Black Lightning Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 3 - LaWanda: The Book of Burial

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.





Plot

As the people of Freeland begin to rally against The 100 in the wake of LaWanda White's death,  Anissa begins to test the limits of her newfound powers. Jefferson and Lynn reexamine their relationship and Jennifer approaches her parents about a big decision that she's made.


Influences

The Black Lightning comics of Tony Isabella, The Outsiders comics of Mike W. Barr (shown on screen) and the Outsiders comics of Judd Winick (character of Grace Choi)


Goofs

Grace describes the comic Outsiders as being about "young folks with outsized powers traveling the world, knocking bad guys on their asses." While this is a vaguely accurate description of Judd Wnick's Outsiders comics, the comic she's holding is from the 1990s Mike W. Barr run.

Granting that this is a comic book TV show, how the heck does Gambi afford to have a holographic Hogan's Alley and state-of-the art mapping system set up in his basement on the salary of an inner-city tailor?


Performances

The entire dinner scene of Jennifer telling her parents she's ready to have sex is a master-class in physical acting. The expressions and physicality of the actors is a treat to watch as we see what they are all thinking without a word being said.


Artistry

The opening sequence in which Anissa tests her powers against the backdrop of the music from LaWanda White's funeral is a powerfully directed and shot scene.

The shooting scene is another perfect moment of acting, direction, cinematography and music working together to make something perfect.


Trivia

Anissa meets a librarian/bartender named Grace Choi while researching genetic mutation.  In the Outsiders comics of Judd Winick, Grace Choi was a member of The Outsiders who was recruited to the team while working a job as a nightclub bouncer. She was eventually revealed to be of Amazon heritage, but had been genetically enhanced beyond even the normal capabilities of her people. She had super-strength, enhanced durability and regeneration powers. She and Anissa Pierce began dating and became a couple.

Grace Choi carries an Outsiders comic book in her back pocket while working at the library. The specific comic in question is Outsiders #16 (March 1995). This is the same issue which introduced the third version of the villain Syonide, who was part of an all-female villain team along with Lady Eve. This version of Syonide was in a lesbian relationship with sorceress Fauna Faust - a subtle hint at Grace's sexual preferences?

Grace makes reference to Supergirl as a character people cosplay as. It is unclear if this means there is a Supergirl in the reality of this Earth or if she's considered a fictional character in the Earth of Freeland.

Grace also make reference to a superhero called Looker, who people who like vampires are into. Looker was a member of the classic Outsiders team, first appearing in Batman and the Outsiders #25 (September 1985). Originally a mousy bank teller, the activation of Emily Briggs' metagene gave her amazing psychic powers as well as a more traditionally beautiful body. Taking on the name of Looker, she was a steadfast member of the Outsiders. Bitten by a vampire, she inherited all of the standard vampire powers but few of the weaknesses due to the nature of her metagene working to enhance her physical body. She can still walk around in daylight and is resistant to holy symbols, but she can only take nourishment from blood and experiences severe bouts of bloodlust.


Technobabble

Gambi decreases the resistance within the circuitry of Black Lightning's costume. This will allow for a smoother transfer of power into Jefferson's body.

Gambi also fixes the right gauntlet of the suit so that it can be used to create a thinner stream of electricity, so that Black Lightning can make targeted strikes with less collateral damage. Also, thinner streams have lower voltage requirements and reduce power drain.

Gambi creates a holographic virtual reality shooting game that allows Jefferson to practice making targeted shots with his new suit.

Anissa does some research on genetic mutation.

Gambi also has a high-tech holographic display table in his basement that allows him to create a holographic map of the march route that he and Jefferson can use for planning strategy.

Black Lighting creates an electric force-field that protects the crowd from the bullets of Whale's gunman.


Dialogue Triumphs

(As Inspector Henderson is trying to talk the Reverend out of his march against The 100.)
Reverend Holt: See, we gonna put our trust in The Almighty. Because we damn sure can't put our trust in you. You got that?
Inspector Henderson: C'mon, that - that's not true, Jeremiah and you know it.
Reverend Holt: What, those crooked cops send you down here like the overseer? Put the slaves in check? Huh?
Inspector Henderson: While you're up in the pulpit with a $25,000 watch on... wiping your forehead with a silk handkerchief, I'm scraping young black men's bodies off the concrete. The street is my pulpit.
Jefferson: Billy, okay.
(Jefferson puts a hand between Henderson and Holt as Henderson steps forward, all but in the Reverend's face.)
Henderson: I wear work shoes. What kind of shoes you wear, Reverend?

Reverend Holt: They used to call you Black Jesus.
Jefferson: Yeah, well maybe they listen to me because they believe in what I'm saying.
Reverend Holt: No, we listened because you were one of us. You were out on the streets, fighting with us. Now it seems like the only ones you care about are the ones in your school. Or the ones in your home.
Jefferson: That's not true, Jeremiah. It never has been. Freeland is my home too, man!
Reverend Holt: Really?
Jefferson: I fight the best way I know how.
Reverend Holt: Look, man. I know you and Henderson think I'm marching for my own glory, but I'm not. (pauses) I'm tired, man. If it ain't the police killing us, we killing us. And it's time for me... it's time for us to take our lives back. Even if it means we have to be willing to die.

(Reverend Holt expresses his belief that Black Lightning's return is God's work.)
Jefferson: But what if you're wrong, Reverend, hmm? What if you're wrong about Black Lightning?
Reverend Holt: I'm not.

Lady Eve: I don't mind people believing in God. They just can't believe that they can take back these streets.
Tobias Whale: Amen, Lady Eve.

(Khalil confesses about lying about not being a virgin to Jennifer.)
Jennifer: So... a fine-ass virgin tells the truth and risks remaining a virgin? Khalil, my virgin self couldn't find you sexier right now.

(Gambi and Jefferson are discussing how to alter the march route to make it easier to protect the crowd.)
Gambi: So even if I break into the PD's computers and alter it, there's no guarantee everyone gets the message.
Jefferson: No, I know. I was thinking of something a bit more old-school than that.
Gambi: What? Shriners on lawn-mowers to lead people the other way?
Jefferson: Close. I was thinking more like a handsome Italian gentleman in coveralls.
Gambi: Whenever you call me handsome, I almost always end up dirty.
Jefferson: Well, then you won't be disappointed by my plan.

Lynn: We are happy that you came to us, like we've always encouraged you to.
Jefferson: (distantly) So happy.
Lynn: And... glad that you felt so comfortable.
Jefferson: (to himself) You are so young.
Jennifer: How old were you guys?
(Jefferson gives Lynn a "Well honey?" look. Lynn responds by taking a large sip of wine.)
Jennifer: Never mind. (laughs)

(Jefferson is asking Khalil how he towels off after a shower.)
Jefferson: So... Feet. Legs. Etc.
Khalil: Yeah. Yeah. That sounds about right.
Jefferson: So the young man... who wants to have sex with my daughter... who spends much of his time in locker rooms... dries his fungus-covered feet before he dries his important parts?
Khalil: Sir, I -
Jefferson: No-no! I'm asking you! Do you want to give my daughter Athlete's Foot in places where athlete's feet should not be?!
Khalil:  (confused) I don't think so?
Jefferson: "I don't think so?" Son, the answer is no! And if you don't know that, then maybe you and Jennifer need to slow down.
(Jefferson turns around and grins wickedly to himself as Khalil looks truly terrified.)

Tobias Whale: These are my streets. And nobody messes with my streets. Now stop bleeding on my desk.


Continuity

Anissa misses LaWanda White's funeral because she's testing her super-strength in a junk yard.

The Pierce family are Methodists and attend Freeland United Methodist Church.

After being hit by a falling cube of crushed metal, Anissa discovers that she is super durable as well as super strong.

Reverend Holt repeats the line about how everyone in Freeland calls Jefferson Pierce Black Jesus. LaWanda White said the same thing in 102.

Tobais Whale believes that he killed Black Lightning and that the new Black Lightning is an impostor.

Both Jennifer and Khalil are virgins.

Anissa meets a librarian/bartender named Grace who invites her to a superhero cosplay party.

Grace tends bar at the Ruby Red-Lipstick Bar.

Jennifer tells her parents she thinks she's ready to have sex. They do not take this news well.

Jennifer has never been to a protest march before.

The Pierce Family doctor is Dr. Bass. Lynn makes an appointment with him to see about getting Jennifer on birth control.

Lynn suggests Jennifer move back in with her if Jefferson is going to keep being Black Lightning.

Anissa's girlfriend Chenoa dumps her after finding Anissa, dressed in a cat costume, dancing with Grace at her bar.

A unarmed young black man named Jamal Allen Brown is shot and killed by the policeon the streets of Freeland.

Lynn, Anissa and Jennifer attend the march together.

Syonide shoots Reverend Holt. The shot passes through him and hits Khalil.

Reverend Holt is said to recover.

Lynn recants her suggestion that Jennifer come move in with her, saying that the shooting showed her that danger is everywhere.

Gambi deletes the security footage showing Tobias Whale at the scene of the shooting.

Anissa tells Lynn about her brake-up with Chenoa. Lynn says she knows that isn't really what's bothering her, but that she'll be ready to talk when Anissa is ready.

The bullet that hit Khalil hit his spine. Jennifer says he may never walk again.


The Fridge Factor

Lynn and the girls are put in danger to throw Jefferson off his game, but they're part of a larger crowd he's already working to protect.


The Bottom Line

Another solid episode, which further develops the characters and pushes the drama of The Pierce Household over the neighborhood conflict while drawing parallels between the various conflicts. This show gets better with every episode.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 12 - Honey, I Shrunk Team Flash

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

Cisco and Ralph get cut down to size when they confront a metahuman with the power to shrink what he touches. As Caitlin and Harry work to restore them, Joe must deal with his own metahuman menace at home - a newly telepathic Cecile! Meanwhile, in Iron Heights, Barry discovers that Big Sir is innocent of the crime that sent him to prison and puts Team Flash to work on proving it.


Influences

The Atom comics of Gail Simone (general goofy tone and the character of Dwarfstar), The Shawshank Redemption (Barry makes reference to it, the general theme of Barry trying to help Big Sir, Big Sir's eventual escape), The Simpsons episode Lisa The Iconoclast (the use of the word "embiggen"), the movie Ant-Man (the fight scene with Cisco and Ralph piloting a drone and Dwarfstar throwing objects at Iris and Harry as he enlarges them) and the movie Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (title, general goofy tone)


Goofs

As Cecile points out, it beggars belief that the metahuman criminal of the week also just happens to be the robber for whom Big Sir was mistaken for 15 years earlier. We don't care what Harry says about how there are no coincidences.

Iris is wrong - embiggening IS a word according to The Oxford English Dictionary.


Performances

Bill Goldberg has a hell of a presence as Big Sir.

It's a brief thing, but Richard Brooks - who plays Warden Wolfe - does get a quick scene where he shows the steel of the character from the comics as he warns Barry against viewing the other inmates as human beings. It also turns out to be a nice bit of foreshadowing for the end of the episode.


Artistry

The effects work for the shrinking/growing objects is top-notch, and rivals that of the Ant-Man movie.


Flash Facts

The episode title is taken from the 1989 movie Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, in which an inventor's children and his next-door neighbor's kids are accidentally hit by the shrink ray he's working on.

Iris thinks that Cecile might have inherited mind-reading powers from a mystic totem she got from her grandmother. This is a reference to Mari McCabe from Visen, who got her powers in this manner.

This episode reveals that Big Sir's real name is David P. Ratchet. In the original comics, it was Dufus P. Ratchett.

Kord Industries opens a new state-of-the-art research facility in Central City. In the comics, Kord Industries is the business owned and operated by Ted Kord, who is also a non-powered, inventor superhero who goes by the name The Blue Beetle.

The character of Sylbert Rundine first appeared in The All-New Atom #2 (October 2006) and was created by Gail Simone and John Byrne. Using the alias Dwarfstar, Rundine became "The Anti-Atom" using his shrinking powers for acts of evil. Before being given a size-changing belt by a mysterious woman, Rundine was a rapist, a serial killer and possible cannibal who preyed on the women of Ivy Town University. He became the arch-enemy of Ryan Choi - a professor at Ivy Town University, who became the second Atom, following in the steps of the original Atom, Ray Palmer.

Apart from being a metahuman who shrinks and enlarges objects rather shrinking/enlarging himself through technology, Sylbert Rundine appears to be the same sleazy sort of criminal he was in the comics, albeit it more of a thief than a killer. Joe West says that Rundine has a long history of prior arrests for breaking in and entry.

Barry makes reference to the movie The Shawshank Redemption. Based on a short story by Stephen King, the story tells the tale of two men who find spiritual redemption in prison thanks to a series of common acts of kindness.

Harry uses the word "embiggening" in describing the effect of the altered Speed Force Bazooka. Embiggen is a word first introduced to the English language in The Simpsons episode Lisa The Iconoclast. Embiggen means "to make larger". It was made up for the show as an example of a fake word that sounds real, but has since then be added to The Oxford English Dictionary. This officially makes embiggen a perfectly cromulent word. (Cromulent was another word created by The Simpsons, which means "adequate" or "acceptable".)

This episode originally aired on the same day that the trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp was first released on-line.Ant-Man and The Wasp are two Marvel Comics heroes who have the same powers as Dwarfstar.


Technobabble

Caitlin says that Cecile's heart rate is 170 beats per minute and there's no sign of dark matter in her amniotic fluid.

Caitlin hypothesizes that Cecile's newfound telepathy is a side-effect of her pregnancy and that the changes to her body chemistry have activated latent dark matter that has been in her brain since the first STAR Labs particle accelerator explosion. She says it's something like gestational diabetes.

The camera system at Iron Heights Prison is analog-based. 

The only forensic evidence tying Big Sir to the murder at Mercury Labs was the fact that the bullet casings for the projectiles that killed the guard matched the cartridge-size of a gun that Big Sir owned. Barry notes that firearm identification like that is prone to errors and it's practically a junk science.

The Kord Industries research facility is outfitted with super-speed motion detectors, sonic-vibration defenses and laser beams that don't freeze. (Presumably these safeguard were designed to thwart Zoom, Black Siren and Captain Cold)

Caitlin notes that a lot of factors can make eye-witness testimony in a line-up situation unreliable.

Cisco identifies one of Sylbert Rundine's models as the DARPA's HTV-3X aka The Blackswift - an experimental hypersonic cruise vehicle.

Ray Palmer uses dwarf-star alloy to power the shrinking capabilities of the ATOM Suit.

Rundine's power allows him to shrink the space between atomic bonds, removing the gravity particles and dark energy rather than shrinking matter to scale. The human body could not be shrunk directly - otherwise people would lack the strength to hold up their own skeletons. When Rundine embiggens an object after shrinking it, he refills it with the same combination of energy that he originally extracted.

Harry builds a reverse polarity dwarf star matrix to restore Ralph and Cisco to normal size. He mocks the name Ray Palmer came up with for the ATOM Suit and questions if "electron degenerate sub-atomizer" was taken.

Harry turns The Speed Force Bazooka from 401 into an "embiggening" bazooka. He does this with the dwarf star matter (which was still in Rundine's apartment) and improves upon Ray Palmer's schematics.

Caitlin suggests a biochemical treatment targeting the pituitary glands to cure Cisco and Ralph, like flooding them with human growth hormones. Harry says that would only speed their degeneration.

Central City has their own weather service - CCWAS - The Central City Weather Service Agency


Dialogue Triumphs

(Cecile has just read Caitlin's mind about the gender of her child, to Caitlin's shock.)
Cisco: Boy/girl. That's 50-50. Let's test your skills for real. What number am I thinking of?
Cecile: (looks at Cisco.) Three. 11. 25. Three again. Bulbasaur.
(Cisco, who has been leaning on the counter this whole time suddenly loses his balance and nearly falls out of his chair.)
Cecile: What the hell is a Bulbasaur?

(Harry is making a case for getting Barry out of prison needing to be Priority One for the team) 
Harry: As a former prisoner, I can tell you-
Cisco: No. That was gorilla prison.
Harry: Gorilla prison is worse! They throw their scat at you!

Mayor: Believe me, no one is breaking into this building anytime soon.
(Suddenly, the building is surrounded by yellow light and disappears.)
Mayor: (quietly) I hate this city.

Big Sir: What you're peddling? It's dangerous.
Barry: Wait, what's dangerous?
Big Sir: Hope. I've been in here long enough to understand that in prison, Hope is the most dangerous thing.
Barry: Wait, did you get that from Shawshank?
Big Sir: (chuckles) No. I got that from being in prison.

(Sylbert Rundine runs away down the alley.)
Cisco: Joe, he's getting away!
Joe: I think we have bigger problems.
(Joe looks down at Ralph and Cisco, who are both now just barely taller than a soda can on its side.)

(Harry sighs as Caitlin leaves to put Ralph and Cisco in the hamster cage.)
Cecile: Harry, this is not your fault.
Harry: Yeah, well it kind of - (realizing what just happened) Don't read my mind! Okay?!  What am I thinking now?
Cecile: (looking grosssed out) Oh God!
Harry: (triumphant) Great!

Warden Wolfe: Your friend may look like a man, but he's unquestionably a monster. Everyone here is a monster. And if you insist on continuing to bait them, I guarantee you... you will get mauled.

Harry: I failed! Because I'm stupid! Alright? Too stupid to help Allen's friend! Too stupid to fix you or too stupid to stop DeVoe!
(Harry is zapped by a tiny-sized Vibe blast.)
Harry: Ow! What was that for?!
Cisco: Believe me. I'd punch you in the arm if I could!
(Harry makes a back-handed slap gesture at Cisco but stops himself from swatting the shrunken Cisco.)
Cisco: Look, I know you're not used to going up against someone you can't outsmart like DeVoe, but you really are stupid if you think you're too stupid!


Dialogue Disasters

Joe: Sylbert Rundine.
Iris: Why does every villain in this city have a name that sounds like it came out of a comic book?

(Iris is walking and there's a sudden squishing noise.)
Iris: (disgusted, turning to look at her feet) Who spit gum on the floor?
(Caitlin looks down and her eyes widen in horror as she gasps. Iris has stepped on the shrunken Ralph.)
Ralph: I'm a gumshoe! Not gum on a shoe!


Continuity

Joe didn't have a crib for Iris when she was a baby. He just put her on some cushions.

Joe and Cecile are having a baby girl.

Cisco thinks Bulbasaur is the cutest Pokemon.

Harry refers to his time in the prisons of Gorilla City from 313.

Harry says they have no new evidence to clear Barry and The DeVoes have not moved outside of their home, as far as they can tell, in the past week.

Barry plays poker with several other prisoners, including Big Sir and the former Mayor Bellows. Mayor Bellows was last seen in 404. He makes reference to having tried to kill Barry and Joe in that episode.

Big Sir was sent to prison for shooting an unarmed man 15 years earlier - a security guard at Mercury Labs. Sir claims that he was the same height and build as the real killer and that he just happened to be there and the police found him trying to administer first aid to the guard.

Big Sir's full name is David P. Ratchet.

The new mayor of Central City is a woman.

Technology companies in Central City are robbed at nearly 30 times the national average. This puts Central City at second place, behind Star City.

Kord Industries establishes a new research and development facility in Central City that is stolen by Dwarfstar in the middle of its grand unveiling.

Sylbert Rundine has several prior convictions for breaking in and entering.

Sylbert Rundine goes by Bert. The e at the end of his last name is silent.

Sylbert Rundine owns a 1970s Chevelle.

Cisco and Ralph are shrunk down to a height of two inches.

Iris tries calling Ray Palmer and The Waverider but isn't able to get a hold of them. She is, however, able to get a hold of Felicity Smoak, who tells her about how Ray Palmer's ATOM suit works and about the dwarf star material Ray used to power it.

The last sample of dwarf star matter PalmerTech had was stolen from a PalmerTech facility in Central City on October 10, 2017 - the same day that the bus metas were created.

The theory is that Slybert Rundine was carrying the dwarf star matter on his person while riding the bus and that it merged with the dark matter to given him the same powers as Ray Palmer's ATOM suit.

STAR Labs has a hamster cage.

Dr. Sharon Finkel - last seen in 406 - agrees to put Cecile and Joe through couples therapy.

Joe thinks about a pink elephant to keep Cecile out of his head.

Ralph and Cisco are moved from the hamster cage to the LEGO model of the crime scene where Iris was meant to die in Season Three.

Harry turns The Speed Force Bazooka from 401 into an "embiggening" bazooka.

The embiggening bazooka destabilizes Cisco and Ralph on an atomic level.

Barry says prison pudding tastes better than outside world pudding.

Big Sir dreams of going to Jiaju - a tiny village in China, very secluded. The monks who live there all take a vow of silence.

Aaron Miller was an inmate at Iron Heights who studied in the law library at Iron Heights. He tried to help another inmate with his appeal. Miller was stabbed to death after the appeal failed. 

Iris is nowhere near as good a cook as Joe, but she can brew decaf herbal tea.

Slybert Rundine refuses to make a plea deal to officially confess to the murder that Big Sir took the blame for.

Barry uses his powers to take Big Sir out of prison and leaves him in Jaiju, China.

Harry updates the big board of bus metas.  Thus far the count is eight.

1. Kilgore - technopathy
2. Hazard - luck manipulation
3. Elongated Man - stretching.
4. The Weeper - tears are a psychoactive drug
5. Black Bison - animation of effigies
6. Brainstorm - line-of-sight telepathy
7. Fallout - radiation emission
8. Dwarfstar - size control of other objects.

Warden Wolfe reveals that he had a second hidden camera installed that was always aimed at Barry's cell after he started asking questions about Big Sir's case. That camera revealed to Warden Wolfe that Barry is The Flash. The episode ends with Wolfe drugging Barry and contacting Blacksmith about having another metahuman to sell her.


The Fridge Factor

Cecile's new telepathic powers are mostly used for cracking sexist jokes about how nightmarish it would be for a man to have his girlfriend know what he is thinking.


The Boomerang Factor

Purists may complain that Warden Wolfe - a hardass who routinely tortures the metahuman inmates under his charge in the comics - is depicted here as being willing to deal with a criminal like Blacksmith. In the comics, Wolfe is a Javert figure rather than a crooked cop. 


The Bottom Line

A solid episode, surprisingly enough. The comedy stays on just the right tone and keeps switching levels before any one of the subplots becomes too annoying, though Iris still has the leadership abilities of a wet sock. The special effects work is fantastic and there's some solid performances from all involved. Well done.

Injustice 2 #43 - A Review

Civil War has broken out in Gorilla City, as Grodd leads a rebellion against King Solovar. Now, to prevent the destruction of what little he has saved since losing his base in The Amazon Jungle, Ra's Al Ghul must lead his Suicide Squad to aid in the battle. Will Ra's new secret weapon tip the balance of power?






Is there anything that speaks more to the power of comics than armies of great apes fighting? I think not. Yet even set apart from that standard Injustice 2 #43 is a darn fine comic.

Tom Taylor's script has everything. Action. Romance. Horror. Comedy. Often all on the same page! Gloriously brought to life by the pencils of Bruno Redondo, the insanity and glory of this story is perfectly completed by the inks of Juan Albarran and the colors of Rex Lokus. If you aren't already reading this series, start. If you are already reading this series, good for you! 

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 12 - For Good

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 



Plot

When someone hacks Morgan Edge' car in as part of an attempt to kill him, he is quick to blame Lena Luthor for the crime. James steps in to make sure Lena stays protected as The Guardian, while Kara works to save Lena from the Luthor family temper. Meanwhile, Alex helps Sam to investigate her "lost time" problems.


Influences

Man Of Steel (reference is made to Superman killing General Zod), Iron Man (the CGI for The Lexo-Suit and Lillian Luthor's close-up with the reflective HUD when she's wearing it)  and the Michael Green/Mike Johnson run on Supergirl (character of Reign and concept of Worldkillers)


Performances

Nobody, but nobody plays smarmy and evil like Adrian Pasdar.


Artistry

The scene of James chasing the poisoner is a good action sequence.

The scene of Alex working to save Lena is a nice bit of medical drama, not only in the direction and pacing, but also in the well-researched medical jargon. (See Technobabble for the details.)


Super Trivia

Winn speculates that the reason why Reign doesn't require a yellow sun to use her powers and that Kryptonite doesn't effect her is that she's been genetically modified to be different than a standard Kryptonian. The Worldkillers of the original Supergirl comics were the products of genetic engineering.

Winn says that General Zod was killed in a battle with Superman. This is likely a nod to the movie Man of Steel, where Superman also killed General Zod.

Lillian Luthor makes use of a Lexo-Suit to try and kill Morgan Edge and fight Supergirl and Mon-El. In the comics, the Lexo-Suit is the name given to any of the exo-skeletal armor that Lex Luthor uses to fight Superman. There have been serveral different versions over the years, most of them possessing special built-in weapons specifiically designed for fighting Kryptonians such as red-sun lasers and Kryptonite melee weapons.

The Lexo-Suit Lillian Luthor uses has a wrist-mounted dagger made of Kryptonite  It also allows the wearer to fly and gives them enhanced strength and durability as well as the power of flight. It also releases energy blasts made of Kryptonite energy from the hands.

Mon-El makes reference to fighting a villain named Computo with Brainiac-5 using hacked drones. Computo was a Legion of Super heroes villain who first appeared in Adventure Comics #340 (January 1966). Created by Brainiac-5 to be a computerized lab assistant, it proved too independently intelligent and attempted to start a mechanical intelligence uprising.

Winn's tracking of potential Worldkillers leads him to three beings he identifies as a Coluan, a Maaldorian, a Phorian. These are all species who have appeared in previous Supergirl episodes. (See Continuity for the details.)


Technobabble

Sam's symptoms of memory loss and headaches can be signs of a brain tumor, ALS or caffeine withdrawal.

Sam's MRI scan indicates a perfectly ordinary brain.

When Lena is brought to the DEO, Alex asks for her to be given 200 mg of Phenobarbital - a medication used for preventing seizures, treating anxiety, insomnia, drug withdrawal and to help with surgery.

Alex also requests a radial artery line and two red tox for Lena.

Alex says that Lena's blood-pressure is 70/palp and her pulse is 30 beats per minute and falling.

Alex determines that Lena was given cyanide based on the fact that her breaths smells like almonds. Some people do think cyanide has a smell like bitter almonds, though some forms of cyanide are odorless.

Alex prescribes 50 ml of sodium thiosulfate to treat Lena - a real chemical used to counteract cyanide poisoning.

In order to give the antidote time to work, Kara must use her freeze breath to induce hypothermia in Lena, thus slowing her circulation.

The bullet that killed Edge's hit-man disappeared without leaving any fragments, casing, shrapnel or exit wound. This indicates that it is some form of advanced technology.

The Lexo-Suit is an armored suit Lex Luthor designed to allow him to fight Superman. The Lexo-Suit Lillian Luthor uses has a wrist-mounted dagger made of Kryptonite  It also allows the wearer to fly and gives them enhanced strength and durability as well as the power of flight. It also releases energy blasts made of Kryptonite energy from the hands.

Winn cross references the meteor impact sites with news reports and hospital records to search for anomalies. This gives him seven people - a Coluan, a Maaldorian, a Phorian and four apparently human females.


Dialogue Triumphs

Sam: (nervously) So, I looked up my symptoms. Memory loss. Headache... it could be really bad. Like, brain tumor bad. ALS...
Alex: (firmly) You know what else causes memory loss?  Caffeine withdrawal.

Alex: (To Sam) I know what it's like to be afraid to let other people in. I have always been used to dealing with things in my life on my own. So... after Maggie and I broke up, the thought of talking about it was terrifying. But Kara, being Kara, she wouldn't let me shut down. She... forced me to let her in, so that we could figure things out together. That's the only way I'm getting through any of this. And I am not about to let you make the same mistake that  I almost made.

Edge: What do you want?!
Guardian: You poisoned Lena Luthor.
Edge: (nervously) No. No-no-no. That doesn't sound like something I would do.
Guardian: No. You get people to do your dirty work for you and then you kill them before they can talk.
Edge: I don't know what you're talking about.
Guardian: Then you'll be happy to know she survived.
Edge: No! Actually! I despise her! There's a lot of other people in this city who'd be happy to rid this place of a Luthor. Maybe you wanna dangle one of them over the side of a building before you make an enemy out of me?
(Guardian grunts and lifts Edge up over the guard railing again. Edge screams for mercy and is slowly put down.)
Guardian: See, that's where you're wrong. I am your enemy, Edge. So you'd better tread carefully. Because if anything happens to Lena Luthor, I will find you. And you won't be walking away from that.

J'onn: Alex says Lena will wake up soon. I suggest she does that at CatCo and not at a super-secret government organization.

J'onn: This world is a crazy place right now. People acting, reacting, escalating behaviors. Like what Morgan Edge did to Lena. What our lawmakers are doing, sniping at each other, going round and round in circles, not doing any good. It reminds me of Mars before the civil war. (shaking his head) But like my father said, "There is great power in being the calm at the center of the storm. A beacon to show the way." Supergirl is here to remind us on Earth about what is the best in ourselves. That's what's most important. It's more important than if you ever were to catch another bullet.

Lillian: You know, you really hurt me, Lena. No matter how hard I try to show it, you still doubt my love for you. Do you know of any other mother who would kill for her daughter?
Lena: (sarcastically) No, I don't. Probably a good thing for society.

Lillian: I'll never forget the time Cindy Ryan stole your boyfriend. It took you months of planning, but you exacted your revenge! You outed her diary, publicly humiliated her. ruined her life. It was fantastic!
Lena: It was also the fifth grade, mother!
Lillian: There you go again, devaluing yourself.


Continuity

Kara has a nightmare in which she sees Reign with two other figures. One figure is obscured in shadow but the other one is the woman who survived the car-crash at the end of 311.

Mon-El says The Legion have fought many genetically-engineered beings.

Mon-El says that The Legion fought General Zod at one point in their past/Earth's future, requiring Brainiac-5 to find some Kryptonite.

According to Winn, General Zod is dead and Superman killed him.

Alex worked in Seattle as a doctor before joining the DEO.

Lena refers to the events of 305 and Morgan Edge poisoning children just to make her look bad.

Reference is made to the prison break during Reign's attack from 310 and how all the prisoners, except Thomas Coville, have been recaptured.

Lena refers to Morgan Edge's previous attempts to have her killed in 305 and 309.

Alex is able to draw blood from Sam without issue.

James refers to a hacker trying to kill Maxwell Lord by taking control of his limo in a similar manner as the attack on Morgan Edge. 

Lena determines that L-Corp designed a dissolving bullet under something called The Evanesce Project. It was made by a company called Thundercorp. Labs.

Thundercorps. Labs turns out to be under the control of Lillian Luthor.

Cindy Ryan stole Lena's boyfriend in the 5th Grade. She got revenge by revealing her diary publicly.

Lillian describes her son Lex as brilliant but a hothead. She says Lena is capable of planning three moves ahead and plotting her revenge coldly. 

Sam confirms that her greatest fear is something happening to her and that she won't be there to protect Ruby. This conforms to what we saw of Sam's worst fear when Psi attacked Reign in 311.

Lena says that she, Kara and Alex consider Sam to be family and they'll take care of Ruby, no matter what, in case her medical issues turn out to be something bad.

Lena confesses to Kara is that she tried to kill Edge back in 305 and tells her that Lillian Luthor is back.

Lena was a chess prodigy as a child and earned trophies for her wins.

Both Morgan Edge and Lillian Luthor are arrested.

Sam's blood tests come back normal, saying that she is perfectly healthy. No signs of a tumor or blood diseases. This does little to ease Sam's fears.

Winn's efforts to track potential Worldkillers leads him to seven beings - four seemingly human women and a a Coluan, a Maaldorian, a Phorian.

Coluans are green-skinned aliens of great intelligence. Brainiac-5, last seen in 311, is a Coluan.

Maaldorians are super-strong natives of the planet Maaldoria a.k.a. The Slaver's Moon. Kara first encountered them in 209.

Phorians are a peaceful race of telepaths and telekinetics. The young boy whom James Olsen bonded with in 220 was a Phorian.

The woman who survived the car crash in 311 is identified as Julia Freeman.

One of the other four potential Worldkillers is named Andrea Towers. One has the last name of Buckingham. The third has the first name of Sarah.

Kara recognizes Julia Freeman from her dream at the start of this episode.


Untelevised Adventures

Mon-El says that The Legion battled General Zod at some point in the future. He refuses to discuss the detals, but apparently Zod was somehow resurrected.

Mon-El also makes reference to using hacked drones to fight a villain named Computo with Brainiac-5.


The Bottom Line

A solid episode all around. I don't want to think that this has anything to do with the lack of Reign subplot but I suspect that might be a part of it. The Worldkillers were a highly underdeveloped concept in the original comics in which they first appeared and so far the series done much to build upon it. Still, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth and just be thankful that this week, everything clicked together.

Detective Comics #973 - A Review

His mind broken by the tortures of The Victim Syndicate, Clayface is rampaging through Gotham City... straight for the protesters assembled by The First Victim. The Gotham Knights have some unexpected help in trying to prevent disaster, but will they be able to save their former comrade? Or will one of their own take it upon themselves to solve the Clayface problem permanently?


James Tynion IV brings the current storyline to a stunning and satisfactory conclusion. Unfortunately, while Tynion's writing is as great as ever, the artwork for this issue doesn't work at all. Colorist Jason Wright uses a bright palette that doesn't suit the story, particularly when applied to the ink-light artwork of Jesus Merino. Despite this comic looking way too bright, Merino over-inks the outlines of his characters without adding any shading to the interior line work. This leaves the entire book looking odd, but still worth fighting through to enjoy the story.

The Final Analysis: 5 out of 10. Great story, but the artwork is totally at war with it.

Batgirl #19 - A Review

A sudden surprise storm sees Gotham City snowed-in. Luckily The Penguin just happens to own several snowplows he's happy to loan the city in the name of civic pride. It's a little too convenient for Batgirl, however, who starts investigating just how the American Weather Association could possibly have failed to see this storm coming.


Goodness knows your old Uncle Starman is the last person in the world to complain about comics with political content, his favorite superhero being that fat-cat-bashing Green Arrow. That being said, while I agree with Hope Larson's politics, she could have done a far better job of subtly inserting the issue of corrupt and unqualified political appointees destroying a government agency leading to disaster into this issue. Larson is a fantastic writer and it's stunning to see her grind the plot of a story to a halt for the sake of a political statement. She's far better than that.

Thankfully, the artwork is still on point. Chris Wildgoose and Jose Marzan Jr. keep the appearance of the book light and spirited, as befits the largely comedic story. Mat Lopes' colors are equally cheerful, adding to the humorous aesthetic. Hopefully things will come together better next month.

The Final Analysis: 6 out of 10. A solid issue, suffering only in how it sacrifices plotting for preaching.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 11 - We Fall

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

With Team Arrow split in two, Cayden James launches an attack on Star City's infrastructure. Though the hacking attacks are seemingly random, one directly places Oliver's son and a bus full of other children in danger, drawing Green Arrow and the rest of Star City's heroes out into the open.


Influences

The Green Arrow comics of Judd Winick. (Oliver Queen balancing being mayor and a superhero, a city under siege by super-villains storyline, the heroes being portrayed as dumber than the villains, reference to The Outsiders - a team he revitalized in the 2000s.)


Goofs

It appears to be awfully bright outside for almost 7:00 am in January for an American city (which would presumably be observing Daylight Savings Time) in the opening scene. (Sunrise usually doesn't come until around 7:45 am at this time of year in Seattle.)

Why aren't there any parent chaperones or teachers on the bus with William's class if they were going on a field trip? There should have been more adults than the bus driver.


Performances

Juliana Harkavy steals the show as Black Canary, once again. Another few episodes like this and I may think her a worthy successor to Caity Lotz.


Artistry

The new Spartan costume is a definite improvement on the old one.

The entirety of the fifth segment, with the fight choreography, the editing between Felicity's talk with William, the writing on Felicity's speech and whole scene as both teams (and Vigilante) fight to defend the safe zone.


Trivia

Dinah's Canary Cry is shown to be "more powerful than a locomotive" as she uses her voice to literally stop a train's velocity. This has become a standard metric of measuring the strength of super powers. It comes from the 1941 Superman radio show, which included the lines "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" as part of its opening narration.

Curtis suggests that "New Team Arrow' call themselves The Outsiders. In The DC Comics Universe, The Outsiders is a superhero name that has been used by several different teams.

The first Outsiders team was formed by Batman following a falling-out with The Justice League over what the team's focus should be. Batman left the team, but it continued on without him for several years. The team included Black Lightning and Katana in its membership.

Years later, Dick "Nightwing" Grayson and Roy "Arsenal" Harper would form a new Outsiders in the wake of the collapse of The Titans and Young Justice. Judd Winick - the Green Arrow writer who wrote all the stories where Oliver Queen tried to continue being Green Arrow while serving as Mayor of Star City - also was responsible for the creation of the second Outsiders team. This team included Black Lightning's daughter Anissa, who fought crime under the codename Thunder.

In The New 52 reality, The Outsiders were a covert-ops branch of Bruce Wayne's Batman Inc.

In The New 52 Green Arrow comics, The Outsiders was also the name of a collective of clans based around various ancient weapons. The Queen family was tied to The Arrow Clan and the vigilante Katana's family was tied to The Sword Clan.

In The Rebirth reality, reference was also made in Dark Knights: Metal to The Outsiders being a team Batman established in secret to research the properties of various strange metals to The Multiverse.

When Curtis suggests the name Outsiders, Dinah says that she really liked that book. This is a reference to The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - a classic coming-of-age young adult novel about gang violence.


Technobabble

One of the extra credit questions on William's prep sheet for his field trip involves a math problem about Hyperbolic Geometry in marine organisms like coral. Felicity says that it's a high-dimension math problem most people don't get until 12th Grade AP Math.

Vigilante is able to block New Team Arrow's communications system.

Vigilante uses the connection between Curtis' T-Sphere and his visor to send a message in Morse Code.


Dialogue Triumphs

(William is talking to Oliver and Felicity about his homework.)
William: Will you take a look at it?
Oliver: Yeah. Of course!
William: (sheepishly) I meant Felicity.
Oliver: (clearly disappointed) Sure you did. Yep.
William: I'm sorry. It's a math problem about Hyperbolic Geometry in marine organisms like coral.
Oliver: I do know what coral is. But that's okay.

(Dinah, Curtis and Rene are in their new base when Curtis' phone starts ringing. Curtis checks it.)
Curtis: It's Felicity.
Rene: She isn't bugging us again, is she?
Curtis: No.
(Rene and Dinah both look at Curtis skeptically.)
Curtis: ... I'll do a sweep.

Vigilante: I'm on your side. Cayden James is my target too. I'm undercover in his organization.
Mister Terrific: Do you think this 'T' on my face stands for gullible? (pauses) You know what I mean.

Oliver: What do you want?
Cayden James: I've already told you. Vengeance for my son. (He walks to the window overlooking the city.) I cared for him, protected him... loved him. Just as you do this city. But now... your city's entire infrastructure is under my control. Buildings. Institutions. Even people. All under my dominion.
Oliver: These are innocent people-
Cayden James: - and you can save then. (He places a piece of paper on the desk) By wiring $10 million into that off-shore account. No later than 11:30 tonight. (pauses) And every night. Until further notice.
Oliver: (barely maintaining control) That will bankrupt us!
Cayden James: Well, I certainly hope so. Please don't imagine I've gone through these lengths for money. No. This is for you. So that you'll suffer.
Oliver: I didn't kill your son.
Cayden James: Yes, you did. One year ago, this very day, right here in Star City. You missed your intended target, but your arrow found its way into my boy.
Oliver: Well, if you're seeking vengeance, if you want revenge... why haven't you just outed me as The Green Arrow?
Cayden James: If my understanding is correct, that's already been done.
Oliver: Star City will not negotiate with a terrorist!
Cayden James: Oh, spare me the political claptrap, Mr. Queen. By tonight that will sound hollow, even to you.

(Wild Dog and Mister Terrific are frantically pulling wires on the train controls trying to change the switches that are set to cause a collision. Black Canary is staring down the trains as they approach the intersection, clearly worried.) 
Wild Dog: Hey, what's Plan D?
Mister Terrific: There is no Plan D!
Wild Dog: What?!
Black Canary: Yes, there is!
(Black Canary stands in the middle of the train track, facing the oncoming train and lets loose with a Canary Cry.  The train begins to stop, eventually coming to a full stop right in front of her as the other train passes safely.)

Rene: Hey, man - New Team Arrow is kicking ass!
Curtis: You know what? I really have to say that I think we should change our name. What do you guys think about "The Outsiders"?
Dinah: Oooh. Ummm... I think it was a really awesome book?

(Felicity wants Oliver to talk to William right away about his broken promise.)
Oliver: Well, I've learned, several times, the hard way, that sometimes kids just want to be left alone. I know I have to talk to him. I'm just trying to respect that.
Felicity: Okay. And I might totally be projecting here, because my dad was a - you know - Super-villain Evil Hacktivist. He did a lot of things that I didn't like. Or approve of. And the way he chose to live his life? That's not the part that bugged me.
Oliver: Okay. What bugged you?
Felicity: The Lie.

(Wild Dog, Black Canary and Mister Terrific watch the crowd at the safe zone.) 
Wild Dog: Officers marching. Guns out. City under siege. It's like "Escape From Detroit"!
Mister Terrific: I don't know whether to correct you or to just embrace your attempt at referencing one of my favorite John Carpenter films.
Wild Dog: Huh?

Felicity: You know, I've loved your dad from the first time he brought me a bullet-ridden computer. Remind me to tell you about that one. That was a long time ago, which means I've loved him for a long time. Which means I've worried about him for a long time. And he... he hasn't always been truthful. He's lied. He's kept secrets. He's not perfect. This life... it's not ideal. But he makes his sacrifices so we have to make ours. I sometimes think to myself that's what makes this love deeper than other kinds of love. You know, it sounds cheesy, but... it does because we can't take things for granted. We have to live with the fear and the uncertainty that everything can be taken from us in an instant.
(As Felicity speaks, we see the two teams fighting Cayden James' men. As Wild Dog is taking down one man, he fails to see Sheck coming up behind him, aiming a gun at his head. Suddenly Vigilante, who is on the roof, shoots the man in the leg. He falls to the ground and looks up.)
Sheck: Traitor! (reaching for his dropped gun) I'm taking you to hell with-
(Vigilante shoots the man. Black Canary, who was fighting two thugs on the other side of the courtyard spins and sees this, smirking slightly as she sees Vigilante run off.)
Felicity: Because that's the price we pay for choosing the people that we love. Everything that he does, he does for a good reason. Or what he thinks is a good reason. You can worry about your dad, but you have to believe that he's going to be okay. Because that's the only way that this works. Okay?
William: Okay.


Continuity

William is practicing archery indoors with a toy archery set.

Oliver is hiding his return as Green Arrow from William.

William is going on a field trip to the Coastal Biology Center.

William has a Flash backpack.

Councilman Harold Grovner was the victim of the car hacking.

Six people were killed by Cayden James' cutting the power to the hospital.

Five people were killed by Cayden James' elevator hack.

One of the victims of the electrocuting elevator was Captain Frank Pike of the SCPD - Quentin Lance's former superior when Quentin was a Detective with the SCPD.

John refers to the bomb Cayden James stole in 607 and the amplifier he stole in 609.

Felicity refers to Cayden James taking over the port in 610.

Cayden James crashes a plane on State Street.

For the first time since 605, Curtis' T-Spheres are able to trace Vigilante's visor. Dinah immediately concludes this is meant to draw them into a trap.

Quentin and Thea take over running the SCPD and start setting up safe-zones around Star City.

Vigilante claims to be working with Cayden James to bring him down from the inside. He gives Curtis a tip on a future attack New Team Arrow might be able to stop where the Red Line and Yellow Line subways meet.

Star City has three councilmen named Gattis, McCaskill and Kullens.

Cayden James uses the alias Ben Gale to visit Oliver in his office.

Cayden James claims that The Green Arrow killed his son in Star City in January 2017. Oliver says this isn't possible since, on the day in question, he was in Hub City trying to recruit Dinah Drake (as seen in 511.)

Cayden James' son, Owen Post, was first mentioned in 607.

Felicity refers to the events of 604 and how Cayden James' actions there trying to break into The Internet Vault were a trick to set up the code that would let him hack Star City.

James' attacks are revealed to be blocking off all the ways in and out of the city.

Oliver had Cisco Ramon build John a new and improved Spartan costume.

Dinah is shown to have enough power and fine control of her Canary Cry that she can use it to stop a train without damaging it.

William learns that Oliver has become Green Arrow again.

Dinah learns where Curtis got the intel about stopping the train collision. She refuses to work with Vigilante. Rene says they need his help.

Alena says that Cayden James got a package from Corto Maltese in May 2017 which she thinks had a USB with fake evidence that Green Arrow killed Cayden James' son.

Felicity refers to Oliver bringing her a computer full of bullet holes in 103.

Vigilante kills Sheck before he can kill Wild Dog.

Dinah approaches Vigilante after he saves Rene's life. He asks where they stand now but the scene ends before she answers.

William says he understands why Oliver has to be Green Arrow now but that he isn't scared because he has Felicity as a step-mom now.

Alena is unable to find any record of the USB drive being used in a computer in Corto Maltese.

The episode ends with Oliver instructing Thea to wire the money to Cayden James' account.


Untelevised Adventures

Felicity makes reference to a Cayden James taking control of a crane when listing "hack-cidents" that are happening around Star City to John.

Off-camera, Felicity does what she assures Oliver was some very cool and exciting hacking to track the package containing the USB that she thinks holds the fake evidence that Oliver killed Cayden James' son.


The Bottom Line

A fantastic episode, which does much to take the taint off of the previous two episodes, if only because we have an explanation for why Vigilante has been working with Cayden James all this time. The episode also does a lot to make William into more of a character than a plot device, at least up until the end with his dickish remark about how Ollie can be Green Arrow because if he dies William will have Felicity to take care of him. Then again, that kind of thoughtless remark is proof that he is Ollie's son if nothing else does.

Strangely enough, the best bits of the episode involve New Team Arrow (who I am totally hip to being called The Outsiders) and Black Canary. If nothing else, I like that I'm still not sure where things are going with the Black Canary/Vigilante relationship and that sense of surprise is something novel that this series has lacked for a long time. It may be a coincidence that this episode is completely free of Black Siren and seems like the best episode in some time, but I doubt it.

Black Lightning Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 2 - LaWanda: The Book of Hope

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

As Anissa and Jennifer recover from their shocking experience being abducted by The 100 and Anissa tries to understand the strange power she seems to possess, Jefferson notices a sense of hope that seems to have been restored in the community by the rumors of Black Lightning's return. Peter Gambi is urging him to return but Lynn wants him to stay retired. With the possibility of patching things up with his ex-wife on the horizon, what will Jefferson do when he discovers that The Seahorse Motel is back up and running, the men who abducted his daughters are back on the street and the daughter of one of his former students is among the girls The 100 has forced into prostitution?


Influences

The Black Lighting comics of Tony Isabella


Goofs

Not really a goof,  but it seems kind of funny that the show's introduction has Jefferson Pierce declaring Black Lightning is back but the opening scene has him reassuring his ex-wife that Black Lightning is not coming back as she helps him off the bathroom floor after he falls and can't get up while trying to get some painkillers.


Performances

Jordan Calloway has an impressive first appearance as Khalil, Jennifer's boyfriend. In a genre where it's usually the girlfriends whipping the boyfriends into shape, it's unusual to see the boyfriend put in the role of being the one to put his foot down on underage drinking without things getting preachy or religion being brought up. It's one of the subtler ways this show is proving itself to be different from most superhero shows and black dramas and it's a good change to see.


Artistry

The sequence in which Jefferson is struggling to get out of bed and uses his powers to adjust his bad back is a perfect blend of acting, effects work, camera work and music to create a great scene.

The music for the whole episode is fantastic.

The staircase fight.  Just... everything about the staircase fight.


Trivia

The quote LaWanda White gives Jefferson - "Unless all of us are free, none of us will be free." - was made by Canadian civil rights leader Rosemary Brown.

This episode confirms that, like her comics book counterpart, the DCTVU version of Anissa Pierce is a lesbian.

The end of the episode seems to confirm that Tobias well is unusually strong, if not possessing some form of super-strength, as he is able to strangle Lala to death with one hand.


Dialogue Triumphs

Jefferson: It has been nine years since I've even come close to using my powers. It is time that people know that Black Lightning is back.

(Lynn is lying in bed next to Jennifer. She hears Jefferson moaning in the bathroom and goes to find him on the floor, trying to stand up. 
Lynn: Oh, Jeff.
(She gets down on the floor with him and starts trying to rub his muscles to relax them.)
Lynn: I've got you, okay? I've got you.
(Jefferson grunts but manages to get to a sitting position as she massages his shoulders.)
Lynn: Black Lightning is getting too old for these streets.
(The two laugh.)
Jefferson: You're not lying about that.
Lynn: You remember when we were young?  When I first saw your superpowers, I thought you were so co cool.
(The two laugh again.)
Lynn: That my man was a superhero. Not many girls could say that. Then the reality hit. And what I thought was cool almost destroyed us. (sighs) When I see you like this, I... I feel really selfish.
(Jefferson looks up at her and shakes his head.)
Jefferson: Hold on. I did this.
Lynn: I know but... I .. I feel like a hypocrite. I told you to go get the girls. I put you back out there...
Jefferson: Lynn, Black Lightning is not back. The girls are safe. I'm done. (pauses) I love you, Lynn.  I miss you.
Lynn: I miss you too.
(The two kiss passionately, but Lynn pulls away and starts to stand.)
Lynn: I - I should go.
Jefferson: Uh, wait. Wait (standing up) I think it's important for you to be here for the girls. So I will sleep on the couch. You take the bed.
Lynn: Okay.
Jefferson: Good night.
(Jefferson kisses her on the cheek as he walks past her.)
Lynn: Good night.

LaWanda White: When I was a student here, you used to like to use quotes to teach us. Well, I've got one - "Unless all of us are free, none of us will be free."

(Tobias White is ordering his men to collect 50% more protection money.)
Tobias White: Squeeze these darkies 'til they crack!
Lala: Damn, boss. You really do hate black people.
Tobias White: No. I love black people. I hate incompetent, thick-lipped, scratch-where-it-don't-itch Negroes like you. You all keep us acting like newly-freed slaves.

Jefferson: Don't mistake my patience for weakness, boy.

Jefferson: (To Lynn)  Do you remember what you said when we discovered my powers? You said it was a gift. A blessing from God. It's still a gift. It's still a blessing from God. And I intend to use it. Not just for the girls, but for all the other people out there who need me.

Gambi: Mobile phones are the enemy of bad guys. When are they gonna learn?

Khalil: I've seen it all, J. Brother shot and killed. Father in jail. Mama working her damn ass off just to provide. Yeah, I live the life the rappers talk about, and ain't none of it cute! None of it! But you know what? God gave me a gift. I can run fast. So I'm gonna run my black ass straight out of here. And I ain't looking back. (pauses) And I want you to come with me. But not like this. No, that is going backwards and I can't do that.
Jennifer: I just see the world completely different now.
Khalil: Oh,  I got you. Really, I do. It's just growing up. (sighs) Come here, J.
(Jennifer leans into Khalil as he hugs her.)

Lynn: He was happy.
Gambi: But what kind of happy?  Happy like a lion in a cage? King of the zoo, not of the jungle?
Lynn: Happy like a man who was as peace just being Jefferson Pierce.
Gambi: But he isn't just Jefferson Pierce. He is so much more than that. And you know that better than anyone!
Lynn: I do. And that's why I want you to stop him before he gets addicted again.
Gambi: We have a difference of opinion on that. I don't believe Jefferson was ever addicted to his powers. He was in a war to save this city and its people. And he was winning! And then he suddenly stopped. Because he was addicted to you. And now look at the condition of the city and its people. It's complete chaos!
Lynn: Sounds like you're blaming me for the chaos.
Gambi: A little. Just like you blame me, then and now. But ultimately, it is Jefferson's choice what he does with his powers.

(Black Lightning takes down three of Lala's thugs in the apartment complex lobby. The elevator attendant stares in shock. He waves to Black Lightning.)
Elevator Attendant: I got you.
Black Lighting: Nah. I'm gonna take the stairs (kicks at one of the thugs who is trying to get back up) I'm just getting back into this. A brother needs all the exercise he can get.


Continuity

LaWanda White is a former student of Jefferson Pierce's whose daughter Shaquandalyn was taken by the 100 and forced into prostitution at The Seahorse Motel but whom the police refuse to look for saying there's no evidence the girl was taken against her will.

LaWanda got married to another of Jefferson's students, Darnell, who joined the Marines and died while serving overseas.

LaWanda says that everyone in Freeland calls Jefferson Pierce Black Jesus because he can go anywhere and do anything.

The Seahorse Motel was open for business again the day after Black Lightning attacked it in 101.

Will, the thug who abducted Jennifer and Anissa, was able to escape from police custody.

Jennifer has a friend named Khalil who calls to check up on her.

Malik, the tween-age drug dealer from 101, attacks Jennifer with a squirt-gun full of red dye while posing as a kid selling candy.

Peter Gambi is a skilled enough computer hacker to get into the Freeland PD computer system. He claims to be able to get into any sort of database.

Anissa has a girlfriend, Chenoa, whom she has been dating for a year. Chenoa wants a more steady relationship and for Anissa to meet her parents, but Anissa is happy with how things are.

Anissa tells her Chenoa about how she broke the sink and thinks there's something wrong with her. Chenoa says they can find her a good therapist and how she's sure it was just old porcelain.

Jefferson is aware of Anissa's sexual orientation and her relationship with her girlfriend and is cool with it.

Lala kills Will.

Jennifer has a secret smoking habit, which she hides from Khalil.

Jennifer's likes to perch on the rooftop outside her bedroom window.

Jennifer and Khalil become boyfriend and girlfriend. He gives her an inexpensive necklace.

Neither Jefferson nor Lynn can remember Anissa's girlfriend's name.

Lynn is a neuroscientist.

Lala kills LaWanda White. Unbeknownst to him, however, the entire thing is captured by the cel-phone she has running in her car.

Jennifer gets drunk with her friend Kiesha in secret at school. Khalil chews her out for it.

Khalil's father is in jail and his brother was shot and killed.

Anissa is having trouble sleeping and thwarts a robbery while trying to buy sleeping pills at a pharmacy. She is able to throw a man roughly 10 feet over one aisle display and through a second one.

Tobias Whale is shown to have connections in the Freeland Police Department who will allow him into the jail.

Tobias Whale  kills Lala in his cell, strangling him with one hand.


The Fridge Factor

Averted, as Anissa stops a robbery.


The Winick Factor

Jefferson does get Lala but entirely by accident. His attack on Lala summons the police, who discover where Lala is hiding after finding the evidence to convict him entirely on their own. Nice though it is to see a superhero show where the cops aren't all blisteringly incompetent.


The Bottom Line

Another solid episode, though light on superhero action  The supporting cast is getting fleshed out as we are introduced to Jennifer and Anissa's love interests and Jefferson is given a strong conflict in the form of his desire to do the right thing and his desire to win back the woman he wants to share his life with. It remains to be seen how the relationship with Lynn will develop in upcoming episodes but right now the drama between all the characters is as easily as engaging as the superhero side of the story.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 11 - The Elongated Knight Rises

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

Barry Allen struggles to keep his optimism and survive in Iron Heights Prison, where the guards care for crooked cops only slightly more than the inmates. Meanwhile, as The Trickster returns to plague a Central City without a Flash to protect it, Ralph Dibny must find it within himself to be the hero the city needs.


Influences

The Flash comics of Geoff Johns (Iron Heighs settting, presence of Axel Walker version of Trickster) and The 1990 The Flash TV series (character of Prank, general tone of Trickster's antics.)


Goofs

Given his father's prominence as a local terrorist, it seems unlikely that the news of his father escaping from prison would have been hidden from Axel Walker.

If The Trickster is as big a deal as Iris says, why don't Vibe or Killer Frost go deal with him or at least give Ralph some back up?

Why is everyone so surprised Ralph doesn't know what Kryptonite is? He wasn't around for Crisis on Earth-X and it's not like STAR Labs is in the habit of dealing with Kryptonite on a regular basis.


Performances

Hartley Sawyer gives a wonderful comic performance as Ralph. A shame that most of the rest of the cast is in uber-serious mode, but that only serves to make Sawyer's performance stand out all the better.


Artistry

The opening sequence with the prison riot is well-executed, from Grant Gustin's silent acting to the slow-motion work on the camera and what little fight choreography we see.


Flash Facts

The title of the episode is a riff on the 2012  Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises.

Ralph is depicted absorbing the blast of a bomb by wrapping himself around it. This is on par with how invulnerable Ralph is in the comics, where he can withstand concussive force and high velocity projectiles without injury.

Big Sir first appeared in The Flash #338 (October 1984) and was created by Cary Bates and Carmnie Infantino. Born to the unfortunate name of Dufus P. Ratchett, the man who became Big Sir had a malformed brain which left him mentally handicapped while accelerating his growth. The textbook gentle giant unless provoked, The Rogues fitted Dufus with a power suit that further increased his strength and protected him while giving him the power to fly but also made him more easily influenced. They set Big Sir upon The Flash while he was on trial for the murder of Professor Zoom, telling him The Flash had been mean to them, and worse yet, hurt a mouse. Big Sir later became a member of The Injustice League led by The Clock King, The Justice League branch in Antarctica and, finally, a member of The Suicide Squad, where he died.

Big Sir is played by Bill Goldberg, who is most famous for his career as a professional wrestler, where he most famously performed under the name Goldberg.

The DCTVU version of Big Sir is a big tough guy, but he is far more articulate than his comic-book counterpart and does not seem to have superhuman strength. His real name is apparently Dave.

The character of Prank is an interesting one historically. Originally created for The 1990 The Flash TV series, Zoey Clark was an insane groupie who became infatuated with the super-villain/terrorist known as The Trickster and broke him out of prison hoping to develop a relationship with him. She took up the nom de plume of Prank and joined him in sowing chaos in Central City. Given their similar background and roles, coupled with Mark Hamill playing The Trickster on The Flash before going on to voice The Joker in the Batman: The Animated Series, the character is frequently compared to Harley Quinn and often accused of being a rip-off despite having come first and Harley being developed independently of The Flash TV series.

Corinne Bohrer - who played the character of Prank in the 1990 The Flash TV series - returns to play the part of Zoey Clark/Prank.

It is confirmed that the DCTVU version of Prank is Axel Walker's mother.

The DCTVU version of Zoey Clark was heir to the Clarx Toy empire, which went out of business in the 1990s. She possessed Bachelors Degrees in Fine Arts and Applied Sciences and a Masters Degree in Chemistry.

Stills from the 1990 The Flash TV series are used in the newspaper reports talking about The Trickster and Prank's crimes.

One of the photos of Trickster and Prank shows them with a baby. This photo was a behind-the-scenes shot taken on the set of The 1990s The Flash, with Mark Hamill (Trickster) holding his daughter, Chelsea.

One of their The Trickster and Prank's bigger crimes was the destruction of the Gadzooka Bubblegum Company. Cisco makes a reference to how they went out of business in the 1990s. This may be a reference to Zooks Gum - a now defunct brand of chewing gum - mixed with the name of the more famous (and still manufactured) Bazooka Gum.

Cisco traces The Trickster's first bombing to the corner of Demeo and Bilson. This is a nod to Paul Demeo and Danny Bilson, who developed The 1990's The Flash TV series. They also co-wrote the 2006 The Flash comic's opening story Lighting In A Bottle.

In the comics, Ralph Dibny is usually portrayed as being resistant to corrosive substances. Apparently that does not apply to whatever makes up Trickster's "axid", though Cisco confirms that an ordinary human would have been dissolved instantly.

Ralph's new costume is a shade of dark purple. In the original comics, most of Ralph's costumes were some shade of purple and he identified his favorite color as purple. The costume also compresses into a small box with the STAR Labs logo, much like the ring Barry Allen uses in the comics to hold his Flash costume.


Technobabble

Ralph's cells are completely polymerized.

The Trickster makes use of exploding bouncy-balls, a mini-bazooka that launches throwing stars and a "hurty-squirty" gun full of "Axid" - acid with an Ingredient X that makes it painful to even Ralph Dibny's stretchy skin.

The super-acid Prank created has a pH level in the negative 50s, according to Harry. It's possible Harry is being hyperbolic or that Earth Two uses a different standard, as the standard pH scale on our Earth does not go lower than 0, with battery acid being considered the most acidic thing possible.

Theoretically, it is possible for a substance to have a negative pH rating, but current scientific instruments could not accurately measure it.

The Axid cannot melt galvanized steel.


Dialogue Triumphs

Bomber: Who the hell are you?
Ralph: Your friendly neighborhood superhero. You can call me... (freezes up)  Mister...?
(Ralph sighs)
Ralph: One second.
(Ralph touches his earpiece.)
Ralph: (frantically) Guys?! This is a huge moment for me! What's my name?!
(Cut to STAR Labs. Caitlin and Iris look at each other, shrugging before looking to Cisco.)
Cisco: I was wondering where you were going with that.

Iris: That bomb could have torn you to shreds.
Caitlin: Or Joe. Or any of the police outside.
Ralph: Relax, ladies! My cells are completely polygamized!
Caitlin: (makes a face) Polymerized?
Ralph: Yeah! That.

Cisco: Hey, how about you hook me up with some of that gum?
Harry: Why don't you Breach yourself?
Cisco: Sounds like an insult.
Harry: Kind of was.

Ralph: Nice suit, Fall Out Boy.
Trickster: Yuck. Yours could use some work.
Ralph: Ooh - look at that cutting wit. You wanted me? Here I am!
Trickster: Great! Do you want to play, uh, catch?
(Trickster throw a bouncy ball which Ralph easily catches and clutches. It explodes, making Ralph's hand expand like a cartoon character's before it goes back to normal size, completely unscathed. Trickster's smile fades as Ralph dusts his hands off dramatically.)
Ralph: You're really blowing this super-villain fight.
Trickster: Well, it's my Central City return party. And your death will make me a star!
(Trickster pulls out a small bazooka, which he aims at Ralph. Seconds later, five ninja throwing stars are embedded in Ralph's chest. He puffs his chest out and they fall down.)
Ralph: Child's play.
Trickster: (frantically patting his pockets) Okay.  All right.  Well... this is what I call The Hurty-Squirty Gun!
(Ralph just stares in disbelief as Trickster primes the pump on the over-sized super-soaker, though he does flinch when pink liquid comes out, raising his leg so it catches his knee. He has a moment to smirk before he starts screaming, as he looks down to his knee, where the liquid has already eaten through the suit and turned his knee a worrying shade of red.)
Trickster: Tricked ya!

Ralph: But you said my cells were polymerized!
Harry: Uh, no...
Ralph: You said said nothing could hurt them!
Harry: Disney, I didn't say that. I said your cells were bonded unlike anything I've ever seen. I'd never seen acid like this, and so, cannot be be responsible for things I have never seen.

Trickster: It's time for the exciting new game show, Wheel of Misfortune, with prizes so exciting you'll think you died. And if you pay your cards right, you just might! Here's your host - the murderous matriarch, Prrraaaaaaaaank!

Barry: Having the ability to help someone but do nothing - that is a far worse death than anything The Trickster has for you.  But rising above that fear and saving those lives - that is a greater life. All right, so rise up. I don't think it's a stretch for you.
Ralph: You really believe I can do that?
Barry: Yes. You just need to believe in yourself.

Vibe: Okay. Remember, anything in here that looks fun is probably lethal.
Killer Frost: Just like me.
Vibe: Nice.

Trickster: We thought you chickened out, Stretchy Man.
Ralph: Actually, I did. See, I thought I was pretty much invincible until you and your over-sized water pistol put the fear of God into me.
Trickster: You're welcome.
Ralph: And I was ready to throw in the towel. But then I visited a friend of mine. And he helped me remember that no one is fearless, but real heroes... they find a way to rise above that fear and make a difference anyway. Even if it kills them in the process. So this is me. Rising up. Hopefully without the dying part. Now... let my friends go!
(Trickster and Prank both applaud.)
Prank: First of all, great speech. So inspired. It melted my heart.
Ralph: Oh, thank you. I worked on it on the way over.
Prank: Now let's melt yours!

Reporter #1: Is it true that you took down The Trickster and Prank single-handedly?
Reporter #2: How long have you been a superhero?
Woman: Are you single?
Ralph: Yes. About an hour. Oh, hell yes! (To Reporter #1) Do you like shrimp?
Reporter #1: Noooooooo. But I'm sure the people of Central City would love to thank you, Stretchy Man.
Ralph: (wincing) That's not my name.
Reporter #1: Then what should we call you?  I mean, you do stretch.
Ralph: No, I don't stretch. I... contort. I elasticize. I... I elongate, man.
(Cut to a spinning newspaper, which stops to reveal a picture of Ralph and the headline THE ELONGATED MAN)


Dialogue Disasters

Ralph: It definitely hurts!
Harry: (unsympathetically) Mmm-hmm.
Iris: Well, now we know what your Kryptonite is.
Ralph: (confused) What the hell is Kryptonite?
(Everyone else makes noises of disbelief.)


Continuity

Barry Allen has scrawled "So was Barry" on the wall of his cell, next to where his dad wrote "Henry Allen was here." He is also counting the days he has been locked up.

This episode open on Day 7 of Barry Allen's incarceration.

Ralph is durable enough to absorb the blast of a bomb by wrapping himself around it. His skin makes a noise like a balloon deflating as he releases the smoke afterward.

Ralph is dubbed "The Stretchy Man" by Channel 52 news.

Ralph has contacts on the inside in Iron Heights Prison.

The Axel Walker version of The Trickster is seen for the first time since 117.

Barry is on the janitorial staff for the prison.

Axel Walker's mother is revealed to be Zoey Clark a.k.a. Prank - the former sidekick of the original Trickster, James Jesse.

Prank was heir to the Clarx Toy empire, which went out of business in the 1990s. She possessed Bachelors Degrees in Fine Arts and Applied Sciences and a Masters Degree in Chemistry.

Prank uses the alias Lindsay Fineheart to sneak into Iron Heights as a nurse.

Zoey Clark claims that James Jesse never wanted to be part of a family. She broke her son out of prison hoping they could start a new life together away from Central City.

The Gadzooka Bubble Gum Company went out of business in the 1990s on Earth One.

Harry Wells says they still have Gadzooka Bubble Gum on Earth Two.

Axel's date of birth is nine months after the last public sighting of Zoey Clark.

Killer Frost apparently has her own credit card.

Jesse James apparently escaped from Iron Height's prison a year ago and has not made contact with Zoey Clark or Axel Walker since then.

Big Sir helped save Barry from an attack in the prison gym because Henry Allen saved his life, recognizing the signs of a burst appendix and convincing Warden Wolfe to let him perform the surgery when the prison doctors were already gone for the night.

Zoey Clark was on some unidentified medication that kept her same. She goes off of her meds so that her son will accept her, becoming Prank once again.

Prank demonstrates the Axid Shower on a Beboo doll. The Beebo Doll was the hottest holiday toy in the Winter of 1992 on Earth One and figured heavily into the plot of L309 where The Legends had to fix the timeline after the first Vikings to settle in the new world began to worship a time-displaced Beboo doll.

Barry is Inmate #3562

Cisco and Harry have figured out how to trigger Caitlin's transformation into Killer Frost by saying the name of her childhood bully, Lexi La Roche.  La Roche was first mentioned in 106, when Caitlin was empathizing with Barry as he confronted his childhood bully, who became the villain, Girder.

Ralph Dibny does not own a wallet.

The mysterious waiter from S308 who approached Barry Allen before his wedding and told him to be sure to say "I do" makes another appearance in the post-stinger sequence for the episode. She pays for Ralph and Cisco's coffee at C.C. Jitters and is later seen writing in a strange language in her notebook.


The Bottom Line

Cisco asks Harry "Is there anything you can't suck the fun out of?" and that's a perfect summary of this episode, though ironically Harry's snark is one of the more fun elements of it. Everyone is in super-serious mode to make Ralph's joking seem all the more jarring, but Ralph doesn't come off until truly obnoxious until his sudden bout of cowardice.

The problem is that all the fun elements of the episode (Trickster and Prank, especially) really don't come off well when the rest of the cast is acting as sour as the extras on Arrow. Thankfully, once everyone relaxes and remembers that The Flash is supposed to be the fun show, it all comes together.

Injustice 2 #42 - A Review

Returned to Gorilla City with the news of Black Adam's disinterest in an alliance, Damian Wayne soon finds himself trapped in the middle of another struggle for power - one which could spell the end of Ra's Al Ghul's alliance with the rulers of Gorilla City.


I cannot recall laughing harder at a comic than I did at one scene in this issue. Don't worry - I won't spoil the gag. Suffice it to say that I recommend this issue highly, even apart from that much needed laugh, which showcases how this comic and Tom Taylor's writing paired with Daniel Sampere's art and Rex Lokus's colors never ceases to amuse me in some form of fashion.

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10. 

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 11 - Fort Rozz

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

With Reign still on the loose, Kara and Irma recruit Livewire and Psi for a mission to infiltrate the Kryptonian prison Fort Rozz in search of someone who might know something of how to stop her. Meanwhile, Alex babysits Ruby and gets an unexpected message from Maggie.


Influences

Star Trek (mention of Omicron Radiation, the general appearance of The Legion of Super Hero's ship bridge), Suicide Squad (base idea of having super-villains work with the heroes to accomplish a mission under strict controls.) the film Mean Girls (Livewire makes a reference to Psi being like Regina George - the lead mean girl), the book Matilda by Roald Dahl (Livewire and Psi call Saturn Girl this as a nickname, referring to the little girl with the same powers) and the Michael Green/Mike Johnson run on Supergirl (character of Reign and concept of Worldkillers)


Goofs

Again, it should be noted that Ruby looks a bit old to require a babysitter.

Radiation does not discriminate based on gender.


Performances

Sara Douglas is suitably creepy as Jindah Kol Rozz.


Artistry

Good effects work on the Livewire/Reign fight.


Super Trivia

Sara Douglas plays the role of Jindah Kol Rozz. Douglas is instantly recognizable to most Superman fans as Ursa - General Zod's right-hand in Superman: The Movie and Superman II.

Kara says that she is powerless under the light of a blue star like AZ336XB12. This is the complete opposite of how things are in the mainstream DC Comics Universe, where the light of blue stars makes Kryptonians and Daxamites even more powerful than they are under the light of a yellow sun.

Saturn Girl makes mention of omicron radiation - a particular form of radiation emitted by blue stars that is lethal to anything with a Y-chromosone. The term "omicron radiation" seems to have been lifted from Star Trek, where it is a unique form of radiation that is formed by certain rare interactions of matter and anti-matter that is toxic only to certain humanoid species.

Though not identified by name in the episode, the alien who attacks Supergirl when she first enters Fort Rozz is identified on IMDB as a Tormock.  In the DC Comics universe, The Tormocks are a sadistic, vicious alien race known for their fascist governments. They delighted in emotionally torturing the races they enslaved as well as physically tormenting them. The Tormocks were first introduced in Guy Gardner: Warrior #0 (October 1994) and were created by Beau Smith and Mitch Byrd. They were the sworn enemies of The Vuldarians - a race who acted as the protectors of the universe before The Green Lantern Corps.

The Zip Code for Maggie's new address in National City is given as 44333. In our world, the 44333 Zip Code is reserved for Summit County, Ohio, outside the city of Akron.

Mention is made of the other "Worldkillers" besides Reign. In the Supergirl comics, The Worldkillers were a group of five genetically engineered creatures designed by Kryptonian scientists using embryos from other species to create living biological weapons capable of destroying a planet. Reign was one of the Worldkillers and the first that Supergirl encountered. She would later confront four of them. It was implied that the monster Doomsday was the fifth and final Worldkiller.


Technobabble

The name of the star which Fort Rozz is now orbiting - AZ336XB12 - does not conform to any astronomical naming convention on our Earth.

Blue star light weakens Kryptonians in the same manner as red star light.

Blue stars also emit omicron radiation, which is fatal for any life-form with a Y-chromosome.

The docking of The Legion ship at Fort Rozz alters its orbital path by .003 AUs.

Brainiac-5 asks about utilizing a cold fusion optical transreceiver at one point, only to be informed that the 21st century does not have cold fusion.

Winn uses the Voyager 2 satellite to send a signal to The Legion ship when their traditional broadcast channels fail.


Dialogue Triumphs

Ruby: C'mon, Mom! Let me stay with Alex! At the Christmas party, she promised to teach me how to punch without breaking my thumb!
(Samanatha smirks at Alex.)
Alex: Full disclosure. I am not a good babysitter.
Kara: Yeah. You should listen to her, 'cause one time she made me watch 'The Shining' and I had nightmares for weeks!
Alex: Umm, okay. She was 15!
Kara: So?!
Alex: Soooo...  you were the one who wanted to watch it!

(Psi is escorted into the DEO Situation Room by two armed guards.)
Supergirl: Thanks for agreeing to join us.
Psi: Reign is going after people like me. I don't want to get killed by that psycho when I finally break out of this place.
(Psi looks at Livewire.)
Psi: Do you have a problem?
Livewire: 99, but you ain't one.

Livewire: Nice tiara.
Psi: Why don't you zap it off me and I'll show you what I can do? It would be such a delicious pleasure to bring you to your knees and watch you writhe in pain.
Livewire (laughing) Do you always talk like that?
Psi: At least I don't sound like an illiterate mean girl.
Livewire: Okay, Regina George.

Livewire: You think you're going to get through to Reign?
Supergirl: I got through to you. There must be something good in you that I could trust to come with me.
Livewire: I came with you because there's a maniac on the loose and I want to take her down! If you think I wouldn't fry you right now-
Supergirl: So do it.
(Supergirl just stares Livewire down, as Livewire seems to consider it but then sighs.)

Jindah Kol Rozz: Kara Zor-El. Daughter of Alura.
Supergirl: Jindah Kol Rozz?
Jindah Kol Rozz: You know I am and yet you ask. Uncertainty will be your doom - not green stone.
Supergirl: I came to ask-
Jindah Kol Rozz: I know why you came. The Phantom Zone dampened my powers but not The Sight. Misery of your mother's design. But you'll be with her soon.
Supergirl: Can you tell me about Reign?
Jindah Kol Rozz: She will destroy you.
Supergirl: I've heard otherwise.
Jindah Kol Rozz: You know nothing of the nature of destruction. You are a child living in light. But there is darkness in all things. In every soul you know. Who will it take?
Supergirl: No one. If I have anything to say about it.
Jindah Kol Rozz: Oh.... you fly too close to the sun. I have languished in pain for time beyond reason because of you, The Children of Light. But your pretty skin will soon be brittle scales in Hellfire when the others awake and unite beneath the standard of Reign!

Mon-El: You might not have gotten through to Reign, but Livewire? She was as bad as they come. And you got through to her. You gave her something to fight for. To sacrifice for. You changed her heart for the better, and that's, I mean - that's amazing. And you did that without the yellow sun. That was all you.


Continuity

Jindah Kol Rozz is a Kryptonian priestess whose house symbol is the same as that worn by Reign.

Fort Rozz was named after Jindah Kol Rozz, who was also incarcerated there.

Jindah Kol Rozz never left Fort Rozz during the time it was crashed on Earth and was on-board  when Kara threw the fortress into space in 120, 

Fort Rozz came to orbit a star named AZ336XB12. It is a blue star that emits omicron radiation.

Saturn Girl uses the British pronunciation of the letter Z - "Zed".

Livewire was last seen in 210. She began working as a waitress under the alias Roseanne after Reign started killing criminals.

Psi was last seen in 302. Kara refers to the events of the episode and how she beat J'onn in a psychic duel.

Livewire has no memory of Winn from their time working togehter at CatCo. She does, however, remember Mon-El (aka Cosplay) saving her life in 210.

Maggie sends Alex a text asking her to send her passport, which she left in their old apartment.

Maggie's new mailing address is 709 Haiston St., National City, 44333.

Ruby was cyber-bullied by a girl named Erika Morrison for not letting her copy off her homework. Alex puts the fear of God (or the FBI) into her.

Jindah Kol Rozz was apparently a psychic on Krypton, but being trapped in The Phantom Zone weakened her powers save for her ability to see the future. She is able to manifest a black fog that inspires visions of terror.

Jindah Kol Rozz describes The Worldkillers as Power, Pestilence and Purity.

Reign reveals that unlike most Kryptonians her powers are not dependent on a yellow sun.

Livewire takes a heat-vision blast for Supergirl and dies.

Psi attacks Reign with a vision of her worst fear. It turns out to be Ruby, falling into darkness, screaming that someone is taking her away from her mom. The attack momentarily causes Samantha to take control again, long enough to look panicked and recognize Supergirl before changing back into Reign.

Psi is given a better room with a window as a reward for her help.

Sam has no memory of having said she had to take a trip for work when she left Ruby with Alex. Based on her phone, she realizes that she has lost time. She tells Alex this has happened several times and she thinks something is wrong with her.

Mon-El says that he has had to lead people into battle and lost them during his time in The Legion.

The episode ends with a woman named Julia being crushed between two cars and surviving. Apparently she is the second Worldkiller.


Location

Fort Rozz, currently in orbit around AZ336XB12.


Untelevised Adventures

Livewire apparently worked with a number of criminals over the past year since her escape, including some of the criminals killed by Reign.

Mon-El led several Legion missions where people died.


The Fridge Factor

Averted hard, as an all-women team is sent to save the day.


The Kryptonite Factor

Brainiac-5 is nerfed by his lack of knowledge regarding the 21st century so that Winn can be built up as useful.


The Bottom Line

A decent enough episode, though the death of Livewire seems to serve no real purpose and the Alex/Ruby bonding subplot, cute as it is, seems like filler. Still, there does seem to be some effort and shifting Psi into the more friendly character she was in the original comics and while this episode may be filler it isn't as painful to watch as some of Supergirl's other slower episodes.