Clark’s New Super Friends

There are three more stocking-wearing saviours coming to Metropolis, according to IGN TV and Fancast.

A future episode of “Smallville” (Yes, it’s still on) will see Clark (Tom Welling) teaming up with comic book faves Hawkman, Doctor Fate and Stargirl.

IGN reports that “Stargate SG-1” star Michael Shanks has been cast to play Hawkman, whilst Brent Stait (“Stargate Atlantis”) has been cast as Doctor Fate.

Fancast had the news that Britt Irvin (“Aliens in America”) has been cast as Stargirl.

The episode will revolve around the origins of the Justice Society. The JSA were the first superhero ‘team’ in comic-book history. Unlike subsequent “all-star” teams, the JSA was limited to heroes not already featured in their own titles because the publisher wanted to expose their lesser known characters. Hence, Superman and Batman were only honorary members and Flash and Green Lantern’s early tenures were brief, ending when each character was awarded his own book. However, a 1944 change in policy allowed them back into the group. Other popular members were Hawkman, the Spectre, Hourman, Doctor Fate and the Atom.

During the Silver Age, DC reinvented several popular Justice Society members and banded many of them together in the Justice League of America. However, instead of considering the JSA replaced, DC revealed that the team existed on “Earth-Two” and the Justice League on “Earth-One”. This allowed for annual, cross-dimensional team-ups of the teams, lasting from 1963 until 1985.