Supergirl Adds Three More DC Comics Characters—Is One of Them Superman?

Kaitlin Thomas
Melissa Benoist, Supergirl | Photo Credits: CBS

This article, Supergirl Adds Three More DC Comics Characters—Is One of Them Superman?, originally appeared on TVGuide.com.

When Supergirl premieres Monday, Oct. 26, she'll be bringing a few familiar DC Comics characters with her for the ride. Joining previously announced characters Reactron (Chris Browning, The 100), Maxwell Lord (Peter Facinelli, Nurse Jackie) and Lucy Lane (Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Witches of East End) will be General Sam Lane, the Red Tornado, and Non. The news was announced by executive producer Andrew Kreisberg at the Television Critics Association fall previews on Monday.

Unfortunately, there's still one very famous name missing from that list, and according to the show's producers, fans shouldn't expect to see Kara's (Melissa Benoist) more famous cousin anytime soon. "[Superman] will be a factor in her life, but you won't see him on screen," said Geoff Johns, chief creative officer at DC Comics. However, Johns did confirm that despite the fact the character will remain hidden off-screen for now, he will "play a part in her evolution of becoming a superhero."

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"As much as we respect the history of Superman, it's very much her point of view," added executive producer Ali Adler. And part of Kara's unique point of view will be the fact that although she was a young girl when she left, she still has memories of Krypton that Superman did not. "[It] makes it much more painful," said Johns. "She has a lot more to go through, even than Clark Kent did, on adjusting to Earth."

Kara's emotional pain and growth will be a theme of the series, as will the physical toll her new superhero quest will put on her body. "In the comics, Superman takes a lot more punishment than just Kryptonite and it was important to us to put [Kara] in situations where she isn't all powerful so that you can root for her," explained Kreisberg. "Sometimes there's a tendency to make them so powerful that there really isn't any danger and we wanted to make it seem like Supergirl might not survive. That was a conscious effort on our part... it's not to diminish her, but to make it feel like there's actual jeopardy."

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Check out Kara's powers and more in the brand-new Supergirl trailer below:

Supergirl premieres Monday, Oct. 26 at 8:30/7:30c, before moving to its regular 8/7c timeslot on Nov. 2.