Television's "Smallville" Continues to Shine

On January 18, 2007, Smallville finally introduced the Justice League of America (JLA). The audience had, of course, been introduced to various members of the JLA over the course of the last few years, beginning with Bart Allen (the would-be Flash) and eventually culminating with Oliver Queen (The Green Arrow).

With the introduction of a new super hero the audience began to suspect that, at some point, the JLA would be brought together. However, the writers and producers took their time in developing the story so that it would have the kind of impact worthy of the Justice League. It also gave Tom Welling the time to masterfully show every aspect and each nuance of Clark's multi-faceted personality, which was necessary to explain how he would eventually see the value in a joint effort of these various heroes. It was well worth the wait.

Over the course of this season's Smallville episodes the audience has had more time to get used to and understand The Green Arrow. Obviously the writers felt that the development of this character and his association with Clark Kent were key to the final pay off. The audience watched them grow from protagonists to eventually form an alliance, albeit a somewhat rocky one. As this new comradeship between Queen and Kent began to take hold, it became obvious that the once strong friendship between Clark Kent and Lex Luthor stood no chance of survival. As Luthor became more determined to uncover Clark's deep dark secret, he willingly threw himself into dark places from which it was obvious he could never return. The wedge driven between Clark, Lex, and Lana Lang (Clark's ex-girlfriend; now Lex's fiancée) became too large, too heavy, and too burdensome.