Smallville: Absolute Justice is almost upon us. The culmination of nine seasons has lead to this. This isn’t the ending to the series but perhaps a turn in a new direction. No more re-imagined origins or younger versions of our tried and true heroes. Finally we will get to see hardened experienced heroes in Hawkman (Michael Shanks), Dr. Fate (Brent Stait) and Stargirl (Brittney Irvin). There are a few more heroes to add to that list but their involvement at this point is sketchy at best. We see, briefly, the Green Lantern (a la Alan Scott) but no full pictures or IMDB credit is given for him on the 2 hour event. Sandman, to be portrayed by Ken Lawson, is another character teased in Absolute Justice so there is hope for a Green Lantern appearance yet. This casting of classic DC Universe characters is enough to get any fan drooling but what gets me going, as well as puts me at ease, is that comic scribe Geoff Johns has written the episode. This is not his first for Smallville and hopefully not his last.
Surprisingly enough, the powerhouse that is Warner Brothers and owner of DC Comics has not marketed this episode in action figure form. Yet. Perhaps they feel it is oversaturation? Maybe someone at Smallville’s marketing department realized how bad their Smallville toy lines have been and didn’t bother. For whatever reason a toy line with Smallville likenesses should happen. Why wait? Both their DC Direct line and Mattel’s DC Universe are rich with figures that would support this episode. We here at Mania scoured the toy racks and came up with our own Smallville: Absolute Justice Toy collection.
HAWKMAN
All right so Hawkman, in this picture especially, looks like a Hawkman from the Flash Gordon movie circa 1980. Yet, hasn’t he always looked like that? There aren’t many Hawkman figures that support the breast plate armor but most, if not all, come with the classic assortment of weapons. Mattel’s DC Universe Classics Series 6 HawkmanMichael Shanks looks to bring to the character in spades. is the best likenesses of the character to come out in a long time. Plus it has that badassery that Michael Shanks looks to bring to the character in spades.
STARGIRL
There has been only one image of Stargirl to appear from Smallville: Absolute Justice. I can’t say I like the size of that mask she wearing; especially with how nice looking Brittney Irvin is. Fan boys take note she has voiced X23 in X-Men: Evolution and is currently on the new “V” series. So why are they covering up her face that much? There have been a few Stargirl figures but many of them are cartoony. Perhaps Warner Brothers is thinking ahead because a DC Direct Stargirl is slated for a late March 2010 release.
DR. FATE
In all the DC characters that Smallville writers could pick from I never thought that Dr. Fate would appear on the show. In keeping with the Justice Society of America plot they are keeping him a part of the story. There have been numerous Dr. Fate figures over the years stretching all the way back to the Super Powers line. A Dr. Fate figure should have some elegance and class to him. The Dr. Fate from the DC Direct New Frontier series fits the bill perfectly.
SANDMAN
That quick glimpse of Wesley Dodds aka the Sandman actually inspired this column. I wanted to know who the hell that was. Unfortunately that quick glimpse must have driven hordes of action figure aficionados like me into the specialty shops because I can’t find him anywhere. The Justice Society of America Sandman is perfect. Then again, why wouldn’t it be since it is based on Alex Ross’ art work.
GREEN LANTERN
All we got was a ring and it was enough to drive us crazy. Will a Green Lantern finally make an appearance in Smallville? With the Ryan Reynolds movie coming out now it pretty much shot down the chance of Hal Jordan or Abin Sur making a cameo. Yet Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern, would be sweet. Hopefully there is more to him in the episode than just a brief cameo. There have been plenty of Alan Scott Green Lanterns out there but the easiest, best and most affordable right now is the Justice Society of America figure. Again Alex Ross’ art work nails it.
Here is the Canadian promo for Smallville: Absolute Justice.
Robert is upset that no one commented on his Avatar joke in last week’s Toy Maniac Review. Robert writes two weekly columns for Mania the DVD Shopping Bag and the Toy Maniac. Robert also participates in a pod cast that reviews movies, comics and celebrates all things geek. Check it out at You’ve Got Geek on You.com.
Every time I see that picture of Sandman, I think it looks like 2-1B (medical droid in Empire Strikes Back) dressing up as Indiana Jones for Halloween or something.
Nice article, way to kill some time at work. By the way, the Hawkman section needs fixing... looks like the paragraph was chopped off or something.
Speaking of Hawkman... has anyone seen Legion? Gabriel shows up with a mace, and looks EXACTLY what I would picture Hawkman to look like, minus the mask. Unfortunately, that is the only bright spot in that horrible, horrible movie.
I can see the fan trailers for the Hawkman being made from that scene right now...
I understand what you're saying about the chick's mask, but assuming she really was a superhero, and not on a show that tends to accentuate the females in the way we love, she would probably wear a mask that covered as much of her pretty, memorable face as possible. I mean, let's face it, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, whoever, if they wore that little mask, Bruce and the Boy Wonder are outed as vigilantes within two days.
I wish they would have gotten someone a little bigger for Hawkman, I was suprised to read Michael Shanks was choosen, I only know him from stargate:sg1. did he do something else that i should check out. The customs do look great and if inspired from Alex Ross they would. He does some awesome work. I hope we get tons of green lantern screen time, but i am not sure. they have not shown more than just the ring so i have my doubts. hopefully this friday we will not be let down and they get this right.
LAST NIGHT'S ALL NEW EPISODE WAS REAL GOOD!CLARKE HAS FINALLY MANNED-UP BIG TIME!I LIKE HOW THE STORIES ARE MOVING.WE ARE GETTING DIFFERENT CHARACTERS STORYS,BUT THE MAIN FOCUS SHOULD STAY ON CLARK BECOMING SUPERMAN! I LOVE THIS SHOW!I WONDER WHERE WAS TESS?FOR NOW,ZOD IS NO THREAT,UNTIL THE RED SUN COMES,BUT CLARKE IS A LITTLE TO EASY ON ZOD!MAYBE HE DOESN'T REALIZE (YET) HOW DANGEROUS ZOD WILL BE!
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Every time I see that picture of Sandman, I think it looks like 2-1B (medical droid in Empire Strikes Back) dressing up as Indiana Jones for Halloween or something.
Nice article, way to kill some time at work. By the way, the Hawkman section needs fixing... looks like the paragraph was chopped off or something.
Speaking of Hawkman... has anyone seen Legion? Gabriel shows up with a mace, and looks EXACTLY what I would picture Hawkman to look like, minus the mask. Unfortunately, that is the only bright spot in that horrible, horrible movie.
I can see the fan trailers for the Hawkman being made from that scene right now...