The “can’t” just means they have an opportunity to do interesting things. Like why not have Ted & Max be in a business partnership? Then you could have Max be a villain, maybe dupe Ted a little to set up a later heroic turn and redemption… lots of stuff that could make for interesting stories and keep some of the heart of the characters. (heck if they just made up a character, call him “Stony Ark” or whatever) Not to mention that you can have characters which are antagonists without them being villains.

Thought on Hank: maybe we can have both! Maybe there was a real Hank that Martian Manhunter replaced, only the accident that “killed” him was really the accident that created CySupes. So later on we can get Hank vs Hank action!

James Olsen still bugs me though. Both for what you guys said and the simple question: Why not make him John Henry Irons? (steel) The actor seems a good fit and you could even have later plotlines with him putting on his suit to go help Supergirl.

That and the change to Maxwell Lord. That’s twice now the show makers have felt the need to stick Iron Man into Earth!DCTV. If I wanted to watch Iron Man, I’ll go watch Iron Man. If you want to do “super-brilliant industrialist” then pick Ted Kord or Mr Terrific. If you want to do a battle suit, Booster Gold or a few others. Certainly don’t make up someone whole cloth and then slap a name on them that barely fits (had Ray Palmer been a scientist who worked for Oliver to develop the suit… maybe).

There’s definitely a formula these shows are following, none of them art particularly demanding of their audience that way. For me, the enjoyment often comes from the references to comics stuff as opposed to plot, or “oh look at all the pretty people”, but I don’t find them objectionable either.

As for the great James Olsen debate, I don’t have a problem with the character and find him a perfectly legitimate take on Jimmy Olsen, a Jimmy that’s grown up, wants his independence, and yet still calls Superman the moment he’s in trouble (Kara’s attitude is understandable, even if she’s big picture wrong) and kind of being at Lucy Lane’s beck and call.

People seem to think of Jimmy as a nerd in distress a lot of the time, but for most of his publishing history, he was an action man, doing his thing because Superman was in space, having his own fan club, and even turning into a Jack Kirby hero! So the fact that he’s this tall, buff, popular guy isn’t a problem for me. I don’t need the dated bowtie or the ginger hair. But it WOULD be cool if he were turned into Turtle Boy or some other freak at some point, wouldn’t it?

Speaking of Team Flash, I think you guys nailed my problem with Supergirl…I want more of HER. I find myself getting a bit annoyed when so much screen time is taken up by the office Scooby Gang or the DEO squad. Melissa Benoist is so charming and perfect for the role the supporting cast is actually detracting from the show in the current configuration.

I know the show is still young, and I’m seeing some growth, but Alex comes across as WAY too nagging, and Cat Grant was just a cardboard cutout of a horrible boss until “Livewire”. I’m still enjoying the show, but I think episodes 2 and 3 took it down a notch from the pilot for me. Livewire picked up things, but I’m still wincing at some of the dialog. Whoever does the dialog polish on the Flash scripts needs to come over and give the Supergirl scripts a pass before filming.

I’m hoping Henshaw is the Martian Manhunter as well, BUT if he replaced the real Henshaw as Shagg suggests, that’s a bit too Harrison Wells too.

Jemm, Son of Saturn….WOW. When I saw him I thought he was Despero at first. But Jemm, that’s even MORE obscure. I do love this show for that. Much like Flash, you never know what DCU concept is going to be put into play.

Great to hear Anj weigh in. I smell a Supergirl podcast in his future! Get on it Anj!

Chris

Chris