Forget about the introduction of the DC Superheroes Booster Gold and the Blue Beetle, the main attraction in tonight’s Smallville was Clark Kent (Tom Welling), who was on double duty prepping his coming out party as Superman and becoming more like, well, Clark Kent.
I’ll admit it, my expectations were low for “Booster,” despite knowing that comics legend Geoff Johns was being tapped again to usher in more characters from the DC Universe (Sorry, I’ve been burned too many times by filler followups to excellent episodes, and the promos for Booster following last week’s awesome “Kent” were quite the buzzkill). But all in all, though not my favorite episode, Booster snugly fit in the ‘pleasant surprise’ category. While the Booster Gold and Blue Beetle cameos were well done, John’s focus on Clark’s mental metamorphosis into Superman (and his bumbling alter ego, the glasses-wearing klutz Clark Kent) was the subdued, but more important agenda.
Welling, who also directed this episode, has to be given some serious credit for pulling off that Christopher Reeve-esque performance of the awkward reporter. That scene with Ted Kord where he nervously asked about the Blue Scarab was brilliant, a spot-on depiction of how Clark should be. As good as he was, it’s still a bit of a stretch to think that people that have known Clark for years would be fooled by his new-found clumsiness. But, I digress because they are, though late, capturing the essence of the contrast between Clark’s alter egos.
As for Booster Gold, Eric Martsolf nailed his portrayal, capturing the character’s vain, arrogant ways and handling the transformation to insecure mope effortlessly. He somewhat reminded me of Chris Evans as The Human Torch in Fantastic Four (perhaps the only memorable performance from that film franchise). Booster’s sudden arrival provided just the platform for Clark to see what he did not want to become: a pretentious hero only out for the glory. Though for a second there, it appeared that Clark was a tad bit jealous of Booster, who instantly became the marvel of all of Metropolis.
But that was nixed with Clark’s noble lecture to Booster, right before Jaime (The Blue Beetle) showed up to blast the stage full of Booster Girls:
The suit doesn’t make the hero. a hero’s made in the moment by the choice that he makes. and the reasons he makes them. A hero brings out the best in people.
Besides Clark’s speech being another case of him sticking to his guns, what I did like about it was that it actually worked. He galvanized Booster and inspired him to actually become a legit hero. When Jaime came running through with the Blue Beetle suit, Booster regurgitated what Clark told him, convincing the kid that he himself could be a hero, having faith in who he is. Just like that, Jaime took control of his own mind and disabled the suit. The fact that Clark sat on the sidelines, inspiring another would-be hero to make a stand was a big win in my book.
Loading …There were some other notable moments from tonight:
* We got the iconic phone booth outfit-changing scene, with slow motion for added effect!
* Cat Grant was back and was actually less annoying this time around. She finally came around to believing in The Blur again (after he saved her life). The “S” cookies were a nice touch.
* Lois received her big promotion at the Daily Planet, leaving Clark in the basement by himself, for the time being
* The commercial breaks featured promos for the finale, the best of which featured the return of Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
Overall, Booster, despite being light on action and tangential to the overall Darkseid arc, was an entertaining episode with some important mental milestones for Clark and a great emotional payoff at the end. We’re inching closer to the finale, so hopefully the next batch of episodes keep the awesome moments coming. Next week, Justin Hartley makes his directorial debut with Dominion.
