What's It About?
For a series that started with the simple idea of "It's Superman as a kid," Smallville has somewhat lost its way in the eight seasons so far (in part, to be fair, because you can't really do "as a kid" eight years down the line). These days, Smallville is essentially "Superman before he finally becomes Superman": Clark Kent is already a reporter for the Daily Planet (alongside Lois Lane), commuting via superspeed from his home in Smallville, and he's already saving people on a regular basis with the help of fellow superheroes like Green Arrow and the Flash. He just hasn't put on the tights yet.

Also, this Clark Kent? Kind of a clueless dick.

So Who're The Bad Guys These Days?
This season, we're finally seeing General Zod in the flesh after years of him being a disembodied voice causing mischief from beyond. Copping an idea of two from DC's current "New Krypton" comics, Zod has arrived on Earth with an army of Kryptonians; unlike the comic, though, this is a time-traveling, younger Zod who isn't even a general yet. Don't worry; he's still a fan of people kneeling before him.

Clark and friends have good reason to be mad at him nonetheless. At the end of the eighth season, Jimmy Olsen was murdered by Davis Bloome, the clone son of Zod created to take over the world, leading to Clark deciding that being human and having friends is a bad thing (Trust us, Clark, we've thought the same thing often, especially while watching this show). As if that isn't enough, Zod has appeared before, escaping from the Phantom Zone and possessing Lex Luthor for a bit.

If you're wondering where Lex is, the answer is "supposedly dead," having apparently been blown up in a plane by Green Arrow last season. Considering that he's Lex Luthor - somewhat insane, a bit of a genius and, in Smallville continuity, completely aware that Clark is from Krypton and that kryptonite is a bad thing - we're betting that'll last until producers can lure actor Michael Rosenbaum back. In his absence, Luthorcorp was placed in the care of Tess Mercer, one of the show's two attempts at moral ambiguity (Green Arrow is the other; we'll get to him in a minute). Tess knows that Clark is an alien and has superpowers (thanks to the journal of Lex's dead dad), and is responsible for bringing Zod and his army to Earth, but still... she's not all bad. Maybe.

Why Do You Keep Talking About Green Arrow?
Because the show does. Since he was introduced in season six, billionaire Oliver Queen has slowly become more and more important to the show, becoming the Batman that the producers are allowed to use. Less unwilling to get his hands dirty to get the job done (See: Potentially killing Lex Luthor) and less embarrassed to dress up in a superhero costume and give himself a dumb name (See: Being Green Arrow in the first place), Queen and his love of archery became a series regular last year, meaning he has a life beyond the show's Justice League team (which consists of Arrow, Black Canary, the Flash and a version of Teen Titans' cyborg) - which is good, considering Clark fell out with them at the end of last season (See: Clark being a bit of a dick).

They're not the only familar faces from the DC Universe in the show, however; Metropolis police detective John Jones is actually a powerless Martian Manhunter, and last year saw the introduction of the Legion of Super-Heroes, who're rumored to return this year. Also coming this year: the Justice Society of America.

What About All The Regular Folk?
Problem with Smallville is that it's run so long that no-one is just regular folk anymore; Lana left the series after becoming (a) psychic and (b) radioactive with kryptonite, which is apparently a side-effect of Kristin Kreuk wanting a career that doesn't involve Tom Welling, Chloe - still there after eight years, and the only character besides Clark to hold that honor - turned out to have healing powers and got possessed by Brainiac, only to end up taking the codename Watchtower and acting as the Justice League (and Clark)'s unofficial official IT person, and Lois... well, she's still just Lois, really: Hard-headed investigative reporter for the Daily Planet who's fallen for Clark but somehow is still unaware that he has super-powers, demonstrating that she's not a very good investigative reporter.

For those keeping track of Clark's parents: Pa still dead, Ma still in politics, which for all intents and purposes in this show means the same thing.

So Where Are We With The Story?
Davis Bloome - AKA Doomsday, AKA a cloned Kryptonian monster created by Zod and his wife - has been defeated after trying to kill Clark and succeeding in killing Jimmy Olsen, who was Chloe's (estranged) husband. As a result, Clark has decided that he's giving up being Clark Kent because it only endangers his friends, and will only be Kal-El, wearing black and saving the day in secret while necessary, spectacularly abandoning his friends when they need him, what with that whole "mourning" thing and all. Meanwhile, Tess Mercer has accidentally brought Zod and his army to Earth after being guided by mysterious forces. Everything else? Well, you'll have to watch Smallville tonight on the CW at 8pm to find out.

Talking at San Diego Comic-Con, showrunners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson talked about what's lying in store for Clark, Lois and the rest of the Smallville cast. Saying that the show would now explore the "last stage" of "what Clark Kent goes through in his decision to put on the cape and tights," Peterson laid out the themes of the season:

the thread of the year is twofold. One is Clark training with Jor-El and for the first time ever embracing what that means to be a hero, trying to give up his human identity but finding how hard that is when you're in love with somebody, and so that's kind of the thread, between Lois and Clark and the Blur, and his training with Jor-El, that's kind of the thread.

(The "Blur" refers to the "red-blue blur," the mysterious glimpse of Clark doing his superpowered thing that a number of people have seen and speculated about at this point.)

Talking of threads, Souders admitted that "there's a little bit of a wardrobe change this season," with Peterson explaining,

It's kind of based on a couple of pieces of mythology of when he died, and his Doomsday fight in the comics, and the costume he wore after that, and that's kind of the basis of what we're doing with his look this year.

Are we really about to see the return of the black suit and mullet? Suddenly, we can't work out if this makes the show more exciting or horrifying. Thankfully, the new villain might make up for any bad costuming decisions:

We're bringing him in as Major Zod, and we have a whole backstory that's going to unfold as to why he's here. He comes with pretty much a legion of Kryptonians from Kandor, and so it dovetails and touches on what they're doing in the comic world right now.

For those not reading the Superman comics, that means an army of Kryptonians on Earth under the command of Zod, who may or may not be a threat that even Superman can't take care of. Will Clark have to deal with kneeling before more than one superpowered troublemaker from his home planet before the end of the season? It's looking likely, but it's also likely that he's not going to be doing it alone; the producers also confirmed that comic writer Geoff Johns will be writing an episode of the season, introducing elder statesmen superheroes the Justice Society of America.

Smallville returns for the start of its ninth season on September 25.

Marc Guggenheim told MTV Splash Page that rumors about the movie would feature a guest spot from Clark Kent to establish a "universe," just like Robert Downey Jr.'s appearance in last year's Hulk movie, could still turn out to be true depending on the editing room:

Honestly, it changes on a daily basis. Whatever information I gave you today would be obsolete in a week, and maybe come back again in two weeks... I will say, all the Easter Eggs and the cameos that I put in, I couldn't even begin to predict at this point which ones will stay and which ones will go. I'll be as interested as anyone else to see what we end up keeping and losing by the time the picture is actually locked… and that's pretty far away from now.

Green Lantern is set for a late 2010 release.

A Superman Cameo In ‘Green Lantern' Movie? Marc Guggenheim Weighs In On Rumor [MTV Splash Page]

Last night's ep was one of the worst Smallville finales to date - Normally, their finales are some of the few things they do reliably well - in part because there was too much going on, and almost all of it made very little sense. Magical kryptonite can split Doomsday in two! Jimmy finds out that Clark is "the red and blue blur" (Yes, Clark actually said, "Jimmy, I am the red and blue blur," making you realize just how stupid that term is)! Lois ended up in the 31st Century!

(Also, Oliver Queen is a dick. Seriously, I'm sure that his purpose in this show is to turn up, be a dick, and leave. Shooting Clark with a kryptonite arrow just to make sure that he doesn't get hurt? Really, Oli?)

At least JImmy's death seemed important at the time; his being murdered by Davis may have been more for shock value than anything else (Although, is it wrong that I liked that Davis without Doomsday is still a psychopath? I mean, it kind of goes against the whole "I am tortured and trying to rebel against the purpose I was created for" thing, but still; yay for pointless murders), but the cliche of his having just enough life left to save the day and kill Davis made this fanboy just a little bit happier with the whole mess. Of course, Jimmy had to save the day, because this is Smallville, where Clark Kent stands around while other people get things done and then mopes that he can't save the people he loves.

This time, though, Clark doesn't just mope; he decides that, because Davis was human when he killed Jimmy, that human emotions are bad and therefore, he'll embrace his kryptonian side to become a better hero. Which, you know, doesn't make sense, but does make for a season finale cliff-hanger (As did the final scene, where Zod apparently came to Earth in a desperate attempt to make people continue to care about the show). Oh, Jimmy. Is your sacrifice truly in vain? Apparently so; not only does Clark's "Clark Kent is dead" moment completely fail to convince in any way whatsoever - Come on, do you really think that it'll last any longer than the start of next season? - but it seems that there's a baby brother Olsen out there ready to take his place, and this one's the right age to make all that Superman Mythos fans happy.

With eight years under its belt, last night's finale just made the show seem much, much older; everything seemed like it'd been done before, and none of the shocking changes are going to stick. It's a shame; the start of this year felt much fresher than the show had in years, but by the end, everything had become the old, familar melodrama with the future of the world at stake yet again. Here's hoping that next year's the final year we have to go through these particular motions.

Secret identities are sort of a messy idea. The definition is apparently a "persona developed in order to keep the true identity secret," which, okay, is a workable definition until you start asking questions like, "If Clark Kent developed Superman to protect his loved ones, is Supes the secret identity?" And, "After Ralph Dibny told the world he was Elongated Man, does that make his secret identity just an identity? And does that mean it's okay for his foes to call him Ralph when he's in costume?" Because as bad as it is being taken down by a guy who goes by "Elongated Man," it's probably even worse being brought to justice by some guy named Ralph.

So I was going to talk about why certain heroes use certain identities, but the more I thought about it, the more I feel that the real question how a superhero finds a way to make his hero identity and his everyman identity (because sometimes it's hard to tell which is really the secret one) work in tandem with each other.

(I'd like to apologize in advance if this list takes a decidedly DC-centric bent; I'm afraid I'm not as much of a Marvel person as I'd like to be yet.)

Exhibit A: Where the Two Identities are Essentially the Same Person
Let's start with the obvious, and look at Clark Kent and Superman. Whereas the opposite may have once held true, since the '80's or so, it's been generally accepted that Superman is the mask and Clark the real person, to simplify it a bit. At the same time, they're both fundamentally the same person, body language and projected self-confidence aside. And as to why Clark Kent chose to be a reporter, some people explain it away as being the natural choice, because it's easy to write stories about yourself. (This also being the general explanation for Peter Parker's chosen profession as well.) I think that's selling Clark (and Peter) a bit short, though. I much prefer the explanation that states that in his quest for Truth, Justice, and the American Way, Clark/Superman feels the need to do more than just punch things. Off an on, Superman will mention the fact that he wants to be more than just a blunt instrument, and perhaps working in a more investigative field as Clark Kent helps him feel he's reached this balance between brawn and brains.

Other superheroes who fit the category of essentially being the same person both in and out of their tights include people like both Green Arrows (especially Oliver Queen, who might just be the worst out there at keeping his secret identity plausibly secret). Actually, a very high proportion of the costumed crime-fighting community can probably be lumped into this category, probably because it's easier to consistently write characters that are a little more consistent with themselves. But if we choose to ignore the man behind the curtain, so to speak, we could probably say it's because they all want to protect their friends and loved ones by putting on a mask, thereby preserving their own identity, which, nine times out of ten, they had long before they took up superheroics.

Exhibit B: Where the Secret Identity Isn't All That Secret, After All
As previously mentioned, Ralph Dibny could be said to be the poster boy for the Public Secret Identity, being the first Silver Age superhero to go public with his civilian identity. To take a step like this puts him firmly into the category of guys whose two identities are the same person, but now that that's literally true, it's near impossible to draw any sort of line between Elongated Man and Ralph, since everyone knows they're the same person anyway. Maybe this is the most dangerous way for a superhero to go on the secret identity path, but you have to admit, it takes real guts. Take John Stewart, for example, the Green Lantern who chooses not to wear a mask because he feels he doesn't have anything to hide. Plus we've got Tony Stark. And the only people who don't know he's Iron Man are pretty much either dead or . . . Actually, you might have to be dead not to know.

Exhibit C: Where the Secret Identity Isn't Actually Anything Like You
This is where Batman comes in. About the same time that the world decided that Clark is more real than Superman, they also decided that Batman was more real than Bruce Wayne, which is probably a good thing, because I don't trust Bruce Wayne, flaky playboy extraordinaire, to do a very convincing job at pretending to be Batman. Meanwhile, Batman, crafty genius that he is, can do a very good job at faking playboy billionaire. (Perhaps the only Batman and Bruce really have in common is the billionaire part. Bruce is very good at making sure Wayne Enterprises keeps making money in order to continue funding Batman's very expensive hobbies.) In this case, of course, Bruce is the mask adapted to keep those closest to Batman safe from his veritable legion of certifiable foes. This delineation gets a little messy, though, when you think about the fact that those closest to Batman mostly all know he's Bruce Wayne, but the Bruce Wayne that they know can be described more as "Batman when he's actually being nice to people and not trying to scare them half to death."

At the moment I'm hard pressed to think of another superhero who does what Batman does to the extent he does it, but on a totally different note, Billy Batson is absolutely nothing like Captain Marvel, in that he's a kid and Captain Marvel is the man he becomes, making Billy's life pretty much my childhood dream. (Although I guess I didn't want to spontaneously turn into a man.) In this case, however, he's a completely different person physically when he's a superhero than when he's a kid. And in terms of superheroes whose super identity is the guise, I can't help but always want to bring up the Blue Raja from Mystery Men (who was not, as far as I can tell, part of the original Mystery Men from the Flaming Carrot comics), because he adopts a British accent while in costume, despite being American-And I'm sure for a fact that there are less ridiculous examples out there, but I love Hank Azaria.

Exhibit D: When You Become a Superhero First and Get the Identity Later
It's the Superclan that has the best track record of doing this, I feel. For someone whose home planet is supposed to have been destroyed, Superman sure ends up with a lot of wayward Kryptonians who turn up on Earth, being all flashy and super, and have to retroactively have civilian identities created for them. Power Girl (Kara Zor-L) created Karen Starr, Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) became Kara Kent, Nightwing (Lor-Zod, not Dick Grayson) acquired the name Chris Kent, and the latest guy to become an honorary Kent, Mon-El, took up the name Jonathan Kent in last month's Superman. At this rate, Clark Kent has a ridiculous number of surprise cousins, all orchestrated on paper in order for their pre-existing superheroics to continue.

More interestingly, though, is John Jones, secret identity of J'onn J'onzz, secret identity of the Martian Manhunter. Because he can shapeshift, he's able to pose as John Jones, a human detective, which doesn't seem like so much of a break from his usual line of work, but doing this is probably mostly a case of having somewhere to blend in and get out of the Manhunter costume. (And who can blame him? It's an awkward costume.)

I don't want to blanket-statement here, but I can help but feel that they're mostly right when they explain the necessity of keeping a secret identity as a safeguard against total insanity. After all, nobody can be super all the time. (Even if Batman would really like to try.) Sometimes you just need to be the girl who spends her lunch break balancing her checkbook. Or the guy who plays Scrabble in the park. Besides, there's always gotta be more to a person than their job. Just because you're a Green Lantern doesn't mean you can't also be an artist or architect, and just because you're Black Canary doesn't mean you can't do a stint as a florist. So while the invention of the "secret identity" is an interesting side effect of the superhero genre, it's pretty much unavoidable.

Besides, Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel did it far before these guys, and it worked for them.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello spilled the beans about the upcoming doom, and also revealed that one of the soon-to-die is a Smallville veteran, and another isn't... which, to me, sounds like we're going to lose Chloe and Davis, thereby bringing the season's Doomsday storyline to an appropriate climax, while also tying in with that "No Davis, Only Doomsday" rumor from Morning Spoilers yesterday.

I hope I'm wrong; Chloe is still one of my favorite characters in the show - Honestly, I don't care about Davis, and doubt the rest of you do, either - but she's also the only expendable veteran, because she's the only character left in the show who doesn't play a role in the Superman mythos as we know them; as much as I'd want to show to take a leap into the unknown by killing Jimmy Olsen, Lana (oh, please kill Lana) or Lois and making a definitive "All bets are off" statement about what the audience assumes is Clark's future, it's most likely never going to happen because the show, to its benefit and detriment, is completely devoted to Superman and the world around him that everyone knows about. Chloe is, sadly, the only long-running character who can be killed without changing the Superman stories that we love so much.

Thing is, I kind of want them to change the Superman stories that we love so much.

One of the main problems with Smallville, especially now that it's heading into its ninth year and has so much of the Superman world already in place (Metropolis, the Daily Planet, Lois) is that the sense of inevitability has completely overpowered any sense of real dramatic tension. We know who's going to live and die each week, because we "know" that Superman's best pal is Jimmy Olsen and his girlfriend is Lois Lane... or, for that matter, that Clark Kent will grow up to become Superman. And, really, there's no real reason that has to be the case.

Look at it this way; Smallville has already screwed up a lot of what we "know" about Superman - For one thing, there's already a Justice League going around fighting crime, and for another, Lex Luthor seems to have disappeared and been dealt with, alongside Brainiac, Zod and, by series' end, Doomsday. Jimmy is a contemporary of Clark's, and not a younger, overly-excitable cub reporter. Perry White is a washed-up hack, and not editor of the Daily Planet, and so on. So why can't Smallville go for broke in what must, surely, be its last season and completely throw out everything we think we know about the show and its characters in order to give us exactly what we don't expect? It's be a ballsy, unexpected move, and it could completely backfire - Let's face it, Smallville doesn't have the greatest track record for succeeding on the few occasions that they really have tried risks - but it would give Smallville something it's not had for years, if ever: The feeling that anything could happen at any moment, and that you should pay attention, just in case.

So here's hoping that Chloe survives, and that it's Clark's mom or someone who bites the speeding bullet that Clark wasn't faster than at the end of this season. It may not be what we'd expect, but that's kind of the point.

'Smallville' exclusive: Two characters will die [EW.com]

The new season pick-up (along with similar renewals for Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, 90210, Supernatural and America's Next Top Model) came after the CW had managed to sign up star Tom Welling for one more year in the ever-more-unconvincing red-jacket-and-blue-jeans combo. Whether or not this means that the end of this season - originally thought to be the final year - will need to be rewritten, or whether there was never any resolution on the way to begin with, remains to be seen.

CW renews six series [Hollywood Reporter]

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that the CW is apparently talking to Smallville showrunners Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin to take over the reins of the network's Melrose Place revival, putting their future with the Pre-Superman series - and the future of the show itself - at risk.

There're a couple of responses to this news that come to mind. Firstly, Swimmer and Slaykin, run away. Don't get involved in Melrose Place - the CW's 90210 revival almost broke Veronica Mars' Rob Thomas, and you don't want to go there. But secondly, why not just let Smallville come to an end? Its next season would be its ninth, after all, and how long can the show really keep going (Especially now that Clark is at the Daily Planet and we are, theoretically, due for him to get his tights and flights on anytime now)? While I'd, admittedly, rather see Smallville than Melrose Place, that's not enough reason to keep the show alive past its sell-by date. Maybe the Melrose deal could be the best thing that could happen to Mr. Kent.

Exclusive: 'Smallville' bosses mull 'Melrose' remake. Is Clark safe? [EW.com]

Okay, we won't boast too much that Donner was just saying something that we said a couple of months ago when he suggested that Johns be given the keys to the franchise earlier this week:

I'd like to see Geoff Johns take a crack at Superman...I think he would be startling. Did you read his comics? There it is. It's there on paper... The studio hasn't gone to him and said, 'Give us a screenplay.' That would be the smart thing to do, but that's show biz. Right? Show biz, that's our life.

The reason for our lack of gloating? The fact that Johns is the most obvious choice to try and turn the Superman movies around. As a veteran of the comic industry, television industry and now moving into movies, Johns has also tackled the Man of Steel in comic book, animated (in Justice League Unlimited) and, with an episode of Smallville due to debut soon, television incarnations. He's demonstrated a love for the character, but also an ability to get to the heart of what makes the character - as well as his surroundings and supporting characters - work and translate that into enjoyable storytelling. Ignore Donner's links to Johns; in this case, he's literally just stating the obvious.

As to what Johns would do with the franchise if he were in charge, he's keeping that to himself. Well, apart from letting slip at the San Diego Comic-Con that he'd want to see Brainiac in a future movie if possible... Although, if Kevin Spacey is to be believed, we'd be much more likely to see yet another Superman/Luthor clash in the next go-around.
In fact, Spacey's belief that he'd be involved in any future Superman movie is half of one of the more interesting wrinkles in all the talk about a Superman Movie Reboot coming at some point. Namely, if they're trying to reboot the entire franchise, why are they keeping the cast of Superman Returns around? It's not just Spacey; according to Latino Review's speedy conversation with DC Comics' Paul Levitz, Superman himself, Brandon Routh is still involved in any future Superman movie - A fact surprising to anyone who didn't see how well he managed the role in Bryan Singer's otherwise uneven 2006 movie. Does the presence of Spacey and Routh mean that Singer's supposedly "Wrath of Khan"-esque sequel to Superman Returns is more alive than most people think, or simply that Warners don't want to have to go through the messy casting process again?

Levitz perhaps offered the most honest, and perceptive, take on where the movie's progress really stands:

Everyone is waiting for Nolan to sign on for another Batman, once that happens, the release date for Superman and all other future projects will follow.

Given the success of The Dark Knight, it only makes sense for Warners to try and base their superhero strategy around another installment of the series - but we must admit, we're hoping that they'll come to their senses and see any future Superman movie as brighter, optimistic counterprogramming to Christopher Nolan's increasingly-dark and depressing Batmovies instead of trying to explore the darker recesses of a Kryptonian's soul.

Anyone who's seen either of those movies knows the plot by now: Hot naked woman comes to Earth and fucks men to death in search of her perfect mate. Except, because this is Smallville, she's wearing clothes (admittedly, less clothes than her comic book counterpart) and just kisses them to death, instead... but she did have the greatest first line of any character on the show: "I came as soon as I saw your Kryptonian beacon." Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

(As a very geeky aside, am I the only person who's only just realized that the comic Maxima is pretty much the same character as Marvel's Thundra? Of course, neither of those characters kissed people to death; they would've just punched them a lot and then gone on about female supremacy or something, instead.)

Because this was a flashback to the bad old days of the show - albeit an entirely watchable one, for all the wrong reasons - the Maxima plot about finding your soulmate even if you have to kiss every other man on Earth to death to do it was only a superpowered metaphor for all of the B-plots of the episode, all of which centered around the characters' romantic entanglements: Will Chloe get over her love for Clark and embrace her future with soulmate Jimmy? Will Clark get over his love for Lana and realize that his future is with future soulmate Lois? Will Lois get over her ego and realize that her future is with Clark? Well, the answer for that last one only came with some help from Maxima, who pretty much said "You love Clark," leading Lois to spend the end of the show making gooey eyes at him like the most suggestible newsreporter in existence.

(The most important unresolved question of the episode wasn't "Who has stolen the Kryptonian supercomputer crystal McGuffin?" as much as the writers undoubtedly wanted it to be - It's totally Chloe, in a moment of evil schizophrenia, by the way - but "Does the Luthor Mansion only actually have one room?" Tess seems to do everything in that one room with the desk and the fireplace, whether it's hold secret meetings with crazy scientists, get invited to parties by Green Arrow or take kick-boxing lessons that get interrupted by people accusing you of breaking and entering. Don't get me wrong; I admire her ability to re-use the space, but still, it's a mansion. You'd think she's have a gym or something, at least.)

Everything ended up remarkably well, and remarkably timely, of course; the ten minutes of epilogue at the end being just enough to tell all concerned viewers that, yes, Clark is over Lana because Chloe told him that she was over him, even though we all know that that's only because she has Brainiac living in her head - To everyone currently calling for my head for spoiling the show for them, it's not a spoiler when the characters themselves say it twice - meaning that the moral gets slightly confused: Moving on from the past is really easy when you're modeling yourself after someone who's part computer? Love means never having to say you're sorry for snogging a hot alien? I'm not quite sure, but if Smallville wants to replace real plots with allegorical agony aunt answers, I'll happily keep tuning in.

As long as those answers are illustrated by cute red-headed aliens, of course.

While I still, admittedly, find it hard to care about Green Arrow that much, there was still some fun to be had in last night's archer-centric episode... especially when it comes to the show's fascinating attitude towards science. It wasn't just the idea that putting bags of ice on top of the poisoned and in-coma Oliver Queen would somehow do anything for him, but also Clark's outburst upon noticing that Chloe could read computer screens at lightning speed: "Chloe, you're getting smarter!" as if it were the worst thing in the world. Way to be supportive, Kal-El.

It helped that even Smallville's own writers seemed to find Green Arrow's origin as dull as I did, fast-forwarding through the whole shipwrecked-on-a-desert-island-so-that-he-had-to-become-the-world's-greatest-archer-in-order-to-kill-animals-and-eat schtick in fade-in minutes in order to get to a retread of Dennis Quaid vehicle D.O.A. that proved just how small Clark Kent's world really is — His best buddy Ollie and new boss Tess Mercer were on that island together! And now they're estranged lovers! Or something (At this point, I'm convinced that the only reason that we've not met Batman in this show yet is because there's no Bruce Wayne in the Smallverse). This being the Junior Superman show, everything ended well, even though Ollie ended up drunk, complaining about mosquitos and dropping accidental Lost references; Tess even won her Eeeevil stripes by killing the bad guy in a way that would've made dear departed Lex proud.

Same as last week, the real fun of the week came from the subplots and the shoutouts to the show's fanbase ("I'd rather avoid a ride on the Clark and Lana rollercoaster," Lois said at one point, prompting cheers from the show's seven-year faithful who know exactly how she feels). Chloe's becoming Brainiac (Possibly)! Davis has a secret side (Definitely)! Tess outright acknowledges her mysterious past and the awkwardness of her sudden arrival (Making us wonder where the hell they're going with this)! It's these strange knowing winks at the audiences that redeem whatever insults the show throws at us, acknowledgement that we're not only not stupid but also in on the joke, that Heroes should learn to start tossing out once in awhile... Because, if I can see a trailer for something as dopey as next week's Maxima episode looks and think "That could be fun," they've got to be doing something right.

While I wasn't too impressed by the generic main plot of the episode - Bus explodes even though there was no bomb onboard (Well, at least it didn't get filled with some fast-setting magic goo), girl turns out to be able to make things explode - it was saved by the apparent new status quo of the show, the freshest part of which is definitely Clark being pro-active and actually seeming to be on his way to becoming Superman for a change: It's not just that he saved the people on the bus and stuck around afterwards to help without giving it any thought instead of running away at superspeed to feel upset about his powers, but much moreso his attempt at inspirational speaking at the end of the episode to Bette, The Bomb-Girl - For the first time ever on the show, you got the feeling that he just might grow up to become the Superman that we know and love.

If anything, the familiarity of the plot helped bring home how different the show and characters have become since its start, eight years ago. It wasn't only Clark's new assertiveness, but also the way that the show's Lois has started to settle into a go-getting reporter role closer to her comic book counterpart (but with added awkward comedy from her not being as good at her job as she'd like), Chloe getting a B-plot to herself (although, seriously, haven't we done the "female lead falls for bad guy" plot many times before on this show? For shame, people), and the complete lack of emo angst - or death of the villain, for that matter. It's like a whole new show that's ripping off old Smallville but doing it better.
Two particular things reinforced the "better" idea this week. Firstly, the introduction of new villain Doomsday was... well, not as terrible as it could've been, really. Sure, in theory I'm still entirely against Doomsday being a human transformed into an unstoppable monster thanks to Kryptonite meteors, but damned if Sam Witwer didn't make newcomer Davis Bloome into an unexpectedly charming figure that even managed to pull off the "shock" final scene of his naked, transforming, body. Much more squee-worthy was the by-now-traditional scene of newLex, Tess Mercer - not as bald, but just as evil - recruiting the villain for nefarious ends, although the reason for my excitement is more likely than not entirely in my head. Let me explain.

We've heard - thanks to Charlie - that evil New God Darkseid may be on top to appear this season. Well, watching Tess recruit Bette to her "team" made me wonder/hope: What if Tess isn't Tess? What if she's a disguised version of Darkseid's hencholdwoman, Granny Goodness, recruiting supervillains to a new televisual team of Female Furies? It'll probably never happen, but such an idea is 100% Smallville: Taking an idea from the comic books and making it work on television involving attractive young people wearing form-fitting clothes. If anyone from the show's writing staff is reading this: You know what to do to make me happy.

But even the fact that I'm fanboy excited about the possibility of something like that happening goes to demonstrate that Smallville is continuing to turn itself around and quietly become one of the more enjoyable (guilty) pleasures on TV right now. Will wonders never cease?

Picking up from last season's cliffhanger, we get Clark and Lex missing and everyone looking for them - apart from Lois, who's looking for the equally missing Chloe by pretending to be a French Maid and dusting Lex's mansion. Is there any reason for this beyond the visual pleasure of Lois in a French Maid's outfit? Of course not, but reason has never been high on Smallville's agenda, something that's especially true in this episode that runs through plot so quickly that it makes Heroes look like the second season of Lost.

In a way, you have to admire the way in which the show speeds through resolving all of the cliffhangers (Clark's trapped in a Russian work camp! Even though you never really learn how he got there! And then he's rescued by Green Arrow! Even though you never really learn how he found Clark! And then they rescue Chloe, who now has a magical supercomputer brain, and Clark dies before coming back to life with all his powers back! And then everyone moves to Metropolis!) and concentrates on setting up a new status quo as quickly as possible. The show may have some of the same problems as before - like, you know, appearing to have been plotted by a hyperactive five year old (Seriously, what was with the sudden appearance of mind control juice? And why did no-one seem that bothered about it afterwards?) - but there's something oddly refreshing about the way that the characters seem to suddenly be aware of the show's failings - Hello, new character Tess Mercer's snark about Lois liking to play dress-up, or Clark realizing that there's no reason for him to stay in Smallville anymore, and hasn't been for about a year now - and at least give the appearance of moving on.

While I'm unconvinced that this year will necessarily get the creative bump that it needs - especially given the generic teaser for next week's episode, which looks like we're immediately right back to Freak of The Week plots - I'll admit that the last scene of Clark and Lois attempting some witty workplace banter felt a lot fresher than the show has for a couple of years. More of that and less of Chloe's weak The Matrix rip-off, and it might even be worth watching on a regular basis again.

According to fan blog Operation Save Clark Kent:

The break means that the network can decide if they want more Smallville and if they do- the writers can adjust their back half of the season for this instead of having to randomly end things leaving no one satisfied if they don’t get their expected pick up.

Weirdly enough for a site whose title clamors for Clark Kent to be saved, the writer says she hopes Smallville does end next spring. She points out that the ninth episode of the season (the one where Chloe loses her memories) is a "clip episode," and when shows start doing those, it's "a sign they're on their last legs creatively." (Actually, isn't it usually a budgetary thing, or a lack of scripts? Like when Riker had the brain spore in Star Trek: TNG season two?)

It's definitely a bad sign when the show's own fansites are saying it's "on its last legs creatively," so maybe the producers will take a hint and start thinking of ways to wrap season eight up with a nice bow. [OSCK]

While Smallville has a long and shameful history of taking classic DC characters and, well, screwing them up - Brainiac, anyone? Zod? - it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. Sure, the show may not have the flamboyance or budget to bring Darkseid to the screen in the way that we'd all want to see him, but that doesn't mean that they can't come up with a version that doesn't make fans run screaming from their televisions. This is how we'd do it:

Steal from today's comics. Okay, actually from a couple of months' ago, but it's close enough. As part of the opening of Final Crisis (and, actually, in the Mister Miracle series from a few years back), Darkseid is shown as "hiding" in human bodies. Sure, his godlike presence tends to cause them to burn out very quickly, requiring a lot of replacements, but a succession of threatening guest-stars is probably cheaper than having someone come up with a believable way of bringing his traditional stony-faced, purple-clad look to the small screen.

Keep him lowkey. More than even Lex Luthor, Darkseid doesn't get his hands dirty; he has an endless supply of minions to do all the messy jobs for him, and they'll all happily die for him. But when it comes time for the inevitable showdown, remember that he's no slouch when it comes to either a fight or melodramatic rhetoric when either are absolutely necessary.
Remember that Darkseid thinks big, but acts small. The basic idea of Darkseid is very, very simple: He wants to eradicate all free will in the universe, and replace it with his will, and there's something on Earth that will make that possible. So, if he does appear on Smallville? He'd better not be someone who falls for Chloe and then decides to get even when she decides that she'd rather hang with Jimmy, is all I'm saying. But don't take that to mean that he's all about the grand gestures; Darkseid prefers to do things so that no-one notices. Like Final Crisis's kidnapped children, or Forever People's funpark that doubles as a torture chamber. He's creepier and more meticulous than most Smallville villains - and in a genuine way, not a Lionel Luthor smiles to himself while drinking a glass of whiskey kind of way.

There is, to be honest, no reason why Darkseid couldn't work well on the small screen - His methods and, thanks to Final Crisis, disguises are well within network budgets, after all. But what worries us more than anything else is the almost inevitably bad decisions made by Smallville's producers and writers when it comes to coming up with ways of bringing fan-favorites into their show (turning unstoppable monster Doomsday into a hunky medic, for example?). So much so, in fact, that it's almost a given that, if we do see Darkseid come up against a young Clark Kent, he'll have become a goth teenager working at McDonalds who has a crush on Lois and likes to wear a lot of black while sneering at everyone.

Consider this a challenge, Smallville staffers: Give us something approaching the real Darkseid: A new god worth Superman's time - and our own.

Not only are we likely to see Clark flying at some point in the upcoming season (The show's unofficial mantra "No flights, no tights" seems to have been changed this year, according to showrunner Brian Peterson: “We have a lot of conversations [about that]... The only thing that we are saying is that we can absolutely confirm that there is no tights, so that's pretty much all we can say on that"), but fans should also expect to see much more Daily Planet, more Lois and Clark interaction, and most excitingly, the creation of a secret identity:

What the producers can say is that this season will focus on the theme of double identity and the situations it forces Clark to be in. “That's actually his main thrust this season,” [Producer Kelly] Soulder said. “Saving people in Smallville was one thing — when he had to run to the factory to save Chloe the roads weren't very crowded, the streets weren't very crowded. Being alive in Metropolis as Superman is a very different experience and you will find very quickly in this season he discovers it's not so easy when you’re running through crowded streets or you're having to run into a crowded crisis situation.”

To which Peterson was quick to add, “Or you're accountable to Lois back at the Daily Planet.”

“So that's what forces him to start really exploring the two worlds,” Soulder said.

If this means that we're going to see Tom Welling start to wear glasses and channel Christopher Reeve, then it may be worth tuning into the new season when it starts on the CW on September 18th after all...

Reinventing Smallville with Soulder & Peterson [Comic Book Resources]

Enough With The Guest-Stars Already. Hey, I'm as big a DC Comics nerd as you're likely to find, but having the entire Justice League continually drop in (and making Green Arrow a regular cast member in this new season)? It's a little much. It's one thing to make it seem as if Clark's less alone in his meandering battle for truth, justice and looking confused while he fails to actually solve any problem himself, but it's another when he's constantly being outshone by everyone else around him. That said...

When You Have Guest-Stars, Make Them Count. Having the Legion of Super-Heroes show up this year has a lot of potential, because - unlike teenage Green Arrow, teenage Aquaman, teenage Flash, Cyborg, Black Canary and the Martian Manhunter - they're an established and important part of the Superman mythos (Yes, I know the other characters - well, with the exception of Cyborg - are all members of the Justice League with Clark, but that isn't really the same thing). Similarly, if teenaged Bruce Wayne ever appeared in the show (or even Diana Prince, for that matter), that would also be an event. But more importantly, if/when those characters appear in the show, have them appear for a reason that is more than just "guest stars who are also easter eggs for the comic fans," and have their appearance mean something to Clark.

Stop Repeating Storylines That No-One Cares About. Seriously. We all get that the Luthors were not to be trusted, but that doesn't mean that Lex and/or Lionel had to have roughly several million secret labs, projects or experiments that they feel compelled to hide from everyone they know until it threatens the fate of the world. Let's move on from that kind of thing, especially now that both Luthors seem to be gone from the show. Similarly, any plot that turns a regular cast member into someone with a dark secret that generally involves superpowers? We don't want to see it. Especially if it involves someone getting magical Kryptonian tattoos and then becoming a ninja.

Start Making Your Stories Count. I'm not looking for Lost-style continuity here, but Smallville seems to happen in this weird soap operatic world where nothing anyone does ultimately has any meaning whatsoever: Bad guys die and no-one seems that bothered about it. Friends betray each other on a regular basis, and once the melodrama has died down, it's never mentioned again. The state of relationships change as the plot dictates, and the viewer is left not really caring about anyone anymore because it'll probably all be different next week after all. Remember that whole continuity thing that Buffy was so good at, Smallville writers? How's about trying that for awhile?

Most importantly, Let Clark Be The Star Of Your Show. Look, I know that Tom Welling's limited acting ability makes it harder than you'd probably like (Reason number seven that Lex was the most interesting character in the show? Michael Rosenbaum could act the pants off've Welling. And, in the fevered imagination of many 'shippers, probably did on a regular basis), but you've got to give him something to work with. Throughout the seven years of Smallville so far, Clark has been the most passive hero imaginable. For the first couple of years, that worked because - hey! - he was still learning, and also, he was the only one with all the superpowers. But now that it's seven years later and it seems that almost everyone around Clark has either had powers at one point or is related to someone with them, you can't use that excuse anymore. Another problem is that, the longer the show's gone on, the more we've learned that Jor-El and the rest of the Kryptonians seem to have had dealings with Earth before Clark's arrival. The intention was probably to deepen the whole Krypton mythology, but all it really did was make Clark less special; suddenly, it wasn't luck that brought him to Earth, but his dad's plan, and by the way, he's not even the first (or, with Kara's arrival, the last) Kryptonian to come to the planet. When your protagonist is surrounded by characters who seem more interesting, likable and powerful than he is, why are we supposed to care that much about him?

Alternatively, you could just ignore all of this and have Clark and Lois go undercover as a couple to investigate some random crazy dude. I'm sure that'll work as well.

Besides the Justice gang, Souders also confirmed the return of Cyborg from the Teen Titans. Will he be a new addition to DC's Super Friends?

Souders also spilled what we've all been been expecting since featured characters have been jumping off the Smallville Titanic one after the other: this season will focus on the relationship between Lois and Clark. Clark gets a job at the Daily Planet (which was hinted at in the season finale). "The camaraderie as they work side-by-side that everyone loves from the DC Comics and all the Superman lore is going to come to fruition this year," Souders told TV Guide. "The two of them are thrown together in some unfortunate situations for Clark. She becomes a little bit of an obstacle to him saving the world, when he's on a deadline."

Sounds like a predictable year. Let's hope they switch things up and let Doomsday murder the doe-eyed Clark Kent and then have his way with feisty Lois.

[TV Guide]

The episode starts with the in-flight execution of Edward Teague (Robert Picardo). The last member of the Veritas secret society sits nervously sipping a drink on an empty private jet. Cut to Kara walking into the cabin, donning a sexy flight attendant uniform, and subsequently scaring the crap out of Teague. Pissed-off Kara punches a hole through the airplane and extorts information on the whereabouts of the device that can control The Traveler (Lex has it). Kara takes off and lets Teague's plane crash. Bye, bye secret society.

Much of the same back in Smallville and at the Daily Planet. Lex Luthor wants to make Jimmy Olsen his bitch-boy because he got Jimmy's girl Chloe Sullivan out of lock-up for that whole terrorist imbroglio. Note to Chloe, don't hack into government files if you don't want to get arrested. So now Jimmy has to lie (gasp) to his pal Lois Lane, or Lex will tell National Security that Chloe is a terrorist and it's back to the pokey for her.

Lois is jazzed that Chloe's firing opened up a spot for Clark Kent at the Daily Planet. She even brings him an application. Yay, more Lois-and-Clark time. But Clark will have to get over his whole petty "I'd never work for Lex Luthor" attitude first. We all know it will happen. Chloe ruins this moment by taking Clark to her secret computer lair, where she reveals that Teague is dead. Together they figure out that Kara is the one that destroyed Teague's plane and now they're both scared because Kara has gone crazy and is killing people. Clark then heads to Lex's mansion to intercept Kara and scold her for being a murderer. Kara protests her actions are only aimed at saving Clark and humanity. Because whoever controls the device controls Clark, and they can turn him into a weapon. Lies! She later teams up with Lex saying she wants to destroy the Traveler too, and tells Lex he needs to go to The Fortress of Solitude to use the Veritas orb.

Jimmy meets up with Lois and plants Lex's seeds of deception in the worst acted scene ever. I get it, you're so moral, Jimmy, lying is hard for you, we don't need to see you physically in pain while lying. Then of course, Jimmy tells Lex this will be the last time.

Meanwhile Chloe tries to stop Kara with a bit o' kryptonite. But it's not Kara and she shape-shifts to reveal that she's actually Brainiac. He zaps her brain the same way he zapped Lana's, but Chloe's not the same as Lana, because she was affected by the meteor as well. Chloe falls into a coma and Brainiac is weakened by Chloe's secret powers.

Clark is pissed that all of his friends are now in comas thanks to Brainiac, and confronts him. Brainiac admits he's done something terrible to Kara and won't tell Clark where she is, and on top of it all he mocks Clark for being weak. In response Clark kills Brainiac with a power cable, thus freeing Lana and Chloe from their comas.

Lana awakens and bolts the hospital before Clark can get there, leaving a sad DVD message that they just can't be together, and the world needs Clark more. Clark cries about Lana, again. I may have a gigantic girl crush on Lana, but I'm glad they decided to end this going-nowhere relationship. Wake me when Clark takes that job at the Planet.

Now that Chloe is awake Jimmy realizes he can't live with out her and gets down on one knee. But as with everyone else in Smallville, happiness in a relationship is unacceptable so the government barges in, ruins the romantic moment and hauls Chloe off to jail again. Lex, you evil, bald genius — kill as many people as you want, but interrupting a proposal? Your heart is a cinder. The moment did give Jimmy the chance to deliver one last terrible line for the season stating that Chloe went from, "life support to life without parole in less than a day." With all the drama surrounding Chloe's return I wonder if the writers threw her back in prison just in case they couldn't reach a contract agreement.

Jump to the Fortress of Solitude when a not-so-surprised Lex sees Clark for who he really is. After a quick back and forth about how they used to love each other and the overall betrayal between the two, Lex goes ahead and inserts the control orb from the Veritas. In Lex's defense he does firmly believe that Clark will destroy humanity and this is his birthright. This causes Clark to buckle and the fortress to start crumbling from above. Large, horribly animated crystals start to fall on Lex and Clark. Lex holds Clark, looks into his eyes and says, "I love you like a brother Clark but it has to end this way."

And finally where exactly has Brainiac hidden dear Kara? Turns out he's shoved her in a Phantom Zone and she is floating through space trapped.

Boo, what does the device do exactly? I want to see Clark as Lex's robot. I'm not too worried about Lana being gone as Clark is not meant for her anyways. It should be interesting to see how Smallville uses Lana and Lex, now that they won't be around as much.