The premiere date of the new Smallville episode is almost here, and it's not just the fans who are excited; the writers are too.  Wizard Magazine recently talked to Geoff Johns about his scripting stint on the show, and he had quite a lot to rave about.  To be released on January 15, season 8's “Legion” will be featuring the Legion of Super Heroes come alive from the comic books to the small screen.  Of course, it's simply a writer's dream come true.

“Smallville was the Ultimate Universe before the Ultimate Universe existed,” Geoff Johns began.  He had nothing but good words for the series, but was equally enthusiastic about the upcoming episode, “Legion.”  Die-hard fans of the comics would surely enjoy Smallville's return, and Johns explains why.

“If you're a real, real Legion nut, you'll probably see far more than anybody else will,” he said.  “There's a lot of stuff in there.  They mention Polar Boy's planet Tharr.  There's probably more fanboy stuff in this episode than a whole season of Smallville.”

“I thought, 'I wonder why they haven't done the Legion?  There's so much you could do with it,” Johns added.  Now that he's been given the opportunity to work with the LSH storyline, he jumped at the chance without hesitation. 

“The Legion are alien immigrants to Earth, and they have all come together because of Clark; it's made their future possible.  Clark should know that his alien side isn't just about powers.  It also comes with a greater responsibility and it provides a greater inspiration and it builds a bridge for Earth to the rest of the universe, and that's really what the Legion embodies.” 

“The Legionnaires acting as fanboys coming back in time and looking at Clark and going, 'Well this isn't exactly the dude we read about.'  The idea is Clark hearing about some things he was going to do [in the future] and his influence and inspiration and to come face to face with that.” 

Geoff Johns also came face to face with a spectacle of his own.  He visited the Smallville set while the episode was being shot, saying “I was really, really pumped to be on set, but also reserved.”

“Of course it's going to be a little intimidating no matter what, but everybody up there was freaking amazing, and Glen Winter, the director, was awesome.  I loved working with him.  I remember the first thing Glen said to me: 'Hey, the script's running a little short so we'd like another page-and-a-half scene.'  I immediately came up with a couple of ideas and refined them in my own head, and then after we set up and did the first take, I pitched it to Glen and he really responded to it.  We put it in the script and shot it. It was actually one of my favorite scenes in the show.” 

“It was surreal because I had watched Smallville for so long,” Johns exclaimed. “It was like, 'Hey, check out the Legion's uniforms. How do they look? Check out Persuader. What do you think?' It was really rewarding because everybody was working so hard.”

“I remember the first time a Legionnaire said something.  I was like, 'This is bizarre.  I never thought I'd see a live-action Legion.  This is awesome.”


-Maria Gonzalez, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Mania.com, Wizard Magazine
(Image Courtesy of The CW)