It's that time of the year again: that time when the world descends upon San Diego to celebrate Comic-Con, a celebration of geekery and pop culture, from July 9-12.
Comic-Con also celebrates superheroes, too, and this year, we expect to see a lot of news coming from superhero television shows and movies, particularly CBS' new series, Supergirl.
The pilot episode of Supergirl leaked several months ago, and since then, many TV review sites have watched it and reviewed it. Since the leak, CBS has officially released the pilot and now, more reviews are in and most are positive, with many mentioning how empowering Supergirl is, particularly to young women, and how Supergirl is the female superhero we need.
Those reviews are important, as Supergirl is the first female superhero to have her own television series in a really long time and will stand as the lone female-based TV series among her male-dominated peers, such as Arrow and The Flash.
Here is what the critics have to say about the Supergirl pilot, featuring Melissa Benoist.
Collider: Supergirl aims to be about more than just girl power. It's going for "girl empowerment," to the point that a full scene is dedicated to the merits and drawbacks to ascribing the name "Supergirl" to the new hero of National City. Kara at first finds it offensive and demeaning, but Cat spins her own interpretation of the word, giving it additional power. Supergirl can certainly hang with the boys of Arrow and The Flash and should the occasion arise, could provide a powerful ally in a potential network crossover.
JoBlo: Supergirl has plenty of room to fly if they dig deep enough into her journey. As a pilot, it shows promise, but it also has hurdles to overcome, most of which can be solved with more episodes under its belt. It's cheesy, goofy, stereotypical, and with standard issue special effects, but it also has a terrific lead, the Kryptonian connection, the DC comics playground, and a few supporting players that make it worth your while. I'm intrigued to see what path this show takes, but could easily see it taking off with Benoist leading the charge to stardom.
MoviePilot: Supergirl stands as a good superhero show so far and Melissa Benoist's portrayal of Kara as one of the few female leads on TV. There's finally a female (superhero) protagonist and role model for women (setting the bar even before the release of the Wonder Woman movie in 2017). It's good enough to give me hope and the "S" on her costume is a symbol of this.
Hypable: On top of that, Kara's desire to embrace her powers is a breath of fresh air. Fans of Smallville will remember all the times that Clark just wanted to blend in and stop feeling different from everyone else, but Kara is exactly his opposite. She has been advised by her family to keep her identity a secret, but she is ready to be loud and proud about her ability to save people from death and destruction. If the show continues to defy the tropes that have plagued Superman adaptations for decades, it should have no problem watching the ratings go up, up, and away.
IGN: I like her a lot. I also like her relationship with her stepsister on the show. That's kind of a new thing, right? Because that dynamic connects her to humanity, but it also plays into her superheroine storyline. I know the TV universe and movie universe are totally separate, but it takes [mirrors] this idea that humanity does not trust Superman and does not like the idea of this alien species being around and having all this power. I am pleased with that.
Supergirl premieres on CBS on Oct. 26.
Photo credit: CBS
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