But the news doesn't stop there, guess who is portraying Hawkman? None other than Stargate SG1's Michael Shanks. Go ahead and scream you Shanks fans, I know you want too! And yes that is Shanks in the photo. Anywho Dr. Fate will be played by Brent Stait, and Stargirl will be played by Britt Irvin. Also more Justice Society characters are expected to appear in the episodes.
Johns last season's "Legions" episode that featured members of DC Comics "Legion of Super-Heroes" is so far one of the best episodes ever of Smallville's 9 year run. John's script was heavy on the inside jokes and comic references, and all the actors did a fantastic job portraying some of DC's more obscure heroes.
So make sure to tune in as I am sure you won't be disappointed.
"Official word from Fox: 'We will air all 13 episodes and this gives Joss the opportunity to end in a significant way'," said Variety's Michael Schneider via Twitter.
I hate it for Joss Whedon but he should have had a more active role in the series than just slapping his name on it. And I really hate that it looks like Summer Glau is becoming a jinx to any TV series that she gets involved with. I like Summer, she has talent and is a icon to most of us SciFi fans.
Do we meet the alternate-universe versions of Walter (John Noble)? Olivia (Anna Torv)?
We've already seen alt-universe versions of Broyles (Lance Reddick) and Charlie (Kirk Acevedo), and we know Peter (Joshua Jackson) comes from the other side. But what about alt-Olivia or alt-Walter (or "Walternate," as Jackson calls him)?
"I have that question as well," Torv tells us. "I'm hoping that there is [an alt-Olivia]. But then I don't know … which I would prefer if she ends up coming. I don't know if I would prefer her to be just, like, fractionally off. … I would love to see … she's completely, you know, 180 [degrees different]. … My pitch would be, and I think that's what a lot of people are saying, too, … with the discovery of the fact that the Peter here is clearly not from here, then it makes sense that maybe the Walter over there is angry with the Walter here, and that's kind of the whole thing behind [the Pattern]. But I don't know. They do sometimes surprise. Sometimes they put these clues in and then they flip it on its head and you've been wrong all along. But that's where I'm going."
Jackson is convinced we will see the "Walternate." "In keeping with the mythology of Fringe, yes, there is a Walternate, and there would be … an alternate mother as well, because, you know, that dimension is so close to our own, that with only minor differences it is identical," he said.
Is the Walternate angry that his version of Peter was stolen, and is he really behind the Pattern events? Will he confront our Walter?
"He's going to be awfully angry," Noble says. "That's my summation. We've sort of hinted this, haven't we? We've had little hints of other Walters around the place, and you'll see that. My guess would be that there has to be a confrontation between the two men. That's not the writers again, this is just me projecting forward."
Will Peter discover that he's from the other side?
Jackson feels the answer is yes.
"The big [question] that gets raised is, when he finds out the truth about his origins, where do his loyalties lie?" Jackson said. "I truly am excited to play it either way. Maybe the decision's been made—they haven't told me—but I think it's just as interesting to have Peter freak out, have his moment outside the flock, and then come back and say, 'I forgive you, but this is where I belong.' And I also think it's quite interesting to have him freak out and say, 'No, burn it all down,' and have Peter actually become some version of the bad guy going into season three."
Will Olivia meet and confront the Observer?
Yes. "There's an episode coming up that is called 'August,' and it sort of deals with the Observer," Torv says. "It's a really, really beautiful, beautiful episode, actually, so I won't say anything more, but that's actually very soon. Yeah."
Will Walter confront his old partner, William Bell (Leonard Nimoy)?
Count on it.
"We've introduced William Bell as a major player now, and Leonard's been back a couple of times," Noble says, revealing: "I did a lovely scene with him the other day. A very interesting scene which I'm not going to tell you about, but it was amazing. What it revealed. The revelation in that was shocking. It was shocking to me when I read it."
Noble adds: "What we're dealing with is, we've been told that there's a breach, that there will have to be a repercussion for this breach. And so as we build through now, we're coming towards what they're calling a war. … [If you] break the laws of nature, you will pay. That's going to happen. So we'll build through season two up to that point. In the meantime, we'll continue to do stories that are interesting, and we've done some, I think some of our very, very best scripts. Last, this year, we've done some amazing [things]. Just what we've been shooting for the last five episodes is extraordinary."
Well the guys over at IGN Comics recently spoke to prolific comic book write Geoff Johns. Johns has written an episode of Smallville for this season, which will see the introduction of DC Comics’ Legion of Super Heroes into the series which is awesome news for us Smallville fans.
Asked about that episode, Johns said, "I’m actually in Vancouver all week for the filming. Wait until you see it. So far it’s been amazing to be involved with the writers in Los Angeles, particularly Darren Swimmer. And the cast and crew have been awesome – Tom [Welling], Allison [Mack] and Kristin [Kreuk] are in my episode and they are freaking amazing. Tom came up with a fantastic addition to the Legion Code, he impresses the hell out of me. He keeps the energy up on the set, keeps things fun, and he’s unbelievably smart. He approaches everything with incredible intelligence."
He also talked about the Smallville actors in which , Johns said, "Allison is not only an amazing actress, and she had to do some pretty intense things in this episode, she’s the nicest person ever. She’s also incredibly respectful of the fan base of the show and how far reaching it is. Every line she delivers makes you smile. Kristen is an unbelievable actress too. She delivered such a powerful scene Tuesday, it was more heartfelt than anything I could ever deliver on a page. She made the scene come to life. And, like Tom and Allison, [she’s] super nice."
Johns went on to add, "I love who they have playing the Legion. They look great. I’ll talk more about them when they’re announced. But they freaking rock. Legion rings, the villain’s weapon — holy s**t, wait until you see HIM– "Grife!", they are the Legion."
Johns was very happy about his experience on set, noting, "James Marshall, the executive producer up here, has put together an unbelievable crew. The crew up here is really a family, many of them having worked together for eight years. I’ve been up here for a week and I already feel like I’m a surrogate member. I’ve never enjoyed myself this much on a set, ever. Watching everyone work so hard to bring the Legion to life is a dream. But the superhero of the show for me has been the director, Glen Winter. I’m amazed to watch him, how instinctual he is on the set, how much he’s embraced the Legion, how he directs the actors and his shot choices… I worked for Richard Donner when I got out of school and he had an incredible instinct and talent for making the set come alive, making it all fun and really letting the love for the material shine through. Glen’s the same way. If there’s a season 9, I’d kill to do another episode with Glen. It’s been an unbelievable experience all around."
Asked if he had to make any tough compromises to make the Legion fit in the Smallville world, John replied, "I’m actually surprised by how faithful the Legionnaires will be to the comics. It’s really faithful to the comic book series. Who they are as people, what they do, it’s all in there. Obviously it’s going to be a little different because they’re just coming back for the first time to meet Clark. They’re uniforms are the Smallville versions, not spandex. But I’m really happy with how faithful it is. And writing the first live action of the Legion is an honor."
So will you be tuning in to see this episode when it airs?
"Heroes," produced by Universal Media Studios, has struggled in the ratings its third season. It’s understood that Alexander and Loeb were let go because of the frustration by NBC’s executives with the creative direction of the show.
It is also said that "Heroes" has been grappling with hefty budget overruns this season, that are going well beyond its already sizable $4 million per-episode pricetag.
So the question is how much longer do you think "Heroes" will last?
"Meanwhile, Hiro (Masi Oka) and Ando (James Kyson Lee) track Daphne (guest star Brea Grant) and part of ³the formula² to Germany, but run afoul of The Haitian (guest star Jimmy Jean-Louis). Horrified by her ability, Tracy Strauss (Ali Larter) leaves Washington, D.C. to search for answers about Niki. A distraught Claire (Hayden Panettiere) asks Meredith (guest star Jessalyn Gilsig) to teach her how to fight. As his romance with Maya (Dania Ramirez) intensifies, Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) finds himself unprepared when his experiment yields some unexpected results."
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Here’s how the network describes the episode:
“After Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) discovers Chloe’s (Allison Mack) mother Moira (Carter) has the power to control meteor freaks, he develops a drug to wake her from her catatonic state in the asylum, then threatens to kill Chloe unless she uses her power to help him. Clark (Tom Welling) helps Chloe break into the asylum to rescue Moira and finally get to know her mother.”
The episode was written by Genevieve Sparling and directed by Terence O’Hare.