[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Director: Kevin Smith

Writers: Eric Carrasco & Cindy Lichtman

Stars: Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks & Chyler Leigh

Summary

Morgan Edge blames Lena when children are afflicted with symptoms of lead poisoning.

Positives

I like that, again, Kara has a problem she can’t just punch. Edge isn’t someone she can fight without killing him so she has to use other skills to beat him. It was a lot of fun to watch Kara and Sam team up to do detective work. It’s a little weird that the actual detective character is absent from this element of the episode, but whatever.

I don’t like that Maggie is leaving the show, but I understand that Floriana Lima is unavailable. Considering the circumstances, the writers do a good job with the breakup between Alex and Maggie even if it isn’t necessarily something I wanted. It makes a lot of sense for Kevin Smith to direct this episode because these scenes play to his strengths as a director. He does a great job throughout the episode, but the moments between Alex and Maggie are especially well handled.

Negatives

The episode suggests that Lena’s lead bomb from the season two finale has had unintended consequences on people. This is a really interesting idea. Lena saved the world, just like Kara, but there are direct personal consequences. That would have been a great place to take Lena. But the episode squanders this potential by revealing that Edge framed Lena and her bomb didn’t affect humans at all. It’s a missed opportunity.

Whether Lena was responsible or not, I don’t like how people react, including Lena. It’s terrible that these kids are sick but it’s literally a handful of kids. And they’re sick with something that is easily cured by an antidote from L-Corp. That’s better than being blown to literal pieces by crazy aliens determined to rule the planet; Lena helped save the world and everyone is acting like it’s the worst thing anyone could ever do. Additionally, how are people so stupid that they believe Lena’s bomb is responsible? It’s been six or seven months since the bomb went off. Why would people just now show effects from the lead and why only a handful of kids? No one seems to think of this; it’s so obviously something else.

While I do like how the writers handled Alex and Maggie, Alex’s need for children did come completely out of nowhere. This has never been brought up before or even hinted at. Because they need conflict, Alex has new character traits which is weird. Hopefully, this idea sticks and the writers don’t drop it.

Is every episode going to end with a cliffhanger in which Sam discovers something weird about herself? I thought last episode’s ending was solid and we would move forward, but this episode has a way less severe and interesting cliffhanger for Sam. She finds out she’s bulletproof. She saw Kryptonian language tattooed on her face and a crazy person in a robe last week. At what point is she going to take the hint and stop denying everything? At some point, she’s going to have to face reality that she potentially has superpowers. This is starting to feel dragged out; we need a new plot point for Sam especially since the writers announced months ago that she’s the villain and have already shown a picture of her in costume. They’re rushing to promote her as the big bad really quickly, which makes the mystery aspect of her story right now tedious.

Verdict

This is a solid episode. There are a lot of great character moments for pretty much everyone. It’s fun to have a plot focused on Lena since she continues to be the most interesting character on the show. I also like that this plot forces Kara and Sam together. James gets several good scenes which has been consistent this season; he felt underused last year so I’m glad that James feels like part of the show again. The plot has a few contrivances which is unfortunate but they don’t kill the episode. It’s fun to watch and the emotional scenes are incredibly effective.

[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Writer: Jody Houser & Steve Orlando

Artists: Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Michael Atiyeh, & Stanley “Artgerm” Lau

Summary

Kara faces a new challenge as the people of National City, and the DEO, turn on Supergirl.

Positives

The world’s against Supergirl. It’s not a new idea, but Orlando and new Supergirl writer Jody Houser seem to be handling it very well.

It’s obvious from previous issues that Kara cares about the people of National City, and simply wants to help, but having the same organization that she worked with for so long suddenly hunt her down is intriguing, not to mention creates quite a dilemma. Does she risk her life to save people knowing that the DEO is ready to take her down at a moment’s notice? If that wasn’t bad enough, as Kara she’s expected to write stories about how dangerous Supergirl is, to convince the people to fear her. It definitely makes for some fun and suspenseful reading.

Another fun point in this issue was seeing Kara out of costume and in her day to day life. Because of the issues with Supergirl, she tends to spend more time as Kara in this issue, which is great. We get to see her interact at school, at Catco, and with the Danvers on a personal level.

Speaking about the Danvers, they’re love and care for Kara was absolutely beautiful. They may be simply Kara’s adoptive parents, but they’re love for her is genuine, and it certainly shows.

The art in this issue was fantastic. Beautiful facial expressions, colors and emotions on every page. It didn’t really matter they’re wasn’t much action in this issue. The emotion beaming off every page was perfect. The full page image of Kara hovering over her bed while the Danvers were talking on the porch was beautiful, and the best page of the issue.

Negatives

Not sure why, after 15 issues, Orlando is still calling National City “The National”. It’s not a big thing, but it’s simply a pet peeve of mine. It really doesn’t make much sense either.

The main antagonist in this issue, as well as in this story arc seems to be Director Bones of the DEO. Director Bones used to be a super villain. Which begs the question, “How did a super villain become director of the DEO?” It’s strange, and hopefully will be answered later in this story arc.

Verdict

A great and fun Supergirl issue for sure. Plenty of heart, beautiful artwork, and it really tests the patience and heroism of our young protagonist. Orlando and Houser should be congratulated on stepping outside the norm, and giving us something different, yet familiar. A very interesting cliffhanger sets up the next issue very nicely.

[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Director: Rob Greenlea

Writers: Caitlin Parrish & Jess Kardos

Stars: Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh & David Harewood

Summary

In a flashback to their teenage years, Kara and Alex investigate the murder of a friend from school.

Positives

Izabela Vidovic and Olivia Nikkanen play the young versions of Kara and Alex, respectively. They’re both solid choices. The two look just like Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh and they nail the mannerisms of the older actresses. They legitimately feel like younger versions of the characters. Additionally, they have to carry the episode. Benoist and Leigh are used as a framing device; most of the episode is on Vidovic and Nikkanen and they do a great job.

I enjoyed the scenes with Kara’s childhood friend. They were sweet scenes and it was genuinely sad when he died. I also liked the scenes between Kara and Alex when they were being nice to each other.

Negatives

Young Alex feels a lot like the character did in season one, which is not a good thing in my opinion. Her attitude towards Kara was very irritating to me. She blamed Kara for everything she didn’t like about her life without a shred of sympathy for Kara even though she literally watched her planet blow up. She got over that over the course of the season but this episode brings it back but in the form of a bratty teenager. It’s hard to feel sympathetic for Alex in these scenes because she is so obnoxious and mean-spirited. It wouldn’t be so bad if she was just like this as a teen but I know she acts like that as an adult; this element reminded me of an early part of the show I really disliked and was not happy to see back.

This is an episode of Smallville. I don’t dislike that show but I did not need to see that formula applied to this show. It’s a murder mystery with high school versions of comic book characters that act like detectives. The only thing missing is a kryptofreak. They even mention Chloe which was cool at first. The name drop was fun but they feel the need to give a full description of her and bring up the wall of weird. The episode just stops to scream Smallville at us. It’s unnecessary.

Verdict

This is an okay episode. There are a lot of good scenes between the sisters, both versions, that work. The allusions and similarities to Smallville make the episode feel a little tired and formulaic and I don’t like young Alex’s characterization but it doesn’t ruin the episode. The two young actresses are great and make the episode fun to watch.

[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Director: Chad Lowe

Writers: Gabriel Llanas & Anna Musky Goldwyn

Stars: Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks & Chyler Leigh

Summary

Kara finds Mon-El in a seemingly alien spaceship while Sam searches for answers in relation to her powers.

Positives

The highlight of the episode is the small subplot between Martian Manhunter and his dad. J’onn has never really had a place outside of the DEO; his relationship with Miss Martian helped last year, but he is contained most of the time. I appreciate the writers acknowledging this in universe and giving him a place and a purpose outside of the DEO.

The parallels between Sam and Richard Donner’s Superman film are pretty cool. I like that Sam is someone from Krypton who has entirely repressed everything about her heritage while Kara grew up with the knowledge of her home world and always accepted it.

Negatives

Mon-El’s return is fairly irritating. The episode needs conflict, so the writers attempt to use Mon-El, but it doesn’t work. He spends the entire episode lying to Kara’s face and keeping secrets from her for no reason. He needs to save the other passengers on his ship; their life support may have given out when the ship lost power. He could easily ask Kara and the DEO for help but doesn’t. He chooses to lie and go behind their backs. Additionally, he never tells Kara that he’s married. He just makes out with his wife in front of her. There’s no reason for any of this; every problem in this plot is easily solvable by simple communication.

I figured that Reign would end up being a split personality and I was right. I’m not sure what’s supposed to be interesting about this. The season has spent six episodes giving Sam a connection to several of our main characters but now she has none. It’s not Sam anymore and that seems dull to me.

Verdict

This is an okay episode. The main problem is that nothing really happens. Because Mon-El is so secretive, no information is given until the very end of the episode. Nothing happens in Sam’s plot until the end either; there are some neat homages to Donner’s Superman but it’s a pretty dry episode. A lot of it feels like filler which is made more frustrating by the fact that these plots aren’t going anywhere in the next episode due to the dumb crossover.

[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Director: Larry Teng

Writers: Robert Rovner, Jessica Queller, Andrew Kreisberg & Marc Guggenheim

Summary

The wedding of Barry Allen and Iris West is interrupted by a Nazi invasion from a parallel world, Earth X.

Positives

The red sky on Earth X is a nice touch. I assume it’s a reference to season four of Batman: the Animated Series. Even if it’s not, it still looks good.

The costume design for the Earth X characters is solid. Nazi-Arrow and Nazi-Supergirl both look great. The red and black is a cool looking color scheme. Nazi-Arrow’s costume is weirdly more distinct and colorful than Earth 1-Arrow’s suit.

Melissa Benoist gets to sing which is always great.

Negatives

Even though it’s an episode of Supergirl, the cast of that show is thrown under the bus. Mehcad Brooks gets one scene and it’s Nazi-Arrow killing Earth X-Guardian. That is nonsense and a huge missed opportunity. We haven’t seen Guardian in costume all season and we get him for five seconds only for him to die. Why not include Guardian and Martian Manhunter? They’re more worthwhile heroes than the characters on the other three shows. The big crossover literally begins with one of the main white heroes shooting one of the main African-American heroes in the chest. And Marc Guggenheim wants to do a black lives matter episode of Arrow.

Nazis are a terrible idea. This really is not the time for this nonsense. At a time when Nazis feel more comfortable than they have since World War 2, even getting sympathetic profiles in the New York Times, showing our heroes as Nazis feels so wrong and insensitive. The amount of Nazi imagery is unbelievable. The sexist and idiotic team of Andrew Kreisberg and Guggenheim somehow looked at this summer’s Secret Empire event and thought it was brilliant, so they copied it. That story went so well for Marvel and Nick Spencer, so clearly it’s gold. Even Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. did the Nazis win World War 2 alternate Earth story. The beyond tedious Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. beat them to this lame and potentially harmful story.

Even without the Nazi crap, this is a boring story that’s been done a million times even on these shows. We’ve seen Supergirl go bad from red kryptonite and Earth 2 where heroes were villains. The Injustice games are huge, which play with this idea. It’s been done on other superhero shows, live action and animated, and there are countless comic book stories with this premise. There is nothing new in this premise that makes me want to watch. And why does every crossover have to involve a fight with the heroes. The first was billed as Flash vs. Arrow, the second featured the big fight with Hawkman and last year had everyone mind controlled and forced to fight Arrow and Flash. This year, we have evil doppelgangers to fight. This is tired.

Much of the episode focuses on the wedding between Barry and Iris. I stopped watching The Flash during it’s awful third season and that mostly had to do with how unlikable Barry had become. I do not care about this character or his love life especially when the person he’s marrying is a character I never liked. The two actors share no romantic chemistry and aren’t any fun to watch on screen together. Adding to that is the creepy incest stuff, Joe refers to them in the episode as his kids, which only makes it worse. Their wedding and the lead up is obnoxious and dull.

I haven’t watched Arrow since its horrendous fourth season but it’s good to know Oliver and Felicity are still a terrible couple. Like Barry and Iris, the actors don’t have romantic chemistry and mainly bicker like children. Felicity doesn’t want to get married for spontaneous reasons just so we can have “character development” which is code for characters bitching each other out in overly dramatic scenarios instead of talking like human beings.

Why is Sara’s sexuality so funny to Guggenheim? Her bisexuality is a running gag throughout Legends of Tomorrow and it manifests here with a one night stand between Sara and Alex. I actually wouldn’t mind a relationship between the two characters. A casual long distance romance would be kind of interesting and I would like to see Sara written by Supergirl‘s more talented writing staff. But it’s just a wacky subplot meant to either make us laugh or turn us on. The joke is that Sara and Alex had sex and it makes the latter uncomfortable. There actually is potential for story here. Alex came out only a year ago and just broke off her first homosexual relationship. She’s in a vulnerable place and something could be done to further her story with Sara who is so comfortable in her sexuality. They don’t have to hook up or date and if they did, it should be treated with some respect. Instead, this plot would feel right at home on Two and a Half Men. It also makes Sara look terrible for taking advantage of Alex’s pain and practically mocks her later despite how visibly uncomfortable Alex is. I hate seeing Guggenheim’s name on an episode of this show and I am sick of seeing Kreisberg’s name every week.

The big action scene at the wedding could have been great, but it’s poorly directed and edited and there are some missed opportunities. They clearly had a miserable time keeping track of all the characters, which shows. I didn’t even know Wally was at the wedding until the fight started. Cisco gets knocked out and is unconscious for the entirety of the Arrow episode. I legitimately do not remember seeing someone hit him. Maybe I looked away for a second to pet my dog or take a drink but I never saw whatever put him in a coma. The big missed opportunity is Cisco. The best moment of the episode is Cisco opening a breach for Oliver to jump through. They could have had a ton of fun with this; characters jumping in and out of breaches or knocking villains into them is fun and creative. Blink steals the show in X-Men: Days of Future Past with her abilities doing a similar thing. They do it once and it’s just for Oliver to get to a higher level.

Verdict

This is terrible. It makes me sad to see an episode of Supergirl filled with everything that makes the other three shows so painful to watch. I wish the show had been left out of the crossover like last year. It’s a boring premise that has been done to death with nothing new to say about the subject; they just continue to normalize this imagery in the pop culture. The crossovers characters are just as obnoxious and tedious as they are on their own shows; these characters are given more screen time than any actual character from Supergirl, which doesn’t help. There isn’t even good action to distract from how awful this script is. It’s a terrible start to a crossover that I don’t think will get any better.

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Director: James Bamford

Writers: Marc Guggenheim & Andrew Kreisberg

Starring: Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Willa Holland, Emily Bett Rickards, Echo Kellum, Rick Gonzalez, Juliana Harkavy, Katie Cassidy, Paul Blackthorne, Melissa Benoist, Tom Cavanagh, Grant Gustin, Chyler Leigh, Caity Lotz, Wentworth Miller, Danielle Panabaker, Candice Patton, Russell Tovey

Summary

The second part of the “Crisis on Earth X” Event. The team learns the identities of who invaded the wedding and the history behind Earth X

Positives

Part 2! I got to say, this episode is fully packed! I’m telling you, it has almost everything. Drama? Check; Action? Check; Twists? Most definitely check!

First positive point for this episode is the reveal behind Prometheus’ mask. A few months ago, news had surfaced that our old buddy Prometheus would be returning for the crossover event, but that Josh Segerra would not be reprising his role as the mad man. Then, fan theories began circulating on the Internet about who it would be under the mask, and tonight we got the reveal! Prometheus is none other than Tommy Merlyn! Yes, you read that right! Tommy freakin’ Merlyn of Earth X.

Last year, everyone was expecting Colin Donnell to reprise his role as Ollie’s best friend, but unfortunately that never happened. But with him here on a special night, it really means a lot to the fans, especially me. It was, however, short because after a short convo with Oliver, he took out a cyanide pill embedded in his teeth and poisoned himself (I know, right. Typical Nazis). Still, Colin Donnell’s presence on the show means a lot to all those Arrow fans out there.

Also, this is a great nod to the fan theory last year that Prometheus was Tommy behind the mask. Many fans of the show were hoping that Prometheus was Tommy but that fan theory was debunked when the reveal was made that it was actually DA Adrian Chase instead.

The next positive note is the bad guys for this episode. Although they are still having a hard time working together, they can still work as a team. They can accomplish things that they want to do. But there’s this scene that is amazing and so tense, you are going to be on the edge of your seat, literally. It is when Eobard (yes Thawne is back) and Oliver from Earth X were ticked off with each other. Oliver drew one of his arrows and pointed it at Thawne’s throat while Eobard began to vibrate his hand. Then Overgirl came in between them, slowly crushing Eobard’s wrist. It was a great reversal from what we see usually see from these heroes, except for Eobard who is still as evil as ever. We were used to seeing Kara and Ollie being optimistic and compassionate but here we see an Oliver who has no remorse in killing his enemies while Kara has a God complex where she thinks she is above everyone else.

Then a shocking revelation. On Earth X, Oliver and Kara are married. Yup, you read that right. There was this moment where you can feel that there is something romantic happening between the two, and then they kissed. It may be a minimal detail, but this can add some interesting complication in the plot of this crossover event. And mind you, the theme of this crossover is “love for something/someone.” We saw that love in the first part of the crossover with the short-lived wedding of Barry and Iris. We heard it in Joe’s speech back at Jitters.

With the absence of Overman (Earth X Superman), Overgirl became the Nazi General and took over for Adolf Hitler. Which brings me to another great point in this episode – the reason why they invaded Earth-1. Yes, the first reason is because they want to conquer it, however, the second reason is the more interesting on as Kara-X is dying from solar radiation. She mentions that she flew too close to the sun, and if you are a DC Comics fan, you may recognize this scenario from the storyline All-Star Superman where Clark had the same situation. It is a great homage to one of the best Superman story arcs there is.

In part two of this great crossover, Jax finally reveals to Stein the reason why he is upset. It is not that he doesn’t want to be The Spectacular Sticky-Man, it is because he is afraid that he will lose Stein. We all know Jax’s backstory. His father served in the military, but died on the battlefield, so Jefferson grew up without a father. Then when Martin Stein came along, Jax bonded with Dr. Stein and he became his father figure, and now that Stein is leaving, he feels like becoming a Legend is not that satisfying. It was an emotional moment because it shows how Jax and Stein grew so close throughout their time as Firestorm.

The CGI in this episode was awesome for a television show. It is pretty impressive. I can see the distinction in their fighting styles, which I truly appreciate now. My favorite action sequence in this episode is when Oliver-X infiltrates S.T.A.R. Labs. Mick and Killer Frost try their best to defend the grounds but are defeated. Then, Team Arrow shows up. Black Canary, Wild Dog and Mr. Terrific come onto the scene and try to stop Oliver-X ,but he was still too much for the team.

Also, I love the humor they brought in this episode, especially with the dynamic between Caitlin Snow and Mick Rory. It was a hilarious moment when Mick was trying to scare Caitlin to make Killer Frost emerge. The faces on Felicity, Alex and Caitlin were priceless.

The part where Green Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl were going to meet their enemies was great as well. As usual, The Flash zooms in and Supergirl landed right next to him, and then there’s Green Arrow on a motorcycle. After an awkward silence, Oliver broke it by saying, “Just a quick reminder. Super speed, I don’t have it.”  What a great line!

Negatives

Even though this episode is as awesome as it seems, it still has its flaws. In the episode, we get to see the side story of Ollie and Felicity where they discuss the future of their relationship. In the first part of the crossover, Oliver actually proposed to Felicity, but was turned down, like in a really rude way. Felicity then clarifies to Oliver that she loves him but doesn’t want to go to that end yet. She then reveals to Iris the reason behind this is because she is afraid that the bad things will happen again to both of them. I know that Felicity’s sentiment is valid, but it seems that she is just a total shut off with Oliver. If she loves him, she must not keep secrets because she knows what happens when secrets are kept too long.

Verdict

Part 2 of the crossover event is great. So far I am thrilled, and can’t wait to see the next parts! It’s been action-packed, filled with drama, and I can’t wait to see how they will escape from Earth X and save Earth-1, and drive all those damn Nazis away.

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Director: Dermott Down

Writers: Todd Helburg, Andrew Kriesberg and Marc Gugghenhiem

Starring: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Carlos Valdes, Danielle Panabaker, Jesse L. Martin, Tom Cavanaugh, Stephen Amell, Emily Bett Rickards, Victor Garber, Caity Lotz, Chyler Leigh, Melissa Benoist, Jeremy Jordan, Paul Blackthorne, Juliana Harkavy, Wentworth Miller, Russell Tovey

Summary

Barry, Oliver, and two-thirds of the Legends are trapped in a concentration camp on Earth-X while Iris and Felicity strive to free the rest of the imprisoned heroes – as well as stop Overgirl’s plans for Kara – on Earth-1

Positives

The best kinds of stories are the ones that stir emotions in the reader or the viewer. That being said, what worked in this episode are the elements that harkened back to one of the darkest periods in human history: The Holocaust. Barry and company are tossed into a concentration camp and the writers spared no expense in depicting the horrors of the Aryan vision. Religion, creed, orientation, all was stamped out that did not conform. The moment where the Nazi version of Quentin Lance noted how he executed his own version of Sarah for her lesbianism was a sharp divide to the Lance we all know.

Seeing twisted versions of heroes that we are used to seeing as pillars of strength, virtue, and hope were appropriately cringe-worthy, especially in the case of Earth-X Kara. The conversation between her and Earth-1 Kara showed off Melissa’s range; she brilliantly played both versions of the same character with very subtle nuances. Seeing Tom Cavanaugh reprise his role as the original Reverse-Flash was great. Eobard Thawne as a Nazi scientist was a perfect fit and his moment where he threatened Felicity’s life with both the vibrating hand and his knowledge of her future was the perfect blend of physical and psychological torture he’s known for. The fact that they balance that with scenes that involve Harry and Cisco shows the distinction Tom conveys in both characters.

Overall, the way the crossover has handled the Nazi regime flies in the face of today’s diverse audience and that is what writers have to do in order to engage the audience. The hero needs a worthy adversary or the hero looks like a bully, and there’s no greater adversary than a nearly-racist world that stomps out anything unique. The ace in the hole being “Leo” Snart was unexpected. This lighter version of Captain Cold was funny in the interactions between he, Barry, and Oliver. Given this will be Wentworth Miller’s final go as Leonard Snart, although this was not the now-deceased Earth-1 version, it was good to see the visual of Captain Cold with the right glasses.

Speaking of final bows, this episode also saw the (spoiler alert) demise of Professor Martin Stein. On Legends, they were already gearing up for a parting of the ways for the team that make up Firestorm, but the death of Stein was done in a way to show how much the character has grown since his introduction on The Flash in its first season

Negatives

The Iris-Felicity team up Die Hard style didn’t really seem that believable; while it’s cool seeing them pair up again like they did two episodes ago, the problem is you don’t feel anything threatening to their person until they’re confronted by the Big Bads. For supergeniuses like Felicity, their plan felt a little bit flimsy on her part. And why couldn’t she open the pipeline cells? As for Eobard Thawne, I felt that there should’ve been an explanation for why he’s suddenly back alive and wearing Harrison Wells’ face again in this episode. If it was explained in Arrow, then those who didn’t catch that part or don’t watch the other Arrowverse series should have been clued in.

The treatment of Snart and making him a couple with The Ray felt just as forced as the Sarah-Alex hookup. There’s such a thing as too much saturation; diversity has to be represented, but it does not have to be all about sexuality. We had situations where you feature a Felicity Smoak, who is Jewish, stand up to the Nazi Oliver Queen, while in Earth-X you see a brunette Felicity from concentration camps brought before Earth-1 Oliver incognito to be executed as a test of his identity. What about race? There was barely any mention of African-Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Afghan, and so on in that camp. Or was that their way of saying genocide was accomplished on such a global scale? Either way, sexuality and religion did not have to be the only diverse groups in this episode. I have scarce complaints about the episode aside from that.

Verdict

You get the hopelessness of the Earth-1 heroes as they’re scattered between two dimensions and pushed to their limits. You felt the pause as you saw the execution of Martin Stein as the episode ended. Overgirl’s Nazi rant felt appropriately nauseating, as did Nazi Quentin Lance’s rejection of his daughter. Again, good to see Miller but not a fan of the characterization. I look forward to watching the conclusion to this crossover that delivers on its promise of being bigger than last year’s

[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers]

Director: Gregory Smith

Writers: Phil Klemmer, Keto Shimizu, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg

Starring: Melissa Benoist, Grant Gustin, Stephen Amell, Caity Lotz, Nick Zano

Summary

The remaining Legends team up with the other heroes to fight off the Earth X invasion.

Positives

This episode is the best of the four part crossover mainly because it relies on being mindless superhero fare. Most of the episode is taken up by action scenes which, for the most part, are well done. Gregory Smith is able to keep track of every character; I know where each one is and what they’re doing. The only exception is Black Canary who just vanishes into thin air at a certain point. Other than that, it’s impressive. I like that there are a couple of different things going on; there’s a fight on the ground and one in the air. A lot of it is exciting and fun. The highlight of the action is a fantastic moment between Flash and Reverse-Flash. We get to see the world from their perspective; everyone else is frozen still while the speedsters duke it out. The effects look good and it’s a wonderful moment.

Stein’s death is played well. I like that it’s heroic and his sacrifice gives the heroes a chance to win. His death has weight; the emotion following his death is genuine. Victor Garber is fantastic in, presumably, his final performance as Stein.

There are some cool new costumes. I love the Killer Frost outfit with and without the jacket. Zari’s costume is also really cool; I adore the gold. The two also get some fun team up moments with Amaya. There’s real potential for a Birds of Prey show with some of these female heroes; it was really fun to see these three work together.

This episode actually makes a case for the Legends being a thing for the first time. None of the other episodes in this crossover would make you want to watch those shows if you weren’t already. If you aren’t watching Legends, this episode could change your mind. They get to be pretty bad ass here and they’re the main source of entertainment.

Negatives

I hate that Stein died. There was an opportunity to give one of these heroes a happy ending. I loved the idea of Stein owning up to his responsibility to his family and leaving the team to live the rest of his life with them. His death feels unnecessary. It’s executed well but I would have preferred if he had lived and just left the team.

I still don’t like the Nazi element. They did not need to be Nazis; we did not need to see the Nazi symbols everywhere and we certainly did not need to see a concentration camp. It’s kept to a minimum this episode which is nice but it’s still there.

Thankfully, the writers are smart enough to know that Nazis should not be sympathetic. There is never an attempt to do this with the villains. That’s a good move but it also makes them utterly dull. If they weren’t Nazis, these alternate versions could be explored a little more. Nazi-Arrow and Nazi-Supergirl are never engaging characters. Stephen Amell tries his best to be threatening and scary while Melissa Benoist chews the scenery but neither have any material to work with. The two characters fall flat.

The action does mostly work but the CGI is terrible. And I don’t mean in comparison to any movies; that’s not fair. By the standards of these shows, some of these effects are awful. During the big action scene, horribly rendered versions of Supergirl and the Ray are flying around shooting at nothing. They look terrible and out of place when we can see real actors and stunt performers in the same shot. Outside of the moment I mentioned earlier, the fight between Flash and Reverse Flash looks bad and the fight between Supergirl and Nazi-Supergirl is some of the worst effects I’ve seen on any of these shows. What makes it more frustrating is that I’ve seen these shows pull some of this stuff off before. Supergirl’s fight with Superman last season looked pretty good and speedster fights have looked better than this.

Barry just lets Thawne go. I get not killing him but Barry should have at least captured him. He just stands there and lets Thawne walk away. I don’t even know how Thawne is alive and the writers can’t be bothered to come up with a reason so he’s just out in the world now. He’s going to kill a lot more people because of Barry. There are other options besides killing him.

There are some bizarre lines of dialogue throughout. No one has a distinct voice and if they do, it’s negated for a lame joke. The big example is with Kara; she asks Ray and Felicity how they know each other. Why would she ask that? She fought with both of them last year during the Dominator invasion. It’s just so they can make a joke about Ray and Felicity dating. There’s little things like that throughout.

The character arcs are random and their conclusions don’t work. Alex doesn’t even have one; she goes in a circle. She only second guessed her decision to break up with Maggie once she had sex with Sara. And one conversation later, Alex is totally comfortable with the decision like she was before the one night stand with Sara. It’s almost like that whole plot was pointless. Also, Sara learned that she needs to find a relationship instead of one night stands; that came out of nowhere. Felicity starts the crossover against marriage for no real reason and the crossover ends with Oliver marrying Felicity because I suppose that’s easy drama. It just feels weird. Felicity not wanting marriage over complicates things; her proposal to Ollie at the end could have played if they hadn’t brought up the idea of her being against marriage. I appreciate the attempt to add some character into this but it doesn’t really work for the most part.

Verdict

This is an okay episode. There is a lot I still don’t like. I hate the basic premise of the entire crossover; it’s tedious, over-played and the writers don’t have anything to add outside of the shock value of using Nazi imagery. The effects are terrible for the most part; some of the Supergirl effects look unfinished. The attempts to resolve the character arcs fall flat. But there is some fun. The episode manages to balance being a crossover while highlighting the characters of this show. That is not accomplished with the other three parts; Supergirl spends half of the crossover tied up and helpless. There’s solid action and some genuinely fun moments. I hated the first three parts of the crossover but the conclusion managed to entertain me just enough.

[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Director: Glen Winter

Writers: Paula Yoo & Caitlin Parrish

Starring: Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks & Chyler Leigh

Summary

A mysterious Kryptonian symbol starts appearing all over the city which leads Kara to Reign, the Worldkiller.

Positives

The fight between Supergirl and Reign is incredible. It’s intense, brutal and engaging. I love that the fight goes to different locations. The bit that takes place in the office Christmas party is my favorite; the Christmas music in the background with the intensity of the fight makes a really fun combination. This is easily the hardest fight Supergirl has had yet and I love that it’s an actual Supergirl villain. It’s not a Superman character or a character created for the show. They took a somewhat obscure Supergirl villain and made her the biggest threat possible; that is so cool.

Additionally, it’s a fair fight and the two are evenly matched. The other DC/CW shows overpowered some of their villains to the point that the action scenes would just be the villains beating the heroes down. In this, Kara puts up one hell of a fight and gives as much as she takes. She does lose, but she nearly wins. This makes the fight more fun to watch and it will also help later. On Flash and Arrow, the villains that were impossible to beat the entire season are suddenly very easy to fight in the finale and it takes the hero no effort. There’s no tension. There is a chance Supergirl can beat Reign but we also know Reign can win; that’s more fun.

The Reign costume is amazing. I love the little similarities to Supergirl’s costume, but it’s more creative than just painting Kara’s costume black. It has a unique look while still clearly being Kryptonian. The mask is also really cool.

I love the mythology behind Reign. It’s different than the comics but I think I like this a little more. The idea of a hidden Kryptonian history is really fun. There’s a dark element that Krypton tried to scrub out. I also love bringing the religious fanatic back in for this. He provides the episode with an interesting theme; essentially, there is truth in religion that gets exaggerated and distorted. Reign is not literally Lucifer but the parallels are there.

Negatives

While Reign is fantastic in the action scenes and I like the mythology, there isn’t much of a character there yet. She doesn’t really have a personality. She just gives the most generic villain speeches about being the embodiment of truth and death with nothing really to back it up. This was my concern with Reign being a split personality; Reign’s actions are somewhat informed by Sam, but Sam has no control and Reign doesn’t have much of an agenda. She’s a Worldkiller, so I’m guessing her plan is to kill the world, but that’s a little dull. It could go somewhere interesting and it’s not even that bad. It’s the character’s first real episode; she just felt a little dull to me in her dialogue scenes.

I like the idea of James and Lena being a couple; the actors have chemistry and the episode does manage to get me rooting for them to be together, but they act like this is something they’ve been setting up. Kara and Sam both say they’ve noticed obvious chemistry between James and Lena for weeks, which is not accurate. They’ve said one nice thing to each other and in this episode they’re suddenly making googly eyes. It’s random; the plot ends up working, but it was really sudden.

I’m not in love with the fact that James just stands there and watches Supergirl fight Reign without doing anything. We haven’t seen Guardian all season; this could have been a cool place to feature him. He’s fought Parasite and an army of Daxamites; he could hold his own and help. It would have been better if James and Lena just weren’t in that scene.

This leads into my next complaint. The show is in a similar place that Arrow quickly found itself in; there are way too many characters and the writers aren’t sure what to do with a lot of them. I appreciate that the focus is firmly on Kara this year; she got lost in the shuffle last season, but that has been improved. However, there are a lot of characters with nothing to do. Mon-El and Imra add nothing to this episode, but have a strange amount of screen time. M’yrnn, Martian Manhunter’s dad, has a cute scene at a Christmas party, but has served no real purpose to the show so far. The supporting characters are all demanding screen time but there isn’t enough space for everyone, which is getting frustrating.

Some of the cinematography is obnoxious. The camera moves around a lot and there’s a weird tendency to randomly zoom. During the Reign sequences and the fight with Supergirl, this style actually helps. While the CGI is pretty good, and way better than the crossover, Winter’s style helps blend the CGI with the actors. It adds a feeling of intensity and fear as well. But a lot of these tricks are also used in dialogue scenes and it’s so weird. There’s no reason to do it; it’s distracting. There’s a zoom in on Kara’s face during a conversation that made me laugh out loud.

Verdict

Most of my complaints are nitpicks or elements that can be improved in future episodes. This is an excellent episode. It introduces an incredible threat to the show that raises the stakes in Reign who has a lot of potential as a villain. The action is phenomenal and there’s some interesting mythology. As I said, there are problems, but the episode manages to be a lot of fun despite those problems.

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writer: Tom Taylor

Artist: Mike Miller

Colors: J. Nanjan

Summary

Last week’s Injustice 2 Annual gave us the origin of this world’s Wonder Woman.  Injustice 2 #15 follows directly from the annual and issue #14, as Kara is on a mission to free Diana from her imprisonment on Themiscyra.  Undercover, Kara is revealed quickly by the use of the lasso of Hestia.  However, much to Kara’s surprise, there are a number of Amazons who are still allied with Diana, believing that she fought for the right cause.

This quickly leads to a confrontation between those allied with Diana and those still loyal to Hippolyta, including the current Wonder Woman, Nubia.

Positives

While this series has been an entertaining alternate take on the post-Crisis DC Universe, this issue finally finds a way to break away completely and exist on its own without any references to previous incarnations.  Somehow, it feels unique and familiar at the same time and is able to exist on its own merit alone.  Whatever video game this may be based upon, this issue’s story supersedes any tie-in and becomes relevant on it’s own unique take on these familiar DC characters.

The most significant aspect of this issue is its uniqueness.  There is a “je ne sais quoi” about it that releases it from any antecedents or analogs.  It comes across as fresh and different.  Perhaps, it is the schism amongst the Amazons. They’ve been portrayed as unified in ideology for so long, that a situation that polarizes them is new and unique that it colors the whole concept of the series.  It’s as if the series no longer relies on “what one already knows” but on “the conflict in the given situation.”

With no knowledge of the world in which this story takes place, and with just the most basic knowledge of Wonder Woman and her history, this issue excels.  Despite trying to turn things upside down, it relies heavily on the dynamic that traditionally exists between Wonder Woman, Hippolyta and the Amazons.  It is these expectations that make the issue work, in most unexpected ways.  Of course, some of the Amazons will side with Diana.

Negatives

Nope, move along quietly please.

Verdict

This is a turning point issue for this series.  No longer is this simply an alternate take on a familiar world, but the creative team has successfully depicted a world truly split as both sides appear valid in their beliefs.  While Batman’s potency has been slowly eroded, the other side is gaining a strength in both ideology and numbers.

[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Writer: Jody Houser & Steve Orlando

Artists: Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Michael Atiyeh, & Stanley “Artgerm” Lau

Summary

Supergirl takes on new threats in National City while the DEO’s hunt for her continues.

Positives

This was another really fun and entertaining issue from Orlando and Houser, albeit with a few negative points. The story progresses very nicely from the first issue in this story arc, as we once again see Kara wanting to help people, despite the DEO and the city’s hatred of her. I have to give it to Orlando and Houser, they’ve done a great job at capturing the spirit and character of Supergirl, something that hasn’t been done in years, or much since the start of DC’s Rebirth launch.

Another nice touch to this issue is we get two brand new characters never seen before in comics (not that I know of at least). The reason this is a huge positive is because it’s about time Supergirl gets her own characters and villains. For years the character has been criticized for always “borrowing” characters and villains from the Superman universe, without ever really establishing a “Supergirl” universe all her own. Whether or not these new characters will stick around for awhile remains to be seen, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

The art once again was fantastic. The action scenes were bold and colorful, with the facial expressions, especially those of the villains, were menacing, sadistic, and honest. One thing I really notice in Rocha’s art of Supergirl is how much older he makes her look compared to previous and other artists that have drawn her. I for one love this look of her. It reminds we a lot of Peter David’s Supergirl back in the 90s, and the in the most recent Supergirl: Being Super mini series.

I can’t wrap up this segment without mentioning Stanley “Artgerm” Lau’s variant cover. I don’t know how much DC is paying him for these covers, but he’s worth every penny and then some. His variants so far have been phenomenal, and the latest variant, shown below, is no exception. If your like me, collect every Supergirl variant he puts out, because they are well worth it.

Negatives

I’m really loving the relationship between Kara and her adoptive parents, but since the beginning of this story arc, its been pretty much the same story with them. They don’t want Kara to go out and save people while the DEO is hunting her. Now that’s sound advice for sure, but it seems like that’s all they have to say since this story arc started. No ideas on how to get the people of National City back on her side, or maybe to investigate the secrets of the DEO, something else besides don’t go out there. It would have been ok for the first issue, but would have love to of seen some progression with their story by the second.

Since the start of DC’s Rebirth launch, I’ve really enjoyed their commitment of lineage and “going back the their roots”.  That being said, finding out the Strange Visitor was Sharon Vance was pretty neat, but I also had no idea who she was. Fortunately, there was a comment on the second page stating where Supergirl last saw her, in Superman #173, which was way back on August 1, 2001. If the writers somehow tied the events of that story into this one, it would have been really amazing, but the sad thing is, after reading Superman #173, Supergirl wasn’t even in the book, so not sure how she would even know Sharon. Doesn’t really make much sense.

Verdict

Despite a few negatives, this was a great issue. It had beautiful artwork, heart, action and a fantastic story.

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writer: Tom Taylor

Artists: Mike Miller & Tom Derenick

Colors: J. Nanjan & Rex Lokus

Summary

Wonder Woman is broken out of jail by Kara, Antiope and her faction of Amazons.  Antiope is able to handle herself against Nubia and displays some unknown powers in the process.  After eluding the rest of the Amazons and Nubia, they all get aboard a ship that Kara pulls out to see to make their final escape.

Also, included is a back up story that spotlights what Barry Allen is doing these days.  He’s essentially under surveillance by Batman with a tracking anklet that alerts Batman if he uses his speed powers.  Barry is in Australia to help a young man he feels he failed during Superman’s reign.  First Barry has to use his powers to save a truck driver, which alarms Batman.  Barry ends up helping the boy as we see Flash is still a hero, even if a bit damaged.

Positives

In this variation on the DC Universe, Superman and Wonder Woman led a group of “heroes” as Fascist tyrants.  It’s strange then to be pulling for Wonder Woman in this issue.  It’s a microcosm of the greatest successes of the series.  It’s not often we see the greatest heroes of the DC Universe on the wrong side of right, but Injustice 2 manages to do it in a way that is deeper than a simple flip flop of morality.

This issue builds on the portrait of Diana we saw last issue and uses that understanding of her character to make the reader cheer for her escape this issue.  It’s a tricky line to straddle, but that’s what makes this title a whole lot more than it could’ve been.  By relying on a deeper understanding of the characters we can at the very least imagine how they could find themselves on the wrong side of right.

Negatives

This issue doesn’t push the overall story much further.  While it was necessary to get Diana off the island for what comes next, this issue is fairly short in terms of the big picture.

Verdict

A solid chapter for the title, despite little plot movement.  The real win is the way in which the reader is drawn into Wonder Woman’s character while knowing she’s really one of Batman’s enemies.  There’s clearly a lot more to come and it is an interesting ride to watch the morality of one’s favorite characters be depicted in such a manner.  Creating a story that is not simply black and white allows for a deeper exploration of these characters.  The Flash back up story is able to address the same ideas on a smaller and more personal scale.

Superman fans don’t have to wait too much longer for the highly anticipated prequel series from Syfy.  As reported this week, the series is looking at a March 2018 debut, which is the firmest release date we have seen yet. We also have an updated series description below:

Set two generations before the destruction of Superman’s home planet, KRYPTON follows Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe), the legendary Man of Steel’s grandfather — whose House of El was ostracized and shamed. With Krypton’s leadership in disarray, Seg-El encounters Earthly time-traveler Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos) who warns he’s under the clock to save his beloved world from chaos. Fighting to redeem his family’s honor and protect the ones he loves, Seg is also faced with a life and death conflict – save his home planet or let it be destroyed in order to restore the fate of his future grandson.

KRYPTON is from Warner Horizon Scripted Television and is executive produced by David S. Goyer (“Man of Steel,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “The Dark Knight Trilogy”) through his Phantom Four banner, alongside Cameron Welsh, who serves as showrunner. In addition to Cuffe and Sipos, the show also stars Georgina Campbell (“Broadchurch”), Elliot Cowan (“Da Vinci’s Demons”), Ann Ogbomo (“World War Z”), Rasmus Hardiker (“Your Highness”), Wallis Day (“Will”), Aaron Pierre (“Tennison”) and Ian McElhinney (“Game of Thrones”). Based on the DC characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, KRYPTON premieres in 2018.

Everyone has high hopes for this show, as genre fans hope it doesn’t become a mess like Caprica, the prequel to Battlestar Galactica. The teaser shown below, gives fans hope that it could be something greater.

Retailers have been reporting that there have been damaged issues of the variant edition of SUPERGIRL #16 for the month of December. The nature of the damage, nor how it all happened has not been shared with the public.

The volume of copies damaged has not been disclosed but all copies that have been affected will be replaced without question. The retail stores are asked to accept returns from customers and destroy all of the original, damaged SUPERGIRL #16 variant editions.

For fans who have gone ballistic at the name dropping of Bruce Wayne from the mouth of Oliver Queen in an October episode of Arrow, Marc Gugghenhiem says not to get their hopes up for a possible Batman appearance.

“No,“ the executive producer explains, “I love a good Easter egg, and I love doing the occasional name drop. You know, we name dropped Hal Jordan at the beginning of Season Three, but it’s really just fun for us. I think in the Arrowverse we already have our own Justice League and the Green Lantern, Batman, Wonder Woman. [T]hese are all characters that are either spoken for on the movie side and/or other shows. There’s a Bruce Wayne on Gotham. [Over] here on the CW, we’re sort of mischievious lot, and we enjoy the occasional Easter egg. [And] our partners at DC are very tolerant of our mischief. But that’s really all it is. Just good nature, good fanboy mischief.”

The mischief in question this year arose during the Season Six episode of Arrow “Tribute,” in which Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) is confronted by reporters on the scandalous photograph released to the media of him as an unmasked Green Arrow. He defended himself by noting how easy it is to photoshop someone’s face and superimpose them on someone else’s body. He then asked if Bruce Wayne has ventured outside of Gotham City. Before that, on Supergirl during season two, Kara noted to her friends how her cousin used to work alongside a vigilante with a lot of gadgets and a lot of demons. Sadly, however, Marc just quelled any hopes of seeing the Dark Knight appear on any Earth within the Arrowverse.

The CW has just released a promo for the mid-season premier of Supergirl showing a first look at Braniac 5 and the Legion of Superheroes!

The episode with air Monday, January 15 at 8:00 PM EST, is appropriately titled, “Legion of Superheroes,” and has the following synopsis:

“Struggling to heal from her injuries inflicted by Reign (Odette Annable), Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) remains in a dreamlike state, unable to be reached. Mon-El (Chris Wood) recruits one of the Legion members, Brainiac-5 (guest star Jesse Rath), to try to bring her back. Meanwhile, Reign continues her rampage on the city so the DEO teams up with the Legion of Superheroes to try to stop her.”

This episode was directed by Jesse Warn and written by Derek Simon and Eric Carrasco. Supergirl stars Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers/Supergirl, David Harewood as Hank Henshaw/J’onn J’onnz, Chris Wood as Mon-El, Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers, Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen, Jeremy Jordan as Winslow ‘Winn’ Schott, Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor, and Odette Annable as Sam/Reign.

When Supergirl returns this month from her midseason hiatus, the Girl of Steel is going to be in some very interesting company. We learned that when Mon-El was exiled from Earth following the events of Season 2’s cliffhanger, his spacecraft was rocketed into the deepest reaches of space, but it also hurtled into the distant future — the timeline of the “Legion of Superheroes”. Hence the title of the episode airing on Monday, January 15 on The CW!

After her climatic confrontation with the Kryptonian super-weapon named Reign (Odette Annable), Kara (Melissa Benoist) is recovering from her injuries and is trapped in a catatonic state. In order to help her through this process, Mon-El (Chris Wood) enlist additional members from the Legion of Superheroes, a coalition of super-powered citizens that defend the defenseless from evil threats in the future. Mon-El asks his fellow legionnaire Brainiac-5 (guest star Jesse Rath) to help Supergirl.

Though the menace of Reign continues to grow, and as the DEO prepares to contain a villain that may well have bested the Maid of Might, Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) is counting on her new allies, including Mon-EL and Saturn Girl (Amy Jackson) to help them take down this mysterious enemy! Exactly how many other members of the Legion the episode will be introducing is not entirely clear as yet, but it is paving the way for connecting the continuities of this DC Comics icons.

Along with the induction of the time-traveling adventurers, the episode will also mark the premiere appearance of Mon-El in his official superhero suit. The design of which is only slightly influenced by its comic book counterpart, choosing instead to go with a basic black look than the traditional red and blue cape.

The DC Comics Universe in primetime continues to expand with Black Lightning also joining the line-up as a midseason introduction, with the Legionnaires now officially part of the mythology will a trip to the future timeline of the 30th century be an imminent possibility? It certainly would be a thrilling direction to take Supergirl on especially after last years multiverse-driven crossover event which featured evil doppelgängers of our favorite heroes!

Based on the DC characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Supergirl is executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller, and is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Writers: Jody Houser & Steve Orlando

Artists: Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Julio Ferreira, Michael Atiyeh, & Stanley “Artgerm” Lau

Summary

Supergirl battles Bones’ latest superhuman as she gets closer to the truth about the DEO.

Positives

Although this issue is somewhat similar to the others in this series (bad guy at the control of Director Bones attacks civilians to bring Supergirl out of hiding), it was also somewhat complex. Yes we get the bad guy attacking civilians again, but it also goes a bit further then that this time, as we see how Bones is somewhat controlling these villains with the help of Mokkari’s conditioning. It was also interesting to see Agent Ocampo’s reaction to Bones’ insistence on finding Supergirl’s secret identity. Up to now, she’s been a loyal foot soldier for Bones, but perhaps she’s having second thoughts.

Another interesting part to mention is the introduction of Agent Jagger of the DEO. He doesn’t seem to be a meta, but rather a gun ho soldier working for Bones. Another welcome addition to the list of original characters that Orlando and Houser are giving us.

Although the book is called “Supergirl”, the best parts of the issue is definitely when she’s out of her cape as Kara Danvers. Whether she’s seeking advice from Eliza, or going to the school dance, its these moments that really let her character shine and gives her more depth. It’s the  reason that Supergirl truly is super, because she’s also “human” in many ways.

The art in this issue once again was fantastic, although the kicker is we don’t know who did most of the artwork in the book. According to the credits, Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques and Julio Ferreira were the pencillers and inkers for pages 18-20. No mention who it was before page 18. Whoever it was did a great job nonetheless. The colors were vibrant, lines looked great, and the facial expressions and action panels were perfect.

Negatives

Not the biggest negative in the world although I love the variant cover for this issue, the actual cover itself with Supergirl covered in green slime doesn’t really fit anywhere in the story. Not sure why it was the cover for this issue.

Verdict

A great story all around. Tons of action, heart, beautiful art, and progressed the story very well in this arc.

The Third Season of Supergirl continues next week as Kara Danvers, following her devastating beating at the hands of Reign, plots a prison break and takes on a familiar face from Superman’s pop culture past: Sarah Douglas!

Fans of the Richard Donner movies remember Douglas as the seductive and psychotic Ursa, one of the Kryptonian renegades under Terrence Stamp’s General Zod in 1977’s Superman: The Movie and 1980’s Superman II. In the next episode, set to debut January 22^nd on the CW, Douglas portrays Jindah Kol Rozz, presumably the warden of the infamous Fort Rozz, the source of all of Kara’s extraterrestrial adversaries.

The CW released this Synopsis of “Fort Rozz”:

 “As Reign (Odette Annable) continues to terrorize the city, Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) teams up with Saturn Girl (guest star Amy Jackson), and the two recruit Supergirl’s former enemies, Livewire (guest star Brit Morgan) and Psi (guest star Yael Grobglas), to form a team for a mission to Fort Rozz to recover a prisoner who has information on how to defeat Reign once and for all. Meanwhile, Alex (Chyler Leigh) babysits Ruby (guest star Emma Tremblay).”

Catch “Fort Rozz” on January 22^nd at 8pm Eastern.

[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Director: Jesse Warn

Writers: Derek Simon & Eric Carrasco

Starring: Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks & Chyler Leigh

Summary

Supergirl’s fight with Reign has put her in a coma, so the D.E.O. takes on the evil Kryptonian by themselves while Mon-El and his Legion of Superheroes teammates try to wake Kara up.

Positives

My concerns about Reign not being an interesting villain from the mid-season finale turned out to be premature. This episode makes it clear what her motivation is, and I like it a lot. Reign, in her own twisted way, thinks she is helping the world. She is trying to eradicate sin, especially crime. What’s most interesting is that she considers apathy to be the greatest sin. From Reign’s point of view, the world is too soft on criminals and too willing to look the other way. That’s actually a compelling villain and feels timely.

Part of the episode takes place in Kara’s subconscious as Brainiac 5 attempts to wake her up. These scenes are really strong. It’s nice to have such a character focused episode for Kara, and Melissa Benoist is great as always. I really love the story about Streaky; there is something very natural and relatable about Kara’s childhood friendship with her cat. It’s very sweet.

Continuing from the mid-season finale, there is still a great power balance between the two sides. Reign is obviously very powerful and could easily win fights, but our heroes are also strong and can take her on. When the D.E.O. fought Reign, I legitimately thought either side could win. This is one of the most engaging hero-villain conflicts in live action superhero fiction right now. And both sides are going to have to up their game and get better to try and beat the other.

Negatives

The Legion costumes are so boring. I understand that they’re probably going for a militaristic uniform but they look dull and outdated. They remind me of the X-Men movie costumes. And those look better than this. Saturn Girl’s is definitely the best, but I think all three outfits are uninspired.

James and Lena have a fairly dull and obnoxious subplot. My main complaint with the relationship between Kara and Mon-El in season two was that they never really got to be a couple. The writers teased it forever and once it finally happened, the two just bickered. Every episode felt like they were going to break up. It was such a tedious story and I’m worried that they’re going to do the same with James and Lena for the sake of easy drama. The two go backwards in this episode only to end in the same place that they were at the end of the mid-season finale. It’s boring and unfair to these two great characters and actors.

Verdict

I think this is a great episode. The action is great with a compelling and powerful villain fighting smart and strong heroes. There is actually a conflict, which sounds weird to compliment because it should be obvious, but most live action superhero movies and TV shows lack this element. There are a lot of great character moments with Kara that are genuine and touching. This season has been a major highlight for the CW superhero lineup and I’m really happy that they’re still keeping this momentum up.