Tonight marks the event that Smallville fans have been waiting for since last year—the premiere of the two hour Smallville: Absolute Justice episode (The CW, 8pm ET/PT).

In the episode, written by comic veteran Geoff Johns, a man named Sylvester Pemberton tracks down Chloe (Allison Mack) and tells her he knows about her team of superheroes and needs their help. However, before he can explain who he is, he is attacked and killed by Icicle (Wesley Macinnes).

Clark (Tom Welling) and Chloe's investigation leads Clark to the former headquarters of the Justice Society of America where he meets up with Nelson AKA Dr. Fate (Brent Stait), Carter Hall AKA Hawkman (Michael Shanks) and Courtney, aka Star Girl (Britt Irvin). Courtney pleads with Hawkman and Dr. Fate to help her catch the killer that is targeting their group, but they are reluctant to resume their duties as superheroes.

Clark, John Jones (Phil Morris), Green Arrow (Justin Hartley) and Chloe team up to help the JSA stop Icicle before he murders another member of the group. Meanwhile, Lois (Erica Durance) receives a package from a mysterious agency called Checkmate, run by Amanda Waller (Pam Grier).

One of the highlights for fans is sure to be Stargate veteran Michael Shanks' appearance as Hawkman, a role which the actor sees as containing a few trace elements of Watchman.

"Yes, it does have the parallel of danger in it. I understand that," Shanks told SCI FI Wire about his angry and disillusioned Hawkman, which borrows a page from Watchmen's angst. "This guy's a warrior … He's kickass and all business, and it was a really neat departure to be able to do that. It becomes a bit scenery chewy at certain points, but those characters are a lot of fun to play, and this guy was because he was such a vast departure. It was a lot of fun for me to sink my teeth into."

Hawkman's departure from his role as Daniel Jackson on Stargate was only one reason Shanks decided to take the part, according to the actor. "I'm getting to that age where I didn't think too many offers were going to come my way to be playing any superhero characters anytime in the near future," Shanks conceded in the interview. "My eldest daughter is getting where she appreciates that kind of stuff, and I thought it would be a hoot to give that to them. It turns out my younger ones seemed to appreciate it more than my older one does. It is one of those rare opportunities that you get, so I thought I'd jump at it."

Shanks goes on to talk about the perils of using practical wings and wearing a wiring harness, aspects which initially left him feeling a bit trepidatious. As CGI wings would have cost $30,000 (beyond the production's budget), practical wings were used instead. "We had to do practical wings, and that required a flying harness for the wire work … So this is what we had to work with and I was the man and that's what I'd signed up for. It was not always the most comfortable of circumstances, but my chief objective in all of it was to try to make sure the character was endowed with the dignity and reverence I felt was necessary to pull him off, to make sure he didn't look goofy or awkward."

To read the complete interview, click here.

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