‘Supergirl’: 7 Questions Raised by “American Alien”

Supergirl is back for its fourth season, but after tonight’s season premiere, there are quite a few questions fans will be looking for answers to as the season plays out.

Spoilers for tonight’s episode of Supergirl, “American Alien”, below.

Tonight, audiences reconnected with Kara Danvers/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) flying high on having saved the world from Reign and the Worldkillers last season but even with Kara finally feeling like she has everything under control there was a lot going on — both for those closest to her as well as some major issues only now revealing themselves.

Those closest to Kara — James (Mehcad Brooks), Alex (Chyler Leigh), J’onn (David Harewood), and Lena (Katie McGrath) — all saw major shifts in their lives since we last saw them. Outside of Kara’s inner circle, though, there was the rise of an anti-alien hate group that not only orchestrated attacks on aliens around National City but staged an attack that ultimately outed President Olivia Marsdin (Lynda Carter) as an alien herself.

And if an anti-alien hate group wasn’t enough? Superman is off world and, still well off Kara’s radar, and the alternate version of Kara from the Season 3 finale just might be training literally underground somewhere in Kasnia. It’s enough for there to be a lot of questions as the fourth season gets started. Here are the big ones we’re puzzling after “American Alien”.

Is Lena Luthor turning evil?

Tonight’s episode saw Lena Luthor very worried about the possibility that James would be indicted for various crimes due to his actions as Guardian last season. The possibility of it worried her so much that, by episode’s end, we discovered that she had manipulated her mother, Lillian Luthor, into giving her information about Bruno Mannheim using Luthor Corp to launder money. Lena then takes that information to the District Attorney and uses it to convince them to not pursue charges against James.

In previous seasons, Lena was generally shown to be opposed to manipulating people or using her influence in quite the way she was tonight — and on top of that, she did it all behind James’ back. Could this be a sign that Lena is starting to become more like the rest of the Luthor clan? It’s something that has been teased before, that Lena will ultimate begin to embrace her own personal dark side.

Is James done as Guardian?

Lena did manage to prevent James from being indicted, but that doesn’t mean he has an all-clear to suit up and go back to his vigilante ways. In the press conference announcing things, the DA made it clear that if James goes back out as Guardian, he will be arrested. So does this mean that James’ days as a hero are over?

Probably not. An alien race with telekinetic and telepathic powers, the Phorians, were heavily mentioned in tonight’s episode. Back in the second season, specifically in the episode “City of Lost Children”. In that episode, James becomes discouraged when he realizes that people are afraid of Guardian. However, it’s James who is able to calm a young Phorian, Marcus, down who then in turn calms down the other Phorians who had been triggered to lose control of their powers thanks to a plot by the Daxamite queen, Rhea. The young Phorian had bonded with James and it’s likely that if the Phorians are threatened — especially young Marcus — James would suit up again to help them.

So, the President is an alien. What now?

One of the biggest surprises on Supergirl tonight was the reveal to the entire world that President Marsdin isn’t human, but is instead a Durlan. It’s something that will have major repercussions on the series, especially as President Marsdin had been a champion of the Alien Amnesty Act.

With a growing anti-alien sentiment, it’s very likely that Agent Liberty’s hate group will use this reveal as a way to leverage their way into power. However, it also might help turn even more people against aliens. The idea of the President outright lying is one that may be very difficult for some citizens of Supergirl‘s America, but when you consider that, as a refugee from Durla who escaped her planet as a child, Olivia Marsdin may not have been constitutionally qualified to run for president at all, this reveal may throw the nation into something of a constitutional crisis, further polarizing the public.

What is Lillian Luthor up to?

Yes, Mama Luthor claims to have changed her ways, driven to repentence by Reign. However, Mercy and Otis Graves both appear to have ties to Cadmus and while Lena thought she was manipulating her mother when it came to the information about Bruno Mannheim, the smirk on her face while watching the press conference about it revealed that Lena had truly just played right into her hands. So what’s Lillian up to?

Given that Mama Luthor hates aliens — particularly Kryptonians — odds are probably good that she’s somehow involved in the ‘Earth First” movement, which isn’t good for Supergirl.

What’s up with the other Kara?

In the last moments of the episode, audiences saw the alternate Kara training away underground beneath the train Supergirl froze in Kasnia. Who is she and what is she doing?

Tonight’s episode didn’t give a lot of clues, but with the Arrowverse crossover being titled “Elseworlds”, it’s possible that this Alternate Kara might somehow be connected. After her introduction at the end of Season 3, showrunners Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller confirmed that the iconic Superman: Red Son would be a major influence on Season 4. The Superman: Red Son story was a three issue mini series that was published by DC in 2003 under their Elseworlds imprint. The Elseworlds imprint took familiar DC characters and presented them in “what if…” scenarios, such as “what if Superman had been raised in the Soviet Union?”

While “Elseworlds” could just be a clever title for the crossover, it’s not impossible that this Alternate Kara opened the door for other alternate heroes in the Arrowverse — maybe even a Batwoman instead of Batman in Gotham.

What’s next for Agent Liberty?

Agent Liberty was largely a behind-the-scenes kind of character in tonight’s episode, but with President Marsdin being outed as an alien, that may well change going forward.

Supergirl‘s version of Agent Liberty is the ruthless and terrifying leader of the Children of Liberty, a human-first hate group. The character is described as “a brilliant orator in the guise of a family man” who can easily convince people that he’s right. While he’s seen only in costume — with his face obscured behind a rigid mask — it’s possible that those oratory skills could come in handy should his non-costumed persona decide to step up and try to run for president on a Humans First platform.

Why is Superman on Argo?

Tonight’s episode opened with Supergirl operating not just as National City’s hero, but as a world hero, too. It turns out that Superman was off Earth, paying a visit to the last remaining part of Krypton still living in the universe — Argo.

Supergirl discovered the existence of Argo last season and it was made pretty clear that while her mother was alive and well, the rest of her family had perished. That includes Superman’s parents. With his parents still dead and Superman having grown up entirely on Earth, why would Superman go to Argo?

As the last remaining part of his homeworld, it makes a lot of sense for Superman to go to Argo to connect with his people and learn more about his Kyrptonian heritage. On Argo, he’d get living, breathing, first-hand experience with Kryptonian culture as opposed to the things he could learn at the Fortress of Solitude. That said, with it already announced that Superman will be a major player in this year’s crossover, fans can be sure Superman will be back on Earth well before the season ends.

What questions do you have about tonight’s Supergirl premiere? Let us know in the comments!