MAWS SEASON 3 EPISODE 1 *HOT TAKES*
new costumes! …hmm. Clark’s first suit in Season 1 and 2 was basically a perfect adaptation, but in general I think this new one is… fine. I like the cape over the shoulders for both of them, that’s neat. Kara has a new hood, which is cool. I don’t like how long the sleeves are for both of them; it should just stop at the wrist, otherwise it looks weird. and I don’t really like Kara’s boots
well, that’s a neat take on Kelex/the Superman Robots.
“Kandorian crystals” ears perked up at that
I’ve been wanting for YEARS to see the Superman franchise to do some crystal-tech body-horror, and if this is how I get that, I will be very happy
“it’s so big that Supergirl had to come save me.” “your distress was extremely audible.” I recognize that the Arrowverse versions of these characters were older and all-in-all very different people, but a big part of me just looks at the first season of that show like. THIS is how you sell me on the Jimmy/Kara ship
oh, hey, Challengers of the Unknown is a TV show in this universe! that’s cute
“Project Caliban”. okay, for those who don’t know their Shakespeare: Caliban is a half-human, half-monster hybrid, a very bestial and wild man, who was enslaved by the wizard Prospero. so, as far as on-the-nose classical-lit references for government programs go, this is pretty solid. not an especially overused reference, while also still making sense for this story and its themes.
“I hope all that digging didn’t upset the underground dino-people.” “Jimmy, the Earth isn’t hollow, and there isn’t a secret race of dino-people living inside.” oh my god is that a reference to Tyrannko, Dino-Czar of the Subterranosauri, from All-Star Superman
huh. that’s a greenish-grey lab specimen with white spikes jutting out of him…
in a season based on Reign of the Supermen…
I’m pretty sure that they had the whole season at least written before the 2025 film came out, but Bizarro having the big long hair and the black-and-silver pants feels inspired by that movie’s Ultraman. or maybe it’s just a coincidence
“it is a Kryptonian clone, an abomination!” oh, so we’re borrowing from the New 52 here, are we? I wonder if “Kon” is still going to be a slur. that part always felt Pointlessly Edgy to me, especially since New52-Superboy didn’t end up getting any other kind of name
[EDIT: saw a Tumblr post that said that Big-Haired Buff Man from the intro was probably H’el, and… yep, he’s even got the scar going over the nose. so I think that’s probably what they’re going for)
I appreciate how much the Project Caliban facility has this very liminal quality. like a space where people used to live and work. it’s very cool. this is a tangent, but: if you don’t understand why ppl like the FNAF/Poppy Playtime style of storytelling, it’s basically just that the player gets to be the one wandering around and trying to piece together what happened. (I say that as someone who doesn’t really play that type of game)
the full black jumpsuit confirms to me that “yeah, this is definitely inspired by the Gunn film’s Ultraman”
“this is not the way you raise a weapon. not the way I was raised” oh, that’s very good. that’s fucking excellent writing
I do think it’s an interesting role-reversal to be like “what if Superman and Supergirl had the evil scientists for dads, while Bizarro was created by a good scientist?” do I like what this show does to Jor-El as a character? no, I fucking hate it, and I will complain about it until the end of time. but I think it’s pretty interesting here
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