Supergirl Season 4, Episode 3 - "Man of Steel" (SPOILERS)

[LL2K2]

So it would appear it's not about either of the characters speculated.

XANDER BERKELEY GUEST STARS IN THE ORIGIN STORY OF AGENT LIBERTY — Ben Lockwood (Sam Witwer) didn’t always hate aliens. Through a series of incidents, and input from his anti-alien father (guest star Xander Berkeley), Ben slowly transforms from a mild-mannered professor into the villainous Agent Liberty of today. Jesse Warn directed the episode written by Rob Wright & Derek Simon (#403). Original airdate 10/28/2018

 

[flickchick85]

I do not approve of the title with no Supes, but I do approve of Jesse Warn directing a character-centric episode. He's the best when it comes to emotional stuff, imo.

 

[Dark Raven]

I thought this was going to be a Superman episode. What's the idea of calling it that? Very misleading to say the least. What did they call the actual Superman episode in Season 2?

 

[Primal Slayer]

How DARE they use that title on someone who is not Steel or Superman.

 

[LL2K2]

I thought this was going to be a Superman episode. What's the idea of calling it that? Very misleading to say the least. What did they call the actual Superman episode in Season 2?

The three episodes in which Superman appeared (not counting the final minutes of Resist [2x21])? The Adventures of Supergirl, The Last Children of Krypton, and Nevertheless, She Persisted.

 

[flickchick85]

Promo:

 

[vantheman77]

Misleading title where many would think Superman would appear in it.

I think this is where we may see the armored suit.

 

[flickchick85]

One of the official stills from the ep has Alex in her old hair, so that + the description suggests this will be a pretty flashback heavy ep.

 

[PunisherFC]

I'd rather see Sam play Bruce Wayne, always thought he'd be a great Batman IMO...

 

[Dark Raven]

One of the official stills from the ep has Alex in her old hair, so that + the description suggests this will be a pretty flashback heavy ep.

Why does Chyler need short hair like this now? I preferred her with longer hair.

I wonder if they'll ever introduce Chyler Danvers in the comics.

 

[flickchick85]

Why does Chyler need short hair like this now? I preferred her with longer hair.

Pretty sure it was just Chyler Leigh's personal choice. I think she got that new haircut when she went on tour with East of Eli over the summer.

 

[flickchick85]

Not sure how I feel about Nth metal immediately being so commonplace in the consumer market. Does Earth have trade going on with intergalactic suppliers already?

I'm really liking Sam Witwer here.

 

[terry78]

This episode is timely as ****.

 

[flickchick85]

So I guess Agent Liberty's gonna have a pretty strong grudge against Lena as well as aliens.

 

[NotNickFury]

I haven't missed Cat Grant, either.

This particular alien in Liberty's class reminds me of the vampire designs in Buffy.

 

[Saitou Hajime]

30 minutes and this episode has already done a better job than the Snyderverse of tackling the negative effect of aliens, metahumans, and superheroes on regular humans and resentment it breeds.

 

[flickchick85]

Something tells me part of his nefarious plot this season will involve framing Lena for his crimes, confirming the everyone's suspicions of her being like her brother and sabotaging all the work she's done to turn L-Corp around.

 

[NotNickFury]

Oh, I would disagree to the moon on whether this represents sentiment towards aliens better than films, but it's all subjective in the end.

In particular because this show is very heavy handed with its messages, but then, that's been a constant, so at least it's consistent.

 

[flickchick85]

Heavy-handed yes, but what they're doing this year so far hasn't been nearly as clunky as their attempts in previous seasons, imo. I think they've stepped it up.

 

[NotNickFury]

Well, anything would be a step-up from a crowd chanting "Lock her up."

 

[flickchick85]

True.

Good thing Lena just had one of those lying around.

 

[Primal Slayer]

It was a decent origin story episode. He still isnt THAT interesting of a character but at least he has a decent background.

 

[vantheman77]

It really was Supergirl-light due to Melissa doing Broadway. They sure tie in with the first 3 seasons from his POV. I like seeing episodes ending in cliffhangers and this continues to happen so far.

 

[flickchick85]

So overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this episode (my disapproval of it commandeering Superman's title aside!). Witwer was great, and they're continuing to skirt that line of taste and clunkiness that they so regularly crossed in previous seasons when dealing with topical real world issues. Rather than feeling downright preachy to me like, say, last year's gun control debacle, this actually felt more...relevant, if that makes sense.

I will say I felt the 1st half was stronger than the 2nd - they had a hard time making Lockwood's transition into unhinged villainy not feel rushed, but considering that's incredibly hard to do via flashbacks in a 42 minute episode, I think it was a pretty valiant effort.

It was great seeing Lena come to the rescue and actually get acknowledged for doing so, but my one big nitpick is they should've done more with Brainy in this scenario besides saying "there's nothing you can do." He's a 12th level intellect from the future - surely there was some tech or solution his brain could've come up with that might've at least helped. I don't mind that he didn't save the day; I just wish they would've at least shown him brainstorming possibilities, even if they're beyond Alex/DEO understanding, with maybe the caveat that he wouldn't have the resources to complete them in time...which would still prompt Alex to then call Lena, and everything could again play out as it did. A Coluan from the future should not have been SO useless in this situation, imo.

But yeah, I think this was a pretty good show, and a solid way to handle Melissa's Broadway absence.

Also, the question I have after this episode is,...how's Russian Supergirl coping with this new development?

 

[vantheman77]

I also disapprove of the title as it was misleading. They need to be consistent with Brainiac 5’s intellect.

I think Agent Liberty will side with Supergirl and her team later in the season. The true threats are likely Kara’s counterpart, Lex Luthor, and the Graves.