The DC universe continues to invade Smallville...

"Patriot"

You know that old saying, “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer”? This week, we find out why you should follow such a rule. In the wake of the passing of the Vigilante Registration Act, an offshore government facility is bombed. All evidence points to Arthur Curry, Smallville’s own Aquaman. Clark thinks it’s time to come out of the shadows and register, to prove that the vigilantes are good, law-abiding citizens who have nothing but the best of intentions. Oliver talks him out of it, and offers to register himself as he’s already outed. Clark agrees, and decides to go to Florida to see what A.C. has been up to.

Lois, on the other hand, has been feeling less than special, as Clark keeps pushing her away from the hero work. He can’t help it, as he is a little over-protective, but she feels like he’s keeping her out of the loop, especially when Oliver tells her that he talked Clark out of registering. She wants to know why there are things that he can discuss with “the guys”, but not with her. She also tries to talk him out of registering, especially after her interview with General Slade Wilson, who is in charge of getting vigilantes registered, but is also running secret prisons to contain these heroes. She thinks it’s too dangerous, but Oliver is committed to finding out what is in store for heroes that play ball.

After registering, Oliver is taken to a secret facility. Lois panics and flies to Florida to find Clark and inform him. She is met by Mala, A.C.’s wife, who tells her that he is to be the ruler of his people under the sea. She also criticizes Lois for falling for men who are more than the average man. Clark has found out that Oliver’s been taken, and he and A.C. decide to rescue him. Oliver is being tested in strength and endurance to find out how much he can take. But it’s all a façade, as they really want him to help get others wrangled in to sign up. When he refuses, he is taken off to find A.C. has been captured, and is being tortured. Ollie’s knocked out and set up for some good old water boarding (Yay, USA!). Mala saves the two, but Wilson runs off, only to be confronted by Clark.

Clark tells him they don’t have to be enemies, but Wilson won’t hear of it, because he truly believes that vigilantes are deviants who will subvert democracy and take over. Clark uses his x-ray vision to find that Wilson has been “branded” with the Omega symbol, and thinks it has something to do with Darkseid. The facility starts to explode, and Wilson refuses to let Clark help him, because he’d rather die for his country than be saved by one of Clark’s kind.

Back home, Mala and Lois clear up their differences, A.C. and Clark come to an understanding about bombings, and Lois is introduced to Watchtower. Clark informs them all that the darkness is coming, and is most likely responsible for the new outbreaks of fear and hatred that seem to be popping up all over. They need to be prepared, and now Clark has his Lois right by his side to help him.

Overall, a pretty good episode, which I hope continues through the rest of the season. The Smallville writers seem to be convinced that they’re going to include as many DC characters as they can, even if they have to do it in name only (I would have preferred to have Slade more like his comic counterpart, but it worked here). And all I know is, judging by the teaser for next week’s episode (which once again seems to be diving into Elseworlds territory), I think we could be in for a real treat.

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS ARTICLE, PLEASE HELP SUPPORT OUR SITE, AT NO COST WITH ONE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK 'LIKE' BUTTON BELOW: