The Mole Man
The Fantastic Four's first villain, the Mole Man's modus operandi switched up from attacking humanity because they weren't monsters to one of ecological conservation, trying to get humanity to leave Monster Island alone and stop bringing the monsters therein to the brink to extinction. Who can't get behind that? He's like a shorter, uglier Al Gore who just happens to command an army of near-unstoppable genetic accidents. If we just let him win, who knows what kind of era of ecological paradise we could be letting ourselves in for?

Zoom
The second Reverse-Flash, Hunter Zolomon was a former police criminal psychologist who became unstuck in time and mind after an accident involving the Flash's Cosmic Treadmill. Obsessed with making heroes "better" by forcing personal tragedies on them so that they'll try harder, he's the poster boy for tough love... But he really is trying to make the world a better place, albeit in a twisted manner. Instead of beating him up for that, why not try and just convince him to soften his methods and let him run free? What's the worst that could happen? Well, besides him trying to kill your family as motivation, of course.

Lex Luthor
For years, Lex has been telling us that, if Superman would just get out of the way, he's turn the world into a beautiful utopia, curing diseases and ending all problems with science. Hell, he's even managed to cure cancer before, even if it was just a ploy to lure Superman into a false sense of security. All I'm saying is this: Would Superman really mind that much if we just asked him to step aside for a bit and let Lex run things his way? If nothing else, the recent Superman/Batman: Public Enemies movie suggested that he could sort out this whole financial disaster thing within weeks...

Magneto
All he wants to do is end genetic persecution! Is that really so wrong? Sure, you can argue with his ways of going about it - I don't think anyone here would be fully supportive of his controversial "enslave and destroy the human race" agenda - but the man's lived through Nazi concentration camps, been acquitted by an international court of evildoing and, if nothing else, is fully dedicated to his beliefs. Is there really any proof that a world controlled by Magneto wouldn't be one less filled with hate? We don't think so... even if it's because most of us would be dead.

Doctor Doom
Those unconvinced of Victor Von Doom's leadership potential need only look to his kingdom of Latveria for the proof: Crime is nearly non-existent! Illness equally so! And the people love their leader (Admittedly, because to admit otherwise may result in death, but still: Details, people). Sure, evidence also points to our having to put up with a merciless police force of Doombots and having to dress and act like Eastern European villagers from the late 19th century, but aren't those prices we're willing to pay for a reduction in crime and illness? Admit it: Maybe we could all benefit from being ruled by an iron (clad) hand or two.

Darkseid
Last year's Final Crisis showed a world under self-styled Ultimate God of Evil Darkseid's will-sapping regime, and aside from the complete absence of free will and slow devolution of the planet into a red-skied radioactive wasteland patrolled by mutated dogs and men with tiger heads, we can't help but notice that those submitting to the Anti-Life Equation seemed much less in emotional turmoil or upset about the direction that their lives had taken - In fact, they seemed confident and assured, unlike those who'd chosen to resist. And, yes; those who resisted eventually assisted in the recreation of existence itself, but still. Isn't having even will-sapped piece of mind about your place in the world worth some sacrifice?

Universo
Here's one we know works from experience. Futuristic hypnotist Universo managed to hoodwink the entire planet under his command in the 1987 Legion of Super-Heroes storyline "The Universo Project," and the result was a peaceful planet where superheroes weren't needed at all. Easily the best case scenario we've seen, it didn't even involve Darkseid-esque worldwide mind control - Only figures of authority (and some superheroes) were hypnotized, meaning that the common man and woman would happily have freedom to toil and work for The Man as usual, without knowing that it was a different The Man all along. Win win!

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.

Legion flight rings in Legion Of Super Heroes. The super-powered teenagers have a whole variety of powers and special gifts, but they can all fly — thanks to these gravity-negating rings. And ne'er-do-well time traveler Booster Gold also got hold of one of these rings and took it back to our time, using it to become a superhero.

Time Ring in Doctor Who, "Genesis Of The Daleks" Despite the name, it's more of a bracelet — when the Doctor gets separated rom his time machine, the TARDIS, his people give him a special bracelet that allows him to travel through time and space. That way, he can visit the birthplace of the Daleks without bringing along a conspicuous blue phone booth.

The Planeteers' rings in Captain Planet and the Planeteers. These five rings give the Planeteers control over the four elements, plus Heart. (The band, I guess.) And when you put all five rings together, you can summon Captain Planet himself.

The tiara, bracelets and girdle in Wonder Woman. Diana has many amazing powers, but chief among them is the ability to accessorize. Her bracelets can repel bullets, her lariat is the only effective lie-detector William Moulton Marston ever came up with, and her tiara can be thrown much like a Batarang. In some versions, her girdle is also superpowered.

Frodo's ring in Lord Of The Rings. Not really science fiction, but still an important piece of super-powered jewelry. It lets you turn invisible, but too bad about the "corrupting your soul" and "letting Sauron's evil minions know where you are" stuff. I'll let Flight Of The Conchords explain it to you.

Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem in Harry Potter. This tiara-like thing was supposed to increase the wisdom of the wearer, but after Helena Ravenclaw stole it, it fell into the hands of Voldemort, who used it to make one of his horcruxes. So yeah, not all that wise really.

Pancho's jewelry in The Silent War by Ben Bova. Pancho, who's a woman despite her male name, has a whole set of weaponized jewelry, including an explodng necklace she can throw at bad guys, and earrings packed with miniature instruments of death.

Eddie Murphy's ring in A Vampire In Brooklyn. Apparently it not only turned whoever wore it next into a vampire, it also gave you bigger male endowment. Which makes total sense. Sort of.

Karolina's medic alert bracelet in Runaways. The alien Karolina Dean looks quite different from her fellow adventurers — unless she wears her special alien bracelet that allows her to appear perfectly human. Eventually, she learns to live without it.

The Flash's ring in The Flash. Almost forgot this one. Wally West would be naked without this piece of jewelry, since it contains his entire costume, super-compressed. The costume expands to clothe Wally almost instantly when he presses his ring. Or something.

The Mystical Amulet of Right in Captain Britain. I guess if you're wearing something with a name like that, you'd better know what you're doing. Wearing this turns Brian Braddock into Captain Britain, and it's part of the power to reshape the Multiverse.

Congo Bill's ring, from Congorilla. Congo Bill and the gorilla known as Congorilla wear matching rings, and when Congo Bill needs a little gorilla strength, or just a little "me" time, he can transfer his brain into Congorilla's body, and vice versa, by rubbing the ring. And no, "rubbing the ring to unleash the gorilla" is not a euphemism for anything.

The brooch in Beast Master's Quest by Andre Norton and Lyn McConchie. Laris, like most people on Arzor, carries her personal communicator disguised as a brooch or pendant. This saves her from having it taken away. "Even the detestable V'a'een must have assumed the communicator to be only a brooch and chosen not to take that away from her."

The tiara in Sailor Moon. I'm not exactly sure what Sailor Moon's tiara does, but it's pretty disco-tastic, and you probably wouldn't want her to throw it at you:

The pendant in "A Little Peace And Quiet," The Twilight Zone. Harrassed housewife Penny finds a pendant that stops time whenever she screams "SHUT UP!" But then she stops time just as nuclear missiles are about to wipe out her town. What to do?

Mrs. Brisby's amulet in Secret Of N.I.M.H. The old rat named Nicodemus finds a gold amulet which has mysterious powers, and he eventually passes it on to the meek field mouse Mrs. Brisby, in this film adaptation. Eventually, she's able to use it to jack up a house.

Necklaces in The Urth Of The New Sun by Gene Wolfe. Before going on deck in one of the "ships that sail between the suns," you must put on an artificial personal atmosphere, which consists of a necklace of linked cylinders. Throughout the novel, Severian is constantly worrying about his necklace and whether it's been damaged, since it's a lifeline.

The Foxhead Medallion in The Wheel Of Time by Robert Jordan. Another fantasy one — Mat Cauthon gets this nice piece of bling after passing through the Rhuidean twisted-door ter'angreal. It protects against the One Power.

Necklaces in Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell. Nashara has a necklace that seems pretty all purpose. You can put the pendant in your ear to use it as a communication/translation device. It also has some computer read-outs that let you know your status among the alien Gahe, and there's a remote-control function as well.

The Gem of Amara in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. In the big cross-over episode between Buffy and Angel, a magical ring allows Spike to become invincible, and to wander out in the daytime. Too bad it falls into the sweaty hands of an evil sadist whom Spike hires to terrorize Angel.

The Thing's ring in his 1970s cartoon. Apparently instead of being stuck as the rocky-skinned Thing, Ben Grimm had a ring that allowed him to change back and forth. He would chant, "Thing Ring, Do Your Thing!" Okay then.

The Eye Of Agamotto in Doctor Strange. That's some serious glam-booty jewelry right there. Doctor Strange sports a nice brooch holding his cloak together, which is also one of the major sources of his awesome powers. Plus it helps him blend in in Greenwich Village.

The bracelet in Dial H For H.E.R.O. It's sort of a bracelet, sort of a watch. Mostly, it's a dial that turns you into a different superpowered being every time you use it.

The quantum bands in Quasar. This superhero wears fancy bracelets (sort of like wrist braces for RSIs) with super-powered jewels on them that allow him to tap into the Quantum Zone. They're fused to his wrists, but he eventually loses them to various other characters, including Phyla-Vell. In similar fashion, Captain Marvel and Rick Jones wear "Nega-Bands" that enable them to switch places.

Freedom Ring's ring in Marvel Comics. Apparently he was a short-lived gay superhero in the Marvel Universe, who only existed long enough to get killed off and make for some yummy pathos. He gets hold of a ring that alters the very fabric of reality, which a supervillain named the Patternmaster dropped, and finds out its special abilities when he accidentally creates an ice-cream sundae. Later, he uses the ring to restore his legs after he loses them, and then to make himself stronger and faster. But then he dies. Oh well.

The Mandarin's ten rings in Iron Man. This somewhat caricaturish Asian villain has ten rings that give him absolute power, except when he's facing a guy in powered armor. I do like the "anti-technology field" though.

Lex Luthor's kryptonite ring in Superman. The bald eagle of evil makes a special ring with a kryptonite setting, so he can bring the Man of Steel to his knees. But it costs Lex his hand due to radiation exposure. Later, Batman gets hold of it, and keeps it in his belt pouch, where the radiation will only affect body areas adjacent to Batman's belt. Nothing to worry about.

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown. Thanks also to Kaila Hale-Stern, Hiya Swanhuyser, Meredith Woerner, Dorian Katz, Mathtew Cokeley, S. Bear Bergman, Rachael Parker, Morgan Johnson, Brian Williams, Rus McLaughlin, Austin Grossmna, Douglas Wolk, Kiala Kazebee, Luis Alberto Urrea, Cindy Urrea, Genevieve Valentine, and @CleverUserName, @Soapboxx, @Dahveed76 and @Nightwyrm on Twitter. And, as is always the case with these sorts of articles, I found this great round-up of comic book rings at Comics Should Be Good right when I was about to be done researching this piece. But it's great stuff.

LexCorp (DC Comics)
Hailed as one of the largest, most diversified multinational corporations in the world, it also happens to be founded by Lex Luthor, who runs it with his characteristic ruthlessness. The list of cities and countries where the corporation has holdings is basically as long as the list of cities and countries on Earth, and the number of companies controlled by LexCorp is almost as long and just as varied. Unfortunately, as of One Year Later, with Lana Lang acting as CEO, the corporation seems to be heading towards bankruptcy. The "No Helping Superman" rule still applies to all employees, however.

Primatech (Heroes)
The Primatech Paper Company of Odessa, Texas is the first Primatech facility the show introduces us to. Of course, they do a lot more than just make paper—They capture and "study" folks with enhanced abilities, but, really, what they do best is operate in a moral gray area. A very dark gray area.

Blue Sun (Firefly and Serenity)
While it's still unclear exactly what the corporation does, it seems pretty implicit that it isn't good. Although most of the Blue Sun products seen on the show seem as innocuous as coffee cans and crackers, River's actions, such as ripping off their labels on food and slashing Jayne with a knife when he wears their logo, suggest that there's something more going on. Some suggest that there's something in the food, but the stronger hypothesis seems to be that Blue Sun is somehow connected to the experiments done on River and is perhaps working with the Alliance.

Merrick Biotech (The Island)
Merrick Biotech's business is keeping clones of their customers around, just in case said customers should need a transplant of some kind. Basically like the ultimate life insurance, right? Except for the fact that it's illegal to allow the clones to be conscious and sentient, which, of course, Merrick Biotech lets happen and lies to their clients about. Therefore, the corporation has an entire population of fully-conscious human beings living totally unaware of the fact that they're basically just an organ farm. And that's just not cool.

Fatboy Industries (The Middleman, TV series)
In the final episode of the series, Wendy Watson is transported into a classic example of a Mirrorverse, where the megacorp of Fatboy Industries is a totalitarian presence, having taken the place of the government. Unfortunately, the morality of Fatboy in Wendy's real world is still unconfirmed, as there's a hint of "more than meets the eye" to both the corporation and its ambiguous founder, Manservant Neville. (This is underscored by the fact that the rest of Mirrorverse turns out to be not so very different from the real world.)

Buy n Large Corporation (WALL•E)
While maybe not inherently evil, the Buy n Large Corporation did govern Earth (perhaps much like the Mirrorverse Fatboy Industries) and did a very poor job of it. Even if rendering the planet uninhabitable wasn't exactly the gameplan, Buy n Large's role in that happening probably makes it a worse corporation than most of the others on this list.

Tyrell Corporation (Blade Runner)
The Tyrell Corporation produces the replicants, lifelike androids designed to the work deemed to dangerous and demeaning for humans, and is named for Dr. Eldon Tyrell, the founder and genius inventor of the replicants. While it's debatable how truly "evil" the Tyrell Corporation is, there is a definite sinister quality to their dealings and it's nigh impossible to deny that they definitely smack of "evil corporation."

Veidt Industries (Watchmen)
A lot of what was said about LexCorp could be repeated here. Once again, the ruthless ambition of the corporation paired with the questionable morality of its founder leaves us wondering how much to trust this (powerful, financially successful) corporation. Meanwhile, the impending release of the film was paired with a Veidt Industries commercial contest, leading to all sorts of fake '80's advertising:

Weyland-Yutani (Alien franchise)
Perhaps the gold standard of evil megacorporations, Weyland-Yutani's main gig is merciless profiteering, no matter what (or who) needs to be sacrificed in the process. (Fun fact: Their logo can be seen on some of the weapons in Firefly and they're said to be a client of Wolfram and Hart in Angel. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that Joss Whedon wrote Alien Resurrection.)

Cyberdyne Systems Corporation (Terminator films)
While the corporation is said to be benign in the first two films, manufacturing parts for bigger companies, they then make the mistake of creating Skynet, a system of artificially intelligent supercomputers that control (among other things) nuclear missiles. This was not a smart move. In fact, it's just un-smart enough to warrant Cyberdyne's inclusion on this list.

Yoyodyne (The Crying of Lot 49 and V. by Thomas Pynchon)
Yoyodyne is a defense contractor that's described in The Crying of Lot 49 as "a giant of the aerospace industry," and a few characters in the novel work for the company. While the morality of Yoyodyne isn't firmly sealed either way, the thread of conspiracy woven throughout the work suggests that it isn't all it seems. (The name "Yoyodyne" is mentioned, as you might remember, in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.)

Earth Protectors (Up, Up, and Away, 2000 TV movie)
Ostensibly a group designed to teach middle schoolers the importance of environmentalism, Earth Protectors' favorite method of persuasion is brainwashing. And while handing out CD's brainwashing kids into recycling isn't a completely bad thing, brainwashing the parents to rob banks is another thing entirely. (Actually, brainwashing in general? Not recommended.)

Omni Consumer Products (Robocop)
Described as dystopian and inhumane, Omni Consumer Products (OCP) is an example of military capitalism taken to the extreme, until the corporation no longer cares who gets hurt or killed as long as the PR stays good. OCP is depicted as having its fingers in almost every branch of life, as long as there's money to be made from it. One of their strokes of genius comes from running both criminal organizations and a private police force, thereby ensuring a continued demand for both crime and justice.

Soylent Corporation (Soylent Green)
It's 2022 and the world is overpopulated and hungry. Who better to step in than the Soylent Corporation with their rations of tasty wafers known as Soylent Red and Soylent Yellow? Well, okay, they aren't that tasty, but thankfully, Soylent's come out with a new flavor: Soylent Green. Much more delicious. So what's the catch? Well, we all know what Soylent Green is.

GeneCo (Repo! The Genetic Opera)
After an epidemic of organ failures, GeneCo steps in to give transplants to those in need. Benevolent, right? Well, sure, until the boss, Rotti Largo, gets permission to repossess the organs of people who renege on their payments. And once a corporation is taking out your insides, the benevolence is kind of gone.

The late twentieth century had a bit of a rough time when it came to fictional presidents, what with Richard Nixon's controversial five-term administration, the suspected impersonation of a comatose president by some two-bit lookalike, and the short-lived Rigelian takeover of the White House in order to build a giant ray gun for an interstellar war (and feel free to blame me – I'd sooner be blasted into space than vote for Kodos). But with all that behind us, the future looks bright for a brave new twenty-first century of honest, inspiring fictional presidents who could restore honor and dignity to the White House…

42*. Lex Luthor (2001-2004)
43. Pete Ross (2004)
44. Jonathan Vincent Horne (2004-2009), from DC Comics

Well, that didn't last long, did it? Sure, Lex Luthor seemed like such a refreshingly different choice - a successful industrialist, an inventive genius, and a man so wealthy there was no danger he'd ever have to bow to special interests. He was like Ross Perot without all the crazy except, as it turned out, he was just a little too obsessed with killing Superman. He did have an early success when he led the successful defeat of the cosmic destroyer Imperiex, but his naturally criminal inclinations soon got the better of him. His attempt to frame the Man of Steel for launching a kryptonite asteroid at Earth was foiled by Superman and Batman, leading to his removal from the presidency. Vice President Pete Ross took over briefly, but then it really, really looked like he was the supervillain Ruin, so he had to go. After all this turmoil, Jonathan Vincent Horne rather quietly led the US through two crises, World War III, and an entire year without the world's most powerful superheroes, without once suspected of being a supervillain (although there was that evil robot...).

45. Barack Obama (2009-2017), from pretty much every other comic ever

He teamed up with Spider-Man, shook hands with the Savage Dragon, helped fight back an alien invasion, handed the Avengers over to noted psychopath and goblin enthusiast Norman Osborn (although that might not technically have been him)...and that was just the first three months.

46. Arnold Schwarzenegger (2017-2021), from Doctor Who, Demolition Man, The Simpsons Movie

After accidentally electing a space monster back in '96, I guess a non-natural-born citizen wasn't quite as big a deal for the American electorate (or the Constitution, for that matter). His decision to encase Springfield, the country's most polluted city, inside a massive bubble proved controversial, although this was ultimately revealed to be the work of his villainous head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Russ Cargill. More politically damaging was the secession of Los Angeles, which had never recovered from the earthquake of 2011, to found the new city-state of San Angeles. His sense of fashion was still known and honored in the year 200100, when two homicidally fashion-conscious androids complimented Captain Jack Harkness on his presidential dress sense before trying to forcibly rearrange his face.

47. Henry Kolladner (2021-2024)
48. Charles Haskell (2024-2029), from Moonfall by Jack McDevitt

Both administrations were inextricably tied to the massive comet that destroyed the Moon in 2024. This cataclysmic event caused a great deal of damage down on Earth, including killing President Kolladner when his helicopter is struck by lightning as he tries to flee a tsunami-destroyed Washington, DC. It then fell to Haskell, who had been on the moon shortly before its destruction to open a new lunar base, to keep the country together in the aftermath of such carnage. He moved the capital back to Philadelphia and was successful enough to win reelection at the end of 2024.

49. Oprah Winfrey (2029-2033), from Century City

The short-lived CBS scifi legal series presented a world of fifty-two states, lunar colonies, increased life expectancies, and, most shockingly, universal healthcare. The legendary talk-show host and philanthropist served as America's first female president (she also was one of the oldest presidents ever elected), and her vice president was an openly gay, retired four-star general.

50. Malia Obama (2033-2041), from Life on Mars

From one of the oldest to one of the youngest presidents, the second President Obama oversaw the first manned mission to Mars. Unfortunately, she wasn't there to personally see the first white loafer set foot on Mars, as she had returned to Chicago with her sister to care for their ailing father.

51. Robert McCallister (2041-2049), from Jack & Bobby

WB's impossibly high-concept show was about two brothers growing up in 2004, one of whom went on to be the 51st president of the United States. Robert McCallister, known as "The Great Believer", weathered no end of crises, including wars, scandals within his administration, questions regarding his own integrity, personal tragedy, and terrorists detonating a nuclear bomb in Chicago. Oh, and he had an affair with his Vice President, Karen Carmichael. Keep in mind that none of this was actually ever shown but merely described in interviews - the meat of the show was a teen drama. It was on the WB, after all.

52. Chelsea Clinton (2049-2053), from Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century

It's been either predicted or joked about roughly a million times, but it took a trilogy of Disney Channel movies to make it a reality. The Zenon movies, set in 2049, referenced but never showed the younger Clinton as the Commander-in-Chief.

53. President Nguyen (2053-2057), from Old Twentieth by Joe Haldeman

President Nguyen, likely named for South Vietnamese president Nguyen Van Thieu, was mentioned as being president in 2054. I would say more, but the 2050s have not been a particularly good time for presidential science fiction, for whatever reason.

54. Graveney Westwood (2057-2065), from the Spy High series

President Graveney Westwood, bringing back a traditional of somewhat silly-sounding presidential names not seen since the days of Millard Fillmore and Rutherford B. Hayes, found himself the target of an assassination attempt. He survived thanks to the help of the kids from the titular training academy for secret agents.

55. President Roberts (2065-2069), from Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

During the world's war of nerves with the alien Mysterons, American President Roberts was also targeted for assassination. Or was he? As it turned out, those wacky all-powerful aliens were really out to destroy an ocean liner that was being christened the "President Roberts" in his honor (one can only assume "President" was also his first name). Which, for the record, they totally failed to do, because humans are awesome.

56. Robert L. Booth (2069-2073), from 2000 AD

He rigged the election of 2068, and then he manipulated public opinion by telling the American people that the rest of the world was freeloading. He started seizing foreign oil, killed anyone who got in his way, and ultimately initiated a nuclear war that devastated the entire planet. He then fled to the Rocky Mountains, where he fought his last stand along with his army of murderous robots against the Judges that now ruled the country. He was finally captured, put on trial for war crimes, and sentenced to a century in suspended animation. He's not generally considered one our better presidents.

57. Hugo Allen Winkler (2073-2081), from The Tercentenary Incident by Isaac Asimov

The world patched itself back together after the disastrous Booth presidency, reforming as a federation in which the United States was only one constituent member. President Winkler was not terribly well respected, seen more as a mediocre career politician than as a capable leader. This all magically changed in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on July 4, 2076, when he dramatically took to the stage and gave an inspiring speech that provided a new plan for the country and set him on a path towards a landslide reelection and soaring approval ratings. Wild, unfounded rumors that he had actually been killed and replaced by a robot duplicate circulated around the political fringe, but these were dismissed as the ramblings of those unable to accept he had simply finally become the man he was always supposed to be.

58. Jim Briskin (2081-2088), from The Crack in Space by Philip K. Dick

Campaigning as America's first black president (I guess the nuclear war wiped out all records of the Obama, Winfrey, and Obama administrations) Briskin came into office at a time of rising racial tensions, as severe overpopulation had forced millions of people, many of them minorities, into cryopreservation until such time as space could be found for them. The sudden arrival of a seemingly empty alternate Earth through a transdimensional warp provides a possible solution for this problem, but things rather quickly go wrong. Indigenous populations of Homo erectus are discovered on the planet, a time distortion meant to speed up colonization causes a 100 years to instantly elapse on the alternate Earth, and one of the colonists (who, in typical Dick fashion, happens to be conjoined twins) has set himself up as a god in the ensuing century and launches a war against Earth. Oh, and then Briskin gets elected, leaving him his two terms in which to deal with these problems, although he ran into trouble towards the end, as we're about to find out.

59. Andrew Harrison (2088-2093), from The Mirrored Heavens by David J. Williams

This cyberpunk thriller mentions that a military state was declared in 2088, where only soldiers and veterans could vote and the country was run by the president and an inner cabinet made up of the heads of the armed forces. President Harrison, a 41-year-old retired admiral, served out the duration of the crisis.

60. FXJKHR (2093-2097), from Futurama

Like the first robot president, John Quincy Adding Machine, the question of whether this alien would go on a murderous killing spree was a key issue in his campaign. Unlike President Adding Machine, he made no promises he couldn't keep, following through on his pledge to devour as many humans as he possibly could. He declined to run for reelection, feeling he had accomplished everything he set out to do.

61. A President (2097-2099)
62. Victor Von Doom (2099)
63. Steve Rogers (2099-), from Marvel: 2099

History has not bothered to record who precisely the time-displaced Victor Von Doom deposed to become president, so completely had the office been taken over by corporate interests. The Latverian ruler's time in the White House was brief, however, as Steve Rogers, the legendary Captain America, reappeared to take back the country and ultimately became president himself. Whether or not this President Rogers was in fact an evil nanotech creation of the mega-corporations is still a matter of lively scholarly debate.

*For the record, I realize that Lex Luthor should be the 43rd president, assuming all previous presidents were the real ones. For the purposes of this list, however, I'm assuming that isn't the case, as my description of fictional 20th century suggests. By my reckoning, assuming everything is the same until Richard Nixon has five straight terms, followed by the chain of events I described, then Luthor would be the 42nd president, following Bill Mitchell and Gary Nance from Dave, Bill Clinton from real life, and Kang from The Simpsons.

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]

Latino Review is reporting that Warner Brothers executives are searching for a Lex Luthor-replacement to give the old franchise some new spice. They've been checking out scripts that feature a different supervillain from Superman's Rogues Gallery.

But don't get your Superman jammies in a twist — the studio still may keep Luthor in a smaller, more minor role in the new film, which I think would be pretty difficult if they continued to use Kevin Spacey.

So who do think it will be? My supes sense says most likely Braniac or Doomsday. It would be pretty spectacular to see more General Zod, but it has been done. Dark horse candidates include the Toyman and Mongul. Best of luck, WB — the world is in desperate need of a quality Superman film, so let's hope the villain switcheroo works.

[Latino Review]

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.

Over at Newsarama, DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio explained what Faces of Evil actually is:

[R]ealistically and practically, ‘Faces of Evil’ came about as a means to give our villains a chance to shine. We know the villains of the DC universe are extremely popular, and have had success with other stories that have focused on those characters, and we wanted to do this across the line which will get a sense of excitement going in the books for what’s to come in 2009... You always hear from writers that some of the best characters to write are the villains because they don’t perceive themselves as villains, and you can play their machinations – and the reasons for their machinations - in so many different ways. This allows them to really cut loose and have the villain play the lead role in the book and the story, and let the hero take the back seat.

The villains will not only be taking over the regular monthly titles, but also getting their own one-shot issues throughout January; characters to be spotlighted include 52 antihero Black Adam, Batman Begins badguy Ra’s al Ghul and everyone's favorite scientist, Lex Luthor. This isn't the first time DC have done something like this - exactly a decade earlier, DC celebrated the start of 1999 with a series of specials spotlighting villains called New Year's Evil. Apparently there's just something about years that end in the number 9...

January Sees 'Faces of Evil' at DC - Dan DiDio Spills [Newsarama]

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I'm seriously hoping this doesn't come down to Joker vs. Lex... that would be kind of sad.

Joker/Q image uses Joker concept art by Lee Bermejo.

What draws us to Lex isn't his religious background (Although, really, did you know that he was a Nietzschean atheist? Or even that such a thing existed?), but rather his single-minded dedication to his goal. This, after all, is a man who became President of the United States purely to piss off Superman. A man who cured cancer purely as a ruse to make Superman trust him, so that he could double-cross him later. A man who would die, then come back to life in a cloned body, pretending to be his own repentant son, hook up with Supergirl, buy the Daily Planet and then try to destroy all of Metropolis, just to make Superman's life difficult. And yet, despite that, he's more than a one-note villain, as Christopher Bird understands:

Why is Luthor so complicated when compared to other supervillains? I’m not kidding when I say you can sum up Dr. Doom’s innermost character motivation in one sentence (more importantly, in one sentence and accurately). Lex is a book where most supervillains are a sentence. Why is that?

The answer’s pretty obvious and wears a big red cape. Lex is going to be more complex because his enemy, the battle he fights, is more mythic by far than any other. If you look at the ranks of great comic villains - and I’m talking the true greats here - they’re generally either on some level either the equal of the hero(es) they loathe (the Joker, the Green Goblin, Dr. Doom, Sinestro) or their superior (Galactus, Dormammu, Magneto on the high end of the power scale, the Anti-Monitor).

But Luthor is unique - definitively the only great villain who is, by any reasonable standard, weaker than his archenemy. Remember, Superman isn’t just powerful - he’s also smart, and wise, and personable, and generally possessed of a huge number of admirable quality traits, and he has a ton of friends who are also for the most part more powerful than Luthor is (and who all hate Luthor too), and he has alien technology nobody else does, and a secret fortress, and a super-cousin, and a super-dog. Luthor doesn’t have any of that. Luthor has brains, determination and cojones, and that’s it. Sometimes he has a corporation, sometimes a secret science fortress, but that’s all ephemeral stuff.

Other villains fight men. Luthor is, when you get down to brass tacks, a man trying to fight God.

That's just one part of Bird's impressive essay in honor of Luthor, which also points out the high- and low-points of the character's history (Even including his own planet, Lexor - Yes, really; he found a populated planet in outer space, claimed it for his own and named it after himself. And you wondered why we love him so? Even though he, uh, was also accidentally responsible for the destruction of said planet due to his hate for Superman). If you don't already worship at the church of the 20th century's greatest mad scientist, it's a good place to go and learn the error of your ways, and if you do, then go there and remember why you were right to do so in the first place.
Luthor is more than just a bald Kevin Spacey, dear readers. Luthor is Luthor.

On Luthor [MightyGodKing]

The movie's writer, Justin Marks, was more than happy to share the names of some of the bad guys that will be appearing in the movie that currently calls itself Green Arrow: Escape From Super Max, and they'll not only include the Riddler, but also Green Lantern villain The Icicle, Superman's Lex Luthor and even an in-name-only cameo from the Joker, amongst many others. And the point of bringing all these villains together? To create a movie universe for DC's characters just like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk have done for Marvel:

What we wanted to do, and I think we'll continue to do as the studio continues to push the movie forward, is to be able to [put Queen] in the center of a much bigger universe... In the same way that Marvel is starting to do, when you're in the [filmed] DC Universe [where] this world and this world and this world — they all exist in an interrelated web.

Does this mean that we may see a crossover between the Green Lantern movie and Super Max? That a sequel to The Dark Knight might include cameos from Brandon Routh's Man of Steel? Time - and the potential tanking of future Marvel movies like Thor and Captain America, which might scare off Warners from this plan - will tell.

Green Arrow to "Escape from Super Max" [MTV Movies]

Tony Stark
Experience: Brilliant engineer, CEO of Stark Industries, leader of the Avengers, former United States Secretary of Defense, current director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Probably Political Allegiance: Going by his Civil War decisions, Republican. The whole "Guantanamo for super-villains in the Negative Zone" thing? A bit of a give-away.
Pros: Good looking and charismatic, Stark turned his inherited family company into an industry leader with his own inventions and business know-how. He is strong on national security and defense and has mostly been very popular as Iron Man, one of the country’s most public superheroes. With a net worth estimated at over US$3 billion, his fortune could be used to help fund the campaign. As a particular plus for McCain, Stark was also a prisoner of war.
Cons: Though undeniably successful, Stark has a laundry list of character flaws. He is a recovering alcoholic. His reputation as an incorrigible playboy and womanizer might not play well with the Republican base. His somewhat self-appointed leadership of the superhero community has often come under harsh criticism, especially his role in the controversial “superhero civil war," and failure to prevent a "secret" invasion from terrorist forces from another planet. Also, his presence on the ticket may lead some journalists to ask why McCain didn't construct his own indestructible suit of armor to escape from his captors in Vietnam.

Lex Luthor
Experience: Genius scientist and inventor, CEO of LexCorp, former President of the United States.
Probable Political Allegiance: Tough on crimefighters and pro-death penalty (for Superman), he's probably a Republican.
Pros: Much like Ronald Reagan’s famous flirtation with making former President Gerald Ford his VP in 1980, Luthor might be considered in attempts to craft a high profile “dream ticket” by McCain's advisors. With his world renowned genius, Lex could single handedly organize the entire campaign while solving the energy crisis and defeating the world’s grandmasters in highly publicized chess tournaments... as long as Superman wasn't around to distract him. His hardline stance on “illegal aliens” would play well with those concerned with immigration reform.
Cons: His presidency ended in scandal after it was revealed that he had bought arms from well-known extraterrestrial terrorists, and he still nurses a murderous obsession with killing Superman. His long history of scheming and plotting bring a lot of baggage, and he has respected enemies in the press. Widely thought of as a dangerous, egotistical maniac. But then, that never stopped Nixon.

Mitchell Hundred
Experience: Civil engineer maintaining the Brooklyn Bridge, Mayor of New York City.
Probable Political Allegiance: Officially independent, so woo-able by both sides.
Pros: Though he gave up his less-than-spectacular career as a masked crime fighter to run for Mayor of New York, Hundred is still considered a hero by many for using his superpowers to stop the second plane from hitting the World Trade Center on 9/11. As mayor, with his engineer’s mind and keen political sensibilities, he has largely handled a variety of crises and scandals with confidence and success. Thirteenth generation American.
Cons: Paranoid conspiracy theories abound as to the nature and origin of his ability to control machines, and the rest of the country might be less accepting of this strangeness than seen-it-all New Yorkers. Hundred is also single, and despite going on a few public dates many suspect that he might be gay—-rumors that were given fuel when Hundred presided over the city’s first same-sex marriage. His inability to stop the first plane hit the World Trade Center is likely to be mentioned in attack ads: "You want a leader who can keep America safe... But Mitchell Hundred can only keep half of you safe."

Barbara Gordon
Experience: former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, information broker for superheroes, Ph.D. in library sciences.
Probable Political Allegiance: Her hardline pro-gun control stance marks her as a Democrat.
Pros: As daughter of legendary Gotham City police commissioner Jim Gordon, Barbara has some serious law-and-order credentials to her name. Her family’s long standing friendship with billionaire Bruce Wayne would likely bring in a seriously big ticket donor, and her friendship with almost every single superhero in the DC Universe would probably mean that Barack could respond to charges of being too big a celebrity by pointing to Gordon and saying, "But she knows Superman!"
Cons: Distracted by her crime-fighting career, Gordon didn’t make much of a name for herself as a congresswoman, and since quitting politics, a near-fatal gunshot wound has left her paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair, which may alienate voters with unpleasant memories of FDR or those who think that having a black nominee was bad enough, but a wheelchair-bound woman is just going too far. She is also a known associate of the controversial vigilante known as “the Batman,” which isn’t likely to earn her many points outside of Gotham.

Katherine “Kitty” Pryde (Marvel Universe)
Experience: youngest ever member of the X-Men, Mayor of Chicago and President of the United States in an alternate future timeline.
Probable Political Allegiance: Democrat. Or, given that she's a mutant, probably Canadian.
Pros: Putting Pryde on the ballot would be sure to bring out both the Jewish and the mutant vote come election day—-key demographics in certain swing states, such as Ohio. She is also one of the most politically experienced candidates, if you count her long career in a parallel universe.
Cons: Pryde is chased by whispered rumors that she is bisexual, mostly from fanboys who couldn't get over their crush on the character from the 1980s. Additionally, an Obama/Pryde ticket would be impossible if Kitty ran as a resident of Illinois: when both the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates are from the same state, the Constitution prohibits that state’s electors for voting for that ticket. More problematically, Pryde has a well-documented history of using hate-speak that would undoubtedly be used against her.

While we here at io9 would love nothing more than to see a McCain/Stark ticket take on an Obama/Pryde team, we think that each of these prospective Veeps creates more problems for their candidates than they would solve (Although the debates would be very watchable, if only to see how quickly they were disrupted by supervillains with grudges). Obviously, there's only one solution: Both parties should offer the position to former District Attorney Harvey Dent. Who should accept both invitations, and then run with the slogan "Flip-Flopping? What else would you expect from me?"

Never mind the garishly-dressed evil-doers that people normally associate with Gotham City's protector; any future Batman film should stick with the more grounded version of n'er-do-well that we've seen in both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Sure, the Scarecrow still had his fear gas and the Joker had his trademark make-up, but even both of those were given a more realistic and believable treatment that you could fall for without requiring too much of a suspension of disbelief. That's why the villains we want to see are less about the visual pizazz and more about the psychological problems they'd pose Mr. Wayne's popular alter-ego.

Professor Hugo Strange: A mad psychiatrist who knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman but wants him dead so that he can take over as Batman himself? That's exactly the kind of thing we're looking for. Although this relatively-unknown character was created before the Joker and appeared in various comics and cartoons, he's never really gotten his due - But perhaps Nolan could fix that.

Deadshot: Another bad-guy with a mental twist, Floyd Newton may be better known to comic fans nowadays as a member of Gail Simone's Secret Six, but he started life as the world's second-greatest assassin and a man with a secret: He wanted to be caught so that he would be killed for his crimes and freed of his compulsion to kill. What A-List Hollywood actor would turn down that kind of a role?

Prometheus: Grant Morrison's "Anti-Batman" would need some visual reworking to fit into Nolan's version of Batman's world, but the basic idea of an "anti-Batman" is still a compelling one: A child whose criminal parents were gunned down in front of him by cops, leading him to devote his life to destroying law and order, would make the perfect counterpoint for Christian Bale's troubled crimefighter.

Deacon Blackfire: This forgotten 1980s character from The Cult miniseries offers up the chance to take the "Citizens for Batman" idea from The Dark Knight to its logical conclusion. Blackfire was a preacher who rallied the homeless of Gotham City into an army that declared a real war on crime, bringing bloodshed and chaos to the streets and leaving Batman in the middle of a conflict where he wanted neither side to win.

Gorilla Boss: The mind of a mob boss in the body of a gorilla, this... Okay, I'm joking. My final pick would be Lex Luthor. Yeah, I know there may be trouble freeing him up from the Superman movies, but Luthor offers not only an intellectual challenge to Batman, but a corporate challenge to Bruce Wayne, if you bring in the LexCorp/LuthorCorp mythology of the character. And in addition, Warners would get to do some of that crossover between movies stuff that Marvel have driven fans wild with lately. Where's the downside?

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.

Two new villains are stepping up to take the place as the antagonist in Smallville. Expect to see the DC Comics' character Doomsday (notorious for slaying Superman) along with an unknown female baddie. But this may not be the last you hear from Luthor. Although he's no longer a series regular, producers of Smallville released a statement that hinted at a few cameos later in the year saying, "He is one of the best actors on television and has never failed to bring a new layer to the character of Lex Luthor in every episode. While Michael won't be a series regular and we won't have the pleasure of working with him on a weekly basis this fall, we like to think that we haven't seen the last of Lex Luthor."

But the real question is, now that Doomsday is coming to the show are they going to try and kill Superman only to bring him back as four other versions of Superman, like in the comics? Or will young Clark Kent kick Doomsday's ass? [Hollywood Reporter]

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In response to rumors about DC instituting a new zero-tolerance policy for creators who break deadlines, DiDio dropped his usual huckster persona to talk about the problems that the company faces with late books. Admitting that the "reality is, a lot of people can't meet the monthly schedule," he said that DC's aim was to make sure that books shipped in a timely manner:

We had a month where we didn't put any Superman books out because they were all late... In our minds, that was inexcusable.

Asked to "cut back on killing and maiming young heroes" in their comics, VP of Sales responded that "Sidekicks die!" should be the ad copy for upcoming comics. DiDio admitted that it was a concern, and said that they'd try to cease with the teenage torture. On a related topic, the panel all agreed that they didn't want to pull back on teenage suffering of the emotional type, with writer Judd Winick pointing out that "they can't all be happy, who the hell's gonna buy that?"

The amount of potential deaths was also a topic for discussion when it came down to DC's big summer series, Final Crisis. When asked if there would be a limit to the amount of deaths happening in that series, DiDio said that he couldn't promise anything, and announced the official tagline for the series for the first time: "It's the day evil wins." We also found out that "The Great Disaster" that's been the plot McGuffin of Countdown to Final Crisis will happen within the pages of Countdown (and may include a giant turtle version of Jimmy Olsen fighting New God Darkseid), and that the Final Crisis is something altogether different that may spell doom for the multiverse: "It's called Final Crisis for a reason," DiDio said.

Before that happens, fans can expect to see Power Girl go home to Earth-2 in the pages of Justice Society of America in a way that may lead to a future solo series for Superman's parallel-universe cousin. One of the reasons that the multiverse may be about to end again is that even the creators can't keep the various earths straight; when someone asked about Earth-13, no-one on the panel knew exactly what Earth that was. "I have a big white board - " DiDio started to explain, before Countdown editor Mike Carlin cut him off by saying "This is why we have charts."

New titles teased, besides the Batgirl series, were a new Lex Luthor miniseries focusing on his evil genius and technology, as well as a return of the 1990s Milestone characters (better known to most from the WB's Static Shock cartoon); asked about a possible return of those characters, everyone on the panel got very nervous as DiDio chose his words very carefully: "I think the Milestone characters are great," he said, "I think it'd be very exciting to see that creative strength in the DC Universe." Bob Wayne broke in, adding "It's a subject that takes more lawyers than fans to make happen."

The panel closed with DiDio telling everyone that the upcoming The Dark Knight and The New Frontier movies were projects that everyone at DC were very excited about, and inviting everyone to tonight's world premiere of the latter at the convention.