Supergirl!

She doesn't need to turn around and see that fire. She knows it's there.

I know it's been a while since I wrote on this blog and I have many other topics I want to cover. Right now though, I just watched the Supergirl pilot today (a day or two late) and I just feel the need to talk about it.

Normally I would go into some brief, meandering tale about how I have always liked Supergirl, blah blah, blah. That would be a lie, so we'll skip all that and jump right in.

I really liked this pilot and that surprises me. It was a lot of fun. First off, all the DC movies are edging towards super dark, so it's refreshing to have another show (like the Flash) that is more upbeat with heroes that EMBRACE their powers. Imagine that. How uncommon it's become for a super hero show to be about a super hero that likes what they do.

Melissa Benoist is just so damn likeable as Supergirl/Kara Danvers. A super hero show only goes as far as it's leading character. Like the Flash, this show has that in spades. You want to root for her. You want to see her triumph. That's the marking of a good character.

All of the side characters were fun too, especially Jimmy Olsen. Those two have a palpable chemistry. I have to admit I never watched a show with Calissa Flockhart, so it will take some getting used to. She plays a good ice queen, but I hope she doesn't dominate the show.

What I also appreciate is this show did not waste time introducing us to Supergirl. Most shows make you wait most of the episode and try to fill in with an origin story. They accomplished this before the first commercial break. By the time you get halfway through the episode, she has her own exhilarating airplane rescue. A nice homage to just about every Superman movie.

They also provide a means to give Supergirl super powered villains to fight this season. The last thing I want is to see her wasting her time on bank robbers all the time.

Even though I really enjoyed this show, I wouldn't be a comic book nerd without having a few issues. (See what I did there?) Surprisingly, they have nothing to do with the accuracy of the source material. I'm way past caring about the minutia of the comic book origins. I look at this from a purely television show standpoint.

So the problem with super hero shows like this is that a lot of the special effects can look really cheap. I understand it's on a TV show budget, so they do the best they can. I'm still allowed to complain about bad special effects and there was some here. A lot of the budget went to that airplane rescue and I'm okay with that. That just left some of the fight scenes not looking so good.

My other tiny gripe with this show is this. What is it with all the DC TV shows (sans Gotham) having their super hero surrounded by a team of helpers. First Team Arrow, then Team Flash and now there will be a Team Supergirl. Seriously, it's as if the heroes are too incompetent to do anything themselves without some outside help whispering cheat codes into their ears. It's a trope that is starting to grate on my nerves. I feel like it makes your super heroes appear to be weak. Sure she's learning her powers, but she's SUPERGIRL. Like she couldn't figure out what to do. Also, she spent some of her childhood on Krypton. You would think that kind of knowledge would play in at some point.

Being a Marvel guy, this pains me to say this, but DC owns the TV show fight. They have Green Arrow, Flash and now Supergirl. Yes, I'm completely ignoring Gotham.

It's almost unfair to include the Netflix shows because those have a different budget and don't have to adhere to TV standards and practices. These shows are what I wish Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would be.

If you were on the fence about Supergirl, I suggest you give it a shot. You might actually like it.