Okay, so I have to admit I don't watch Smallville, though I've seen a couple episodes (i.e. ones with Black Canary in them). But considering the unofficial theme of women in comics that seems to have developed over the past couple days at The Vault, this bit of news caught my eye: Pam Grier has been cast as Amanda Waller for an upcoming arc.
You can read the whole article here on the AOL TV blog, but the part you need to know (not just for this article to make sense but for life in general) is that Pam Grier is the blaxploitation queen behind such in-your-face classics as Coffy and Foxy Brown. As such, she's certainly got the chops to pull off the baddest, most powerful woman in the DC Universe.My first reaction, I have to admit, was a slight bit of puzzlement, since Waller is a rather big boned lady and Pam Grier is a renowned hottie of epic proportions. However, I forgot that this isn't 1974, and in the intervening decades Grier has matured into a full figured, handsome woman.
Not that her resemblance to the character is the most important thing, of course, as Jack Nicholson proved when he played the Joker. No, what's important here is that Grier is probably uniquely suited to the role of Waller due to her acting background and action chops. It's almost a genius enough bit of casting to make me watch the show, especially since she first appears in a multi-part storyline dealing with the Justice Society. Of course, that normally would frighten me as I worried about how badly they were going to botch the JSA, but in light of this casting move, perhaps Smallville is on the right track now.
Because if Pam Grier as Amanda Waller is any indication, things on Smallville are going to get real intense, real quickly. It's about time.
