How Supergirl Revamped Superman IV's Story And Made It Work
Warning: The next accommodates SPOILERS for Supergirl season 6, episode 15, “Hope For Tomorrow.”
The Supergirl season 6 episode “Hope For Tomorrow” enhanced the story of the Superman film Superman 4: The Quest For Peace in each respect. The ultimate film to star Christopher Reeve as Kal-El of Krypton, Superman 4 is extensively thought of to be the worst of the traditional Superman movies. On condition that, it could be all however not possible for Supergirl to revamp The Quest For Peace and never enhance it, however the episode “Hope For Tomorrow” efficiently addressed practically each frequent criticism concerning the film.
The central storyline of the second half of Supergirl season 6 discovered Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) competing with the exiled fifth Dimensional Princess Nyxly (Peta Sergeant) for management of seven magical totems, tied to the seven cosmic forces of Hope, Love, Braveness, Humanity, Desires, Future and Fact. Every totem required its wielder to cross a check proving their mastery of every drive. The Check of Hope within the Supergirl season 6 episode “Hope For Tomorrow” proved notably tough, because it required the victor to “encourage a hope that burns longer and brighter than the solar.” Whereas this would possibly ordinarily have been a straightforward process for Supergirl, this check got here at a time when nuclear struggle appeared imminent between the nations of Kaznia and Corto Maltese and hope was in brief provide.
The story of Superman 4: The Quest For Peace, was likewise primarily based across the concern of nuclear struggle and Superman appearing to finish the risk after receiving a letter from a involved boy. Sadly, the film did so poorly it sunk any probability of a Superman 5. Whereas the story of Superman 4 made a noble effort to sort out a critical problem, the movie suffered from finances cuts and modifying points that eradicated many of the movie’s extra considerate moments in favor of recycled flight scenes and nonsensical padding. The Supergirl season 6 episode “Hope For Tomorrow” takes many of the story parts from Superman IV and builds upon the bottom ideas to create one thing much better.
Roughly midway by way of the Supergirl season 6 episode “Hope For Tomorrow,” Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath) requested the identical query because the apprehensive boy in Superman 4: The Quest For Peace; why cannot Supergirl simply take away all of the nuclear weapons and throw them into the solar? Kara gave the identical primary reply as Superman within the film, saying that she was “forbidden from interfering in human historical past.” Nonetheless, Kara additional defined to her buddy Lena Luthor that human nations wanted to be free to find out their very own destinies with out some omnipotent alien imposing their beliefs on them. Kara additionally identified that even when she might do away with all of the nuclear weapons on the earth, it would not clear up the conflicts that result in struggle. (Satirically, Kara did wind up having to throw a number of nuclear missiles into the solar earlier than the episode’s finish.)
This level was pushed house by one other scene, through which america diplomat overseeing the peace talks between Kaznia and Corto Maltese requested J’onn J’onzz (David Harewood) to make use of his telepathic powers to make the leaders of the 2 delegations signal a peace treaty. The Martian Manhunter refused, saying that whereas he was glad to make use of his powers to pacify the 2 leaders after Nxyly used the Totem of Braveness to make them afraid of trying weak through the negotiations, he refused to instantly management their actions. Each of the Supergirl scenes did a much better job of exhibiting why heroes have a duty to not use their powers than each speech Superman made concerning that time in Superman 4: The Quest For Peace.
The Supergirl season 6 episode “Hope For Tomorrow” featured a subplot that centered round Esme, a foster little one adopted by Alex Danvers/Sentinel (Chyler Leigh) and Kelly Olsen/Guardian (Azie Tesfai), and the Tremendous Associates’ efforts to assist the younger lady get acclimated to her new house. A sufferer of an abusive state of affairs in her earlier foster house, Esme was shy and afraid of being despatched again to the group house she had been in. Restoring Esme’s hope sooner or later went past being a check of Supergirl’s skill to encourage hope and have become a check for the entire group, in addition to a central a part of the theme of “Hope For Tomorrow.” In contrast, regardless of being the inspiration of Superman’s effort to carry an finish to nuclear struggle in Superman 4: The Quest For Peace, the boy who wrote to Superman disappeared from the film after Superman took him to the United Nations to listen to him converse.
Initially arrange as a romantic curiosity for Kara Danvers in Supergirl season 5, reporter William Dey (Staz Nair) has been one of many extra divisive characters created for the Arrowverse, with many followers discovering the character annoying and questioning what objective he served after he and Kara agreed to be simply buddies in Supergirl season 6. Comparisons could possibly be drawn between William Dey and Lacy Warfield (Mariel Hemingway) whose solely objective in Superman 4: The Quest For Peace was appearing as a hostage and pushing an unconvincing love triangle between herself, Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Nonetheless, the Supergirl season 6 episode “Hope For Tomorrow” redeemed William, who was removed from a passive determine after being taken captive by Nyxly. Certainly, it was William’s fast pondering that enabled the Tremendous Associates to take the Totem of Braveness away from Nyxly.
Whereas Superman 4: The Quest For Peace noticed legendary actor Gene Hackman return as Lex Luthor, his position within the movie was removed from in depth. Other than creating the monstrous Nuclear Man, Luthor had surprisingly little to do with the motion of the movie and most of his scenes had been comedic non-sequiturs. In contrast, the Arrowerse Lex Luthor doesn’t seem on digital camera within the Supergirl season 6 episode “Hope For Tomorrow,” however however had a serious influence on the episode’s ultimate scene.
As “Hope For Tomorrow” got here to a detailed, Supergirl elected to throw the Totem of Hope into the solar, figuring out that Nxyly wanted all seven totems as a part of her scheme to defeat Supergirl and the Tremendous Associates. Shortly after Nxyly realized what Supergirl had achieved, a field fell by way of a portal in entrance of her. The field contained a watch and a notice from a secret admirer telling her to not “lose hope.” When Nyxly placed on the watch, it shaped certainly one of Lex Luthor’s trademark armored Lexo-Skeletons round her, revealing the identification of her mysterious new ally in a intelligent trend. It was definitely extra refined than most of Gene Hackman’s scenes trolling Superman in Superman 4: The Quest For Peace. This, coupled with the opposite connections all through the episode, spotlight how Supergirl was in a position to efficiently revitalize the failed movie’s story arc.
