Justice League (Smallville)
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The Justice League is a fictional group of
Series' writers wanted to make sure the characters had similar characteristics to their comic book counterparts, but at the same time, could become a means for Clark Kent to learn about himself. The creative team attempted to stay true to the spirit of the comic in costume design for certain characters, while costumes for other characters were changed dramatically. All of the characters possess superpowers, with the exception of Oliver Queen / Green Arrow, so Entity FX was brought in to digitally create each character's powers using 3-D and 2-D technologies.
In addition to the live-action television series, the Justice League has also been featured in a promotional tie-in with
Roles in Smallville
Individual storylines
Although the Justice League first appeared in season six's "Justice", each member had their own introduction and recurring storylines in the series prior to the formation of the team. The first member to appear on Smallville, other than
Justice League storylines
The Justice League made its first official team appearance in the season six episode "Justice". Here, Clark discovers that Oliver has also met Bart, Arthur, and Victor, and that he has organized them into a team of superheroes focused on stopping those who believe that they are above the law. Oliver reveals that Lex has been conducting experiments on people who developed special abilities thanks to exposure to kryptonite. Clark and
Portrayals
The producers wanted to use either
After being cast as Arthur Curry, a character who had previously never been officially portrayed in any live-action form, Alan Ritchson did some research on his character when he discovered that Aquaman had a "serious...fan base". Ritchson wanted to live up to the expectations he felt fans of the character would have.[23] Like Gallner, Ritchson did not expect to be a part of the show again. After season five, there was an attempt to launch an Aquaman television series, which ultimately was never picked up. Ritchson relished the opportunity to return when he was called in to appear in the episode that would feature the first official appearance of the Justice League.[24]
Until season five's "Cyborg", the DC Comics superheroes who had paid Clark a visit on the show were all members of the Justice League of America, but Gough and Miller felt that Victor Stone shared a "relatable dilemma" with Clark—the fact that both Victor and Clark's abilities get in the way of their romantic relationships with the women they love—and was someone the developers felt was just an interesting character. Victor normally goes by the alias "Cyborg" and is a member of the Teen Titans in the comics. Casting Lee Thompson Young was something the producers had always wanted to do, even before they had decided to bring in Cyborg.[25] The actor revealed that his first contact with the Cyborg character came not from the comics, but from the Teen Titans animated television series. According to Young, he was fortunate that this version of Victor Stone was Smallville's spin on the character, and as such, the majority of the character's background was in the script. While preparing, Young expressed his pleasure in the fact that the producers decided to keep Victor's robotic parts internal, as opposed to the comic version, where half of Cyborg's visible body is covered in metal.[26]
According to Gough, Justin Hartley was the producers' first choice to play the role of Oliver Queen, and his alter ego Green Arrow. Oliver was designed to provide an alternative view for what it means to be a hero. At the same time, the producers wanted a character that could impact the lives of both Clark and Lois.[27] The actor is also the first to portray Oliver Queen/Green Arrow in any live-action media.[28] Hartley believed that it was the season six episode "Reunion" that really helped him to understand his character. In the episode, it is revealed that Oliver was "a jerk to Lex" when the two were at school together, and after another kid falls into a coma because of Oliver and Lex's actions, Oliver decides to start a new path for himself. According to Hartley, this allowed the actor to "justify why someone would put their life in danger every night and have such strong feelings about going out and being this social advocate".[29] Hartley was a recurring guest in the sixth and seventh seasons, but became a series regular in season eight.[30]
Alaina Huffman auditioned for Smallville without being aware of which role was being cast, and was offered the part of Dinah Lance/Black Canary. When the producers informed her of how major this character is to the DC mythology, Huffman used various comic books and online sources to learn more about her character.[31] Approached by the producers, Phil Morris auditioned twice for the role of John Jones/Martian Manhunter, and then waited three weeks before receiving confirmation of the role.[32] Morris relished the new design of the character, stepping away from the cape and tights, and going with a more contemporary look. He classified John Jones as Jor-El's "tool, security force, his guardian, and his protector". The actor has stated that he would like his character to lead the future Justice League on the show, as he sees John Jones as a natural leader.[33]
Character development
Characteristics
When Steven S. DeKnight was writing the episode "Run" for the first official appearance of Bart Allen, he knew he had to give the character certain characteristics that embodied his comic book counterpart. DeKnight knew Bart had to be faster than Clark, because in the comic, that is one advantage Flash has over Superman. DeKnight also featured Bart as a "smart-ass", after being inspired by the sarcastic Flash that appears in the animated television series, Justice League. DeKnight's belief is that Bart enjoys his powers, and would not exhibit the more "somber or serious" characteristics of other character.[21] As Gallner pointed out, Bart accepts who he is, and what he can do, and he even abuses his gifts somewhat. The difference between him and Clark is that Bart is not afraid to show the world what he can do. Gallner also suggested that in his character's initial appearance, Bart is living in a "confused" state, because he has developed these extraordinary powers, his parents do not accept him, and he ends up turning to thievery just to take care of himself.[22]
"He accepts [his powers]. He uses them. He may even abuse them a little bit. But he's not ashamed of who he is. He's not scared of being who he is, and he kind of lets the world know that he's there". |
— Kyle Gallner on Bart's personality[22] |
Ritchson described Arthur Curry as someone who will "do anything to save what he loves". The actor goes on to say that Arthur is "passionate about nature, about the earth, and about the seas", and is not afraid to use his abilities to save those things that are dear to him. When comparing his character to Clark, Ritchson stated that Arthur is more confident in his abilities, and already knows what he can do and what his path is in life. Another big difference the actor pointed out is that unlike Clark, Arthur is willing to sacrifice people and things if it means preserving the greater good.[23] When he first appears, one of Victor Stone's key characteristics is that both he and Clark can relate to the fact that they feel their abilities inhibit them from having a true relationship with the women they love. The writers tried to create parallels between the characters to emphasize this more, like Victor's fear of telling his girlfriend the truth about what LuthorCorp did to his body, and Clark's fear of Lana Lang discovering he is an alien.[25] Writer Tracy Bellomo characterized Oliver as a guy that does not take himself very seriously, and enjoys making fun of people that try to take him that way. Bellomo believed that this is one of the reasons that Oliver is attracted to Lois, with the other being that Lois provides a challenge for him. Oliver's relationship with Clark is designed to "broaden Clark's rather limited horizons", and to teach Clark that a world exists beyond Smallville.[27]
Costumes
In the episode "Wither", Oliver and Lois attend a costumed ball, where Oliver dresses up as Robin Hood. The designers decided to model Oliver's costume after the comic book character Green Arrow.[34] Costume designer Caroline Cranstoun designed Oliver's official Green Arrow costume in conjunction with illustrator Andy Poon. To hide his face, Green Arrow typically wears a mask over his eyes, but Cranstoun and Keith Christensen, of Ocean Drive Leather, opted to use a hood and a pair of dark sunglasses to hide Oliver's face. Cranstoun revealed that Miles Millar was the one who came up with the hood idea. The costume is also made entirely out of leather, as the creative team wanted to keep away from using tights. Hartley was very impressed with the costume, but confessed that it was uncomfortable to wear because it had layers of leather, and he had to wear boots with four-inch lifts.[35]
After creating Oliver's Green Arrow costume, Cranstoun had the task of crafting updated costume looks for Bart, Arthur, and Victor for the "Justice" episode. Cranstoun explained that even though Victor does not have any metal on his physical body like his comic book counterpart, she wanted to include a metallic look to his costume. The designer tried to give Victor a more "futuristic" feel, along with "a bit of Transformer-y" essence, by including angular pieces on his vest and coloring them silver, black, and purple. For Bart, the costume designers tried to take what was used in his season four appearance and move that to the next level. In season four, Bart wore a red hoodie with yellow cargo pants, which were used to reflect his teenage identity. With his Justice League appearance, they tried to give the character an appearance that seemed faster. His yellow cargo pants were replaced with red jeans, and his red hoodie was updated to incorporate more of a lightning bolt logo throughout the piece.[24]
Arthur's costume was the easiest to create, as the color scheme mirrored his comic book counterpart, and was constructed to give a "wetsuit look". The costume was also designed to be more form-fitting, to complement Ritchson's physique. Victor and Arthur's tops were also hoodie variations.[24] When designing Dinah Lance's Black Canary costume, certain aspects of the comic book character were kept, while others changed entirely. For instance, the character retains her classic fishnet stockings, but the external, black mask the character wears is swapped for a painted mask.[36] Cranstoun researched the various versions of Black Canary's costume, looking through the 1940s and 50s, to try to come up with the right version for the show. Cranstoun explained that she primarily came across two versions. One version reminded the designer of a Playboy Bunny, with a "curvy, corseted, strapless thing that was not at all action-friendly". The other was more reminiscent of Lara Croft and Tank Girl, which is the route Cranstoun took. What Cranstoun created was a "zipped, sleeveless body suit with a boot that was really flat and practical". The designer also kept the yellow accents the comic version had, as well as the long gloves. The filming crew did test shots with various masks for the character, including a leather mask reminiscent of the comic book character's look, before going with the painted variation.[31]
Hartley was quick to point out that before "Justice", the series did not focus on "the costumes and the capes, the flying and the superhero stuff", because they had their "no flights, no tights" rule in effect. That changed with "Justice", and Hartley suggested that the actors really had to commit themselves to their roles while wearing the costumes, "otherwise you look like a standup comedian who doesn't like his jokes very much". Young said that he was one of the luckiest out of the group, because he only had to wear a silver vest and regular pants, unlike Ritchson, who had to put on a "onesie Speedo". Ritchson felt that he was distracted by what he was wearing it, but it was best to try to take mind off of the subject. Hartley, Ritchson, and Young stated that they felt sorry for Gallner for having to wear a costume that they believed "sucked". The group described Gallner's costume as something his mom might have made with "some cotton fabric and a
Creating superpowers
In order to illustrate the special abilities of the Justice League members, special effects company Entity FX had to come in and digitally create the powers for each character. Senior Producer at Entity FX, Trent Smith, explained that they wanted to give Bart's super speed a "more current" look, so they employed 3D techniques in conjunction with the 2D graphics from season four to create a "hybrid" image for the screen. Smith explained that the 3D technology allowed the team to "[choose] a path for [Bart] that he may not be able to achieve in the 2D composite world". Entity FX used Autodesk Maya and Adobe After Effects to create the 3D stream that follows Bart when he is running at super speed.[38]
For Victor, Entity FX tried to create digital imagery of the character's inner workings to give the audience the chance to see how his robotic side operates. For instance, Entity FX visually walked the audience through the process of how Victor's CPU downloads the schematics and diagrams to Lex's Level 33.1 facility, as well as disarming the security. Creating abilities for Arthur posed their own challenges, as there were not a lot of opportunities to put the character in the water when he was in the Mid-West. Using the technology they had when Arthur first came to Smallville, as well as the effects used in the unaired pilot for Aquaman, Entity FX was able to digitally create both Arthur and the water he swims in for the character's arrival shot at Level 33.1. When creating Arthur's super swimming speed, the team attempted to give the imagery a look similar to that of a torpedo gliding through the water. The team battled back and forth on how to illustrate Arthur's movements, deciding between having the character leave a trail of bubbles like a torpedo, or "maneuvering around the water and...actually traveling with the bubbles".[38]
Reception
When judging individual appearances, DVD Verdict's Jennifer Malkowski felt that Alan Ritchson's performance as Arthur Curry in "Aqua" was rather "wooden",[39] while Filip Vuckevic, of IGN, felt that the introductions for Victor Stone and Arthur Curry were simply wasted, as the characters are not "given anything to do" in the episodes.[40] Commenting on the introduction of Oliver Queen's Green Arrow persona in the season six episode "Arrow", IGN's Chris Carabott felt that the series took its time developing a character that fit the style of the show. Carabott acknowledged that Green Arrow's costume, though not exactly like in the comics, respects the spirit of the character in its design; the gadgets he uses make it feel like the producers are taking a page out of the Justice League Unlimited book, which makes for "quality entertainment".[41]
Carabott felt that Phil Morris did well as John Jones/Martian Manhunter but lacked a proper introduction: "Phil Morris does a respectable job of portraying John Jones in the few scenes we see him in. He lacks the screen presence of someone like Carl Lumbly, who voiced the character on Justice League, but Morris holds his own and delivers the lines in that strong, straight forward tone that is signature Manhunter".[42] Alan Blair, editor of Airlock Alpha, felt that Smallville's approach to Black Canary succeeded where the television series Birds of Prey failed. First, Smallville dropped the idea of "meta-humans", which Blair believed is what doomed Birds of Prey, managed to make Black Canary look more like her comic book counterpart, and also give her Canary Cry "some level of credibility".[43] Carabott acknowledged that Smallville created a "fairly good depiction" of Black Canary, but disagreed with certain aesthetical choices. First, Carabott did not appreciate the removal of Black Canary's long, blonde hair, or the addition of make-up around the eyes that gave the character the look of "Pris from Blade Runner". Carabott stated that Huffman's acting came off as "a little over-the-top at times", but overall he felt that she was the right choice for Smallville.[44]
Carabott also had his own feelings about the first official "Justice League" appearance in season six's "Justice". The writer suggested that the first live-action appearance of the League since the failed pilot back in the 1990s deserved more than just a single episode. Carabott stated that at least two or three episodes would have been needed to properly tell the narrative of their introduction.[45] Instead, he felt like the character introductions were rushed, even though they had all appeared on the series prior to season six.[46] "Justice" would go on to earn the highest ratings of any episode in season six, with 5.26 million viewers.[47]
Merchandise
Following the end of the sixth season, DC Direct released new action figures, modeled after Smallville's Justice League as they appeared in the season six episode "Justice". The toys featured detailed likenesses of Welling, Hartley, Ritchson, Gallner, and Young.[48]
Other media appearances
Spin-offs
At various points throughout the series, the studio discussed developing individual shows for Bart, Oliver, Arthur, and the entire Justice League. The topic of a television series based on
Following the appearance of Arthur Curry, which became one of the highest-rated episodes of that season, Smallville developers Al Gough and Miles Millar began work on an
During the sixth season, there was a talk about creating a new series based on the Green Arrow/Oliver Queen character. Hartley refused to talk about the possibility of a spin-off during the filming of the sixth season out of respect for his role on Smallville. The actor felt he should respect what Smallville had accomplished in five seasons, and not "steal the spotlight" by thinking he was better than he was just because there was "talk" of a spin-off after only two appearances on the show. According to Hartley, "talking" was as far as the spin-off ever got.[55] According to Gough, the Green Arrow spin-off would have introduced the idea of Oliver acting in more of a "Professor X" role, where he takes in people with superpowers who have no place to go and trains them. The series would have used characters that would be more easily cleared by the film division at Warner Bros.[24] As DeKnight clarified, the series would have featured the introduction of new characters—some from the Teen Titans and others from the DC Comics universe—as well as going into more depth for the background story of its primary characters, like Bart, Victor, and Arthur. As with the other potential series, this one never came to fruition.[21]
Mobile phone/online tie-ins
Although the team's prominent appearances are on the television series, there have been additional media appearances based around marketing tie-ins. In early 2007, Oliver Queen received a personal treatment with a promotional tie-in with
Comic books
In 2012, the Smallville series was continued through the comic book medium with Smallville: Season 11. Written by
In issue five, the team begins to investigate the warning given by a parallel universe version of Chloe Sullivan about a "Crisis". Here is the first appearance of
Bart Allen returns in the ninth issue, donning a new costume and explores the source of his powers: the
During the series run, Bryan Q. Miller revealed that there is no formal Justice League. Rather there is Watchtower, which networks agents all over the world.
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