2ND BATMAN V SUPERMAN TRAILER: JJ'S REACTION

Black and blue. Night vs Day. God vs Man. Batman vs Superman. This is the movie I've been waiting for my entire life. Christopher Nolan gave me the perfect Batman movies. Now I'm counting on Zack Snyder to deliver a worthy follow up with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I'm one of the people that genuinely enjoyed Man of Steel. I thought it was a great re-introduction to Superman. I like that BvS is following up on the events of that film and putting Bruce Wayne directly in the conflict. It's a great way to bring Batman into the film without shoehorning him in just for the hell of it. It makes the VS in the title seem legitimate.

As I said before, I'm a sucker for a good preview. I mean, this is freaking Batman and Superman in the same movie! The trailer could've just been Ben Affleck in the Batsuit staring at the camera for 3 minutes and I'd say it was the greatest thing ever.

What's up, baby? How you doin?

The new trailer definitely gave us a better idea of what to expect from Batman v Superman. In those few minutes there is a lot to take away. This is what I noticed:

BRUCE WAYNE V SUPERMAN / BATMAN V CLARK KENT

Like I said at the beginning of my post, the trailer gives us a clear reason why Bruce would want to take on Superman. He was there the day that Superman and Zod leveled Metropolis. He knew people that were killed that day. He witnessed firsthand just how destructive an out of control Kryptonian can be. And because he has the resources, training, and steel will, Bruce will take it upon himself to stop Superman for good. On the flip side of that, Clark is not comfortable with a crazed vigilante dispersing "justice" on the streets. That goes against everything he believes in. And although Perry tells him to drop it, I have a feeling Lois's gusto will have rubbed off on Clark and he'll want to investigate this "Bat-guy." It's interesting that Clark has a reason to want to fight Batman and Bruce has a reason to fight Superman. It's not the superheroes that start the fight, it's the men behind the masks. 

SUPERMAN: FRIEND OR FOE?

That's the big question on everyone's mind when the film starts. Both trailers have showed us that not everyone trusts or even likes Superman. Given the damage done by Zod and the other Kryptonians, it's hard to blame them. Yet, Superman literally wears a symbol of hope on his chest. He's here to protect us. The trailer shows us that there are people who look to him as a savior and hero. Batman may want to fight him, but Lois and Martha still believe in Superman. Hopefully, Clark will be able to plead his case that he's on humanity's side and will fight to protect us.

THE VOICE OF REASON

Alfred Pennyworth. Loyal butler, father-figure, moral compass, all these things and more. Alfred, if written properly, is probably the best character in the Batman world. When Bruce gets a little too crazy, he can step in and talk him down. When Bruce needs a guiding hand, Alfred will stretch his arm out. The trailer shows us that Alfred is deeply concerned for Bruce. "That's how it starts. The fever. The rage. The feeling of powerless that turns good men cruel." He recognizes that Bruce's crusade against Superman can only end badly. "This man is not our enemy!" Alfred is a wonderful judge of character. He recognizes that Superman, like Bruce, is only trying to do good in the world. But then again, Bruce is nothing if not stubborn, so more than likely, Alfred's warnings will fall on deaf ears. Of course when he's resetting Bruce's bones and stitching him up, a couple of "I told you so's" will be in order ;)

YOU MUST WRITE YOUR OWN DESTINY

Ok, so I stole that line from Smallville. It's fitting though. Here we see Martha trying to encourage Clark despite the fact that the world seems to hate him. However, she's quick to remind him that he can always choose to hang up the cape. Just like with Jonathan in the first film, I feel like this moment is going to be divisive among the fans. I like to think of it as Martha reminding Clark that he is in charge of his own destiny. If he wants to be Superman, fighting the good fight, then good for him! But if he wants to call it quits, then that's his choice. After all, Clark is her only son. She'll support him no matter what. But for real . . . she should probably encourage him to keep being Superman. 

BRUCE WAYNE IS ALWAYS BATMAN

As I said, the trailer shows us that Wayne was there the day Metropolis was attacked. While everyone else is running away from the debris, Bruce runs toward it to save anyone he can. Because he's the motherfuckin' Batman! From what we know, it seems like Bruce is semi-retired as Batman. The trailer seems to imply that after the death of Robin, Bruce hung it up. This may or may not be the case in the film but it makes sense given that Clark is reporting on a "Bat-vigilante" as opposed to "the Return of Batman." But Bruce never really stops being Batman. He's a hero first and foremost. When he sees people in danger, he's going to run to help them. Again . . . because he's the motherfuckin' Batman. 

WONDER WOMAN V SUPERMAN? 

The funny thing about trailers is that they show you everything and yet nothing all at once. Lots of times dialogue is strewn together to say one thing, but when the movie comes out it's totally different. In this case, the trailer is cut together to make it look like Wonder Woman is fighting Superman. Or possibly she's fighting both Batman and Superman. Or she's fighting alongside Batman against Superman. Or all three of them are fighting together against someone else (rumor has it that Doomsday is in the film, more on that later). Either way, we've been given our first glimpse of Wonder Woman fighting in the film. The producers say she plays a very important part of the film. Perhaps she's the one that gets them to be Batman AND Superman instead of Batman VS Superman. That would be my guess. Either way, Wonder Woman is FINALLY in a DC Comics film and that's good enough for me.

BODY OF ZOD

This joke was funnier in my head. See, in Church, when you receive the Eucharist they say, "Body of Christ" not "Body of God." So I've ruined my own joke. Fuck me. Anyway, what the fuck is this guy doing in the movie? The rumor is that Lex has his body and uses it to create Doomsday. Granted, that would be fucking fantastic, but hopefully Superman learned his lesson and will take the fight out of the city this time. 

KRYPTONITE 

There it is! The big green, glowing elephant in the room. The producers were smart to keep it out of Man of Steel, opting instead for Superman to fight other Kryptonians without a handicap. Of course this time around with actual humans taking on Superman (Batman and Lex Luthor), kryptonite will have to make an appearance. I'm excited to see what Lex will do with it and where he got it from. 

NO MORE WORDS

Probably the biggest thing I took from the trailer is the fact that Batman and Superman never actually speak to each other. In fact, they barely speak in the preview at all! This could just be a coincidence, but I think it might be deliberate. It says right away that this will be a VS film and not a debate. It's not going to be 2 hours of men in capes arguing. It's going to be 2 hours of Batman and Superman beating the crap out of each other. And man oh man . . . that's what I want to see! 

Like I said, this is the movie I've waited my entire life to see. I'm so glad that it's finally happening. I know a lot of fans are skeptical but let's face it - it's freaking Batman vs Superman. If nothing else, it definitely looks like it will be a hell of an action film. Ben Affleck looks amazing as Batman and Henry Cavill looks like a Jim Lee drawing come to life. 

There they are! 

Now if you all will excuse me, I'm going to watch the trailer for the 30th time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbw248zapbI

Till next time!

JJ - The Comic Junkie! 

THE JOKER IN GOTHAM SEASON 2

The producers of Gotham have announced that season 2 will focus on the origins of the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, and the Joker. I'm not surprised by the Riddler. After all, I've spoken before how I think he'll be the big bad of season 2 (to an extent). Mr. Freeze is certainly an interesting choice. Maybe they'll show him as a loving husband to his sick wife Nora while he's body building.

Ice to see you again, Detective Gordon!

And then there's the Joker. I had a previous post how I felt that the producers should leave the Joker alone. A little mystery here and there is cool but let's not give him a name or a recognizable face. Part of the Joker's appeal is that we know very little, if anything, about his past. There have been multiple origins in some form or another. There's the Killing Joke which gives an origin for the Joker. He later claims it could be not real though. There's the 1989 Batman film, which says that he was a gangster driven mad by the chemicals Batman dropped him in. There's the recent Zero Year story which expanded the Red Hood storyline, directly tying it into Batman's origins. All of these are, as the Joker would say, "multiple choice." 

Since the producers are ignoring my blog (no matter how many times I retweet this shit!) I'm going to accept the Joker as a major character during Gotham's new season. The question now becomes who is he (or she if they really wanna fuck with us) going to be?

JEROME 

He's definitely the most likely candidate. Having already been introduced and teased as a teenage (possible) Joker, we'll definitely be seeing more Jerome. Coming from a circus family, he couldn't take his mother's shall we say, promiscuous nature any more and killed her. In one scene, he proved to the audience that he was a more than a little crazy and could one day put on the purple pants. I think it would be cool to see him come back and really mess with the GCPD and really pull some major strings. The Joker is a very manipulative and brilliant man. Seeing Jerome get under Gordon or Bullock's skin would be really exciting and could make for a total mind fuck of an episode or two. 

RETURN OF THE RED HOOD 

One of my favorite episodes of the first season featured the origins (so to speak) of the Red Hood Gang. In the episode, one member of the gang wears a red hood and claims that it gives him extra confidence and luck. During the episode, one by the one the gang kills each other off until they've all been killed. The episode ends with a young boy finding the Hood and pretending to shoot at the police. One of the reasons I love this episode so much is that whoever wears the Red Hood embodies some aspect of the Joker's personality. It's almost as if the Hood is already gifted (or cursed depending on how you look at it). It would be pretty awesome if whoever is wearing the Hood breaks Jerome out of prison and he steals the Hood for himself. 

JACK NAPIER

Maybe Gotham will totally shock us and go a totally different route with a new Joker identity. Well, not new per se, but one that has not been seen in a long time. With the Penguin claiming to be the "King of Gotham" it stands to reason that someone would rise up to challenge him. Because that's what mobsters do. They challenge each other. Plus, Napier is a character that we haven't seen since the original Batman film. He was briefly mentioned in one episode of Batman: the Animated Series but other than that, he's never been used. Plus the name Jack Napier would immediately get fans excited and intrigued. Plus, it would cause more suspicion and mystery to which character was actually going to become the Joker or not. 

MELVIN WHITE

Briefly mentioned in The Dark Knight, Melvin White was the name that Bruce and Alfred found while trying to find the Joker. It was never stated that this was the Joker's true identity or even a known alias. I think it was the name of one of Joker's goons. However, it was used to track down the Joker, and therefore I think it gives a link to him (kinda). Regardless, it would still be cool if the name Melvin White appeared during season 2 of Gotham. Like with my Napier suggestion, it would raise the eyebrows of die hard fans and set the internet on fire with speculation. 

A TOTAL MYSTERY 

Maybe the whole thing is a just a fun cat and mouse game that the producers are playing with the fans. Maybe the Joker is all of the above or none of the above. Maybe he's a brand new character that we didn't see coming. Maybe he's just gonna show up in all his Clown Prince of Crime gloriousness. This would be my vote (if I had a say). I'd like us to never really find out who the Joker is but we have multiple candidates to choose from. There have been a few comedians in Penguin's nightclub. Maybe one of them falls into hard times and picks up a mysterious Red Hood.

 Yo, this dude looks fuckin crazy!

For all we know, the producers are going to spend the whole season making us dig for clues and make us play detective. That would be pretty exciting actually. I'm not sure exactly what route Gotham will take next season, but I'm sure it's going to be interesting! 

Till Next Time!

JJ - The Comic Junkie! 

BATMAN FOREVER: 20 YEARS LATER - A COMIC JUNKIE'S RETROSPECTIVE

Batman Forever. For most fans it's either love it or hate it. Maybe both. But there's no denying that it was something special when it was released. This was at a time when big budget movies weren't a weekly summer occurrence. Big budget movies were like events. I remember the first time I heard of this movie I was in Washington DC with my family on vacation. We were in a shop and I found this poster:

Nowadays, when I hear about a new Batman film it's from www.superherohype.com, www.newsarama.com, or www.batman-on-film.com (usually all of the above cuz I check those sites daily). Back then, it was a random poster my dad bought me while on vacation. I remember waiting for the train and seeing the poster there too. We all talked about the different characters and what was going to happen in the movie. I don't think I ever actually saw a preview. I just saw TV commercials, posters, and action figures. Remember how I said I had a ton of Batman Begins stuff in 2005? Yeah well . . . it was worse when I was a little kid in 1995. Haha . . . good times . . .

I loved this fucking toy

I want to share with you the things that I think still hold up about Batman Forever. Some of you may have written it off after the Batman and Robin fiasco (and please read my blog for further clarification on that) but the film is actually pretty well done. Yes there are some weak parts, but the truth is that the movie was actually pretty deep and interesting. It explored the Bruce Wayne character in a way the previous films did not and gave us a great origin for Robin. So without further ado here we go:

VAL KILMER AS BRUCE WAYNE / BATMAN

It's incredibly frustrating that Kilmer only had one shot at being Batman. He's a great actor and his take was very good. He might have had a lackluster script but he still pulled off a wonderful Bruce Wayne. The scene where he has his first flashback to his parent's murder is really great. "I killed them." It's a great line that says a lot about Wayne's character. He takes on the responsibility and guilt of Gotham City. Any crime he can't prevent haunts him. Plus the dude was buff! He looked like he actually hit the gym before filming started. Rumor has it that he and Joel Schumacher didn't get along and that's why he wasn't in Batman and Robin. I don't know, but I watch the film now and love Kilmer's performance. 

THE SECRET ORIGIN OF ROBIN

It's a shame that Chris O'Donnell didn't get more screen time as Robin. He had a great performance as Dick Grayson. He was angry, vengeful, but willing to learn from Bruce to be a hero. You can see his progression from angry young man to hero by the end of the film. Despite it's cheesiness, the scene where he steals the Batmobile is pretty cool. When he fights that (weird) neon gang and then tries to beat up Batman is fantastic. It shows just how angry he really is. When he suits up, it's iconic and awesome. He gives a great performance and I really looked forward to him interacting with Batman in a sequel . . . Hey it was great while it lasted. 

STUDYING BATMAN'S PSYCHOLOGY

The main reason for having the love interest in this film be a psychologist is to explore Bruce Wayne's psyche. And having her be played by 90's era Nicole Kidman is just . . . It's just great. The scenes between Bruce and Chase are really well done. You learn a lot about Bruce's past and the guilt he has for his parent's death. As I said before, this film did a great job of exploring Wayne's origins and well as Grayson's. Kidman's performance is a little over the top but she still does the part well. She's fascinated by Batman and later by Bruce due to his traumatic past. It works well in the movie. 

JIM CARREY AS THE RIDDLER

 Jim Carrey killed it as the Riddler. I mean yeah, the performance is pretty much 90's era Jim Carrey but there are some truly creepy moments. The idea of him being obsessed with Bruce Wayne and then trying to replicate his success is really well done. He gets a Bruce Wayne haircut, a fake mole like Kilmer has, and wears glasses when Bruce puts on his glasses at the Ritz Gotham. The first scene with him is brilliant. I love his line, "You were supposed to understand. I'll make you understand." You see the transformation from lowly tech at Wayne Enterprises to the Riddler. Carrey gives us a somewhat sympathetic villain due to his delusions and the fact that he hates Bruce's "ignorance" toward his work. I think Carrey was great as the Riddler. He was evil, cunning, brilliant, and of course funny. Like I said, some scenes are a bit ridiculous (it was Jim Carrey on the rise after all) but he still stole the show as Batman's smartest adversary. Despite their feud in real life, he had great chemistry with Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face. The characters seemed to fit together well and were fun to watch. 

This film will always hold a special place in my heart. I showed it to my nephew recently and he fell in love with it. It's a great way to get kids into Batman. He hadn't quite reached the super-campiness of Batman and Robin and the nipples are barely visible. 

They are however, still there . . .

Happy 20th Birthday Batman Forever! I will always love you!

Till Next Time!

JJ - The Comic Junkie! 

BATMAN BEGINS: 10 YEARS LATER - A COMIC JUNKIE'S RETROSPECTIVE

I will never forget the hype for Batman Begins. The movie was sold on the idea that it was going to be a completely different Batman film than we had seen before. Many were skeptical. Some were excited. Me? I KNEW we were in for a treat. Batman has always been my favorite character in any medium. I like the idea of a man shrouded in darkness but he brings hope and inspires courage to the world around him. I loved the original films growing up and Batman: the Animated Series. Before this movie came out the new cartoon was The Batman. Despite it being a little campier than the original series I still enjoyed it. However, there's something about seeing Batman on the big screen that gets me more excited than anything in the entire world.

My makeshift Batman costume from New York Comic Con 2014

Way back in 2005 there was no YouTube, the internet was still mostly dial up (at least in my house), and very few reliable comic book sites. My source for all news regarding Batman pretty much came from batman-on-film.com. The guy who runs that site, Jett, kept his information strictly to official stuff and non-spoilers. I checked his site every single day from when Christopher Nolan was announced as director, to the casting, filming progress, official press releases, and finally the film's release. I was so excited for this movie. The summer of 2005 was going to be incredible. And man oh man . . . I was not disappointed

I've never told anyone this but after the film I went home and cried a little. It was the perfect Batman movie. Better than that, it was the perfect Bruce Wayne story. We got to see Bruce's motivation, his anger, his fears, his hopes, and his demons. Villains like the Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul (two of my favorites) finally got to make their live action debut. The casting was pitch perfect. Gary Oldman was perfect as Gordon (which shocked the hell out of me). Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox was great and added legitimacy to a previously underused and, frankly, underwhelming character. Liam Neeson as Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul was exactly as he should have been. Fatherly, supportive, and then, once betrayed, evil as hell! I mean, I could go on and on about this film and how perfect it is. 

And then there's the man himself - Christian Bale. He was/is Bruce Wayne to me. I mean he nailed it. From the young, angry Bruce to the older, more mature Wayne that became the Dark Knight. People get all up in arms about the voice but the performance was pitch perfect. Ben Affleck has a tough act to follow. 

Argo fuck yourself. I'm Batman now!

Anything and everything Batman Begins related I gobbled up that summer. Action figures, posters, magazines, you name it, I either owned it or coveted thy neighbor that owned it . . . Ok so it wasn't that bad! But still . . . I had a lot of Batman Begins stuff.

I saw the film 5 times in the movie theater. Every time I loved it more than the last. I've always said that the film has a great pace. It's equal parts exciting and interesting. Nolan brought his indie-film sensibilities to a big budget blockbuster and it paid off in spades. Batman Begins now serves as the template for how to do a successful superhero film. 10 years later and the film still stands up. It started one of the greatest film trilogies of all time and will always have a special place in my heart. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to watch it for the 40th time . . . 

Till Next Time!

JJ - The Comic Junkie! 

BATMAN & ROBIN - SERIOUSLY GUYS. LET'S CHILL OUT WITH THE HATE!

I don't think I'll ever forget seeing the first preview for Batman and Robin. When the original Star Wars movies were re-released, I saw the preview before The Empire Strikes Back. I was so excited I couldn't think straight. It was a new Batman movie and it looked so awesome! When the movie finally came out, I was blown away! It was funny and cool and had great action. But you know what? I was 9 years old going on 10. To me, this movie was awesome. It wasn't until years later that I realized how wrong I was.

Or was I?

I mean the movie did its job, right? It entertained a kid. My parents and older siblings weren't too impressed but I loved it. That was the summer of Batman and Robin. I was so disappointed when they never made a sequel. The sequel was supposed to be Batman: Triumphant starring George Clooney as Batman, Nicolas Cage as the Scarecrow, and supposedly Jack Nicholson was going to make a cameo as the Joker.

In another universe, we never would've had the Dark Knight trilogy . . . 

Of course, everything worked out in the end. We got the Dark Knight trilogy and the promise of a new incarnation of Batman in the DC Cinematic Universe. It's a good time to be a Batman fan! 

One question - what the hell is with all the hate toward Batman and Robin? I mean yeah, it's pretty bad. There a lot of terrible jokes, ridiculous costumes/sets, and overall the film is a 2 hour toy commercial. 

Worked for me. My 10th birthday was fucking great!

But you know what else had terrible jokes, ridiculous costumes, and sold a shit-ton of merchandise? 

Oh yeah that's right. I went there! The irony is that when I was a kid I wasn't a big fan of the Adam West Batman TV series. I watched the movie a bunch of times because it was Batman (cuz duh, you can never have enough Batman) but I liked the Burton/Schumacher films better. Now as an adult I watch Batman and Robin and think, "Wow, this is so cheesy and ridiculous." I also watch the Adam West series and think, "Wow, this is so cheesy and ridiculous!" Because, essentially, they are the same thing. 

I'm probably going to get a lot of flak for this from older Batman fans but I'm not wrong. The original Batman series was intended to be a comedy and a fun action show for kids. Batman and Robin was Warner Bros trying to make a more "family-friendly" Batman film after the backlash against Batman Returns. Granted Batman Forever was campy but still had it's serious moments. Batman and Robin was technically the film that WB wanted. It had big name stars, tons of merchandise, and the possibility for more films. Obviously, it didn't go the way they wanted because most fans and critics hated it. And they're not wrong of course, it's not a very good film despite the talent that made it. 

I had to baby sit my nephews and I asked if they wanted to watch Batman. I grabbed Batman and Robin and man did I make the right choice! They loved it! They thought the action was great, the jokes were funny, and the film was fun to watch. It's essentially a live action cartoon just like the Adam West series was. I mean Clooney might bash it nowadays and Schumacher apologizes for it, but I think everyone just needs to chill out and get over themselves. 

It's a superhero movie and they were making it for kids. I believe on that front they succeeded. When Nolan came by he made a more sophisticated, mature take on Batman, as was his intention. There is nothing wrong with multiple takes on a franchise. As a kid friendly version of Batman, Batman and Robin is perfectly fine. Well except for the nipples. That's weird.

I mean . . . Nipples? Really? 

Trust me guys. I get the hate for Batman and Robin. I hated it for a while too. But then I realized that hating it was a waste of time. Hating it because it wasn't as "dark and serious" as the other Batman movies was ridiculous. It was DELIBERATELY meant to be campy and goofy just like the 60s series. The target audience was kids and I think, for the most part, kids liked it. I watch it now and think about how crazy it is but the little kid in me still has a soft spot for it. So anyone out there that bashes Batman and Robin but defends the Adam West series - you might want to take a minute to realize how hypocritical you are. 

But I'm fair. I realize it's OK to like one and not the other. I get that. And maybe in the 60s it was easier to swallow a campy take on Batman than it was in 1997. I don't know. All I know is that having a more "kid-friendly" Batman isn't a bad thing. It means that kids can get into Batman early in life. And by my estimate the more Batman you have in your life, the happier you will be. 

I mean I turned out OK! 

Till Next Time! Same Bat-Blog! Same Bat-JJ!

JJ - The Comic Junkie! 

SUPERGIRL: WHO'S COMING TO NATIONAL CITY?

This fall we will see the Girl of Steel get her own TV series on CBS. I've watched the preview several times and I gotta say, it looks pretty cool. It seems like it will be an awesome addition to DC on TV. With all this talk of potential crossovers I think it's very easy to forget that Supergirl will need to first and foremost be it's own show and establish it's own identity and tone. It's not an easy task. One of the things that Supergirl has going for it is quite a few recognizable Superman characters like Jimmy Olsen, Cat Grant, and Hank Henshaw. Supergirl doesn't really have an established rogues gallery or even much of a supporting cast in the comic books. More than likely we will be seeing a few more Superman characters in the show.

With silly things like rights and movie licenses and dumb crap like that it's likely that we'll see some lesser known Superman concepts and characters. For example, because of the films we will probably not see Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Darkseid, Lois Lane, or even Clark Kent. It's the same reason we never got to see more of Harley Quinn on Arrow. Which is super-lame by the way (pun intended). But this is the world we live in. So who will we be seeing on Supergirl? I'm run through the most likely candidates:

LIVEWIRE

Livewire was a character that originated on Superman: the Animated Series. She was a radio DJ that talked a lot of crap about Superman. Then (as is common with comic book stories) she gets zapped by lightning and gets superpowers. Of course, since she has a grudge against Superman already, she takes it to the next level and tries to kill him. I mean . . . who wouldn't? 

I just wanna smack that smile off his super-smug face!

She would be a perfect fit for Supergirl. I mean who doesn't love a little girl on girl? . . . Ok so I stole that joke from Hot Fuzz but it's still funny! Seriously though, she'd be a great villain. She could challenge the good that Supergirl does in National City as her DJ self and then try to kill her with her bad self! Boom! I just wrote episode 3 for you, Mr. Berlanti! You're welcome! 

KANDOR

One of the more outlandish Superman concepts, but it's actually pretty cool if done right. During Geoff Johns' run on Action Comics he gave a bad ass new version of Brainiac. In that story, Superman discovered that Brainiac had shrunk the capitol city of Kandor and kept it's inhabitants alive. Brainiac was responsible for the destruction of Krypton, but kept a piece of it to study and collect. What a weirdo! 

Uh . . . I mean . . . It's not weird at all, Mr. Giant Green Man . . . 

Kandor would be a great storyline for Supergirl. It's a way for her to learn that her family and friends might still be alive and what lengths she will go to to rescue them. They did a similar story on Smallville but it's different for Kara than it is for Clark. Clark has no memories of Krypton so he doesn't have that much attachment to it. Kara grew up on Krypton. In the show's timeline, it was destroyed when she was 12. If she discovers that her family and friends are alive, it would challenge her loyalties to her Earth family and friends. That would be a great arc! 

SUPERBOY

Now this is a long shot. During Geoff Johns' run on Teen Titans it was revealed that Superboy was the clone of Superman and Lex Luthor. Luthor ended up using him as a secret weapon against the Titans. It was a really great story and Superboy had to learn to stand up for himself. He learned that he is in control of his own destiny. I could go on all day about the awesomeness of this story arc, but instead I'll talk about why he should be on Supergirl. As with my Kandor post, this would be a great way to give Kara a sense of Kryptonian family. It would also be a way to have Superman be on the show, but also not really. The trailer makes it look like Superman has been around for a while. It's implied that he's the one that finds Kara as a child. If that's the case then he's been active for about 12 years. That's definitely enough time for a feud between Lex and Superman to have developed and a clone to be made. Like I said, this is a long shot, but it would be pretty awesome. Also, let's bring Krypto. Every independent young woman needs a dog. 

THE RED LANTERNS 

If Superboy was a long shot than this is a SUPER long shot. Hahaha. For a time during the new 52, Kara was a member of the Red Lantern Corps. For everyone not in the know (you're missing out) the Red Lanterns are one of the seven lantern corps in the universe. They are fueled by rage. For a while, their leader Atrocitus wanted only revenge against the Green Lanterns and their leaders, the Guardians. After the destruction of the Guardians, the Red Lanterns focused their energy on stopping injustices in the galaxy. Of course, they went about it in a totally scary and malicious way. The Green Lantern rings are attracted to beings with an abundance of willpower but the Red rings are attracted to great anger. While the preview didn't show it, Kara does have a lot to be angry about. Her planet is gone. Her real family is dead. Her cousin is super famous and best friends with Ben Affleck now. 

I mean maybe not BEST friends . . . 

While it's not likely we'll see the Red Lanterns on the series, I'm sure we will get a story where Kara's anger gets the better of her and she finally cuts loose. Smallville did it. The Flash did it. Lois and Clark did it. It's kind of a prerequisite for superhero shows. 

BRUNO "UGLY" MANHEIM AND INTERGANG

Like my Livewire suggestion, I think this has the most potential to appear on the series. The preview shows us that Kara's sister works for the DEO (Department of Extra-Normal Operations). Their job is to protect the world from aliens. Intergang is their opposite. They side with dangerous aliens and use their tech to do evil. Or you know "business." Manheim is their leader, making shady deals with aliens and monsters to get rich and powerful. He's called Ugly because he's . . . well you know. Human villains are not gonna be much of a threat against a super-powered Kryptonian young woman, but backed up with alien tech, they'll likely be able to put up a fight. 

These are my suggestions for who we might see this fall on Supergirl. It's going to be a very interesting and exciting series. I can't wait to see what the producers have in store! 

Till Next Time!

JJ - The Comic Junkie!