#Lesla-Lar

[orange-s-mario]

SUPERGIRLS

Super-Girl

A superheroine wished into existence by Jimmy Olsen

2. Queen Lucy of Borgonia

the queen of a fictional latin american country named Borgonia. She became queen because her parents died, and a Count named Norvello, kept her hidden from the public, in the hopes that she wouldn't steal the hearts of her citizens and allow him to quietly rule the country with an iron fist.

3. Linda Lee Danvers/Kara Zor-El (Earth-One)

The original that sacrificed herself to save the multiverse/remaining people of the surviving universes. She was brought back in "Many Happy Returns" but then goes back to original Earth-One. I think she's now alive somewhere because of convergence??? She also showed up as Linda Danvers's guardian angel and visited Deadman on Christmas. She's met the original legion

4. Ellie Leeds

She was the first to discover Supergirl's arrival, but was exposed to X-Kryptonite and fell into a coma. When she awoke years later - after a chance meeting with Supergirl - she started exhibiting Supergirl's powers, and also believed she was the Girl of Steel.

5. Louise-L

the Supergirl of the 5020th Century; She traveled back in time, to prevent the goals of some villains named Toxus and Tal Belok

6. Matrix/Mae Kent

Matrix, a protoplasmic creation of an alternate universe Lex Luthor. She's met the reboot legion

6/7. Earth-Angel of Fire Supergirl

Linda Danvers, who fused with Matrix to become an Earth-Angel

7. Linda Danvers

Linda and Matrix unfuse and Linda goes on an adventure to find Matrix. I think she's met one of the legions?

8. Ariella Kent

Linda Danvers's daughter who was saved from the pre-crisis multiverse, and now exists in the future. She has pre-crisis kryptonian level powers

9. Cir-El

thought to be Superman's daughter from the future, but was actually a personality grafted onto a separate person made by a future version of Brainiac to ensure that version's existence

10. Linda Lang/Kara Zor-El

The Post-Crisis version of Supergirl, I think much of the weirdness in her origin was because of Kryptonite poisoning? She's met threeboot legion

11. Kara Zor-El/Kara Danvers

The New 52 and onwards version of Kara Zor-El Supergirl, they showed much more of Argo's history in this version

12. Kara Zor-El/Karen Starr, First Supergirl, later Power Girl

The New 52 Earth 2 version of Karen Starr, she has a similar origin to post-crisis and new 52 Supergirl where Superman grew up before she arrived on Earth, but like Earth-Two, the Superman and Lois of her world basically adopted her. She became Power Girl due to getting stranded on Earth 0

Karas

See Linda Lee Danvers

Kara Zor-L/Karen Starr (Earth-Two)

(*sigh* also known as Paige Stetler) from Earth-Two, second Kara introduced, for a time, she was Atlantean. She is the only survivor of Earth-Two, except something something convergence :

3. Kara from Superman/Aliens

The third Kara introduced, she is from a space colony named Argo (not the Kryptonian City, but instead from a planet named Odiline) that got destroyed by Xenomorphs, She and Superman tried to save the last Argonians, but they failed

4. See Kara Zor-El/Linda Lang

5. Kara Zor-L/Karen Starr (Earth 2) (Post-Infinite Crisis)

A Power Girl from Earth 2, which seems to be a universe much in-line with Earth-Two, although there are differences here and there

6. See Kara Zor-El/Kara Danvers

7. See Kara Zor-El/Karen Starr

Honorable Mention Kara (She hasn't interacted with main continuity): Kara In-Ze

the DCAU version of Supergirl. She comes from Krypton's sister planet named "Argo," she was adopted by the Kents, but then decided to stay in the future in the legion

Laurel Kent, despite not being here for Supergirl or Kara reasons, she is here due to Supergirl and the legion

She was initially introduced as Clark's descendant. For some reason, despite being in the future, Legion of Superheroes had tie-ins for event annuals. Superman editorial (presumably because of Byrne) wanted to get rid of all kryptonians, so guess what happens during Millenium:

anyways. the reason she is on this post:

Andromedas

Laurel Gand/(was called Andromeda pre-5YL) (5 Years Later)

Due to editorial mandates, Kara was erased from the legion's history. Laurel Gand, a distant relative of Lar Gand takes her place. She basically has the same history as Kara except Khunds keep on trying to kill Daxamites

1.5/2. Laurel Gand/Andromeda (SW6)

A time paradox duplicate of Laurel Gand.

3. Laurel Gand (Earth-247)

She's a literal xenophobe now. She gets better and becomes a nun to atone

Misc?

Sensor Girl

(so she doesn't actually count, but it was noticeable enough to mention)

Lesla-Lar

Lesla-Lar was a kandorian scientist, who was an orphan that took the last name of her best friend Zora Vi-Lar. She was killed by phantom zone criminals she released, but then became a ghost where she still troubled Supergirl. Her initial plan was to replace Kara as Supergirl Also Lana Lang with a helmet

The helmet supposedly gives superpowers to those who wield it - but it does not. Superboy tricks Lana into thinking it does due to Clark wearing the helmet while bullets bounced off of him

#supergirl #Super-Girl #Queen Lucy of Borgonia #Ellie Leeds #Kara Zor-El #Kara Zor-L #Karen Starr #Aliens!Kara #Mae Kent #Linda Danvers #Cir-El #Ariella Kent #Louise-L #Sensor Girl #Laurel Gand #Lesla-Lar #Linda Lee Danvers #Linda Lang #Kara Danvers #Andromeda #Laurel Kent #Lana Lang #comic continuity and idenity ramblings

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

Zeta-Rho and Tal Zeta-Rho (or just Tal-Rho), the survivors of the House of Rho and Lara Lor-Van’s ex-husband and oldest child, respectively.

Surviving Krypton’s destruction along with a small population of others, Zeta’s initial distrust of the terran “Superman” who saved them turned to pure hatred when he discovered that this Superman was Kal-El, child of his lawful wife and her deranged, self-indulgent paramour, Cor-Vex. Considering Kal completely untrustworthy on the basis of being descended from clones, perverts, and general raconteurs, Zeta pushed the survivors of Kandor, Argo, and the Phantom Zone--now all in something of a loose, tenuous alliance as they struggled to define what a New Krypton would even look like in light of General Zod’s horrifying failed attempt to forcibly terraform Earth--to excommunicate El, seeking backing from Ziala Nen-Fe in the re-establishment of a proper Reign*

*historical note: a “Reign” is a Terran English translation of a very complicated, borderline inexplicable form of Kryptonian government, but is best understood here as Zeta essentially agitating for a fascist coup with the backing of Ziala’s religious constituents.

Tal is less extreme than their father, but none the less unsure of how to relate to Kal initially. As a child, Tal harbored many negative feelings in response to what they had perceived as their mother’s abandonment. Tal’s time with their brother and his terran family helped change Tal’s mind as they began to see the ways Zeta’s extremism and cruelty had forced Lara away and kept her away, separating Tal from Lara permanently out of pure spite despite her and Jor’s repeated legal attempts to gain custody of the child (prevented both by the Kryptonopolis government’s distaste for Jor-El’s claims of planerary destruction and Zeta’s willful act of turning his child against their mother out of pure spite).

Tal also has something of a romantic attachment with Kandorian Roboticist Lesla-Larr (who maintains the mock-Coluan cybernetics Tal received from a run-in with a Brainiac Drone) and is quite fond of the younger Lara Kon-El, both bonding over being non-binary Kryptonians and their culture’s history with gender, both before and after the planet’s destruction and sustained contact with Earth.

#dc #headverse #fanart #tal-rho #zeta-rho #lesla-lar #kandor #argo #new krypton #superman #superhuman

[nitpickrider]

She released the 3 worst people in Kryptonian history and is SURPRISED when she gets double crossed Action Comics 297

#dc #dcu #dc comics #dc universe #superhero #comics #general zod #jax ur #kru el #lesla lar

[bisupergirl]

when kara gets another ongoing i’d love it if whoever writes it would include some of her lesser known and underutilized villains. orlando did this to an extent by including psi and selena (which i loved) early on in vol 7, but neither of them really had a huge presence in that run, which is a shame bc i really loved the new designs they got.  

idk like clark has a revolving cast of villains he gets to go up against over and over again, but kara’s villains stick around for one arc and are never seen again. kind of lame! psi, reactron, lesla lar, black flame, superwoman, selena, nasty luthor, reign and the worldkillers, etc etc etc--she has a solid gallery of villains that could brought back and utilized in interesting ways

#the gang! nightflame! simon tycho! and many more! #let them all come together and try to beat kara's ass! it'll be fun! #an excellent example of this is the way sterling gates used reactron in sg vol 5.... chefs kiss #kara zor el

[kassies-take]

"If you depowered yourself to save your team (Legends or Team Supergirl)" If you choose to involve the Legends, it doesn't HAVE to tie into the three interconnected If Yous. Think of it like: Either the villain gave the Reader a choice ("your powers or their lives") or Reader threw herself in to save them but lost her powers in the process.

If You depowered yourself to save Superfriends

Superfriends: *groans and holds their heads*

You: *looks around* w-what’s happening

Lesla-Lar: they are losing their will sweetie *walks around you* I’m amazed that you’re surviving this. But you won’t after I’ve taken over their minds

You: *mumbles* this is like myriad all over again

Lesla-Lar: yes... only there is no hope this time *disappears*

Supergirl: *stands*

You: Kara

Supergirl: *punches you*

You: *sheilds her punch with your force fields*

Honeycomb shield: *blocks all of Kara’s moves*

Controlled Supergirl: *chuckles* I get it now, you can’t be controlled because your mind is shielded

You: *clenches teeth* what is your plan!

Controlled Supergirl: I want to be Supergirl! She has the fame, she has the life!

You: than let everyone go!

Controlled Supergirl: *pouts* but they’re valuable to my life. I’m Supergirl!

You: *mumbles* yeah even supergirl doesn’t get what she wants *sends Supergirl across the street with your shields, creates spinning disks of shields*

Controlled Supergirl: you can’t hurt me it hurts Kara too

You and Controlled Supergirl: *fighting*

Controlled Supergirl: *knocks you into the asphalt* You know I actually like your powers more than Supergirl’s

Superfriends: *begins to fall one at a time*

You: *panting* if you like it you should take it

Controlled Supergirl: *freezes* is this a trap?

You: *panting* I promise you it’s not. Just release everyone one, including supergirl and I’ll give them to you

Lena: *manages to spit through groans* (Y/n) your powers are keeping you alive

You: *ignores Lena*

Controlled Supergirl: deal

Lesla-Lar: *appears*

You: *shoots your sheilds towards Lesla Lar*

Lesla-Lar: *smiles as she absorbs the sheilds, screams as bones and organs begin to squish against each other*

You: *tired smile* you never said how you wanted your shields

Lesla-Lar: *chokes, falls & blood oozes out of her nose*

You: merry Christmas

Lesla-Lar: *dies*

You: *falls on the ground*

Superfriends: (y/n)!!

Alex: *holds you* hey kiddo we’re gonna get you to the D.E.O

Kara: *caresses your cheek* I am so proud of you. The training paid off

Nia: What was Lena saying about your powers protecting you?

Lena: *croaches next to you* why did you do that?

You: *out of breath* it was me or the team

Kara: *frowns* L-Lena what does that mean?

Lena: *sighs* Lex created a virus that is genetically enhanced to kill off all of (Y/n)’s cells. He wanted to get to me. We couldn’t remove it so she encased the virus in a shield

Kara: *holds your hands & frantically rambles* (y/n) tell me you didn’t give her your powers

Nia: *dejected* she didn’t give Lesla her powers she used it all to pull that move

Alex: Dammit (y/n/n).

James: Haren-El would be good around now

Lena: *shakes her head* Haren-El takes days to make. I had J’onn erase the formula from my head. Only Eve knows it now, and she hasn’t been scene for months

Alex: Brainy how long does she have

Brainy: with my calculations, about 4 hours

Superfriends: *freezes*

You: I’m not ready to die

Danvers Sisters: you’re not going to die

Alex: Kara freeze her

Kara: *eyes widens* w-what

Alex: freeze her so Lena can make the Haren-El or we find Eve

Lena: I’ll get working on it *runs towards L-Corp*

Brainy: I will go with you

Kara: *flies you to the Fortress of Solitude* Lena will save you, we will be here when you wake up

You: *nods*

Kara: *freeze breaths your body*

#supergirl #supergirl imagine #supergirl imagines #kara danvers #alex danvers #lena luthor #brainiac 5 #nia nal #lesla-lar #dc comics #lex luthor #If You

[aquamancienne]

Superman & Lois 1.03 “The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower”

#superman and lois #supermanandloisedit #dcedit #dctvedit #sal: 103 #tyler hoechlin #clark kent #superman #elizabeth tulloch #lois lane #jordan elsass #jonathan kent #alex garfin #jordan kent #stacey farber #leslie larr #lesla lar #mes creations #still stupid in love with this show #sal*

[amandajoyce118]

In case anyone is curious as to just what inspires the Superman & Lois character.

#superman and lois #dc comics #leslie larr #lesla lar #i wrote a thing

[superlustersnew52]

So after Supergirl had Superman comic plots for the entire course of the show (minus season 3), now that there’s a Superman show...

They might’ve just cast a Supergirl villain for the Superman show.

#you just can't make this up #they announced casting for a character named 'Leslie Larr' and in the comics there's a Supergirl villain called 'Lesla-Lar' so...hmm...weird #ooc

[thesupergirls]

Thinking about how in silver age comics Kara Zor-El, Lois Lane, Lena Luthor, Saturn Girl and Lesla-Lar were all canonically identical

#and I don't mean they happen to be drawn similar #I mean in text they are doppelgangers #that's so funny the fuck was up with that #kara zor el #Lois lane #lena luthor #supergirl #liv.txt

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Ah! There’s been a brief break in the schedule from hell! QUICK, LET’S GEEK OUT OVER Supergirl, episode 6x13, “The Gauntlet”, while we have the chance!

SPOILERS!

We jump right in with a Fortress visit (woo!) and Vita (Vida?) our resident Kryptonian witch!

And like...choices are being made with this performance. I’m...not entirely sure what those choices are, necessarily, but. Not mad about it! It’s a weird blend of funny and unsettling, which kinda works?

Especially given the overall tone of the episode.

Love that Kara’s like, ‘yeah, it’s magic.’ And Lena’s like, 

Anyways! Vita lays down the ground rules for the McGuffin hunt, and then we’re off!

Definitely thought Dr. Lahr was a reference to Lesla-Lar, a Silver Age Supergirl villain (who kind of appeared in Superman & Lois? Like, in name only?) but nope! It’s a reference to Bert Lahr, the actor who played the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, as per one of the writers of this episode.

(Which is neat b/c it ties in thematically with the whole totem plot and ALSO b/c that’s Kara’s favorite film!)

Love the bit where Nyxly was exasperated by heist movie genre conventions. XD

Love Nyxly in general, TBH.

Like. Peta Sergeant is killin’ it, both the wacky chaotic stuff and the more serious, emotional side. And. AND. It’s good and personal, between her and Kara. (And it gets even MORE personal in this episode but! I’m getting ahead of myself.)

Appreciate that the Alex and Kelly stuff at the tail end of the last episode was not a one-and-done! Kelly is still processing, and Alex is still giving her space to do so.

Chyler’s ‘Oh-kay’ was very cute.

New CGI CatCo shot? Maybe? Don’t think we’ve seen the building from that angle.

*GASP!* MY BOY. WILL.

PROCESSING HIS PTSD???? 

More good crumbs! I will take them!

Dear SG writers, re: David and Goliath: Not a slingshot. Just a sling.

But I understand that visually, that would not have worked for a prop, so. I will give it a pass. XD

Another shout out to the woman who brought her pet lizard to the science museum. 

Kara then zaps the artifact, and, in the words of Warehouse 13 agents, ‘everyone gets whammied.’ 

And then Brainy is possessed by Vita (natch) and apparently, ‘Are these his nipples?’ was a Jesse ad lib.

Bravo, sir. I laughed out loud.

(Honestly I laughed a lot during this episode. Just. Delightful performances all around!)

“I did not like that.” 

And then PILOT KARA?!?!?!?!?!?!

WITH SEASON ONE SCORE!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Also MAJOR PROPS to the production design folks, I totally thought they were recycling footage and then Kara spoke and I was like, ‘WHOA. WHOA THIS IS NEW.’

Plane saaaaaaave!!!! :D :D :D :D

Love it. Love it so much.

And OooOOoOOoh, that little bit! That we didn’t see before! Kara ignored calls for help because she was afraid of revealing her identity!

(What you wanna bet the Courage Totem wanted her to do exactly that?)

Love her big smile after she saves the guy, though. You can tell that it’s, you know. Obviously 30-something Melissa, not 20-something Melissa, but that smile? Like steppin’ back in time.

Perhaps it was simply the CW ads playing during the commercial breaks, but the whole ‘YOU FAILED’ and ‘totem’ aspect gave me Legends of the Hidden Temple vibes.

Unintentional cross promotion! XD

The Fifth Dimension is...fine? Kinda lackluster, for an entirely different plane of existence, but, you know. Budgets.

Not a fan of Nyxly’s dress. 

But very good character stuff!

Meanwhile, back at the museum:

And THIS, my friends, is where the episode jumps from ‘pretty darn good!’ to ‘practically perfect in every way.’

Because J’onn has the courage to freely express his feelings and Alex has the courage to be dangerously optimistic. Which means we get gems such as:

SWEET, another dragon!

And can I just say how proud I am to have watched you both grow into the strong women you are today?

Uh, Mr. Dragon sir? Two minutes of your time. Just two minutes.

(To the woman throwing coffee cups) Good hit.

These people must be so scared...but they’re being so brave.

My immediate thought, when finishing this episode, was that I wanted a gifset of just J’onn lines, but. Upon further reflection, you just can’t capture how excellent the line reads are in plain text.

Thus, I feel like the best thing would just be a J’onn supercut.

Sadly, there’s only a Lena supercut for this episode that youtube thought I’d want to see HAHAHA I hate it here.

J’onn: Alex is such a courageous hero. :D

Kara: Yeah, normally she’s a grade-A, glass-half-shattered realist. >:C

I am happy that Katie didn’t have to wear uncomfortable heels in this episode but uuuhhhh...the white sneakers with the Janet-From-The-Good-Place outfit is...certainly...a look.

I like the CGI on Kara rushing around the city to save people! It looked really cool, the glowing lights of the buildings and the white streak of Kara speeding/hopping around. 

And ooooh, the shot of Kara holding the totem at the rainy window. Nice and moody.

Every time they bring up Project Bolt I’m just like:

This? This Bolt? Aaaand now I’m sad about the lack of Krypto on this show.

Guesstimating?!??!?!

XD

Right, so. Then we get the Lightning storm showdown and I love it.

We’ve got WILLIAM! OUR BOY! SAVING A KID!

And then J’onn being like, ‘Bummer. I understand your frustration. Wanna talk about it?’

And Kara ultimately putting the safety and well-being of her team ahead of ‘beating’ Nxyly aaaahhhh yes, excellent, wonderful, stellar.

(Also Dr. Lahr uselessly pounding on J’onn’s chest is hilarious.)

Guardian and Sentinel team uuppppp NICE, NICE.

(But wouldn’t the metal shield be...bad...for deflecting lightning?)

(...You know what, who cares, looks rad.)

And then! We circle back to a thing I mentioned earlier, that whole, ‘This is personal for Kara’, all this stuff with Nyxly.

Like, not only is she just a fun villain to watch, perfectly nailing that sweet spot of comic book silliness and a serious threat to our heroes, but ALSO. This season did a great job setting her up at the outset and directly involving Kara by having them bond and such.

And they continued to build on that in the previous episodes as well; here, it jumps up ANOTHER level as they become psychically linked! 

INTRIGUING!

(Also, I know it was like, framed as Kara wanting to have a strategic advantage over Nyxly but I like to think some of her ‘no, thanks’ to Lena was also rooted, ‘Haha, our friendship is mending but no, I do not want you using your novice magical abilities to mess with my head, thanks.’)

Credit where credit is due, Katie’s ‘turns out...thatshesawitch’ was a very funny bit.

So then! The episode-ending bits! Looks like we’re gonna get some WILLIAM stuff and some ALEX stuff, yes, good, yes.

Excellent, A+, loved EVERY MINUTE OF THIS EPISODE. SUCH A GOOD TIME.

COMING UP. New episode, obviously, but also! This month! DC Fandome! And supposedly a farewell Supergirl panel? IDK, we’ll probably get more info as we get closer.

Until the next break in my schedule, then!

#long post #SG post #supergirl spoilers #supergirl season six spoilers #gif

[supermanandlois-updates]

Superman & Lois introduced a mystery character named Larr at the end of season 1’s third episode and her powers suggest her identity is tied directly to the Man of Steel. It seems this version of the character is working with Morgan Edge, though it’s unclear whether she’s always been on this planet or if she ended up there by way of the multiverse collapse in the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover. Who is Larr in Superman & Lois, what are her powers, and what is she doing on Earth-Prime?

During the episode, Lois continued her investigation into Morgan Edge, which led to her speaking with Sharon Powell, whose son disappeared after taking up a job with the shady businessman. When Lois pays a visit to Sharon to follow up on the story, she's attacked by a man sent by Edge. However, when Superman came to fight him, he was surprised to learn the mystery man had superpowers. In the final scene, the superpowered lackey is speaking with someone, presumably Edge, asking how Larr is going to “take care of it.” A woman, Larr, stands in the middle of the street and it isn’t long before she eviscerates Edge’s lackey with her heat vision.

Who Is Lesla-Lar In The Comics?

Lesla-Lar was a Kryptonian scientist who was incredibly envious of Supergirl because of the attention she received by Earth's people. Lesla-Lar managed to survive the planet's destruction because she lived in the bottle city of Kandor that was minimized by Brainiac and is harbored inside Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Lesla-Lar's jealousy of Supergirl grew so strong that she shrunk the superhero, removed her powers, and brought her to Kandor before taking her place on Earth. It was petty and vindictive. Supergirl's enemy even made plans to kill Lex after he killed Superman, but her schemes were revealed and she was eventually arrested by Kandorian authorities and, later, killed in the Phantom Zone, the pocket dimension that acts as Kryptonian prison. To be sure, Lesla-Lar doesn't have too long of a history in DC Comics when compared to other characters from the Superman/Supergirl mythos.

However, if Leslie Larr is revealed to be Lesla-Lar, then it's possible Superman & Lois will turn her into the nemesis of the Man of Steel instead of Supergirl, allying her with Morgan Edge instead of Lex Luthor is also another twist from the comics. To be sure, her backstory will likely be altered to suit the Arrowverse series, especially now that she's on Earth-Prime and doesn't seem to be impersonating Kara, though that remains to be seen. Thanks to her Kryptonian physiology, Lesla-Lar has all the same powers as Superman and Supergirl if under Earth's sun, including super-hearing and the heat vision Superman & Lois' Leslie Larr used on Edge's lackey. The character's true identity on the show has yet to be revealed, but it's hard not to notice the similarities between Leslie Larr and Lesla-Lar's names.

(xx)

#superman and lois #Supergirl #Superman

[madeunmexico]

Will Superman & Lois Give The Arrowverse a New Supergirl?

Degrassi: The Next Generation star Stacey Faber is set to play the role of Leslie Larr, a character newly-created for the TV series but one who might have ties to a Silver Age DC villain...and that villain might open the door to a new and different take on the Girl of Steel.

When the news of Faber's casting broke, fans pointed out that the name "Leslie Larr" is likely a nod to the Kryptonian villain Lesla-Lar. That character appeared primarily as an enemy of Supergirl, and hailed from Kandor. But there's more to it than just that.

The character description given for Leslie has led a lot of people to assume that she will be working with or for Lex Luthor, and that's something that the character of Lesla-Lar did in her first appearance in 1961. In that comic, Lesla-Lar (a scientist from Kandor who was jealous of Supergirl) stripped Kara Zor-El of her powers, shrank her down, and trapped her in the bottle city of Kandor while she pretended to be Supergirl herself. During that time, she sprung Lex Luthor from prison to work with her.

It occurred to me when they first announced the new character for S&L that wouldn't it be ironic if they gave supes one of SG silver age villains since they rarely bother to give SG any of her own comic stories.

#superman and lois #supergirl

[fanfictionfaberrycentral]

Chapters: 1/40 Fandom: Supergirl (TV 2015) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer, Alex Danvers/Original Character(s), Alex Danvers & J'onn J'onzz | Hank Henshaw, Alex Danvers & Kara Danvers Characters: Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers, Lena Luthor, Alura In-Ze | Alura Zor-El, Astra (Supergirl TV 2015), Lucy Lane (DCU), Clark Kent, Maxwell Lord, Lesla-Lar, Children of Juru, Dru-Zod, Karen Starr, Samantha "Sam" Arias, Nyssa-Vex, Thomas Coville, Lillian Luthor, J'onn J'onzz | Hank Henshaw Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Screenplay/Script Format, Near Death Experiences, Human Experimentation, Medical Procedures, Medical Experimentation, Torture Summary:

Team Supergirl learns Kandor has survived. Various factions conspire to rid the universe of Kryptonians once and for all. Inspired by the 2009/2010 comic arc.

#Aoo #Supercorp #new

[intergalactic-zoo]

I was almost ready to comment on how this series is using single-word episode titles, just like "Smallville" did, but now we've got this mouthful playing on a book that was roughly contemporary with that show. It's pretty clunky, but whatever. 

It's nice that this episode gave us a break from the Luthor story, choosing instead to focus on Lois's investigation and some good character moments for the Kents and Lana's family. The mantra that "life is simpler in Smallville" gets an explicit repudiation, some fences are mended, and some new mysterious antagonists are introduced.

Spoilers ahoy! 

If not for the enormous amount of COVID-imposed lead time this series had, and the amount of time it takes to write and record and add special effects to a live-action TV show, this episode would feel like a course correction for a lot of the problems I've had with the last couple of installments. 

I'm writing this a little longer after watching the episode than I typically have, so I'm going to go plot-by-plot rather than chronologically through the episode. 

Painting the House: a cute scene, and a good way to remind us that, even with all the drama and the teen angst, the Kents are a loving family. 

Jonathan & Jordan: Jordan joining the football team is a neat plot point that goes in unexpected directions, given how that kind of thing has typically played out in Superman stories. I like the way that it sets up conflict with Jonathan in the beginning, but eventually he realizes that Jordan's not trying to take away the thing that makes him feel special. Jonathan being the one to convince Clark to let Jordan play—and making the case that Jordan's abilities just even the playing field with respect to his size—is a good moment of solidarity and understanding for him. 

And Jordan, for his part, really does seem like he's found what he needed. Being able to take out some aggression on the football field—and having Clark's support—ends up being the key to getting a handle on his anger and being able to solve some problems with kindness rather than sulking and violence. I also appreciate that at least one of our initial antagonists—Sean—has moved out of that role, at least for now.

Coach Clark: There have been lots of attempts over the years to saddle Superman with various character flaws, but I think the one that fits best is being overprotective. On the macro scale, you get "Must There Be a Superman" and "King of the World," and on a micro scale you get stuff like this, being a bit of a helicopter parent and nearly losing Lois early in their relationship by eavesdropping. It rings true in a way that other attempted flaws—being dull-witted or indecisive—haven't. So it's nice here to see him realize it and acknowledge his mistakes, and to realize that he doesn't have to make the same choices his father did in order to keep his kids safe. After all, Jonathan Kent I didn't have superpowers. It'll also be nice for Clark to have a place to be earnest, mild-mannered Clark Kent, since he's outside the Daily Planet environment.

Lana and Sarah: Somewhere in my drafts I have a post about poor Lana Lang, a character made to fill a niche—the Lois Lane analogue for Superboy—and has never had much of a life outside of that niche. Every time Lana is introduced into adult Clark's life, she has a different deal. She's a TV reporter with a British accent, she's married to Pete Ross, she's a successful engineer, but she's almost always the girl whose life fell to pieces in one way or another after Clark Kent left. It's not fair to either character—Clark's presence in a person's life should elevate them, not devastate them—and while I understand the reason for giving her a failing marriage and conflicts with her children, I do want to see Lana have a happy ending in some adaptation or incarnation. 

Anyway, I like Sarah as a character, and it's interesting to see how her story parallel's Jordan's, with her mother's overbearing overprotectiveness leading to conflict. It creates a contrast between how Clark and Lana are handling their respective teenage offspring, and gives them a nice bonding moment. It's easy to see how these bonding moments could turn into Lana trying to rekindle the old flame with Clark, and I really hope that doesn't happen, but platonic male-female friendships are rare enough on TV that I can imagine it's hard to set one up without everyone seeing a ship setting sail. 

Speaking of ships, I know that Jordan and Sarah are an obvious pairing, but I hope Jordan is smart enough not to try to be her rebound relationship (and ruin his reconciliation with Sean). But honestly, I kind of hope Jordan is gay or bi, giving a way to tie his feelings of being different and search for identity to the struggles queer kids commonly face in an explicit way rather than an allegorical one. 

Seriously though, let Clark and Lois have a strong marriage that doesn't need to be threatened by the Other Woman for unnecessary drama. Let the drama build out of normal family conflicts, not tropes that were sexist and outdated when they were common in the Silver Age. 

Lois's Story: "The news comes to Lois Lane" seems to be an ongoing theme, as the next lead in her story just walks through the door of the Smallville Gazette. Unsurprisingly for a story involving Lois Lane, this leads to a conspiracy involving disappearing workers and super-powered enforcers. Lois explicitly makes the point I said earlier, that the stories in small towns do matter, and too often get overlooked because there aren't enough reporters covering them. 

The action scene where Lois is attacked by someone with Kryptonian-level abilities is pretty good. I always like when Superman enters a confrontation by trying to de-escalate before fighting, and I always like when Lois enters a confrontation by trying to fight before calling in the big guns. The fight between Superman and the assailant (who I think is credited as Subjekt 11, but I assumed that character was going to carry forward and, uh, doesn't look like he is) showcases both a nice escalation as Superman learns what the guy's strength is, and some nice uses of powers. The CW effects teams have gotten pretty creative over the years. The one issue I have is that Superman slams the guy through a cinderblock wall right at the start of the fight, before he's tested those abilities, and I feel like that would have done some real damage if he'd guessed wrong and the guy was a baseline human. The No-Prize Answer would be that either he scanned the guy before hitting him and knew, at baseline, that he was a meta, or that he knew Lois wouldn't call him unless she was dealing with a metahuman threat. Still, it bugs me. 

I do hope we learn more about what Subjekt-11 was. Metahuman? Kryptonian? Some kind of experiment? I'm frankly more interested in the Morgan Edge stuff than alt-universe Luthor. 

The woman who takes out Subjekt-11—who I guess was also with Edge at the meeting last episode—seems to be named Leslie Larr, no doubt a reference to Lesla-Lar, the Silver Age Kandorian villain who happened to be an exact double for Supergirl, because every major character had a double living in Kandor. Whether that means she's Kryptonian or some other swerve is something, I guess, we'll learn later.

Other: I noticed an Easter Egg that I haven't seen reported anywhere else: The Whitty Banter Show! For those who don't remember, Whitty Banter was the host of a Metropolis talk show in the 80s and 90s; there's ads for it all over the Death of Superman Newstime issue. In trying to remind myself what Easter Egg I remembered catching, I also learned that Kryptonsite still exists! What a blast from the past. There was a time, many moons ago, where that was a daily visit for me, along with the Superman Homepage. 

And Blogger.com, for that matter. But those days are clearly far behind us.

#IFTTT #Blogger #TheFortressOfSoliloquy

[x5red]

Five frequently asked Supergirl CW questions...

...and possible answers from the comics

Check social media. Read the forums. Scroll through the Subreddits. There are some questions that just refuse to go away. Time and time again fans of the CW’s Supergirl show keep asking the same old questions: How does she hide her costume? Who is stronger? Why does nobody recognise her?

Likely the questions will continue to be asked long after Melissa Benoist has hung up her cape on the final episode, but just for fun it might be interesting to take a meander through the 60+ years of Supergirl’s adventures in print, to see how successful the comics were at addressing the tv show’s most quizzed quirks.

Covered herein:

How does Supergirl fit her costume under her everyday clothes?

Why does nobody recognise that Kara Danvers is just Supergirl with glasses?

Is Supergirl more powerful than Superman?

How did Kara get her ears pierced?

How come nobody connects the name Kara Danvers with Kara Zor-El?

It’s roughly a ten minute read, peppered with interesting Supergirl pictures. Enjoy...

#1 -- How does Supergirl fit her costume under her everyday clothes?

The modern tv incarnation of Supergirl seems uncertain as to whether Supergirl’s costume uses a futuristic (and budget depleting) nano-tech solution, or a classic (and cheap) costume-under-clothes trick. Traditionally, with the exception of Matrix’s brief shape-shifting stint in the job, the comicbook Supergirl has tended to favour the latter tactic, prompting fans to ask how her costume fits under her street clothes. The first such query to reach the DC letters pages was from reader Helen Silberman of Irvington NY. In Action Comic #263 (March 1960), Helen wrote:

Dear Editor, I like SUPERGIRL very much. She is my favorite feature. But I often wonder how she conceals the long sleeves on her costume when she wears a short~sleeved dress as Linda Lee.

Acknowledging that this was a common question, editor Mort Weisinger explained that Supergirl’s super costume is super flexible.: “She merely keeps the sleeves rolled up.” This was confirmed inside the strip itself when Action Comics #342 (Oct 1966) saw Linda referencing the costume hidden under her t-shirt, and an editorial caption handily adds “Linda has rolled up the long sleeves of her super-flexible costume.”

But, respond the fans, what about her boots?

Since the Silver Age, Superman has adopted the practice of stashing his Clark Kent attire as a super-compressed parcel inside a hidden pocket in the inner lining of his cape. Various stories confirm that Supergirl does the same, and visual proof of this came in The Daring New Adventures of Superman #5 (May 1983), when she is seen reclaiming her dress from the pocket. Presumably the same pouch could hide her boots when dressed in her everyday identity?

Okay, so the boots are super-compressed inside the cape, but what about the cape itself?

This is where things start to get a little problematic.

There’s plenty of mid-transformation frames stretching back as far as Supergirl’s early Silver Age antics depicting her wearing her cape underneath her regular clothes. How she does this seems never to be explained, so we probably have to chalk this one up to a comicbook trope that readers (and now the tv viewers) just have to accept.

#2 -- Why does nobody recognise that Kara Danvers is just Supergirl with glasses?

Supergirl has adopted various means of masking her true identity down the years. The tv Supergirl hides behind a pair of glasses; her comicbook counterparts have variously used wigs, special molecule-rearranging hair dyes, shape-shifting, and advanced DEO technologies. None of these, with the exception of Matrix’s ability to shape-shift into Linda Danvers, really stands the real-world credibility test.

The problem here is that the comicbook superhero genre has its origins in a more simplistic storytelling age, were the application of just a pair of glasses, or a wig, or a fake moustache, was sufficient to create a false identity. There’s countless examples from Superman’s early decades of Lois Lane fooling the Man of Steel with just the application of a wig, and indeed the epic Silver Age tale that first revealed Supergirl’s existence to the world hangs on evil Kandorian scientist, Lesla Lar,successfully fooling Superman into believing she is Kara Zor-El by just rearranging her hair.

One can argue that Kara’s use of a wig is potentially a better disguise than Kal-El’s glasses and change of posture, but ultimately both methods have severe limitations. Research conducted by the universities of York and Huddersfield (UK) suggested that while some disguises (makeup, wigs, etc.) are effective at hiding a person’s identity, the effectiveness drops if the subject is known to the person doing the identifying. As such, in the real world, neither Clark nor Kara would stand a chance of fooling their friends and colleagues.

In Superman #330 (Dec 1978) there was a half-hearted attempt to address the problem by suggesting that the Kryptonian glass used in Clark’s eye-wear boosts a subconscious super-hypnotises power, projecting an image of Clark as feeble, but this created more problems than it solved. What happened when Clark anchored the WGBS News on tv; and how did Linda Danvers get by without any Kryptonian face furniture? So, sadly, the comics don’t really provide much of an answer -- we must write the problem off as a relic from a bygone storytelling era, that modern audiences just have to accept as part of the established baggage that comes with superheroes.

#3 -- Is Supergirl more powerful than Superman?

Although both Superman and Supergirl have Kryptonian origins, their route to Earth was markedly different. Kal-El arrived as an infant, while Kara didn’t arrive until her teenage years. Fans (at least those who have wont to obsess over such matters) have therefore speculated about how this affected their power levels.

When Supergirl first appeared in comics it became clear early on that Kal-El and Kara Zor-El had identical superpowers. There isn’t a direct comparison of the two cousins -- they never went head to head -- but DC’s writers certainly seemed to adopt the principle that any super-feats that Superman could do, Supergirl could do just as well.

That said, during Supergirl’s long history there have been periods when the power balance has clearly shifted. For example, it is reasonable to assume that the Matrix Supergirl (both pre and post merger with Linda Danvers in Volume 4) was less powerful than the Man of Steel. Indeed in the latter part of Volume 4 -- the period when Supergirl sported a white t-shirt and gloves -- she was significantly de-powered, even losing the ability to fly.

Likewise from Adventure Comics #402 to #423 (Feb 1971 to Sep 1972) the Girl of Steel had intermittent issues with her superpowers, thanks to the effects of a drug concocted by super-villain Starfire. At inopportune moments her powers would fail her entirely, resulting in Kara relying on various gadgets developed in the Bottle City of Kandor as a backup.

But wait a moment... because the balance of power hasn’t always shifted in favour of Superman.

During this Bronze Age period Superman also had issues with his powers. As part of a shake-up of the character, editor Julius Schwartz instigated a story running across Superman #240 to #242 (July to Sept 1971) that saw Superman lose a third of his power levels... permanently(!!) This was part of Schwartz’s plan to curb some of the silly excesses of Silver Age. Some fans have noted, however, that the Girl of Steel’s power loss was only intermittent, and eventually the effects of Starfire’s drug wore off entirely, so in September 1972 she technically became 50% more powerful than her cousin.

#4 -- How did Kara get her ears pierced?

Since the tv show began fans have been asking about how Kara could have pierced her earlobes of steel. It is clear from the opening moments of the pilot episode that Malina Weissman’s young Kara doesn’t appear to have any piercings when departing the dying Krypton, yet when the episode skips forward a decade to Melissa Benoist’s twenty-something Kara, she clearly does.

Show creator and producer, Ali Adler, responded to a fan’s tweeted question by suggesting that Kara had her ears done “At the mall on #krypton”, which is a fun answer, but doesn’t seem to concur with the pilot. So is there an explanation from deep within comicbook lore?

Yes. (Probably!)

The most likely explanation is that Kara used her heat vision and a mirror to burn the holes into her own earlobes. Since the early Golden Age era it has been established that Superman is strong enough to piece his own skin with his fingernails, allowing him to give a blood sample. Editors initially responded to inquiries about how Superman shaved or cut his hair and nails by suggesting that these parts of his anatomy didn’t grow under Earth’s sun. But eventually, as Superman spent more time on alien planets, they devised more creative solutions -- the heat vision haircut was one of them.

In the comics, Injustice 2 #21 (May, 2018) finally let readers see Supergirl (at least a version of Supergirl) using heat vision to cut her hair. Meanwhile the tv show had already treated viewers to Kara giving a super-trim to Mon-El’s mop in episode 2x05 - “Crossfire” (okay, so he was a Daxamite not a Kryptonian, but hey, same difference!) This suggests that Kara’s invulnerability can be defeated by her own powers in the tv universe, just like the comics, so a piercing blast from her eyes rather than a trip to the mall is probably the most satisfying answer.

#5 -- How come nobody connects the name Kara Danvers with Kara Zor-El?

It may be a small problem, but it’s one that clearly bugs some viewers. Kara Danvers not only has the same first name as Kara Zor-El, but she also pronounces it in the same distinctively European way -- “Kar-ah” not “Care-ah” (despite what Cat Grant may want us to think.)

How does she get away with this?

In the comics this generally hasn’t been a problem. Prior to the Melissa Benoist tv show, Supergirl had been known as Linda (Linda Lee, Linda Lang, Linda Danvers), or as Mae (short for Matrix), or briefly as Claire Connor. Only Kara Kent, the Supergirl of the cartoon show, Superman: the Animated Series (1996), had stuck with her Kryptonian first name. This changed in 2016, however, when DC adopted many of the tv Supergirl elements into its comicbooks, including the Kara Danvers secret identity.

Up until the tv show’s fourth season it could be argued that Benoist’s Supergirl had been very careful never to make her birth-name public, so there was little opportunity for anyone to link her two personas. But that changed in episode 4x14 - “Stand and Deliver”, when Kara can clearly be heard announcing herself as “Kara Zor-El, citizen of Earth” at a public protest, as a crowd watches. So very likely, after that incident, the Maid of Might’s Kryptonian name was plastered all over social media, and given Kara Danvers’ high profile as an award-winning journalist, we’re no closer to explaining why an army of armchair sleuths on Facebook or Reddit haven’t connected the two women.

Sadly the comics can’t really answer this Kara conundrum, because it is a problem largely of the tv show’s own making. Perhaps the only solution is to ignore episode 4x14 and assume that everyone in National City (aside from the regular cast) live in blissful ignorance of Supergirl’s Krypton name.

Conclusion

So it’s a mixed bag of success and failure. The comics provide answers to some problems, but come up empty handed for others. But perhaps we shouldn’t be too disheartened. Sure, it may be fun to devise answers to the quirks and oddities of the tv show, but ultimately it won’t stop fans from asking the same questions time and time again. The sillier aspects of superheroes are part of the genre’s charm, and trying to devise clever ways of explaining away the wackier elements is all part of the fun.

Hopefully you found the above an entertaining and informative read, but the five proffered answers shouldn’t discourage anyone from dreaming up their own explanations -- after all, these questions aren’t really properly answered until the tv show’s writers choose to answer them.

Until then, we can all have fun speculating.

#supergirl #melissa benoist #dc comics #superhero #kara zor-el #dccomics #comics #cw #silver age #secret identity #heat vision

[thechronologicalsuperman]

The Chronological Superman 1968:

Alpha and Beta, bounty hunters from the future, encase Stanhope College in an impenetrable dome as they hunt student David Carew, whom they believe (wrongly) to be the inventor of a panacea cure called Noricon.

Supergirl’s villains up to this point have largely taken two forms: Her evil opposite number (Black Flame, Satan Girl, Lesla-Lar) or assorted Superman villains (Luthor, the Phantom Zone Villains and Brainiac). Alpha and Beta are notably different from Supergirl’s other foes, up to this point. Although they never returned (to my knowledge, anyway), they form the early base of a more varied rogues gallery for the Girl of Steel.

Likewise, their assault on Stanhope takes place over three consecutive issues (Action Comics vol.1 Nos. 366-368, the front half of which was dedicated to Superman supposedly dying from Virus-X, “The Kryptonian Leprosy”). The trilogy structure of Superman comics around this time is consistent, but it’s still worth mentioning that it’s happening in the backups too. If you were reading Action around this time and thought that they might be preparing Supergirl for a solo career in the near future, you wouldn’t be much wrong ...

#Supergirl #1968 #Action Comics