Supergirl Family in Comics & Other Media: Keeping Up with the Kryptonians

[Chicago Redshirt]

So in one of the other threads, we had some discussion going as to how to pronounce our heroine's name. In the show, the pronunciation Kara herself uses is "Car-a." Cat calls her "Care-A"/Kerrah and sometimes "Kira."

 

In at least a couple animated features, she is "Care-A." Check out the links below:

 

These are from Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG6_sDTjWKo

 

Smallville also goes the "Care-A" route:

 

I haven't gotten around to finding what the 1984 movie did...

[legaleagle53]

So in one of the other threads, we had some discussion going as to how to pronounce our heroine's name. In the show, the pronunciation Kara herself uses is "Car-a." Cat calls her "Care-A"/Kerrah and sometimes "Kira."

 

In at least a couple animated features, she is "Care-A." Check out the links below:

 

These are from Superman/Batman: Apocalypse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG6_sDTjWKo

 

Smallville also goes the "Care-A" route:

 

I haven't gotten around to finding what the 1984 movie did...

 

I can answer that one.  It was KAH-ra, as it is pronounced by everyone on this show except Cat, and as I've heard it pronounced in my head since 1984.

[MarkHB]

Wow... I just saw this article that shows a bunch of old Macy's Thanksgiving balloons.... and if you scroll down the third one is a Superman from 1940, just a little over 2 years from his first appearance. This is so early, they didn't even have the \S/ standardized!

[MarkHB]

Folks, I moved a few posts about the recent "back-7" order over to the Ratings and Scheduling thread.

[Trini]

I know it's been discussed in the episode threads, and maybe we can get into it deeper here.

So, in the DC universe, Flash* is always the fastest, right? I mean, he's fast enough to travel through time! And then the Superman family would be a close second.

 

*(and those with Flash-like powers, too)

[Chicago Redshirt]

For years in the comics, there were Flash vs. Superman races where (as I vaguely remember, it's been a while) the two would run across the globe for charity or some such and then in the middle of the race, something would happen and you wouldn't get a definitive answer.

 

The speed level of Flash and Superman (and their close colleagues) have varied over the years. I remember there was a period where Wally West could go only like 750 mph or something like that, as opposed to the sort of ludicrous speed that Flash has generally been capable of.

 

Further, their speed is always plot-dependent. Flash technically should never be threatened by any of his villains because he literally is fast enough to vibrate through any of their attacks, run to another state, grab their weapons and so on so forth in 5 seconds. The moment Superman/girl starts to feel the effects of Kryptonite, they should be able to back away at regular speed until they're out of range and get their powers back, fly to grab a suit of lead armor and kick the crap out of who ever tried to use Kryptonite against them.

[MarkHB]

The stock answer from DC (at least back in the Silver/Bronze Age) was that the Flash was faster in what amount to a sprint for those two, but if you got up to something like a million miles, Superman's inexhaustible stamina would make him the winner.

Iirc, the 750 mph limit was shortly after Crisis, when Wally took over the role and Mike Baron took over the book. I don't think it lasted long.

[Kromm]

It's odd too that the various explorations of the issue never addressed the acceleration issue I brought up recently. Being fastest is not necessarily the same thing as being fastest SOONEST.  Thus the reason why Superman/girl doesn't routinely use super-speed to solve all of his problems--he or she has to build UP speed rather than simply having it instantly.

[legaleagle53]

It's odd too that the various explorations of the issue never addressed the acceleration issue I brought up recently. Being fastest is not necessarily the same thing as being fastest SOONEST.  Thus the reason why Superman/girl doesn't routinely use super-speed to solve all of his problems--he or she has to build UP speed rather than simply having it instantly.

 

In the comics, that was never an issue. Superman and Supergirl were simply able to go from zero to faster than light in seconds.  In fact, one reader pointed that out once because of a late Silver Age story where Superman had somehow been forced to wear Lex Luthor's warsuit, into which Lex had built a failsafe which would cause the suit to explode if Superman ever tried to dismantle it.  The reader pointed out that Superman could go from zero to faster than light in less than a second, and therefore could have simply flown 1,000 years into the past or the future or into space before Lex could have even said "Boo" and dismantled the warsuit without risking anyone else's safety.

[Trini]

New Supergirl digital comic based on the show.

[legaleagle53]

New Supergirl digital comic based on the show.

 

Kara looks just a little too perky in those two panels that they show in the article.  Perky people annoy me.

[Kromm]

Question from the Hostile Takeover episode thread (because it probably makes more sense to answer it here):

 

Holding out for Krypto!

Can anyone say what Krypto's background was? Was he a Kryptonian pet that just happened to look like a dog, did he get a transfusion of Clark's blood or was he bitten by a radioactive hamster (OK, one of those is a joke - I'll let you guess which!)?

Krypto's origin story (the original one of him first in the Silver Age I mean) is surprisingly similar to Supergirl's current one. Krypto was launched in a rocket as a test subject before baby Kal-El, but the rocket got knocked off-course and arrived on Earth well after Kal-El's rocket. Krypton has parallel evolution, you see, thus a dog like creature.

In later versions I think Krypto has been various things from an actual normal Earth dog (actually owned by that strange character named "Bibbo"), to a clone of Kal-El's childhood pet made from genetic material left in Kal-El's rocket.

They then went BACK to the Silver Age explanation a few years ago (not long before the New 52 reboot).

The New 52 version in a way cleaves even closer to what's generally alluded to on Supergirl now. There's a Phantom Zone prison that apparently Superman visits (I say "apparently" because I've read none of this) and he finds Krypto somewhere there. It is not-so-coincidentally his former childhood dog from Krypton though, not just some random dog-creature.

[Trini]

Cover for the first issue of the Supergirl tie-in comic.

[KirkB]

Now I wonder what Krypto did to get thrown in prison? And I also wonder if Kal thought about that before bringing him to Earth?  :)

Edited January 13, 2016 by KirkB

[Chicago Redshirt]

He was a bad dog. :)

[Chicago Redshirt]

Currently, the top post in Text with Superheroes imagines a convo between Kara and Kal:

http://textsfromsuperheroes.com/

[Artsda]

Get Your First Look at Melissa Benoist and Real-Life Husband Blake Jenner's Meet-Cute on Supergirl

[Kromm]

Get Your First Look at Melissa Benoist and Real-Life Husband Blake Jenner's Meet-Cute on Supergirl

I feared that someone who actually posts on this board would actually use the phrase "Meet-Cute", but am thankful to see that was literally the transcribed article headline. 

 

E! ought to be puched in the face for using that phrase. If a media organization could be punched in the face, I mean. 

[Trini]

DC's Digital First format welcomes a new title to its robust family with the Adventures of Supergirl on Monday, Jan. 25, 2016. The comic will exist in the same universe as the hit series on CBS, following Supergirl as she transitions into "The Girl of Steel."

 

Preview.

The art is kinda on the cartoony side; Supergirl doesn't really look like Benoist.

[mathewt]

I find it interesting to have the Toyman and Adam Blake intro episodes back-to-back given their comic history.... I wonder if they'll go that route on the show.

[Trini]

The TV Supergirl costume is now going to be the new comic Supergirl costume come September in the new Supergirl series.

 

A guide to Flash vs. Superperson races.

 

 

[MarkHB]

I don't know why the comics are so hung up on that angular \S/ that looks like it came out of the Electric Superman era.

[Chris24601]

I don't know why the comics are so hung up on that angular \S/ that looks like it came out of the Electric Superman era.

Superman is still using the classic, but Supergirl having the angular one is a specific New52 thing.

 

Apparently just like real life coat of arms, only the eldest son gets to use their father's and the younger sons have to change it in some fashion (their were whole books of rules on how to do this). So Zor-El's crest was slightly different (i.e. the angular version) than Jor-El's crest (the traditional version) and since Kara is Zor-El's daughter she uses the angular one as well.

[JustaPerson]

Just watched the episode of Justice League: Unlimited where Supergirl meets (and falls for) Brainiac 5. This show is probably too grounded in reality (and too enamored with Jimmy - sorry James and Kara)  to go there, but it would be interesting to have Kara in a relationship with another non human.

[legaleagle53]

JustaPerson, on 04 Apr 2016 - 06:07 AM, said:

Just watched the episode of Justice League: Unlimited where Supergirl meets (and falls for) Brainiac 5. This show is probably too grounded in reality (and too enamored with Jimmy - sorry James and Kara)  to go there, but it would be interesting to have Kara in a relationship with another non human.

 

To say nothing of logistically tricky, since Brainiac 5 hails from the 30th/31st Century, and we haven't yet seen whether show Kara can travel through time the way comic-book Kara could up through the end of the Silver Age.

[JustaPerson]

That's true. I suppose I just really want Kara/James to NOT happen. Though he could always show up in the 21st century...

 

Can we get a live action version of this?

 

Edited April 6, 2016 by JustaPerson

[Trini]

DC promo video for the tie-in Supergirl comic;

[CabotCove]

Cat Staggs  used to do covers on Smallville comic covers too, she is so good, it looks very live like.

Edited May 23, 2016 by WildcardC

[Trini]

Interview with the writer of the new Supergirl comic; and I pulled some quotes related to the TV show:

Quote

... While it’s not set within the world of the popular CW series like last spring’s THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERGIRL miniseries, it features many characters that will be familiar to fans of the show, along with others that will resonate with longtime comic readers ....

... We’re going to be introducing some new characters, and we’re moving her to National City. We’re connecting her to Cat Grant in a new way. We’re connecting her to her human parents, the Danvers, in a new way. She’s working for the DEO, which is led by Cameron Chase. Kara’s at the DEO to further her main goal and objective—understanding humans. To protect us, she has to understand us. ...

... She’s sixteen years old in the DC Universe. She’s going to be working for Cat Grant as a work-study. ...

With Supergirl a hit on TV, there are more people now aware of Kara and her world than ever before. What are you hoping to contribute to that greater story?

I think you always want to lead with the comics. The show and the digital comic, ADVENTURES OF SUPERGIRL, have what I think is a beautiful take on the character. What we bring are things that I think you could only find in the comics. Enormous adventure. Enormous ideas. One panel that has more ideas than you could ever afford to do in a whole episode of a TV show! We’re bringing it back to these sort of wild, crazy, lovably strange sci-fi roots that are so present in the Superman and Supergirl mythos. ...

[Trini]

Another interview with Steve Orlando, with a preview of Supergirl Rebirth.

[CabotCove]

"SUPERGIRL" COMBINES TV & COMICS CONTINUITY FOR A TRUE REBIRTH

Attempts at synergy between comics and live-action often go awry, but DC's approach for "Supergirl" looks like it's going to work well. http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/supergirl-combines-tv-comics-continuity-for-a-true-rebirth

[Trini]

Article about the various Supergirl comics that are going on right now (with some of the artwork), including a new series just announced.

Quote

Kara Zor-El from Argo City is having a mini-renaissance, with multiple comic-book titles and a TV series bearing her superhero name. There’s more on the way, too: Yesterday, DC Comics announced a new high-profile miniseries called Supergirl: Being Super, written by Mariko Tamaki, drawn by Joelle Jones, and due out in December. Tamaki’s an award-winning writer who co-created the hit comic This One Summer with cousin Jillian Tamaki and Jones has been nominated for an Eisner award—the comics medium’s highest honor—for her work on Lady Killer and Helheim. The project stands apart from current DC continuity, a decision that seems to aim it for the broader mainstream audience that might be encountering Supergirl primarily through her TV show.

Edited September 9, 2016 by Trini

[Kromm]

Just now, Trini said:

Article about the various Supergirl comics that are going on right now (with some of the artwork), including a new series just announced.

I read Issue #1 of the "regular" Supergirl comic, and was quite impressed.  To be clear (and try to avoid confusion--but it may not). There was a "Supergirl Rebirth #1", where the "Rebirth" was part of a series of what were basically Issue #0s, but not labeled that way, followed by a regular Issue #1 that didn't directly reference the other issue, but played in the same world.  The Rebirth Issue was so-so, okay I guess, but the actual #1 was far better. Especially the really quirky art in it. 

Setup-wise they do something mega-weird to merge what people expect from the TV show and what DC had previously for Supergirl in their stupid badly done "New 52" version. That version of her was angry, super-alien, wearing a fetishized outfit, etc. This version is based on that version having calmed down and acclimating to Earth via a deal she makes with the DEO. This version of Kara is about 16 (or at least passes for that in Earth disguise), and they half-borrow more from the TV show than the DEO.  Her Earth "handlers", Eliza and Jeremy Danvers, are impersonating parents, they don't appear to have another child named Alex, and Kara is given the classic Linda Danvers disguise (from earlier versions in the Silver and Bronze ages) of a brown wig. The DEO itself isn't run by any character we know from the TV show, nor are the other TV show characters like Winn or Jimmy around, although an alternate version of Cat Grant shows up by the end of Issue #1, and she's slightly less nice than the TV version.

As messy as it all sounds, it actually works. As I said, the art is really neat, and there are ENOUGH common factors with the TV show (the name Danvers, including the names of the "parents", the setting of National City, the DEO in SOME form) that I imagine those people WILL understand the book.  And it's got some wit in the writing.

The artwork you see in the post by @DCLeague is from the "Rebirth" issue and not what the actual #1 itself looks like, BTW.

[Kromm]

Here's some from the actual #1....

[MarkHB]

1 hour ago, Kromm said:

The DEO itself isn't run by any character we know from the TV show

Not entirely true; the director is Cameron Chase, who appeared, played by Emma Caulfield, as a Federal agent in the Toyman episode. So at least the name is there ;) 

[CabotCove]

Quote

Not entirely true; the director is Cameron Chase, who appeared, played by Emma Caulfield, as a Federal agent in the Toyman episode. So at least the name is there ;) 

Nice catch. i did not at all catch the name of such a minor character, now Im wondering if the show will expand her role in the future.

Quote

Here's some from the actual #1....

Thanks, I need to catch up havent read this one yet.

Edited September 10, 2016 by DCLeague

[Trini]

(Here since there isn't a show/universe comparison thread,)

1 hour ago, Kromm said:

They do stunt casting with former Supermen and Supergirls (and upcoming Wonder Women) as totally different people, because those aren't portrayed as actual alternates of the "Flarrowverse" multiverse. The one, the only, previous property where there's been ANY implication of an actual direct link is the 1990s Flash TV show (because they apparently showed that Flash in one of the wormhole visions Barry had when universe jumping), but even there I bet if they'd though more about it they wouldn't have done even that, since giving Barry's dad and an alternate version of Barry himself the same exact, if differently aged, face in different universes is still a bit iffy (even if less outrageous than giving an alien and a human the same face). 

About stuntcasting, and using actors to play the same characters they have played previously, or connecting two previously unrelated 'universes': I want to mention that Gotham cast Paul Reubens last season to play the Penguin's father. Reubens played the Penguin's father in Batman Returns. I don't know if that means the two are connected (probably not), but it's one case where I think stuntcasting worked well.

But speaking of The Flash, besides the glimpse of 1990 Flash, they also have had several of the characters (played by the same actors) from the 1990 show appear, connecting the shows. But they are different versions (who have not encountered a Flash), though.

[BkWurm1]

Quote

I want to mention that Gotham cast Paul Reubens last season to play the Penguin's father. Reubens played the Penguin's father in Batman Returns.

I'd not realized this. 

I don't think they could have done any better in casting him for Gotham even without any stunt casting to consider.  Reubens in general is a better actor than he's given credit for but even beyond that, the similarity in appearance was just wonderful.  Better with Gotham than even with DeVito's version of Penguin. 

[Trini]

Yep; his scenes were pretty much the only part of Gotham season 2 I watched. (photo under a spoiler because not Supergirl related):

Spoiler

Edited October 4, 2016 by Trini

[Trini]

Have Superman and Martian Manhunter had any feuds in the comics? (I'm sure all of the Justice League members have disagreements with each other, but I'm talking about maybe something that was a major plot.)

[The Crazed Spruce]

5 hours ago, Trini said:

Have Superman and Martian Manhunter had any feuds in the comics? (I'm sure all of the Justice League members have disagreements with each other, but I'm talking about maybe something that was a major plot.)

Nothing that I can recall, but I'm not really up to date with the Nu52 continuity.

[MarkHB]

I've been picking up the post-Rebirth Supergirl book, and with this week's #2 they brought in Cat Grant.  I can say that, as of last Wednesday, TV Cat has become comics canon Cat (although I don't know all the nuances of her family).  Steve Orlando did a great job of capturing how she's been written for TV, in fact.  For those who might want take a look at the run, you would want the Supergirl: Rebirth special, and then the two issues of the ongoing comic (which has "Rebirth" as a smaller banner below the title; the iconography for this project is ridiculously confusing).

[BkWurm1]

From the season two opening episode thread (The Adventures of Supergirl)

7 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

Nope.  In the comics, the first thing Superman did when he met Supergirl and learned her origin and that she was his cousin was tell her that she'd need to create a secret identity for herself just as he did.  He was even the one who suggested the wig to make her look like a completely different girl (granted, the pigtails were a little ridiculous for a 15-year-old, but what did HE know about what looks good on a teenage girl?).  And he didn't place her with a family -- he placed her with an orphanage where she spent the first two years of her existence on Earth.

But I fear that we are digressing from the topic of this episode, so before we draw the Wrath of Mod down upon us, I suggest that we take any further discussion of this point to the "Supergirl in the Comics" thread.

I know there are lots of versions of the origin story (for both Clark and Kara) but the one I know for Clark, he did NOT create a secret identity for himself, he was a baby/toddler that grew up with his family and the name they gave him, then created the secret identity of Superman and somewhere in between also learned his birth name.  

Still makes no sense to me that he'd push Kara to pick a vastly different name from her birth name when no one would know it.  Maybe Kara in the fifties was really unique and would have stood out too much?   Sure set her up with a paper trail so she can pass as human, but why make her change her name?  At that point in the comics, did Clark even have to worry about other kryptonians popping up and knowing stuff about he or his cousin?  

And I'm kind of really horrified that he dumped her in an orphanage.   Now I understand why she bother getting adopted at 17.  Superman sounds like  a douche.  

What am I saying?  I've seen the Silver age comics.  He was a douche, constantly making Lois think she was crazy while going out with her as Clark and pitching woo with her as Superman at the same time.  Jerk.  Lol.  

[stealinghome]

Quote

It's no bigger a cosmic coincidence than that both women just happen to look alike, lol.  Really, Kara's not that unusual of a name.

Yeah, I honestly think if people are going to make the connection between Kara Danvers and Supergirl/Kara Zor-El, it's going to be because, you know, they look exactly alike, not because they both happen to share a pretty common name (that very very very few people know about on the Supergirl side to boot). And honestly, if people are going to tie Supergirl/Kara Zor-El to a "Linda Danvers," they're not going to be put off the scent because the names are different. "We've found out that Supergirl's real first name is Kara, but this woman who looks exactly like her is named Linda? OOPS, DIFFERENT FIRST NAMES MEANS NO WAY THEY COULD BE THE SAME PERSON, WE'RE ON THE WRONG TRAIL!" would be some serious dumbassery, heh.

Edited October 29, 2016 by stealinghome

[legaleagle53]

14 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

From the season two opening episode thread (The Adventures of Supergirl)

I know there are lots of versions of the origin story (for both Clark and Kara) but the one I know for Clark, he did NOT create a secret identity for himself, he was a baby/toddler that grew up with his family and the name they gave him, then created the secret identity of Superman and somewhere in between also learned his birth name.  

Still makes no sense to me that he'd push Kara to pick a vastly different name from her birth name when no one would know it.  Maybe Kara in the fifties was really unique and would have stood out too much?   Sure set her up with a paper trail so she can pass as human, but why make her change her name?  At that point in the comics, did Clark even have to worry about other kryptonians popping up and knowing stuff about he or his cousin?   

Actually, he kind of did have to worry about that.  When he and Kara first figured out that they were cousins, he promised her that even though she had lost everything (as he had), he would look after her like a big brother.  She then asked him if that meant she would come and live with him, but he responded that that wouldn't work, because it could potentially compromise his secret identity if he were to have a strange girl suddenly living with him.  That's when he told her that she would have to have her own secret identity, and went off to find an appropriate Earth disguise for her. While he was off shopping, Kara used her newly-acquired super-hearing and heard many Earth names being used.  Out of the ones she heard, she picked "Linda Lee" as the name she liked the best.  By coincidence, she picked a name that had the initials L.L., the same as so many other people in Superman's life already had.

Oh, and as for the orphanage?  She hated living there.  The only reason she was finally able to be adopted was that she lost her powers (they had been stolen by an evil Kryptonian scientist who was jealous of Kara's powers and the fame she would gain as Supergirl), so there was nothing for her to hide from a potential set of foster parents.  It wasn't long after that that her powers were restored, but she still had to keep them and her true identity a secret from her foster parents until Superman decided that she was finally ready to go public.  Interestingly enough, it was an emergency that forced her to disclose her secret to her foster parents one day when the bridge that they were driving over suddenly collapsed.  Kara had to catch the car and fly it and her foster parents to safety, which is when she revealed her true identity and origin to them.  The next day, she and Superman revealed her existence as Supergirl to the world at large.

5 minutes ago, stealinghome said:

Yeah, I honestly think if people are going to make the connection between Kara Danvers and Supergirl/Kara Zor-El, it's going to be because, you know, they look exactly alike, not because they both happen to share a pretty common name (that very very very few people know about on the Supergirl side to boot). And honestly, if people are going to tie Supergirl/Kara Zor-El to a "Linda Danvers," they're not going to be put off the scent because the names are different. "We've found out that Supergirl's real first name is Kara, but this woman who looks exactly like her is named Linda? OOPS, DIFFERENT FIRST NAMES MEANS NO WAY THEY COULD BE THE SAME PERSON, WE'RE ON THE WRONG TRAIL!" would be some serious dumbassery, heh.

That's why she had to wear a dark wig as Linda -- although some people still figured her identity out the wig notwithstanding!

[BkWurm1]

14 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

She then asked him if that meant she would come and live with him, but he responded that that wouldn't work, because it could potentially compromise his secret identity if he were to have a strange girl suddenly living with him.

Again, what a jerk!  Figure out a plausible explanation!  Don't just shrug and say, it's your own problem, deal with it.  

14 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

Oh, and as for the orphanage?  She hated living there.  The only reason she was finally able to be adopted was that she lost her powers

So Silver age Clark was perfectly happy with letting his only living relative live alone and miserable with no hope of a way out for years until she suffers a terrible loss.  Need a stronger name to call Clark.  Glad I don't know that dude.  

[Perfect Xero]

The term is Superdickery.

Superman is a dick.

In fairness all silver age characters were pricks.

[BkWurm1]

Blows my mind at how differently people perceived these stories then.  

Yay for progress!

[bmoore4026]

So now that Mon-El is here, how many episodes do you give it before his little lead poisoning problem pops up? 

[BkWurm1]

15 minutes ago, bmoore4026 said:

So now that Mon-El is here, how many episodes do you give it before his little lead poisoning problem pops up? 

Given that lead is poisonous to humans as well, I'm not sure where he'd even run into it.  Old pipes or old paint?  Some old fishing weights? Maybe he eats too much Tuna?