Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:24:55 — 49.8MB) | Embed
[sc:mstop]
How often it feels like the one day we are without something is the day we need it the most? Not long ago, the battery in my car died… So I worked from home while my wonderful dad went out and got me a new battery and replaced it! My point is, the one day my car doesn’t start is also the day several people who do not have cars ask me if I’m available to give them a lift. It’s the subtle ironies in life that keep it interesting, right? 
And the one day that Kara says, “The world can go without Supergirl for one day….” is the day the world ends up needing her the most.
In this installment of the Maid of Steel podcast, Karen and I (Emilee) discuss season 1 episode 7, “Human for a Day.” The episode originally aired on December 7, 2015. A guest star of note was the man under the hood of Jemm, Charles Halford, whom Constantine fans, like Karen, will recognize as Chas Chandler! We really enjoyed the use of this obscure D.C. Comics character, and hope you did too!
Earthquakes and Earthlings
The day earthquakes hit National City is the day Supergril is without her powers. As Karen and I discuss on the podcast, we were both very captured by the story in this episode. It was more the blaring hand-waving we needed to do that we didn’t really enjoy! But story-wise, Kara having to experience life as an honest earthling and learn how to be a hero in spite of her impotence, that was all very excellent.
As a huge Smallville fan, I reflected on all the times Clark lost his powers on that show and compared it to how Kara dealt with it here on Supergirl. Unless I’m mistaken, I don’t believe Clark ever “blew out” his powers due to expenditure, but he did find himself frustratingly without them on several occasions. Each situation had its own bundle of issues he couldn’t address through the normal means. I liked those episodes because the writers didn’t make his vulnerability the antagonist, they actually needed him to step up and be a hero in spite of his vulnerability. Although we didn’t get that from Kara immediately, it did eventually happen. Kara transformed the antagonist in this episode from her own vulnerability into the earthquake, and the repercussions of it, in order to make this a stellar episode.
In both shows, the heroes eventually find a means to talk their way out of a jam they used to punch their way out of. What is so interesting to me, and perhaps a little disappointing, is that for a woman (Kara) who has such a natural inclination to help people, she starts off by seeming to think that her only contribution to the world is through the use of her powers. She enters this episode feeling heartbroken and confused over the loss of her powers, and so she’s blinded by the fact that there is plenty a normal human can do. Thus, her vulnerability is the antagonist. I kind of wish that they’d had Kara Danvers, and not an inert Supergirl, stop that robbery… because it feels like Kara needed the encouragement, not Supergirl. When Supergirl is Supergirl, she’s on point and knows her mission. But what about the girl behind the superhero?
And it is this reason, and only this reason, that I agree with the words Maxwell Lord said on the broadcast. I don’t agree with his methods or the way he implements his ideas, but I do believe that when we idolize people (or idolize certain qualities that we possess), who are literally only human, there is a greater tendency for the let-down to change our perspective of the world in a more fundamental way. It’s not wrong to look up to people or to use people as role models, but in the end, everyone makes mistakes and we must account for that. Otherwise we do render ourselves incapable of making good choices. Our understanding and competence is lopsided and dependent, imbalanced.
But of course, Maxwell Lord will use every opportunity to push his own agenda forward, and he’s preying on the fear and vulnerability of National City in order to do so in this episode. Somehow, he managed to turn the blame of a man’s death from the natural disaster onto Supergirl by merely associating the absence of their heroine with that situation. He knew enough about anatomy and medicine to diagnose the man’s problems, but he had no means of saving her. Interesting. It’s almost like he wanted that to happen.
Cougar’s Comic Corner
This is a week of homework you do not want to miss out on! Karen guarantees that if you enjoy the shows encompassing the DC Universe of television, you are going to like this comic.
[[[The New Frontier]]] us a multi-award 6-issue series and tells the origin stories for several popular characters and gives a well-rounded picture of the Justice League. Later, after its release, The New Frontier is identified as an Earth-21 story.
Check it out and report back! What did you think?
Digital First: The Supergirl Edition
An announcement was made that sometime next year, a Supergirl comic will be hitting the digital comic platforms! This comic will tie directly into the show, as these reports claim, but any other news regarding the content or its release have not been revealed. To learn more or to preorder, please check out [[[Supergirl: Digital First Vol. 1]]] on Amazon!
Next Week
The winter f— episode of which there will be no more until January is next week! “Hostile Takeover” will air on December 14.
Feedback
Get in touch! We’d love to hear thoughts and reactions every week. Please use our feedback page to write an email, upload an audio file, or use the speak pipe widget! If you are reading this on our website at goldenspiralmedia.com, you can also use the links on this page to find us on Twitter or Facebook.
[sc:ms]
Regarding “Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.”, still sad about Rosalind.
This is my favorite comment regarding the scene with Jemm, Hank, and Alex – “Claymores R Us @cloneposter “your true identity…” Alex perks up “as a coward.” Alex is disappointed. #Supergirl”. I agree it would have been interesting to see Kara feeling the effects of a stubbed toe or paper cut. All the Maxwell-Kara debates have been good so far. No worries on the name mistake.
I agree with Mike regarding Red Tornado. The Alex versus Jemm fight sequence was great. I understand it is a lot of make-up for the actor and it’s cheaper cost wise, but I’d love to see Jonn as Jonn at least a few more times; as you stressed in this podcast – that was a great costume. Who would be your picks for “Henshaw”‘s replacement if Jonn did leave for the Justice League or to hide out should someone come hunting him? I agree with Emilee, I thought the Supergirl suit was usually under Kara’s clothes now for quick changes; I get where you’re coming from Karen and I know Supergirl is fast, but still it seems like a matter of convenience. Like Emilee I’m basing this off the roof shot in the opening credits; unless shown otherwise, such as her flying off in her clothes where you can clearly tell the suit isn’t on and arriving in the Supergirl suit or having someone hand it to her, I’m assuming Kara is usually wearing it.
The only response for the question of “Where is the cape?” I can come up with is maybe it’s tucked inside the Supergirl suit so it’s flat against her back and folded slightly to compensate for the length so her clothes on top still appear unruffled and she just pulls it out during the change. I realize there’s still issues with this situation such as “Wouldn’t Kara get hot with all those layers?”, but it’s the best I can come up with outside of saying she rushes home to change first each time or maybe she has it stuffed in an object she carries around like Wally with his Flash suits (his object being a ring). Given how short the skirt is she could fold it up around her waist and hide it in the loose fabric of her shirts then smooth it down when she’s changing; if she’s wearing a pants/long sleeve shirt combo – shirt off, cape out, pants and skirt down, if it’s pants/shorts with a t-shirt combo – possibly fly home, take it out of a pocket, roll down any folded material, if it’s a sun dress type outfit – fly home or take it out if a pocket, and if it’s a long sleeve dress – the suit is already to go. Reading this I realize it’s a rather long discussion about a relatively unimportant factor, but I feel you two will understand it and I’ll just end it by saying I love having people who will understand geek-outs over small details so thanks!
I loved the outtro music, it was very “Adventures Of Lois & Clark”.
Regarding some comments from the blog post, “I kind of wish that they’d had Kara Danvers, and not an inert Supergirl, stop that robbery because it feels like Kara needed the encouragement, not Supergirl.” – while I can understand your jest, that’s the round about – Kara is Supergirl so she did stop the robbery she was just wearing different clothes at the time. While the suit could have got her shot, I feel it helped her more than hurt her because it got the robber’s attention where as had she walked in in her street clothes as it were he might have shot her anyways since he doesn’t fear her abilities and then she couldn’t give her speech or he could have chose to ignore it because he might think “What do you know?”; true he could think that about Supergirl, but his potential fear of her had him listening more to her than to ordinary looking Kara. I don’t know if that helps to explain the scene more, but it’s a theory.
“But what about the girl behind the superhero?” – to me Kara is Kara, in the suit or out if it she’s not acting differently; again the robber’s response might have been different, but I don’t think Kara’s would have.
“But of course, Maxwell Lord will use every opportunity to push his own agenda forward, and he’s preying on the fear and vulnerability of National City in order to do so in this episode.” – agreed.
“He knew enough about anatomy and medicine to diagnose the man’s problems, but he had no means of saving him. Interesting. It’s almost like he wanted that to happen.” – While it is a little shady, I hesitate to say Max let the guy die because there is s bit of gray to the situation in he didn’t have the tools to really save him, but it does work either way for him; with the guy dying he can create dislike for Supergirl, but had he saved him it would have created like for him so Max wasn’t losing in that scene.
I look forward to the graphic novel of the new “Supergirl” comic; I don’t mind digital as it saves storage, but I lobe the feel of a solid copy too. I’m cautiously super excited for next week’s episode because it was written by the same duo who did “Livewire” and that’s one of my favorite episodes so far.