(S0910) This was a halfway decent midseason premiere. I certainly wasn't expecting that.

For Smallville, things usually start to drag around the midseason point. Then it's like driving with the parking brake on until the season's final three episodes arrive. But not this year.

This week's solid entry and next week's "Absolute Justice" event are signs that Smallville will sustain the momentum by giving fans exactly what they want – fun episodes that feed into ongoing story arcs, and plenty of geeky superhero action.

"Disciple" smartly nudged a few major plot threads forward, offered some sweet Lois & Clark moments, and delivered an entertaining self-contained story. Spoilers below.

Michael Ausiello has posted on EW.com some first pictures of the Justice Society appearance in Smallville. A photo of Hawkman had already been released which admittedly I thought was a gag. Now we have another photo of Hawkman laying the smack down on Green Arrow and a picture of Doctor Fate and Stargirl to boot.

Once again Geoff Johns shows his subject matter expertise. In the comics, Hawkman had conservative tendencies while Green Arrow had liberal ones, so they tended to not get along unless a supervillain showed up when they would team up to stop him or her.

These sort of costumes are a step away from the "no tights no flights" rule that was there since the beginning of Smallville. Perhaps their appearance is marking a policy change for the show. Of course, once Clark puts on the cape and takes flight, the show is pretty much done.

(S09E06) Tonight's episode had everything but the metaphorical kitchen sink. There was a lot going on. We had the rather amusing attempt by Lois to score a morning show job, the start of Green Arrow finding his sidekick Speedy and a little more Tess/Zod action.

In all the years I've watched or read Superman in various forms, I've never seen him go on an online date. I would have enjoyed watching more of that, particularly with Lois whispering in his ear. Isn't it illegal to tape someone without their permission (unless you're the government)? What would Clark write on his profile anyway? " Can lift cars, run real fast and shoot lasers out of my eyes. No Kryptonite, please. Must love farm animals."

Batman's been around in one iteration or another on our television screens for almost as long as there has been television. Since the debut of Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, we've had some form of Batman on our screens almost non-stop. The latest incarnation of the caped crusader comes just in time to enjoy the success of The Dark Knight in theaters, but unlike its animated predecessor, doesn't carry nearly the dark tone of the film.

In fact, Batman: The Brave and the Bold almost takes a page from the beloved 1960's Batman television series with Adam West and Burt Ward. It's not nearly as corny as that in delivery, but it does have a wackiness to some of the villains and gadgets presented. Ultimately, though, it's a team-up show and a way for DC to showcase virtually its entire universe in a Batman show.

The Martian Manhunter is one of my favorite DC Comics superheroes. He can shape-shift, read people's minds, and he looks like a cross between Shaft and The Jolly Green Giant. What's not to like? I even dig the Phil Morris version from Smallville. But, I'm not too thrilled about the idea of a Martian-centric Smallville spinoff series.

Smallville executive producer Darren Swimmer suggested to TV Guide (in its upcoming Dec. 8 issue) that a spinoff starring Morris as the Manhunter, aka John Jones, might be a good idea if Smallville doesn't return for a ninth season on The CW. He immediately followed up by cracking "A Martian Manhunter Variety Hour might be fun!," so I don't think he's too serious about it actually happening.

I still wouldn't put it past the network and the Smallville creative team to champion the idea, though. These are the people who wanted to give us The Graysons, a prequel drama about Batman's greatest weakness, Robin.

In one of the rowdiest panels of the Con, the stars and writers of the CW's Smallville took to the stage on the last day of the convention. Moderated by Joseph Loeb, the panel featured Allison Mack (Chloe), Justin Hartley (Green Arrow), new stars Sam Witwer (Doomsday), Cassiday Freeman (Tess), and showrunners Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer. It was a panel full of spoilers, fan appreciation, and a good amount of name plaque requests.

Some of what is upcoming during season 8 can be found after the jump.

Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled regarding the beginning of season eight of Smallville. We already know that the new season takes a different direction, as Lana Lang goes part-time, Lex Luthor is gone and Doomsday is in. At least Allison Mack is staying.

Spoilers after the jump ...

(S07E11) Black Canary has entered the universe of Smallville, and she's totally goth. She's a pawn of Lex Luthor, and in her secret identity she is apparently that universe's version of Ann Coulter.

I've read Black Canary in the comic books and in that medium she's never been a knife-thrower. She also apparently has super-leaping powers. Perhaps she gained them in the short-lived series Birds of Prey.

Here's a gallery of images from the episode. More review follows after the jump.

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The Smallville panel was a hot Comic-Con ticket for one reason and one reason only - Supergirl. We got our first glimpse of Supergirl in action with some preview scenes from Smallville's upcoming season. She was blonde, hot and had the gift of flight.

After the "Justice" episode of The CW's Smallville aired last Thursday there was plenty of speculation as to whether there would be a spinoff of either the Green Arrow character or maybe a live-action version of the Justice League. In fact, many commenters to Adam Finley's review, as well as Adam himself, thought they could watch a series based on Cyborg, Aquaman, Impulse and Green Arrow.

Folks, don't hold your breath. According to Rob Allstetter over at Comics Continuum there are no plans for a spinoff. That comes directly from Smallville executive producer Al Gough, whom Allstetter spoke with on the matter. However, that doesn't me you've seen the last of these heroes. According to Gough several members may return towards the end of the season.

Personally, I would love to see a live-action Justice League series. However, with the shape the The CW is currently in (the corporate term would be "sucky") I'm not too sure where it would fit on the schedule. Then again, with the huge success of NBC's Heroes this type of show may be just what the network needs to make it a success.

(S06E07) Green Arrow is injured when he intervenes in the world's slowest carjacking, which happens on the street below his penthouse.

Such is the danger of super-heroics without Kal-El's invulnerability, although a bullet-proof costumer would have been a good idea. I guess Ollie hasn't seen the Batman films. However, Ollie compensates for the injury with experimental drugs. Add in the prospect of the Kent's first Thanksgiving without Jonathan and there's your plot. Now that Jonathan's dead, Annette O'Toole's role as Martha has been steadily shrinking into non-existent. That might start to change now, but is Lionel working her, or is he sincere?

(S06E04) Lois and Clark both obsess over the identity of Green Arrow -- a mystery approximately as deep as the cleft in Justin Hartley's chin. Eventually they've got to figure out how to get some chemistry going between Lois and Clark, but evidently this is not the week. Green Arrow, by the way, gets his own Danny Elfman/Batman -esque soundtrack theme, which is cool, even though unoriginal.

Interesting take on the history of Lois Lane they've worked to put together here. She uses her cleavage (and her cousin Chloe's brain) to mount a meteoric rise in the world of print journalism, and is already filing front-page copy under her own byline. Although, judging from the sketch of Green Arrow in her paper, I guess Lois must have described him as looking like the Unibomber to the sketch artist. Not putting Ollie's Robin Hood masquarade costume and archery skills last week together with the " GA Bandit" this week, hardly speaks well of Lois' investigative skills.

Lana, who each week finds herself put through some creepy test of Lex's devising to test her loyalty, may actually be doing better for herself than Lois at this point. At least Lana only gets mentally tortured by Lex -- while Lois gets beat up for continuing to run around with superheroes.

(S06E02) Second show and already here we go with the gimmicks. Clark gets a cold -- a super-powered cold, but nevertheless ...

I know a lot a viewers were disappointed when Zod's conquest of Earth was thwarted in only one episode. I rather, prefer Lex to be Lex, but it's tough to buy the world returning to normal so soon -- even though Kal-el is spending his nights surreptitiously cleaning up Metropolis after "Dark Thursday." It's too soon for me to get excited over a comic relief episode filled with Kryptonian super-sneezes. Clark's fourth-wall-breaking quip to Chloe about putting the world in jeopardy "on an annual basis," was kind of cute though.

In unintentional humor: Lex is kidnapped by a black-ops duo using massively corny walkie-talkie code: the bear is hibernating. Over.

Remember that Aquaman pilot for The CW that was rejected, then revived as a mid-season replacement? Well, forget about it again. It's not coming back at all.

But there's good news for Justin Hartley, the guy who played the ocean-dwelling superhero in the pilot: he's going on another superhero show on The CW. Hartley will play The Green Arrow on at least seven episodes of Smallville. Sounds like a meaty part and a good one. The Green Arrow is trying to form the Justice League and wants Clark to join.