Supergirl (television series)

FAN: Discuss various fictional worlds that don't qualify for SF.

Moderator: Steve

User avatar
Elheru Aran
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 13073
Joined: 2004-03-04 01:15am
Location: Georgia

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Elheru Aran »

For some reason I recall that Hank Henshaw/Cyborg Superman tended to bedevil Supergirl a bit more than he did Clark. Could be wrong about that, though.
It's a strange world. Let's keep it that way.
Simon_Jester
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 30165
Joined: 2009-05-23 07:29pm

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Simon_Jester »

Batman wrote:Especially as we're NOT talking Silver Age level. Kara was actually unsure she'd be bulletproof.
To be fair, even if I were suddenly given the powers of Silver Age Superman, I'd be reluctant to assume I was bulletproof until I had somehow tested my invulnerability on an expendable body part (maybe literally shooting myself in the foot?).

I mean, it's easy enough to test being super-strong and fast. The worst that happens if you try to pick up a giant rock and fail is relatively trivial. You KNOW your limits in those areas. But with invulnerability, the only way to be sure you have it is to deliberately expose yourself to things that will kill or maim you if you don't have it.
This space dedicated to Vasily Arkhipov
User avatar
Batman
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 16329
Joined: 2002-07-09 04:51am
Location: Seriously thinking about moving to Marvel because so much of the DCEU stinks

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Batman »

Kara had been on Earth for some years at that point. People (especially children) do get hurt. A lot. A bruised knee here, a scratch from a cat you teased a little too much, a glass shard you stepped on, falling down the stairs, Kara should at least know what doesn't hurt her.
Though since Clark is in, and she knows she has the same powers as him, shouldn't she know she has the same level of invulnerability? Or do we put this down to 'yeah, but he's been exposed to yellow sunlight a lot longer'?
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
User avatar
Elheru Aran
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 13073
Joined: 2004-03-04 01:15am
Location: Georgia

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Elheru Aran »

Simon_Jester wrote:
Batman wrote:Especially as we're NOT talking Silver Age level. Kara was actually unsure she'd be bulletproof.
To be fair, even if I were suddenly given the powers of Silver Age Superman, I'd be reluctant to assume I was bulletproof until I had somehow tested my invulnerability on an expendable body part (maybe literally shooting myself in the foot?).

I mean, it's easy enough to test being super-strong and fast. The worst that happens if you try to pick up a giant rock and fail is relatively trivial. You KNOW your limits in those areas. But with invulnerability, the only way to be sure you have it is to deliberately expose yourself to things that will kill or maim you if you don't have it.
It gets tricky when you run into things you're not even sure if they exist. How do you think Superman found out that (in some versions anyway) he was vulnerable to magic? Or the unexpected-- did Alan Scott know that wood can negate his version of Green Lantern powers? I mean, what, did Superman just walk up to Zatanna or Dr. Fate and go 'hey hit me with a little spell, if it bounces up go up a level until I tell you to stop'... bearing in mind that those guys could make a pretty big dent if they really turn up the juice...
It's a strange world. Let's keep it that way.
User avatar
Kojiro
Jedi Master
Posts: 1399
Joined: 2005-05-31 06:04pm
Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Kojiro »

Batman wrote:National City (and who came up with that?) is also a very 'tiny' part of the cosmos. Maybe the Big Guy's busy elsewhere, especially now he knows his cousin is on the job. Sure I travel. But only when dealing with problems that affect Gotham. I don't try to fix every problem everywhere the way Clark does.
While I'm sure he does travel to global events we know he's in Metropolis. And we know that Metropolis is in the US, as in National (yeah I agree, terrible name) City so there's only so much distance possible. If Clark is a globe hopper fine, but then he can also get to Kara.
Batman wrote:Oh they're going to introduce superspeed soon enough I'm sure,
It's a staple of the Kryptonian power set. Not having it would be as odd as lacking heat vision.
(though along with heat vision that does seem to be a rather underused power in their TV incarnations),
Heat vision is always underused. Always.
Batman wrote:but a) you don't know what level of superspeed we're talking about (for all we know in this universe Kryptonians are barely transonic) and b) even if we assume comics-level speed how do you know he's not busy fighting a hurricane in the Carribean or something?
Because we're told he hang out in Metropolis, at least a portion of the time (enough to hold down a job at least). But if he's got the speed to zip down to the Caribbean he's got the speed to zip over to National City right? Again, I'm not saying he should always show up, but he can't never show up either. The moment they acknowledged he existed he has to show up at some point. Hell I'd expect him to drop by and see his cousin just to see his cousin occasionally. Now she's decided to put on the family crest, go public, start using her (rusty damage causing) powers and fighting crime? That would be a fucking excellent time for an experienced, trusted, elder Kryptonian family member to show up and have some words.
Dragon Clan Veritech
User avatar
Batman
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 16329
Joined: 2002-07-09 04:51am
Location: Seriously thinking about moving to Marvel because so much of the DCEU stinks

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Batman »

Maybe he just plain doesn't like Kara. Until she came along, he was (potentially) the only superhero on Earth and (likely) the only one to wear the S shield. Perhaps he's miffed she's stealing his thunder.
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
User avatar
FaxModem1
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 7700
Joined: 2002-10-30 06:40pm
Location: In a dark reflection of a better world

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by FaxModem1 »

Birds of Prey faced the same problem, as you abandoned the city before the first episode.
Image
Simon_Jester
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 30165
Joined: 2009-05-23 07:29pm

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Simon_Jester »

Batman wrote:Kara had been on Earth for some years at that point. People (especially children) do get hurt. A lot. A bruised knee here, a scratch from a cat you teased a little too much, a glass shard you stepped on, falling down the stairs, Kara should at least know what doesn't hurt her.
Her reflexes should be good enough to protect her from clumsy accidents- if you have super-speed or anything close to it, you should be able to catch yourself well before you fall down a flight of stairs.

And she might know she's immune to shards of glass and cat claws, but that's a far cry from being immune to bullets.
Though since Clark is in, and she knows she has the same powers as him, shouldn't she know she has the same level of invulnerability? Or do we put this down to 'yeah, but he's been exposed to yellow sunlight a lot longer'?
She might have reason to believe she has the same invulnerability he does. Good reason, even. But it would purely suck to find out one was wrong about this by being shot full of bullets.

I mean, seriously Bats, if I told you there was a 95% chance you were immune to bullets, and gave evidence that this probability was the correct one, does that mean you'd go out and replicate the big blue boy scout's trick of standing there arms akimbo while someone unloads a submachine gun magazine into your chest? I'm pretty sure the answer is 'no,' because there's always that other 5%.
This space dedicated to Vasily Arkhipov
User avatar
Borgholio
Sith Acolyte
Posts: 6297
Joined: 2010-09-03 09:31pm
Location: Southern California

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Borgholio »

In Smallville that's pretty much what happens when Clark discovers he's bulletproof. He tried to avoid bullets until he got hit with a machine-gun and realized that even though (at his age) bullets leave bruises...they won't seriously injure him. At that point he stopped being afraid of them since he knew they couldn't kill him.
You will be assimilated...bunghole!
User avatar
Kojiro
Jedi Master
Posts: 1399
Joined: 2005-05-31 06:04pm
Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Kojiro »

Batman wrote:Maybe he just plain doesn't like Kara. Until she came along, he was (potentially) the only superhero on Earth and (likely) the only one to wear the S shield. Perhaps he's miffed she's stealing his thunder.
Come on man, we both know the reason he won't appear is to do with licensing. What you're describing would be a petty, insecure dick. Put it down to how aliens always speak English or how artificial gravity almost always functions no matter what- not everything has a good in world explanation. It's just reality that he very likely won't be in there and his absence will simply become more and more conspicuous over time.

As to her invulnerability, it's probably a gaff but look at this:
Image
Whoever pierced her ears had one hellishly powerful piercing gun. :lol:
Dragon Clan Veritech
User avatar
Batman
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 16329
Joined: 2002-07-09 04:51am
Location: Seriously thinking about moving to Marvel because so much of the DCEU stinks

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Batman »

Or kryptonite or a way to simulate red sunlight.
And no, she didn't have those when she left Krypton. And I don't know much about earrings but couldn't those be clip-ons?
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
Grumman
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 2488
Joined: 2011-12-10 09:13am

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Grumman »

Kojiro wrote:Whoever pierced her ears had one hellishly powerful piercing gun. :lol:
"You used the LHC to do what!?"
Batman wrote:And I don't know much about earrings but couldn't those be clip-ons?
No. Clip-on earrings work the same way a paperclip does. These ones don't have anything going around the ear to hold them in place.

On the other hand, there are apparently magnetic earrings, relying on magnetic attraction between two parts to hold the earring in place. That would work. Or she could just use glue.
User avatar
Batman
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 16329
Joined: 2002-07-09 04:51am
Location: Seriously thinking about moving to Marvel because so much of the DCEU stinks

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Batman »

Well if we want to get really silly those could be stickers that merely 'look' like earrings.
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
User avatar
Tsyroc
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 13746
Joined: 2002-07-29 08:35am
Location: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Tsyroc »

In most of the comics I've seen with Kryptonians they all seemed to get their powers pretty quickly under a yellow sun, but in John Byrne's Man of Steel didn't they take a bit longer to fully develop? I think he had flashes of them off and on as a child but for the most part they weren't there until he was nearly an adult. Of course this was done on purpose to ditch the idea of Superboy because they wanted Superman to be the first "modern" super hero.

I was going to say that no other Kyrptonians had a significant delay in getting powers but for a long time there were no other Kryptonians because it was planned that Kal-El would really be the only one left from the main reality. When they were still sticking with that idea there was the Invasion storyline where some Daxamites got empowered by the yellow sun very quickly and were at least near Superman's power levels at the same time. Of course they are a different species, even if sometimes they are stated to have been colonists from Krypton millennia in the past.

Anyway, what I'm suggesting is that in the show and maybe movie continuity that it might take some time living under a yellow sun for a Kryptonian's powers to fully develop. That could explain the pierced ears, Kara's bulletproof concern, and it might also explain why Kara's aunt has been in hiding for a decade instead of taking over the world. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to be on a new world and suddenly have all of these powers, especially the enhanced senses?

Anyone know how long Clark has been Superman in the continuity of the show? Are we supposed to assume he's been active since Man of Steel (the movie) or is this a different continuity? I'm kind of leaning towards the later, despite the similar effects for heat vision, mostly because people's attitudes towards Superman seem to be much more like pre New 52 Superman than I expect they would be after MoS.
By the pricking of my thumb,
Something wicked this way comes.
Open, locks,
Whoever knocks.
User avatar
Kojiro
Jedi Master
Posts: 1399
Joined: 2005-05-31 06:04pm
Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Kojiro »

Tsyroc wrote:Anyone know how long Clark has been Superman in the continuity of the show?
In the pilot he's been on earth 24 years when Kara arrives and he shows up in full costume. The story then pick up 9 years later. In the scene his cousin arrives on Earthy and he pops her free of her pod then books it- doesn't even stick around to welcome her. Which is fine- he's Superman and it's entirely likely he's got something more important to do than chit chat at any given moment. He does come back though, to help her out but we can assume he flew off rapidly to go do some super hero work. That means in the Supergirl timeline he's been active at least nine years, possibly more.
Dragon Clan Veritech
J Ryan
Youngling
Posts: 140
Joined: 2005-05-17 02:27pm
Location: Somewhere out there

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by J Ryan »

Kojiro wrote:
Tsyroc wrote:Anyone know how long Clark has been Superman in the continuity of the show?
In the pilot he's been on earth 24 years when Kara arrives and he shows up in full costume. The story then pick up 9 years later. In the scene his cousin arrives on Earthy and he pops her free of her pod then books it- doesn't even stick around to welcome her. Which is fine- he's Superman and it's entirely likely he's got something more important to do than chit chat at any given moment. He does come back though, to help her out but we can assume he flew off rapidly to go do some super hero work. That means in the Supergirl timeline he's been active at least nine years, possibly more.
Well at roughly the same time there was a Kryptonian spaceship/prison thing crashing so he probably had more important stuff to deal with.
User avatar
biostem
Jedi Master
Posts: 1488
Joined: 2012-11-15 01:48pm

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by biostem »

I tend to like the DC animated movies over their live action stuff, with the reverse being true to Marvel's works. That being said, I would have preferred if they had done Powergirl instead - a strong, confident, and aggressive superheroine, who doesn't have to play the shy bumbling girl while in her alter-ego. Yes, she'd be much higher on the fanservice, but I think you can do it as a "smart sexy" instead of just "look at my boobs!"
User avatar
mr friendly guy
The Doctor
Posts: 11235
Joined: 2004-12-12 10:55pm
Location: In a 1960s police telephone box somewhere in Australia

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by mr friendly guy »

Watching episode 2 now.

Supergirl should have just use freeze breath to stop the oil leaking out until clean up crews arrive.
Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.

Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
User avatar
Tsyroc
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 13746
Joined: 2002-07-29 08:35am
Location: Tucson, Arizona

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Tsyroc »

mr friendly guy wrote:Watching episode 2 now.

Supergirl should have just use freeze breath to stop the oil leaking out until clean up crews arrive.
There were several things she could have done differently or better in dealing with that problem. Moving the boat from the rear, towing it via the anchor, using the "freeze breath" on the back of the ship to keep it from getting hot enough to ignite.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode more than the pilot.

I liked her interactions with the various cast of characters and I liked the flashback to Krypton, and her recollections about Krypton. Because of her backstory I think she can be a much more interesting character than Superman. Add that to her cousin being this superhero icon, and now her aunt is a supervillain. She's got a lot on her plate for a new hero.
By the pricking of my thumb,
Something wicked this way comes.
Open, locks,
Whoever knocks.
User avatar
Batman
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 16329
Joined: 2002-07-09 04:51am
Location: Seriously thinking about moving to Marvel because so much of the DCEU stinks

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Batman »

So no female Zod afterall, superspeed is in (if only transonic for now), and heat vision is still blue.
Kara hasn't mastered freeze breath yet (as evidenced by her failure to blow out the fire), and I liked her boo-boo with the ship. She's been at this for all of a week.
Plus she's clearly straining to move the ship (if we take 'almost a million barrel' to mean 750,000 or more she's moving upwards of 95,000 tons plus whatever the ship weighs) and comes straight from a rigorous training exercise, might have been fatigue making her slip up. That's what it looked like to me anyway.
Bouncy bullets are in (that always annoys me but it's a staple of S entertainment so that was probably inevitable) but her solution to the guy with the shotgun was...ingenious.
'You said it was a cat!' 'Who names a snake Fluffy?' :)
The kryptonite being a surprise to Astra was nicely done I think.
I liked the way she set up the interview. :)
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
bilateralrope
Sith Acolyte
Posts: 5936
Joined: 2005-06-25 06:50pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by bilateralrope »

Batman wrote:The kryptonite being a surprise to Astra was nicely done I think.
It made me think that kryptonite is an artificial substance in this series.
User avatar
Batman
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 16329
Joined: 2002-07-09 04:51am
Location: Seriously thinking about moving to Marvel because so much of the DCEU stinks

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Batman »

bilateralrope wrote:
Batman wrote:The kryptonite being a surprise to Astra was nicely done I think.
It made me think that kryptonite is an artificial substance in this series.
They called it 'a radioactive mineral from your planet' in the pilot so I don't think so.
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
bilateralrope
Sith Acolyte
Posts: 5936
Joined: 2005-06-25 06:50pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by bilateralrope »

Batman wrote:
bilateralrope wrote:
Batman wrote:The kryptonite being a surprise to Astra was nicely done I think.
It made me think that kryptonite is an artificial substance in this series.
They called it 'a radioactive mineral from your planet' in the pilot so I don't think so.
If that is the truth, why has Astra not heard of it before ?

Then there is the silliness of so much of it somehow ending up on Earth. Sure, that silliness has been part of the Superman comics for ages, but it's still silly.

I see two possible explanations:
- It being from Krypton is a lie.
- It was extremely rare on Krypton. Humans got hold of a sample, possibly from the crashed prison, and figured out how to make more of it.
User avatar
Batman
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 16329
Joined: 2002-07-09 04:51am
Location: Seriously thinking about moving to Marvel because so much of the DCEU stinks

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by Batman »

-It was a completely ordinary mineral on Krypton, it's the yellow sun/Earth's atmosphere/whatever else is different here that made it dangerous to kryptonians.
Besides, Krypton has always been more of a shaped charge aimed squarely at planet Earth than a regular planet. I think the only time the stuff was not all over the place were the Reeve Superman movies and Returns.
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
User avatar
mr friendly guy
The Doctor
Posts: 11235
Joined: 2004-12-12 10:55pm
Location: In a 1960s police telephone box somewhere in Australia

Re: Supergirl (television series)

Post by mr friendly guy »

In the comics kryptonite only came about after krypton exploded, with the explosion causing some weird reaction to occur with normal ground. So its not surprising Astra hasn't heard of kryptonite since it only appeared after Krypton exploded whereas she had been imprisoned off world for goodness knows how long.
Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.

Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
Post Reply