Supergirl season 1 introduced the world to the Girl of Steel and set her up as a hero in her own right rather than an extension of her famous cousin.
Airing on CBS, Supergirl season 1 gave us Kara’s backstory as well as origin as Supergirl. Much of Kara’s journey was to establish herself as a hero in her own right; she needed to step out of the shadow of her cousin. And by the end of the season, she did just that.
Now Supergirl season 2 will be airing on The CW. We’ve got you covered on everything you need to remember before season 2 airs.
‘Supergirl’ season 1 recap
Who is Kara Zor-El?
Kara Zor-El is the daughter of Zor-El and Alura. She was raised on Krypton, but when the planet was dying, she was sent to Earth to protect her baby cousin, Kal-El. Her pod, however, was knocked off course and ended up in the Phantom Zone, where she slept for decades. Eventually her pod was freed and she ended up on Earth.
However, when she arrived she was still a teenager while Kal-El had grown up and become Superman. Kara was adopted by the Danvers family, and she grew up hiding her powers. As an adult, she worked as the assistant to media mogul Cat Grant.
When her adoptive sister, Alex, was on a flight going down, Kara embraced her abilities and saved the plane. This inspired her to don a suit and, with the help of her friends Winn Schott and James Olsen become Supergirl.
What is the DEO?
Alex turned out to be an agent at the Department of Extra-Normal Operations, or DEO. The DEO is a government organization established to monitor non-human threats. Despite an initially rough relationship with DEO leader Hank Henshaw (more on him in a bit), Supergirl began working with the DEO to stop alien threats.
It turns out that when Kara’s pod came to Earth, she brought the Kryptonian prison, Fort Rozz, with her. When it crashed to Earth, many alien criminals escaped and now pose a threat to humanity. Kara found herself a direct target of many attacks as well because her mother, Alura, was a judge who sentenced many criminals to Fort Rozz.
Who are Kara’s allies?
Kara is a hero who depends on her friends to help her do her job. A bit more on those allies:
- Alex Danvers: Kara’s adoptive sister, Alex works as a bio-engineer as well as a field agent for the DEO. She is an expert at hand-to-hand combat as well as marksmanship. Her complex but loving relationship with Kara is the core relationship the show explored in season 1.
- Hank Henshaw: The director of the DEO, Hank Henshaw turned out to be an imposter; rather, the Martian J’onn J’onzz took Hank Henshaw’s form after he died trying to kill J’onn. Alex’s father, Jeremiah, was mortally wounded in the attack so J’onn swore to look after Alex. Thus, he recruited her to keep an eye on her. J’onn revealed his true identity when he fought Kara when she was affected by Red Kryptonite. Though he was initially captured by the DEO, he was eventually given his command back after his help stopping the Kryptonian threat to National City.
- Winn Schott: Kara’s best friend, Winn is an IT guy at CatCo. When she decided to embrace her powers, he was the first one she revealed herself to. He helped her create her costume and continues to be one of her biggest allies. He harbored a crush on Kara for a long time and was heartbroken when she rejected him in favor of just being friends. However, he moved past it and their relationship remained strong. He is also the son of super villain Winslow Schott Sr., aka Toyman.
- James Olsen: Clark Kent/Superman’s best friend, James moved to National City to spread his wings and hopefully make a name for himself on his own rather than just as the friend of Superman. Clark also asked him to keep an eye on Kara, and when she decided to become Supergirl, he was there to support her. He often works with Winn behind the scenes to help Kara. Kara developed feelings for him, though he was dating Lucy Lane. At the end of the season, however, Kara and James kissed.
- Cat Grant: Kara’s boss, Cat Grant is a Miranda Priestly type. She pushes Kara at all times, but at the end of the day, she wants Kara to be her best self and reach her potential. Cat came up with the name Supergirl and feels protective of her. Kara, as Supergirl, in turn, has turned to Cat frequently for advice.
- Lucy Lane: The daughter of General Sam Lane, sister of Lois Lane and on-again off-again girlfriend of James Olsen, Lucy worked as a JAG prosecutor but eventually resigned her commission. She worked for Cat Grant for a time but then returned to the military. She was eventually appointed leader of the DEO when Hank was revealed to be an alien. Lucy and Kara have a strong friendship, though she was initially shocked to learn her friend was Supergirl.
Who are Kara’s enemies?
In season 1, Kara faced off against her aunt, Astra, and Astra’s husband, Non. They were in charge of the Fort Rozz escapees. Their mission, known as Myriad, turned out to be mind control that forced those affected to work toward improving their planet. Astra tried to warn others that Krypton was dying and went about it in extreme ways, leading to her sentence, alongside Non, on Fort Rozz. Her goal was to save Earth and then rule it.
However, Alex killed Astra in the mid-season finale. This left Non in charge, and he activated Myriad in the season finale. However, his goal was not to save humanity but end it. In their final showdown, Kara lobotomized him with her heat vision.
And then there was Maxwell Lord, a scientist and CEO. He has a deep-seated distrust of the government as well as Supergirl, as he fears what might happen if she were to turn on humanity. Max was the one to create the Red Kryptonite that poisoned Supergirl, though its effects on her were unintentional; his goal was to use it on Non. He helped Supergirl fight Non, proving himself more anti-hero than villain.
And then there is Project Cadmus, the mysterious government project that is apparently harboring Jeremiah Danvers, who has been alive all along. We know little about Cadmus, other than that it is conducting experiments related to aliens.
What’s next?
In the final moments of the Supergirl season 1 finale, Supergirl and J’onn came across a Kryptonian pod that crashed into Earth. When Kara opened the pod, she was shocked at what it contained — but we’ll have to wait to see what was contained within. The mystery of Jeremiah Danvers’ survival at Cadmus has also been set up for season 2.
Supergirl season 2 premieres Monday, October 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET on The CW.