Are you itching to know more about tonight’s two-hour movie event “Smallville: Absolute Justice”? Maybe this will keep you from climbing the walls… or perhaps this will stimulate you to create that time machine you’ve always wanted. Here are excerpts from an interview with comic book writer and writer of “Absolute Justice”, Geoff Johns:
Q: Everyone is describing this as sort of a standalone storyline. But is this really the beginning of the Clark/Superman that we all know?
Johns: Yeah, I mean, he’s continuing to grow into that and this is a massive step in that direction. I think seeing a group like this, and seeing costumes and seeing the good they did, and seeing the good they want to do again continue to push him in the right direction. He’s ready. All he has to do is make the choice. And the choice is hard. Clark has to make the choice, in my eyes, to go public. And to become that inspirational figure and to lead by example. And the moment he does that, it will change everything. But that requires sacrifice, and he has so many personal connections. Those will have to be forfeit somewhat. It’s a struggle for him, but he’s certainly capable. He’s certainly smart enough and strong enough and experienced enough to do it.
Q: How did you make the decision about who we were going to see from the JSA, and who we were going to get hints about? Michael Shanks indicated that almost everyone’s story will be hinted at.
Johns: It was pretty interesting. We sat down and we talked about the JSA, and as soon as Hawkman came up, he was definitely someone that Brian (Kelly) had wanted to explore in Smallville. He always liked the visual of the character. This warrior with wings. ‘Conan with Wings’ he calls him. And then I really wanted Stargirl (Britt Irvin) in it, and I love Hawkman, so that was pretty easy.
Then there was some discussion about who would be that third character, because there was going to be three. We knew we wanted three of them. Who would be that third character? And there was…Wildcat came up. There were a lot of other characters we talked about. Who could fit that role? But ultimately we landed on Dr. Fate, who I really like, and I had an idea for him that I thought it would be fun to explore, and a take on him that was slightly different from the comic books. But that gold helmet that he wears is so visually iconic and so, I think, menacing and interesting that it became a bit of a focus for the episode as well. I guess it just kind of grew organically talking about the various characters. But that’s not to say you don’t see others. Sandman makes an appearance, as does the original Star-Spangled Kid.
Q: Twitter explodes when you mention “Absolute Justice” and everyone wanted to know which characters come in contact with Doctor Fate. Whose fate do we see?
Johns: Well, he has a conversation with Lois Lane, with Clark (Tom Welling), with Martian Manhunter (Phil Morris) and with Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack). So just about everybody! [laughs]
(Above: Doctor Fate and Stargirl)
Q: How was it seeing Stargirl come to life, and were you involved in the casting at all?
Johns: Yeah, I was involved in the casting, but really that was Brian (Peterson) and Kelly (Souders) leading the way. They’d bring me in and show me who they were thinking of and what was it like…they were really terrific about including me on every decision from production design to the production meetings. It was…they don’t have to do that. Brian and Kelly care so much because, most freelance writers, you can ask anybody in the business…they go in, they do their show and they break their episode and then they’re shunted off and they’re rewritten, and they see the episode when it comes on TV. Brian and Kelly brought me in with the whole staff, who are all a lot of fun, and broke the episode. I wrote the episode, they gave me notes and we worked together. I wrote every word in it. They’re very respectful about that. They brought me in for all the production design, they showed me all the effects, the rough cuts, everything. Every step of the way, they included me. And that’s why I came back. Because they’re so much fun to work with. I get offers to do TV, I get offers to do all sorts of stuff, but I’m very particular because I love comic books so much and the DC Universe, and I want to work in that world. But when an opportunity like this comes across, that’s why I do it. To work with these kinds of people and these kinds of characters.
Q: I was curious, if there is a Season 10, and I think fans will riot if there isn’t, are you interested in coming back and writing another episode?
Johns: All they have to do is ask. I’ll be there in two seconds. The cast and the crew and everybody in Vancouver and the writing staff and writing team down here are so fantastic, there’s no choice but to say yes. I’d be an idiot not to jump onto that as soon as possible. Plus, it’s fun to bring another…like, what other character, what other team can I bring to live action? Do we try to do…can we have guest stars? For me, that’s what the fun is. Working on a show I like and then finding a character that nobody knows, or a team that nobody knows and then introducing them to a new audience.
Q: Would you write an episode with Jeph Loeb?
Johns: [laughs] With Jeph Loeb?
Q: Yeah!
Johns: Ha! I don’t know. I love Jeph. He’s a great friend of mine. It would all depend on what that episode was.
Q: Lots of fans would have heart attacks if they heard that was happening!
Johns: Yeah, I never even considered it, but he’s a very close friend of mine…I don’t know what episode we’d do. It would be expensive. [laughs]
Q: For hardcore fans… we could tell from the trailers that there would be plenty of Easter Eggs. I’m wondering if there are particular favorites of yours and little things that fans should keep their eyes out for…when they’re watching this a second time on their DVRs.
Johns: They have to watch it again. There’s no way you’ll catch everything. I put everything in there, and I didn’t even catch it the first time I saw it. There is so much stuff in there. And the cool thing is, it’s not gratuitous. It’s not just a nod to have a nod. It actually helps flesh out the world and the universe and give a sense of history and add an elegance to the Justice Society of America. And a sense of loss, what they were and what they are now. It’s really…every nod is very character-driven and story-driven. It’s not just there to shove in more. It’s not a comic collection thrown on screen. What it is, is that universe realized. So when you have that universe realized, the details matter.
Q: Is there a particular favorite that you have?
Johns: Jay Garrick’s helmet looks pretty damn cool in that museum. But that museum is probably the best…for Easter Eggs it’s probably the best Easter Egg there is. I love the sound behind Doctor Fate because in the comic books I’ve always…when I wrote Dr. Fate in JSA, I always envisioned that gold helmet as something magical and not just another…you don’t just put it on…there’s magical properties to it and it would whisper. It has this magical entity within it that would whisper to the person who was wearing it. It’s kind of disturbing to stand around Dr. Fate. Doctor Fate would be a character that you’re not really comfortable around. But in the comics that’s really hard to get across. So doing it live action, and having the sound team kick ass together and whip it into shape and give Dr. Fate this presence, and the effects on top of that, that was just outstanding. Doctor Fate himself just visually becomes my favorite character to see realized. He’s a giant Easter Egg for me. Plus everything he sees. He sees peoples’ futures, so there’s cool things in there. He becomes kind of a catch all for the Easter Eggs.
Q: You talk about bringing some characters that the general public might not know about and getting them interested in comics. Hardcore comic fans know all the different story lines and incarnations, but it can be confusing for newcomers. For the new fans who see this and say, ‘I want to know more about Doctor Fate and Hawkman,’ where would you recommend they start?
Johns: Well if you want to know more about Hawkman, any Hawkman trade paperback on Amazon.com or in a bookstore, Justice Society of America, The Next Age is the first volume that myself and Dale Eaglesham did when we relaunched JSA, and that’s a really good starting place for the team itself. For Stargirl, there’s Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. trades that are…Volumes 1 & 2 that collect her entire series that she had. That was the first thing I ever wrote in comics. And Dr. Fate…there’s a Steve Gerber trade out. Steve Gerber was a very famous comic book writer…a great Doctor Fate trade that he did that reintroduces the character for the modern age. It’s the descendent of the original Dr. Fate, Kent Nelson who reclaims the mantle of Fate, that’s out there too. So all these characters have their own individual adventures and they’re all in the JSA.
Q: Is there a DC property that hasn’t been done yet that you’d like to see on film?
Johns: As a major film? Well they’re doing Green Lantern now, which is at the top of my list…but Flash is my favorite character, period. So I’d love to see The Flash finally make the leap. And I’d love to see a Wonder Woman movie. That would be amazing. She’s the most popular female superhero, and people know her. Everybody knows who Wonder Woman is. I’d love to see it as a feature film. I’d love to see Wonder Woman on the screen again.
Q: What was it like having Tom Welling direct?
Johns: First off, it’s an honor, because Tom has been the main driving force of the show forever. It was great. He’s a really incredibly smart guy. An incredibly talented guy. I’ve said elsewhere, he embraced this stuff head on. A lot of people will turn away from the source material or turn away from the concept, because they get frightened of comic books. Because they don’t know the world. Tom jumped right in and grabbed it and really went for it. And I couldn’t be more grateful or pleased with it.
Q: Finally, you mentioned that you ordered a case of peanut butter Kit Kats on Twitter…what’s the status on that?
Johns: [laughs] They are en route. I’m kind of a candy junkie and I like the stuff you can’t find anywhere. I don’t know. Kit Kats are my favorite. Good writing food for those late 2 am nights.
For the complete IGN interview with Geoff Johns, click here.
Trailer: Smallville: Absolute Justice
The “Smallville: Absolute Justice” two-hour movie event airs tonight, Friday, February 5th at 8/7 C on the CW.
[Source] IGN
