“You may his story but you don't know mine”. Despite the potential joy of seeing Spider-Man within the MCU, there’s a good reason many fans are groaning at the idea of the character’s 3rd restart within a generation. Even if it’s a good story, it’s one we’ve already seen so many times before. This is where likes of the Arrow and Flash TV shows found some of their success. Although most people were aware of The Green Arrow and The Flash as characters, all but their comic readers were largely unaware of their story. This is why Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kresiberg have made the right choice in their 3rd DC adapted show. Supergirl is a figure many non-comic readers think of as just Superman in a skirt or a sexy Halloween costume yet she has her own vast story to tell just like Barry Allen or Oliver Queen. As she straps on her cape for the first time this week, the results are clear: This girl really is super.
Pilot – Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist - Glee, Whiplash) was originally sent to Earth as Superman’s 13-year-old cousin to protect him as a baby but a 24-year detour in the Phantom Zone meant he grew up and became a hero before she even landed. Now, as an early 20-something trying to fit ion amongst Human society and survive her evil boss, Kara eventually decides to use her powers to help people just like her cousin.
So like any debuting hero, Supergirl must leap over the origins hurdles in a single bound (it doesn’t have a head start like The Flash). The episode does this very well by moving through this with considerable pace and not overloading the audience with details. We open with barely a minute on Krypton to establish it as an origin. The Phantom Zone time freeze is stated in passing as fact rather than a full science breakdown. Even Kara’s meta-casting Earth parents of Heather Slater (1984 film Supergirl) and Dean Cain (90s TV Superman) are just glancing shots to be delved into later episodes. The focus quickly shifts to where Kara is now: a decade or so later having grown up believing she has no purpose and just trying to fit into Human society. The red cape-wearing elephant in the room of “why now?” over her superhero life choice is very well answered. Not just for believing that “Earth already has a hero” in Superman but the ultimate reveal of her sister, Alex's (Chyler Leigh – Grey’s Anatomy’s Lexi Grey) connection to the show’s SHIELD/UNIT equivalent organization, DEO (Department of Extra-Normal Operations). We learn that Kara’s trip through the Phantom Zone also dragged out from it the Kryptonian equivalent of Alcatraz, harboring the Galaxy’s worst criminals which crashed on Earth. All whom, where sentenced and imprisoned by Kara’s Kryptonian mother; thus, making Kara the sole target for their vengeance and rage. It may not quite be simple but it paints the right picture of Alex spending years encouraging Kara to conceal rather than reveal as her all-knowing older sister. At the same time, this plot point also litters the Earth with plenty potential enemies for Kara from the prison’s former residents now in hiding.
Flash viewers will recognize Supergirl as adopting a similar light hearted and fun tone (apparently girls just want to have it) to that of Central City. This works extremely well as it allows Melissa Benoist to really show off her geeky charms and convey the right message: that being a strong character and having the odd giggly girly moment are not mutually exclusive. This produces a lot of good laughs such as Kara freaking out in excitement over a news report of her first heroic outing before being outraged a reporter’s criticism. Then, there’s a sequence in the middle of the episode as she develops the costume with help from her work friend Winn (Jeremy Jordan – Smash), including some great notions on the importance of capes. Even in the middle of an action sequence, the show isn’t afraid to lighten the mood, which makes for very entertaining results. Speaking of the action, it's much more impressive than many would expect from TV standards. While Supergirl’s CBS home does mean greater bankrolling than the CW (CBS outbid them for the show), there’s still a lot more bodies hurling through walls and buildings than you’d imagine. It looks good too as all the classic powers are portrayed well on screen with an enjoyable feel of Kara still learning to use them. Just because she has super strength doesn’t mean she knows how to fight as she soon learns in her first encounter with villain/alien of the week: Vartox.
Like any first episode, this pilot spends much of its time introducing its core cast members, all of which impress to present a great ensemble. Aside the aforementioned sister, Alex and friend Winn (also the villain Toymaker in the comics) we meet Kara’s day job boss, National City’s media mogul Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart – Ally McBeal, Brothers & Sisters). She brings some great comic relief as a cross between J Jonah Jameson and The Devil Wears Prada’s Miranda Priestly. Then, there’s the grown up James “Jimmy” Olsen (Mehcad Brooks - Necessary Roughness) as the series' key link between the Superman continuity. He’s wonderfully cool and collected on screen and refreshingly different to any of his Superman based incarnations in this next chapter of his life. Some initial chemistry suggests that he will also develop into Kara’s romantic interest. Finally, there’s Hank Henshaw (David Harewood – Homeland) as the DEO's head. He’s a good onscreen presence as he demonstrates an antagonist's lack of confidence in Kara but still feels like a protagonist element. As for the connection to the fellow Berlanti/Kreisberg shows of Flash and Arrow (The Flarrowverse), that remains unconfirmed. The reports say that many involved are keen for it but not straight away so CBS could establish its own identity first. It’s still possible and indeed quite likely but it becomes more complicated because both networks need to agree on it.
Many were quick to condemn Supergirl for looking overly girly in its trailers, and they are officially all idiots. What we have in Supergirl is a wonderfully fresh take on the superhero TV genre that does not shy away from its femininity (and why should it?) but embrace it as strength. It might not suit all viewers, but you could say the same thing about any male-centric show. Just as many people are trying to tell Kara that she’ll never be Superman, Supergirl as a show isn’t trying to be, and for that reason, it doesn’t fly; it soars! You probably don’t know her story, but you’re really going to enjoy finding out.