Supergirl tells the tale of Kara Zor-el, Kal El’s older cousin who was sent to Earth ahead of him to act as his guardian. Something went awry, Kara’s ship was knocked off course, and by the time she arrived on Earth, Kal had already grown into Earth’s greatest defender Superman. The series centers around Kara as she tries to adapt to her new life on Earth and follow in her cousin’s footsteps as a superhero.
Over the years, Supergirl has grown in popularity as it added new characters and explored diverse storylines. Here are some hilarious memes relating to the most bizarre aspects of the show that fans can’t help but notice.
Loser Hottie
Despite the fact that she is legitimately gorgeous, intelligent, good-humored, and a literal demi-god, Supergirl goes to great lengths to show Kara as perpetually unlucky in love and unable to hold on to a romantic interest. In real life, Kara would have to hold waves of men off with a stick; in her show, she is always pining away from Jimmy or Lar Gand.
But hey, Kara wears glasses in her civilian identity. And a ponytail. In TV land that’s the double whammy of unattractiveness, automatically turning a supermodel-tier woman into a dowdy Plain Jane who is doomed to never be able to get a date.
Different Ethics
Superheroes often have wildly different moral standards when it comes to killing. For instance, Supergirl and Flash have a strict code against taking lives. The Green Arrow, on the other hand, has no qualms about murdering criminals in cold blood, especially during Arrow’s earliest seasons. That begs the question, how are they able to fight together?
After all, to Flash and Supergirl, Green Arrow is no different from a criminal who takes lives without being held accountable by the law. Do they believe the criminals in Arrow’s city deserve the death penalty more than the ones in their local cities? Are they both scared of Oliver?
Leaving The City Defenceless
You have to wonder what happens to individual cities when their local heroes are off in other dimensions taking care of the next big crisis on infinite Earths. Does the government impose martial law to deal with the influx of freshly-emboldened criminals who feel they can do anything now that Supergirl is busy elsewhere?
Do they dress a lookalike in a red and blue skirt and cape and have her patrol the streets regularly to keep up the pretense that Supergirl is still around to keep an eye on things? Frankly, the local police department alone seems pretty understaffed to take on the supervillains that are shown to exist in Supergirl and Flash’s home cities.
Friendly Cameos
The idea of a solo TV show for Supergirl was considered pretty far-fetched when it was being launched. Many people still saw her as a sidekick to Superman. However, the Maid of Steel proved she had what it took to stand on her own and not rely on cameos from her older cousin to boost ratings…
…Because she had the Flash for that. It is undoubtedly true that the early Flash cameos on Supergirl were meant to provide a little lift to the series from everyone’s favorite show. But now, it is safe to say that Supergirl has established her success on her own terms, and not simply as an extension of the Arrowverse.
CGI Woes
TV shows don’t have the budget of movies and their special effects will suffer as a result. That said, the CGI used in Supergirl seems pretty poor even by CW standards. That is a shame because if there ever was an Arroweverse show that needed the maximum budget to portray realistic aliens, cyborgs, and distant worlds, it was Supergirl.
As it is, whenever John Jones appears in his true form as the Martian Manhunter, the visual effects are so bad that he just stays human most of the time, even when it doesn’t make sense for him to keep up the pretense.
Jimmy Breaks Out
Jimmy Olsen is a somewhat bizarre character from the show. He went from Clark Kent’s chipper sidekick to the hunky love interest that Kara immediately fell for. However, even that wasn’t as strange as Jimmy’s transformation into the Guardian, following the CW commandment that every side character in a superhero show must at some point get powers and become a vigilante before their eventual exit.
Jimmu’s heroic alter ego was originally conceived as a Captain America rip-off in the comics. In comparison, his TV persona seems like a knock-off version of Storm Shadow from G.I. Joe. Were the showrunners hoping to avoid comparisons with the MCU’s Chris Evans?
Power Sets
What do you get when you put a solar-powered Kryptonian, a faster-than-light speedster, and a guy who shoots arrows in the same team? You get two demi-gods and one useless third wheel. And yet, somehow, viewers are supposed to believe there are things Arrow can do to tackle a threat that Flash or Supergirl couldn’t accomplish a million times faster.
It’s the same tactic employed by the comics, where other Justice League members are occasionally pushed to the side so that Batman has something to do with his Batarang and grappling hook.
Meta Joker
The CW has developed a bit of a reputation for pushing out shows that are safe, non-threatening, and populated by a racially diverse set of pretty people. Kind of like Disney for high schoolers. In this meme, the show is depicted as poking fun about that very same reputation.
Then, that is what gives it its unique flavor. Supergirl has managed to exist very cozily in that space where it sometimes feels like “Adventures of Superhero Barbie” while still finding new ways to take cues from the comics and make Kara grow as a person.
Secret Identity
You have to wonder how the whole secret ‘bumbling reporter’ alter ego is still a thing. The MCU and various other properties have shown that you don’t need a secret identity to tell a good superhero story.
Yet, Superman and Supergirl still persist in trying to tell us that wearing glasses and making up your hair slightly differently makes you unrecognizable to criminal masterminds. At least establish that Kryptonians use super-hypnosis to keep people fooled, like in the comics. While still dumb, at least, this power offers some kind of explanation.
Making Jimmy Cool
Supergirl really wants people to see Jimmy as a cool leading man, despite the fact that he and Kara have very little chemistry. Consequently, the showrunners made Jimmy a hero too. That didn’t work. As a result, they made him Lena’s boyfriend. And gave him superpowers.
You can almost imagine writers desperately throwing everything at the writing board regarding Jimmy, hoping something would eventually stick. What’s next for Jimmy? Is Supergirl going to introduce his evil twin? Perhaps, Jimmy will be revealed to have been Mongul all along. Nevertheless, audiences will still wouldn’t care.
