Absolute Justice

I got the chance to see the "Absolute Justice" episode of Smallville this weekend. That's the one written by Geoff Johns and featuring the Justice Society of America. Fair warning: here there be spoilers.

Now that that's out of the way, let me say that I really enjoyed this episode. Smallville has been on a real uptick the past couple of seasons and I always enjoy the interesting ways in which they pull things from the DC Universe into the sort-of "realistic" Smallville Universe.

They managed to employ the Justice Society in a way that didn't seem too silly. Doctor Fate was really cool, and Michael Shanks makes a surprisingly believable Hawkman. It was cool getting the chance to see Amanda Waller, and it almost seems that they're setting things up for a potential tenth season, though I'd be kind of surprised if they do that. Sometimes I can't believe Smallville has lasted as long as it has.

Despite everything else, though, there was one little moment that really got my geek mojo going. Something I've been waiting (and hoping) for every since the "death" of Lex Luthor a last season (that was last season, right?). The Superman mythos really can't exist without Lex Luthor, and the way I saw it Smallville could never arrive at Superman (even in its own roundabout way) without Lex Luthor being a part of things.

So you can imagine my geeky giddiness when Doctor Fate said the following:

"Although Lex Luthor is your ultimate opponent you will triumph over him."

What does that mean? It means what I've suspected all long: Lex Luthor isn't really dead in the Smallville Universe. He can't be. Superman can't really exist without him.