CBS's Supergirl: Five Big Takeaways From Today's Announcement

The first official synopsis for Supergirl was released today by CBS, giving fans a sense for what [...]

By Russ Burlingame

supergirl-first-look

The first official synopsis for Supergirl was released today by CBS, giving fans a sense for what to expect from the first TV show to feature the Girl of Steel as a series lead.

There wasn't a lot said about the show, but what was there was packed with nuggets of interesting information to help longtime fans get a little bit of a handle on what iterations of some of the characters we'll see.

So what were the biggest takeaways we got from reading up on the Supergirl to come? Read on...

National Comics Madame X Vol 1 1

Probably not California

National City isn't a place in the DC Universe, but National Publications was the name of DC Comics before it was DC Comics.

National Comics has been the name of a series for DC as recently as 2012.

Of course, there's the outside chance that National City is the real-world one in California, but that seems less likely than the idea that, like most DC Comics cities, it's made up for the story so they can to do whatever they want with and to it without impacting the reality of the show.

Cat Grant

Cat Grant is a taskmaster, and Kara is her assistant? Sounds a bit The Devil Wears Prada for my taste, but maybe that's what they're going for.

Anyway, it's probably a big step up for Cat, who previously has been either a sex kitten or, in the case of Smallville, a fairly forgettable character whose main arc was become assertive enough to be believable as a reporter.

Sibling rivalry

So a few things about Kara.

First of all, that look for Kara Danvers is fairly outside the box and hides her identity way better than Clark Kent. Kudos.

Second, she "grew up in the shadow" of her sister Alex? Well, I wonder how ol' Lexie will react when Kara starts to not only excel, but to capture the attention of the world at large as Supergirl?

Not that dark a show?

"Her heart soars as she takes to the skies" sounds like this is more The Flash than Arrow, in terms of tone.

Of course, there will be those who point out that Man of Steel wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but did a good job of communicating that he loved flight.

supergirl-and-jimmy

Former Photographer James Olsen

Not only is Jimmy older and physically more imposing than Supergirl, but he's identified as a former photographer for the Daily Planet.

That's a description I haven't seen before, although one of my fellow writers here assures me they have (it isn't on our site as far as I can tell with a quick search). 

What's so special about that? Well, it could be (and most would guess) that this story comes very late in the Superman mythology, after his pal Jimmy has graduated to "James" and taken a new job.

Or it could be that Jimmy was called to work with Cat after being laid off, a la the period in the '90s when Jimmy was working with Grant at GBS News (and occasionally filling in as the Turtle Boy for a kids' show on the same channel).

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