Not bad, but it's missing something...
"My name is Kara Zor-El. 24 years ago, my planet, Krypton, was in serious peril. My cousin, Kal-El, was sent to Earth for his own safety and protection. You may know his story. The story that you don't know is that I was sent to protect him."
— Kara Zor-El
Kara Zor-El is sent to Earth to take care of her cousin, but after a detour in the Phantom Zone, she arrives twenty-four years late and discovers that the Earth already has Superman to protect it. After growing up with the Danvers family, Kara decides to use her powers to help people, a la her cousin, and is christened "Supergirl" by CatCo CEO (and Kara's boss) Cat Grant.
During a night flight, Kara is captured by the Department of Extra-Normal Operations and learns that her foster sister, Alex Danvers, is an agent. Department chief Hank Henshaw reveals that a Kryptonian prison ship crashed to Earth at the same time as Kara and hundreds of prisoners have escaped. One of the prisoners, axe-wielding Vartox, plans to destroy National City. but Supergirl defeats him with the Department's help.
James Olsen, CatCo's new art director and a friend of Superman's, reveals to Kara that he knows her secret identity and that Superman asked him to keep an eye out and help Kara if need be. Meanwhile, Vartox's superior is revealed to be General Astra, the twin sister of Alura Zor-El and aunt to Kara.
Tropes in this episode:
- As You Know: Mostly averted, with people only alluding to Superman's backstory. It is only included to give reference for Kara's story, as Superman's is common knowledge in both in-universe and out.
- Badass Normal: The DEO manage to capture a Kryptonian. Without any metahumans on their side.
- Blunt "Yes": When Alex asks Henshaw if being the adopted sister of Kara is the only reason the DEO hired her, he confirms that is the case. He immediately clarifies that fact alone wouldn't have been enough for the DEO to keep her.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Kara gets a lot of this after rescuing the plane, some justified such as Alex who desperately wants to maintain The Masquerade, some less justifiable like Winn who doesn't like that the new hero doesn't have a costume.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Cat bought the building for the reason of having a private elevator. While riding it, she smells someone else's cologne, and requests that he be reprimanded. Fortunately, she also says he could be bathed instead, and doesn't really have a preference as to which it is.
- She also needs to be stopped from firing Kara for not liking the name Supergirl.
- First-Episode Twist: Alex is an agent of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations, James Olsen knows about Kara's power and Kara's aunt Astra is behind Vartox.
- Hero Insurance: Lampshaded when a reporter complains about all the damage done to a bridge that Supergirl carried a plane over.Kara: Well, you try saving a plane for the first time and see if you don't make a mess!
- Hero of Another Story: The episode starts on Krypton about to blow up and a baby Kal-El being sent in a space pod to earth as Kara narrates over it, she then adds that we probably already know his story then introduces herself.
- Hero's First Rescue: Kara, who's previously tried to hide her powers, is forced to use them publicly to save a passenger plane that's about to crash.
- Implausible Deniability: At the start of the episode Kara tell's Winn "there's no such thing as aliens in a world were Superman's existence is common knowledge.
- The Men in Black: The D.E.O are initially portrayed this way.
- Mistaken for Gay: When Kara tries to tell Winn that she is Supergirl, Winn assumes she is coming out to him as a lesbian.
- Mythology Gag:
- Kara insisted that the symbol on her costume is not an "S", but rather the coat of arms for the El Family. Man of Steel also shows Superman insisting that the "S" on his chest means something else.
- James asked Kara with one of the most famous catchphrases of Superman's:James: Don't you have a city to save? You know, "Up, up, and away"?
- Vartox contacts Kara by broadcasting on a frequency outside of human hearing, just like Lex Luthor in Superman: The Movie.
- The bridge Kara flies over while saving the plane is the Otto Binder bridge, named for one of the creators of Supergirl.
- Negated Moment of Awesome: The D.E.O. catches Supergirl before she can stop a fire.
- Place Beyond Time: The Phantom Zone is stated to be like this, along with possibly being Another Dimension or a Pocket Dimension. Absolutely Zero Time passes inside it, and while people are aware of what is going on, they don't age. On the outside of the zone, time still passes normally.
- Revenge by Proxy: Revealed as the reason Alex didn't want Kara in the spotlight. Kara's mother was the jailer and warden of the Phantom Zone prison, which includes the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy. Since she's dead, Kara is the closest they have to her if they want revenge, and since all of them are stuck on Earth, that means revenge is really the only thing they have to do.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: James Olsen, until the end of the episode. Superman let him in on the secret. The DEO is until partway through, having found out about Kara on their own.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Used by Alex when Kara thinks about giving up. Later used on Alex by Henshaw when Alex is doubting her own abilities and wonders if she's around just because of her relationship with Kara. Henshaw bluntly confirms the relationship is why the DEO brought her in, but it wouldn't have been enough to keep her on if she wasn't good enough.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Supergirl makes her debut attempting to save a fallen plane. When she sees that the plane is about to hit a bridge, she shouts, "Oh come on!"
