She's Superman's Cousin!: And Other Supergirl Spoilers

[MarkHB]

Nice!  They're gearing up for that to be a giant DC week:

• DC Super Hero Girls have their special Saturday morning, 3/19
• Dean Cain is back on Supergirl 3/21 (I'm not sure what Gotham is doing that night... but then I'm going to be preoccupied that night ;)
• Flash and Arrow are back that week
• then there's the BvS release weekend
• and the following Monday is the Supergirl / Flash crossover.

[Trini]

 

(I'm not sure what Gotham is doing that night...

 

Paul Reubens (who played the Penguin's father in Batman Returns) is guest starring in that episode.

So yeah, somebody at DC/WB has their act together!

[MarkHB]

From Heroic Hollywood, here's the official press release for World's Finest (see the Media thread for the accompanying poster):

 

 

 

“SUPERGIRL GAINS A NEW ALLY WHEN THE LIGHTNING-FAST SUPERHERO ‘THE FLASH’ HELPS HER BATTLE LIVEWIRE AND SILVER BANSHEE, ON “SUPERGIRL,” MONDAY, MARCH 28

 

Grant Gustin Crosses Over as “The Flash”

 

“Worlds Finest” – Kara gains a new ally when the lightning-fast superhero The Flash (Grant Gustin) suddenly appears from an alternate universe and helps Kara battle Siobhan, aka Silver Banshee, and Livewire in exchange for her help in finding a way to return him home, on SUPERGIRL, Monday, March 28 (8:00-9:00 PM) on the CBS Television Network. Grant Gustin crosses over as The Flash.

 

Supergirl stars Melissa Benoist (Kara Danvers/Supergirl), Calista Flockhart (Cat Grant), Chyler Leigh (Alex Danvers), Mehcad Brooks (James Olsen), David Harewood (Hank Henshaw/J’onn J’onzz), and Jeremy Jordan (Winslow “Winn” Schott).

 

Recurring guests in “Worlds Finest” include Jenna Dewan-Tatum (Lucy Lane), Chris Vance (Non), Italia Ricci (Siobhan Smythe), Brit Morgan (Leslie Willis/Livewire), Christopher Showerman (Tor), Jay Jackson (News Anchor), and Dan Warner (Fire Captain).

 

Guest stars in the episode also include Grant Gustin (The Flash/Barry Allen), Jamie Kaler (Pundit #1), Samantha Harris (Pundit #2), Zarek King (Young Boy), Sarah Robson (Dr. Amelia Hamilton), Harriet Sansom Harris (Sinead), Dawn Greenidge (Pedestrian Woman)

 

STORY BY: Greg Berlanti

 

TELEPLAY BY: Andrew Kreisberg & Michael Grassi

 

First, who the heck is Tor?  Is he some lackey for Non?

 

Second... Samantha Harris!  It's doubling as a Dancing with the Stars crossover!

 

Third... yeah, pretty much it's as expected, taking place entirely on Kara's earth.  But this should be the point that Barry discovers he can travel between worlds on his own, with no need for breaches.

[statsgirl]

I thought the show was done with Lucy but I guess not.

 

Now that she and James are no longer together, is there a purpose for Lucy on the show?  It's awkward when they try to write her as having a role at Catco (and it's an big cast already) and while Kara was estranged from the DEO and Winn was working there, it made sense to have Lucy working with Kara and James but Kara is back with the DEO and Winn is back at Catco.

 

Does Lucy have a point any more?

[jaytee1812]

I thought the show was done with Lucy but I guess not.

 

Now that she and James are no longer together, is there a purpose for Lucy on the show?  It's awkward when they try to write her as having a role at Catco (and it's an big cast already) and while Kara was estranged from the DEO and Winn was working there, it made sense to have Lucy working with Kara and James but Kara is back with the DEO and Winn is back at Catco.

 

Does Lucy have a point any more?

If the writers of this show are good enough and they want to give Lucy relevance then she should fit in.

Whether the writers are good enough is another conversation.

[statsgirl]

I'm traumatized by seasons 2 and 3A of Arrow when they tried to force Laurel into the episodes even though there wasn't any way she would fit in naturally and it weakened the show overall.  It divided in to two sections, the show about Oliver and the show about Laurel's latest arc.

 

I don't think they would go to those lengths here but Winn and James are already marginalized from the big story and giving either or both of them a subplot with Lucy would make it worse, and we've already seen what happens when they try to give her a Catco role..

[MarkHB]

I wonder, and this is pure speculation with background from the comics, if they would try something like this:

 

• Lucy discovers Kara is Supergirl
• She seethes over being "dumped" for a superhuman yet again (since the way it played out it seemed that Jimmy had put more interest and energy into his friendship with Superman than he did into his relationship with her... second fiddle to "his buddies" in the worst way).
• Max Lord (if he sticks around) gets her into his clutches and works with that anger (and magic dust with a soupçon of technobabble, etc.)
• Lucy becomes (evil) Superwoman, and maybe the Big Bad for Season 2.

 

Or maybe they just keep her around to roll her eyes in staff meetings.  Having Jenna on my screen makes me happy so if they keep it up I'm fine with whatever the story is. :)

[Trini]

I think your speculation is likely, Mark; but I would hate for Lucy to become a villain just because of a break-up. They'd have to come up with something a little better to motivate her.

[cambridgeguy]

Based on the promo photos it looks like Lucy might be the new head of the DEO.  It doesn't make sense that an army lawyer turned civilian lawyer would be qualified to hold that position but maybe they don't have the money to hire a new recurring character.  See Hank, that's what you get when your organization consists of you, your second in command, and a bunch of redshirts.  I guess he saw the rebooted Star Trek and was a fan of that command structure.

 

Barry is also still incapable of keeping his cowl on but at least it won't matter if people see his face on this earth.

[Trini]

... Barry is also still incapable of keeping his cowl on but at least it won't matter if people see his face on this earth.

OR WILL IT? There could be a Barry Allen on this Earth (Earth-3??).

[Trini]

About the crossover promo photos: Wow, Grant/Barry on ALL the sets, with ALL the cast.

 

This is just begging for a caption contest.

Stop fueling my 'ship everyone with Barry habit, CBS.

What the smeg, Barry?! Even if it's another universe, the entire DEO doesn't need to see your face!

Cool, Livewire got a wig upgrade, but a costume downgrade -- what, DEO prisoners don't get a change of clothes at least?

Maybe it's actually General Lane who is the head of the DEO now, and Lucy is just running it for him?

[MarkHB]

Re: the caption contest pic, Mehcad Brooks has already replied "You're observant" to someone who Tweeted "Now we see James's 'get away from bae' face."

[MarkHB]

OR WILL IT? There could be a Barry Allen on this Earth (Earth-3??).

 

The "real" Earth-3 (from a 1964 issue of JLA) is one where the heroes were all villains: Ultraman, Owl Man, Superwoman, Power Ring, etc. formed the Crime Syndicate of America and it was eventually revealed that the only hero there was Alexander Luthor.  I've been thinking of Supergirl's world as Earth-K (for Krypton) for that reason.  (Gotham is set in a different timeframe, if we assume that Batman would be a contemporary of these heroes, and so it could be on any of the established Earths, or a separate one.)

[Kromm]

The "real" Earth-3 (from a 1964 issue of JLA) is one where the heroes were all villains: Ultraman, Owl Man, Superwoman, Power Ring, etc. formed the Crime Syndicate of America and it was eventually revealed that the only hero there was Alexander Luthor.  I've been thinking of Supergirl's world as Earth-K (for Krypton) for that reason.  (Gotham is set in a different timeframe, if we assume that Batman would be a contemporary of these heroes, and so it could be on any of the established Earths, or a separate one.)

Unfortunately those numbers all got rejiggered a long time ago with the various universe reboots. And it complicates things even more that the TVU, the Movie U and the comics all would like to compete for being the "main" one--ergo if any of them use numbers they're all going to have people saying that they're "Earth One" or "Earth 1" or variants. So the numbering in fact makes things WORSE, more confusing. 

[Argenta]

I wish DC would do what Marvel does and establish a single consistent universe for all their screen output. 

[statsgirl]

I'm intrigued at what Cat is doing sitting there with Livewire and Silver Banshee.  I'd think she was captured but her outfit matches theirs.

[Delphi]

I'm intrigued at what Cat is doing sitting there with Livewire and Silver Banshee. I'd think she was captured but her outfit matches theirs.

I'd wager That she has been captured considering the villains of the episode both have beef with Cat.

[Stuffy]

I'm intrigued at what Cat is doing sitting there with Livewire and Silver Banshee. I'd think she was captured but her outfit matches theirs.

Probably just a filming style choice, since Cat is handcuffed and chained somehow.

Edited March 17, 2016 by Stuffy

[ACW]

The "real" Earth-3 (from a 1964 issue of JLA) is one where the heroes were all villains: Ultraman, Owl Man, Superwoman, Power Ring, etc. formed the Crime Syndicate of America and it was eventually revealed that the only hero there was Alexander Luthor. I've been thinking of Supergirl's world as Earth-K (for Krypton) for that reason. (Gotham is set in a different timeframe, if we assume that Batman would be a contemporary of these heroes, and so it could be on any of the established Earths, or a separate one.)

It is arguable (though not very plausible) that Gotham IS Earth-3. Bruce Wayne likes owls, James Gordon is murdering people...

[Trini]

Lynda Carter coming next season? My first guess would be that she would play Martha Kent.

Following a screening of the upcoming The Flash-Supergirl crossover, executive producers Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti revealed they have plans to bring Lynda Carter to the CBS super series.

“We had the perfect role for Lynda Carter,” Berlanti said of the Wonder Woman alum. “We couldn’t work out her schedule. Next year.”

[legaleagle53]

There's another 70s superhero icon who has expressed interest in doing the show, too -- Lindsay Wagner.  How does a team-up with Supergirl and the former Bionic Woman sound?

[cambridgeguy]

The article says that they want Carter to be POTUS (if Berlanti wasn't kidding, that is).  It might take some presidential intervention if J'onn is ever going to be back as head of the DEO.  Or perhaps he'll set up an independent group like Stormwatch.

[FurryFury]

Hmm new group might be best, I guess. Turn the DEO into a sorta-frenemy-antagonists (with likeable characters) and create a new organization with Hank, Alex, Kara and Winn (Jimmy can go die in a fire). Cat can moonlight as their PR?

Edited March 26, 2016 by FurryFury

[MarkHB]

The season finale synopsis has been released:

 

SUPERGIRL FACES HER GREATEST TEST YET WHEN HER ENEMIES PLAN TO DESTROY EVERY PERSON ON THE PLANET, ON THE FIRST SEASON FINALE OF “SUPERGIRL,” MONDAY, APRIL 18

 

“Better Angels” – Supergirl is forced to do battle with an unexpected foe and must risk everything – including her life – to prevent Non and Indigo from destroying every person on the planet, on the first season finale of SUPERGIRL....

 

First, I wonder if Indigo was brought in to partly make up for the loss of Astra.

 

Second, three interesting things stand out in the list of guest stars:

 

RECURRING CAST:

Jenna Dewan-Tatum (Lucy Lane)

Chris Vance (Non)

Peter Facinelli (Maxwell Lord)

Laura Vandervoort (Indigo)

Briana Venskus (Agent Vasquez)

Glenn Morshower (General Sam Lane)

Dr. Eliza Danvers (Helen Slater)

Kitana Turnbull (Costumed Girl)

Dan Warner (Fire Captain)

Malina Weissman (Young Kara)

 

• Eliza and Young Kara are showing up again (but see below)!
• "Costumed Girl" is, in fact, the kid from "Fallen" who threw away her Supergirl suit (and she got a billing upgrade!)
• Apparently, Eliza Danvers is real and will be playing Helen Slater on the show?

[Kromm]

 

• Apparently, Eliza Danvers is real and will be playing Helen Slater on the show?

I'd say either or both Beth Haiken or Steven Feldman, with those CBS email addresses at the bottom of the release, are barely or unpaid interns who cranked this out without much attention.

[regularlyleaded]

CBS released some photos from the season finale episode "Better Angels".  You can view them here (supergirl.tv), here (kryptonsite.com), or here on the CBS official press site (CBS Press Express).

Edited March 31, 2016 by regularlyleaded

[nksarmi]

Oh good it looks like Hank lives!

[legaleagle53]

And it would seem that Myriad is at least a partial failure.

[MarkHB]

Supergirl.TV has the first two sneak peeks for the season finale.  They include the resolution of the Kara-Alex fight, so be forewarned.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Supergirl.TV has the first two sneak peeks for the season finale.  They include the resolution of the Kara-Alex fight, so be forewarned.

 

The weird part is -- if everyone in National City is being mind-controlled, why would they be sitting around watching TV ? Especially old-timey non-digital TV --  and even it they have an old analog TV set, how is Max going to make sure that it is on the right channel.  And despite the fact that Max says he is also going to put it on the Internet, why would mind-controlled people be using smartphones or tablets and see the video ?  They are being mind-controlled to do other things -- and probably not easily distracted by Twitter updates and Facebook posts.

Edited April 17, 2016 by ottoDbusdriver

[Kromm]

Supergirl.TV has the first two sneak peeks for the season finale.  They include the resolution of the Kara-Alex fight, so be forewarned.

Argh. That scene with Alex was agonizing.  

 

[Trini]

So... I guess the execs agreed "Who's in the pod?" wasn't enough to hook viewers (and get them to cross networks) for Season 2. With Superman (and Clark, also, I assume) appearing, expectations are going to be so high for whomever they cast in the role. At the very least, many will be interested in seeing someone else in the suit.

And I tend to believe the speculation that this was approved to counteract the negative reactions to BvS and its version of Superman. Right now, I bet the TV producers/etc. are thanking whatever deities they believe in that the movie and TV universes are NOT connected.

[MarkHB]

Supergirl.TV has a couple of leaked sides, giving us our first looks at Nick and Snapper.  I'm not a fan of the fact that the Bad Boy is flirting with Kara already (in total bad-boy style, no less).

[stealinghome]

It's disappointing that they're making Kara a journalist imo. Let her do something different from Clark, plzkthx.

[Kromm]

5 hours ago, MarkHB said:

Supergirl.TV has a couple of leaked sides, giving us our first looks at Nick and Snapper.  I'm not a fan of the fact that the Bad Boy is flirting with Kara already (in total bad-boy style, no less).

Do we really trust supposed sides that have really obvious misspellings like "heals" for "heels"?

[Kromm]

1 hour ago, stealinghome said:

It's disappointing that they're making Kara a journalist imo. Let her do something different from Clark, plzkthx.

Assuming those sides are accurate (they may not be) I don't know if it's inherent that she's a journalist. She never talks about "writing" a story, she talks about "following" one, and I'm thinking about that distinction and if it could mean anything. It might not. But it might. 

[MarkHB]

41 minutes ago, Kromm said:

Do we really trust supposed sides that have really obvious misspellings like "heals" for "heels"?

I actually took it as a text-to-speech thing, where someone recorded their (or someone else's) audition (probably for Nick as he's in both scenes) and then transcribed it in a hurry.  I was also thinking that "Coldon Vaultize" was actually supposed to be "Corto Maltese".  Supergirl.TV tends to be a pretty reliable site IMO.

[Kendra]

3 hours ago, stealinghome said:

It's disappointing that they're making Kara a journalist imo. Let her do something different from Clark, plzkthx.

Assuming that's what they are doing (and it sure sounds like it) I'm kind of disappointed too.

I know it's too early to have a clear idea of what's happening, but I'm getting worried that are just totally turning this show into a complete gender swapped version of Superman. Hopefully they can try and be a little more original 

Kara = Clark

Nick = Lois

Snapper = Perry White

Catco Journalism Department = Daily Planet

Lena = Lex (possibly)

And now they are even bringing Superman in to appear. 

I don't know...it just seems like (the possibility for) an awful lot of similarities. 

[stealinghome]

Quote

I know it's too early to have a clear idea of what's happening, but I'm getting worried that are just totally turning this show into a complete gender swapped version of Superman....I don't know...it just seems like (the possibility for) an awful lot of similarities. 

ITA. I wasn't the one who said it, but I agreed with whoever it was that said last year "I really want the show to stop writing Kara as Clark with breasts." The show is at its best when they focus on what sets Kara apart from Clark (actually growing up on Krypton, the enormous pathos inherent in her story, her troubled relationship with Alura/Astra, the mentor relationship with Cat). Further, I think BENOIST is at her best when they lean into Kara's pathos...I still think perhaps her best scene in S1 is the one in which she's screaming at the hologram of Alura. That never fails to tug on my heartstrings.

So it's disappointing to see them yet again basically writing Kara as a gender-swapped Clark. It feels like they don't have confidence in the appeal of Supergirl herself--like the showrunners believe that what the audience really wants to see is Superman, so they have to play to that and make Supergirl just Superman 2.0. It's disheartening.

[Lady Calypso]

So, they cast Superman.

I'm not quite sure that I approve of the casting choice yet. Maybe because I'm not a fan of Tyler Hoechlin. 

[MarkHB]

He looks a bit like Dean Cain in some of the pics I've seen (see this one with glasses); I've never seen his work so I can't say anything more about him than that.

[Minneapple]

Hoechlin is hot, but totally wooden.

[stealinghome]

A friggin' Teen Wolf actor is the best they could do for Superman? REALLY???????

This was clearly a casting choice made for the CW tweens. Teen Wolf targets the same demo and Hoechlin has lots of fangirls.

Ugh. The utter CW-ification of the show continues.

[VCRTracking]

Quote

her troubled relationship with Alura/Astra, the mentor relationship with Cat)

Unfortunately Laura Benanti's Broadway commitments and Calista Flockhart becoming a recurring instead of a main cast member since the show moved production to Vancouver put the kibosh on those two elements.

Quote

So it's disappointing to see them yet again basically writing Kara as a gender-swapped Clark. It feels like they don't have confidence in the appeal of Supergirl herself--like the showrunners believe that what the audience really wants to see is Superman, so they have to play to that and make Supergirl just Superman 2.0. It's disheartening.

Making her a reporter like Clark, there's a reason it worked for 75 years in comics, movies and especially on television. It allows different kind of stories out into the world, much more than if Kara was still an assistant. Also in the 1950s Adventures of Superman TV series George Reeves spent pretty much most of the episode as Clark Kent investigating the story and he didn't show up as Superman until the final act, because of budget limitations, which this show now has.

Edited June 16, 2016 by VCRTracking

[Kendra]

So Rapaport following Tyler actually did turn out to mean something! haha

He seems...a bit young? He's only 28, one year older than Melissa. 

[Kromm]

3 hours ago, Kendra said:

So Rapaport following Tyler actually did turn out to mean something! haha

He seems...a bit young? He's only 28, one year older than Melissa. 

Yeah. That's just silliness. He's supposed to now be biologically around a dozen years older than Kara. Kara is a few years younger than the actress who plays her (figure she's around 25 now), so figure Clark is supposed to be 36-37. Even accounting for "Alien DNA", it's just plum stupid to have him not look noticeably more mature than her. In his photos he probably could pass for 32-33, but... I dunno about this.

He's also a bit hairier than I'd imagined Superman. I imagine they'll shave his scruff/beard though.

At least from the photos (I've never seen any of his work), he looks vaguely Latino. Mr. Google says he's not, but it's certainly a new look for Superman. I don't have any issue with that, but I wonder how many trolls are gonna pop up complaining about it (I mean when we have so much better possible fodder with him being way too young). 

[Kendra]

Yeah I just don't see how he is even remotely old enough for this version of Superman. If he found Kara when he was 24, he'd have to at least be in his mid thirties by now, and Tyler doesn't pass for that imo. Lucy and Jimmy both look older than him (probably because both actors are 7 years older!) and he is supposed to be older than both of them, right? At least I assume so since Lois is Lucy OLDER sister. And who I thought the show had already implied was closer to Cat's age. It really doesn't make any sense to me age wise, but whatever. I like Tyler fine. I think he's a good enough actor and seems like a nice guy but I think he seems far more suited for the role of Nick, at least from an age perspective. He also probably knows Melissa personally since he's good friends with her husband, so I'm sure they would have decent chemistry together on screen. Similar to how Melissa and Grant are on screen since they also know each other personally. 

I just really hope the writers continue to recognize that this is a show about Supergirl. Superman is fine for a guest star role every now and then, but he shouldn't dominate the show and Tyler shouldn't overshadow Melissa. I'm a little worried about that since the guy has a massive tv fandom following already with Teen Wolf and 1.5 million twitter followers, far more than anyone else in the cast. Tyler seems pretty typical for the kind of actor that the CW network really likes: young, hot, lots of teenage female fans. Again, surprised he's not playing Nick. 

[Shades of Scarlet]

4 hours ago, Kendra said:

Yeah I just don't see how he is even remotely old enough for this version of Superman. If he found Kara when he was 24, he'd have to at least be in his mid thirties by now, and Tyler doesn't pass for that imo. Lucy and Jimmy both look older than him (probably because both actors are 7 years older!) and he is supposed to be older than both of them, right? At least I assume so since Lois is Lucy OLDER sister. And who I thought the show had already implied was closer to Cat's age. It really doesn't make any sense to me age wise, but whatever. I like Tyler fine. I think he's a good enough actor and seems like a nice guy but I think he seems far more suited for the role of Nick, at least from an age perspective. He also probably knows Melissa personally since he's good friends with her husband, so I'm sure they would have decent chemistry together on screen. Similar to how Melissa and Grant are on screen since they also know each other personally. 

I just really hope the writers continue to recognize that this is a show about Supergirl. Superman is fine for a guest star role every now and then, but he shouldn't dominate the show and Tyler shouldn't overshadow Melissa. I'm a little worried about that since the guy has a massive tv fandom following already with Teen Wolf and 1.5 million twitter followers, far more than anyone else in the cast. Tyler seems pretty typical for the kind of actor that the CW network really likes: young, hot, lots of teenage female fans. Again, surprised he's not playing Nick. 

They do know each other. 

I think Melissa would have about that many Twitter followers except that she rarely posts, at least, relative to other people her age and level of celebrity. 

[Kromm]

11 hours ago, Shades of Scarlet said:

They do know each other. 

I think Melissa would have about that many Twitter followers except that she rarely posts, at least, relative to other people her age and level of celebrity. 

She seems to do at least a moderate amount of Instagram though. 

Okay, on second thought, 181 Instagram posts may be small compared to other 20-something actresses...

Twitterwise she seems to post in bursts... totally around her work schedule. 

[VCRTracking]

Their RL closeness in age guarantees Clark and Kara will shipped on Tumblr.