Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Supergirl Show 501: Event Horizon


As I have said elsewhere on social media, my life is in a bit of a whirlwind these days and I am doing my best to keep my head above water.

So apologies for the lateness of this post, a review of the Supergirl Season 4 premiere titled 'Event Horizon. You are all two weeks ahead of me, so you definitely know more on where some of the plots in this series have gone.

For me, I was definitely impressed with this episode as it totally builds off of the events of the last. There isn't some feeling of a pause here. There isn't the sense that characters are starting from a clean slate. The events of last season are having a strong impact on everyone.

Alex is in charge of the DEO but in a relationship with Kelly.
Brainy is still dealing with the emotional fallout of his brief evil/cold turn last season.
Nia is trying to grow the romantic relationship she has with Brainy.
Kara is being celebrated for her article which took down Lex but is still dealing with not telling Lena her secret.

And Lena? She is harboring a lot of ill will after learning Kara is Supergirl. And Luthors hold grudges.

We'll add to that mix a bunch of new characters and plotlines. A new CatCo CEO. A new CatCo reporter. A new AI whispering in Lena's ears. Ma'alefa'ak returning to fight his brother. And oh yeah ... a Crisis on the horizon.

And, no surprise, the acting in the episode is solid. In particular, Melissa Benoist has a scene which reminds me just how blessed we are that she is on this show. She is such a force.

But I am invested. This season is off to a great start (or it got off to a great start 3 weeks ago). On to the show.



We start out with a school bus careening out of control about to run into a pack of kids crossing the street.

In flies Supergirl, using her powers to slow the bus down and save everyone! It's a fun scene. And when one of the kids says they want to be like Supergirl, she says they have to do what's right and tell the truth.

Out of nowhere, Lena walks up chastising Supergirl for lying. And remarkably, she unleashes a right cross which sends Supergirl flying into the bus.

Okay, I thought it odd that Lena would happen to be on the sidewalk of the accident and immediately thought she set the whole thing up. But it turns out to be a new sort of Virtual Reality, complete with an AI named Hope. Lena uses such scenarios to work through her emotions.

And then we hear some harsh words from Lena. She doesn't consider herself evil. She doesn't want Supergirl to die. But she wants Supergirl to feel the same pain she feels. And she will start to think coldly, without emotion.

Oh Lena! Don't go down the dark path.

And Hope doesn't sound like a dispassionate database. Hope sounds rather human and is rather defensive of Lena's feelings. You almost hear Hope's dislike of Kara. Hmm ...


We then hit real life and get caught up on most of the good guys.

In a coffee house, Kara is dismayed at everyone existing behind their devices or the new VR contact lenses (that we saw Lena wearing). We learn Kara won the Pulitzer for her takedown of Lex. But instead of igniting social change, people seem to have receded.

Kelly Olsen is working for Obsidian North, the company which makes the lenses. She will be working in their medical department, utilizing the VR to treat people with dementia or other neurologic conditions. Obsidian North's headquarters is in the same building as CatCo so Kara and Kelly will be close.

Can I just say, find someone who looks at you the way Alex looks at Kelly.


And we learn that despite Alex nudging her, Kara hasn't told Lena about her secret identity. And Kara is using any excuse to delay.

In CatCo, they run into Brainy and Nia who are arguing about movie villains. I love the Danvers' sisters' answer to 'who is the best movie villain'. Classic.

You can see that Brainy and Nia, while a couple, are still figuring out what to do about affection. In particular, Brainy seems uncomfortable.


At CatCo, James is talking about looking into all the candidates involved in a special election happening. (Remember, the President was ousted last season.)

But before James can flex his editorial muscle, he and Kara are taken by surprise.

Lena sold CatCo to Andrea Rojas, owner of Obsidian North. And she is taking over as editor.


When Kara goes to ask Lena about the sale, Lena gives some deliciously worded double speak. She talks about being a coward for not telling Kara the truth about the sale. She kept her friend in the dark. How could not be virtuous like Kara? Sooooooooo delicious .... soooooo Luthor ....

But before Kara can respond, she hears that there is a disturbance at a museum showing Kryptonian artifacts, including the pod Superman arrived in.

At the museum, a young girl shape shifts into a T Rex and fights with Kara and J'onn. So much fun to see Supergirl slug it out with a dinosaur.

When J'onn goes in to engage, a psychic backlash knocks him off his feet. The dinosaur also seems affected. It shape shifts again and flies off in Superman's pod.

It seems pretty odd and scary and unsafe to have a working alien pod out in the open of a museum, no?


At the DEO we learn the pod has an antimatter engine which if detonated could destroy 3 solar systems. So they kept that out in the open ??

The fight also destroyed Supergirl's cape. That is pure John Byrne level of shred!

A rather jazzed Brainy accepts the challenge to fix Kara's costume. It is a well-worded and witty scene with Brainy so revved that he denounces Alex's sarcasm and storms off. Jesse Rath has completely embraced the Brainy-ness of this role! And we even get a Takron Galtos mention!


It turns out that Lena wanted to announce the Obsidian takeover of CatCo the next day. Rojas jumped the gun.

We again see the Luthor of Lena come through as she confronts Andrea for breaking this promise. Everything Lena does, including the timing of things, is for a reason. So calculating ... so Luthor!

She promises Andrea a huge story the next night, something that will be dropped at Kara's ceremony to receive her Pulitzer.


At CatCo, Rojas calls a meeting of the staff.

Gone are the days of well-researched and well documented news. Gone are long articles discussing the sides of a story.

She wants water cooler news. She wants quick hits. She wants eyeballs and revenues. And she wants clicks.

And since everyone at CatCo just signed a 3 year contract with noncompete clauses, they better get on board or suffer.

While James and Kara both speak up, it is clear. It is Andrea's way or the highway. I guess she wants sizzle, not steak.

But seriously, shouldn't people read their contracts?


The young girl cobbled together a Phantom Zone projector from the pod and opened up a portal releasing a prisoner.

J'onn and Supergirl go to investigate they run into Midnight, the destroyer of multitudes. She can wield energy voids. And she wasn't imprisoned by Alura. She was imprisoned by J'onn.

Before the crew can zap her back to the Zone, she teleports out.

J'onn remembers Midnight fighting with the White Martians against the Greens, But unfortunately, J'onn can't remember how he defeated her.


The change at CatCo isn't easy for people fighting for truth to deal with.

James talks to Kelly about what his options are.

And when Kara is introduced to slick reporter William Day, a respected journalist who now shreds articles down to short, sweet, but biased pieces, she can't take it any more.

She won't allow Day to rewrite her pieces. She goes on a passionate rant about how she will fight for the truth in her stories and she won't be silenced.

Wow.


At the Pulitzer party, Brainy gives Kara a new suit, shrunk microscopic but which will materialize when she whips off her glasses. That is very Steve Orlando, who had Kara's hair change color with her glasses being removed. But it does mean .... sadly ... no more shirt rips!

Lena is also there to introduce Kara and it is clear she is going to out Kara as Supergirl at the same time.

But before that can happen, Kara bites the bullet and reveals she is Supergirl to Lena. This is a scene you need to see. Benoist runs an emotional gamut as she talks about being scared to reveal it. How she made excuses. How she knew she was hurting Lena but didn't want to lose her friendship. It is incredible. Please find this on line and watch!

At the podium, Lena talks of how truth is hard but Kara keeps working at it. It sounds like 'apology accepted'. I thought we were out of the Luthor-ian woods.

But then Midnight shows up ready to tussle.


Lena tells Kara to save the day.

Our hero whips off her glasses and her new suit, completely with pants materializes.

I don't know. I like the red skirt!


All the super friends are there ... J'onn, Dreamer, Brainy, and Alex.

They converge on the theater to fight Midnight.

Midnight opens a mini-black hole and Kara wonders if igniting a 'solar flare' would collapse the hole.

But then two things happen. J'onn gets sucked into the void. And Midnight is sent back to the Phantom Zone.

Okay, the villain defeat happened a little too quick. We barely get to know just who she is and what she can do. 

 Kara being Kara, she defies the odds, dives into the void, uses her heat vision to collapse the black hole from the inside all while saving J'onn.

The effects here are great. But Benoist's wire work is brilliant. Great flying here.


With the villain defeated, it's time for the wrap up.

James quits the new CatCo.

Good for him!


Brainy admits to being unable to be close to Nia because he is still upset for hurting her last season. Nice callback. Brainy definitely would perseverate over that.

But she tells him she knows the real Querl.

They finally kiss.


At J'onn's office, the young girl from the museum morphs into J'onn's brother Ma'alefa'ak.

But J'onn doesn't remember having a brother!

Hmmm ...


As for Lena and Supergirl, it looks like I was premature in thinking that Lena was willing to let bygones be bygones. Even when Supergirl flies to the Luthor balcony and presents Lena with a signal watch, stating no more secrets.

Inside her office, Lena tells Hope that she didn't reveal Kara as Supergirl as planned because now she can use the knowledge of the secret identity to  influence Supergirl to do her bidding. She'll never forgive. But she will use this opportunity to use Kara.

Soooooooo Luthor ....

And man, I love Katie McGrath playing manipulative, calculating villain. She is perfect at it.

Throw in a teaser of Eve Tessmacher being kidnapped before the credits and you have a great opener.

In particular, the Lena/Kara dynamic looks like it is set up for a tremendous arc this season.

So again, sorry for delay. I'll catch up, I promise!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Supergirl in pants is bado mojo.

I don't think anything with pants Supergirl has ever survived past a year, no matter how good the writing.

Gotham City Garage - Awesome writing - Dead
Injustice - Awesome writing - Dead
Elseworlds Supergirl- Awesome writing - Never heard from again
Nuclear Special Supergirl- Awesome writing - Not seen again
CW Supergirl - 0.2 rating and dying

I'm not saying CW Kara is dying because of the new bad suit, but they didn't understand the bad mojo when they did it.

Batman wears a cape and cowl. Kara wears a skirt. One does not simply mess with laws of nature without consequenses.

Anonymous said...

Eh, debatable. In the comics she wore pants many times before the Bandana. And Injustice Supergirl is very much alive, she even had an entire arc dedicated in game and in the comics.

It's just that the costume makers made something awful instead of something swanky like what the concept costumes for the returning title or the 70s costumes.

Anonymous said...

The dead is referring to the comics, not Kara. The Injustice comic is dead. Every time Kara appeared in pants she either switched back within a year or that universe was never heard from again.

Anonymous said...

It's not like there won't be an Injustice 3.

KET said...

BTW, might want to change the title, since the series is actually into Season FIVE now.

"Supergirl in pants is bado mojo."

Not really. Most of the online folks whining hard about the new threads are old fanboys who just can't let go of upskirt shots and failed nostalgia for 1984, plus RW trolls still butt-hurt over last season, and are seizing a new opportunity to bash the show by masquerading as viewers (which upon questioning, immediately knee-jerk into the usual "librul feminazi propoganda" hate spew when called out for their general ignorance of the series.

That being said, new SG suit looks pretty snazzy in action, and should dovetail nicely with the new season's focus on society's increasing reliance upon technology to resolve their problems. Also, it restores Supergirl's original Silver Age color scheme, in which Kara wore blue both above and below the waist.

New additions to the cast are already adding new layers of mysteries...and Eve getting abducted at the end was quite an unexpected cliffhanger. Lena playing upon Kara's usual naivete should provide a lot of dramatic fodder to last throughout the season, even without a Crisis looming on the horizon.

And not to be overlooked was the cute cameo by Kate Micucci as the flustered museum guide, which seems to be the start to a whole season of unexpected guest appearances (most likely in homage to the 60s Batman TV series, wherein various celebrities would pop in whenever the Dynamic Duo climbed up a building).

KET

KET

Nutation said...

Supergirl should wear a skirt. I don't like the pants. Also, this costume doesn't have enough red. OTOH, the nano-tech costume frees up Melissa's wardrobe. (This is more obvious after the next two shows.) She has usually worn blouses with high necklines and long sleeves that could plausibly hide the costume. Now, she is free to show open necklines and bare arms.

We lose the shirt rip, but that glasses-pull is almost as iconic.

The Midnight fights were not done well. Energy voids that don't actually destroy anything? I think we have a long haul of avoiding expensive effects until the Crisis. Black holes mean bad science writing, and this one didn't even have a Queen Flash! needle drop to justify it.

On the choreography front, we had the whole group facing off against Midnight in the theater. That should mean that everyone gets an individual moment to try something, and I thought the combined blasts of energy were a poor, if quick, substitute.

Doesn't the solar flare leave Kara exhausted? J'onn should have caught here and carried here to the ground, though that invites another Crisis homage.

Cartoonish journalism plot, though it probably plays out over the season better than it starts this episode. Actual large media companies don't come close to the ideal that's presented here. The no-compete contract bit is just ridiculous.

Back to the good stuff:

Dinosaur fight, yes.

Great acting. Melissa crushed the soulful confession. I have to say that I suspected (didn't actually predict) Lena's heel-turn at this point, because an honest listener would have confessed that she already found out the secret, but was grateful for the honesty.

Said heel-turn by Lena showed more deft acting by Kate.

Nia and Brainy promise continuing comedy.

I'm not buying Alex+Kelly. We shall see.

Scrimmage said...

I'm not particularly on board with the pants, but I'm assuming they were a concession to Ms Benoit, and the fact that the show is shot in chilly Vancouver. I just wish there was more red in the color scheme, fewer of those strange seams and odd panels, and none of the metal, like the cape clasps, and whatever that's supposed to be around her collar. I also think the cape is WAY too short. It should almost drag the ground, to give her a more regal look.

A miniaturized costume is fine, but it seemed to deploy rather slowly for someone with Super-speed. I guess Kara's glasses are now the equivalent of Barry Allen's Flash Ring, the coolest costume changing device since Linda Carter twirled in a circle. Unfortunately, it appears that TPTB are really cutting back on the number of CGI scenes in each show, so it looks as if we won't be treated to the iconic sight of Kara “gearing up” as often as we'll see her whipping off her glasses, and disappearing in a whoosh and a blur. Where's the fun in THAT?

At least now, Kara's finally figured out that it's probably not a good idea to be wearing the same earrings in her civilian identity that Supergirl wears in public. Talk about a dead giveaway! That used to bug the crap out of me. I'll bet she has to change them out at super-speed before her pierced earlobes can heal.

Scrimmage said...

Costume commentary aside, I didn't find the start of Season Five very compelling. I'm not sure who this new Super Baddie is, or why they're giving J'onn an “Evil Brother” at this late date, but compared to Reign's powerhouse debut a couple of seasons back, or Lex Luthor's amazing addition to the show's Rogue Gallery last season, I was less than impressed.

The CatCo sale solved the problem of Lena being Kara's boss, but this new Andrea Rojas person seems like less of a villain, and more of a HR nightmare. She also looks too young to have achieved status on a par with Cat Grant at this stage of her life. I predict that the hunky British reporter who rubs Kara the wrong way right now, will be rubbing her the “right way” before the season's end. The “technology is bad” theme seems unsuitable for a show where most of the solutions to major problems are found by having the main protagonist punch things very hard. Right now, it all seems so predictable. I hope they throw in a few twists to keep things interesting.

The biggest, and most pleasant surprise was the return of Eve Tessmacher, and the prospect of her teaming up with Lena again, but those hopes were dashed when Lena turned her into a flesh-and-blood avatar for her “personal assistant.” Even worse, it wiped out Eve's unique personality, which IS a crime!

If this episode was supposed to be centered on Kara's revelation of her dual identity to Lena, I think it fell short of the mark, dramatically speaking. In the comics, these things usually involve the hero transforming in front of the person in question, so as to leave no doubt in their minds when they claim to be their alter-ego. I wanted Kara to whip off her glasses, and BECOME the Girl Of Steel, right before Lena's astonished eyes.

Kara's obviously sincere and heartfelt apology to Lena seemed to discount the reason why Supergirl has a secret identity in the first place, which is namely to PROTECT her close, personal friends (like Lena) and her family. She made it sound like she lied to Lena arbitrarily, and simply never got around to setting the record straight. Are you KIDDING me?? She's a LUTHOR for Pete's sake! Of COURSE Kara didn't disclose her most closely guarded secret – one that the President was trying to expose last year – to the sister of Superman's arch-enemy. She really shouldn't be apologizing at ALL!

That brings me to another observation. If this female dominated show is supposed to be about empowering women, why are most of them either crying, or on the verge of tears in almost every scene they're in? I don't care HOW emotionally charged a scene is, I don't see why two strong, supremely confident women like Kara and Lena can't have a serious conversation without turning on the waterworks, whether they're “tears of joy,” or the other kind. I can't imagine Superman and Jimmy Olsen blubbering like a couple of old ladies every time they have a personal “moment.” Doesn't that sort of thing reinforce the very stereotype of women as “over emotional” that the show is trying to dispel? Alex certainly isn't helping, with all her insecurities on full display. She needs to be “Large and In Charge,” not meek and mild mannered. Alex doesn't even HAVE a secret identity!

Nia is right. Brainy IS the stupidest smart person on the planet. His excessive romancing is endearing, but a little of that goes a long way. Hopefully, they're not going to make this a recurring theme all season long. You'd hope that a 12th Level Intellect would eventually wise up, and sooner than later.

PLEASE send “Senator Olsen” to Washington! The sooner Guardian Olsen leaves town for good, the better. He's been the most useless character on the show since Day One, mainly because he's NOT anything like the REAL Jimmy Olsen, Superman's Best Supporting Character.

KET said...

"Supergirl should wear a skirt. I don't like the pants. Also, this costume doesn't have enough red."

Yep, and yet more amateur night...you guys keep proving that you have no concept of fashion design...just nostalgia for nostalgia's sake. Yet the series has always been about a self-professed hero's evolving CHANGES.

Supergirl's had numerous costume changes in comics over the decades, and the only reason they went with a red skirt at the beginning of the series was because of the familiarity with the flop 1984 movie. But real life young women don't settle for just one style set of clothing for the rest of their lives. They like to 'dress up' as they grow into adulthood. That's why comic book fanboys are absolutely terrible fashion consultants; they really just don't know any better. Plus, they're not actually paying attention to the fact that Kara's personal style as an ambitious young woman has been constantly evolving with every season, all of which wasn't an accident. It's way past time that Kara's heroic identity caught up with her refined fashion senses.

KET

William Ashley Vaughan said...

I can't believe that I'm finally caught up enough with the Supergirl tv show that I can actually contribute to the comments about it. Midnight reminds me very much of Blackstarr from the Supergirl comic. Very similar powers. I don't think that Lena has blackmail on her mind when she talks about using Supergirl's powers for her undisclosed scheme to "benefit humankind." Whatever she pland, it might be something that is so obviously beneficial that she can just ask for help. Either that, or Supergirl trusts Lena enough that she will believe her when told that a questionable project is beneficial. POSSIBLE SPOILER Given that this season seems to be about artificial intelligence, maybe Lena creates the original, evil Brainiac. END POSSIBLE SPOILER

Nutation said...

> Yep, and yet more amateur night...you guys keep proving that you have no concept of fashion design...just nostalgia for nostalgia's sake. Yet the series has always been about a self-professed hero's evolving CHANGES.

You have a point, but there are style elements that should be preserved. Also genre conventions. Janet van Dyne excepted, very few characters change their outfits with any frequency. In the Arrowverse, Barry Allen has had a few costumes, and so has Oliver. I don't begrudge Supergirl a wardrobe change.

I also concede that these clothes have to be worn by real people. SG wears tights under the skirt from time to time. If the weather is cold, some version of that is reasonable. I just want her to have a different silhouette from her cousin.

The blue skirt is fine. (It is, after all, the original.) There is also that top with the small offset s-shield. Bold color is important - Supergirl is not a stealthy or morally gray character. TV costume designers tend to mute the colors drastically, and that's made worse when the red and yellow accents are minimized or removed.

Anonymous said...

The long super tights don't bother me, truth, we all knew this day was coming. Basically Supergirl has inherited Kal El's role as Earth's guardian and in a meta context Vancouver is awfully cold so Kara/MB had to start dressing the part.
No if I could change anything I'd get rid of the bangs, they obscure MB's very expressive eyebrows, which is why Kara seems more animated and emotional in her civilian drag when she generally wears her hair back...

The season seems off to its usual start otherwise, Lena's moral decline seems as good a start as any I'm all in...which I could say the same about the book...


jF

Rob S. said...

I'm late to this review, too. So I'll simply agree that the pants are a bad look... but not the only bad look from the costume and hair designers on this show. (I still haven't forgiven them for gelling Alex's hair and slicking it back for "work mode.") But throughout the episode, my wife would point out a dress or hairstyle (Kara's pink dress, all the bangs) and with exasperation exclaim, "What is WITH these costumers?!?"

SimB said...

KET I believe you are being disingenuous about the reason for people liking the skirt. There have been no "upskirts" in the show and alot of the same people preferring the skirt also loved the bike pants under the skirt before the N52.
Your comment on right wing politics seemed to come out of no where also.
I don't know for sure but Dr Anj's wonderful site is hardly a gathering place for extremist of any kind, so why try to bring it here?
Anyway I'm also behind on Supergirl eps so review was perfect timing for me Dr Anj!

Anonymous said...

As always, thanks for sharing Anj :) Suffice to say :

- Supergirl is back. YAY!
- This year's COIE has me on the edge of my seat! Double YAY!
- Story and characters moving ahead, always good.
- the costume change -- I'll just say "we'll see."
- dark Lena -- agree, no fullon evil Lena, I can still work with a "we're not enemies, but we're not friends,
either" rendition.
- New characters -- "we'll see how it goes." I think you hit the nail on the head that the new boss seems more
like HR nightmare than a threat, but the British boytoy, and Jonn's brother...
- return of Andrea Brook as Eve Tessmacher? OH GIMME!!

I was slightly annoyed that the fight again was showcasing less "Supergirl" and more "Team." C'mon TPTB, it's
right in the name. She's "SUPER!"

Hope you get time to catch up and review the rest of the episodes that aired, Anj.


Regards

Anonymous said...

"Yep, and yet more amateur night..."

Amateur night? What are you talking about?

Can you stop talking down to everyone who disagrees with you in an extremely condescending and patronizing tone, PLEASE?

"you guys keep proving that you have no concept of fashion design..."

And you do? Please, share your qualifications with us.

"just nostalgia for nostalgia's sake."

No. People appraises and gets attached to the original red skirt costume because it's a classic, iconic and distinctive look.

This is because sooner or later it always returns.

And this is because that blue pajamas thing worn by Kara in Adventure Comics was discarded after only two issues. It was ugly and it made her look like a female Superman instead of her own character.

"Yet the series has always been about a self-professed hero's evolving CHANGES."

No, it hasn't been. But let's say it's true. Do you seriously think a costume change counts as character development?

Let me be blunt: since the show premiered, you've belittled, mocked and put down any and every criticism aimed at the show. Since the show premiered, you've insulted and strawmanned those who thought the show was flawed in some fashion. You aren't defending the costume change because you truly think it's better or more fitting or whatever. You're defending it because you feel the need to defend anything the showmakers do, and if Supergirl was swapping blue pants with a red skirt, you'd be praising it as a return to the classic Supergirl look.

Your strawmen arguments about nostalgia-clinging fanboys, right-wingers and upskirt shots fool nobody, let alone people who have seen you disparaging the MeToo movement in this very blog and claiming Andrew Kreisberg was being "slandered" over the Supergirltv site.

Martin Gray said...

Probably no one will read this as I am so far behind - Supergirl season five has just appeared for UK download - but THANK YOU, last Anon person for telling KET where it’s at - they go on and on about true Supergirl fans but only ever show up for TV show posts to insist they know better than everyone else... Anj has a community going here, there’s no place for snottiness.

And as for the new costume being a sign of Kara’s character development, she didn’t actually choose it!

Anyway, thanks for the review, Anj. On the costume, I’m not a fan, Supergirl looks best in a skirt - they tried tights in the early Seventies and they never stuck. Attached as I am to the Seventies classic with the short pants, skirts, of varying types, scream Supergirl (and if you’re reading, KET, I’m not interested in ‘upshots’, being gay... mind, the straight guys aren’t either, only one person is thinking of Supergirl’s panties, it seems). Bring back the skirt, with bicycle shorts or whatever for shielding, but let’s have Supergirl look like Supergirl. And I hate the long fringe. Still, it’s not a matter of life and death, is it?

Nice one William AV, I was thinking Blackstarr too, and with her being, apparently, a J’onn foe, perhaps there’s a dash of Bete Noir.

I know I moan every year about this kind of thing, but as Nutation says, the media plot is a bit rubbish, and as you note, Anj, people should read their contracts. Do none of these hotshot investigative hacks have an ounce of sense? If a big media organisation is suddenly wanting everyone to sign new contracts, you find out why.

I loved that the new Brit reporter with the terrible Gor Blimey accent corrected Kara on the pronunciation of a town very near where I grew up, Hartlepool... mind, why the heck would Kara say ‘Hartelpool’ - is she suddenly dyslexic?

I’m all for rewriting Kara’s dull-sounding stories, the US habit of putting in stuff like ‘said in an email’ is over the top. Get your main point of interest in the first par and tell the story as pithily as possible; yes, keep a record of all the sources available should anyone question anything afterwards, but don’t fill the supposed news story with them.

I got a big kick out of seeing the Phantom Zone mini-series logo, and having the evil Martian take the form of a little girl took me right back to the early Seventies, when adorable moppets where everywhere in DC comics, such as space girl Judy, whom you recently covered here.

Kate Micucci? She was obviously getting an unusual amount of time for a jumped-up bystander, but I’d never heard of her, and it’d only be their first in series of Batman-style cameos were a supposed famous person to appear in the museum every week as Kara fights a dinosaur. Maybe they will.