Absolute Justice
Encyclopedia
"Absolute Justice" is the eleventh episode of the ninth season
of the CW
series Smallville
, and the 185th episode of the overall series. The episode originally aired on February 5, 2010 in the United States, and was initially slated to be two individual episodes before it was ultimately turned into a two-hour, single episode. Glen Winter directed the first half of "Absolute Justice", which was originally known as "Society". Tom Welling
directed the second half, which was called "Legends". Comic book scribe Geoff Johns
, who first wrote the season eight
episode "Legion", wrote both hours of "Absolute Justice".
In the episode's narrative, Clark Kent (Welling), Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack
), Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Justin Hartley
) and John Jones (Phil Morris) meet a team of superheroes, called the Justice Society of America
, who operated during the 1970s. The Justice Society is being hunted by an assassin known as Icicle
(Wesley Macinnes). Icicle was recruited by the organization Checkmate
, which is being headed by Agent Amanda Waller
(Pam Grier
). Clark, Chloe, Oliver and John team up with the Justice Society members to battle Icicle.
The introduction of the Justice Society was developed to be relevant to the series, primarily being used to teach the new generation of superheroes—Clark, Oliver, and the rest of the team
—a lesson about family and leadership. Johns modeled his vision of the Justice Society after the film Watchmen
, where a group of superheroes come out of retirement. Johns also included references to other Justice Society members throughout the episode. "Absolute Justice" is Smallvilles highest-rated episode for season nine in total viewers, adults 18-49, and men 18-49. The episode received generally mixed reviews from critics, with praise given to the backstory provided to the guest characters and criticized for what was perceived as a poor choice of a villain.
tries to get in touch with Clark Kent
, she suddenly finds herself cornered in an alleyway by a man named Sylvester Pemberton
, who is wielding a staff that has the ability to control light. As Sylvester attempts to inform Chloe that he is a friend, and that he is also trying to bring back together a team of super-powered individuals, an assassin known as Icicle attacks. Sylvester hides Chloe in a dumpster while he battles Icicle, but Sylvester is ultimately killed. Chloe and Clark go to the hospital to investigate the truth behind Sylvester Pemberton, which ultimately leads them to the Daily Planet
archive room. At the Daily Planet, Clark and Chloe discover documents and an old 16 mm film
that identifies Sylvester as part of a team of criminals, which includes: Carter Hall, Kent Nelson
, Jay Garrick, Alan Scott
, Ted Grant
, Abigail Hunkel, Wesley Dodds
, and Al Pratt. In the documentary footage, Sylvester and the rest of his team are systematically arrested, but because of allegations of jury tampering, falsified evidence, and lack of connection all of the individuals are released.
While Clark and Chloe are looking into the criminal group, Icicle tracks down and kills Wesley Dodds. Following Dodds' death, Clark tracks down Carter Hall, believing him to be Icicle's next target. Clark finds Hall at a museum; he also finds Kent Nelson, who is mumbling incoherently to himself and clutching onto a small bag. Using his X-ray vision
, Clark sees a helmet inside the bag, which turns on its own and looks back at Clark. Having enough of Clark's questions, Carter sends Clark on his way. Meanwhile, Chloe sends Oliver Queen
after Sylvester's staff. Unfortunately, high school sophomore Courtney Whitmore has already taken the staff. Before Oliver can get the staff from her, Kent shows up and uses the staff to teleport both him and Courtney back to the museum. Back at the museum, it is revealed that Sylvester's team was actually a group of superheroes led by Carter Hall, who went by the codename "Hawkman". The group called themselves the "Justice Society of America
". Courtney, who is revealed to be Sylvester's protégé, Kent and Carter band together to find Sylvester's killer. As such, Kent places the Helmet of Nabu back on and transforms into "Doctor Fate".
After investigating the cause of death for Dodds and Pemberton, Clark and Chloe believe they have located the killer at the psychiatric ward of Metropolis General Hospital. When they arrive, they find the individual, Joar Mahkent, in a vegetative state and Doctor Fate reading his mind. Doctor Fate then sees Clark's fate and teleports Clark and himself to the museum. Meanwhile, the real assassin is revealed to be Joar's son, who is killing the Justice Society members for putting his father in that vegetative state decades earlier. Hired by an organization known as Checkmate
, and instructed by Agent Amanda Waller
, Icicle sets his sights on Courtney next. Oliver, in his Green Arrow
persona, tracks down Courtney—who calls herself "Stargirl"—and realizes that she is setting herself up as bait to lure Icicle out. Icicle arrives, but Oliver interrupts Courtney's plan. As a result, Hawkman grabs Oliver, flies him into the air, throws him through the Watchtower
window, and then threatens to do worse if Oliver interferes again.
Meanwhile, Checkmate sends Lois Lane
an anonymous package that provides her with the truth about the Justice Society. Clark awakens at the museum, where Doctor Fate informs Clark that his fate is to lead a new generation of superheroes, and that he will one day conquer his greatest enemy, Lex Luthor
. Oliver and John Jones show up at the museum to rescue Clark, unaware that Hawkman, Doctor Fate, and Stargirl are actually heroes. Banding together, the group splits up into pairs to locate Icicle. While on patrol, Doctor Fate and John Jones are attacked by Icicle. Before Doctor Fate is killed, he uses his abilities to restore John's Martian
powers. While John lies unconscious, Icicle steals Doctor Fate's helmet and acquires the powers that go with it.
Clark and the others regroup at Watchtower, where Icicle arrives to kill the rest of the Justice Society and avenge his father. At first, Clark, Hawkman, Stargirl, and Green Arrow have trouble taking down Icicle and his new abilities. When John arrives, the group is finally able to defeat Icicle. Afterward, Carter tells Clark that he and Courtney have located the surviving members of the Justice Society, their children, and their protégés in order to build a new team of superheroes for today's generation. Back at the Daily Planet, Lois publishes her article on the Justice Society, revealing them to be a team of superheroes who were lambasted by the government, and falsely imprisoned. Icicle is transported back to Checkmate, where Agent Waller subsequently kills him after informing Icicle that he was a part of the new Suicide Squad
. Afterward, Tess Mercer is revealed to be an agent of Checkmate.
was first revealed at the public at the 2009 Comic Con, where producers announced that comic book scribe Geoff Johns
would write the episode. Johns had previously introduced the Legion of Super-Heroes
in the season eight
episode "Legion". As Johns worked on the script for the Justice Society episode, which was titled "Society", it was decided that in order to do the characters justice, the decision was made to extend the story into two separate episodes, with the second episode titled "Legends". Executive producer Kelly Souders explained, "To be honest, there were so many characters and so much great story that people would’ve been robbed of some great moments if we kept it to just one hour." According to executive producer Brian Peterson
, he and Johns realized there was so much material for one episode that they decided to make it into two. Peterson describes the episodes as a "mini-movie", and referred to it as one of the most exciting things they have done on Smallville in nine years. Ultimately, the idea of two separate episodes was scrapped in favor of combining them into a single show. The CW then marketed the episode as a two-hour television movie titled, Smallville: Absolute Justice. Following the episode's airing, the Smallville writers announced on their Twitter
page that they still consider "Absolute Justice" to be two separately produced episodes, but was aired and packaged on the season 9 DVD and as a single episode.
On October 19, 2009, it was announced that Michael Shanks
, Brent Stait
and Brittney Irvin were cast as the Justice Society members Carter Hall/Hawkman
, Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate
, and Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl, respectively. Shanks took the role because he did not think he would get many opportunities to play a superhero in the future. On November 9, 2009, it was announced that Pam Grier
would appear as Amanda Waller
, a character from DC Comics, in "Absolute Justice". The role is scheduled to last "multiple episodes". Phil Morris was also brought back as John Jones
, a recurring character Morris has appeared as since season six
.
—a lesson about family and leadership. Peterson also stated that the mid-season episode "Disciple" would be written so that it could set the table for "Absolute Justice", and reveal that the show's heroes are not coalescing the way they need to be. Geoff Johns described his version of the Justice Society to be similar to the heroes of the film Watchmen
, who "come out of retirement to give 'the screwed-up guys of the next generation a needed smack down'".
When it came time to translate the comic book Justice Society members into live-action characters, Johns stated that he tried to keep everyone exactly the same. Johns notes that Hawkman and Stargirl are virtual duplicates of their comic book counterparts, but that Doctor Fate "took on a life of his own" when Johns was writing him. According to Johns, Kent Nelson is portrayed as being in a "different place and head space than he is in the comics". Regardless of any differences between where the characters are in their respective lives, Johns stated that they both still "embody the same values and traits". Johns also noted that he almost did not use the character of Doctor Fate. While he was developing the initial concept for the story, and meeting with executive producers Peterson and Souders, there was no restrictions on the characters he could use. The idea of using Wildcat
or Jay Garrick was floated around, but Johns believed he had a unique approach to the Doctor Fate character. He also believed that Doctor Fate fit into the storyline better than Wildcat or Jay Garrick.
Johns chose to write in as much detail as possible, because he wanted to create a full sense of history for the characters. This included specific paintings, cards, tables, and how their costumes appeared. Johns also included mentionings of former members and relatives of the current members. According to the writer, the executive producers embraced his ideas completely. In addition, Johns researched where the Smallville writers had taken the show since the last time he wrote an episode, although he acknowledged that he did not have the plan to incorporate the primary storyline of season nine. Johns' initial script pushed the production budget to the max. According to Johns, "By turning [the story] into two episodes, it not only allowed the story to get bigger, but it allowed our budget to become bigger."
wears the traditional Hawkman uniform, complete with strap-on wings and Hawkman's mace. He spent time practicing his wire work for the flying scenes that he would have to film while in full costume. One difference in the costume is the inclusion of a chest plate. According to Shanks, the costume designers added a chest plate to assist the flying harness they created. The chest plate and Hawkman's helmet were given a bronze color, as opposed to the more traditional "yellow/gold" color. Shanks, who is accustomed to the chaos of a weekly television series, was surprised to find so much attention paid to a guest starring role. Shanks said producer James Marshall
respected and took into consideration some of his artistic input. He also said his character's return for future episodes is a "strong possibility". According to Johns, "Their costumes work because [the Justice Society members] were from the generation before [Clark and his allies]."
in total viewers, adults 18–49, and men 18–49. A 7% increase from the season nine
premiere, which had 2.58 million viewers.
Reviews for the episode were generally mixed. Carlos Delgado of IFMagazine gave the episode a B+, stating, "'Absolute Justice' was ambitious. A two hour defibrillation trying to restore a pulse to a show that had been relegated to the Friday night death slot
. It takes guts to air something that could so easily make or break a season. Two hours of garbage, the show is done. Two hours of comic book bliss, well, let’s just say contracts might be written up that very night to secure the next phase of the Man of Steel’s odyssey. Yes, it was that big." He said that Icicle
was a weak antagonist but mentioned that "Absolute Justice" was a success. Anthony Ocasio from ScreenRant went as far as deeming "Absolute Justice" one of the best episodes of Smallville in its nine years of being on the air, writing "It was wonderful to see that guest characters could be on Smallville with a backstory that’s more than the normal “guess who just happened to come to Metropolis". He voiced his opinion against the antagonist, Icicle, and called the actor who portrayed the character "poor", and stated he "got goose bumps when we saw glimpse at the fate of Clark Kent
." Reviewer Graeme McMillan praised Tom Welling
's directing, while calling Clark the character who was the least fun of the episode; he praised writer Geoff Johns
, saying, "There was a sense of scale and history to the episode that the series doesn't usually manage." When talking about the Justice Society, he said, "They brought with them — or, more likely, Geoff Johns did — a banter and wit that the show often lacks, and also a speed and lightness that worked better than the show's usual po-faced drama.... the show just seemed better than usual." He concluded his review by saying that even though the special effects were disappointing, the episode was fun. Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly said the first hour of the episode contained the "stand-out visual sequence" and thought the second hour was "more lumbering", with the big fight sequence toward the end "unsatisfying". Tucker stated, "For viewers who only know the Superman/boy mythos according to Smallville, it must have seemed strange to have most of the series' ongoing subplots put in storage for this week's two-hour edition. Then again, since the villain of this piece was a faux-hawked foe called the Icicle, frozen plotlines were inevitable." Reviewer Blair Marnell said, "For longtime comic fans, catching all of the comic references was part of the fun, including Radu's Cafe from "Green Lantern
," the "Trouble Alert" from the classic "Superfriends" animated series, and Pemberton's "Star-Rocket Racer", which also served as the home for the fallen hero." He said the episode approached an "epic scale not seen in the series for a long time" and criticized the "raspy voice" of "Hawkman". In concluding the review, he stated that he enjoyed slight nods to the comics and thought the episode could have been told in one hour. Reviewer Chris Carabott said, "For a show that realistically should have ended seasons ago, Smallville continues to surprise the hell out of me. "Absolute Justice" brings various members of the Justice Society of America
to life on the small screen and it does it brilliantly." He applauded writer Geoff Johns, saying he "outdoes himself with a story that pays homage to the early days of some of DC's finest." While stating disapproval among the costumes, he said Doctor Fate
's "gold helmet contrasted by the dark blue of the costume looked fantastic in HD." He also called the episode "a great achievement" and said it is "fun to watch for both long time DC Comics fans and Smallville fans."
Author Joe Oesterle said that it is odd how in a major city like Metropolis
, main characters are the only ones out on the streets. He expressed disappointment with the Sandman
's death, "I’d have liked to see some old school Sandman roughhouse, and I felt cheated when a...Golden Age legend like Sandman goes to his eternal rest without so much as a single blast from his gas gun. I suppose the argument could be made to say that’s how formidable Icicle Jr. was, or how rusty Sandman was, but I’m not buying that. Sandman deserved to go down fighting, not frozen solid while frozen in hesitation." While criticizing the episode, he compared the episode to the Watchmen
film and disapproved of the "Batman
" voice the Hawkman had. He also said that there should have been more John Jones and less Lois Lane. While praising the episode, he approved of Amanda Waller and said, "It’s interesting to get a whiff of how Tess Mercer became such a lethal hand-to-hand combatant." He concluded by saying that the episode did not live up to its hype and thought the episode before it, "Disciple", was "Grade A entertainment" in comparison. One reviewer praised the show by saying Smallville is "quietly having its best season in at least 5 years." He said the show currently does not resemble its former self and plays more like a graphic novel. He called Hawkman "excellent" but also disapproved of the "Christian Bale
"-Batman voice; he called Doctor Fate "awesome".
Brad Trechak from TVSquad had a negative review: "Admittedly, the episode was kind of light on story and ended up having major plot-holes, the least of which being how exactly "Hawkman"'s helmet stayed on." He compared the episode to the Watchmen
movie and asked why the Justice Society were scared of Icicle, saying, "It's the Icicle! He's at best second rate and shouldn't last 20 seconds with "Hawkman", much less Doctor Fate. They should have used Vandal Savage
or another villain with more menace. The Icicle represents one of the...plot holes." He compared Dr. Fate's death with possible foreshadowing of the early death of Chloe. He ended by stating, "The episode didn't quite live up to the hype, but it was close enough. After all that foreshadowing, this series better end with Clark putting on the costume; otherwise, there may be nerd riots at The CW
."
Additional
Smallville (season 9)
Season nine of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 25, 2009. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
of the CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
series Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, and the 185th episode of the overall series. The episode originally aired on February 5, 2010 in the United States, and was initially slated to be two individual episodes before it was ultimately turned into a two-hour, single episode. Glen Winter directed the first half of "Absolute Justice", which was originally known as "Society". Tom Welling
Tom Welling
Thomas John Patrick "Tom" Welling is an American actor, director, producer, and former model, best known for his portrayal of Clark Kent in the WB/CW series Smallville....
directed the second half, which was called "Legends". Comic book scribe Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...
, who first wrote the season eight
Smallville (season 8)
Season eight of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 18, 2008. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
episode "Legion", wrote both hours of "Absolute Justice".
In the episode's narrative, Clark Kent (Welling), Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack
Allison Mack
Not to be confused with Alison MacAllison Mack is an American actress. She is best known for her role of Chloe Sullivan on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Early life:...
), Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Justin Hartley
Justin Hartley
Justin Scott Hartley is an American actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles of Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions, and as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on the WB/CW Superman-inspired series Smallville....
) and John Jones (Phil Morris) meet a team of superheroes, called the Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
, who operated during the 1970s. The Justice Society is being hunted by an assassin known as Icicle
Icicle (comics)
Icicle is the name of two fictional DC Comics supervillains.-Dr. Joar Mahkent:When noted European physicist Dr. Joar Mahkent arrived in America with his latest scientific discovery, spectators at dockside were astonished to witness the luxury liner upon which Mahkent was traveling suddenly frozen...
(Wesley Macinnes). Icicle was recruited by the organization Checkmate
Checkmate (comics)
Checkmate, a division of Task Force X, is a fictional covert operations agency within the DC Comics universe. It first appeared in Action Comics #598 and proceeded to have its own ongoing title in Checkmate!...
, which is being headed by Agent Amanda Waller
Amanda Waller
Dr. Amanda Blake Waller is a character published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986, and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne...
(Pam Grier
Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
). Clark, Chloe, Oliver and John team up with the Justice Society members to battle Icicle.
The introduction of the Justice Society was developed to be relevant to the series, primarily being used to teach the new generation of superheroes—Clark, Oliver, and the rest of the team
Justice League (Smallville)
The Justice League is a fictional group of superheroes on the television series, Smallville, who were adapted for television by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The Justice League originally included Oliver Queen, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, and Arthur Curry; Clark Kent did not accept a role until...
—a lesson about family and leadership. Johns modeled his vision of the Justice Society after the film Watchmen
Watchmen (film)
Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. It is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons...
, where a group of superheroes come out of retirement. Johns also included references to other Justice Society members throughout the episode. "Absolute Justice" is Smallvilles highest-rated episode for season nine in total viewers, adults 18-49, and men 18-49. The episode received generally mixed reviews from critics, with praise given to the backstory provided to the guest characters and criticized for what was perceived as a poor choice of a villain.
Plot
As Chloe SullivanChloe Sullivan
Chloe Sullivan is a fictional character from the television series Smallville. Series regular Allison Mack has portrayed the character since the pilot episode; two other actresses performed the role of Chloe Sullivan as a child. The character was created exclusively for Smallville, by series...
tries to get in touch with Clark Kent
Clark Kent (Smallville)
Clark Kent is a fictional character on the television series Smallville. The character of Clark Kent, first created for comic books by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 as the alternate identity of Superman, was adapted to television in 2001 by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar—this is the fourth...
, she suddenly finds herself cornered in an alleyway by a man named Sylvester Pemberton
Sylvester Pemberton
Sylvester Pemberton, alternately known as The Star-Spangled Kid and Skyman, is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics universe. Sylvester first appeared in Action Comics #40 and was created by Jerry Siegel and Hal Sherman....
, who is wielding a staff that has the ability to control light. As Sylvester attempts to inform Chloe that he is a friend, and that he is also trying to bring back together a team of super-powered individuals, an assassin known as Icicle attacks. Sylvester hides Chloe in a dumpster while he battles Icicle, but Sylvester is ultimately killed. Chloe and Clark go to the hospital to investigate the truth behind Sylvester Pemberton, which ultimately leads them to the Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
archive room. At the Daily Planet, Clark and Chloe discover documents and an old 16 mm film
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
that identifies Sylvester as part of a team of criminals, which includes: Carter Hall, Kent Nelson
Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear in books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55...
, Jay Garrick, Alan Scott
Alan Scott
Alan Scott is a fictional character, a superhero in the and the first superhero to bear the name Green Lantern.-Publication history:The original Green Lantern was created by young struggling artist Martin Nodell, who was inspired by the sight of a New York Subway employee waving a red lantern to...
, Ted Grant
Wildcat (comics)
Wildcat is the name of several fictional characters, all DC Comics superheroes. The first and most famous of these is Ted Grant, a long-time member of the Justice Society of America...
, Abigail Hunkel, Wesley Dodds
Sandman (Wesley Dodds)
Sandman , is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first of several DC characters to bear the name, he was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman....
, and Al Pratt. In the documentary footage, Sylvester and the rest of his team are systematically arrested, but because of allegations of jury tampering, falsified evidence, and lack of connection all of the individuals are released.
While Clark and Chloe are looking into the criminal group, Icicle tracks down and kills Wesley Dodds. Following Dodds' death, Clark tracks down Carter Hall, believing him to be Icicle's next target. Clark finds Hall at a museum; he also finds Kent Nelson, who is mumbling incoherently to himself and clutching onto a small bag. Using his X-ray vision
X-Ray Vision
In science fiction stories or superhero comics, X-ray vision is the ability to see through physical objects at the discretion of the holder of this superpower. The most famous possessor of this ability is DC Comics' iconic superhero character, Superman....
, Clark sees a helmet inside the bag, which turns on its own and looks back at Clark. Having enough of Clark's questions, Carter sends Clark on his way. Meanwhile, Chloe sends Oliver Queen
Justice League (Smallville)
The Justice League is a fictional group of superheroes on the television series, Smallville, who were adapted for television by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The Justice League originally included Oliver Queen, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, and Arthur Curry; Clark Kent did not accept a role until...
after Sylvester's staff. Unfortunately, high school sophomore Courtney Whitmore has already taken the staff. Before Oliver can get the staff from her, Kent shows up and uses the staff to teleport both him and Courtney back to the museum. Back at the museum, it is revealed that Sylvester's team was actually a group of superheroes led by Carter Hall, who went by the codename "Hawkman". The group called themselves the "Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
". Courtney, who is revealed to be Sylvester's protégé, Kent and Carter band together to find Sylvester's killer. As such, Kent places the Helmet of Nabu back on and transforms into "Doctor Fate".
After investigating the cause of death for Dodds and Pemberton, Clark and Chloe believe they have located the killer at the psychiatric ward of Metropolis General Hospital. When they arrive, they find the individual, Joar Mahkent, in a vegetative state and Doctor Fate reading his mind. Doctor Fate then sees Clark's fate and teleports Clark and himself to the museum. Meanwhile, the real assassin is revealed to be Joar's son, who is killing the Justice Society members for putting his father in that vegetative state decades earlier. Hired by an organization known as Checkmate
Checkmate (comics)
Checkmate, a division of Task Force X, is a fictional covert operations agency within the DC Comics universe. It first appeared in Action Comics #598 and proceeded to have its own ongoing title in Checkmate!...
, and instructed by Agent Amanda Waller
Amanda Waller
Dr. Amanda Blake Waller is a character published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986, and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne...
, Icicle sets his sights on Courtney next. Oliver, in his Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
persona, tracks down Courtney—who calls herself "Stargirl"—and realizes that she is setting herself up as bait to lure Icicle out. Icicle arrives, but Oliver interrupts Courtney's plan. As a result, Hawkman grabs Oliver, flies him into the air, throws him through the Watchtower
Justice League Watchtower
The Watchtower is the name of various bases used by the Justice League of America in DC Comics and various other media. It has been portrayed in DC comics as a building on Earth's moon, and as a space-station in orbit in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon.The Watchtower debuted in JLA #4 during...
window, and then threatens to do worse if Oliver interferes again.
Meanwhile, Checkmate sends Lois Lane
Lois Lane (Smallville)
Lois Lane is a fictional character on the television series Smallville; she has been portrayed continually by Erica Durance since her first appearance in the season four premier "Crusade". Durance began as a guest star in season four, but was promoted to series regular status beginning in season five...
an anonymous package that provides her with the truth about the Justice Society. Clark awakens at the museum, where Doctor Fate informs Clark that his fate is to lead a new generation of superheroes, and that he will one day conquer his greatest enemy, Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor (Smallville)
Lex Luthor is a fictional character from the television series Smallville. He was a series regular from the pilot episode until the season seven finale, and has been played continuously by Michael Rosenbaum, with various actors portraying Lex as a child throughout the series...
. Oliver and John Jones show up at the museum to rescue Clark, unaware that Hawkman, Doctor Fate, and Stargirl are actually heroes. Banding together, the group splits up into pairs to locate Icicle. While on patrol, Doctor Fate and John Jones are attacked by Icicle. Before Doctor Fate is killed, he uses his abilities to restore John's Martian
Martian
As an adjective, the term martian is used to describe anything pertaining to the planet Mars.However, a Martian is more usually a hypothetical or fictional native inhabitant of the planet Mars. Historically, life on Mars has often been hypothesized, although there is currently no solid evidence of...
powers. While John lies unconscious, Icicle steals Doctor Fate's helmet and acquires the powers that go with it.
Clark and the others regroup at Watchtower, where Icicle arrives to kill the rest of the Justice Society and avenge his father. At first, Clark, Hawkman, Stargirl, and Green Arrow have trouble taking down Icicle and his new abilities. When John arrives, the group is finally able to defeat Icicle. Afterward, Carter tells Clark that he and Courtney have located the surviving members of the Justice Society, their children, and their protégés in order to build a new team of superheroes for today's generation. Back at the Daily Planet, Lois publishes her article on the Justice Society, revealing them to be a team of superheroes who were lambasted by the government, and falsely imprisoned. Icicle is transported back to Checkmate, where Agent Waller subsequently kills him after informing Icicle that he was a part of the new Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X , is a name for two fictional organizations in the DC Comics Universe. The first version debuted in The Brave and the Bold #25 , and the second in Legends #3...
. Afterward, Tess Mercer is revealed to be an agent of Checkmate.
Development
The idea of introducing the Justice Society of AmericaJustice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
was first revealed at the public at the 2009 Comic Con, where producers announced that comic book scribe Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...
would write the episode. Johns had previously introduced the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
in the season eight
Smallville (season 8)
Season eight of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 18, 2008. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
episode "Legion". As Johns worked on the script for the Justice Society episode, which was titled "Society", it was decided that in order to do the characters justice, the decision was made to extend the story into two separate episodes, with the second episode titled "Legends". Executive producer Kelly Souders explained, "To be honest, there were so many characters and so much great story that people would’ve been robbed of some great moments if we kept it to just one hour." According to executive producer Brian Peterson
Brian Peterson
Brian Peterson is a South African former professional footballer. He spent six years at Blackpool in the 1950s and 1960s, making over 100 Football League appearances for the club...
, he and Johns realized there was so much material for one episode that they decided to make it into two. Peterson describes the episodes as a "mini-movie", and referred to it as one of the most exciting things they have done on Smallville in nine years. Ultimately, the idea of two separate episodes was scrapped in favor of combining them into a single show. The CW then marketed the episode as a two-hour television movie titled, Smallville: Absolute Justice. Following the episode's airing, the Smallville writers announced on their Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page that they still consider "Absolute Justice" to be two separately produced episodes, but was aired and packaged on the season 9 DVD and as a single episode.
On October 19, 2009, it was announced that Michael Shanks
Michael Shanks
Michael Garrett Shanks is a Canadian actor who achieved fame for his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson in the long-running Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1.-Early life:...
, Brent Stait
Brent Stait
Brent Stait is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles as Rev Bem in the science fiction television series Andromeda and Louis Ferretti in Stargate SG-1...
and Brittney Irvin were cast as the Justice Society members Carter Hall/Hawkman
Hawkman
Hawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....
, Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear in books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55...
, and Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl, respectively. Shanks took the role because he did not think he would get many opportunities to play a superhero in the future. On November 9, 2009, it was announced that Pam Grier
Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
would appear as Amanda Waller
Amanda Waller
Dr. Amanda Blake Waller is a character published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986, and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne...
, a character from DC Comics, in "Absolute Justice". The role is scheduled to last "multiple episodes". Phil Morris was also brought back as John Jones
Martian Manhunter
The Martian Manhunter is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in publications published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #225...
, a recurring character Morris has appeared as since season six
Smallville (Season 6)
Season six of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 28, 2006. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
.
Writing
As the script for "Absolute Justice" was being developed by Geoff Johns, executive producer Brian Peterson explained that he wanted the entrance for the Justice Society to be relevant to the series. Peterson felt that the Justice Society should teach the new generation of heroes—Clark, Oliver, and the rest of the teamJustice League (Smallville)
The Justice League is a fictional group of superheroes on the television series, Smallville, who were adapted for television by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The Justice League originally included Oliver Queen, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, and Arthur Curry; Clark Kent did not accept a role until...
—a lesson about family and leadership. Peterson also stated that the mid-season episode "Disciple" would be written so that it could set the table for "Absolute Justice", and reveal that the show's heroes are not coalescing the way they need to be. Geoff Johns described his version of the Justice Society to be similar to the heroes of the film Watchmen
Watchmen (film)
Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. It is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons...
, who "come out of retirement to give 'the screwed-up guys of the next generation a needed smack down'".
When it came time to translate the comic book Justice Society members into live-action characters, Johns stated that he tried to keep everyone exactly the same. Johns notes that Hawkman and Stargirl are virtual duplicates of their comic book counterparts, but that Doctor Fate "took on a life of his own" when Johns was writing him. According to Johns, Kent Nelson is portrayed as being in a "different place and head space than he is in the comics". Regardless of any differences between where the characters are in their respective lives, Johns stated that they both still "embody the same values and traits". Johns also noted that he almost did not use the character of Doctor Fate. While he was developing the initial concept for the story, and meeting with executive producers Peterson and Souders, there was no restrictions on the characters he could use. The idea of using Wildcat
Wildcat (comics)
Wildcat is the name of several fictional characters, all DC Comics superheroes. The first and most famous of these is Ted Grant, a long-time member of the Justice Society of America...
or Jay Garrick was floated around, but Johns believed he had a unique approach to the Doctor Fate character. He also believed that Doctor Fate fit into the storyline better than Wildcat or Jay Garrick.
Johns chose to write in as much detail as possible, because he wanted to create a full sense of history for the characters. This included specific paintings, cards, tables, and how their costumes appeared. Johns also included mentionings of former members and relatives of the current members. According to the writer, the executive producers embraced his ideas completely. In addition, Johns researched where the Smallville writers had taken the show since the last time he wrote an episode, although he acknowledged that he did not have the plan to incorporate the primary storyline of season nine. Johns' initial script pushed the production budget to the max. According to Johns, "By turning [the story] into two episodes, it not only allowed the story to get bigger, but it allowed our budget to become bigger."
Character designs
Michael ShanksMichael Shanks
Michael Garrett Shanks is a Canadian actor who achieved fame for his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson in the long-running Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1.-Early life:...
wears the traditional Hawkman uniform, complete with strap-on wings and Hawkman's mace. He spent time practicing his wire work for the flying scenes that he would have to film while in full costume. One difference in the costume is the inclusion of a chest plate. According to Shanks, the costume designers added a chest plate to assist the flying harness they created. The chest plate and Hawkman's helmet were given a bronze color, as opposed to the more traditional "yellow/gold" color. Shanks, who is accustomed to the chaos of a weekly television series, was surprised to find so much attention paid to a guest starring role. Shanks said producer James Marshall
James Marshall (director)
James Marshall is an American television producer and director best known for his work on the series Smallville, Charmed and The Famous Jett Jackson.-Smallville:...
respected and took into consideration some of his artistic input. He also said his character's return for future episodes is a "strong possibility". According to Johns, "Their costumes work because [the Justice Society members] were from the generation before [Clark and his allies]."
Reception
Nielsen Ratings for "Absolute Justice" came in at approximately 2.77 million viewers, which is Smallvilles highest-rated episode for season nineSmallville (season 9)
Season nine of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 25, 2009. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
in total viewers, adults 18–49, and men 18–49. A 7% increase from the season nine
Smallville (season 9)
Season nine of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 25, 2009. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
premiere, which had 2.58 million viewers.
Reviews for the episode were generally mixed. Carlos Delgado of IFMagazine gave the episode a B+, stating, "'Absolute Justice' was ambitious. A two hour defibrillation trying to restore a pulse to a show that had been relegated to the Friday night death slot
Friday night death slot
The Friday night death slot is a perceived graveyard slot in American television, referring to the concept that a television program in the United States scheduled on Friday evenings is destined for imminent cancellation....
. It takes guts to air something that could so easily make or break a season. Two hours of garbage, the show is done. Two hours of comic book bliss, well, let’s just say contracts might be written up that very night to secure the next phase of the Man of Steel’s odyssey. Yes, it was that big." He said that Icicle
Icicle (comics)
Icicle is the name of two fictional DC Comics supervillains.-Dr. Joar Mahkent:When noted European physicist Dr. Joar Mahkent arrived in America with his latest scientific discovery, spectators at dockside were astonished to witness the luxury liner upon which Mahkent was traveling suddenly frozen...
was a weak antagonist but mentioned that "Absolute Justice" was a success. Anthony Ocasio from ScreenRant went as far as deeming "Absolute Justice" one of the best episodes of Smallville in its nine years of being on the air, writing "It was wonderful to see that guest characters could be on Smallville with a backstory that’s more than the normal “guess who just happened to come to Metropolis". He voiced his opinion against the antagonist, Icicle, and called the actor who portrayed the character "poor", and stated he "got goose bumps when we saw glimpse at the fate of Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
." Reviewer Graeme McMillan praised Tom Welling
Tom Welling
Thomas John Patrick "Tom" Welling is an American actor, director, producer, and former model, best known for his portrayal of Clark Kent in the WB/CW series Smallville....
's directing, while calling Clark the character who was the least fun of the episode; he praised writer Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...
, saying, "There was a sense of scale and history to the episode that the series doesn't usually manage." When talking about the Justice Society, he said, "They brought with them — or, more likely, Geoff Johns did — a banter and wit that the show often lacks, and also a speed and lightness that worked better than the show's usual po-faced drama.... the show just seemed better than usual." He concluded his review by saying that even though the special effects were disappointing, the episode was fun. Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly said the first hour of the episode contained the "stand-out visual sequence" and thought the second hour was "more lumbering", with the big fight sequence toward the end "unsatisfying". Tucker stated, "For viewers who only know the Superman/boy mythos according to Smallville, it must have seemed strange to have most of the series' ongoing subplots put in storage for this week's two-hour edition. Then again, since the villain of this piece was a faux-hawked foe called the Icicle, frozen plotlines were inevitable." Reviewer Blair Marnell said, "For longtime comic fans, catching all of the comic references was part of the fun, including Radu's Cafe from "Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
," the "Trouble Alert" from the classic "Superfriends" animated series, and Pemberton's "Star-Rocket Racer", which also served as the home for the fallen hero." He said the episode approached an "epic scale not seen in the series for a long time" and criticized the "raspy voice" of "Hawkman". In concluding the review, he stated that he enjoyed slight nods to the comics and thought the episode could have been told in one hour. Reviewer Chris Carabott said, "For a show that realistically should have ended seasons ago, Smallville continues to surprise the hell out of me. "Absolute Justice" brings various members of the Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
to life on the small screen and it does it brilliantly." He applauded writer Geoff Johns, saying he "outdoes himself with a story that pays homage to the early days of some of DC's finest." While stating disapproval among the costumes, he said Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear in books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55...
's "gold helmet contrasted by the dark blue of the costume looked fantastic in HD." He also called the episode "a great achievement" and said it is "fun to watch for both long time DC Comics fans and Smallville fans."
Author Joe Oesterle said that it is odd how in a major city like Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
, main characters are the only ones out on the streets. He expressed disappointment with the Sandman
Sandman (comics)
Sandman and The Sandman, in comics, may refer to a number of characters:* Sandman , denoting the various characters that have taken the mantle of the Sandman, including:...
's death, "I’d have liked to see some old school Sandman roughhouse, and I felt cheated when a...Golden Age legend like Sandman goes to his eternal rest without so much as a single blast from his gas gun. I suppose the argument could be made to say that’s how formidable Icicle Jr. was, or how rusty Sandman was, but I’m not buying that. Sandman deserved to go down fighting, not frozen solid while frozen in hesitation." While criticizing the episode, he compared the episode to the Watchmen
Watchmen (film)
Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. It is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons...
film and disapproved of the "Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
" voice the Hawkman had. He also said that there should have been more John Jones and less Lois Lane. While praising the episode, he approved of Amanda Waller and said, "It’s interesting to get a whiff of how Tess Mercer became such a lethal hand-to-hand combatant." He concluded by saying that the episode did not live up to its hype and thought the episode before it, "Disciple", was "Grade A entertainment" in comparison. One reviewer praised the show by saying Smallville is "quietly having its best season in at least 5 years." He said the show currently does not resemble its former self and plays more like a graphic novel. He called Hawkman "excellent" but also disapproved of the "Christian Bale
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
"-Batman voice; he called Doctor Fate "awesome".
Brad Trechak from TVSquad had a negative review: "Admittedly, the episode was kind of light on story and ended up having major plot-holes, the least of which being how exactly "Hawkman"'s helmet stayed on." He compared the episode to the Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
movie and asked why the Justice Society were scared of Icicle, saying, "It's the Icicle! He's at best second rate and shouldn't last 20 seconds with "Hawkman", much less Doctor Fate. They should have used Vandal Savage
Vandal Savage
Vandal Savage is a fictional character, a supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Green Lantern vol. 1 #10 , and was created by Alfred Bester and Martin Nodell....
or another villain with more menace. The Icicle represents one of the...plot holes." He compared Dr. Fate's death with possible foreshadowing of the early death of Chloe. He ended by stating, "The episode didn't quite live up to the hype, but it was close enough. After all that foreshadowing, this series better end with Clark putting on the costume; otherwise, there may be nerd riots at The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
."
External links
Official- Official website
- Smallville on YTV (Canada)
Additional
- Absolute Justice at Wikia.comWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...
- Absolute Justice at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...