The Legion of Superheroes
Johns is bringing the Legion, along with their classic enemy the Persuader, to the show, and the author couldn't be more excited. "The concept of the Legion throws a wrench in Clark's life," Johns said. "They've already built up to a huge climax with Chloe and Doomsday, and then the Legion comes in and completely complicates everything."
Johns pitched the episode on the episode featuring the founding Legionnaires, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy, by explaining their relevance to Clark Kent at this point in the character's development. In the comics, the Legion helped Superboy understand how important it was that he become Superman. On Smallville, perhaps they will help push Clark towards embracing his destiny as a hero.
Johns was aware of the difficulties of bringing the characters into the slightly more realistic world of Smallville in terms of their appearance, and ultimately they settled on outfits that reflect their comic-book spandex uniforms, similar to what the show has already done with the various members of the Justice League. "So you got Saturn Girl in red and white with Saturn on her chest," Johns expained. "We had production meetings to talk through all the details. Do they have [flight] rings? What do they look like?"
The episode, titled LEGION does not rely on knowledge of the comic characters, but is written to keep fans of the comic happy. "If you're not a Legion fan, it's a lot of 'Do you make your own destiny? Is it written in stone? Do your heroes live up to your expectatons?' There's a lot there for you. But if you're a fan, we worked our asses off to be as faithful to it as possible. There's so much mythology in this episode, I think the fans will be blown away."
Smallville airs Thursday nights on the CW. New episodes, starting with LEGION begin on January 15, 2009. The drama about the early days of Clark Kent stars Tom Welling, Erica Durance, Allison Mack, Aaron Ashmore, Justin Hartley, Cassidy Freeman and Sam Witwer.
Smallville episode 8.11, "Legion" stars Tom Welling, Allison Mack, Erica Durance, Aaron Ashmore, Cassidy Freeman, Sam Witwer, Justin Hartley, Kristin Kreuk and is directed by Glen Winter.
Comments (12)
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Mike
This Will F*ckin Rock!
3 years agoby @ilovecallieFlag
Mutant
This should be good, but I thought there was going to be another season after this one.
3 years agoby @zenderFlag
Alyce (Uh-Lease)
Hopefully It"ll keeping going at its current pace, I will say I do live the changes the writers have made with this season compared with the last 2
3 years agoby @alyceepoohFlag
zerocool2334
Let the rumble begin
3 years agoby @zerocool2334Flag
zerocool2334
Let the rumble begin
3 years agoby @zerocool2334Flag
SWAK1774
I've been watching Smallville since it began. So far this is my favorite season.
3 years agoby @swak1774Flag
razorglove1428
It looks like a high-octane, "no-holds-barred" thrillride!
3 years agoby @razorglove1428Flag
Zynthos
To add to aeinhorn's statement I think that this season of Smallville is probably one of the best of the series so far, which is pretty crazy considering how long its been on the air. The show is shifting dramatically and building up faster than before so thats what is keeping it fresh
3 years agoby @heir-of-isildur0Flag
aeinhorn
Ok, but is it fair to blame Smallville for that? I mean, the show has been on the air since 2001 - long before the current trend of superhero films started.
3 years agoby @aeinhornFlag
cnote
Thats the problem "AFC"! Everything is a F*cking Superhero...just like everything is a Freakin Reality Show...no thanks
3 years agoby @cnoteFlag
AnnoyingFilmCritic
It's just the opposite Cnote, Superhero movies are in a golden age. Smallville is just trying to ride this zeitgeist.
The Legion of Superheroes storyline sounds promising for a TV show that has been running on creative fumes and star exits.
3 years agoby @annoyingfilmcriticFlag
cnote
This whole "SuperHero" buzz...is beyond played-out!!!
3 years agoby @cnoteFlag