Sayonara, Smallville: "Homecoming"

Incredible but true: This year, The CW's "Smallville" embarks on its tenth and final season, making it not just the longest-running Superman TV show ever but the longest-running comic book TV show ever produced. Bananas, right?

To celebrate its final year, we're teaming up our collective powers of dumb DCU trivia, long experience watching and writing about the show and general obsession with serial TV to bring you "Sayonara, Smallville" – a semi-regular feature where we'll review the most notable episodes of the season whenever we can. Everyone is invited to play along.


Ben: I've got a fun fact to kick things off.

Kiel: FACTS!

Ben: Apparently, since the Justice Society two-hour mini-movie last year was treated as one episode by most, this was technically the 199th episode of "Smallville," though it was considered by the show and The CW to be the 200th. Controversy!

Kiel: Hahahahaha! I love the thought that there are some "Smallville" fans out there who are waiting for a "real" 200th episode where some shit blows up and THINGS ARE NEVER THE SAME. Such people probably don't exist though

Ben: This is the "Was 2000 the first year of the 21st century?" of "Smallville," but I'm sure there are people out there like that, Kiel! THIS SHOW HAS BEEN ON FOR A DECADE! If you watched the first episode of "Smallville" with your newborn baby, that child would be in fourth grade by now.

Kiel: Well, regardless of its status as a true milestone or not, I thought we got an improvement on last week's slog through limited budget science fiction. It wasn't the major turning point episode I was hoping for, but I thought it was a solid package all around.

Ben: I'll tell you, though they didn't make a big deal of it in the marketing of it as the 200th episode, I think it suffered a bit from indecision over whether or not to treat it as such by the creative team. Like it was a decent episode, but it felt like the parts where they tried to, for lack of a better way to explain, celebrate the heritage of the show, all they did was highlight the fact that they couldn't do a legitimate 200th episode blowout.

I know I've been harping on it, but not having Kristen Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum or even Alison Mack (not to mention any of the other original cast members) on hand for an episode that was all about looking to the past outside of flashbacks and whatnot hurt it a bit in my eyes. Grading it separately as just another episode or even as part of the tapestry of this season is one thing, but the half-hearted nostalgia bits fell flat for me and honestly made things seem a bit scattershot and unfocused.

Kiel: Well, I think that you're right on with the idea that the writers (and this ep was written by the show runners, so it's as indicative of the whole seasons issues as a story can be) didn't have the things they really wanted this go round in terms of past cast and other pieces to include...but at the same time, as Clark and Brainiac 5 were jumping through the timestream and looking at different pieces of his fated journey to be Superman, I thought the idea that the past is the past – both unchangeable and unattainable – was a solid one.

I mean, Lana Lang isn't just part of the show's past in terms of the character having once been a major player, but her role in the Superman mythos is literally to be "his high school girlfriend" – so having an episode where Clark is confronted with this idea that she's gone and he won't be getting her back worked emotionally even when I knew it was because of casting complications.


Ben: Yeah, I think you hit on something there in that the writers/showrunners actually found a way to make the absence of original cast members work thematically, and from that standpoint, it was actually a pretty good episode. It was definitely a significant touchstone episode in the Superman evolution. Ultimately my quibbles are more from the marketing/hype side of my brain than the storytelling one. That part says that if they knew the 200th episode was coming (and obviously they did) they should have made more of an effort to do something worthy of a 200th episode, but the other side is just happy we got a good little journey and the characters progressed. Of course it's all moot if Lex Luthor returns in next week's REAL 200th episode.

Kiel: Maybe they're just fucking with you!

Ben: They could well be! The thing I was most pleased with was that they straight up told us what the potential "inner darkness" within Clark was, he knows it, he acknowledged it, and hopefully he moves on. That alone made it a landmark episode and also addresses a lot of the concerns we had last week about the show getting stuck for too long on him being a loser and everybody telling him so, but never telling him why. That said "darkness" was the inability to let go of past mistakes was also, as you said, a nice metatextual comment about the show's early years being gone as well as the bigger tradition in the mythos that Clark Kent can't truly become Superman until he leaves Smallville/Lana/stuff he did wrong as a kid behind

And centering it all around the death of Jonathan Kent as the moment where Clark began to skid towards the dark was a really smart decision on the part of the showrunners as even a pretty casual viewer like myself can think about it and concur that the tone of the show definitely shifted around then and moved towards the death of Lex, losing Lana, Doomsday, Clark wearing the Matrix get-up, etc. Good to draw that line in the sand and now say "Ok, time to turn around and head back towards the light now." And of course it gave John Schneider's appearance in the season premiere even more weight (although perhaps they should have saved THAT scene for here).

Kiel: Well, what I did like about this episode on that bigger conceptual level was that it addressed the two, slightly annoying character points I was worried they'd spend all season harping on: the idea that Clark could be pulled down by this "inner darkness" bullshit and the idea that he couldn't let people (i.e. Lois) into his life for fear of hurting them...And yeah, both the idea that Clark can't carry around his past too much and the idea that he can't worry about the future that hasn't happened to him were beaten straight over the audiences head by Brainiac 5 with ZERO subtly in the traditional "Smallville" style. No shocker there. But I did like that they turned this moment where Clark realizes that what's most important to being a hero is what's happening now in the present to Clark himself to figure out. It was all a little on the head, but it felt earned in a basic story way so good on them. I think we can move on now to other shit in the season.


Ben: Agreed. And I did like that one of the crucial moments was Clark seeing his dad's death, blaming himself per usual, Brainiac essentially saying "Shut the fuck up, your dad made a choice and he was awesome" and Clark getting it. Pa Kent is such a bad ass on "Smallville."

On the matter of the on-the-head stuff, I actually thought it was far more palpable here because of who it came from, as if anybody in the DC Universe is going to be the character who will straight up tell you what's up and not be fancy about it, it's Brainiac 5. Even beyond that, James Marsters is the perfect actor for that role because that's basically what he did on "Buffy" for years as Spike too: say the shit everybody else is beating around the bush on. He's a fucking alien robot/bad boy vampire: he doesn't have the time/patience to play games.

Kiel: I thought he did a fine job, but I think the stuff I liked best about this episode had very few or only tangential ties to that whole sequence/lesson. My favorite stuff was all the dopey funny shit they threw in, which I'm not sure qualified as 200th ep material, but it was all very welcome after last week. I mean, the episode opens up with the fucking WORST "I'll get my revenge on you, Clark Kent" set up ever with a VooDoo doll-holding psycho guidance counselor, and I thought "this can't be a real fucking plotline" but then Brainy shows up, pokes a computer finger into her brain and essentially says, "Bitch, calm down!"


Ben: Haha, that was fantastic! It was a nice callback to when the show WAS about ridiculous freak of the week stuff too.

Kiel: Every moment in the whole episode that was indicative of "Smallville's" earlier seasons – the "turns out to not be a threat" meteor freak, the cornball Americana high school stuff, etc – was intentionally played as "that goofy shit from our past." Props to the creators for acknowledging some of the dumber parts of the show rather than treating them with some kind of false gravity like "One Tree Hill" or whatever would.

Ben: Yeah, absolutely. For me it felt like the perfect homage to how the show started and didn't detract from the more important stuff. I would wonder if more hardcore early season Smallville fans tuned in and were pissed off, but I doubt there were droves. One thing I did find myself wondering and you might be able to answer this as you watched the show more often in the early days than I did: Were characters like the guidance counselor and any of the students Clark/Lois recognized and had conversations with, particularly the guy at the end who claimed Clark had saved him, actually actors from the early seasons?

Kiel: Yeah, the guy who showed up and said Clark saved him was a meteor freak who they teased at the "Previously on Smallville" bit at the beginning. He was like a bug kid or some shit? I wouldn't have even recognized him if it wasn't for the reminder, which was funny because I've been thinking a lot leading up to this episode how much older Tom Welling looks in season 10 than he did in the earlier years. Part of that is the way they're dressing him and doing his hair, but brother has aged a lot over the course of the show, and it ended up working to this episodes benefit...which is crazy because he was like 27 when the show started.

Ben: Oh man, I totally did not catch the "Previously On" on my DVR, so I'm glad you told me that. That's actually pretty cool that they showed that, presumably building the tension of "Will this kid seek revenge?" throughout. I had no idea who he was until Clark said something. I thought he was another Darkseid avatar, which would have felt really out of place this episode. And yeah, that flashback with Lana REALLY showed how much Tom Welling has aged...Aged well, I should note, as I pray I look a tenth that good when I get to my mid-late-30's or wherever he's at.

It's also worth noting that you can see James Marsters finally start to show signs of mortality, but only in that it seems as though he's gone from being eternally 27 to around 38, when in fact he's over 50 by now, I believe

Kiel: That's insane!!!!!

Ben: Never mind, Marsters is 48. He still looks great. I just got interrupted by a phone call from our erstwhile blogmate Rickey Purdin! He had the following contribution to make: "I totally meant to watch this week's Smallville but forgot to tape it and then was in the city when it was on, so I missed it. I was excited for the 200th episode! Oh well, I look forward to reading you guys' report."


Kiel: Hooray, Rickey! My other comment for this week on Welling was how it was nice to see him show a little range this week too...My favorite moment from the whole episode was the bit where they mentioned how everyone was so pumped to get high school hero Clark Kent back in school and we quick cut to him with the Homecoming King crown on amidst throngs of fans looking like someone just took a shit in his Fruit Loops. Legitimately funny moment.

Ben: That was great. I have to say though, I laughed when that girl handing out the name tags was like "What happened to the clumsy nerd?" Did they seriously ever try and sell super-charming underwear model Tom Welling as being a dork even during season one?

Kiel: I'm not kidding you that it worked at the time!!!

Ben: REALLY?

Kiel: Like, part of the whole hook for the show was that whenever Clark got near Lana's Kryptonite necklace he got weak in the knees, and that totally worked for him being shy and clumsy around her specifically
Kiel: And I believe there were all sorts of wacky mishaps with his powers where he'd embarrass himself but have to keep his true abilities a secret, blah blah

Ben: Ok, I get/remember some of that, but if that girl working the name tag table or the chick handing out the punch didn't think in high school "Wow, Clark Kent sure is clumsy, but he looks like a fucking Greeg god and I want to jump his bones," while I just don't understand fictional teenage girls the way I thought I did
Ben: How much of a bitch was punch bowl girl to Lois by the way? That was hysterical

Kiel: Lois' whole "Why won't anyone remember me because I went here for three weeks" thing was actually funnier than I expected it to be by a country mile.

Ben: Oh man, that was because Erica Durance was fucking putting in the work this week, man. The lengths she is willing to go to sell that character is incredible admirable. She's not just talented, she's seriously unselfish, and I'm being 100% sincere there. I hope she does well when this show ends. And again, that gag was another nice "We know the early seasons were contrived, let's have a laugh together" wink.

Actually touching both on your point about Welling's range and mine about it being a bit absurd that he was considered a nerd, I really enjoyed the bit where Clark meets his future self and has the little under his breath comment about "I'm destined to be nerdy and uptight..." or whatever. I dug how even in that little moment Welling was able to make future Clark notably different from the usual Smallville version and more like the one we're familiar with. I also liked it because it felt like Welling and the writers winking to me "Yeah, he was never a nerd on this show," but that's just me.

Kiel: That whole Daily Planet/Superman/Clark in the future with glasses sequence was the highlight of the episode for sure. It's nice now that they're finally able to come out and confirm what certain parts of the classic mythology will be included in the show's future now. Both Welling and Durance played their married selves well, we got just enough of a tease of an actual Superman show that it felt different than what we've had on "Smallville" to date and it played right back into the "moral" of the episode. It made me want them to get it over with and put him in the suit even more than before.

Ben: It really did make me want to see Welling and Durance on their own "Lois & Clark" show. They've really earned it if they wanted it. It's almost a bit disappointing we'll never get to see them in those roles for an extended period. Like I'll actually be a bit resentful towards whoever gets cast in the new Superman movie because they haven't "earned it" like these two have. At the same time, it's pretty likely the last thing either wants to do after this season is continue playing any version of Clark Kent or Lois Lane.

Kiel: Yeah, it's weird. You can tell Welling would like to have moved on to a movie career. Durance is married to a dude on one of those Stargate shows, which makes me feel like she's much more comfortable in the "cult nerd TV" career track, but that's total blind speculation on my part.

Ben: We need to book them for an interview as the grand finale to these.


Kiel: "Excuse me, CW publicist...but my friend and I have a blogspot blog with potentially dozens of readers..."

Ben: Oh I'd just get Jeph Loeb on it. He loves me.

Kiel: The Loeb knows all! Did you know he was on set for this episode?

Ben: I believe I did. Either he or somebody else at Marvel told me. He's got a real soft spot for this show. Always speaks of it so fondly. Makes me feel like it was probably a great place to work. Back to the ep for a sec, that future scene was great, but the final scene in the barn was pretty fucking sweet.

Kiel: Oh man! that last scene nailed the idea that they failed so utterly with last week with that "listen to the butterfly" bullshit. I was rather surprised they found a way to make the "do it by trying not to do it" angle work for flying

Ben: I didn't even think of that! Wow! My wife, who both thinks this show is awful and who thinks I'm way too sappy and romantic in general when it comes to TV and movies and such, was studying while I had this episode, and even she started watching during that last scene and said "Ok, you know me and how I feel about this show, and even I thought that was fucking adorable."

Kiel: I guess my only question was why didn't he tell Lois his secret right then and there? Future Lois said that when he told her, it was "the most romantic night ever" or whatevs. It seems like the show has set itself up to fail by not using that really sweet moment to get it all over with.

Ben: I was SHOCKED he did not tell her there. I guess he didn't feel any anxiety or rush now since he knows he does it eventually, but yeah, there's no way they'll create a better moment I don't think. I'll tell you, I wouldn't be entirely shocked if next week they just treated it like they've both acknowledged that she knows and there was "something in the moment" where he said it without saying it or whatever, but that's highly unlikely on this show where they spell out every little thing. Like, I'd give them a pass on that, but I know they won't do it.

Kiel: I think that'd be great, but yeah...don't see it happening.

Ben: Man, I love that scene even more now after what you said about the flying.

Kiel: HA!

Ben: It was perfect Lois & Clark stuff too in that he's the only one who can get her to shut up and have it be sweet. You know, I almost feel bad for the guy because this is two weeks in a row we've relegated him to at or near the end, but...Green Arrow? Honestly, he had a pretty great scene there on the talk show as well.

Kiel: Yeah, I had almost forgotten about his whole "Fuck the Republicans and their shady politics" speech at the end, but I thought Hartley played it well, and I was happy the writers really embraced the political side of the character Denny O'Neil-style for his storyline.

Ben: Yeah, that was absolutely the most like classic Green Arrow he has ever seemed, and Hartley nailed it. That he just needed Clark showing up and having his back to be that guy seemed a little odd, but also nice. And man was that interviewer lady a horrible, horrible person. The writers built that scene perfectly as I could not wait for Ollie to verbally annihilate her. It like watching the end of "Rocky IV."

Kiel: That is such a Ben comment, I honestly have no response

Ben: HA! The only thing I didn't care for in the Ollie scene was how he and Chloe have become emblematic of a problem I have with a lot of CW-type shows in particular where a character's latest romance is always their greatest and most important regardless of if it really wasn't. I'm just not buying that she was the great love of Ollie's life or vice versa

Kiel: Especially when they've already had Black Canary on the show, so that's hanging out there.

Ben: Yep.

Kiel: In the end, the Chloe issue will be really interesting because you know she's coming back, and it's the one piece of the whole mythology where they can do whatever the fuck they want with it and fans will accept it. Potentially the most dramatic angle of the show.

Ben: The whole Ollie-Chloe romance really felt like it was because they had two regulars and nothing to do with them to me, but I guess it's not that relevant at the moment. Oh absolutely. Part of you feels like they have to kill her if for no other reason than because they can, but on the flipside, since she had such deep dramatic ties to every major character, it would end things on such a downbeat, and this show really needs to end on an uplifting note/

Kiel: Yeah...mysteries abound! But until they're resolved we just get to wait for next week's left field DC cameo: Isis!

Ben: How much you want to bet they wanted to use Wonder Woman and just found out David E. Kelley's show is in development? Or not, I guess...that doesn't really make any sense. Also, Tess is back next week! It shouldn't feel like that big a deal, but she's one of four series regulars and hasn't been on the show for three episodes, so I'm actually excited.

Kiel: Good point! Let's see if they actually do use 200 as a turning point in the story or not...next time!

Ben: Final thought: Watching this episode, I thought it was kind of unfocused and average, but having sat back and talked it through, I really think I dug it now, how well it walked the line between acknowledging the past and setting up the future plus all the really neat character moments and progressions plus some solid performances from the actors who needed to deliver. Thanks "Sayonara, Smallville"!

Paragraph Plus Movie Reviews: The Social Network

If you don't have plans to see this movie, you can check the spoilers here and then come back.

I did not like the first 15 minutes or so of The Social Network. The very first scene drops you too quickly into fast-paced Aaron Sorkin dialogue without introducing you to the principals and then the subsequent sequence of tech-heavy action again doesn't give you a way in. However, get past that rough start and this is an excellent movie bearing the very best marks of screenwriter Sorkin as well as director David Fincher and their trademark specialties on a compelling story packed with fantastic acting performances. The tale of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and the friends and enemies he wittingly or unwittingly lied to and/or betrayed on his way to the top made for a book I could not put down in "The Accidental Billionaires," and the creators of this film did yeoman's work taking that framework--which was certainly not quite ready for Hollywood--and translating it to the cinematic medium.

Without question in my mind the shining star of the entire piece is Jesse Eisenberg, who as Zuckerberg leaves his previous roles as hapless nice guys way behind and creates an unnerving yet memorably and believable character (as reportedly the portrayals here were based not on the real people but on Sorkin's dramatized script) like few I've ever seen. Eisenberg's Zuckerberg is like a robot or reptile who chillingly and without interruption moves from one task to the next with single-minded purpose; when he displays human emotions for even a moment, it's as if he's simply straining to mimic those around him rather than feeling for himself, and it works perfectly. Eisenberg captivates you with what a frankly terrifying genius and honestly borderline (albeit relatively harmless) sociopath his Zuckerberg may be, while also carefully making you feel flashes of sympathy, but only flashes; when he feels remorse, it looks more like a glitch in the system than a human emotion.

As Napster founder Sean Parker who leeches onto Zuckerberg's burgeoning empire, Justin Timberlake comes in with the perfect combination of smooth charisma and childish paranoia; the people I saw this movie with felt like he wasn't straining much, basically just playing "Justin Timberlake but as a bit more of a douchebag," but I'd disagree, as he displayed true vulnerability in some scenes that made the character for more complex. Andrew Garfield is the guy we're supposed to emphasize with, Zuckerberg's hapless buddy Eduardo, and he does fine, but I wish he'd been given more to work with. As the alpha male Winklevoss twins, from whom Zuckerberg "steals" the Facebook concept, Armie Hammer--aided by body double Josh Pence and some impressive CGI--displays both power and poise, plus he gets off some of the best lines of the movie.

I'm impressed how well Fincher and Sorkin paced the movie, as it comes in at a smooth two hours and never leaves you bored (it could have been longer). They definitely improved on the book in many ways, using it as a guide but not becoming slavish to it. Honestly part of me wishes I hadn't read the book first if only because I knew that two of the film's primary motivations for Zuckerberg (losing a girlfriend and jealousy over Eduardo's place in the Harvard Final Club hierarchy) were either trumped up or manufactured, but while the actual "he more or less did it because he could" reasoning is fascinating, it probably wouldn't make for a great film.

Oh, and before I forget, Trent Reznor's soundtrack seriously added a lot to the movie.

This was a great story that was going to be either an easy hit for smart filmmakers or fumbled badly by guys looking to make their own mark, and I'm glad it wasn't the latter. I'll need some time to let it settle before I decide if it's the primo Oscar bait a lot of people are proclaiming it, but I certainly liked The Social Network.

Good for you, Christos Gage!

I first “met” Christos Gage via e-mail not long after I began at Wizard in 2004. If I recall correctly, it was to get a few quotes on the Deadshot limited series he was writing, his first major work in the industry. Even back in those comics-heavy days of the magazine, a “mid-level” project like Deadshot wouldn’t necessarily automatically garner even a quick blurb, but I believe Chris’ experience as a screenwriter, most prominently on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, helped give it a bit more cache.

I was enthusiastic about the project as I’d gotten a crash course in the Suicide Squad and Deadshot hard and fast off the recommendation of Geoff Johns and still riding the John Ostrander buzz. I didn’t know what to expect from Chris (I should note I’ve never called him Christos except for like our first two e-mail exchanges and in print when I have to), as I’d dealt with relatively few creators at this point and none from the “Hollywood” side of the equation.

As it turned out, Chris couldn’t be further from a “Hollywood guy” and more of a dyed in the wool comic book fanatic; he was far more nervous, anxious and excited about getting to write a character he grew up with than how his episodes of SVU would do. We had a very nice back-and-forth beyond me getting what I needed for the piece, talking comics in general, Suicide Squad in specific, and also bonding a bit over both being relative newbies to the crazy world of the professional comic book industry. Chris’ would be one of the first names entered into my fledgling rolodex and we’d frequently drop each other a line to say what’s up or ask the other’s opinion over the latest developments at Marvel or DC.


Also, Deadshot turned out to be pretty darn good, I daresay the flashpoint for the revival of the character over the last half decade, so I wasn’t just hitching my wagon to a hack here.

My role at Wizard in the burgeoning Internet age of course put me in the now familiar to most position of getting to know many creators via e-mail and the occasional phone chat long before I met them in person. I wouldn’t actually encounter Chris face-to-face until early 2006 during my infamous one-man assault on WonderCon for a 52 creative summit, where the deadly combo of fried sushi, Geoff Johns-prescribed Red Bull and vodkas and Mark Waid regaling me with tales of his “paycheck days” on Spider-Man Team-Up got me about as ill as I’d ever been—but I digress.

I believe Chris actually cornered me rather than vice versa, as he’d seen my face in the Wizard Bullpen features at the back of the magazine whereas I had no idea what he looked like. As much as we’d gotten along over e-mail and the phone, we really hit it off in person, as we share both a boundless enthusiasm for the business we’re in, but perhaps more importantly a dry sarcasm and biting “wit” that would lead many to brand us “jerks,” but instantly drew us together. We also both grew up in Massachusetts, and shared love of the Red Sox/hatred of the Yankees, particularly in those halcyon “we finally won a World Series” days forges a bond like no other.

One night, Chris and I along with a motley crew including the likes of former Wizard-ite Gabe Fieramosco and then-Swamp Thing writer Josh Dysart headed to Chinatown for dinner. After we had both loosened up a bit on appetizers and beers, my buddy told me about how he had a mini-series in the pipeline at Marvel with artist Mike Perkins and was really excited for it. I told him that was rad as I knew he had always dreamed of making it to Marvel and enquired as to the subject matter, which he informed me was Union Jack.


With all due respect to Union Jack superfan Pat McCallum, I admit I went blank-eyed and may have chuckled a moment.

“You’ve never written anything at Marvel before and you’re going to make your first impression with Union Jack? Dude…good luck.”

It was a good-natured joke between friends, as I really was happy for Chris, but it wouldn’t have been us if I hadn’t given him a hard time. He laughed along with me while no doubt planning how to spike my drink with Visine or something.

Union Jack would legitimately end up being not only one of my favorite books of 2006, but the series that made Chris as a legitimate rising star in comics, pretty much writing his ticket as far as being a guy who could spin gold with a perceived “B-list” character and thus had tremendous versatility as a writer.

Needless to say, I’ve rarely been so happy to be proven wrong (even if he never lets me forget it).


Chris’ career really took off from there. His Stormwatch: PHD was in my humble opinion the crown jewel of the ballyhooed WildStorm re-launch of 2006 and probably overdue an Underrated/Overlooked from me (though I could probably do a whole Chris Gage special). And his World War Hulk: X-Men mini wasn’t just great fun, it was further evidence that this really is a guy who had never stopped being a fan, as he was never shy about telling anybody who would listen “I’ve wanted to write a Hulk vs Juggernaut fight all my life, so I did, and it was awesome.”

As the guy who got to write skip month one-shots for Warren Ellis’ Thunderbolts and eventually became co-writer with Dan Slott on Avengers: The Initiative (before taking the book over himself), Chris got to hobnob creatively with some pretty big names, but never forgot about his pal Ben, during my final Wizard days or when I started at Marvel.com. He got to meet my then-girlfriend Megan for the first time at the 2007 New York Comic Con and was uncharacteristically gracious, and we exchange holiday cards with him and his wife Ruth every year.

Earlier this year, Chris and another fine gentleman, Mike McKone, kicked off Avengers Academy, Mr. Gage’s highest profile series to date, and one I’ve already come out in favor of. With the early success of the book, Marvel finally went and made it official, “putting a ring on it” and signing Christos Gage exclusive. It’s been a long time coming, but the guy has earned it, and nobody’s happier than me.


We had Chris on Marvel.com Live last weekend during New York Comic Con following the announcement and we were both grinning as we talked about how far he’d come (in an interview you all will be able to see for yourselves soon).

Of course he also took the opportunity to tell the world, “Ben never believed in me and told me that Union Jack was going to fail four years ago.” I copped to it but said, “Well, we were friends, so I was just goofing around,” to which he zinged me back with “Well, you thought we were friends.”

Ouch. Receipt acknowledged.

Snarkiness aside, congrats again, my friend, you have certainly earned it and I’m excited to see what you do next.

Linko! LXI - NYCC Edition!

So the 2010 version of New York Comic Con was quite possibly the most exhausting con I've ever worked. I was literally falling asleep at dinner Sunday night, and I had precious little time to hang out with anyone I wanted to see socially, though I'm glad I found a way to fit the most important folks in, including the CKT crew with special guest star Matt Powell. Anyway, since we've all been recovering while working full time since the show wrapped, I planting a flag with this special Linko! of everything the crew worked on over the show as the place where we (and by "we" I mean "maybe I") get back on the horse with our bloggery and what not. Let's do it!

* Being that it's my job at CBR News Editor not just to do a select number of panels and on floor interviews but to kind of cover whatever pops up during and around the convention. On that front, I kicked-off my show coverage proper with an interview with NYCC Head Lance Fensterman about the show and his expectations for it. Another big piece of "pre-show" news was the breaking bit about Marvel's partial price drop from January on, which I covered out the gate at the ICv2 Conference. In between multiple BBQ meals with Jonah Weiland, I filed a much more detailed report of everything at the Digital Conference days before all the audio from the thing just ended up on the Beat anyway.

* After the aisles of the NYCC floor were clogged and crowded with thousands of cosplayers, hug-givers and assorted people trying to trick Marvel into giving them work, I spent most of my time at the show in the bowels of the Javits Center reporting on panels. Luckily, most of my work was live reporting, meaning whatever I could fit into a story in the hour it was actually happening was all I had to do (a stressful process that pays off with less transcribing that night). In chronological order, I covered Marvel's X-Men panel, their unstoppable Avengers panel, the inaugural Marvel T&A panel, the famed "Cup O' Joe" affair and finally, Marvel's Next Big Thing wrap-up from Sunday. The Cup O' panel was particularly crazy as I spent most of it wishing they'd wrap it up so I could sprint to a bar immediately after to watch the end of my Michigan State Spartans' radical football victory over the hated University of Michigan Wolverines. NYCC, you'll never know the hate I hold in my heart for you after making me miss most of that game.


* I suppose the biggest piece of newsy news I covered as the show went along was DC Comics across the board price cut on monthly comics to $2.99. I spoke during the weekend with Co-Publishers Dan Didio and Jim Lee about the move – an interview which gave me more time than I usually get for these things. That was encouraging. Also, once I made it back home, I filed a report from another panel involving DC's evolving strategy for sales: The DC Nation Town Hall where Didio and Lee took fan questions on pricing, digital and everything else under the sun.

* It's no secret that the intersection of my job and these shows is built around publishing announcements from various players inside the mainstream industry. Over the course of the week, I did a few chats with folks on new comics unveiled at the show including a talk with suddenly very in demand writer Nick Spencer about his upcoming Iron Man 2.0 (AKA War Machine) series, a pre-show talk with Adam Beechen on Batman Beyond's extension into an ongoing series (and personally I think it's kind of genius the way they've been able conceptually tweak that concept to sell said series to the die hard Batman fans) and a rundown of the newly-reformed Atlas Comics with its two biggest players where they reveal the first creative team for an ongoing title.

* I know this doesn't technically qualify as NYCC coverage, but since I conducted and wrote up these interviews during the show, I'm placing them here: me and Grant Morrison on Batman & me and Scott Allie on Buffy.

* Oh hey, I also did two video interviews at the show, both of which turned out all right. They're with writer Marjorie Lieu and T&A themselves. Check them out below:



* OK, enough about me! I'm sure it'd get really annoying if I just went through and also posted up everything we did on CBR, but I wanted to at least draw y'all's attention to some of the news items that caught my eye at the show:

- First up, somehow this got largely ignored by a lot of places, but Archie Comics made a number of announcements at the show which were interesting – not the least of which was a new mini series for highly publicized gay character Kevin Keller – and you can read about everything they announced in the great Brigid Alverson's panel report.

- Brigid also crushed in on this Darwyn Cooke spotlight – "The Outfit" was one of the few big books at the show – and this Will Eisner remembrance panel – one of the more "New York" panels at a show you'd want to be chock full of them.

- On that same front, I dug Joey Pangilinan's write-up of a gathering of Golden Age greats at the show...the kind of thing we all really need to appreciate the hell out of while we can.

- Was also happy to see Disney Publishing out in force with not one but two panels announcing new initiatives and products. People seem to forget that that unit's been around for three or four years now – probably because they weren't getting many books out onto the market before now.

- Props also to my boy Dave Richards who killed it on the Marvel beat all weekend even though he was in Michigan the whole time. Two features he did that came out really nice: Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Oeming on their new all-ages series Takio & Bendis and new Ultimate Spider-Man artist Sarah Pichelli.

- Oh hey, Josh Wigler did it up in fine style on the Image beat as well, particularly on this story on Nick Spencer's new Infinite Vacation mini series.

* Finally, warranting his own bullet point is the CKT's own Kevin Mahadeo, who despite being lost somewhere in America right now filed stories on Scott Lobdell taking the reigns on Aspen's Fathom not to mention JT Krul continuing that publisher's Soulfire series and a rundown of Archaia's video game tie-in Bleedout.


* On the other side of the convention center's Skybox row, Benny Ben was holding down the Marvel.com video beat live on the air. I guess they'll be posting up what previously could only be seen as it happened, so if you want to watch Ben play Regis to Grace Randolph's Kelly, you should head over to Marvel's NYCC homepage.

* Oh hey, it looks like Kevin talked to Andy Diggle about Astonishing Captain America for Marvel.com as well. You two-timer, Kevin!!!

* I should probably also note that Rickey was all over the show despite being pretty sick, but since his job involves hanging on the floor at the DC booth and being super awesome to fans who walk up looking for Geoff Johns' autograph, but I can't link to that experience online. Sorry.

Sayonara, Smallville: "Supergirl"

Incredible but true: This year, The CW's "Smallville" embarks on its tenth and final season, making it not just the longest-running Superman TV show ever but the longest-running comic book TV show ever produced. Bananas, right?

To celebrate its final year, we're teaming up our collective powers of dumb DCU trivia, long experience watching and writing about the show and general obsession with serial TV to bring you "Sayonara, Smallville" – a semi-regular feature where we'll review the most notable episodes of the season whenever we can. Everyone is invited to play along. (Welcome back after NYCC!)


Kiel: I think this may be the first truly awful episode of "Smallville" I've watched in a while. It's like a sobering reminder of why I dropped out to begin with.

Ben: Yeah, this was not a good episode – disappointing, because they started out pretty strong out the gate. And not every single thing about it was bad, but a lot, and generally not in a "so bad it's good" way either.

Kiel: No, it just screamed "TV budget" in the worst way...did you have a particular thing you hated most?

Ben: Well, I think I can somewhat answer that by saying "Smallville" has become a show for better or worse defined by its guest stars/DC cameos. The Fourth World stuff, Hawkman and the Suicide Squad made the first two episodes of the season pretty solid, but Supergirl...well, she's not the best.

Kiel: The one thing I always liked about Laura Vandervoort in this part is the fact that she's so pretty that the perfectly balanced features of her face look kind of unnatural. She really does seem alien to me, which is why she should be a great Supergirl and is someone who works well on the creepy as hell "V" cast, but this episode gave her (and pretty much everyone else on the show) nothing more to do than to A) regurgitate exposition on the big conflict of the season or B) state the metaphorical underpinnings of the season in stark, boring terms. In short: waste of a perfectly odd hot girl.

Ben: Haha. Y'know, the thing I like most about "Smallville" and Vandervoort's take on Supergirl is also the thing that ultimately tends to bug me the most. I kinda enjoy that they reverse the traditional Superman/Supergirl dynamic and have her as the stoic, experienced one trying to mentor Clark, and what you said about Vandervoort's penchant for playing alien and aloof makes her perfect for that. On the other hand, as a guest star, she kind of sucks the energy out of the room. Tom Welling is already pretty square-jawed and serious, so when you pair him with a Green Arrow or Impulse or even just Lois, it's a nice contrast, but with Supergirl, it's like they're just trying to out-grimace each other. In short: She's not fun. When she was part of the regular cast, the rest balanced her out, but when it's just her and Clark as the focal point, it bores me.

Kiel: I so wanted the scene where he tries to fly and falls to be funny!

Ben: That's a good example. They're both way too earnest for anything to be funny

Kiel: That "just listen to the wings of the butterfly and you can fly" shit made me want to bite into my knuckle I was so embarrassed for them. It was just awkward.

And here's my other thing with her: Early in the show, they had a fake Kara show up as sent by Jor-El (played by that chick from "Friday Night Lights" Mel had to escort around Wizard World Texas one year), and that episode was a lot of fun because she was so sinister, and we were learning this idea that Jor-El was kind of an evil fuck...a great twist on the expectation for how Clark becomes Superman. But later, when they brought the "real" Kara and Jor-El to light, they never really found a hook as good as that, so what the story becomes is "Jor-El the passive-aggressive dick and his ineffectual lackey Kara" -- it's like half of that good idea that they squandered on a blow off episode when they never thought they'd actually do that plot, and so all the drama or fun of those concepts is totally lost.

Ben: Was that actually Jor-El in the original Kara episode? I can't remember if he was a trick or not.

Kiel: Neither can I, and that's the problem. They've never found a compelling reason for him to do anything in the show except be unexpectedly evil. So who cares?

Ben: Jor-El on "Smallville" alternately fascinates and confuses me. I am intrigued by the idea that he's this cold counterpoint to Jonathan Kent and not necessarily so much a bad guy as an uncaring father whose a product of the sterile environment that was Krypton. However, like you said, a lot of times his motivation is pretty unclear and they lose that in favor of "he's just a dick." If they were consistent and stuck with "He's hard on Clark and willing to let the ends justify the means because that's just how Kryptonians are" it would be an interesting nature vs nurture deal, but it has gotten muddled. They did a time travel episode last year where young Jor-El came to Earth and was pretty much a decent guy. You should watch if only so you can explain it to me.

Kiel: Ha! I'll look for it! So, yeah...Kara did very little this episode beyond swoop in at the last minute and repel the unnamed Darkseid's murder of cosmic crows with a bracelet she got at Rue 21, which brings me to the next topic of discussion: What the fuck?

Ben: You're going to need to specify your "What the fuck" – There's a lot of ground to cover.


Kiel: I mean, you've got the New Gods – the fucking NEW GODS – and I know you can't do the full blown thing on TV without it looking stupid, but is the best possible way for you to show the greatest evil in the DC Universe a cloud of smokey crows who does something vaguely painful to a dude off camera?

Whenever I think of the New Gods being totally bad ass in man's world, I think of that scene in Morrison's Mister Miracle series where they hold the cell phone up to the girl's ear so she can hear the Anti-Life equation and the black bile that coms out of her eyes, nose and ears completely rewrites her sense of self...it's a totally unnerving scene that makes you feel awful and powerless that can easily be done on TV with a little creative camera work and some cultish, yet PG torture porn acting, and they blew it, man. What a waste.

Ben: Yeah, I mean, I think it was kind of a given that we were sort of waiting with bated breath to see how they'd pull the New Gods off visually and from an FX perspective on a show like this and unfortunately the other shoe dropped this week. Doubly unfortunate because I did get goosebumps from the Darkseid shadow cloud in the season premiere.

I mean look: This is the show where Mr. Mxzyptlk was an exchange student and Brainiac was a college professor who looked like Spike from "Buffy." It's a show where until Green Arrow the identifiers for Flash or Aquaman were the color codes of their t-shirts. It's understandable that fans of the comics in particular would get antsy at being promised Doomsday or Darkseid. But I guess I do understand they can only do so much on network TV. I do agree it would have been nice to go psychological if you don't have the FX budget, but this is also still airing on a network where the biggest audience is tween girls. I guess it's a sign that for as much as Smallville has adapted to become a geek show in its later years as we've discussed, those teen soap opera roots still show. My only hope I guess is they're pinching pennies for a blowout finale where they can do the true Darkseid justice.

Kiel: No yeah, I hope they can make something happen. And in the last few seasons they've had some legit big moments where things have come together in a real bad ass and creative way. I honestly thought the Doomsday episodes I saw had a pretty intimidating monster on screen (the "Death of Jimmy" episode in particular)...but this week the thing that really screamed "you didn't think this through" was "Glorious" Godfrey. That guy was so milquetoast and ineffectual, and he's supposed to be whipping the public into a frenzy against superheroes.

I mean, we live in a world where Glen Beck is on TV every Goddamned day blubbering like a fucking crazy person in front of a chalkboard with a picture of Hitler taped to it, and people take him SERIOUSLY. In response, this show gives us a balding dude who sits around smoking in front of a microphone like some kind of community theater Eric Bogosian. FAIL.

Ben: Haha. I think we're actually going to have our first significant difference of opinion to date in this column here, although your argument there actually changed my mind a bit. What I will say is that the material he was given – which I'll get to in a minute aside, I actually thought the guy who played Godfrey was pretty decent. And I will educate you on him having just looked him up on IMDB.

Kiel: Please do!

Ben: His name is Michael Daingerfield and in addition to straight acting, he also does voiceovers, writes, produces, is a comedian and even an athlete! He was actually already on "Smallville" once back in 2003 as an assassin. But aside from that, he voices The Unicorn on "Iron Man: Armored Adventures," was on that "4400" show you liked and was in the friggin' Catowman movie!

Kiel: CRAZY! But you thought he did well here?


Ben: Yeah, I did like him here, not so much as the rabble rouser he was supposed to be, but I thought he effectively conveyed the possessed-by-Darkseid stuff. I liked his delivery of the creepy lines, like when he's in the limo with his publicist or talking to Lois. He had a good eerie calm and total confidence mixed with disdain. But I also thought he did a nice job of walking the line of being an effective portent of what Clark's up against while holding back enough that we get this is only Darkseif at like 40% tops. I can't imagine it's the easiest thing to be given the direction of "You're the biggest villain in the universe, kinda, but we need you to only be the first and thus weakest manifestation of him" and I did think Mr. Daingerfield did that.

Kiel: The end was much better, I'll give you that. And I will say that the only shot of the whole episode that had a legitimate sense of dread and creepiness was the one where Lois was wrapped up in that strangling mess of curtains at Club Desaad that for some reason reminded me of intestines...but I was still hoping for a little more effort here.

Ben: Right on about that Lois image really being the direction they need to go in with the Apokolips crowd. Hopefully they take a cue from that. I feel like with the bulk of the episode somebody read Final Crisis and missed a lot of the points, only seeing the "Oh, they like bondage" stuff when it came to the evil New Gods. I do not need to see sex fetish Mary Marvel on this show

Kiel: Holy shit, that would be epic in its madness though.

Ben: I wouldn't rule it out. By the way, how did Godfrey, let alone nigh omnipotent god Darkseid, not notice his limo driver and the bondage girl pouring candle wax on him both sounded exactly like Lois Lane, whom he had just had a confrontation with? Neither disguise was that good, and they had to be in that limo at least a little while

Kiel: There were a lot of glaring plot holes this week, even for "Smallville." I mean, the publicist scene where Godfrey goes "once the secret final chapter of my book hits the web tomorrow, it will start the dominos falling on all of humankind as the fear corrupts their souls" and she goes, "you so crazy...get some sleep. Laterz!" was there just to establish that he had a thumb drive in his pocket.

Side convo: how TERRIBLE was that publicist actress????

Ben: Oh she was the pits. As Megan likes to say any time we're watching anything and somebody that bad comes on, "Somebody has a cousin who's a producer..."

Kiel: The other thing that stuck out to me about the New Gods stuff was how Kara and Clark just keep referring to him as "a dark force" or "the darkness" or whatever, and I know that no one who's just watching this show on TV who doesn't read comics will be kept from the big villain's name until later in the show, but the language they used in its place just made the whole exercise sound silly.

Ben: It definitely got both noticeable and tiresome. I was disappointed that they so quickly established Lois (and to a lesser extent Kara) as incorruptible by Darkseid. Having Lois fall under his sway later in the season would have been both unnerving and a significant challenge for Clark in a way a Darkseid-possessed Green Arrow or Hawkman can never be.

Kiel: Well, here's what I was going to say on all that...we've discovered over the past two weeks how the two threads they seem to be building for this season are A) Clark might be corrupted by a dark power that will stop him from becoming the hero he's meant to be and B) the idea that to be a true hero, Clark has to step out without a mask and be accepted by the public. In this episode, we got movement on both those fronts, and not just a little tease of them, but a shit load of heavy-handed dialogue that just wouldn't give up until you knew that the so-called subtext was EXACTLY how the character's felt. Aside from being decidedly non-subtle (which you know I hate), the tactic did make it feel like these threads can't possibly be stretched out for the entire season, you know?

Ben: Yeah, I mean this isn't "Gossip Girl."

Kiel: Do you think they could throw a curveball where those themes don't last more than a five-episode arc or so?

Ben: No, you're right, it's only three episodes in and it definitely feels like we're being beat over the head with exactly what Clark needs to do in order to be a hero. Unfortunately, as appealing and appropriate as it is to have the final season of a long-running show be a parade of guest stars primarily from the run thus far, there's also the danger of the writers feeling like the best way to continue to pay lip service to their super story is to have each of these characters justify being part of the larger arc by kinda giving the same pep talk over and over. Obviously, Smallville has fallen into this trap pretty quickly.


We've got a long way to go, and probably a lot more familiar faces who are going to show up and warn Clark about the dangers of fear and overconfidence, tell him about his potential, encourage him to step into the light, yada yada. Speaking of that last point, is it just me or did the big identity reveal of Green Arrow as Oliver Queen really...not feel like a big deal at all? I'm interested in seeing how it changes his dynamic, but it felt really tacked on,

Kiel: It felt like a $3 version of the end of "Iron Man" is what it fucking felt like. But I mean, setting aside it's general lack of drama (which I'm not blaming on my boy Justin Hartley, because his shirtless Akido routine this week made me fall in love with that big hunk all over again), I was at least encouraged that it felt like they were willing to change some things early in this season...a move for the better if you ask me.

Ben: Yeah, I agree it will lead to interesting things, and Hartley is best-equipped to pull it off, it's just unfortunate it was executed with so little build and finesse. Green Arrow/Ollie is definitely one of the best characters on the show, so I just felt like he deserved better. That said, I'm very intrigued to see the ramifications both for him and on his relationship with Clark.

Kiel: Well, I don't know if you saw the interview with Peterson and Souders my boy Erik Amaya did on CBR today...It's not very spoilery in terms of the whole season, more of a piece on how the 200th episode came together on creative terms with a little behind the scenes stuff on how they're constructing the guest stars for the rest of the year. But the pair play some lip service to making this one a big moment for Clark, so I'm interested to see if it ends up being on of those really good "turning point" episodes of "Smallville" where we get a lot of major story beats all together that help shape a bit of what's going on with the mythology.

Ben: Well hopefully that will be a step back in the right direction. I don't feel like this episode completely derailed things, but certainly it was a hiccup in the momentum they were building. You'll likely see more of the "You need to do this, Clark" stuff next week, but it will be delivered by James Marsters, which can make a pretty big difference. I know Kristen Kreuk will be appearing...in flashback, which once again will give me the opportunity to wag my finger at her, Michael Rosenbaum and Alison Mack for being too "busy" to drop by the show that made them for such a milestone. You know Sam Jones III would be there in a heartbeat.

Kiel: HA! I do think it's pretty funny that the plot of the episode is a high school reunion and no one that Clark went to high school with will be there. Maybe Whitney the QB will show up!

Ben: He died.

Kiel: HAHAHAHA!

Ben: Off camera. I'm serious

Kiel: Oh shit, it was in Iraq, right?

Ben: Yep.

Kiel: Damn, this show has been on a long time.

Ben: It sure has. I hope the other Ashmore twin who was a freak of the week is on and Clark's like "Jimmy?!"

Kiel: And then JTT pops out, and is like, "No fucking way!" and then giant explosions!

Ben: Hahahaha. Every kid who got shitty powers and Clark put down should just corner him in the parking lot.

Kiel: And ask him if he can get them a guest spot on "Hellcats."

Ben: Fun fact: IMDB tells me that Michael "Gordon Godfrey" Daingerfield was already also on an episode of "Hellcats." Somebody made a good impression...

So wait, was Clark a freshman or sophomore in high school when this show started? Because regardless, what school has six or seven year reunions?

Kiel: I thought of that too, but you can't assault this show with logic, Ben.

Ben: Well, to wrap up, I've got a special guest commentary from TJ Dietsch to close out this week's edition of "Sayonara, Smallville."

Kiel: Oh boy!

Ben: "Oh man, I loved the appearance of some character from the DC Universe the regular public doesn't know about"

Kiel: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! A brilliant observation as always from Mr. D.

Ben: The best part is this is probably the one week that comment will be a swing and a miss. But eloquent and well-stated nonetheless.

Strawberry Shortcake/Richie Rich by Matt & Ben

Among the myriad of announcements made this past weekend at New York Comic Con was that Ape Entertainment has acquired the rights to both Richie Rich and Strawberry Shortcake.

I'm not sure what Ape's submission policy is like, but that didn't stop myself and Matt Powell from getting busy ASAP...

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE/RICHIE RICH: FOR LOVE OR MONEY
By Benjamin J. Morse & Matthew A. Powell

Strawberry Shortcake has ever been a woman of the people; a gal with grit and moxie not afraid to roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty in order to get the job done. She's beloved by her friends, fulfilled by her work and proud of the reputation she has earned as Strawberryland's premiere pastry chef at the tender age of six. This has always been enough for Strawberry.

Until now.

The arrival of a mysterious stranger with golden locks and haunting eyes in the heart of Lilac Park has rocked Strawberry Land to its core. He remembers nothing of his past, save for two significant letters: "RR."

Strawberry finds herself drawn to the enigmatic newcomer and before long, inevitable romance blooms. But what will happen when she learns the truth about her new love? How will their relationship alter when he regains both his memory and his birthright?

This epic tale of honor, duty and the ties that bind the heart spills out into the seedy world of Richville, where everyone has a price and decency is a forgotten word.

Can Strawberry Shortcake and her new suitor bring light to Richville through the power of their affection? And what will become of Strawberryland when its greatest defender finds herself seduced by the glamor of a life she could only dream about? Can Blueberry Muffin fend off the Peculiar Purple Pieman of Porcupine Peak without the aid of her best friend? And for Blueberry, has that friendship become...something more?

Strawberryland or Richville? Blueberry Muffin or the gold-tressed stranger? Hard work or a life of leisure? Love or money?

YOU MUST DECIDE, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE! YOU MUST DECIDE!!

We're going to need at least 12 issues for this. And Mike Perkins.

Looks Like Ben Is Buying A PS3 This Month

More info here.

Ben's original love letter here.