‘Supergirl’: Who Is Nia Nal?

Supergirl returned for its fourth season tonight on The CW and the episode saw lot of changes for the Arrowverse series’ familiar faces, as well as quite a few new characters — including CatCo’s newest employee, Nia Nal.

Mild spoilers for tonight’s Season 4 premiere of Supergirl, “American Alien”, below.

Tonight’s episode saw Kara Danvers/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) getting back to work not just as a superhero, but as a journalist at CatCo as well. Now, however, Kara isn’t the new kid on the block. She’s the experienced veteran which puts her in a position to be a mentor for a new crop of cub reporters — especially Nia Nal (Nicole Maines). Nia comes to CatCo recommended specifically by Cat Grant.

It’s a situation that replicates the Season 1 dynamic between Kara and Cat (Calista Flockhart) something that Kara recognizes right away, even telling a flustered Nia she reminds her of herself. Of course, with Nia being the new Kara, Kara becomes the new Cat as she pushes and encourages Nia to step up professionally — just in a slightly less abrasive way.

It’s an interesting dynamic, especially since the initial casting breakdown back in May described Nia as a “young Cat Grant type” though her official character description from San Diego Comic-Con acknowledged that Nia’s journey means fulfilling her destiny as a superhero — and coming into her own much in like Kara came into her own as Supergirl.

With Nia simply being introduced as Kara’s protege in tonight’s episode, that journey towards super heroics is one that will likely be one that unfolds over the course of the season and will see Nia become Dreamer, the first transgender superhero on television. The character is based on Nura Nal, the Legion of Super-Heroes member initially known as Dream Girl in comics. Created by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte in 1964, Dream Girl was an alien with precognitive abilities. The Dreamer identity debuted in 1996 in a story by Tom Peyer, Tom McGraw, and Lee Moder.

Given that the comics-version of Dreamer is an alien, it’s entirely possible that we’ll see that come into play on Supergirl this season. Supergirl may be at her peak as a hero currently, but all is not well in National City or in the United States. There’s a serious anti-alien sentiment that is growing rapidly. As things continue to develop, if Nia is of alien origin standing up for others may well be what propels her into heroics — it’s something that her official description hinted at, with Nia having a “fierce drive to protect others”.

What did you think of Nia Nal’s debut in tonight’s episode of Supergirl? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Supergirl airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.