Warning: This story contains major spoilers from the series premiere ofSupergirl.
Read at your own risk!
The escaped Phantom Zone prisoners arent Supergirls only problem.
Credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS
Whats next for National Citys savior?
What can you tell us about Karas aunt?
ANDREW KREISBERG:Her name is Astra.
Michael Yarish/CBS
Shes a character that weve created for the show, who doesnt come from the comics.
We thought it was really exciting that the villain be part of Karas family that Kara thought was dead.
But beyond that, shes her mothers twin sister.
Even though its not her mother, the big bad of the year wears her mothers face.
To be clear for the non-comic book fans, this villain is not Kal-Els mother.
No, no, no.
Alura, Karas mother, married into the House of El.
She is not Lara.
What can you tell us about Astras motivations?
Is it just to make Kara pay for her mother Alura being their judge?
Its actually a lot more complex than that.
Its always great when the hero and the villain are two sides of the same coin.
Astras version of saving the Earth is quite different from Karas.
Just like with any prison, theres a wide variety of crime represented among the inmates.
Some of them are just trying to get along, go along.
And some of them cant help what they can do.
Some of them are trying to get home.
Theyre not all mustache twirling, revenge seeking, we-want-to-rule-the-world creatures.
Theyve got lives, loves, desires, dreams, fears and hopes just like anybody.
Watching how Supergirl deals with them, sometimes in heartbreaking ways, is what makes every episode different.
Its what helps Kara on her journey to becoming the hero that she can be.
Kara grew up on Krypton.
She lived there until she was 13 years old.
All of that was taken away from her.
Its not even the specificity of missing other Kryptonians; she had a whole other life that was gone.
She has a job, friends and family.
But its that core wound that she lost everything, and she remembers it.
That is the secret pain thats inside of her that also drives her.
She knows most of them.
A lot of it is more about honing it and more about training.
We always love sueprhero training in the Berlanti-verse.
Thats one of our favorite things to do.
In the comics, shes stronger and faster than he is.
What does training for Supergirl look like?
Theres a very fun training sequence at the top of episode 2.
Shes a much more experienced fighter than Kara is.
Whats her working relationship with DEO look like moving forward?
Its mostly positive, sometimes tentative.
Whats so special about Kara is how being the person that she is affects other people in positive ways.
Shes always an inspiration and always inspiring other people to step forward and be a hero.
I think thats one of the most amazing things about her.
Is Karas relationship with her sister damaged since Alex was hiding her true job for so long?
No, they get over that.
Those sister scenes are so powerful.
There are so many things on the show where its just the two sisters being sisters.
If you just turned into it, you wouldnt realize you were watching a show about a superhero.
The sisters love for each other really makes up the emotional core of the series.
I think initially she looks at her like a cash cow.
Cat slowly starts to come around on Supergirl.
Cat has a relationship with Supergirl and she also has a relationship with Kara.
That, to us, is so fascinating.
What can you tell us aboutMaxwell Lord(Peter Facinelli)?
Youre not quite sure where he stands.
Thats whats so interesting about him.
Ironically, thats what Max would say, too.
What does James (Mehcad Brooks) and Karas relationship look like moving forward?
Jimmy, in a lot of ways, is representing Clark/Superman on the show.
Thats something that Jimmy brings to the table.
Its helping Kara define what kind of superhero she wants to be.
Does she want to do things like Superman?
In other cases, does she think theres a better way?
Theres obviously an attraction there.
How that plays out is the romantic fun of the series.
Theyre really fun together.
Its fun to see Jimmy Olsen all grown up.
Hes become a man, and in some ways, hes outgrown Superman.
You haveLucy Lane(Jenna Dewan-Tatum) coming in as a foil for that dynamic.
What can you tell us about her?
Lucy is great, shes fun, shes awesome, shes beautiful.
She just has a light inside of her, is fun and gorgeous and strong.
In this incarnation, we made Lucy in the military.
Winn (Jeremy Jordan) is, in a lot of ways, obsessed with Kara.
Could that come back to haunt her at some point?
It actually doesnt come back to haunt her.
He becomes a strong ally.
Winn, Jimmy and Alex form her clandestine crime-fighting unit.
Hes her best friend.
He just liked her when he thought she was just her.
Hes another option in her romantic journey.
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