Just got done watching Smallville: Absolute Justice, the two hour episode from last night about the prior generation's Justice Society of America (focusing on the surviving Hawkman, Dr. Fate, and Starkid (wasn't that what she said?)). For the first time in weeks, if not years, Smallville packed a little punch. As has often been the case since "Green Arrow" was added, the more exciting episodes have been those with multiple heroes involved, as compared to the (in my opinion) rather boring Kandorian plot of this year and Doomsday of last year.

This episode introduced a couple new heroes (and though Dr. Fate died, they can have a replacement now) while alluding to some others (trophy case held a Green Lantern as well as the equipment of the deceased Hawkgirl, waiting to be reborn, and Wildcat, among others). The episode also saw Martian Manhunter/John Jones/J'onn Jonz recover his power with an assist from Dr. Fate. Also, Chloe, Oliver and Clark are given advice/perhaps start to realize they should stop acting like whiny children and act more like a family. While Clark still continues to kinda dodge moving forward, we did see that another shadowy agency has been gathering villains, and in the final reveal of the episode (right before she kills Icicle junior and Tess Mercer shows up as an agent), we learn same agency is trying to get all the heroes active so that a coming apocalypse can be survived.

Will the apocalypse be tied to the lame Kandorian plot, or be something else more in keeping with Justice League mythology? Hopefully the latter. I can't wait til the Kandorian crap is out of the way. Maybe it'll help Clark learn to fly, but the showrunners are obviously saving flight and a cape for the last episode fadeout. (My ideal would be just to switch to a Justice League show, personally. I know it won't happen because of the on-again-off-again movie and the failed pilots for Graysons and Aquaman, not to mention increasing actor salaries for the likes of Welling and Hartley, surely.)

I left the show feeling refreshed and hopeful about the show delving more into cooperative and big picture battles than constant insinuations and petty backstabbing. While we'll probably never see Green Lantern, Batman or Wonder Woman show up (due to hopes and plans for their properties), this episode hints at more of a broad brush for future Smallville eps (and with Smallville purportedly picked up for yet another season, shockingly, maybe we'll see more of a Justice League feel, though they've hinted at that before and let us down).

The trailer for next week seemed to show another DC hero, though that could've been a trick. Hopefully the character development suggested in this episode will continue to be there as the season progresses. Having Martian Manhunter back in the picture should help, as the actor is absolutely great and the character has typically been written as more of a driving force than most others introduced on Smallville (Green Arrow is at times, but then backslides into whiny bitch).


What say you, any who watched it? Feel it was a step forward?