It seems like CGI would take away more time to set up, render correctly, etc.. Certainly no more time than make up
Especially in the early days, wasn't the Martian form noticeably taller and larger than David Harewood? I wonder if the decision to go CG rather than make-up for the Martian effects was made in the early days, and they didn't expect to do so much Mars stuff (or maybe they decided that since J'onn would mostly be in Martian form during action sequences where he'd be frequently replaced with a digital double anyway, it made since to also have him be CG when he was just standing around, since that'd allow them to go for a more radical, un-human design, and also save time on make-up changes, since J'onn would frequently be in the same scene in both human and Martian form, so having it be a makeup effect would be a lot more trouble with shooting and scheduling. That last one is probably it).
I was watching the latest American House Wife this morning, and they tried to let a comic book nerd make a show of it. What they got right "Why are you talking to me on a Wednesday, after I just got my new stash!??? Go away!" What they got wrong, he called the Martian Manhunter a c-list shit character.
Rewatching the episode just now, I was thinking about how Rath talked about the actors he modeled the different versions of Brainy on, and though he didn't say so, Spoiler when Emo Brainy dropped the act and became Evil Brainy, it seemed to me that Rath was modeling his delivery on Frank Gorshin's Riddler.
Supergirl Season 5 / Episode 11 - "Back from the Future - Part One" SG/Kara: Going after a man the world sees as a hero is foolish. She seems to be unable to push her own hatred of Lex aside to see that in the new world, Lex has actually committed good acts. That cannot be erased because of her own vendetta against him. In all honestly, once that world gets any sense that Kara and/or Supergirl is actively trying to take Lex down, there should be a very negative response to her. Lex: He had no idea what Leviathan was/is, but now that he's seeking them out--and one can assume a certain supervillain's double. I expect this to be the tracks laid to eventually get rid of Luthor once and for all, with his "partnership" with Brainy being the worst decision he will make, even though its clear he does not trust him. J'onn: Note that he does not name Jefferson Pierce as he lists the members of his "super friends." Interesting... Winn: Not much to learn about him. One would think the writers would have him share more of his life (that does not threaten the timeline). Instead, he spent most of his downtime cheerleading all things Kara. James is so disrespected that Winn--who knows the fate of everyone since he lives in the far future--still needed J'onn to reveal James had moved away to some small-town newspaper. Since the writers never said anything about what post crisis James was up to, it must be assumed that he (like Kara) has the same job/life as the pre-crisis, so Winn should know what happened to Olsen. Lena: It was so easy for Lex to bait her service with the promise of Q-waves. She's still attempting to build/use her eugenics program, but I fear the sappy showrunners will have her use it on Lex and any members behind Leviathan all to force it a square villainess peg in a round, heroic hole. Day: His "...bloodshed to promote your bottom line" was BS. News media companies--especially in Western nations--aggressively pursue and exploit violence 'round the clock. Once again, the showrunners try to push the "virtuous reporter" fantasy. ….aaaannndd on February 16, in comes the predicted yawner of a romance sub-plot between Day and Kars.. Brainy: A Brainy agonizing over his mission is cracking the veneer he needed to complete his mission. This can only lead to Lex suspecting Brainy is not the ally he needed, and might pivot in his plans to throw off what he sees as an attempt on Brainy's part to become a fly in the ointment. Then again, he is of the altered world, where Lex is a hero, so she should question anyone who suggests he is corrupt. NOTES: Cringeworthy CG-toy tigers, and the use of Survivor's signature song. GRADE: C.
Who ever thought we'd be watching Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor? I kind of liked the toy tigers, it was at least a little different from the typical stuff these shows throw at the screen.
Nia thinks that Nia can make a baby that will look like her. How dumb is she? I think she's eventually going to make a dream baby with her dream powers, who in every way seems like the genetic product of smashing, just like the Scarlet Witch did, because her husband was a robot. Or Nia is already a parent from years ago before she started transitioning, which is something that she might not know about yet. As an alien, she doesn't reproduce asexually, because then she'd never have been half human if her mom made Nia all by herself. Adoption has always been the go to, although why on earth would she wonder if her adopted kid looks like her, or their kids, and kids kids for the next thousand years, and how could an adopted kid, who is probably fully human, have dream powers? The same way Winn does? That makes perfect sense. Oh, and Brainy could clone a baby for Nia, not that they are getting along right now, but 31st century tech should be able to solve any of her obstetrical issues. Sigh.
I also was trying to figure out how the writers could forget that Nia can't have children -- at least not biologically, and unless she can transfer her powers to an adopted child.
An okay episode. Nice to see Winn again; the scenes of him reconnecting with his friends were probably the best part. The premise of refugee doppelgangers was a nice excuse to show Winn taking the path he avoided and becoming the Toyman himself. And we get a new superteam HQ, The Tower. Interesting that the wall of hero logos included Batwoman and Flash as well as the local heroes (I guess the spiral logo is Dreamer's); I hope that means we actually see some guest appearances from time to time. As I've said before, combining the worlds is pointless unless they actually use the idea and cross-pollinate concepts and characters among the shows. So far both Supergirl and Batwoman are using the idea of refugee doppelgangers from other Earths to drive their stories, but only doppelgangers of their own characters. They aren't really being influenced yet by concepts from each other's formerly separate Earths, except in passing references. (E.g. I think I saw a Flash poster at the toy convention.) I find now that I have to adjust my thinking -- I've spent years reminding myself that Supergirl is "over there" on its own distinct Earth that now I have to struggle to remind myself that it's "over here" now, alongside the other shows. It's kind of disorienting. It's interesting how I've internalized the concept in my mind as a sort of spatial separation, like Earth-38 is sort of mentally off to my left and Earth-1 to center right, or something like that. I never really examined that impression closely before, so I'm not sure how to put it into words. And of course the Tower has a Balcony of Feelings (as Tor.com's reviewer labeled the one at CatCo) where characters have private heart-to-hearts. Practically every major set in this show has a Balcony of Feelings -- CatCo, Kara's apartment, Lena's office, even the DEO. Maybe that's why the heroes couldn't just operate out of J'onn's PI office -- it's on the ground floor and thus balcony-less. I'm disappointed that Brainy didn't once appear in his new green makeup, even when he was in superhero mode. I'd hoped the simpler makeup meant we'd be seeing him in it more often, and it's a much better-looking makeup and costume than the previous one. So it's weird that they totally avoid showing it so soon after introducing it. Okay, so why is it that the Flash can carry at least seven other people at superspeed simultaneously (as when he whooshed the Paragons out of the Vanishing Point in Crisis) but Supergirl has to whoosh back and forth and take them one at a time? And what did Toyman make those tigers out of that they were Supergirl-proof? They're kind of weakening her powers for plot convenience.
I noticed that too. Supergirl should have torn through those tigers like paper. And where did this evil Toyman come from? Was every convenient character in that bar?
Incidentally, the promo for next week's Batwoman shows that... Spoiler: next week's Batwoman ...being on the same Earth is killing Alice and the Earth-99 Beth, so "For one of us to live, the other has to die." I hope that's not true of all the doppelgangers, for the sake of Winn and all the folks at Al's Bar (including the two Als). Although there'd have to be some explanation for why it was different with Beth/Alice.
Spoiler There's a pretty obvious Through the Looking Glass metaphor to be had here, so I wonder if that will play into her being different from everyone else.
Since Nia is not a biological female, her powers would have to be the likely means she uses to create some sort of offspring. Your Scarlet Witch/Vision reference is spot on.
I just found out that they really do Kara/William's romance. In the same time, I shouldn't be too surprised but well, I hoped that producers and writers wouldn't follow the same path as Kara/Mon-El (they begin as antagonists then suddenly, they fall in love). How stupid I was to think that people in charge of the series would be more imaginative to propose us a romance which won't turn to a fiasco like Kara/James - Kara/Mon-El and Lena/James. -> have they really learned nothing from their previous attempts to associate Kara or Lena with partners far from being up to par. Some of you will answer to wait and see how Kara/William turns before judging but hey, it is CW and as for 5 series of Star Trek, writers don't know how to write a romance which truly arouses our interest, works over time and with a happy ending in the finale. Result: given the more or less negative reception from viewers and here, I already see the backlash, they will be forced to find an acceptable solution to explain the breakup .For Kara/James, it was a change of heart from Kara's part, for Kara/Mon-El, it was an emergency departure for Mon-El to not to be affected by a deadly virus (I never undestood why they had brought back a Mon-El, coming from the future and married but well...) and for Lena/James, it was further to emotional blackmail after he practically asked to his brillant and independant girlfriend to choose between him and her work. So, I guess that it will the same for Kara/William but the questions are how long will it last before the offical end of their relationship (usually it is about one season except for Kara/James where it has lasted something like 2 or 3 episodes, if I remember well) and how it will end? It seems that some people already think that William could end up being killed by Lex, after going too far in his investigations or in trying to thwart his plans...such a scenario would be a first but according to the clear open threat given by Lex in the gymnasium, it could be a possibility, don't you think? And a completly realistic one as seeing as 1) everyday, journalists/reporters die tragically as part of their profession and 2) no matter it is Lex or Lex 2.0, neither of the two is a man getting some scruples so if something or someone aggressively interferes in his plans, he will dismiss it/him-her with the back of his hand, using by the way violence (whether physical or mental / psychological) About the idea of giving to Kara a male love interest, I can understand that with Alex being a lesbian who is living (boring, sorry I couldn't help it but after almost 1 season, I really can't get involved in their SL) a romance with Kelly Olsen and Nia playing a trans superhero, the producers think that LBGT's fandom is already well served, that SuperCorp is not necessary though still the most popular fandom of Supergirl since S2 when Lena entered the stage (even Alex with whoever girlfriend she had/has never managed to be as popular as SuperCorp!). Without forgetting that since the beginning there was no indication of any lesbian tendency on both sides : Kara told clearly to Winn in S01xE02 that she wasn't a lesbian and Lena, of the little we know of her past love life, seems to have dated only men BUT why absolutely want to associate in a romantic way, these 2 powerful/brillant and independant women with men who clearly don't measure up with them, tending to treat their girlfriends rather badly (in underestimating/behaving like jerk: Mon-El has done it with Kara and later, James did it with Lena so, I don't see why it wouldn't happen with William with Kara, the latter trying to gain control over her at one point or another of their relationship, especially if he pursues his "vendetta" against the Luthors and they have an expected disagrement about how to treat Lena: William will see her as a Lex sister and a Luthor so, a great potential danger while Kara will continue to defend her though both are cold (to each other). Paradoxically, I started to compare Kara / William with Kara / Mon-El but according to what we already saw and will see in the next episode, I could have compared this romance to Lena/James too: a lovestory come out of the blue (William was in what, 3 to 4 episodes since the beginning and relatively spaced from each other to the point that I had practically forgotten his character and I'm pretty sure to not be alone!) and suddenly she decides that William is not that bad and could make an acceptable boyfriend?! After to have apparently lost her friendship with Lena then lived the tragic events in Crisis, I would have expected something else than seeing Kara suddenly careing about her love life! Being a single hero is not a shameful thing! And to end, what about her and Lena? Producers introduced this season in telling that Kara/Lena's relationship would be the central point of this 5th season and it was the case until Crisis, but with Kara/William's romance, I guess that her relationship with Lena will pass into the background (in the same time, Lena has her own storyline and is quite busy to work with Lex) but I note that when she still dated James, writers have chosen to distance her from Kara when they were still good friends, James suddenly becoming her pillar (he proudly said that he knew her by heart, better than anyone, including Kara with whom she spent an infinite time but well -> if he knew her so well, he would have never ask her to choose between him and her career, by the way!) at the expense of Kara and it seems that they want to repeat this pattern with at Lena's place and William at J's place ... until Lena comes back in the game in getting closer to Kara again after I don't know what events and from there, William will return in anonymity as if writers didn't know how to translate that people can equally lead a deep relation with a friend (well ok, on this point, we will have to wait a little longer before seeing Kara and Lena close again) and a love life, without one needing to take precedence over the other! -> I wonder how writers live their lives: I mean, don't they know why and how people fall in love; how they live their romance romance and how/why it ends? Insread, they choose the drama and backlash!
Who says that William is even into all that? All that hair, and those long long legs and a smile you can charge up a tesler with. Like he could take a white girl home to meet the parents anyway! Imagine the backlash (in America) if Kara had to convert before she was allowed to marry William? Even if he's lapsed, William is most likely to be Hindu or Muslim, and even if he's lapsed his parents will force him to have a full wedding with elephants, because they are paying for it. But I was thinking about what an asshole Kara would be during Ramadan... She just has to fly to the dark half of Earth with a big belly burger, at super speed any time the religious fasting becomes inconvienient.
William is even more boring than Mon-El. Or James. Kara can do better. On the other hand, why does she even need a relationship to define her? To be fair though, outside Nia and Brainy, the show hasn't done very well with its ships. I can never remember Jimmy's sister's name. I find her that forgettable. Heck, the only reason I could remember Maggie's name is because she was Maggie Sawyer. So Alex hasn't faired much better.
I take it you've never heard of in vitro fertilization, frozen sperm, donor eggs, or surrogates? She might not be able to get pregnant herself but she can still have a biological child if she planned ahead, which she apparently did, and froze some of her sperm in the early stages of her transitioning.
This is a comic book fantasy show, so as Guy theorized, I would not be surprised to see Nia's solution one that's similar to what the Scarlet Witch did in the comics.