sinanju

Yes, that's true--Kryptonite was *everywhere* on Smallville. And that's because the writers of Smallville had the same mindset as the writers of Supergirl. They're SUPER. Most villains *shouldn't* be a real physical threat. Give them powers that make them a challenge without having every bad guy capable of a one-on-one punchout with Clark/Kara. Livewire was a good start; the hard part of catching her was, well, catching her. Being able to vanish into the nearest electrical outlet and move undetectably through the grid is gonna make it hard for even Kara to catch you. Mind control is good. Invisibility. Intangibility. Shapeshifting. (If I can instantly vanish into a crowd of bystanders, being able to punch me out with your little finger doesn't help until/unless you can find me.)
 
There are ways to challenge our heroine without making every jumped up thug a tough fight.

Yes, that's true--Kryptonite was *everywhere* on Smallville. And that's because the writers of Smallville had the same mindset as the writers of Supergirl. They're SUPER. Most villains *shouldn't* be a real physical threat. Give them powers that make them a challenge without having every bad guy capable of a one-on-one punchout with Clark/Kara. Livewire was a good start; the hard part of catching her was, well, catching her. Being able to vanish into the nearest electrical outlet and move undetectably through the grid is gonna make it hard for even Kara to catch you. Mind control is good. Invisibility. Intangibility. Shapeshifting. (If I can instantly vanish into a crowd of bystanders, being able to punch me out with your little finger doesn't help until/unless you can find me.)
 
There are ways to challenge our heroine without making every jumped up thug a tough fight.

And lots of chemistry with Cat. There's a reason the internet is awash in Kara/Cat and Kara/Lena fanfic.
 
On another topic, I really enjoyed Kara getting blown up in the whistleblower's car...only to rise slowly into the air from the flaming wreckage and then land, her clothing on fire and partially burned away, but completely unhurt and very annoyed. It's about time they remembered that she's SUPERGIRL. This is about the level of trouble most villains should give her. They can harm other people, whom she must try to protect; they can mislead, misdirect, feint toward goal A while really going for goal B, but most of them shouldn't be able to hurt her at all.
 
The Luke Cage Netflix show did this better than Supergirl does, and he's nowhere near as powerful as she is. But word got around that Luke Cage is bulletproof and superstrong. So what happens when he shows up at a crime scene? Most of the bad guys just run away. They *know* they can't hurt him. Shooting at him only makes him angry ("I'm about tired of buying new clothes.") and is pointless, so they flee. Or surrender. I'd like to see more of that on Supergirl. Not always. There can be bad guys (and gals) who can challenge her sometimes, but most bad guys? No.

And lots of chemistry with Cat. There's a reason the internet is awash in Kara/Cat and Kara/Lena fanfic.
 
On another topic, I really enjoyed Kara getting blown up in the whistleblower's car...only to rise slowly into the air from the flaming wreckage and then land, her clothing on fire and partially burned away, but completely unhurt and very annoyed. It's about time they remembered that she's SUPERGIRL. This is about the level of trouble most villains should give her. They can harm other people, whom she must try to protect; they can mislead, misdirect, feint toward goal A while really going for goal B, but most of them shouldn't be able to hurt her at all.
 
The Luke Cage Netflix show did this better than Supergirl does, and he's nowhere near as powerful as she is. But word got around that Luke Cage is bulletproof and superstrong. So what happens when he shows up at a crime scene? Most of the bad guys just run away. They *know* they can't hurt him. Shooting at him only makes him angry ("I'm about tired of buying new clothes.") and is pointless, so they flee. Or surrender. I'd like to see more of that on Supergirl. Not always. There can be bad guys (and gals) who can challenge her sometimes, but most bad guys? No.

And lots of chemistry with Cat. There's a reason the internet is awash in Kara/Cat and Kara/Lena fanfic.
 
On another topic, I really enjoyed Kara getting blown up in the whistleblower's car...only to rise slowly into the air from the flaming wreckage and then land, her clothing on fire and partially burned away, but completely unhurt and very annoyed. It's about time they remembered that she's SUPERGIRL. This is about the level of trouble most villains should give her. They can harm other people, whom she must try to protect; they can mislead, misdirect, feint toward goal A while really going for goal B, but most of them shouldn't be able to hurt her at all.
 
The Luke Cage Netflix show did this better than Supergirl does, and he's nowhere near as powerful as she is. But word got around that Luke Cage is bulletproof and superstrong. So what happens when he shows up at a crime scene? Most of the bad guys just run away. They *know* they can't hurt him. Shooting at him only makes him angry ("I'm about tired of buying new clothes.") and is pointless, so they flee. Or surrender. I'd like to see more of that on Supergirl. Not always. There can be bad guys (and gals) who can challenge her sometimes, but most bad guys? No.

And lots of chemistry with Cat. There's a reason the internet is awash in Kara/Cat and Kara/Lena fanfic.
 
On another topic, I really enjoyed Kara getting blown up in the whistleblower's car...only to rise slowly into the air from the flaming wreckage and then land, her clothing on fire and partially burned away, but completely unhurt and very annoyed. It's about time they remembered that she's SUPERGIRL. This is about the level of trouble most villains should give her. They can harm other people, whom she must try to protect; they can mislead, misdirect, feint toward goal A while really going for goal B, but most of them shouldn't be able to hurt her at all.
 
The Luke Cage Netflix show did this better than Supergirl does, and he's nowhere near as powerful as she is. But word got around that Luke Cage is bulletproof and superstrong. So what happens when he shows up at a crime scene? Most of the bad guys just run away. They *know* they can't hurt him. Shooting at him only makes him angry ("I'm about tired of buying new clothes.") and is pointless, so they flee. Or surrender. I'd like to see more of that on Supergirl. Not always. There can be bad guys (and gals) who can challenge her sometimes, but most bad guys? No.

I'll just note for the record, that while we're discussing the Supergirl/Flash crossover, we're all talking about the FLASH episode. Why?
 
Because it was another ****ing bait-n-switch. We got maybe two minutes of crossover in the Supergirl episode, which was otherwise completely taken up with a different storyline entirely. The first time they claimed that they simply didn't have the time/money/whatever to do more following the switch from CBS to CW. That excuse won't fly this time.

While I'm not a fan of Mr. Mxylptlk (either the original or the one Supergirl faced), I think that episode did show us that it's possible to challenge Supergirl without nerfing her powers. She might have been physically superior to Mxy, but of course he can teleport and change reality, so it's not like she could beat him up. Or if she did that it would make any difference. She had to find a way to beat him mentally. So her powers didn't have to be arbitrarily reduced to make him a threat. Let's see more characters whose powers are at 90 degrees to hers. A teleporter (like Livewire) is good; until and unless she can land a solid punch, they can always get away. Mentalists--even if they can't affect Supergirl every time, if they can threaten innocents, they can easily get her over a barrel. Or someone who can walk thru walls--unless she's prepared to do tremendous collateral damage, they can almost always get away eventually.
 
I want to see her be SUPER...and still have opponents who make life difficult for her.

HEROINE COMPLEX by Sarah Kuhn. I bought it because the cover art jumped out at me in Barnes & Noble and picked it up to look it over (never say cover art can't help sell a book), and the description and skimming a page here and there sold me. It's the story of Evie, an Asian-American young woman, who is the long-time best friend and personal assistant to Aveda Jupiter, San Francisco's only superhero (also Asian American). While technically Aveda has a superpower (extremely low-STR telekinesis), it's all but useless, so she fights demons* with her martial arts skills. She's fanatically dedicated to training, and to being a diva.
 
It's a humorous story, told in first person. There are other people with minor superpowers in San Francisco, all acquired--like Aveda's--following the first incursion into San Francisco by demons. It failed, and Aveda has been dealing with the recurring portals ever since. When she's sidelined by an injury, Evie is forced to pretend to be Aveda using a glamor provided by a sorcerous friend, and...things do not go according to plan, naturally. In some ways it's a typical urban fantasy with heavy doses of romance, but it's also explicitly superhero focused (as opposed to "people with superpowers"), and there's a great deal of social media attention paid to Aveda (or "Aveda" when Evie is masquerading as her), which is amusing and which I found entirely realistic in contemporary culture. I enjoyed it. It's billed as the first in a series of books about Asian American heroines, and I will happily buy the next one.
 
*Demonic incursions are the only source of unnatural problems in this universe, and only happen in San Francisco for whatever reason.

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

"It's Stargate!" (Loved the call-out)
 
And, yeah, she kinda did. Also, it's been established that using her eyebeams can deplete her store of energy. Given that she only had a brief recharge...probably not the best choice.
 
Also...I'd think that her powers would fade gradually--like over days--under a red sun. Not just Click! like flipping a switch. But whatever. It was still a fun episode.
 
Also also, I liked Alex and Maggie. Relationship Angst! But only briefly. And I liked Maggie's reaction. Which was, essentially, "Okay I understand why you acted that way, and I forgive you. But do it again and we're through."

I called Comcast today and told them to switch us over to the Meryl Streep package--we only want channels that show football and mixed martial arts.

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

I have to say how impressed I am with how they've handled the Alex Coming Out storyline. Most TV shows treat "turning gay" as a single Very Special Episode moment, cue a little family angst, and then everyone hugs it out and moves on. But with Alex it's been a process, and one that feels much more authentic and closer to what I've watched my LGBTQ friends & family go through. I liked that Kara was supportive but awkward about it* while Mom/Eliza had already figured it out, processed it, and is totally cool with it. And with so many gay characters on TV being defined by their promiscuity, and lesbians in particular often coming across more as fanboy fetish material than anything genuinely representative,** this felt like an actual character having actual character growth. And they've even managed (so far) not to fall into the Maudlin Soap Opera excess that is CW's relationship go-to place. Solid.
 
* Loving-but-awkward is kindof Kara's baseline anyway.
** I mean I love Caity Lotz, but come on...

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"

What do you do?
"I have a bow and trick arrows and lots of fighting ability."
"Ditto."
"I'm a martial artist."
"I'm a thug with a flame gun."
"I have supersuit and can shrink to miniscule size."
"I'm half of the flying fire guy."
"I'm superstrong. And superfast. And invulnerable. And I can fly. And see thru walls. And shoot lasers from my eyes. Or freeze things with my breath."
"You're the GM's girlfriend, right?"