Smallville season 1 included an Easter egg that hinted at Lex Luthor murdering the Justice League. In the freshman season of the Superman prequel series, the Justice League of America was a long way off from crossing paths with Clark. In the first three seasons of the show, Clark was Smallville’s only DC superhero.
A glimpse into the future in a season 1 episode not only hinted at the existence of the Justice League in Smallville’s world, but also suggested that Lex Luthor would one day kill them. In “Hourglass”, Lex met Cassandra Carver, a blind old woman who had the ability to see a person’s future by touching them. When looking at Lex’s future, she saw him as the President of the United States amid an ominous backdrop filled with dead bodies. Spotted behind him were what appeared to be the corpses and costumes of four Justice League members from DC Comics. The Easter eggs served as a hint that Lex would one day be the end of these heroes (if not the entire team).
Smallville Season 1’s Dead Justice League Heroes Explained
The Lex Luthor scene in “Hourglass” seemingly featured a handful of well-known characters from the comics. The easiest to identify was Batman, as his iconic mask was included in the pile of bodies. Also visible in the shot was a skeleton wearing a tiara and bracelets, which implied that Wonder Woman was among the casualties. A skull that resembled Martian Manhunter and what looked to be the Green Lantern’s ring were present as well. The prospect of Lex somehow engineering the deaths of Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Batman, Martian Manhunter, and possibly others goes to show just how dangerous he has the potential to be in the Smallville universe.
JLA Superheroes Missing From Smallville
Interestingly, the Easter eggs in “Hourglass” represent the three most important DC superheroes never used in Smallville’s ten-season run. The series eventually found room for Aquaman, Green Arrow, the Flash (albeit a lesser-known version of the character), Hawkman, and Black Canary, but never did introduce Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, or Batman. It did, however, make Martian Manhunter a major recurring character in the second half of the series. He even became a late addition to the Justice League team that Green Arrow formed. As for the other three, they didn’t meet Clark until the Smallville Season 11 comic, which is considered canon with the show.
“Hourglass” stands out as one of the only times that Smallville actually made allusions to Green Lantern, Batman, and Wonder Woman. The existence of Alan Scott’s Green Lantern in Smallville’s history was confirmed in season 9’s two-hour Justice Society special, and a comment from Chloe in season 10 hinted at her meeting Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince during her offscreen travels. Wonder Woman was referenced on a few other occasions as well. But while all three were ultimately denied team-ups with Tom Welling’s Superman, Smallville was still able to create a deep and diverse roster of DC superheroes for its take on the Justice League.
