Supergirl: Easter Eggs and DC Comics References In The Pilot

Tonight at Comic Con International: San Diego, DC Entertainment publicly screened the pilot for CBS' forthcoming Supergirl adaptation, due to start in November.

And, as we are wont to do the first time we get a chance to watch something, we figured we'd take a look at the in-jokes, references and Easter eggs in the episode.

So...what did we see? What did we miss? Read on...!

Krypton

Supergirl's Krypton seems more inspired by Man of Steel in the look of the environment, but wardrobe is all kinds of Richard Donner-inspired. The tone of the series, in general, owes a lot to the Donner films, which were kind of the live-action standard bearer for decades.

The Phantom Zone

That's where she got lost? Huh. That's an interesting place.

The Phantom Zone, probably one of the most prevalent elements of Superman's Kryptonian mythology in other media, is essentially a dimension where time doesn't pass normally and people are trapped in stasis. The most common use for this is to punish criminals -- but they've also used it in the past to hit "pause" on untenable situations like when Mon-El was suffering from lead poisoning.

Superman

Well...yeah. Superman gets name-dropped left and right here, although we never really see a clear image of him. Expect a lot of that on the show, more likely than not.

The Danvers

In the comics, many versions of Supergirl use the last name "Danvers" for her secret identity.

And her parents here? That's Helen Slater, the big-screen Supergirl from the '80s movie, and Dean Cain, who played Superman in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

"Alex"

It's surely no coincidence that we have a "Lex" in this show, eh?

And her thing about how she was the golden child until Kara showed up -- and that there's no way of competing with somebody who has powers -- seems to share a bit of motivation with the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Lex Luthor.

Cat Grant

Introduced in the 1980s, Cat Grant was a sexpot gossip columnist brought in to create a potential love triangle with Clark Kent and Lois Lane. She's appeared in a number of screen iterations, including on Smallville and Lois & Clark.

Here, she's an executive, mirroring somewhat her role in the New 52, where she and Clark had a startup. That said, while she's often been depicted as daffy and oversexed, she's always had a bit of bite to her, having manipulated media mogul Morgan Edge into incriminating himself for an expose where she was Clark Kent's secret source in the comics.

Winslow Schott

The veteran Superman villain Toyman serves much the same role here that Killer Frost does on The Flash: he's the hero's tech guru.

The real question: What kind of relationship will he have with Cat Grant, long term? Here, he's just one of her undervalued employees but in the comics? He murdered her son.

Glasses

Yeah, apparently Linda hides her identity behind glasses in this show, too. That said, it's at least somewhat easier to swallow with a character who has long hair and can style it differently and look different that way.

Some iterations of Supergirl have her coloring her hair. It doesn't look -- at least for now -- as though she'll do that on TV.

"The perp had horns"

Obviously there are a number of DC supervillains who do have horns, but Lord Satanus might be a decent candidate, considering that his human alter-ego would be a great foil for media mogul Cat Grant.

Daily Planet

Yep -- the Planet gets a name-drop here. There's really no escaping that Superman's whole world is part of this show.

James Olsen

Jimmy Olsen is all growed up and hanging out with Superman's cousin.

Rescuing the plane

Yes, Jimmy even notices that Supergirl has the same origin as Superman from The Man of Steel, Superman Returns and Superman: The Animated Series.

And, like in The Man of Steel, she does it in plainclothes and without really intending to "out" herself as a person with powers.

Music/credits

The music and credits are evocative of Superman: The Movie.

Flight 237 had a "Guardian angel"

That's a bit of dialogue from the pilot. Of course, Supergirl was actually a literal angel for a while during the Peter David run on the comic.

Otto Binder Bridge

The bridge in the pilot, which Supergirl has to avoid hitting with the plane, is named for Supergirl co-creator Otto Binder.

Vartox

Vartox is a little-used villain in the DC Universe -- who has most recently appeared in the Power Girl/Harley Quinn miniseries.

...And then there's his commander, who was in Iron Man.

"Alura Zor-El's daughter"

In most versions of the comics, her name is instead Alura In-Ze. the "Zor-El" part of the name is Kara's, but her mother doesn't share that.

It's probably not relevant -- but could that be tied to the "evil twin" we get at the end of the episode?

"The General's arrival is imminent"

Just like in Superman II and Man of Steel, when Superman squared off against Kryptonian soldiers, it seems Kara's Season One big bad is a Kryptonian general. Hmm...!

Costumes

A number of the costumes Supergirl tries have comic book corollaries. The final version, as we noted at the time it was announced, is very reminiscent of the post-Crisis costume of the "Matrix" Supergirl.

6th and Sprang

Dick Sprang's name appears to make an appearance as a street address. While not as closely associated with Supergirl as Otto Binder, the veteran Batman artist is credited with writing the Superman story that featured the first-ever appearance of an early iteration of Supergirl.

"It's not an S"

Yes, it's obvious that they decided to reuse the infamous "it's not an 'S' line from Man of Steel.

Gates and Igle

Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle, two creators who worked on acclaimed, recent runs on Supergirl, also get streets named after them.

Kryptonite

We get Kryptonite in the pilot. Whether it will be prevalent or not isn't yet clear, but we do know that at least one big, potential villain has his mitts on it...

Hank Henshaw

In the comics, Hank Henshaw is a former astronaut who evolves into a supervillain after an accident disfigures him and kills his wife.

Given his disdain for aliens and superhumans, we almost wonder whether he might already have lost his wife in this continuity...!

Agent Vasquez

The woman who finds the energy sig for the axe shares a last name with Gonzalo Vasquez, a late '90s member of the Supermen of America.

DEO

Cameron Chase, Kate Spencer, Donald Fite, Ishido Maad and more may now be on the table, as the Department of Extranormal Operations, one of DC's big governmental organizations, pop up.

Fort Rozz

A Kryptonian military installation that was later converted to a Phantom Zone prison in the comics, Fort Rozz has at least that latter thing going for it here.

Despero and...?

Any idea who the villains on that screen in the DEO office are? One of them looks like Depero, but without a fin on his head.

The shirt rip

We do get an iconic "shirt rip" to reveal the costume, as Superman and Supergirl are wont to do.

"Daughter of Alura"

Having the bad guys call Kara "daughter of Alura" is reminiscent of Superman being called "Son of Jor-El" by the Kryptonian villains in Superman II.

Persuader's Axe?

It certainly looks like the axe being wielded by Vartox is the same one used by the Legion of Super-Heroes villain The Persuader in the comics.

Supergirl's Aunt

There's no corollary for the "evil twin" in the comics, but certainly it's not exactly an unprecedented thing. The House of El has its share of weirdos in most continuities, including Kem-L, who invented The Eradicator and is at least partially responsible for the death of the Kryptonian race in the post-Crisis era.