Many spoilers ahead for the Season 3 finale of Supergirl, called "Battles Lost and Won." If you haven't gotten to watch yet, you may want to check out some of our non-spoilery articles until you can tune in.
The Season 3 finale of Supergirl was a wild ride from start to finish, with time travel, death, departures, and a potentially devious plot from none other than Lena Luthor. Still, the episode seemed to tie off almost all of its loose ends until the very last scene revealed a cliffhanger that sets up an adaptation of an incredible DC Comics story and potentially the introduction of a major DC Comics character with a big Supergirl twist. Red Son is in the mix. Here's what happened.
The finale ended on a quick flash back to 48 hours previously, after Kara had traveled back in time to prevent Reign from killing Alura, Sam, and Mon-El. Although the science of the twist isn't 100% clear at this point, it's already apparent that the time travel had consequences. Another version of Kara landed in Siberia and approached a group of Russians, who probably weren't expecting a young alien woman to drop down on the snow.
The arrival of who I'm going to go ahead and call Kara 2.0 in Russia reveals that Supergirl is going to tackle an adaptation of the Red Son story of DC fame in Season 4. Supergirl executive producers Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller had this to say about the direction of the fourth season:
Robert Rovner: For fans of the comics, I think they might recognize that the story we want to tell is inspired by the iconic DC Comics' Red Son, which told an alternate origin story for Superman.Jessica Queller: What happened if -- as a baby -- Superman landed in Russia and became a hero there instead of in America. It's an homage to that.
Now, it's already clear that Supergirl is going to have to take some major liberties with the Red Son storyline. As Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller said in their chat with TVLine, Red Son was an alternate origin story for the Man of Steel. Red Son Kal-El was a baby when he landed in Russia, and the Supergirl finale cliffhanger had an adult version of Kara dropping down into the snow.
In Superman: Red Son, Superman's rocket lands in the Soviet Union rather than on the lovable Kents' farm in Kansas, likely because of a time difference of a few hours between the original timeline and the Red Son timeline. Earth's rotation just a few hours off resulted in the future Superman growing up thousands of miles away from Kansas. Unlike the fight for truth, justice, and the American way for Superman, Red Son's Superman fought for Stalin, socialism, and expansion of the Warsaw Pact. His secret identity is a state secret.
Red Son was published in 2003 as a three-part limited series. Supergirl Season 4 will undoubtedly take its adaptation in some very different directions, and not least because the Soviet Union isn't around anymore. Rumor had it that a Red Son movie could be in the works back in 2017; the upcoming Supergirl arc could be the closest thing to a live-action Red Son story that can possibly happen. What's not to be excited about with a Red Daughter story?
Since Kara 2.0 and Kara coexist on Earth-38, it's possible that Supergirl is using the Red Son-esque story to introduce a comic character with a lot of fans: Power Girl. In DC Comics, Power Girl is the Kara Zor-El of Earth-2. Supergirl could easily use its twist on the Red Son story to introduce Kara 2.0 as Power Girl. It would be fun to get a Kara doppelganger who's not evil, and Power Girl has plenty of fans from the comics.
If Kara 2.0 does turn into Power Girl, I have to hope for Melissa Benoist's sake that Supergirl takes some liberties with the traditional Power Girl costume, which is white, very high-cut on the hip, and boasts what can really only be described as "a boob window." Kara may be able to kick ass and take names in her skirt and boots as Supergirl, but surely Benoist shouldn't have to do stunts in a traditional Power Girl look! Even the cape is kind of skimpy in certain comic panels.
We'll have to wait and see. The finale also featured Lena sneakily working on a sample of the black rock from Argo, which is very sketchy considering Alura believed that she was taking all of it back with her and was happy none of it was going to be left on Earth. Winn and Mon-El took off with the Legion of Super-Heroes, and Brainy stayed behind. J'onn resigned from the D.E.O. after the death of his father, promoting Alex to take his place as director. James outed himself as Guardian. Sam lived and Reign is gone. Basically, a lot happened, and Supergirl fans will have a lot to ponder in the coming weeks.
Supergirl will return for Season 4 on a new night, and you can find out all your Arrow-verse scheduling info on The CW's fall TV schedule. If you're still in the market for shows before fall, check out our summer TV premiere guide.
