By Milan Polk ’16

CBS’ “Supergirl” premiered on October 26 with fairly positive reviews, and since then the show has definitely shown promise. Amid the current wave of superhero movies and television shows, “Supergirl” gives viewers the fresh feminine face that television needed.

In the show, Melissa Benoist plays Kara Zor-El, or Supergirl, Superman’s cousin. At age 13, she was sent to protect him in his infancy, but a mishap in her space travel caused her to get sucked into a vortex and land on Earth approximately 20 years later, still at 13 years old. With Superman’s help, she is adopted by a family who raises her into the optimistic 24 year old audiences meet at the beginning of the show. However, instead of shooting up into the sky and saving innocent civilians from all sorts of peril, Kara is instead the dutiful assistant to a media mogul and decides to act normal, refusing to use her powers. Of course, this plan does not work out for her.

After saving her adopted sister from a suspicious plane malfunction, Kara realizes her true potential. She faces both internal and external forces that get in her way, but she keeps a hopeful face the whole time. Her resilience and kindness makes her instantly likable.

Unfortunately, she is constantly being compared to her masculine counterpart despite living in a completely different city that harbors a much more negative attitude towards superheroes. Although the second episode shifts focus away from the recognizable man, it continues to reference him and almost overshadows everything Kara accomplishes. Because she is held to the same standard as Superman, Kara is expected to know exactly what to do and do it without casualties or lasting damage but she does make mistakes, because of the fact that she is a superhero in training. The repeated references and comparisons make the show seem more like a spin-off to the beloved series “Smallville” (2001), which depicted a young Clark Kent in similar situations as Supergirl.

However, the show is its own separate entity in how it rightfully deals with feminism and the somewhat demeaning moniker of Supergirl instead of Superwoman, and has Kara notably face her battles with the aid of friends and family instead of on her own, unlike Superman. Because she was older when she left her now destroyed home planet of Krypton, Kara’s memories also play a key role in her heroism, whether it means remembering the history of an alien species or just reflecting on the time she spent with her biological parents and family.

With constant action and interesting plot twists, surprising appearances, and even a cameo from the famed hero himself, “Supergirl” is an enticing watch for all audiences interested in a well-made superhero show that contains a strong, relatable and empowering woman as the primary character.