Technically this episode is a combination of episodes 11 and 12 from the season (originally titled ‘Society’ and ‘Legends’ respectively). Also, this is a first for the series, as the episode title actually has two words and not just one, although likely that will change back in syndication.

Tonight’s story was chock-full-o-comic-book-references. From the very beginning with the appearance of Radu’s to the end mention of the Suicide Squad. It was enough to make any loyal fanboy’s brain explode.

Admittedly, the episode was kind of light on story and ended up having major plot-holes, the least of which being how exactly Hawkman’s helmet stayed on. The beginning of the episode was extremely reminiscent of the ‘Watchmen’ movie, particularly with the newsreel-style clips of the Justice Society. If you imagine a parallel ‘Watchmen’ universe in which Rorschach was actually correct with his “mask killer” theory, then you have tonight’s ‘Smallville’ episode.

And now the nerdy bits, in bullet points:

• Radu’s – a coffee shop that frequently appeared in the Green Lantern comics in the 90’s.
  
• Sylvester Pemberton a.k.a. The Star Spangled Kid. Honorable mention to Stripesy. Did anybody else notice that Courtney was wearing stripes? The Cosmic Rod (unnamed in the episode, probably because of the phallic sound of that title) was patterned on the one used by Jack “Starman” Knight’s.
  
• “This is a job for Clark Kent.”
  
• “Where are the other Super Friends?” Honorable mention of the word “Trouble Alert.”
  
• Courtney attended Blue Valley High School, which was also attended by Wally “The Flash” West.
  
• Even Ma Hunkel made an appearance! Holy crap! The original Red Tornado.
  
• The Star Rocket Racer.
  
• Mentions of Shiera Hall and Inza Kent.
  
• Was the Justice Society painting on the wall done by Alex Ross? It looked like one of his.
  
• The mention of Michael Holt, who became the new Mr. Terrific.
  
• John is wearing a green shirt with red cross-suspenders.
  
• Checkmate! Suicide Squad! Amanda Waller (a.k.a. Pam Grier trying to look fatter than she is)!
  
• Hawkman talking like Batman.
  
• Microsoft Windows! (Okay, maybe not that nerdy, but it’s blatant product placement.)
  
• “Clark and Lois.” “Lois and Clark.”
  
• The red cape! Finally, the red cape!
  

Other thoughts, also in bullet points:

• Why was the whole Justice Society scared of the Icicle? It’s the Icicle! He’s at best second rate and shouldn’t last 20 seconds with Hawkman, much less Doctor Fate. They should have used Vandal Savage or another villain with more menace. The Icicle represents one of the previously mentioned plot holes.
  
• There are at least four items in those cabinets at JSA headquarters that will hopefully be released as collector’s items soon. Bring me the helmet of Fate.
  
• The fight in the beginning that killed the Star Spangled Kid was a great way to save on the special effects budget. We saw it all from the trash bin perspective with Chloe.
  
• What did Fate mean when he said to Chloe “you walk the same path I do”? He died, so does that mean Chloe will suffer an early death?
  
• It’s tough to keep the Watchtower a secret when there’s a big frickin’ hole in the window. Couldn’t they have at least put plastic or something over it?
  

The episode didn’t quite live up to the hype, but it was close enough. After all that foreshadowing, this series better end with Clark putting on the costume; otherwise, there may be nerd riots at The CW. Feel free to mention in the comments if I missed anything of note in this episode, as it was a lot to take in.

Watch ‘Absolute Justice’ Episode Online

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