Supergirl

The superhero we’ve all been waiting for.

That’s the catch line of the new TV series on CBS. Supergirl is the self-acclaimed, “superhero of all superheroes”. If you wade through the promotional rubbish that CBS propagates to bill this new show, and actually watch it before taking their word on the matter, you’ll find that Supergirl is more like, “the superhero that no one wanted”.

Seriously, she’s like a leftover from a Superman story; one of those characters that was a decent concept but wasn’t good enough to get their own movie. Well, Supergirl is the exception to all other leftover characters, she is the ultimate leftover character. Whereas most leftovers aren’t good enough to get their own movies, Supergirl is the same but somehow managed to get a TV series anyway. But, there again, it is CBS. What haven’t they done that was utterly ridiculous?

In this relatively new series, released in July of this year, we see Melissa Benoist in the role of an egotistical feminist who is a dogmatic, hot-tempered, pressure cooker of a young woman named Kara Danvers, (Supergirl). She also happens to be Clark Kent’s younger, older cousin. As the warp of Superman’s story goes, apparently two pods were sent out rather than just one when the planet Krypton exploded. Superman’s pod made it to earth, while his cousin’s was caught in a time warp. Eventually she arrived on earth as well, but had not aged since they were separated, making Superman now physically older than her even though she was born first… It’s messed up.  So, now we have two aliens, related to one another, with the same powers, who exist within the same world. My question is, why? Why do we need two superheroes for one world? Especially when one of those superheroes is Superman, the god of all superheroes. Is an inferior, female, wanna-be superhero really necessary for the world to have? Really? 

At this point we’re saving people from every accidental evil that can befall them, as well as from the intentional evils wrought by villains.

In the first episode of “Supergirl”, which I ended up watching… because I’m a guy, and the TV was on… her first real super deed is saving people from an accidental plane malfunction. Again, really? Two identical superheroes in the same world is not only redundant, it’s creating a world without any hardship. Hardships make hard people, but an easy life breeds lethargy, and weakness.

How far are we going to take this? Are we going to have superheroes saving people from tripping over twigs, or from accidentally dropping their keys when their hands are full? No one asked for Supergirl. She is not necessary to the world, to the story of Superman, to CBS programming, or to the average American’s 60 spare minutes on Mondays before Scorpion comes on.  Kara Danvers is a very beautiful, charming young woman, she appears to be very bright, but when have either of those two qualities alone made a good TV series. The premise is stolen… and perverted, and the backdrop is stolen… and perverted. If it didn’t have the name, I’d say that “Supergirl” has nothing at all. 

She fights for equality, which has never been considered a noble cause in the sense that she uses it. Equality requires a condition: equality of what? Of rights? Women already have that, at least to a very large degree. What then?

I believe when people cry out for equality, they really mean acceptance. They already have the right to be equal, but they will never be accepted as such because regard and esteem are not things you gain by tearing others down to lift yourself upon backs.

You will never be respected as an equal until you can prove that you are fine being regarded as inferior.

Above all of this, God made a distinction between man and woman, creating them different for a purpose. The ultimate and only true form of respect is to respect someone for who they are, not what they wish they were. I think “Supergirl” is not only pointless as a show and not worth the 45 minutes once a week that it takes to watch, but also pointless as an ideal. But, by all means let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for reading.

—the anonymous novelist