On the box: Lady in red and blue

29 May 2015 - 02:22 By Yolisa Mkele

The world is addicted to superheroes. The success of film franchises such as Batman and The Avengers has led to a slew of übermensch-related fantasies flooding our screens. The latest is the television show Supergirl. The story goes like this: Moments after catastrophe befalls Krypton and an infant Clark Kent is jettisoned off to Earth, a pre-pubescent Kara Zor-El is sent after him to be his guardian. Unfortunately, her intergalactic road trip goes off course and she gets stuck in the Phantom Zone, a region of space where time stops.After 25 years in limbo she escapes, only to arrive on Earth and find that her ward has grown into the Man of Steel and does not need her help, while she still looks like the average One Direction fan. Freed of her burden, she capitalises on her lack of obligations by pursuing a normal life.She ends up as a secretary to a Devil Wears Prada-esque boss played by a healthy-looking Calista Flockhart. Zor-El, whose Earth name is Kara Danvers and is played by Melissa Benoist, finds her mediocre existence upended when a plane carrying her foster-sister finds itself on a fiery collision course with National City, her home town, prompting her to dust off her powers and take up the mantle of Supergirl.Part of the show's allure is the fact that it is the first attempt a major studio has made at superhero feminism. The lead characters are all women, and not the wide-eyed, soppy variety either. In fact the men in the show all function as background noise in a world of no-nonsense ladies. While sometimes heavy-handed, it is nonetheless a refreshingly new perspective. The only time they break character is when discussing Superman, who seems to play the role of God because he is never seen and almost always reverentially referred to as He.Unlike other superhero franchises, there is no laboured attempt to reveal some inner darkness buried deep within Supergirl. Whether this is a good or a bad thing depends entirely on how you like your heroes served, but it does mean that the show lacks the tortured depth of adaptations such as Netflix's Daredevil.Unusually, the show's pilot leaked a full six months before its scheduled release. Even more unusually, the studio responsible for it, CBS, seemed none too concerned.This has prompted some to suspect that the leak was a publicity stunt designed to drum up interest. Either way, it is unlikely to do any major damage as the series airs only in the distant future.Once the show creeps out of television's phantom zone, viewers who like their superheroines sprinkled with sugar, spice and everything nice will be in for a treat.Supergirl is scheduled for release in November.What others sayAnyone who chided "Man of Steel" for being too dark should check out "Supergirl" post haste. Rob Bricken, www.io9.comNice to see a superhero show with girl-power humour. Laura Buttz, www.polygon.comGone are the memories of the largely dreadful 1984 film version starring Helen Slater alongside Faye Dunaway chewing every piece of scenery in sight: the new "Supergirl" is kooky, charming and funny.Kat Brown, Telegraph..

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