As the highly anticipated Justice Society two-part episode of “Smallville” gets ready to go in front of the cameras, newly cast Hawkman actor Michael Shanks has revealed the first look at his character, some intriguing details about his origin and this incarnation of the JSA.

“When we first meet Carter Hall, he’s in his museum," Shanks told TV Guide. "We’ll learn he’s a reincarnated prince from a thousand years ago. There is a reference to The Justice Society’s time in the ‘70s, but we have since disbanded.”

“When we first see him, he is a shell of his former self with [an air] of cynicism,” continued Shanks. “He wears a lot of grief and guilt and pain over what happened to his friends and the society as a whole and his failures in letting that happen.” Read more...

Can Jon Favreau's reality-based "Iron Man" share the same universe as Kenneth Branagh's fantasy-focused "Thor"? What about the space-faring "Green Lantern" film and Christopher Nolan's gritty take on Batman?

These are valid concerns both for fans and movie executives as Marvel Studios and DC Entertainment plan live-action adaptations of "The Avengers" and "Justice League," respectively.

While they're difficult questions to tackle, some hint at the answers could lie in an installment of the television series "Smallville" (titled "Hex") which debuted last season. In "Hex," the powerful magician Zatanna interacts not only with the super-powerful Clark Kent, but also with Green Arrow, a street-level vigilante with no superpowers to speak of.

MTV News spoke with "Hex" writer Bryan Q. Miller (the new writer of DC's "Batgirl" series) to get his take on how to integrate magically-gifted characters into a live-action comic book world. Read more...

As ‘Smallville’ rockets through a plethora of DC Universe guest stars in its ninth season, one of the toughest ladies in comics has been added to the lineup. Blaxploitation legend Pam Grier has signed on to portray Amanda Waller on multiple episodes this season.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Grier’s first appearance as Waller will come in the second half of the highly anticipated "Justice Society" two-part episode by comic scribe Geoff Johns.

Created by writer John Ostrander as the leader of the “Suicide Squad”—a team of supervillains forced to go on black ops missions for the government—Amanda Waller was nicknamed “The Wall” for her refusal to back down to anyone... even Batman. Read more...

The upcoming two part episode of “Smallville” featuring the Justice Society is already highly anticipated among fans thanks to the involvement of comic scribe Geoff Johns and the introductions of Hawkman, Stargirl and Doctor Fate. However, Michael Shanks—Dr. Daniel Jackson on “Stargate SG-1” and the newly cast Hawkman—is hinting that the JSA could appear in more than just the two episodes.

“The way it's set up there is a strong possibility that there could be more,” Shanks explained in an interview with The Huffington Post. “I don't know where they're going with their season arc, but they certainly set the table. They've left that possibility wide open.”

Shanks also confirmed that the reports that he will be portraying the Carter Hall incarnation of Hawkman. Additionally, Shanks revealed that he has already been fitted for his “wings” five times. Read more...

Clark Kent has had something of a strained relationship with his paternal Kryptonian father over the years. But that's just what happens when a guy has to deal with the disembodied psychic computer version of a dad he never knew.

Well, as we reported back in September, a kinder, gentler Jor-El may just meet his son in the flesh for the first time in the Nov. 6 episode of "Smallville" entitled "Kandor."

ComicsContinuum has an image gallery that previews actor Julian Sands portraying Superman's scientist father Jor-El in traditional Kyrptonian threads, plus an episode synopsis from The CW. While it was originally believed that Sands would star in a flashback of some kind, it looks like his character could be entering mainstream continuity. Read more...

In a season already filled with guest appearances from across the DC Universe, “Smallville” executive producer Brian Peterson recently revealed that Zatanna and Martian Manhunter will both return to the series before the end of the current season.

“We bring some old favorites back in like Zatanna and Martian Manhunter,” Peterson revealed to Daemon’s TV. “So [Clark’s] in the thick of the universe that he's going to be in when he's Superman this season.”

While Peterson didn’t mention if Serinda Swan and Phil Morris would reprise their respective roles as Zatanna and Martian Manhunter; it seems likely given the reluctance that the “Smallville” producers’ have shown towards the idea of recasting important roles like Lex Luthor and Lana Lang. Read more...

Geoff Johns opened up with some episode titles and director info for his two-part "Smallville" story that's coming up, and Tom Welling will direct the second part, titled "Legends," according to those tweets. Johns said he has the utmost confidence that Hawkman, Dr. Fate and Stargirl will be treated with respect.

Todd Nauck, meanwhile, showed some tweet respect to Johns, dedicating a Slurpee pic to him. You can find that, along with Chip Zdarsky's Astro Boy artwork, Edgar Wright's evaluation of "The Vampire's Assistant" and Mark Waid's post from Singapore.

They're all waiting after the jump in the Friday Twitter Report for October 23, 2009. Read more...

What does a new scripted comedy series about college football have in common with comic books? According to the cast of "Blue Mountain State," quite a lot!

Comics Continuum spoke with Darin Brooks, Alan Ritchson and Sam Jones III, three of the stars behind Spike TV's upcoming football-centric comedy series "Blue Mountain State," about their own interests in the comic book medium.

For Brooks, his experience is relegated to mere fandom, but both Ritchson and Jones have appeared on the CW's "Smallville." Fans will remember Ritchson as Arthur Curry, the aquatically-inclined hero better known to comic book readers as Aquaman. Read more...

Hawkman, Doctor Fate and Stargirl are coming to “Smallville” in the much-anticipated “Justice Society” episode penned by comic scribe Geoff Johns.

According to IGN, Hawkman will be portrayed by Michael Shanks—best known for his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson on “Stargate SG1”—while Brent Stait will wear the golden helmet of Doctor Fate. Stait has also appeared on “Stargate SG1” and “Stargate Atlantis.”

Fancast is also reporting that actress Britt Irvin (“Aliens in America”) has been cast as Stargirl. Additional members of the Justice Society are also expected to appear in the episode when it airs in January. Read more...

"Smallville" will be getting a new injection of cast members with Stargirl, Hawkman and Doctor Fate joining the show, and Geoff Johns tweeted a few details last night that viewers will want to know—like whether Hawkman will have wings and how he and Green Arrow will get along.

Elsewhere, dedicated tweeter Andy Diggle slipped Jock a link to the artist's newly released "Losers" poster and Brian Keene pondered a pitch for Batman's pet, Ace the Bat-Hound.

Read on to check out each of those tweets, along with what Matt Fraction thinks Tony Stark should carry with him in case of near death. It's all in the Twitter Report for October 20, 2009. Read more...