'Supergirl': How Comic-Con reacted to the pilot episode
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
A screening of the pilot for CBS鈥檚 鈥淪upergirl鈥� series has gotten the fan community buzzing about the upcoming show.
鈥淪upergirl鈥� will follow the female superhero, also known as Kara Zor-El, who is a cousin of Superman and is played by Melissa Benoist of 鈥淕lee."聽The creation of the show follows the box office (but not critical) success of the 2013 film 鈥淢an of Steel,鈥� which centered on Superman and had actor Henry Cavill portray the character for the first time. Superman is set to hit the big screen again in next year鈥檚 鈥淏atman v Superman,鈥� in which Mr. Cavill will again portray the character and Ben Affleck will play Batman.聽
The screening of the 鈥淪upergirl鈥� pilot was part of Comic-Con, which is currently happening in San Diego, and early buzz for the pilot is mainly positive so far. writer Dave Trumbore gave the pilot a rating of four stars, writing that 鈥渢his coming-of-age action-drama pulls no punches when it comes to the emotional side of human/Kryptonian relationships鈥� Ms. Benoist has a charming innocence about her that makes Kara instantly likable鈥� the action is on par with聽鈥楢rrow鈥櫬燼nd聽鈥楾he Flash.鈥濃�澛�
writer Kristen Kranz was also impressed, writing that 鈥淪upergirl鈥� is one viewers will 鈥渨ant to tune into this fall鈥� Kara鈥檚 desire to embrace her powers is a breath of fresh air鈥� the show [is] defy[ing] the tropes that have plagued Superman adaptations for decades.鈥�
Meanwhile, Mangala Dilip of the wrote that 鈥溾�橲upergirl鈥� was received well by the Comic Con community鈥� and called the show 鈥渆agerly anticipated.鈥�
It鈥檚 less news now that a superhero program is coming to TV than that CBS is getting in on the genre. Following the massive success of superhero movies at the box office recently, every other major network besides CBS currently has or recently had a superhero program on its schedule, with the shows having ranged from less critical success (NBC鈥檚 鈥淐onstantine,鈥� Fox鈥檚 鈥淕otham,鈥� and sometimes ABC鈥檚 鈥淢arvel鈥檚 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,鈥� which has gone up and down in quality) to more (ABC's "Agent Carter," the CW鈥檚 鈥淎rrow,鈥� and 鈥淭he Flash鈥�). In addition, Netflix鈥檚 鈥淒aredevil鈥� has met with success on the streaming platform. If 鈥淪upergirl鈥� can distinguish itself in the crowded marketplace 鈥� for example, expand on the theme of Kara wanting to be a superhero, versus the often tortured themes of superheroes resisting their powers in other shows 鈥� it could be a success.
