For fans eagerly looking forward to seeing the Justice Society of America in Stargirl, The WB's Smallville may provide a refresher. The JSA made their first live-action appearance in the Season 9 Episode, "Absolute Justice." This episode not only introduced this iconic team but it laid the groundwork for the Arrowverse, and expertly showed the dynamic that will be key to Stargirl's success.

In "Absolute Justice," Chloe Sullivan meets up with Sylvester Pemberton (Star-Spangled Kid). Pemberton tries to make contact with her, but he is abruptly killed by the villain Icicle who has a vendetta against the elderly hero. Chloe and Clark soon begin an investigation surrounding Pemberton's death where they encounter Carter Hall (Hawkman), Kent Nelson (Dr. Fate) and Courtney Whitmore (Stargirl), respectively. The evidence the team gathers leads them to believe that Pemberton was part of a criminal group of metahumans, but this assertion is false as learns Clark when he visits the JSA's brownstone and sees the truth for himself.

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Hawkman on Smallville

Pemberton was, in fact, a superhero part of the JSA, a team led by Carter Hall. The group was forced to disband after a government agency demanded the team to work for them and unveil their secret identities. The JSA refused, and the agency discovered their identities and had them arrested by the police on false charges. The team was eventually released, but the whole fiasco ruined their personal lives. Later, in a battle with Icicle's father, Carter's wife Shayera (Hawkgirl) died, and a vengeful Carter puts the villain into a vegetative state. Shortly after that, the team disbanded.

With a killer on the loose, the JSA is once again called to action, but they have a hard time trusting in Watchtower and this so-called new generation of heroes. From the jump, the JSA, despite their personal issues, acted as a family that had each other's backs, while Watchtower was a dysfunctional group. Courtney even lampshades this to Chloe when comparing each other's headquarters. The JSA brownstone was like a second home to the members, a quaint place full of memorabilia and portraits. The Watchtower HQ, on the other hand, looked like a nuclear war room with individuals who only meet up whenever there's trouble.

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The teams are paired off with each other to hunt down Icicle and this leads to a lot of interesting drama. Green Arrow and Hawkman don't like each other initially, with their first meeting ending up with one of them being thrown through a window. Yet, the two are able to come together after sharing their past with one another. Carter has experienced the loss of his wife countless times before, and he's able to cut through Oliver's facade and make him realizes what's truly important in his life. Clark's meetings with Dr. Fate reveal further things about himself, including learning more about his future from Fate and the destiny he'll have as Superman.

Later in the episode, Icicle appears to kill J'onn J'onnz's (Martian Manhunter), but Fate sacrifices himself to save him thus restoring the Martians' powers in the process. From there, the teams finally unite, defeats the would-be villain and avenges the deaths of Pemberton, Nelson, and Wesley Dodds (Sandman). A reinvigorated Carter Hall sees promise in Clark's team and promises to seek out the children and protégés of the remaining JSA to mentor this new generation of heroes.

RELATED: Stargirl's Original Superhero Team Is Older Than the JSA

Crisis Stargirl Justice Society

"Absolute Justice" laid the template to what would follow in the Arrowverse, but sadly the potential was never fully realized in Smallville itself. Smallville was a show that had long passed its peak and was a slough to get through on Friday nights. While the series could still deliver good episodes, many of its principal cast like Michael Rosenbaum had already left the show at this point. "Absolute Justicebriefly revived interest in Smallville despite an episode with pacing issues and a weak villain. If the show had seemingly lived up to potential set out in this episode, there may have been a Smallvilleverse instead of an Arrowverse.

However, what this episode does for Stargirl is showcase the dynamic that will be key to the show's success. What the DC Universe series will do is pull an older generation of heroes into mentoring an unconventional group of newbies. This theme will be extremely important for Courtney Whitmore and her journey from fledgling hero to an established figure in the superhero community.

DC Universe's Stargirl stars Brec Bassinger as Courtney Whitmore (Stargirl), Joel McHale as Sylvester Pemberton (Starman), Brian Stapf as Ted Grant (Wildcat), Lou Ferrigno Jr. as Rex Tyler (Hourman) and Meg DeLacy as Cindy Burman. The series will premiere Monday, May 18 on DC Universe and Tuesday, May 19 on The CW.

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