The CW’s pilot Arrow, based on DC property The Green Arrow, just released the first image of star Stephen Amell (Private Practice) as the titular character. The suit was designed by three-time Oscar-winning costume designer and frequent Tim Burton collaborator who most recently worked on Snow White and the Huntsman, Colleen Atwood.

The project centers on former billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Amell) who, after being marooned for five years on a remote island, returns with a mysterious agenda and a lethal set of new skills that he uses in a war on crime.

David Nutter, who headed up the pilot for the Superman-themed series Smallville, will also be directing Arrow. “When I directed the pilot for Smallville, I knew that making Clark Kent relate-able would be the key to audiences believing in him as a hero,” Nutter said. “Arrow is a different show — darker and harder-edged — but it’s the same core idea. We’re creating a real, believable world in which Oliver Queen can do incredible things. Colleen Atwood’s great work on the Arrow costume reflects that effort.”

Following in the fine tradition of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and comic bok adaptations of other great shows like Battlestar Galactica and more, the CW’s television series Smallville will also live on. That’s right Smallville fans, your favorite show will live on in the form of a new comic book series from DC.

According to DC, the new comic will pick up where the TV series ended and continue the adventures of a young Clark Kent as he comes to grips with being the greatest superhero of all time: The Man of Steel.

Here’s all the scoop on Smallville Season 11 directly from DC:

Written by former Smallville show scribe Bryan Q. Miller, the new digital first series will be published digitally on April 13, 2012, with new digital chapters released weekly thereafter. Additionally, the online chapters will be offered in a print periodical, along with an episode guide to the hit television series, with the first print issue released on May 16.

The new comic book series picks-up where the show left off (with Clark officially now as Superman!) and features other fan-favorite characters including Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Chloe Sullivan-Queen, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and General Lane. The book features an all-star creative team – in addition to Miller, SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 creators include print cover artist Gary Frank (SUPERMAN SECRET ORIGIN), digital cover artist Cat Staggs and interiors by Pere Perez (BATGIRL).

“I work hard at my job, Inspector. I won’t stop trying to expose the corruption of Metropolis. If that makes me an outside or a freak, I’m fine with that.”  – Clark Kent, Action Comics #3

It’s month three of the New 52 Superman. No longer is he an ultra-powerful god that worries about being lonely. Now, he is a social crusader that can leap tall buildings and wears jeans. Did writer Grant Morrison continue the forward momentum and the fresh take on the character that made the first issue so successful? The short answer is yes, and the longer answer is that he did it in a way that I did not expect.

The issue begins with a flashback to the destruction of Krypton, beautifully illustrated by guest artist Gene Ha. Ha handles all the art on the Krypton sequences while series artist Rags Morales continues art on the rest of the issue. While the re-designs of Superman’s doomed planet are great, I was really bored with this sequence. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited by the new inclusion of Brainiac into the destruction of Krypton. (Something that was done first by Bruce Timm’s Superman: The Animated Series over ten years ago).

Parts of these pages have been seen over and over again by anyone that has ever read a Superman comic. Grant Morrison, himself, skipped over Krypton’s destruction by only letting it have two panels in his Superman epic All-Star Superman. In that book, he simply wrote, “Desperate scientists, doomed planet,” and that was all we needed to know. Thankfully, the book doesn’t dwell on Krypton for too long, and focuses on what makes this book excellent.

Superman makes only one tiny appearance in this book. Then who is the star, you might ask. Let me tell you. It’s Clark Kent, and Clark Kent is awesome in this book. No longer the meek, clumsy, nerd he was in the Christopher Reeve movies. This Clark Kent writes articles about corruption in every aspect of society: the police, businesses, and politicians.

He angers people with his articles, and gets beat up for it regularly. The police even search his apartment to get him to stop writing! This is a Clark Kent that matters. His articles and words fight for justice just as hard as Superman does.

If one year ago you told me that DC Comics would take Superman back to his roots in the 1930’s and it would turn out to be the most modern and relevant take on the character, I would have called you crazy. But that is exactly what Grant Morrison has done to the character of Superman, and this comic is refreshing, exciting, and meaningful.

Action Comics #2 begins shortly after the end of last issue. The government has captured the being known as Superman, and under a task force led by Lex Luthor, they are experimenting and testing his powers. This is a Superman that can bleed; he is not the all-powerful god that he will become later. Superman breaks free, holds Luthor in a choke hold, and gets to meet Lois Lane for the first time.

Each and every beat of this book has a joy and energy that a Superman story hasn’t had in a long time. The issue ends with the readers discovering the true being that Luthor is working for. (Hint: It’s a classic Superman villain that has teamed with Luthor before.)

Part of the reason that this book works is the pure essence of motion instilled into every panel by Rags Morales. Last issue, his art came off as rushed. Well, Mr. Morales must have had a chance to catch up, because the art on this issue is fantastic. His Superman is always moving, has a smile on his face, and shows power in every shot.

You will believe that man can fly, no wait, run really fast.

More so than any of the other DC Comics #1’s, including Justice League #1, Action Comics #1 is the flagship book of DC. Superheroes were created in the original Action Comics #1 way back in June of 1939.

The editors of DC Comics must have realized this as well so they gave the job of reinventing their original book and superhero to Grant Morrison, superstar comic writer and creator of one of  the best Superman stories of all time known as All Star Superman. So how is Action Comics #1? Well, it can be summed up in one simple sentence.

Welcome back, Superman.

Action Comics #1 is a refreshing, brand new take on the character of Superman. By going back to the roots of Superman, in his humble beginnings in 1939, Grant Morrison has created a Superman that is more modern and relevant than ever.

The issue begins with a young Superman. He can’t fly, but he can run real fast and leap buildings in a single bound. His costume is nothing but a t-shirt, a cape, and a pair of jeans. Superman grabs a CEO of a company that mistreated his workers, bribed city officials, and used illegal cheap labor.

Since we first started getting casting news about Zack Snyder’s upcoming reboot/sequel to the Superman franchise titled Man of Steel, questions have been flying in from every direction about what the possible story could be.

With names like Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Keaton, and Russell Crowe tying up the cast, we could only imagine how these A-listers would make their way into the film. The official synopsis has made its way onto the web, so maybe this will clear things up:

In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time. Clark Kent/Kal-El (Henry Cavill) is a young twentysomething journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond anyone’s imagination. Transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, Clark struggles with the ultimate question – Why am I here?

It’s a bittersweet Friday afternoon as we approach the time when the Smallville series finale hits the air. However, even if the series is ending, that doesn’t mean we’re out of time to bring you a preview for tonight’s episode.

This time around, the sneak peeks come in the form of a new promotional image for tonight’s two-hour episode (seen at right), and a video teaser featuring producer Brian Peterson who tells it like it is.

As you can see in the pic it looks like Clark and Lois are actually going to tie the knot after all. Or, are they?  If only things go as expected. I would bet Lex Luthor might have something to say about it.

Plus, its not a secret that Clark and Lois do get married in the comics, so perhaps Lois will get her dream wedding after all. Whatever happens, we’ll find out in just a few hours.

In the meantime, check out the video after the jump. The Smallville series finale airs tonight at 8/7C on The CW.

In case you’ve not been paying attention recently, the ten year run of Smallville is coming to an end next Friday with a two hour blockbuster finale. As much of a bummer as this is for fans of the show, it turns out the cast, led by Tom Welling, is pretty broken up about it too.

Welling, who plays Clark Kent on the show, spoke to Zap2it about the end of Smallville and dropped some clues about what to expect as the series finishes its run.

“I think people will feel fulfilled, but it’s going to be bittersweet,” he said. “If someone has been watching the show for 10 years, it’s coming to an end, and that’s never a fun thing . . .You always want more, but the reality is that it can’t go on forever.”

You do always want more. That’s for sure. Welling went on to explain that they ended up filming the finale in a rather different way than other series.

“We shot the actual finale as our third-to-last episode,” he said. “We shot two more episodes, then shot the first part of the finale last. It gave us the opportunity to take a look at what would be the last image of the show in post-production and make any changes or adaptations to it. It didn’t necessarily take the emotional pressure off us, but the time pressure.”

Speaking about filming the very end, he said, “As we were shooting it, everyone’s senses were heightened. People were flying up from L.A. [to Vancouver, where the show has been made] to supervise and make sure everyone who had to make a decision was there. Everybody was just really excited, and the energy level went up.”

We’ve heard names like Kevin Costner for Jonathan Kent and Viggo Mortensen for General Zod being thrown around for Zack Snyder’s upcoming reboot of the Superman franchise, but they are not for sure yet. However, we do officially have another name to add to the cast alongside Henry Cavill as the title character. That name? Diane Lane, who is now set to play Clark Kent’s mom, Martha Kent.

The news was broken by THR late yesterday.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures said late Wednesday that the actress is set as “the only mother Clark Kent has ever known.”

“This was a very important piece of casting for me because Martha Kent is the woman whose values helped shape the man we know as Superman,” Snyder said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have Diane in the role because she can convey the wisdom and the wonder of a woman whose son has powers beyond her imagination.”

Considering names like Phyllis Thaxter, K Callan, and Eva Marie Saint have played the character in the past, we’re expecting Snyder to take a drastic turn with Martha, as Lane is only 56. Lane is the second name to be cast in the film, after word came in earlier this year that The Tudors star Henry Cavill was to take the lead as the Man of Steel.

Snyder, who’s normally known for casting relative unknowns who pull off amazing performances, seems to be taking to the higher-profile names for this film. Could it be pressure from WB to compete with Nolan’s all-star supporting cast of Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman for the Batman films?

We’re hoping to get some solid casting announcements in the coming weeks that will prove that theory.

With the last season of Smallville swiftly moving along, The Flickcast decided to talk to one of the most convoluted characters to reside in the sleepy town, Tess Mercer. She’s been a good girl, bad girl, and somewhere in between- so in essence a real woman.

Popping on the scene as the mysterious heir and CEO to LuthorCorp in Season 8, she’s since been through many tenuous trials. She’s fought to save humanity, albeit killing a few in her way.

She’s survived multiple deaths, multiple kryptonite-fueled personalities of Clark Kent, and multiple conspiracies. The best is yet to come.

The Flickcast: You were first cast in Season 8 of Smallville, did you think the show would continue for many more seasons?

Cassidy Freeman: I thought this was a one year job. I mean they signed me on for three, so they had me if they wanted me for three. But I was told maybe a year and every year we get renewed. It’s almost like a roller coaster ride of a path. I feel like the end of this series has had such strength to it.

I mean, I’ve watched it all in wanting to get familiar with the show and I’m not saying that just because I’m in it, but I think that they’ve taken some chances and we’re more grown-up and I really, really enjoy being in it and watching it.

TF: Tess Mercer’s walked as much on the side of light as that of dark. What are your thoughts on playing this complex character?

With the last season of Smallville off to a rollicking good start, we snatched up the chance to sit down with Smallville long-time executive producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson. While they were a touch shy about spilling the Kryptonite on this season’s surprises, we never-the-less used our super strength to investigate the return of former cast members and historic episode 200 (set to air October 15th).

It seems this season will be strewn with super heroes and villains from across the galaxy.  Giving Kal-El a run for his money, Laura Vandervoort returns in brilliant blue and red style as Supergirl in episode 3, airing October 8th.

The Flickcast: Can you tell us about any plans to bring back favorite cast members from past seasons?

Brian Peterson: Having Annette O’Toole back as Martha Kent and Michael McKean as Perry White- we worked all season to get that to happen. It was fantastic, they were so great, it was such a great episode.

We’d like to, it’s hard because all of these actors, it’s not always up to us, like they have TV shows and careers and theater. You know Glover, we would love to have John Glover back and that man is on Broadway from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.

So, that’s our goal, absolutely, to try to get people like Perry, and Martha Kent, and Lionel Luther back, or at least maybe an appearance.

FC: Last season, Smallville‘s epic episode entitled, “Absolute Justice”, featured the monumental members of the Justice Society. Any talk of a Justice Society spin-off series? Will any members of the Justice Society be making future appearances this season?

BP: I know people are so excited about that and right now, to my knowledge, there are not (spin-off series). I think there’s always opportunities.

But as far as episodes, we’re definitely going to have some of the Justice Leaguers and Justice Society people back in the show for sure (check out episode 2). But as far as a spin-off, I wish that was something I could see into the future and know, but I don’t know.

With the new season of Smallville fast approaching this Friday on the CW, The Flickcast took the opportunity to sit down with Justin Hartley, aka the Green Arrow. He was laid-back, insightful, and of course easy on the eyes.

DC Comic’s Green Arrow has made headlines recently for taking care of bad guys anti-hero style. Smallville‘s Oliver Queen is no different, albeit he had a certain explosive panache when he nixed Lex Luthor. The perceptive and pensive Justin Hartley had much to say about his character’s path towards enlightenment this season.

The Flickcast: What excites you the most about getting the green light another, final season?

Justin Hartley: The final season, we’re excited. I think I speak for everyone when I say that. The cool thing about this year, and I’m sure you’ve heard this before, is that there’s all these…little tidbits that haven’t quite been sewn up yet.

It’s interesting because usually they go, “Well we’re going to tie it up next year or at the end of it,” and they plan on tying it up whenever. But it’s like go-time so they kind of have to tie it up now. So hopefully we’ll get, maybe even one of those (questions answered) every episode. They’re doing it the right way.

It’s really cool, especially for all those people who have been watching the show for a long time, that we did find out that we had a final season and then we’re going to shoot it. Instead of at the end of nine finding out that there is no final season. So we have the opportunity to do that- which is pretty awesome.