My Adventure With Superman S2 E7 came out this weekend and was a fun side adventure showing just how Lois and Jimmy ended up in deep space at the end of E6.
Titled 'Olsen's Eleven', a nice grown up homage to the heist Ocean's films, the episode has Lois and Jimmy putting together a gang to steal a jumpship out of STAR Labs. Having them team up with some 'villains' added a fun element.
The show is a bit progressive and certainly in line with the current themes of comics. The 'villains', like Livewire and Heat Wave, or Brain and Mallah, are in loving, committed relationships and only want to live their best lives freely. Meanwhile, the usual 'good guys' are militaristic and dictatorial.
Supergirl herself is only in this episode for a few seconds. But her presence is felt throughout. The government is using her as propaganda to tout the anti-Superman, anti-alien message. Lois also thinks of her as a threat and is ready to use deadly force. Meanwhile, Jimmy keeps bringing up how Kara seems to have a good heart and is who she is because of the lack of love in her upbringing.
I'll say it again. I know Supergirl will be left in a good place when this season ends. It is the story to bring us there, the 'genocidal, mind-controlled weapon' of the villain that I don't like. It is a shame we couldn't get a different, less dark, less difficult origin for her in this universe. Because I have been very entertained by this show. We are on the redemption trail. How I would have loved something less edgy from the start! Ah well.
On to some particulars.
So Supergirl is being used as the poster girl for an invasion force. Kara is the viewed as the villain.
Worse, Waller is using Kara (and Superman) as an excuse to institute martial law. She even takes control of the media, shutting down any footage that she doesn't approve.
Worse, Waller is using Kara (and Superman) as an excuse to institute martial law. She even takes control of the media, shutting down any footage that she doesn't approve.
The city is in lockdown.
If Lois and Jimmy are going to rescue Clark, they'll need a spaceship and so they bring together quite the crew: Livewire, the Brain, and Monsieur Mallah. It will be quiet and quick.
When they say that if things go wrong, they'll jump to violence, Jimmy puts his foot down.
'There's always another way' is a Superman quote I use. Seeing Jimmy say it was pretty cool.
Remember, Jimmy had a warm interaction with Kara showing she has some good inside her somewhere. But she also has been raised by Brainiac, has this 'for the good of the empire'/'Earth made you weak' dark side.
So I'm not surprised that Lois calls her the 'evil cousin' and is ready to use Green K to end her.
And this is really reiterated throughout the episode. When the heist doesn't go as smooth and the team has to improvise, Lois doubles down.
This is all Supergirl's fault. Kara will wish she stayed in space when Lois gets her hands on her. Kara is the enemy. You take out the enemy.
It is a little scary to hear her talk this way. Like Sam Lane ... not Lois. Jimmy calls her out on it.
Jimmy is the one defending Kara here. He recognizes that the lack of friends (and I'd say the lack of the Kents) has made Kara who she is. But he saw someone else when they went out for ice cream and a walk through the gardens.
I am going to sound like a broken record. I am sure this story will ultimately end well for Supergirl. But it is a grim tale here - a lonely girl, raised by an evil robot, and turned into a doomsday device. I would have loved to see Josie Campbell write her more like she wrote Mary Marvel.
In the end, Lois has learned some lessons this episode. Love isn't easy. Love isn't for cowards. Love needs to be shared.
She agrees to give Kara a chance.
Of course, it is this 'second chance', it will be these open arms, that will soften Kara ...
I hope.
The ship makes the jump, honed in on Superman's signal. But it runs into Kara.
This catches us up to the end of last episode. Kara has stopped sobbing. Perhaps her eyes are open now.
This was a fun episode. I like heist films. Waller, Slade Wilson, and Lex Luthor are clearly despots cloaked in good intentions. So seeing a ragtag group getting the best of them and stealing a ship (and a lot more) was fun.
Brainiac is a maniac. So maybe Lois and Jimmy can turn Kara around.
I still think we could have come at Supergirl from a different direction. But this is a good show.
1 comment:
'But it is a grim tale here - a lonely girl, raised by an evil robot, and turned into a doomsday device.'
That description there very much fits that parallel of Seven of Nine as I said. She was very young when her scientist parents went off chasing the Borg. Anyone who knows Seven's story or the Borg will know, that's a very bad idea. Thus Seven was assimilated and as she even says herself 'raised by the Borg.' I do wonder if Campbell is drawing from that a bit here for Kara.
And I agree that trying to do angry/dark/duped Supergirl is old 'in the comics' at this point, and DC could do much better. However, I think it's important to separate those bad stories vs this one, which so far I think has been telling 'this' Kara's story well. We'll see how they stick the landing, but I've got faith.
Lois's arc in this I think is supposed to be a slight parallel of Waller's actions. We see how she's gone full into the 'Superman is an enemy alien' camp and thus has declared MARTIAL LAW in freaking Metropolis. I'm trying to figure out how the President (who is the one to declare those things) agreed to that, but I'm a history/social science major who often over thinks these things LOL But back on point, Lois starts going down that same mindset with Kara, throwing in quite a bit of self-blame, and I'm glad Jimmy talks her down.
Next episode should be interesting and I'm looking forward to it, to see Kara, Lois, and Jimmy interacting.
Post a Comment