Spoilers Supergirl - Season 2

[TREK_GOD_1]

I chalk it up to lack of budget

Always the case on this show.

the Daxamites should have spread out and attacked multiple cities.

Thats ounds far too logical for the way this was written. Everything has to be aout that one city. Nowhere else. There have been endless Superman comics over the decades where a crisis hit places other than Metropolis, and in the MCU, battles (with potentially far reaching consequences) all did not take place in one city. The problem is that in order to make SG appear to be the center of the universe, all things have to happen in that one city, when she would appear to be a far bigger protector if she's regularly racing around the world fighting threats.

 

[Guy Gardener]

If the lead-allergic Daxamites want to colonize America, they have to destroy every building therein constructed before 1999.

The only reason not to throw asteroids at ever major city, is that it might just spread all the embedded century old lead around the local air supply in unuseful quantities, the orderly deconstruction and sanitization of Human Technology would.

 

[dahj]

The problem is that in order to make SG appear to be the center of the universe, all things have to happen in that one city

I suppose on The Flash everything happens in Central City because they "want to make the Flash appear to be the center of the universe"?

Or... it could just be they're working on a TV budget, so even when they actually do a global invasion, like in the Invasion! crossover, they're still gonna end up fighting on a single rooftop in Vancouver, so what's the point of going global anyway?

If the lead-allergic Daxamites want to colonize America

It's a good thing for them Supergirl isn't based out of Detroit.

 

[Kirk Prime]

I haven't read comments since my last one yesterday, but rather than go over 3 pages of stuff, I'll let it go for now and move on to the next episode, Flash, Arrow, and other topics. Not to say I wouldn't want to revisit if Supergirl does this again, or maybe over the summer when there aren't new episodes to distract, but it's best to discuss other parts of the episode.

As the post above points out, lead is a big deal. It's the Daxamites' version of kryptonite, and that's something in a lot of abundance on Earth--something that humans should know about and use against them in larger quantities.

They may have superior tech, but that weakness is something that should enable humanity to turn the tide.

I also hope that next week, they snap Superman out of it quickly. After all the complaints about how Superman has been treated in the movies, the last thing I want to see is a mind controlled Superman either fighting Kara or out of action like last finale.

The promo implied Kara and Rhea will fight for the planet one on one.

I'm fine with that. But I hope they give Superman something big to do. They were fairly perfect with Superman in his first appearance. He didn't overshadow Kara, but he didn't take a backseat either.

 

[Photoman15]

If the lead-allergic Daxamites want to colonize America, they have to destroy every building therein constructed before 1999.

The only reason not to throw asteroids at ever major city, is that it might just spread all the embedded century old lead around the local air supply in unuseful quantities, the the orderly deconstruction and sanitization of Human Technology would.

You do know the phrase "allergic to lead" means that they can be killed with (lead) bullets, right? Not literally allergic to the element lead.

 

[dahj]

You do know the phrase "allergic to lead" means that they can be killed with (lead) bullets, right? Not literally allergic to the element lead.

No, they're literally allergic to lead.
Guardian used lead dust to depower them in the fight in CatCo.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Thank you dodge.

You do know the phrase "allergic to lead" means that they can be killed with (lead) bullets, right? Not literally allergic to the element lead.

In comics and this TV show lead is their Kryptonite. Mon-El had eventually to be put in the Phantom Zone because the lead levels on earth were so extreme he was on the verge of dying. The Legion of Super heroes from the 30th century, found a cure (a periodic injection sometimes) and let him out.

 

[Christopher]

They're not stupid, they probably watched Independence Day to prepare for the invasion and noted that the multiple city approach wouldn't work because that's exactly what we're expecting.

It seems to me that it makes strategic sense to establish a solid beachhead in enemy territory before you spread your forces farther. After all, they only have a few thousand ships and soldiers.

I suppose on The Flash everything happens in Central City because they "want to make the Flash appear to be the center of the universe"?

I'd assume the ARGUS HQ scenes last night took place somewhere around Star City, since Lyla was there. After all, it wouldn't take Barry long to get there from Central.

Or... it could just be they're working on a TV budget, so even when they actually do a global invasion, like in the Invasion! crossover, they're still gonna end up fighting on a single rooftop in Vancouver, so what's the point of going global anyway?

Although that same rooftop and the skyline behind it have been seen in Star City, Central City, Opal City, National City, and probably other locations besides.

No, they're literally allergic to lead.
Guardian used lead dust to depower them in the fight in CatCo.

Rather, lead is their kryptonite. It depowers, weakens, and poisons them the same way that kryptonite does for Kryptonians. It's Silver Age comics logic -- Superman can be protected from kryptonite by lead, so since Daxamites were supposed to be almost like Kryptonians but slightly different, they had the "opposite" weakness.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I suppose on The Flash everything happens in Central City because they "want to make the Flash appear to be the center of the universe"?

It makes the series seem isolated. Supergirl has the ability to go anywhere, so it would be in the series' best interests to have her conflicts take her everywhere--neing a heroine of the world, instead of just one city.

Or... it could just be they're working on a TV budget, so even when they actually do a global invasion, like in the Invasion! crossover, they're still gonna end up fighting on a single rooftop in Vancouver, so what's the point of going global anyway?

Star Trek (TOS) had a TV budget, but they successfully sold the idea that the 1701 travelled to every corner of the galaxy. It did not need to center everything in or around earth because of budget issues.

Supergirl is a true superheroine with the ability to leave her city limits. She's not trapped on....Benoist's Island.

 

[Romulan_spy]

It seems to me that it makes strategic sense to establish a solid beachhead in enemy territory before you spread your forces farther. After all, they only have a few thousand ships and soldiers.

It would depend on how powerful your forces are compared to the enemy. If say 10 ships was more than enough to secure a beachhead, then sending your entire force there is overkill and wasteful. It would be better to send say 15 ships, more than enough, to different cities and secure more territory faster and cripple the enemy sooner.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

They haven't even secured National City as a beachhead yet.
They took the population by surprise but after a very short period of licking wounds and regrouping the entire city is still fighting back.
Short of nuking the city, the Daxamites are nowhere close to done.

When was it established that Daxam had mind control abilities?
Or has mind control over at least Kryptonians been established in another episode that I'm forgetting right now?
Otherwise Superman getting whammied comes a bit out of the blue.

Edit: Never mind. They are allied with the Dominators.

 

[Christopher]

It would depend on how powerful your forces are compared to the enemy.

Which is why I pointed out how small their invasion force is. I assumed it would be obvious that I was saying their forces were too weak to be spread out across a whole planet at once. After all, they're just the scattered refugees that managed to escape from Daxam in time or were already offworld. So it's a rather ad hoc planetary invasion force, even with their technological advantage over Earth.

Edit: Never mind. They are allied with the Dominators.

Oh, good point. The Dominators mind-controlled Supergirl in "Invasion!," so this could be the same thing. And The Flash just reused an element from "Invasion!" (the Dominator power source) in its climactic arc, so Supergirl could be doing it too.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Which is why I pointed out how small their invasion force is. I assumed it would be obvious that I was saying their forces were too weak to be spread out across a whole planet at once. After all, they're just the scattered refugees that managed to escape from Daxam in time or were already offworld. So it's a rather ad hoc planetary invasion force, even with their technological advantage over Earth.

They have hundreds of ships. From a purely numerical point of view, I would not consider that a small invasion force. And the ships are much more technologically advanced than Earth. So the Daxamites have numerical and technological superiority. And they have the element of surprise. Usually, those 3 things are enough to win a conflict. True, their big weakness is the fact that they are not a prepared and trained military force. But I think at this point, it is pure fan speculation as to whether the invasion force is enough to take one city or more cities. The show will obviously have National City win in the end but considering their numerical advantage, tech superiority and element of surprise, I think the Daxamites could spread out a bit and would win in "real life".

 

[Christopher]

They have hundreds of ships. From a purely numerical point of view, I would not consider that a small invasion force.

They have one big ship the size of a battleship or carrier, and hundreds of small ships the size of maybe a bomber. And only a few thousand survivors altogether, so the number of ground troops they have is woefully inadequate to control even a single city of millions once any firm resistance gets organized. It's a tiny force compared to even a single one of the motherships in Independence Day or V. Plus these are refugees cobbled together into a makeshift invasion force, not something that was specifically put together for that purpose.

But I think at this point, it is pure fan speculation as to whether the invasion force is enough to take one city or more cities.

Not speculation, reasoned deduction from what we actually saw. Obviously, the writers chose to have Rhea invade only National City rather than the entire world. That is not speculation -- it is what actually happened in the episode. I see no logic in positing something in direct opposition to the episode's actual events and claiming that it's what they "should" have done instead. The facts on the ground are that Rhea only invaded one city. The logical conclusion is that the writers' intent is that the invasion force is not powerful enough to take the entire planet at once. If they'd wanted it to be powerful enough to do so, it would've been. But it clearly isn't.

 

[dahj]

Supergirl has the ability to go anywhere

So does a crapton of heroes, yet they always mostly stick to one city.
I actually wouldn't mind if she got out a bit more, I was just rolling my eyes at your thesis that this trope is suddenly somehow different for Supergirl because they want to "make her the center of the universe," whatever that is supposed to mean...

Star Trek (TOS) had a TV budget, but they successfully sold the idea that the 1701 travelled to every corner of the galaxy. It did not need to center everything in or around earth because of budget issues.

Actually, one could say Star Trek had to stay away from future Earth because of budget issues, it was cheaper to shoot backwater colonies and cardboard rocks and ruins, than to attempt to depict a technologically advanced Earth with any credibility.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

So does a crapton of heroes, yet they always mostly stick to one city.
I actually wouldn't mind if she got out a bit more, I was just rolling my eyes at your thesis that this trope is suddenly somehow different for Supergirl

Re-read the post: the MCU has its heroes involved in consequential affairs all over the world--not just their city. As far back as Superman (1978) --39 years ago--the hero was not just in Metropolis. The VERY budget-strained Amazing Spider-Man TV series (CBS, 1977-79) even managed to go to Hong Kong. So, there's no need to be so defensive with the suggestion that SG is operating on a different standard for some reason, when superhero productions--big and low budget had the heroes leave their home city. In this CG environment, it's far easier to accomplish that than the old way of a production crew hauled across the country--or in some cases--out of it.

Actually, one could say Star Trek had to stay away from future Earth because of budget issues, it was cheaper to shoot backwater colonies and cardboard rocks and ruins, than to attempt to depict a technologically advanced Earth with any credibility.

Not entirely true, since TOS often used matte paintings to believably represent off world cities. The same could have been created for any future earth city, not to mention using locations such as the TRW Space and Defense Park and the UCLA building both seen in "Operation -- Annihilate!" as a location on the very earth-like planet Deneva. The point being that TOS reperesented worlds all over the galaxy on a tight budget, so there's not much of an excuse for SG considering the tools at their disposal, and the fact it's still set in the contemporary world, not the 23rd century.

 

[dahj]

Re-read the post

Oh, I read your post, I have no problem with the bits you repeated just now, I only took issue with your reasoning why they don't do that, which was the bit I quoted and which you now conveniently left out...

 

[Kirk Prime]

When did we find out the Daxamites were aligned with the Dominators? I honestly don't remember that from the 3 parter.

 

[dahj]

When did we find out the Daxamites were aligned with the Dominators? I honestly don't remember that from the 3 parter.

It wasn't in the 3-parter, it was in Supergirl Lives, when she visits the slaver planet.

 

[Skipper]

A lot of politicians say that something like this is unnatural, they are destined for hell and businesses should have the right to refuse any kind of service to them or even fire them for no reason.
It's not show's writers' fault if there are people who have made disrespect of human decency their political platform.