Another season of Supergirl has ended and there is yet another cliffhanger mystery of someone being contained in a pod. While the end of season 1 delivered Mon-El to Earth, the mysterious passenger in the season 2 cliffhanger appears to be a lot more dangerous than Kara’s most recent love interest. Supergirl has seemingly introduced the villain for season 3 by presenting the idea that a third baby escaped Krypton in its destruction but with far less noble goals than Kara and her cousin Kal. The intentions of this new character don’t seem in to be doubt, but the identity of the baby is unclear. Luckily there is some basis in the comics for this third baby. It just remains to be seen if it is a good idea for Supergirl to introduce another alien villain.
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It Will Reign
There are several characters from the comics who could be in the pod. H’el is a recent villain who also escaped Krypton and became a bit of a dark mirror of Superman. Superboy is another prominent character from the comics who has yet to be introduced on Supergirl and most iterations of Superboy have him first appearing as misguided villain. (Though most iterations of Superboy also have him as a younger clone of Clark Kent, so if he is in the pod, Supergirl would be drastically changing his origin story.) The most likely option for the pod’s passenger, though, is another recent comic book villain, Reign. Supergirl even made it a point to have “reign” be the last word that was spoken in season 2.
While H’el and Superboy are more Superman characters than Supergirl’s, Reign is firmly a villain of just Kara. Reign’s origin story is a bit different in the comics as she doesn’t come from Krypton. She belongs to a group of aliens not-so-subtly called The Worldkillers who do exactly what their name entails. This is one small chink in the theory armor for Reign but everything else lines up. As mentioned, the final line of the season was “It will reign.” Most importantly though Supergirl seems to be setting up Reign, with her background as a Worldkiller, as the next conqueror of Earth and while that points to her being in the pod it doesn’t suggest great things for the show.
The Right Dose of Repetition
It is almost impossible, not to mention unfair, to judge Supergirl season 3 and Reign off the appearances of the character in the comic. Supergirl has always forged its own path when it comes to the characters they take from the comics so while Reign might not be the most memorable character, Supergirl could radically change her for the show. The Winn Schott of the show and the Winn Schott of the comics are incredibly different people. The worrying aspect with Reign is that in broad strokes it feels like a story that Supergirl has told several times already.
In back-to-back seasons Kara has had to deal with alien invaders, both coming from near her home planet, trying to take over Earth. While Rhea’s invasion was a lot stronger, both as a piece of entertainment and in actual success level, than Non’s earlier one, both of Supergirl‘s season finales hit very similar beats. To introduce another alien villain whose goal is to rule the Earth feels way too repetitive.
There might be some hope that things could be different. While we got confirmation that Kara, Kal and (presumably) Reign left Krypton 35 years ago that doesn’t mean that Reign will pop up in season 3 as a full-grown adult. We know from Kara and Mon-El’s arrival that space travel from a dying planet is tricky thing. The best-case scenario might be for the baby to reach Earth as a baby. This would allow Kara and crew to get close to whoever was in the pod before they turn evil, if they turn evil at all.
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It is clear from the cliffhanger that there is something unique about the pod’s passenger. The passenger was only referred to as an “it” by his cloaked caretakers and was seemingly soothed by drinking blood. This suggests that it is not exactly Kryptonian and could age much faster than Kara and Clark have on Earth. Just because the passenger arrives as a child doesn’t mean it has to stay that way for very long. It would not only fit with Supergirl‘s overall theme but feel like an interesting change of pace if Kara and the DEO found whatever is in the pod and tried to protect it. Yet as the alien visitor grows faster and faster, with a underlying desire to rule the world, it would find itself in a personal crisis. It would be the perfect dilemma for Supergirl, a show that is so much about destiny, if the villain was torn between two goals. The villain, whether it is Reign or not, being torn between wanting to do what is raised to and being loyal to Kara and crew would make for a much better dark mirror for Supergirl (and Superman) than just coming from the same planet at the same time.
Whether Supergirl goes down this route or tries something entirely different, something should be changed. Reign, or whoever is in the pod, can’t just be a ghost of villains past. But what do you think? Do you agree? Who do you think is in the (newest) pod? Would you be disappointed with another alien invader?
Supergirl will return for season 3 in fall 2017, airing Mondays at 8/7c on The CW. Want more news? Like our Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of The CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
