When CBS announced that it was developing a television series for Superman's cousin, the network was taking a big risk. It could either pay off huge as the first solo series or film starring a female superhero this century or go down in flames as a feeble and failed attempt at embracing the feminine side of comic books.
On Tuesday, when the network released a six-minute trailer for the upcoming season, initial reactions tended to fall on the side of the going down in flames option, which is not good not only for CBS but for all networks and studios involved in the female superhero business.
The trailer had some flashes of potential but overall had a very stale and stereotypical tone.
You get the vibe in the first several minutes that this is just another TV show about a girl trying hard to make it in the big city while struggling to deal with her inner angst. With most other sitcoms of this variety, that angst would manifest in the form of boy trouble or womanizing or having recently been rescued from a cult.
For Kara Zor-El, that angst takes the form of being an alien from a far away planet with mind-boggling super powers.
The problem for the show, at least in this admittedly brief first look, is that it's trying to be a show about a female superhero rather than a show about a superhero.
Supergirl has all the amazing powers that her cousin Superman does so when viewers turn in they're likely hoping to see her flying around, shooting laser beams from her eyes and otherwise being a spectacle of awesomeness.
While we get pieces that, we're also forced to sit through the scenes of Kara awkwardly turning down a male coworker who asks her out, freak out over a blind date, struggle with what to wear on said date and otherwise adhere to the tried and true antics for any female starring in her own TV show.
But that's not what we want. We don't want another show about a girl. We want a show about a girl who is super.
DC's other television properties "Arrow" and "The Flash," both airing on CW, are two of the best superhero shows out there and might very well be some of the best superhero adaptations in recent memory, period (yes, even rivaling Marvel's menagerie of heroes).
Each of those shows have unique tones perfectly tailored to their titular heroes. "Arrow" is dark and gritty in a Christopher Nolan Dark Knight-esque style while "The Flash" is an upbeat and brightly-colored blur which is exactly what the Scarlet Speedster is supposed to be.
Now I'll admit I haven't read any of the Supergirl comics so I'm not sure how true to form CBS' show will be but what I do know is that after watching this trailer, I'm bracing myself for a bumpy ride.
What pisses me off is that they treat female comic book characters differently then wonder why they don't get the same results as men.
— Superhero Feed (@SuperheroFeed) May 13, 2015
We'll get the action sequences, sure, but the aforementioned female foibles will be all too present. Marvel's "Age of Ultron" took a lot of heat for turning Black Widow, to date the most bad ass female superhero around, into a romantic foil for Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner.
If "Supergirl" is true to what we've seen so far, that might be the same type of flack show runners Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg take. It's worth noting here, however, that Berlanti and Kreisberg are the minds behind "Arrow" and "The Flash" so they've earned the benefit of the doubt.
The future is bright for the adaptation of female superhero's on screens large and small. In addition to "Supergirl," DC is soon to roll out Wonder Woman in next summer's "Batman vs. Superman." She'll get a solo film of her own after that. Marvel counters with a solo movie for Captain Marvel and a Netflix series for Jessica Jones.
"Supergirl" is the first crack from any studio or network at getting it right with a female superhero in the lead role. CBS' best hope for success is focusing on the fact that Kara Zor-El is a hero and letting the female part speak for itself. So far, that hasn't been the case.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this column misstated the network that "Supergirl" would be aired. This version has been updated with the correct information.
Reach the assistant sports editor at icbeck@asu.edu or follow @ICBeck21 on Twitter.
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