Smallville: Absolute Justice

After the idiocy of last years season finale it would have taken a lot to generate renewed interest in me for this show. Bringing back Green Lantern scribe Geoff Johns, who penned my favorite episode from the '09 season (Legion) was a step in the right direction. To start, I’ll point out that I’ve got a love/hate relationship with Smallville. I like it when it’s heroic; I hate it when it embraces the overwrought soap opera. It’s fun when it’s adventurous and mysterious, ponderous with its contradictory stabs at the philosophical. Overall, I find it damn schizophrenic.

Thankfully "Absolute Justice" zeroes in on action and intrigue. With a Watchmen-esque mystery about an old school crime fighting team -the JSA- whose members are being killed off one by one. As Clark and his crew try to suss out what’s going on, they collide with this old guard, before the two put aside their differences for the greater good.

The 2-hour episode spends its first half on the mystery and introduction, which I liked. The second half focuses on the adventure, which was equally as cool as. Add it all up and I got something that was entertaining and held my interest from start to finish.

A lot of talk on this episode involved the costumes. Would they work or come off cheesy? For me they were hit and miss. This is TV and it doesn’t have the budget of a blockbuster Hollywood production so I wasn’t expecting Spider-Man levels. Sometimes they did well - as with Doctor Fate, whose helmet and glowing eyes were very effective. Sometimes it was split down the middle. Stargirl, a favorite of mine -and someone close to Geoff Johns' heart- looked good; apart from the overlarge facemask (something about superwomen and their eyes flummoxes this show… ala the ugly black makeup they’ve put around Black Canary’s peepers). With Hawkman, his headgear has always looked goofy, so there's not much they could do there. The wings were tricky and the chestpiece was ill fitting and clunky. And speaking of clunky…

The actor-playing Hawk (Michael Shanks) was decent at first but once he donned the uniform and zapped into hero mode –Phew- It was like he was doing a bad Clint Eastwood impression. Over enunciating on some of the worst dialog of the episode. Hawkman and Green Arrow were paired as combative allies; Arrow was hilarious and delivered his lines like a pro. Hawk snarled and sputtered and made me wince with every lame quip he uttered. The rest of the JSA was serviceable and kept pace with the regular cast. Stargirl (Brit Irvin) and Chloe had some good bonding moments together and I liked Brent Strait as Fate (who sounded like James Earl Jones once he put on the helmet)

I’ve heard complaints that the villain Icicle was not a worthy foe. The actor does ham it up but the character did exactly what he was meant to do. He’s a puppet of Amanda Waller (Pam Greer) and the shadowy Checkmate organization - and that’s a nice set-up for some future stories.

Other pluses: The episode is packed with goodies that comic book fans should appreciate. You’ll spot items from Flash’s helmet to the Green Lantern’s battery. It was nice to see many of my old favorites, like Ted Grant (Wildcat in civilian dress). And there was a quick peak at Martian Manhunter’s true form in all its green glory -- as well as a nod to his love for Oreos.

All in all a –mostly- satisfying event. It cleansed the pallet and served to wash out the bad taste of the 2009s season finale and got me back to the show.

Next week: The welcome return of Zatanna (pitch perfect casting there. You couldn’t do any better than Serinda Swan). And a way we go…

Super Years - Super Movies

I remember looking at what 2008 had to offer for the comic book movie fan, and like the villains in many a flick, I was clasping and rubbing my hands and laughing in diabolic joy at the sight of it all.

There were a lot of highly anticipated remakes and new entries which might have had me too excited, what could live up to my anticipation?

Well not a lot did, in fact a lot of it was… well, good but not OMG AWESOME! Only 2 matched and exceeded the hype. Iron Man and The Dark Knight, both of which entered my top 10.

There was also one wonderful surprise.

Though I normally don’t read a lot of reviews, I suddenly felt compelled to read EVERTHING about the Punisher War Zone. Maybe I was trying to talk myself out of going. Then a strange thing happened. I sat down and got ready for the worst experience of my life when about mid way through I thought to myself, “Hey, something’s wrong here, I’m actually enjoying this stupid thing.” I don’t know if that will translate to the DVD when I watch it, or if my expectations were so low there was nothing but up from there. But I had a good time and currently have it ranked in the 30s.



2008 wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t the end all and be all nor was it the first great season in the sun. Before Hollywood threw its hat in the ring, Italy produced a lot of low budget but often entertaining productions. These cheesy Italian flicks offered comic book bliss from 67-68 with titles like Superargo, Danger Diabolik, Fantastic Aargoman, Kriminal and the 3 Fantastic Supermen. This would be the best run until 2004.

Ahh 2004… Now that was a great year.

At the top is the film that many still regard as the best superhero movie ever, Spider-Man 2. Though the Dark Knight challenges it, SM2 (with the first) still stands as the quintessential example of the Stan Lee era brought to life. Beyond that was Pixar’s incredible “The Incredibles” - an animated force that ranks as my favorite from the company.

Apart from those Top 10 entries is one that ranks in the teens, Hellboy. It might not be as splashy as the remake but I prefer its humanity, heart and the horror elements.

Far from our shores there were 2 released in Japan in 2004. Live action anime Cutie Honey is a kick and Zebraman was full of fun and warmth.

Course we couldn’t escape the year without a few stink bombs. The spastic Punisher with Thomas Jane, the amazingly cheesy, awfully directed (by screenwriter David Goyer) Blade Trinity and one of the very worst of the worst…Catwoman!



(2008 offered up duds like Superhero Movie! The inconsistent Jumper and the acid trip that was The Spirit – so nobody gets through a year unscathed. Even the Italians gave up “Avenger X” in the 60s)

How will 2009 stack up? It’s a bit lighter in the load pan. There are 2 highly anticipated films. First up is the Watchmen – For what it’s worth, Wesley Crusher rated it as the best comic book movie ever in his blog (under his real name Will Wheton) after he saw a sneak. And there’s Wolverine. Both at first blush, offer the best shots at breaking into my top 10 list (but it’s a tough crowd, so I’d be happy with teens or 20s)

Aside from the big 2 we’ll also get stuff like Kick-Ass (from the creator of “Wanted”) and Astro Boy (From Imagi studios, who produced TMNT).

The first comic book movie of the year, Push, has received mixed reviews. I stand on the side of those who liked it. I feel it got the new season off to a solid start. Other than the theatrical releases, Marvel has put out their best DTD (direct to disc) with Hulk Vs. and DC will soon have Wonder Woman on the shelves.

2010 and 11? Might be the new Marvel Age with its string of Avenger based films and the anticipated return of Spider-Man. DC will likely have at least the Green Lantern on the big screen.