Now, I’ve gotten to the superhero allies of Superman. He’s
got a lot, so I’m only concentrating on the ones with an ‘S’ and a few others.
“That should narrow it down,” I sarcastically say. Today, it’s one of the
important ones: Supergirl. Kara Zor-El is Kal-El’s older cousin from Argo City.
While her story shifts here and there, she too was launched from a doomed world
and placed in suspended animation. That’s why Superman’s older than her when
she awakens years later. Her first official appearance (DC played around with
other “Super-ladies" before Kara) was in Action Comics #252.
Supergirl then would sometimes appear in Superman’s book and
appear in her own book for years. Then, she had her moment in Crisis on
Infinite Earths where she was killed by the Anti-Monitor. While Kara didn’t
come back after the event ended, there were other Sueprgirls. The was the
Matrix-Supergirl, the Linda Danvers one from Peter David’s run, some weird one
from the future, and Power Girl (a Supergirl from another Earth). Kara officially made her return to the comics during Jeph Loeb’s run on
Superman/Batman and she’s stayed ever since then. Things have changed a
bit since that run, but she’s still Superman’s “young” cousin from Krypton.
Supergirl has also made to other media as well. There was
her 1984 movie. Even though that thing was far from decent, Helen Slater filled
that role well. Supergirl’s been seen in the DCAU, as well as a few animated
movies and a couple of video games. Then, there’s the live-action TV show
on the CW. Right now, it’s going well into its fourth season and I’m behind on
it. I was going to originally review all of Season 2, but that ain’t happening
anytime soon. So, I’ll be looking at the first two episodes of Season 2, “The
Adventures of Supergirl,” and “The Last Children of Krypton.” So, what happens
when Kara’s cousin finally decides to show his trunkless butt up on this show?
“The Adventure of Supergirl”
The episode takes place a couple of days after the Season 1
finale. At the end of the episode, a Kryptonian pod containing a man crashed on
Earth. The male is at the newly-moved DEO under surveillance. The main plot of
the episode hits when a space launch goes awry. Supergirl AND Superman (played by
Tyler Hoechilin) fly into action and save the ship. They and the DEO then
investigate why it almost crashed. It turns out it was sabotage. It’s believed
that Lena Luthor, the adopted sister of Lex Luthor and the new CEO of
Luthorcorp, may have behind the sabotage. It’s ultimately revealed that the
device was actually meant to kill her since she was supposed to be on the
flight.
Yep, you can definitely tell those two are related...
The assassin, John Corben, tries to strike at Lena again by
sending attack drones. Supergirl and Superman take care of the drones with ease
and save Lena. While all of this is going on, Kara is having some personal
issues. She’s trying to deal with a potential relationship with James (Jimmy),
a new position, and the superhero deal. Luckily, she, Superman, and the DEO are
able to stop Corben when he attacks at Lena’s conference. The episode ends with
Kara deciding to become a reporter, the worst break-up I’ve seen in a while,
and Corben being stolen by some scientists.
“The Last Children of Krypton”
We start the episode by seeing that John Corben has gotten
upgrades including a heart made of kryptonite. It turns out that Cadmus is
behind this new venture. Meanwhile, Supergirl and Superman have been taking
care of business since Clark decided to help out his cousin for a bit. During
one of their hero attempts, they run into Corben who’s going by the name,
Metallo. He uses his kryptonian heart on both heroes but Superman hilariously deals with him.
Later, Superman blames Hank Henshaw (J’onn J’onzz) for this since the DEO had a
stockpile of kryptonite. Superman and Hank go to the Fortress of Solitude for
more info while Alex Danvers tries to see who in the DEO gave the
kryptonite to Cadmus.
Not a bad version of Metallo. We even get two of 'em.
Meanwhile, Cat Grant is leaving CatCo and since Kara is
becoming a reporter, she gets a new boss: Snapper Carr. Unfortunately (for
Kara), Snapper boots her out since she has no experience. Eventually, Alex is
able to find out who’s been stealing the kryptonite. Winn, who joined the DEO
this season, even created devices for Clark and Kara to use in order to nullify
kryptonite’s effect. It all comes down to a battle in Metropolis and National
City since Cadmus creates another Metallo. Thanks to some help, the Supers win
the battles and Kara gets her first story. In the end, J’onn gives Superman
their stockpile of kryptonite. Cat Grant leaves CatCo and James is the boss in
her absence. The episode ends with Kara awakening the man from the Kryptonian
pod.
OPINION
While these two episodes could work as a two-parter, I’m
splitting up my opinion on them.
Episode 1
This was a nice way to start the season off. I’ll just go on
and get the big thing out of the way: Superman. It was about time we got the
Man of Steel in full on here and Tyler Hoechlin didn’t disappoint for the most part.
His Superman felt familiar but fresh. His take on the mild-mannered side was
also nice. I’ll get to what I didn’t like later. As for the lead hero, Kara was
handled well… mostly. She got a bit of a reset here with a new job and newer
responsibilities. Melissa Benoist did here well.
Ms. Grant, I'm gonna miss ya. Seriously. I liked her since she added some spice to an "attractive yet non-threatening, racially diverse cast of a CW show."
The rest of the supporting characters were handled well too.
I also liked how there was a bit of history between J’onn/Hank and Superman. Cat
was awesome as ever, Winn was hilarious, Alex was her usual self, and James was
fine. I do have something to say about him and Kara later. I also thought Lena
Luthor was nice. The action scenes were pretty good. While you can tell is a TV
budget, they try to make it work.
Now, there were a few things I didn’t like. The biggest elephant
in the room is Kara’s and Jimmy’s (I may interchange those names) relationship.
They break up in the worst way possible. Considering how much time was spent on
those two last season, you’d think those two would have tried to last a while,
but nah! The break-up really felt forced here. Considering how Season 2 went, I
guess the writers wanted someone else for Kara. I also thought Corben was okay for the villain. It was nice to at least see Superman face one of his villains
on this show. Other than the break-up and small nitpicks (the corny-ness, the one
speech too many, and Superman’s suit), this was good.
Episode 2
This episode was about as good as the first one. Here, Kara has
to deal with the changes coming her way. Snapper Carr is no Cat Grant and that’s
good for Kara. He’s not there to baby her and she finds that out easily. Even
though he was unlikable, I thought Carr was fine. The main plot was pretty good
too. Clark’s still around National City helping out Kara and they both run into
Metallo. I have to say that Corben felt a little better here. I always thought
Metallo worked better when he’s working for someone, so having him work for
Cadmus was cool. The scientist lady (who I won’t spoil here) was also pretty
threatening.
The CW knows when they want to enter "Homage Mode."
The rest of the plots were nice. I thought subplot involving
Superman and J’onn was interesting. Alex did come off a little weird here at
one point though. Then, we got the exit of Cat Grant from the show. I know
there are some that didn’t like her character, but I always liked her. I liked
the sass and she did show that she was a good person in places. Since I’ve been
watching more of season 2, she is definitely missed. Finally, the action scenes
between the Supers and the Metallos were good.
I really don’t have too many problems with this one. While I
liked the conflict between Superman and J’onn, something felt off on Superman’s
side. The whole thing about Alex and Kara’s conflict felt weird too. Then,
there’s Superman’s costume. I’m still not a fan of the thing. I don’t like how
the cape is handled and it looks a bit weird. At least Hoechlin tried to make
it work. Other than those things, this was good.
In the end, these were two good episodes of Supergirl. While
the Man of Steel was around, he never outshone Kara since it is her show. I can only
hope the rest of Season 2 can hold up well. As for Supergirl in general, I like
her but I’m not the biggest fan. It could do with the fact that I haven’t read
much of her stuff. I’ve always liked her when she shows up in other media, so
it’s probably just me. She is an important part of Superman’s life, though. She’s
one of the only true connections he has to Krypton since they are family.
Anyway, I’m outta here. I need to wrap this month up. Until then, Peace, God
Bless, and don’t get the bargain bin costume.
NEXT TIME: CAT GRANT OR SUPERBOY?
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