Is the Supergirl first look Supersexist?

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he brand new DC superhero-turned-television-protagonist comes in the form of Kara Zor-El/Danvers, otherwise known as Supergirl (Melissa Benoist). The first look at this new show has already raised a lot of questions.

On its own, void of any comparisons to other shows, it looks to be a nice mixture of light-heartedness, emotional impact, and a pretty good-looking cast. Once you pit it against other existing shows, though, certain questions start to arise.

In comparison to its other DC counterparts, Arrow and The Flash, it seems a lot more playful and fun. The Flash, while also leaning towards playful, has recently begun building towards more complicated plot lines and characters – Supergirl seems to follow, at least at first, a very standard romantic comedy formula, despite the fact that that doesn’t seem like it should be the focus of the show.

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in Marvel’s ‘Avengers Assemble’. Photo: Disney Media Distribution and Information for BskyB

And here we come to the main issue that is plaguing the Internet right now about the first look at Supergirl: it is eerily similar to a satirical parody that Saturday Night Live did, starring Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Both characters are portrayed as gorgeous but goofy, the assistants to socially more powerful bosses who take them for granted, and potential love interests are also introduced in both videos. Many people are saying that this means that Supergirl does not have the potential to be a good projection of a female superhero. I am here to disagree.

The main difference between the two characters, despite their portrayal in these videos, is that Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff’s character is not established as someone who fits the mould that the Saturday Night Live sketch puts her into.

She has been established, in the Marvel Comic Universe, as a Russian assassin who was trained to kill from an early age; someone emotionally closed off because of that; someone who is more concerned with doing missions, and getting red out of her ledger, than getting coffee for anyone. She uses people’s underestimation of her gender as a weapon because she has to, because she’s trained to – she does not come from a typical background, or what people might identify as a ‘normal’ situation in which to grow up.

That’s why the sketch is so funny: it’s COMPLETELY out of character, and makes no sense given her character’s established backstory. We don’t know a lot about her, but we know enough to recognise that the reality shown in the sketch is a farce.

Supergirl/Kara Danvers, on the other hand, is established in the trailer to presumably have had a life much like her eponymous cousin’s: crash-landed on Earth and taken in by a human family (given the appearance of her ‘sister’, Alex (Chyler Leigh), in the trailer).

When taking this into account – and the fact that, apparently, the trailer shows her having hidden her powers all her life, up to the present point – she simply is doing what any of us would, as a human being with a ‘normal’ lifestyle

An adorable child dressed as Supergirl. Photo: Flickr / Nathan Rupert

She has a job. She’s not necessarily the boss of everything, but that’s part of the whole dynamic between her being a lot stronger than she thinks she is, and having to grow to embrace that. She sometimes goes on dates and has people crush on her, or show other signs of attraction to her. She frets about what to wear. This is completely in line with her backstory as a character!

It is also important to note that the sketch with Black Widow focuses pretty much solely on her romantic entanglements with the men in her life. While the Supergirl trailer hints at potential love interests, it is a lot more concerned with establishing other interesting relationships, as well as the whole point of the show: Kara becoming Supergirl. It focuses on her first rescue, focuses on the effects and consequences of her revealing her powers, and also her potential character-growth in doing so. Despite the romantic comedy overtones, it’s a show about her and her alone, and how Kara becomes a superhero. In my opinion, that’s kind of great!

Both Natasha and Kara are, or at least have the potential to be, great role models for females everywhere – Kara perhaps is a little more relatable, but that doesn’t make her any less valid.

So give Supergirl a chance. If the show handles her in a respectful and positive manner, we could have a real hit on our hands.