When Supergirl debuted and entered the CW’s Arrowverse, fans were excited to see the familiar heroes leap from the comic pages and onto the small screen. The show delivered a great mix of exciting comic book action as well as character drama that saw them growing and changing throughout the run of the series.
Many of the best characters from the series balanced their hero personas with their day-to-day interpersonal conflicts, such as Supergirl herself. Supergirl also proved that great characters don’t always have to be heroes or likable either. Truly amazing characters will keep audiences tuning in week after week to see what will happen next. Lucky for audiences, Supergirl had plenty of those characters.
Season 1 – Kara Danvers/Supergirl
The first season of Supergirl introduced the character of Kara Danvers and showed her day-to-day struggles. She balances her regular life as Kara with her super-hero alter ego while working for CatCo Media and dealing with her overbearing boss. She shines in the first season because viewers are brought along as she struggles to decide whether or not she truly wants to be Supergirl.
While the series became complicated over the years, Kara’s arc in the first season is refreshing in its simplicity. In fact, she offers some of the season’s best moments. Kara is a great character because she isn’t perfect. Instead, she struggles with finding her footing as Supergirl in addition to living in the very large shadow of her cousin, Superman. When she ultimately does succeed to find that balance, it’s a story arc that’s well-earned.
Season 2 – Queen Rhea
The second season was split into two major conflicts. The first was with the nefarious anti-alien group Cadmus and the second was with the Daxamite Queen Rhea. Rhea is a fascinating character because she is singularly driven and will do anything to achieve her goals. She isn’t likable, but her motivations are clear and understandable even if the viewer may not agree with them.
In fact, Rhea stands as a lesson for viewers that revenge is a dangerous path to tread. Her arc dominates the latter portion of the second season but was set up earlier due to Mon-El’s introduction and the history between Krypton and Daxam. Unlike a lot of other characters on the show who get fleshed out over several seasons, Queen Rhea’s plot is perfectly self-contained throughout season 2.
Season 3 – Alex Danvers
Alex is Kara’s adoptive sister and often acts as her human counterpart throughout many of the show’s subplots. She doesn’t possess any of her sister’s superpowers but she is a strong and interesting character. In the third season, she shines by showing her humanity and dealing with very real problems that the audience could relate to. Her heartbreaking separation from Maggie Sawyer is a complicated issue, showing people who love each other wanting different things out of life.
While Kara is dealing with the threat of the World Killers, Alex is trying to get her personal life in order by figuring out that she wants to be a mom. The juxtaposition made for great television and endeared her to audiences.
Season 4 – Martian Manhunter
One of the strengths of Supergirl was that the writers often utilized real-life issues in the plots. One of the running threads throughout the show is the uneasy relationship between humans and the aliens that live on Earth. Season 4 puts the character of J’onn J’onzz, also known as Martian Manhunter, into sharp focus. In some of his most iconic moments, J’onn has to deal with many human’s hatred of aliens and the evil that can come from discrimination.
Season 4 tests the meddle of the Martian Manhunter when he must fight against his former ally, Manchester Black. Though the pair both are disgusted by anti-alien bigotry, J’onn knows that Black’s methods are wrong. In fact, he has to fight his former friend from proving the Children of Liberty’s worse prejudices about aliens correct. It makes for a powerful character study as J’onn is torn between his vow of peace and the need for revenge.
Season 5 – Lena Luthor
Lex Luthor’s sister Lena was featured throughout the entire series and grows throughout the show. In season five, she is given her biggest chance to shine with her arc as one of the most memorable parts of the season. Lena is a conflicted character who has to reconcile her desire to be good with the actions of her evil family members.
Lena wants to prove that she isn’t like her brother and truly wants to help others. Meanwhile, she runs up against people’s assumptions about her, essentially paying for the sins of her family. When she learns the truth of Kara’s secret identity, she feels betrayed because this has happened so many times with people close to her. Ultimately, Lena grapples with the betrayal as it sends her down a very dark path, which could put her and Kara on opposite sides.
Season 6 – Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor has always been one of DC’s biggest baddies, making his inclusion in Supergirl season 4 very exciting. Throughout his tenure on the show, he’s always been driven by his own plans and agenda. In fact, he will stop at nothing to take everyone else down in order to pull himself up. In the final season, however, Lex shows an unusual amount of depth as a character in his relationship with Nyxly.
After time traveling to the future where he falls in love with Nyxly, Lex returns to the present in order to stop her from setting up her future death in a poor assembly of the AllStone. Though he eventually falls back into his usual evil pattern by the end, Lex is humanized by his pursuit of love. In fact, it is partially responsible for his own downfall in the series finale.
