A preview of the upcoming January 15th episode of Smallville has hit the Interwebs. Viewers get to see what the Legion of Super Heroes look like in their first ever live-action incarnation as well as LSH nemesis The Persuader (he's the guy with the mask covering his whole head and the axe).

I have been amazed at how Smallville has reimagined itself with the departures of Lex and Lana (although given the guest appearance by Kristen Kreuk and the back-of-the-head bald man that is presumably Lex, they didn't stay away for long). Hopefully the series will know when to leave with good grace rather the milking the dead cow.

The episode is penned by DC Comics writer Geoff Johns, so my guess is the characters will probably be consistent with the comic book version (or at least a variation that is acceptable to comic book fans). Will it be good? That's another question.

Judge for yourself. Video is after the jump.

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.

Two items of interest this week...

Warner Brothers Animation is confirming that this will be the last season for the Legion of Super Heroes, as production has halted for the Kids WB! series. There will be three more episodes of the series, with two of them being part of the series finale that will air sometime later this year. Replacing this series, on someplace other than Kids WB!, which ends its run this season, will be a new program entitled Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Whether this show will replace the current The Batman series, or where this show will air, has yet to be determined.