From Aquaman to Green Arrow

This Sunday’s Comics Fan column is about the upcoming sixth season of “Smallville,” with comments from executive producer and co-creator Alfred Gough.

I also asked Gough about “Mercy Reef,” which would have featured a young Aquaman, just as “Smallville” features Tom Welling as the Superman-to-be. A pilot was made; it didn’t survive the merger of The WB and UPN into the new CW network, but it did become a much-downloaded show on iTunes.

“The great thing for us though is it’s now become a hit on iTunes and the show’s getting its day in court with the fans, and the fans seem to be really responding to it,” Gough said. “We think it would have been a terrific series, but larger forces than us were at play.”

Justin Hartley, the star, isn’t out of a job, though. He’s playing another DC hero, Green Arrow, on several episodes of “Smallville.”