Superhero Weekly: Supergirl’s Changing, Flash’s Shade and Arrow’s Vigilante

Spoilers have failed this city.

This week’s Supergirl was a bit of a mixed bag. Changing brought Alex coming out as a lesbian, which was the most sincere story line of the entire episode. It’s heartbreaking to see poor Alex getting turned down, but it did seem to anchor the story firmly on the real world. The big bad was the Parasite itself, an alien parasite that takes over its host and absorbs the life force out of others. Finding this out was painful, but when both Supergirl and the Martian Manhunter charge after the threat and end up in a coma… Well, it wasn’t the wisest approach, specially since you already knew what the Parasite does.

The Mon-El thing where Kara tries to convince to becoming a Super-boy-scout like she and Clark was done with last week. For some reason, we go back to it in this episode and it feels sloppy. Kara again trying to scold Mon-El, Mon-El sulking as a teenage slacker and taking bad decisions, Alex telling Mon-El to get his act together… It all felt like a little too 90210. Mon-El does try to step up to the Parasite, but he doesn’t succeed. I will give him this, he doesn’t end whammy’d either.

On the other hand, the Guardian shows up and seems to save the day. Well, not really it’s Kara using plutonium, but the Guardian is supposed to become the mystery hero. It’s James in a suit created by Wynn. This takes me back to all the movies in which a super-intelligent geek creates this super thingy that makes whoever uses it super strong and invulnerable. And then a jock wears it and becomes a hero. I’m not convinced that I dig this James turned hero bit. It’s a little too cheesy.

The Flash is upping its Alchemy game giving us what might be the first appearance of Savitar. Ok, yes, there’s also a villain made out of shadow but that was just unnecessary. The central theme was Wally West facing off Alchemy. It doesn’t end up good. Wally can’t quite resist the temptation to gain access to the Speed Force. It’s not clear if Savitar is actually Wally or something completely different. I’m not sold on Savitar’s appearance yet.

The other underlying maelstrom is the fact that Caitlin is outed as a metahuman. She has powers, the cold kind. It has been in the cards for a while that Caitlin Snow might have to become Killer Frost eventually, it was just too good a character to let go. No, I didn’t say let it go, no singing dammit. The show is obviously pointing at Julian Albert as Alchemy, which has gotten so on the nose that I’m going to be disappointed if it’s actually him.

Arrow brought out Vigilante (the non-western version) and dealt with the whole to kill or not to kill moral dilemma vs practicality. This is a real argument from real life. I wish they’d try to mirror it with a discussion on the death penalty, but it was still ok. Are we pretending that Vigilante is not District Attorney Adrian Chase? And yes, they did right by the character. The interaction between Arrow and Vigilante reminded me of Daredevil and the Punisher.

Obviously, Quentin Lance was not Prometheus but it was time he finally checked into rehab. I did like the relationship between Thea, who lost her father, and Quentin, who lost his daughters. The Lance family has been through so much. I don’t know if Quentin will be coming back, but it wouldn’t be fair to bring him back soon. He’s gotta do his time.

And finally, the cliffhanger. Evelyn Sharpe, aka Artemis, has been working for Prometheus. At least they were saving the character for something bigger than just pose in the background. Now she gets to have that suspicious, “I’m up to no good” look. I still hate her facepaint mask.

Highs/Lows/Vigilantes:

Okey, let’s make Kara start acting like a grownup now and then. It’s funny to see Kara drunk and/or geek out, but she does need to show a mature side from time to time. The balance has been too much of her giddiness lately.
Mon-El was a Royal Guard in Daxam. He really should know how to fight a lot better, even if he doesn’t know his powers. Also, why do the teenager-emo drama with him? He didn’t grew up in a pod, he was a grown up already. Too much inconsistency. Hopefully being abducted by Cadmus will make him a more interesting character to grasp. He might become an interesting villain.
I did like how Alex came out to Kara, and how easily misunderstandings can happen when feelings are running high. I found it honest. Was it a bit cruel to have Maggie turn her down? Yes, but it added some real world setting amongst all the superhero stuff.
James doesn’t become the Guardian. Wynn built the Guardian and James happens to wear the suit. Also, Wynn literally stole highly restricted tech from the DEO to create that. Guess he has to hack the books too. And everything just so that someone else can play the hero.
The central story in The Flash was Wally, and I can totally empathize with him wanting superpowers. Isn’t that what younger kids dream of? I wasn’t buying Joe West’s rationalization of Super-Barry: yes, Super-Wally: no.
That being said, I am super pumped for Killer Frost, and Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) take the main stage. I still remember Danielle as Callie in Time Lapse, a movie a reviewed back in 2014 for the Fantasia Film Festival. Because of spoilers, I couldn’t reveal the extent of her role in that film.
Sativa looks like a Decepticon reject. Sorry, I had to say it.
I liked that Vigilante was not changed. He’s a dude with a gun that knows how to use it. The whole flash grenade and he’s gone was a bit too ninja for Vigilante, but I guess we want to keep him around. He has to be Adrian Chase.
Prometheus has to be Konstantin Kovar. It would tie up the series nicely. I am enjoying seeing Dolph Lundgren in the flashbacks, specially in this episode as he confronts Oliver in the past.
I don’t know if this is the last we’ll see Paul Blackthorne playing the tortured Quentin Lance. I still wish for Quentin to have his day, but his one is one sad and dark story. Still, we can’t have him checking out of rehab next week. He will have to make some progress before he’s back out. I like the angle he has with Thea. It’s like the father she wanted to drag out of the dark. On the other hand, Quentin might see in Thea a daughter for whom to keep on living.
Evelyn Sharpe aka Artemis is the mole for Prometheus. This minimizes Tobias Church’s reveal before his death, but the obvious thing is that Prometheus has known Ollie is Green Arrow since the beginning.