With twelve episodes under the cape, “Supergirl” has a lot to be proud of. And here, halfway through the first season, it might be good to step back and see how far the series has come.
I started the series with high hopes. Not just for myself — I’m a hardcore DC Comics geek, I would watch it no matter what. But I want it to be a series that my sons enjoy. That my wife would watch. And for the last twelve episodes, we gather together every Monday to watch it as a family. There aren’t many shows we do that for. “Supergirl” is working for all four of us in different ways.
A lot of people (including geeky friends) who watched the first two or three episodes and thought “you know, it’s a bit too weepy, a bit too much domesticity, a bit too much sisterly squabbling.” Some of that has gone by the wayside as the writers have figured out the voices of the characters, the actors have settled in, but also that the character of Kara Danvers (AKA Supergirl) has grown in confidence and in her abilities. I’ve liked Melissa Benoist as Kara from day one, and the series hinges on her–and she’s been great in the role. Playing a combination of hero and nerd and strong and feminine is a thankless task, but she (and the writers and directors) is finding that sweet spot. A balance that makes Kara a hero, but also very human.
Some of the characters who I didn’t like at first (almost everybody BUT Supergirl) have evened out to where I like their characters and their storylines. Callista Flockhart’s Cat Grant — a character who I’ve never liked in the comics and who I didn’t think would work on this series — has become a great character. Funny (in a scathing way), but over the course of the last three episodes also more complex and layered than she ever should have been. Alex Danvers (Kara’s adopted sister and a Department of Extraterrestrial Operations agent) has become more interesting, and the relationship between Alex and Kara has gotten easier to swallow. Alex’s boss Hank Henshaw has had some secrets of his own exposed, and become more exciting and less dickish as a result. I still like Winn Schott, and recent episodes have highlighted his character; James “Jimmy” Olsen is still just bland handsomeness to me. He’s cool. But so cool that he’s irrelevant. He started out as a tenuous link to Superman, and able to tell Kara “this is what your cousin would do”…but he himself isn’t much of a character.
As a lifelong DC Comics fan, I love the roster of villains we’ve seen already in the first half of the first season. It’s reminiscent of the way “The Flash” ran (hahaha! sorry) their first season. Most of the villains are taken from Superman comics, but there are a few wild cards in there. So far we’ve seen:
- Vartox
- Astra (Kara’s Kryptonian aunt, pissed because Astra’s twin sister locked her up)
- Non (Astra’s wife, not nearly as cool as the mute Non from the Christopher Reeve Superman movies)
- Reactron
- Livewire (she’s awesome and I want her back)
- General Sam Lane
- Red Tornado (as a villain, I’d love to see him return as an ally)
- Jemm, Son of Saturn
- White Martian
- Maxwell Lord
- Toyman
- Bizarro Supergirl
- Black Mercy
Next Monday’s episode “For the Girl Who Has Everything” is a take on a classic Alan Moore Superman story from 1985 — Superman’s infected by a plant that puts the psychic images into his head that Krypton never exploded, and he’s been there and happy all his life. In the story (and the “Justice League Unlimited’ episode) the Black Mercy plant was a gift from Mongul the Conqueror. I’m assuming that’s not the case here, but wow. That would be cool. If
I were to pick a single episode to have you watch, it would be episode six, “Red Faced.” It’s the one with Red Tornado, but it’s possibly the best one of this season to look at Supergirl’s character, and how society doesn’t want women to express any negative emotions. To be a strong woman is to be seen as a “bitch.” They draw a parallel between Kara needing to bottle up her frustration and rage with James Olsen (an African American) needing to suppress his own anger — because if anything’s more threatening to “people” than a powerful angry woman, it’s a powerful angry black man. It’s an interesting social commentary, some strong action, great geek moments (I seriously love Red Tornado you guys), and helps us to understand what it’s like to be a superhero, and to be human. I can’t ask for more.
We haven’t seen many “super” allies for Supergirl yet, beyond the DEO people that she’s working with now. We also met Cameron Chase a few weeks ago, a government agent who shows in the comics, and who’s played by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” veteran Emma Caulfield. I’d like to see more of her. The biggest and most unexpected ally? Martian Manhunter. J’onn Fr’igging J’onnz. Cornerstone of the Justice League. Last survivor of Mars. Eater of Oreos. It’s a pretty big deal. The character showed up on “Smallville” a few times per season in the later part of that series, but not quite like this. We’re seeing him in the open, seeing all of his “Martian powers” on display, we’ve seen some of the holocaust that befell his civilization. We’re learning more about him than we did about the “Smallville” version more quickly. I’m hoping he becomes a regular part of the series.
If for some reason, you’re not watching “Supergirl,” you should give it a shot. If you’re a fan of DC Comics in general, but not the character of Supergirl, you should give it a shot. There’s a lot of “Justice League” and “The Flash” in this series’ DNA, and I love the unapologetic way they’re doing comic book stuff. Toyman was using oversized ABC blocks in a trap (and explosive dolls). Livewire can transport via electrical wiring. Bizarro Supergirl has freeze vision and fire breath. Whether as Supergirl or Kara, this is a hero who’s mostly optimistic. She’s not tortured, she’s not thinking the worst about her friends or her enemies. She believes in redemption, not punishment. She’s Supergirl. This is a fun show that’s not as weepy as the first few episodes made it look. It’s not the same as “The Flash.” But it’s inspired my sons to think of Supergirl the way I thought of Wonder Woman growing up in the 1970s — that she’s every bit the hero that Superman is, and she just might be able to kick his ass.
She wouldn’t. Because they’re cousins and friendly and all.
But she totally could.
