The midseason hiatus of Supergirl is nearly over which means Wednesdays will get show reviews back.
With that nearly here, I thought I'd do a quick bullet review of the CWSeed miniseries The Ray which provided some backstory to Earth X and Overgirl.
I think the best thing I can say about this is 'uneven'. It is interesting to see this evil Kara again (once again voiced by Melissa Benoist). I like the additions of the Freedom Fighters as that leans into DC history a bit. I like seeing the origin of the Earth-1 Ray. And the animation is solid.
But the plot here doesn't seamlessly jibe with the Crisis on Earth-X episodes. And that made this feel a little wonky to me.
It is still pretty chilling to see Supergirl in this Nazi uniform.
As I said, there is a lot of interesting stuff in the series.
For example, it was great to see the extended Freedom Fighters on Earth X including Phantom Girl, Doll Man, and Black Canary. And all sport recognizable versions of their classic uniforms. So that is pretty slick, a sort of deep cut for comic fans.
And Red Tornado is part of this team and one of the powerhouses too.
Of course his power level isn't up to the levels of a Kryptonian.
I did like these fight scenes showcasing how scary it would be if a Kryptonian was evil.
This Red Tornado was a sentient android in these episodes, different from the missile we saw in the Crisis on Earth X episodes.
It turns out that Reddy's internal drive, which contained all the information of the rebellion, was grabbed by his allies. It is that drive which is one of the things the evil leaders of this world are looking for. Unfortunately, that doesn't show up as a plot point in the shows.
We have met this Ray Terrill in these episodes. He is one of the standard socially progressive character the CW loves. He is gay, although he has to hide it from his conservative and religious parents. He works for a program trying to get people affordable housing. He is very much a social justice warrior.
When the Earth-X Ray dies, his energy floods into the Earth-1 Ray, creating the hero. Part of the fun of this series is seeing this Ray learn to control his powers.
He also is given the Red Tornado drive. It has all the Earth X info in it.
Again, I guess the show episodes were written (I suppose appropriately) as if the viewers hadn't seen this series. So it is weird that this is such a key point of the show.
Another problem I have with this show is that the 'evil Flash' isn't the Eobard Thawne Reverse Flash as in the shows. It is an evil Barry Allen. (I believe his character is called Blitzkrieg here.) So that's another unfortunate plot glitch.
I won't complain too much.
This is a fine side-adventure which gives the back story of Ray. We get to see Freedom Fighters. And we get to see more Overgirl, voiced by Melissa Benoist.
But it doesn't seamlessly mesh with the tremendous crossover. I just wish it had.
Kudos to the CW for giving Jack Harris and Joe Quesada a creator credit.
Thankfully the wait is over. We have new Supergirl episodes next week!
10 comments:
"I did like these fight scenes showcasing how scary it would be if a Kryptonian was evil."
I'd say we've gotten too much of that nowadays. I'm pretty sick of it.
Decent short, albeit nothing special.
"But it doesn't seamlessly mesh with the tremendous crossover. I just wish it had."
I guess we shouldn't be shocked showmakers are less concerned with continuity than comic fans.
I haven’t seen this yet, I’ll have to hunt it down,
As for Kryptonians, it is beginning to look like they’re all pretty much evil and only redeemable if they arrive on Earth in very specific circumstances. Every Kryptonian we see in comics, TV, and film eventually turns to destruction and domination, and even Kal-El and Kara go this route if their arrival and early Earth years don’t involve salt-of-the-earth humanity giving them home-spun wisdom as the foundation for not being cruel villains.
I’ve concluded the universe really dodged a bullet when Krypton went boom.
"I’ve concluded the universe really dodged a bullet when Krypton went boom."
Ridiculous conclusion. You're telling what, why the makers of the DC universe suck at depicting Kryptonian culture at a positive light since 1986, and why several -not every, not even close- members of the Kryptonian race are evil, ALL OF THEM are evil -including those who are HEROES- and it was actually a good thing several billions of people got blown up.
It isn't something I'll ever agree with, and conveniently forgets the number of Kryptonians who are actually heroic or at least decent people, and the fact that Krypton was NOT a war-mongering, universe-conquering culture before its destruction.
I'm real sick of negative depictions of Krypton and the subsequent genocide-advocating "Krypton deserved to blow up" mindset. I don't ask to go back to Krypton's Pre-Crisis utopian depicitions, but I'd welcome it right now because I'm fed up with Byrne and his ilk's take.
I consider the animated shows to be separate from the arrow-verse proper, maybe I shouldn't, but it makes it easier to enjoy. I had a blast with the ray, but I don't like how the animated shows seem to be cut off at places that don't feel like natural stop points.
I don't mind seeing this evil Kryptonian as it shows elegantly how the upbringing of Kara and the impact of the Danvers was key.
Plus, Supergirl is the 'true' version, not Overgirl. And we saw what happened to her.
"Another problem I have with this show is that the 'evil Flash' isn't the Eobard Thawne Reverse Flash as in the shows. It is an evil Barry Allen. (I believe his character is called Blitzkrieg here.) So that's another unfortunate plot glitch."
Not really; the animated show is a prequel to Crisis On Earth-X, and so it can be assumed that Blitzkrieg probably perished by Thawne's hand or something else before the events of the crossover. Animated show was also reportedly completed before they started on the crossover event, so any probable story glitches can be attributed to this explanation.
"I'm real sick of negative depictions of Krypton and the subsequent genocide-advocating "Krypton deserved to blow up" mindset."
Considering that Krypton of the 40s and 50s was very much an evocative by-product of post-WWII consumerism before 60s civil rights uprisings began reshaping America, that idyllic Utopian vision always needed a bit of a history correction...which also seems to be an active debate being waged on the Supergirl TV series as well.
KET
Wildly off topic:
Could anyone who reads Superwoman let me know if Kara is in issue 18, or if it is one of those false advertising covers.
"Kudos to the CW for giving Jack Harris and Joe Quesada a creator credit."
That's good, but I wonder why Lou Fine and Will Eisner, the creators of the original Ray back in 1940 aren't credited here as well, at least a "based on concepts" type of credit that Siegel and Shuster get for Supergirl and other characters derived from Superman. I know it probably has to do with legal agreements and such. All things fair, Supergirl's credit should be "created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino based on concepts by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster." Or maybe even "created by Otto Binder, Al Plastino, Curt Swan and Mort Weisinger and based on concepts by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster." The Silver Age Green Lantern should be credited as "created by John Broome, Gil Kane and Julius Schwartz, based on concepts created by Mart Nodell and Bill Finger."
Still, considering that there was a time when hardly anybody in comics got credit, it's nice that things are getting better.
Thanks for sharing this Anj, and great review as always. Will definitely have to see if I can get my hands on this to watch :)
Regards
"Considering that Krypton of the 40s and 50s was very much an evocative by-product of post-WWII consumerism before 60s civil rights uprisings began reshaping America, that idyllic Utopian vision always needed a bit of a history correction...which also seems to be an active debate being waged on the Supergirl TV series as well."
You're utterly wrong.
To start with, the Krypton of the 40s and 50s was NOT an "evocative by-product of post-WWII consumerism", whatever it means. It was based on then-current sci-fi trends. What the Fire Falls or the Thought-Beasts have to do with pre-60's consumerism?
Also, positive Krypton depictions were the norm during the Civil Rights Era and afterwards. Associating positive Krypton with a pre-60's American society mindset is downright ridiculous.
That "idyllic utopic vision" didn't need a "history correction" because it was never idyllic or utopic. And if it did, then it has been overcorrected. Since 1986, Krypton has been more often than not depicted as a terrible place full of terrible people. Those depictions have led fans and non-fans to declare Krypton deserved getting blown up and the universe dodged a bullet when it did. In other words, those depictions lead people to justifying GENOCIDE. And they're not more representative of current American society than Krypton was during the Weisinger era.
No one is claiming Krypton should be a perfect, wonderful utopia. But it shouldn't be an awful place either.
Lastly, no debate is being waged on the show. The show isn't interested in debating anything.
Post a Comment