‘Supergirl’: Easter Eggs and Pop Culture References in “In Search of Lost Time”

Ever since the Legion of Super-Heroes became regular fixtures on Supergirl, it seems like every new episode is another chance to see how much DC lore they can casually reference without really digging into.

This week, while a lot of it wasn’t necessarily driven by the Legion, was no exception, with at least a half-dozen cute winks and nods in the direction of characters, concepts, and stories from through the years in DC Comics.

Whether it’s a lovable sprite from another place, a Patrick Swayze movie, or the latest in a series of nods to the Christopher Reeve Superman franchise, Supergirl took fans on a whirlwind tour of their little corner of the DC Universe, all while telling a story that was emotionally resonant and relatively small-scale.

So…what did we see? What did we miss? Read on, and comment below if you spotted something we didn’t mention here!

Zook

If you noticed a bit of dialogue early on that mentioned “Zook,” even if you didn’t know about the character, you probably knew it wasn’t talking about an online dating service. 

In the comics, Zook was Martian Manhunter’s longtime pet/assistant. He originated on Mars but still came from an alernate plane.

As Carrasco (a writer on the series) implies above, Zook is often thought of in the same way as Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite, a pair of mischievous villains who taunt Superman and Batman, respectively.

In fact, last week’s Action Comics #1000 featured a one-panel cameo by Zook, riding on a rocket in Mr. Mxyzptlk’s interdimensional rollercoaster based on Superman’s mythology:

 

Kalanorians

Throughout this season, Supergirl has introduced fans to a wide array of cosmic DC Comics characters. Add the Kalanorians to that list.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Kalanorians, here’s what you need to know: The race of aliens are from the planet Kalanor, and are usually characterized by their red or purple skin, pointy ears, and a mohawk that somewhat resembles a fin.

This take is a little less off-the-wall and grotesque than the comics take, but nevertheless a pretty cool and different look for the alien.

 

Road House

When they’re talking about the fight with the Kalanorian, Kara says she “went all Road House on her.”

That is, of course, a reference to the 1989 action film directed by Rowdy Herrington and starring Patrick Swayze as a bouncer at a newly refurbished roadside bar who protects a small town in Missouri from a corrupt businessman.

Sam Elliott co-stars as a bouncer, the mentor, friend, and foil of Swayze’s character. The cast also includes Kelly Lynch as Swayze’s love interest and Ben Gazzara as the main antagonist.

“Time to make you a Legionnaire”

Longtime comic book fans likely geeked out a little bit at the line “Time to make you a Legionnaire,” since Supergirl has a long history with the Legion of Super-Heroes.

In the episode, all it really mean is that she is going to see Mon-El’s final heroic form in a way she had not previously, and that she would train to do new and different things with the Legion.

 

Superman III

In this episode, Supergirl’s fight with the Kalanorian ends while she’s in a photo booth at the bar, after which she takes the photos as a memento.

This feels like a nod to Superman III, in which there was no phone booth around, so Clark Kent ducked into a photo booth to change into Superman — and then had to examine the photos that resulted and get rid of some incriminating one before he could let an admiring child have the rest.

Mon-El’s memories (and Kara’s)

Throughout the episode, both Kara and Mon-El make repeated references back to events which happened in season 2.

Kara also, from her side, addresses some fan criticisms of Mon-El as a character and questions about what she “saw in him,” a question that lingers and stings a bit by the end of the episode.

Unlike the generalities that these kinds of scenes often play with, almost everything they reference is something fans actually saw onscreen.

Mon-El’s costume

Mon-El’s new look closely resembles his red and blue costume from the DC Comics Universe, where he is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The Legion has also appeared on Supergirl, though they’ve been reluctant to do anything that could change what for them are historical events.

Wood’s Mon-El costume also closely resembles Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman costume from Supergirl, though the red and blue costume and cape color scheme is inverted. Mon-El even has what looks like chest shield shape on his costume. This is likely a reference to Mon-El’s Daxamite heritage. Daxamites are descended from Kryptonian settlers on the planet Daxam who interbred with the planet’s native people.

In the Arrowverse, Daxam was destroyed by debris that was thrown through space as a result of Krypton’s destruction. Mon-El, the Daxam prince, was placed in a pod and sent to Earth, where he was taken into custody by the DEO. He escaped and began adjusting to life on Earth, at first becoming a loan enforcer, but has since rediscovered the heroic spirit, which the new costume seems to outwardly symbolize.

White Martians

Seen here and featured as the big beastie J’Onn had to fight during the prison break, white Martians have been the center of numerous Supergirl episodes. They oppressed and slaughtered the green Martians, except for J’Onn and his father.

The last time we saw a white Martian was during the episode where J’Onn and M’gann headed back to Mars to rescue his father.

Draaga

Draaga has apparently been festering away in a DEO cell since his previous appearance on Supergirl, in which he was a member of the alien fight club run by Roulette.

Still wearing his spikey, He-Man-inspired vest, the character threw down with Supergirl briefly during the breakout at the DEO, but she managed to take him down quickly enough to focus on the larger problem of J’Onn’s father having his powers melt down.

Draaga was introduced in the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths publishing era, and was a combatant on Warworld, whom Superman ended up fighting after he exiled himself to space. Superman battled him there, and after he refused to kill Draaga in defeat, DRaaga hunted him back to Earth for a rematch during “Panic in the Sky!,” a Brainiac-centric crossover that also featured Warworld.

Ironically, the “Exile” storyline was relesed in an omnibus hardcover last week.