Superman has gone back to Metropolis, but the special appearance train continues in the second season, as former Wonder Woman Lynda Carter appears as the President of the United States and other characters from the DC Comics Universe make their debut… and I try not to nitpick… That’s the toughest part, I think…
The President is coming to National City to sign a bill signaling alien amnesty and allowing them to become citizens of the United States. And as soon as she steps off Air Force One, several fireballs are lobbed her way. Yeah, this episode is a bit on the preachy side and the subtlety of the message is basically blown away within the first quarter hour of the show. That’s fine, though, as the alien amnesty act is really just a means to an end, pushing through several other story arcs.
First, we have the escape from DEO headquarters of the mysterious guy from the Kryptonian pod. He’s the lead suspect in the attack against the President because he’s a runaway suspected Kryptonian with heat vision. But we soon learn he’s from the planet Daxam, a sister planet to Krypton, and he’s also stranded on Earth. Also, Daxamites and Kryptonians hate each other.
The DEO’s search for the Daxamite – who calls himself Mon-El – also gives us the introduction of National City Police Science Division Office Maggie Sawyer, who brings Alex to an underground alien bar in National City that serves as a safe haven for offworlders.
Sawyer is an interesting choice to bring on to the show. In the comics, she served as a police captain in both Metropolis and Gotham City, and was one of the first major LGBTQ supporting characters that I remember in comics, with her orientation being discussed in Superman comics more than 20 years ago. Sawyer is a character with tons of potential, but her inclusion here really underscores the point that Supergirl, in the comics, doesn’t have much of a bench when it comes to supporting players. James Olsen, Winn, Hank Henshaw, Lena Luthor, Cat Grant, Metallo and a good chunk of other guest stars/appearances on the show are tied to Superman in the comics and have little to do with Kara Zor-El. I guess they could always introduce Comet the Super-horse who’s actually a guy who’s actually a … You know what? Never mind, let’s just keep going on the course we’ve been going…
Of course, Mon-El had nothing to do with the attacks on the President. Turns out, it was a 
woman from the alien bar. I didn’t hear her name mentioned during the episode, but IMDb has her listed as “Scorcher” – I had her pegged as “Scorch” before I saw IMDb, which would make her Aubrey Sparks (left), who made her debut in the “Superman: Emperor Joker” storyline. She was eventually partially redeemed in JLA through working with Martian Manhunter. Hey! Manhunter is part of the cast of Supergirl! Would you look at how well that worked out?
Speaking of the Martian Manhunter, he walks into the alien bar at the end of the episode and discovers he’s NOT the last of the Martian race! I’m sure we’ll see more of M’gan in future episodes.
And then there’s the subplot of Kara writing her first article for CatCo and her new boss, Snapper Carr. As a journalist and a newspaper editor for more than a decade, I really hate the way newsrooms are generally portrayed in other media, but everything Snapper yells at Kara for in this episode – writing a biased op-ed and not a news article about Lena Luthor’s alien detection device – had me cheering for Snapper. I doubt that was the intended effect, but whatever. Snapper is my new hero.
Some Quick Hits:
“You should see my other jet”: The President gives a wink to her role as Wonder Woman after Supergirl gushes about getting the chance to see Air Force One.
The Spin: Another Wonder Woman nod, when Kara spun around to put the fires on her costume out. It harkened back to how Lynda Carter’s Diana would become Wonder Woman.
No Relation?: Not even a blink from Kara Zor-El when the Daxamite says his name is Mon-EL? You know, like the House of El? In the comics, Mon-El was a name given to the Daxamite Lar Gand by Superman as a way to adopt him into Superman’s family. It’s a little weird that they went straight for Mon-El here. Even stranger that there was no commentary on his last name…
Next week! We get the debut of Roulette and her superhero fight club!