Lego: Cosmic Clash

As much as I wish that I had unlimited time and funds to see and read everything Supergirl, it just can't be done. And some things simply slip through the cracks. And one of those things was the Girl of Steel's appearance in last year's Lego movie Justice League:Cosmic Clash.

I covered the announcement of the movie when it first came out but never saw it until this last weekend when it was shown on Cartoon Network.

It is clearly a movie made for kids filled with silly slapstick action and some underpants jokes but for the more grizzled fans of DC Comics, there was plenty of stuff for me to enjoy. While I am going to concentrate on Supergirl's role and the appearance of the Legion in the movie there is plenty of stuff I have to highlight.

The basic plot is that Brainiac wants to shrink Earth and put it in his collection. When his shrink ray is damaged by the JL, he returns with a different ship and sends Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman into different time periods to remove them from Earth's defenses. Batman then needs to rescue those three and bring them back. He uses the Flash and a Cosmic Treadmill attached to the Batmobile to rush through time. Meanwhile, the rest of the League has to defend Earth.

Things I loved that aren't Supergirl.
Brainiac is sort of played as a quintessential comic collector, demanding that his collection be organized perfectly. The planets need to be in mint condition. And the bottle they are in need to be unopened, like keeping toys in their packaging. We even get a glimpse at Colu.

Batman is played as the primary hero and is a sort of straight man for the rest of the team. We hear about his paranoid schemes to defeat the other members. But the Dark Knight does learn a lesson about lightening up. In one scene from the past, he is pirate gear and jumps a shark over a boat. I wonder if that is a 'jump the shark' joke.

Superman is a shining model of country boy goodness. Wonder Woman is strong and admirable. The Flash is a frenetic hero with fun lines. Green Lantern is brash hero who thinks he can't be beat. And Cyborg brings some youthful energy to the team.

And the way Brainiac is defeated is a silly play on his compulsion to be a collector.

Ah, but there is a lot of Supergirl and Legion stuff too!

Batman and the Flash are off to rescue Green Lantern, Superman, and Wonder Woman. That means Cyborg will need help to fight off the Brainiac drones which are cataloging the planet.

Green Arrow and Hawkman are away so Cyborg has to call in Superman's secret weapon - Supergirl! Oh my god, a 'secret weapon' reference.

This Supergirl is on a cheerleading squad and that exuberance plays out throughout the movie. Many of her lines are in rhymes, cheering on herself or her teammates as they bash all the robots.

Her voice is done by Jessica DiCicco and she does a phenomenal job playing up how young and feisty Kara is.

She can't believe that Cyborg is calling. This is her chance to prove herself!

 Immediately Kara shows up and starts smashing all the Brainiac drones.

I always love when there is a fierce aspect to Kara. She might be bright and optimistic but she doesn't suffer fools lightly and she will lash out at injustice. And we see that in this movie as she recites some angrier cheers about the Brainiac troops, heat visioning and smashing every one in sight.

 But there is also that young girl part of her personality.

So in the middle of this angry rant, she pauses to look at a cute kitty walking by.

It is that sort of duality of personality that is what makes Supergirl so wonderful.

I also love her interactions with Cyborg. These two are probably more like Teen Titans than Leaguers. After a momentary victory, the two perform a happy dance together. Wonder Woman has to chuckle a bit at how young and energetic they are.

Bright, young, energetic, fierce. I am a bit floored at how much this Supergirl grasps all I am looking for in the character.

 But things are get even cooler.
Superman has been thrust into the future and brainwashed to be slave of Brainiac. Batman needs help to defeat the Brainiac-Superman and he gets it from the founders of the Legion! Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Cosmic Boy are there the lend a hand.

I am a huge Legion fan so seeing this was just insane. The use of powers is dead on. And I even like Imra kicking a robot's head off claiming she learned the move from Karate Kid. Awesome.

Eventually Superman is cured and returns to the present where Supergirl is the first to run and hug him.

Yay Super-cousins!

I will say it outright. This kid movie seems to get the Supergirl character more than (at times) DC Comics. I mean, we suffered through a lot of angry, negative Kara in the her last two pre-Rebirth series. (Thank goodness for Sterling Gates and Tony Bedard/K. Perkins/Mike Johnson on those runs for salvaging things.)

Anyways, this is a fun movie, especially for Supergirl fans. I am glad I finally got to watch it!