From the Sidelines: Smallville: Absolute Justice Review Part 2

The Justice Society of America is being stalked by a killer. Will they survive or will they bring down the younger heroes with them?

Continued from Part 1.

Absolute Justice, Episode 2

Part two begins with Clark Kent awakening to find himself back in the museum owned by Carter Hall, aka Hawkman. Alone, he removes the sheets from the cases and discovers exhibits of the gear belonging to the mystery group. In the cases are items that thrilled the old comic book fan in me. There was the Flash’s winged Mercury helmet, Hourman’s hourglass, Dr. Midnite’s doctor bag, and Green Lantern’s ring with the railroad lantern shaped power battery.

But the one relic of the old team that stood out was when Clark uncovered the case with Hawkgirl’s helmet in it. The lingering shot revealed that a horrific wound had been inflicted across one eye socket – the kind of wound someone couldn’t survive. A pervasive sense of loss is further conveyed when the round table is uncovered that has the very patriotic logo of the Justice Society of America emblazoned on the marble. Drawn to the painting on the wall, Clark uncovers it and surveys the team. As he does, we see longer flashes from the archival film, this time in color serving as a recap from the first episode.

What follows is an argument filled gathering of the old and new heroes with Green Arrow once again being on the losing end of a fight with Hawkman. Comic book fans are used to this as the characters traditionally don’t get along. A reluctant Hawkman agrees to an alliance but is vocal about his unhappiness with the incompetent newer heroes.

So now we have our lineup to face off against the Icicle: The Blur aka Clark Kent, Green Arrow, the depowered Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Dr. Fate, and Stargirl. That seems like a lot of firepower, but the killer is a professional and is hunting them. One thing is certain, he is no joke like Mr. Freeze.

But the plot is about to get a great deal more complicated as Lois Lane (Erica Durance) enters the picture. Someone sends her a package filled with information on how a group of vigilantes were framed for crimes they didn’t commit. Her boss, Lex Luthor’s former protégé, Tess Mercer seems to recognize the checkerboard pattern on the package and acts strangely.

From there the episode moves to some strong character scenes including Chloe and Stargirl talking about the differences in the teams, Green Arrow and Hawkman insulting each other (the actors were having too much fun and it showed), and Dr. Fate telling Clark about his destiny. Fate can see everyone’s future but his own and his dialogue with the future Superman is positively mythic.

Oddly enough, that gets topped with a marvelous scene between Fate and Lois. Every scene with Dr. Fate is magic, no pun intended and what could have been the hokiest character is instead the most appealing. Not bad considering you can’t see his face.

The motivations of the Icicle and his affiliation to a secret government organization is revealed and this has repercussions still being explored in the series. Amanda Waller (Pam Grier!) is playing both the killer and Lois in a dangerous game. I said things were getting more complicated, but you haven’t seen anything yet.

Having gotten an idea of where they can find the killer, Dr. Fate and the Martian Manhunter bond while looking for the cryogenic hitman. Both have tragedies scarring their lives and feel apart from the others. What promises to be a budding friendship ends in tragedy.

In the aftermath, Carter and Ollie have a very blunt conversation and we finally find out Hawkman’s back story. Once again, tragedy is at the core of one of the characters. The heroes gather one more time to prepare for the final battle which is one of Smallville’s better efforts.

After the densely packed previous episode, the star of the show, Tom Welling, stepped in to direct the second with very little preparation time. There is a definite change of approach; though the atmosphere is still dark there is a warmth to this episode that embodies what the JSA is all about. In the current version of the Justice Society of America the theme is one of family and of generations mixing so that the older hands can teach the younger rookies. Those themes are touched on repeatedly as the episode progressed and the hopeful endings really caught the essence of the JSA. The younger heroes get the message that it is all about family at the end of the story.

Usually a special episode or story doesn’t carry over into later episodes, but Absolute Justice influenced the rest of the season and from what has leaked the last season to air starting September 24th. The secret organization is still active and their motivations seem to cross many lines. In fact a line at the end of Absolute Justice has turned out to be the setup for the big villain of the final season.

But did it live up to expectations?

For me, it exceeded them. Somehow everyone involved managed to pack in an immense amount of comic book history, action, and actual character development into a good story. No small achievement, that. I loved the episode and marvel at how emotional some of the scenes are, especially the ones with Dr. Fate.

When iTunes put both episodes up as one download at the regular price for one, I jumped on it and purchased the HD version. The screen captures are downsized from that and I have to say the show looks great. The effects were very good and it did have the feeling of a movie rather than a television show.

I recommend renting the Season 9 DVDs from Netflix or your local video store/Redbox. Smallville turned into a good show the final few seasons and the increased ratings show it. Be aware there is some mild gore and one death in particular is rather nasty.

Some more shots from the museum featuring JSA member gear: