Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 12 - Bizarro

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


Plot

Kara's nervous about her first date with Adam Foster. But her real test of courage this week will come in the form of a mysterious evil twin, who challenges Supergirl's reputation as a champion of good as she begins causing trouble around National City. Meanwhile, J'onn must deal with the consequences of his White Martian prisoner and ponder the threat of their invading the Earth.


Influences

The Bizarrogirl arc of Sterling Gates' run on Supergirl and the Terror Incognita arc of Mark Waid's run on JLA.


Goofs

We're told Maxwell Lord began abducting Jane Does two years ago. Granting that Lord is the kind of sleaze who would do that sort of thing for all manner of experiments, how could he have been abducting women the same size and hair-color as Kara for the past two years when she has only been Supergirl for a few months?

Why did Maxwell Lord give Bizarro Girl a new costume with darker colors and a backward-S after she's changed by the exposure to Kryptonite? It's stylish, sure, but what's the point?

How the heck did James survive Bizarro's flame breath after trying to kick-activate his signal watch?


Performances

While his performance is hardly subtle, Peter Facinelli does a fine job of making Maxwell Lord the kind of smug. creepy villain you love to hate in this episode.

It;s a quick moment, but the scene between Winn and James discussing their problems is a nice bit of work from both Mehcad Brooks and Jeremy Jordan. We haven't gotten much interaction between James and Winn except as adversaries so it's gratifying to get a scene of the two as equals.

The scene between Kara and Bizarro at the end is deeply moving.


Artistry

The fight sequences between the two Supergirls are handled well and the direction does a good job of disguising the stunt doubles needed for Melissa Benoist to fight herself.

The script does a fine job of suggesting it will be Alex, not James, who will wind up being the target of a revenge-crazed Bizarro. So it's all the more surprising when Bizarro kidnaps James.


Super Trivia

The concept of the Bizarro duplicates first appeared in Superboy #68. In this story, a scientist developed a duplication ray which accidentally created an impure clone of Superboy. The clone was as noble as Superboy, but shunned by all the people of Smallville due to his ugly appearance, except for one blind girl. The story was intended as a tribute to Frankenstein.

Years later, Lex Luthor - having learned of this incident - rebuilt the duplication ray to create a clone of Superman he could manipulate. It turned out the Bizarro clone was as noble as Superman, but his efforts to do good often caused harm instead. Eventually, Bizarro left Earth along with a Bizarro clone of Lois Lane, and used the raygun to create a Bizarro world on which they could live.

In most modern retellings of the Superman legend (post-Crisis and Superman: The Animated Series, in particular) Bizarro clones are the result of Lex Luthor's failed attempts to clone Superman. The clones have varied in temperament, with most fitting the earlier mold of easily manipulated but basically noble monster.

The Bizzaro Supergirl in this episode fits the same mold, being a creation of Maxwell Lord's super-science who is manipulated into fighting Supergirl.

In the post-Crisis DC Universe, one Bizarro traveled into space and built a cube-shaped world near a blue sun. The blue sun gave him the power of Bizarro-Vision, which allowed him to create new Bizarros.  One of the Bizarros he created was a Bizarro Supergirl, whom he later sent to Earth in a rocket to keep her safe.  This led to the Bizaro Supergirl running amok on Earth, as seen in Sterling Gates run on Supergirl.

The Bizarro duplicates in the comics have the equivalent yet opposite powers of their regular Kryptonian counterparts, such as Flame Breath instead of Ice Breath or Freeze Vision instead of Heat Vision. This is also true of the DCTVU version of Bizarro.

Bizarros also react differently to Kryptonite than regular Kryptonians, with the common Green Kryptonite isotope making Bizarros stronger rather than weakening then. Bizzaros are made weak in the presence of Blue Kryptonite, which is harmless to regular Kryptonians.

Though never named as such, the reversed-Kryptonite J'onn devises in this episode glows blue, in reference to the Blue Kryptonite of the comics.


Technobabble

J'onn says the Jane Done he examined at Lord Technologies was comatose and her cerebral cortex function was practically non-existent.

Alex says the evil Supergirl can't be the result of cloning because even if someone had gotten a hold of her DNA, the clone would still be an embryo. This suggests there is no scientific way to accelerate a clone's growth in the DCTVU - at least not with the technology known to the DEO.

Maxwell Lord used an elementary genetic synthesis to create Bizarro. He isolated Supergirl's genome and then flooded the Jane Doe with a concentrated infusion of DNA. He got Supergirl's DNA from the arm of the Red Tornado, which Alex gave him in 106.

J'onn suggests that they can reverse engineer the chemical compound of the DEO's synthetic Kryptonite, theorizing that if regular Kryptonite makes Bizarro stronger,reversing its ionic charge should have an oppositional effect.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Watching footage of the evil Supergirl in action)
J'onn: (To Kara) Not exactly one for your "greatest hits" reel.
Alex: I sent a team to scan the area. No signs of extra-terrestrial activity, so we can probably rule out an alien shape-shifter. (looking at J'onn) Unless there's something you're not telling us?
J'onn: The skirt was surprisingly comfortable, but no.

Kara: She's as strong as me. She flies like me. She fights like me. Except for the fact that she talks like Cookie Monster, she is exactly like me!

Cat: You two have not had your first kiss yet?  Kiera, you are like a character from a Jane Austen Novel. (glancing up at a screen) Bizarro.
Kara:  (sputtering) That's not that weird!  I mean, we've only been out a couple of times!
Cat: No. I named HER Bizarro.

Maxwell Lord: I ordered you to kill Supergirl.
Bizarro: You say... Supergirl bad. But Supergirl help people.... Supergirl not bad.

Alex: He made the Bizarro you.
J'onn: Is that what we're calling it?!
Kara: Another CatCo trademark.

James: How do you feel about drowning our sorrows?
(James begins pouring two drinks from a bottle of whiskey.)
Winn: I know what my sorrows are. What, uh... what sorrows exactly do you have, sir?
James: (chuckles) Bottoms up.
Winn: Yeah.
(The two clink glasses and drink. After taking a sip, Winn stares at James.)
Winn: What are you doing, man?
James: Having a drink with a friend.
Winn: No! With Kara.
James: Huh?
Winn: Why - why did you tell her that you were happy about her and Adam?
James: Because she likes him. And that's what she wants me to say, man. C'mon.
Winn: No!  Look, dude... Dude, I've been stuck in the friend zone so long that I'm just thinking about buying some investment property here. But you? Man, you could be with her and you know it. Literally, all you have to do is say the word. So why don't you?
James: Winn. I'm in a relationship.
Winn:  Look, dude, I know that you care about Lucy. You don't have to convince me. I get it. But nobody wants to be in a relationship with somebody who wants to be with somebody else.
(Winn downs the rest of his drink and sits back down at his desk as James rises, looking thoughtful.)
James: Good talk.
Winn: Yeah.
(James gets up and starts to walk off with the bottle of whiskey)
Winn: Leave the bottle.
(James sighs and puts the bottle on Winn's desk.)

J'onn: We're going to put her under. The way she was when I first saw her. 

Kara: She won't feel any pain, will she?

J'onn: She won't feel anything.
Kara: We have to try and help her.
J'onn: We will.
(Kara takes Bizarro's hand)

Kara: I'm going to hold your hand until you fall asleep, okay?
Bizzaro: Afraid!
Kara: I know. I once went to sleep for a long time too. I was afraid. But when I woke up, I wasn't alone. You're not going to be alone either.

Bizarro: Thank. You. Kara. 

Continuity

Maxwell Lord began "disappearing" Jane Does over two years earlier. Seven women have disappeared in that time, being transferred Lord's private facility - Prometheus Genetics.  He began working on the woman who became Bizarro three months ago.

J'onn refers to his invasion of Lord Technologies in 110 and the Jane Doe he examined there.

Kara's go-to coffee order is a spiced pumpkin latee with extra foam and a little cinnamon sprinkled on the top.

J'onn refers to The Red Tornado from 106 and how it was programmed to mimic Kara's powers.

Cat Grant dubs the evil Supergirl "Bizarro".

The DEO does not have legal authority to arrest people.

Alex and Kara determine that Maxwell Lord knows Kara's secret identity and about their relationship, but decide to keep this information secret from J'onn.

Maxwell Lord is being held indefinitely in DEO Cell 19 at episode's end.


The Fridge Factor

It seems remarkably foolish for Alex to insist on keeping Maxwell Lord's knowledge of Kara's secret identity a secret from J'onn.  Forget all the problems that keeping secrets from one another has caused their team before - HE'S A FREAKING TELEPATH AND A DAMN GOOD DETECTIVE!


The Bottom Line

A welcome return to form after last week. Oddly, the only bits that don't work are Kara's romance with Adam but that's mainly because it's clear that subplot is a distraction from the main meat of the episode.  Everything else is spot on.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 11 - Strange Visitor From Another Planet

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




Plot

Kara must help J'onn deal with his painful past and stop an intergalactic incident when a White Martian (whose race destroyed the Green Martian race save for J'onn) takes anti-alien politician Miranda Crane hostage. Meanwhile, Cat's estranged son arrives in National City after Kara sends him a letter claiming that Cat wants to get to know him.


Influences

The JLA comics of Grant Morrison and Howard Porter (created The White Martians), The Martian Manhunter comics of John Ostrander (destruction of Martian race following a civil war) and the Justice League animated series (White Martians being an underground race who successfully killed off the Green Martians).


Goofs

How is it possible for Miranda Crane to be building a reputation on an anti-alien platform when the existence of aliens - apart from Superman and Supergirl - is meant to be a closely guarded secret, at least according to Hank Henshaw in The Pilot, where he said the mission of the DEO was to "cover up the existence of aliens on Earth"?


Performances

David Harewood turns in a fantastic performance as J'onn, particularly in the scenes where he talks about the loss of his family. If there's any justice in this world, he'll be freed up to star in a Martian Manhunter spin-off next season.


Artistry

The imagery of the Martian genocide are visually striking and disturbing, despite their briefness. The design of the White Martian is also quite good, though it's obviously used sparingly except at night to hide the cheap quality of the CGI.


Super Trivia

The episode title is taken from the introduction to the 1952 Adventures of Superman TV show, which opened with the phrase "Yes, it’s Superman, strange visitor from another planet who came to earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men."

Blake Jenner, the actor who plays Adam Foster, is married to Supergirl's actress, Melissa Benoist.

The White Martian race was created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Howard Porter for their run on JLA. White Martians are possess the same wide range of powers as Green Martians but are more war-like in attitude and temperament.

Originally, the Martians were one race capable of asexual reproduction when exposed to fire.  The Guardians of the Universe (aka the same aliens who created The Green Lantern Corps), fearing the threat The Martians might become, altered them into two races - White and Green - and instilled a psychic fear of fire that shut down their powers whenever they were exposed to it.

Despite this, war broke out between the two Martian races.  Though suffering high losses, the Green Martian race prevailed and most of the White Martians were sent into an extra-dimensional space known as The Still Zone - apparently distinct from the more famous Phantom Zone. Most of the Green Martian race was then killed off by a psychic plague.

Curiously, The White Martians were responsible for superhuman development on Earth being stunted. White Martian scientists migrated to Earth at the dawn of humanity and isolated the so-called metagene that regulated superpowers in humans. They altered the metagene to make it more random, preventing Earthlings from developing into a race with a uniform set of enhanced abilities like the Martians or Kryptonians.

J'onn says that The White Martians were responsible for exterminating his race. The background given here somewhat resembles J'onn's origin story in the Justice League animated series, where J'onn was the sole survivor of another race's attempt to destroy the Green Martians.

Justice League's opening episode, Secret Origins, was loosely based on Grant Morrison's opening arc for JLA, with a race of alien shapeshifters invading Earth and the world's finest heroes joining together to repel it. The aliens in the cartoon were not named as White Martians, but were instead an unspecified parasite race who mimicked the abilities of species they conquered. Still, they absorbed the Martians powers and were depicted as a race that dwelled underground - much like the White Martians of Supergirl.

J'onn says that he had two daughters - K'hym and Tanya. In the comics, J'onn only had one daughter, though her name was also K'hym.  In the Justice League animated series, J'onn had two children whose names and genders were never specified.


Technobabble

The White Martians used advanced technology, including something called fire-traps, to lay waste to the Green Martians.

J'onn can use a sample of White Martian's skin tissue to track it so long as it is in its own natural form.


Dialogue Triumphs

(After Henshaw refuses to start digging through the DEO looking for a secret alien spy.)
Senator Crane: Fine. Let a mole run wild in here, just like you let a White Martian run wild in the street. But when you're brought down from the inside, remember this - you were warned.
(One Scene Later, as Senator Crane continues pushing)
Senator Crane: It's in your best interest to find this alien interloper as quickly as possible. Your entire operation's been compromised.
Henshaw: There are no hidden aliens here.
Senator Crane: Are you absolutely sure of that, Director Henshaw?
Henshaw: (regarding Senator Crane evenly) I wish I could say yes... but I never said you were attacked by a White Martian.

J'onn: We'd known war. But not like this. White Martians had been toiling underground, building weapons of death. Fire traps. Their technology overwhelmed us. There was no honor in how they fought.  They herded us into camps. I swore no matter what I would protect my family. We wuld survive. But when we got through the gates... they took the women and children. Men were forced into labor.  The others were sent to the furnace. My wife and daughters... burned! I escaped. I survived, to my great shame. I will hear my family's screams until the day I die.

Alex: Hank, you alright?
J'onn: I'm in the sewers, Danvers. Everything is just peachy.

J'onn: She's in the desert. You get Alex and get out.
Kara: I'm not leaving you alone with that thing.
J'onn: You have to. I'm done.
Kara: Done? Done with what? It has Alex. We have to stop it!
J'onn: This started because it wanted me dead. My race is gone. If I'm all that's left, let it have me.
Kara: No! This murderer does not get to win! And you don't get to give up!
J'onn: This will save lives.
Kara: We don't choose. We fight!
J'onn: Kara, I'm tired of being the last! Tired of having lived! You, of all people, know how heavy it is to survive.
Kara: I do. I ask myself every day why my mother didn't crawl into that pod with me. Now I know she felt guilty. She felt responsible for what happened on Krypton. Dying must have seemed... honorable. But dying's a lot easier than getting back up when the world's ended. You have to get up! You have to go on!
J'onn: My road is done. I'll help Alex and then join my people. Wherever they are.

Henshaw: (To Alex and Kara) My daughters were named K'hym and Tanya. It's not the same but... any man would be proud to call you his daughters.


Continuity

Winn is actively avoiding Kara since the events of 110.

Lucy Lane is now working for Cat Grant.

Senator Miranda Crane is a good personal friend of General Sam Lane and shares his opinions on aliens... at least until the end of the episode, when her opinion changes due to Supergirl's efforts to save her.

White Martians are a subterranean species of Martian, who declared war on the surface-dwelling Green Martians, conquering them with their advanced technology. They killed all of the Green Martian race, save for J'onn J'onzz who was somehow able to escape and make his way to Earth.

The reason for J'onn's reluctance to use his powers is revealed when he explains that White Martians can sense his presence whenever he uses any of his powers except for shape-shifting, through a hive mind that all Martians share.

White Martians have the same powers as Green Martians, including shape-shifting, telepathy, phasing, flight, enhanced senses and enhanced physicality.

J'onn is 317 years old.

According to the captured White Martian, there are millions of their race still alive somewhere.

J'onn's daughters were named K'hym and Tanya.

Adam Foster asks Kara out on a date.

The episode ends with another Supergirl on the news, apparently throwing a wrecked vehicle off of a freeway.

The Fridge Factor

Between trying to force a reunion between Cat and her estranged son by lying, dropping the hunt for the White Martian to help Cat out after she makes the mistake of being herself with her estranged son and dating the son of the boss who is always one bad moment away from firing her forever... Kara does not come off as the brightest lure in the tackle-box in this episode.

She fairs slightly better than Alex, however, who seems to have been taken hostage by the bad guys in half of the episodes of the series so far.


The Bottom Line

There's two different stories in this episode. Neither of them really had anything to do with Supergirl and only one of them was worth telling. The subplot involving J'onn confronting one of the race that exterminated his own makes for an effective back-door pilot for a Martian Manhunter spin-off.  Alas, most of the episode is focused on Cat Grant being a selfish, self-absorbed bitch and Kara trying to hide that fact from her son. I never thought I'd despair for an episode's lack of Winn but at least he would have been a distraction from pretending there's hidden depths or warmth to Cat Grant's character.