Mon Sep 1, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger

'Smallville' Season 8 Preview

Maxima, Doomsday, the Legion and More

Kristin Dos Santos at E!online provided fans of Smallville with a ton of information regarding the eight and final season of the CW series.  It returns to the air in September and leaves the farm community further behind as the action seems to be concentrated more and more on the Daily Planet in nearby Metropolis.

Darren Swimmer, one of the four executive producers trying to replace Alfred Gough and Miles Miller, explained, "[Clark]’s going to be seeking out the trouble, as opposed to reacting to trouble when it happens. One of his main motivations for going to the Daily Planet was to be somewhere where the information comes in."

As a result, not only does Clark now work at the DP, but Lois Lane (Erica Durance) and Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore) continue their employment.  In a nice twist, it’s Jimmy, not Lois, who starts to suspect Clark may be more powerful than a locomotive.  It’s his snooping around that makes Clark start to consider the need for a secret identity.

Lois and Clark meantime begin to see each other in a new light, as a maturing Clark recognizes it may be time to put his romance with Lana Lang behind him. "Erica Durance and Tom have such a great chemistry on camera together as Lois and Clark,” Swimmer noted. “I just love seeing the dailies. They're going to be butting heads a lot, as usual. They'll be teaming up on stories and getting into the typical hijinks together."
 

Of course, that’s about the time Kristin Kreuk makes her scheduled return and she will be seen in a five episode arc around mid-season.

It won’t entirely be a soap opera as threads are wrapped up but with Lex Luthor gone missing, Tess (Cassidy Freeman) a Luthercorp employee will take over the antagonist role until sparks fly between her and Clark towards the final third of the season.

Maxima (Charlotte Sullivan) and Doomsday (Samuel Witwer) are being repurposed form the comics for the television series.  In a surprise, Swimmer also made mention of Darkseid possibly rearing his cosmic head. "Maxima is the intergalactic goddess who needs to mate, and humans just don't fill the bill. The way that we portray her, one of her powers is skill at making herself irresistible to the men who come upon her—and Clark will not be immune to that. There's going to be one episode, but we're hoping to do more than one," Swimmer noted.

As for other elements from the DC Universe being introduced, Swimmer confirms that Laura Vandervoort’s Supergirl will be back for a one-episode wrap-up. And as has been mentioned elsewhere, Geoff Johns will be introducing Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy (although Swimmer says the names may not be used)  in an adaptation of the classic Legion of Super-Heroes story from Adventure Comics #247.

Justin Hartley will also be back as Green Arrow for an episode or two.

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