DC Arrowverse 2016 - a review - part 1 - Supergirl.

Okay been stewing on this so think it's best to get it out in chunks

Supergirl

I show best remembered by those that are comic readers and those that have not successfully repressed the movie from the 80's (where the main actor was great and everything else blew).

It is particularly funny as it was the only part of the arrowverse that ended up on prime time tv.

The Good:

Supergirl: Melissa Benoit take a bow.  you did a fantastic job presenting a character that could easily have been a flop.

Cat Grant: Felicia Lockheart was playing the Perry White role, but in a way that has a heavy dose of J Jonah Jameson in it.  She did a fantastic job and more often then not stole the scenes from pretty much everybody.  I heard she might be sidelined or removed and I will miss her if that is the case.

Martian Manhunter:  They did a fantastic job setting up this character.  He's a being that is suffering from serious ptsd, and somehow ended up the head of a alien hunter organisation.  Furthermore, he's somewhat terrified of not getting caught, but what he can do to others.  He also took over the surrogate father role of the Krytonian and her sister and honestly, he's a really nice guy that doesn't suck.  He's willing to suffer for the greater good and he has excellent puppy dog eyes that gets you in the feels.  The Snyderverse were fools to not use him.   Better then that, they set up the character so you didn't know it was him and suspected another metahuman until he revealed himself.

Plus it was fun seeing how terrifying White Martians are that when Indigo and Non did the prison break, they didn't dare release it.

The Flash/Supergirl Crossover:  I think I could watch Grant and Melissa read the phone book and it would be entertaining.  they had serious bro chemistry.

Her Rogue Gallery: The way I see it, if superman isn't using his rogues gallery beyond Lex Luthor and Zod in the movieverse, give them to supergirl.   It's been a blast seeing some of these villains brought to life.

Shorter Arcs: I would argue that Supergirl had faster drama then any other series in the drama verse and it felt like progression because of it.  I'll explain in more detail in later blog entries about other series.

Astra / Non:  I liked the fact that while villains, they had a connection to the heroes and how tragic the situation regarding kypton really was.  For all we know, they were right and krypton should have still been around.   Furthermore, despite being the main villain, Astra's death was tragic for everybody involved and showed there has to be a better way.

It also explains why non was on the semi-rebound when he met up with indigo, he grew darker because at heart, he is a follower whose trying to do the right thing.

Getting There:

Alex:  She did well enough, but she's a bloody lemming.  Listen to your adopted sister and surrogate dad and fight like a human.  But she does now have a shiny new suit of power armor.

For example in the penultimate episodes, Jonn's already fighting tooth and nail against a braniac level opponent and honestly, the only reason he lost is because he was babysitting. :(

Jimmy Olson:  Besides my issues with the removal of red headed characters from fiction, I think he did a good enough job, but you get the vibe he was hired as eye candy.  The breaking in Maxwell Lords was classic Jimmy Olson, and adding Winn as backup worked quite well.

Livewire:  I think they have done a great enough job with the character and she should become slowly but surely one of the better characters in the show.  The actor that can plays it well, but they need to give her better dialogue to show that her greatest weapon isn't her power, but her tongue.  I also love the idea that she's the only reoccurring villain that isn't connected to the metaplot.  Besides using her tongue, make her a recruiter of other supervillains and have her dress them because it's hilarious thinking that all those horrible costumes are her ideas.

I'm kinda sad they didn't put her back in the D.E.O. because her tongue would have done more damage if she got out then her powers ever did.

Maxwell Lord:  I'm completely on the fence for this one.  He seemed originally like a Lex Luthor knock off, but he slowly but surely became quite likeable, abet egomaniac and the dynamic between him and Kara really did help a lot.  If he doesn't return next season, it will suck, but could be worse.

Winn Schott:  I think he came off incredibly creepy in the first few episodes, but seems generally to be a good egg with a lot of baggage.   What they do with his story arc will determine his worth.

What wasn't Good:

General Sam Lane:  This character was cartoony and unbelievable and this is in a comic book tv show.  He reminds me of the worst aspects of General Ross from Marvel.

Indigo:  Not the worst person on this list by any means, and the idea of a vengeful Brainiac is a terrifying idea, but she felt like a poor woman's Mystique in that costume.  Not absolutely horrible, but could be better.

Red Tornado:   He really looked quite bad, but if his function was to figure out the ins and outs of costume design I'm okay with it, but seriously he needs to return after his upgrade, if only to seek forgiveness for his design.

Lucy Lane:  The name bugs me, but it's more the reason for the character. She was shoehorned in to create a triangle for Jimmy Olson's affection and it didn't quite work.

Stuff I want:

Lobo:  You do not mention the main man in passing and do not use him.  I understand that he would break your rating and cause serious complications, but dag nab it, I want his snarky one liners and his bad attitude.

Maxima:  She had a 3 minute cameo and it was awesome.  We need more of them as she could be more of a foil then an actual villain.  A reflection of what Kara is on red kryptonite as it were.

Ultrahumanite: I think the dcau ultrahumanite would be a fantastic addition to the supergirls rogues gallery.  He's a supervillain whom would be a serious threat if he didn't have that soft streak.  afterall what do you do with a person whom trashed the art gallery and saved the orphanage?  He could have almost a hannibal lecteur relationship, but less creepy. Plus his ability to put his brain in other characters means he can have guest cameos if gorilla cgi costs too much.

What I don't want

Is too many female derivatives of superman rogues character.  Either use the original or create somebody new.

One Last Thought:

In order to entertain you guys until the latest episode comes out, here's a random table.

(d20) The what's in the pod table:
1 Beppo the Super Monkey
2 Comet the Super Horse
3 Doomsday
4 Eradicator
5 Kalibak (his dad kicked him out)
6 Kilowog (because honestly we go with the best :D)
7 Krypto the Super Dog
8 Lobo (3 day benders are a pain)
9 Mister Mxyzptlk
10 Power Girl
11 Proty
12 Random cw character (see table 2)
13 Reach Symbiote
14 Starro
15 Streaky the Super Cat
16 Supermarina sauce
17 Superpope hat
18 A Toyman's Wonderful Toy
19 Ultrahumanite (he was doing a rendition of richard III and things got out of hand)
20 Zod