Thursday, January 20, 2022

DC Superhero Girls: Double Danvers


I have been enjoying myself recently in discovering and, in some cases, re-discovering, the second season of DC Superhero Girls. I can't explain why covering the show dropped off here. But I plan to rectify.

As I have said with each episode I have reviewed, the Supergirl here isn't your standard version of Kara. She is brash. She is hot headed. She is impetuous ... okay maybe that is classic Kara. But this version seems more like Power Girl than Supergirl. In any case, she has her heart in the right place, is definitely a hero, is the tank of the team, and is a laugh riot. 

Today I'll look at an episode called #DoubleDanvers, a pure Supergirl episode with a dash of Bizarro Supergirl. In it, Kara tries to skirt some responsibility by sending Bizarro in her place. You can anticipate the madcap hijinks that ensue. 

I love the concept of Bizarro Supergirl, mostly from incredible BizarroGirl arc from Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle. In this show, she is more misunderstood and mostly harmless and that is true here.

But this is a DC Superhero Girls episode. There is a lesson here. You have to be true to your family and honor your promises. 

On to the show.

The show starts with Kara in The Lazarus Pit, the small music venue she frequents. She is seeing her favorite band The Malevolent Maniacs playing. Then they ask for a fan to join them and 'shred' the guitar on stage. Kara is singled out.

Then ... she wakes up.

This is only a dream. 


In the kitchen, as she is getting ready for school, Kara is reminded how she promised Jeremiah Danvers she would be home for dinner on Friday.

On that night, Ted Kord, a young whizkid science businessman, is coming over so Jeremiah can showcase some devices he has made for teenagers. He needs Kara there for street cred, She seems unsure of the proposition but agrees.

The scene is cute as Jeremiah is trying his best to be hip and cool but using some pretty stale slang. Not as bad as a Bob Haney book ... but close. But he is adorable and he clearly loves Kara.


But then it turns out that the Malevolent Maniacs are actually playing the Lazarus Pit. And they actually do ask a fan to join them on stage. Alas, it is on Friday, the night she should be with Jeremiah.

Undeterred, she buys the tickets. Maybe she can be in two places at once.


She asks BizarroGirl to stand in for her so she can go to the concert.

BizarroGirl will ... on one condition. Something we don't hear right then.

I do like how these two aren't enemies. In fact, the act almost like family. (I do love that BizarroGirl calls Supergirl by the name 'ugly me'.)


The rules Kara gives BizarroGirl are easy.

She just needs to say 'yes', 'no', or 'cool'. And if stuck where one of those doesn't work, BizarroGirl should just do what Kara would do. 

Kara also says that BizarroGirl should smile. But the result is too frightening to continue.

Again, this is like cousins talking to each other, scheming a little.


At least at first, it seems like the trick will work. Dressed like Kara, the simple answers are fooling the genius Ted Kord.

I was hoping we would see a young Ted Kord at the high school eventually but I guess that role will be Jaime Reyes instead.


Kara initially is enjoying the concert but at one point she sees BizarroGirl banging heads too.

Turns out BizarroGirl took Kara's advice and did what Kara would do, ditching the dad dinner and going to the show. I told you this was a more brash Kara. That does sound like what she would do.

Then comes a rapid fire string of jokes of Kara needing to leave the concert and quickly return BizarroGirl to her home. Or she needs to zip to her home to help BizarroGirl out of a jam ... locking herself out, clogging the toilet, relocking herself out, etc.

Too funny.


But we need one more twist to make this that much funnier.

One of Jeremiah's inventions, a sort of laundry detergent you can use while wearing clothes, interacts with the necklace BizarroGirl is wearing. It turns it into some form of synthetic periwinkle Kryptonite. This K makes real Kryptonians giddy. Therefore, it enrages BizarroGirl.

A plot twist!

I also like how Ted and Jeremiah bond over figuring out the chemical reaction. Instant friendship!


Throughout these antics we see Supergirl struggling with her decision to be at the show and not helping her father. She finally decides to do the right thing. But by the time she arrives, BizarroGirl has become unhinged and has decided to hurt Kord. After all, she has not liked interacting with him.

The chase is on!


Supergirl saves Kord but lets BizarroGirl escape. It wasn't BizarroGirl's fault all this happened.

Luckily, that bonding moment was enough for Kord to hire Jeremiah.

I love how sheepish Kara is during this, trying to apologize to Jeremiah and fess up for doing what was wrong. 


But we still get the end joke and it is my favorite moment of the show.

BizarroGirl's favor was for Kara to join her at a concert of her own! But it is a boy band called Up Past Eight. That is about as far from Malevolent Maniacs as you can get and Kara's snarl is perfect, And it is even more perfect compared to the 'ooh ahh' fangirl expression on BizarroGirl. Amazing!

I know these are fun little shorts but the show has made a sort of 2+ dimensional character out of this Supergirl who is a little rough around the edges but does the right thing and loves bunnies. Here, her heading back to Jeremiah and even the care she shows BizarroGirl feels right.

Too much fun!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ya gotta give it up for Nicole Sullivan, she sounds like she is having the absolute time of her life playing this version of Supergirl? Uncouth, Impulsive, Anger Issues? Who cares she is hilarious! Proving BTW there is a right way to thusly depict Supergirl, DCSHG "gets it", DC Editorial, not so much.

JF