As of 26th October this year, the brand new live action TV series Supergirl will air in the U.S on CBS. Although there have been many incarnations of Supergirl both in Smallville and various Superman films, this will be her first leap onto the small screen as a leading protagonist. Honestly, in my opinion she has the potential to be on of the most important and most interesting female superheroes in years.
It's true, since the emergence of new and breed of superhero franchises initiated by films like Nolan's gritty Batman franchise, Marvel's Avengers films, and TV shows (such as The Flash, Arrow and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D etc.), women have existed in all sorts of capacities, as part of teams, as individuals and within sub-plots. However, other than Agent Carter we haven't had a female fronted superhero-themed show in years. Whilst I, naturally, adore Agent Carter and everything she stands for as a kick ass, flawed and complex human being, it's exciting to see a woman with a supernatural trick up her sleeve finally lead a franchise.
What will be interesting to see is whether she will be as well received by the public as her male counterparts. Though this version of Supergirl is for the most part fresh and new, there is no doubt for many of the general public she will just appear to be a gender-bent version of Clark Kent.
Though personally, I think the trailer looks really promising, there's already been much criticism of it and it's leaked pilot with many arguing the format of the show resembles a rom-com, that it's clearly "aimed at girls". As if these things are a bad thing? Personally, I think it's fantastic they're trying to appeal to a new generation of girls who may have been put off by the more testosterone fuelled Marvel and DC movies/TV shows, or are looking for a more light hearted superhero TV show compared to the darkness of Daredevil or Gotham.
What I'm even more interested to see is how the show's writers will create a story for Supergirl that will be just as interesting as Clark Kent's. It may be a lot to lay on her shoulders but I really hope she'll become the gold standard of how women should be represented in the superhero genre.
Although we have a Captain Marvel on the horizon and a Wonderwoman appearance in the Batman vs Superman movie, as Supergirl premiers long before those it's success could pave the way for other female superheroes to take the stage as leads on the big and small screen. Regardless of what the media says, this TV show is an incredible step and I'm definitely rooting for her (even if I am more of a Marvel fan than DC).
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