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Blog: How Supergirl won over a skeptical comic fan

I’ll admit it. I didn’t watch the first season of Super Girl on CBS, because, reasons. But I love the Berlanti-verse and felt the need to get all caught up before the second season premiere on CW. Cue the summer binge watch of season one.

I’m nearly finished, and, I have to say, I’m sold on it.

It didn’t come easily, though. The 1984 Super Girl movie is pretty universally ranked as one of the worst super hero movies ever produced. Initial word about this current series seemed to focus on silly aspects, like Super Girl’s costume, rather than who would play her or the plot. It felt kind of patronizing. I gave it some side-eye.

Meanwhile, Marvel had been branching out in its comics, and doing a good job of diversifying, creating real characters with depth instead of just being there for diversity’s sake.

And now? I can say in clean conscience that DC and Berlanti did a good job with Super Girl. They certainly made up for that movie. They matched Marvel in branching out and fleshing out.

Kara as a “human” is dorky and fun, and that dorkiness carries over to her super hero life in a way that doesn’t feel put on. She’s not just being dorky for the sake of cutesy, it informs but doesn’t mark the super hero part of her world. She’s earnest and sincere and the character interacts in just that way with her friends.

In fact, I enjoy all of the supporting characters in Super Girl. Cat Grant is the only one that wears on me. Her characterization feels heavy-handed. We get it, Cat, you’re supposed to be the…tough but not nice person in charge. I mean, I like that they portray a character this way, torn between being the boss and being the woman that had to sacrifice quite a bit, or act tough as nails when she may not have always wanted to, to get where she is. But she feels like a caricature, they laid it on just a bit too thick. Of all of them, she feels like a cartoon, and that says something when the other boss is a green Martian.

(But word is that Callista Flockhart may not be so thrilled on travelling up to British Columbia, where Super Girl’s production has moved-and where many CW shows are shot-so we may not see that much of Cat Grant anyway).

I’m looking forward to finishing up season one just in time for season two, but I don’t know I how I feel about Superman actually appearing (and not in the about-to-pass-out/save-the-day sort of appearance). I’ve liked that he’s mentioned and referenced, but isn’t really looming over the show, so that Kara can find her own way. It’s been fun discovering right along with Super Girl, just what it takes to be super. Will she still have that journey with Superman on stage?

My only real regret on this show? That they’ve already established that she’s in an off-shoot of the Berlanti-verse, not on Earth One. So any interaction with the Flash, Arrow, or Legends (or even Vixen from CW Seed) would take some string-pulling and shenanigans that could get tiresome over time. Super Girl would be a welcome regular breath of fresh air when things get too heavy in Earth One, and even the Flash has his dark days. Who wouldn’t love to see Kara out-dorking Barry as many times as we’ve seen Barry bring sunlight into Oliver Queen’s brooding?

Who knows what could happen, but, while I’m ‘fessing up, here’s to the expected Flash/Super Girl musical crossover!