to see a lot more of Clark’s mythology.
Red Kryptonite Ring
In the second episode, Clark discovers his heat vision as he almost accidentally burns his entire school down. He also discovers Red Kryptonite, which lowers Clark’s inhibitions and turns him into a jerk, making him hurt everyone he cares about. Also in this season, Clark discovers Indian cave paintings.
These paintings state that an Intergalactic Traveler will come to Earth and save the entire planet from evil. Clark wonders if these paintings are talking about him. Unbeknownst to Clark, a scientist named Virgil Swann had been studying these paintings for many years and knew all about the planet Krypton. Clark finds Swann and learns all about the planet where he comes from; he also finds out that his real name is Kal-El.
In addition, Clark finds that he is able to speak to the spirit of his dead father from Krypton named Jor-El in the caves where the paintings are. Jor-El tells him he has a great destiny, and zaps Clark with some kind of energy that teaches Clark the Kryptonian language. However, Clark thinks Jor-El wants to train Clark to take over the planet Earth instead of save it. Thus, he destroys the spaceship he arrived to Earth in that’s still locked in the bard, thinking that it will also destroy Jor-El’s spirit.
Bad Clark
However, the space ship creates a huge explosion when Clark eviscerates it, and the explosion sends Jonathan and Martha Kent’s car (who are coming home to the barn) careening out of control. Martha, who is actually pregnant, ends up losing her baby. Deciding that it’s too dangerous for humans to be around him, an upset Clark puts on a red kryptonite ring, gets on a motorcycle, and leaves Smallville… forever?
The cast of season 2
Clark: Clark meets Dr. Swan/Christopher Reeve.
Whitney - Dead Ex
Lana Lang: Now that Whitney has been killed in the war, Lana is no longer attached to anyone in this season. Clark tries to stay away from Lana as he thinks it’s too soon for Lana to be involved with anyone after Whitney. Plus, Clark feels that Lana being with him will only hurt her since he is not human. However, towards the end of the season, they end up having a relationship anyway as Clark can no longer resist his feelings. This relationship doesn’t last long, however, as Clark leaves Lana after he accidentally hurts his mother and causes her to have a miscarriage. The season ends with a confused Lana watching Clark drive away from her in a motorcycle, telling her he can never be with her.
LuthorCorp
Lex and Lionel Luthor: Lionel is in charge of a billion dollar corporation called Luthorcorp and Lex is his son. However, Lex resents his father for the way he was raised and the way Lionel rules Luthorcorp with an iron fist. Lex becomes friends with Clark after Clark saves his life.
During this season, the relationship between the two Luthor’s is a lot more complicated. Lex continues to resent his father, especially after he discovers that Lionel had another son from another relationship named Lucas. Lex also gets married twice during this season: once to a “meteor freak” named Desiree Atkins who has the power to manipulate people with sexual pheromones, which is the way she is able to control Lex in a attempt to take his money. Clark stops her.The second time is to a woman named Dr. Helen Bryce. The season ends with Lex going off on his honeymoon with Helen.
Chloe Sullivan: Another one of Clark’s friends from Smallville High who runs the school newspaper. This season, Chloe’s attraction to Clark turns into an obsession, which causes lots of tension between Lana and hurts their friendship. Eventually, Chloe gives up on Clark when she comes to give him a love letter while he is sick in bed. A dazed and confused Clark calls her “Lana”. This upsets Chloe, and she leaves.However, this also helps her to realize her and Clark are not meant to be together.
Pete Ross: Clark’s best friend from Smallville High. He has a crush on Chloe, but she doesn’t return his feelings. This season, Pete finds out Clark’s secret after he discovers his space ship in the barn. Clark comes clean with Pete and tells him everything. Pete becomes the first friend to learn Clark’s secret.
Jonathan and Martha Kent: Clark’s parents who raised him after he came to Earth in a meteor shower. This season, Martha goes to work for Lionel Luthor, which causes tension between Jonathan and Martha. This tension is relieved, however, when Martha quits her job and discovers she is pregnant despite the fact that she was told she could never have children. Somehow, Clark’s spaceship emitted an energy that cured whatever was keeping her from becoming pregnant. The baby is miscarried, however, when Jonathan loses control of the truck after Clark causes an explosion.
Christopher Reeve - Virgil Swann
My Analysis: This is how the series should have started! This season was far superior than the first, and finally dealt with the Superman mythos. We got to see a glimpse of Jor-El, red kryptonite, heat vision, and more this season. We also got to see a gust-appearance from Christopher Reeve as Virgil Swann. This was definitely one of the best seasons, and I people knew to Smallville buy this season first as it is far better than the first.
Season 3
Season 3 picks up several months after the last season left off. Clark has now been away from Smallville for a couple of months, and he is living in a penthouse in Metropolis. Due to the fact that the red kryptonite makes him evil and apathetic, Clark has now taken to committing crime.
He is now known as one of Metropolis’ most notorious criminals, and no one can stop him due to his powers. He eventually comes home after the red kryptonite is destroyed. The rest of the season mostly revolves around the battle between Lex and Lionel Luthor over control of Luthorcorp.
Lex has discovered that Lionel murdered his parents and Lex’s grandparents in an attempt to get insurance money so he could start Luthorcorp. After learning this knowledge, Lex attempts to expose his father. However, Lionel drugs Lex and convinces everyone that he is insane and needs medical attention. He then takes Lex to a mental hospital where he is given electroshock therapy in order to make him forget about his grandparents’ murder. However, Lex later recovers his memory with help from Clark and Chloe, and Lionel is sent to prison.
In order to get revenge, Lionel reveals to Clark that Lex has been pretending to be Clark’s friend in order to do research on Clark in an attempt to discover how he was able to survive the car accident during season 1. Clark then tells Lex that their “friendship is over”. Later, during the season finale, Jor-El’s spirit tries to regain contact with Clark, claiming that it is time for Clark to “fufill his destiny”. Clark refuses at first, but Jor-El tells him that he will kill Jonathan if Clark does not come with him. He then reluctantly enters a portal that Jor-El opens for him. The season ends with Clark lying naked in a dark void on top of a giant shape of an “S”.
The cast of season 3
Clark: Wearing the red Kryptonite ring, Clark battles his father Jonathan.
Lana Lang: Lana and Clark attempt to pick up where they left off during season 2 but, after Lana is seriously injured trying to help Lex fight his father, Lana decides that being around Clark is too dangerous. She spends most of the season away from him, and they both try to date other people. Clark dates a psychotic meteor freak that tries to kill everyone close to him, and Lana tries to date a psychotic zombie who has risen from the dead due to an experimental drug. So needless to say, “dating other people” isn’t really working out. Lex and Lionel Luthor: This season, Lex has discovered that Lionel murdered his parents and Lex’s grandparents in an attempt to get insurance money so he could start Luthorcorp.
After learning this knowledge, Lex attempts to expose his father. However, Lionel drugs Lex and convinces everyone that he is insane and needs medical attention. He then takes Lex to a mental hospital where he is given electroshock therapy in order to make him forget about his grandparents’ murder. However, Lex later recovers his memory with help from Clark and Chloe, and Lionel is sent to prison. In order to get revenge, Lionel reveals to Clark that Lex has been pretending to be Clark’s friend in order to do research on Clark in an attempt to discover how he was able to survive the car accident during season 1. This season ends with Lex taking control of LuthorCorp while an enraged Lionel sits in prison plotting revenge.
Chloe Sullivan: Another one of Clark’s friends from Smallville High who runs the school newspaper. This season, Lionel Luthor tells Chloe that he will give her a column at the Daily Planet if she does research on Clark Kent and finds out whether or not he is really a mild-mannered farm boy.
Still jealous over Lana and Clark hooking up in season 2, Chloe agrees. However, she later regrets her decision, and tells Lionel to shove it. Lionel then gets Chloe fired from the Daily Planet and gets her father fired from his job at LuthorCorp. As revenge, Chloe uncovers evidence that Lionel murdered his parents, which she turns over to Lex, which he turns over to the authorities, which helps get him sentenced to prison..
Pete Ross: Clark’s best friend from Smallville High. He has a crush on Chloe, but she doesn’t return his feelings. This season, tired of living in Clark’s shadow and having to keep his secret all the time, Pete decides to leave Smallville with his mother.
Jonathan and Martha Kent: Clark’s parents who raised him after he came to Earth in a meteor shower. This season, Jonathan goes to Jor-El for help in getting Clark to return home from Metropolis. Jor-El tells Jonathan that if he helps Jonathan get Clark back, then Jonathan must return Clark to Jor-El when “the time is right”. Jonathan agrees, and Jor-El gives him super powers like Clark, which he uses to destroy the red kryptonite that is controlling Clark in Metropolis.
As a result of receiving powers, Jonathan now has a bad heart and begins to have periodic heart attacks. My Analysis: Even better than season 2. Many fans agree that this is the best season of Smallville. The decision to focus less on Clark and more on the battle between Lionel and Lex this season is a decision that works well for the show. We begin to see how Lex becomes evil and how his thirst for power started. Also, we got see Clark discover his superhuman hearing for the first time. This is definitely one of the prime seasons of the show!
Season 4
Just like the beginning of season 3 started off several months after season 2 ended, season 4 starts off several months after season 3 ended. Jonathan is in the hospital after having another heart attack and has been there for months. Clark re-emerges from wherever his father sent him calling himself “Kal-El” and not remembering anything about his human identity, Clark Kent; he also knows how to fly, which is something Clark Kent couldn’t do.
This “Kal-El” person is looking for several mystical stones, which coincidentally Lex Luthor is also trying to obtain. Unable to figure out why Clark is acting like this and thinking he is turning evil, Martha discovers something called “black kryptonite” which she is able to use to separate the two personalities of Clark Kent and Kal-El. Clark then destroys the Kal-El identity. Clark soon discovers that the reason Jor-El turned him to Kal-El and sent him out after these stones is because, when put together, the stones contain an infinite amount of Kryptonian knowledge.
If humans discover these stones before Clark does, then Jor-El states that a horrible disaster will occur on Earth. Sure enough, Clark does not listen to his father and several humans find the stones instead of Clark. As a result, another meteor shower hits Smallville and threatens to destroy the Earth. Even though the meteor shower has begun and Clark can’t stop it, he is still able to retrieve the stones from the humans. The season ends with the stones teleporting Clark into the middle of Antarctica as the stones come together to form a shield with an “S” in the middle. Also, Clark and the gang finally graduate high school!
The cast of season 4
Jason Teague
Lana Lang: This season, Lana has met a new man named Jason Teague, who she dates almost the entire season. However, sensing something is wrong with Jason, she breaks up with him and Lana and Clark are together again. However, Lana’s character becomes complicated as she is possessed by a witch (who happens to be one of Lana’s ancestors from several hundred centuries ago) that wants the Kryptonian stones. The witch is eventually exorcised from Lana’s body when she can’t get the stones.
Jason Teague (played by Jensen Ackles): Jason is Lana’s boyfriend that she meets in Paris over the summer. They have a good relationship for a little while, but eventually Lana discovers that the only reason Jason is dating Lana is because his mother, Geniveve, wants to use the witch living inside Lana to get the stones. They break up, and Jason is killed after he tries to retrieve the stones for his mother.
Lionel Luthor Still In Prison
Lex and Lionel Luthor: After being imprisoned by his son Lex, Lionel makes several attempts to try and kill him. However, he soon discovers religion in prison, and becomes a changed man after an old friend pulls strings to have Lionel released from prison. Lex, however, begins to become more and more evil this season, as he is now head of LuthorCorp. We begin to see that power is starting to corrupt Lex, and we begin to see that he is using LuthorCorp to conduct evil experiments.
Chloe Sullivan: This season is a big season for Chloe as she becomes the second of Clark’s friends to learn his secret after she watches him catch a car. However, she doesn’t tell Clark that she knows because she does not want to burden him. She also goes into hiding when Lionel Luthor tries to put a hit on her life due to the fact that she uncovered evidence last season that put him in prison. She emerges from hiding, however, when Lionel changes his ways.
Lois Lane
Lois Lane (played by Erica Durance): This season, we are finally introduced to Lois Lane! We learn that she is Chloe’s cousin who comes to Smallville at the beginning of the season when Chloe is missing. After coming to Smallville, however, she likes it and decides to stay for a little while. She even lives in Jonathan and Martha’s house with Clark for a time, but Clark and Lois don’t get along very well this season.
Jonathan and Martha Kent: This season, Martha is managing a coffee shop and Jonathan is still having trouble with his heart.
Kid Flash/Impulse
New Justice League Character: Kid Flash/Impulse – Bart Allen is a superhuman teen with the power of super speed. He eventually becomes a member of Oliver Queen’s team of pro-active heroes under the codename: Impulse. Bart wore a red hoodie, and was constantly seen with his red-lightning bolted backpack.
Later on, when he returns in Justice he had curly brown hair and his facial features matured. When we see him in Doomsday he wore a red and yellow combination and had shorter hair than in Justice.As Impulse, Bart wears red jeans, a red belt, and a red hoodie with a lightning bolt logo on the back. He also wears a cuff around each wrist.
My Analysis: Not the best season. It involved a vapid and confusing plot involving stones, and lame supporting characters like Jason Teague. Lana becomes a witch this season, and this sub-plot is absolutely ridiculous and does not fit in with the main storyline at all.
It also featured some of the worst villains in Smallville history, such as “Scabby Abby”, a meteor freak that needs to suck the life out of people in order to keep herself from having bad acne. LAME!!!! However, this season was not all bad as we got to see the first Smallville appearances of Lois Lane and Bart Allen, a.k.a. Kid Flash/Impulse! Overall, not the worst season, but it definitely was not the best. It was very inconsistent.
Season 5
This season picks up exactly where the last season left off as we see Clark in the arctic. The stones form together to make a shield with an “S” in the middle, and the shield magically leaves Clark hand and flies away. It then lands in the snow, and we see a giant ice fortress suddenly emerge in the middle of the arctic! Jor-El’s spirit is in the fortress and he tells Clark that this is his “Fortress of Solitude” where he will come to train and learn the ways of his Kryptonian heritage so that he can fulfill his destiny as Earth’s protector.
Fortress of Solitude - Inside
Clark tells Jor-El that he will come to the Fortress of Solitude regularly to train, but ends up neglecting his training due to problems in his personal life. Angry that Clark is disobeying him again, Jor-El takes Clark’s powers away. However, due to the fact that he loses his powers, Clark soon ends up getting killed by a gunshot wound when he tries to stop a deranged teenager from starting a war. Jor-El brings Clark back, but tells him that someone close to him will have to die in order to balance out the scales of fate.
Death of Jonathan Kent
Sure enough, Clark’s father Jonathan ends up dying of a heart attack later in the season, and Clark blames himself for causing his father’s death. After his death, Clark drops out of college but not before befriending a college professor named Milton Fine, a.k.a. Brainiac.
However, Clark soon learns that Brainiac is an evil machine created by Kryptonians and that he is using Clark in an attempt to bring the spirit of his evil creator, General Zod, to Earth.
General Zod - Callum Blue (appears in later seasons)
Zod’s spirit is trapped in the Phantom Zone, a prison that Jor-El created to house dangerous intergalactic criminals.. Clark stops him, but Brainiac still finds a way to open the Phantom Zome and bring Zod to Earth. He uses Lex Luthor as a vessel by allowing the spirit of Zod to inhabit Luthor’s body.
As a result, Zod unleashes chaos all over the planet Earth. The season ends with black outs, earthquakes, explosions, and more occur all over the globe in an event that the media soon dubs “Dark Thursday”. Will Clark be able to stop Lex/Zod, or is the planet doomed?
Zod-Lex
The cast of season 5
Lana Lang: This season, Lana and Clark are still dating. However, Clark soon breaks up with her after his father dies when he decides that he doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt because of him. As a result, Lana begins to date Lex. The season ends with Lex/Zod capturing Lana in order to impregnate Lana and create a heir of Zod.
Lex and Lionel Luthor: After Clark is shot, the spirit of Jor-El inhabits Lionel, and Lionel becomes an emissary of Jor-El. As an emissary, Lionel discovers Clark’s secret and from time to time assists him from stopping disasters. We also begin to see more of Lex’s evil experiments, and realize that he has fully turned evil. His experiments involve killing aquatic wild life, experimenting on super powered beings, and more. He also begins to feel a jealousy/hatred for Clark, and eventually dates Lana to spite him.
Lois Lane
Chloe Sullivan: Chloe finally reveals to Clark that she discovered his secret last season. This brings their friendship closer, and Chloe uses her hacking skills to assist Clark in retrieving information and providing intelligence as he continues on his adventures. She also lands a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet.
Lois Lane: Lois is still living with the Kents, and she serves as Jonathan’s PR manager as he runs for senator. Her and Clark still hate each other. Jonathan and Martha Kent: Jonathan decides to run as a senator this season. However, because Jor-El brought Clark back to life, Jonathan dies shortly after his election victory in order to balance the scales of fate. As a result, Martha ends up becoming the senator of Kansas instead.
Aquaman - Arthur Curry - Justin Hartley
New Justice League Character: Aquaman – Arthur “A.C.” Curry (played by Justin Hartley) lives in a beachside community in the Florida Keys who learns about his powers and destiny as the Prince of Atlantis. A.C. rescues a subconscious Lois when she and Clark are swimming at Crater Lake. Later, he attempts to break into the LuthorCorp Marine Center in an attempt to destroy marine weapon, called Leviathan but ends up getting captured. Clark breaks into the lab and saves A.C. Together they destroy the weapon, thereby ruining the deal Lex has been brokering with the miliatry.
My Analysis: Although there were some lame plot devices this season (i.e. Lana falling in love with Lex), it is still one of the better seasons of the series. We got to see the first Smallville appearances of Aquaman, Cyborg Brainiac, Zod, and the Fortress of Solitude. The episode where Jonathan dies is heartwarming and beautiful. This season is a must-have for any Superman fan.
Spider-Man: Sam Raimi seems to think (yes, I’m going there, just hold your flame) that not only is it ok to ignore historical canon but it’s also ok to interpret the comics incorrectly and use outdated material. For the last 30 years, the only person who seems to have thought that Peter was still “puny Parker” was Flash Thompson, and of course Sam Raimi. Which is why he cast Tobey Maguire for the role. It’s as if someone gave Raimi, or his casting director, a couple old Steve Ditko (no disrespect intended whatsoever) comics and said, “there’s your Spider-Man boss, we’re off for lunch.”
In the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), the costume is completely different, again. I can hear you flamers right now b!tching, “How can you judge the movie when you haven’t even seen it?!?” Shuddup already. Not judging the movie, judging the friggin’ costume. Give it a rest. Continuing on; mechanical web-shooters! That’s right, they can’t win when a comic geek’s complaining. If Raimi was such a damn genius, then we wouldn’t be going back to Peter’s sly inventions now, would we? But we are, and thank god for it, but they look ridiculous! If you want to see what the web-shooters are supposed to look like, click here. What else? Oh yeah, Peter’s parents are not only “back” (as seen in the comics) but apparently are there from the beginning! (which is not in the comics). Yeah, sure, it’s most likely a contrived ploy to fit in with the whole S.H.I.E.L.D. bit, but that’s what we hate, contrived, “square peg/round hole” manipulations to meet the directors ends, not our needs. BAH!
Adamantium blades, optic blast, sewn mouth and teleporting without a device (DP uses a mechanical device to teleport. It’s not an organic skill).
Superman Returns: Returns from what? Give me a break. Brandon Routh looks great, is tall, looks good and even plays a great Clark Kent, but I’m sorry, he’s no Superman. Simply because he’s not massive enough. Superman is huge, big, muscles everywhere. Brandon Routh has an Olympic swimmer’s body; lean, too lean, like a barracuda, and sure he has some muscles, yeah, but even Hugh Jackman had more mass than Routh, and that’s just wrong. What else? Swim suit shorts. BAH! And you just HAD to change the symbol, didn’t you. Had to leave YOUR mark, your signature, pissing on everything, “Singer was here!”
