Written by Damone Rodgers
Supergirl: The Complete Fifth Season is definitely an enjoyable way to pass the time during self isolation. It is full of feel-good moments reminiscent of the feel good-comic book Supergirl that are more than just Supergirl’s new bangs or pants on her new uniform. The diversity represented through the characters and the telling of their stories is well managed and offers the opportunity to see the multicultural layers of society being told from previously unheard voices.
Through the 19-episode progression, Kara (Melissa Benoist) continues her quest for companionship, there’s a global VR technological revolutionary roll out, Lena (Katie McGrat) continuing to suffer through her own version of “The Curse of The Luthors,” Brainiac (Jesse Rath) enduring the many faces of Brainiac and his understanding of intimate human relationships, the exit of original characters and the return of an old favorite, and super villains, of course. This season’s incarnation features ancient beings who consider themselves gods and control a shadowy organization known as Leviathan.
For shows like Supergirl, reaching a fifth season usually means reaching the milestone of 100 episodes. The 13th episode in Season Five is that milestone with an episode titled “It’s A Super Life,” which takes an Elseworld approach when Mr. Mxyzptlk, this time played with whimsical earnestness by Thomas Lennon, offers Kara a chance to ‘do-over’ her reveal to Lena that she is Supergirl. It’s a great tribute to the series through the format of It’s A Wonderful Life up until the point when shit gets real as the reflections on earlier episodes containing their own reveals melt into current plot lines in the series. In traditional episodic television, our hero learns her lesson while at the same time Mr. Mxyzptlk makes some friends.
Supergirl: The Complete Fifth Season celebrates the show, the comic book, and the positivity in the pursuit of diversity on a world where different perspectives from different faces reveal the commonality of our humanity. Because superheroes have secret identities, their lives are not free from the struggles of normal folk. The Blu-ray release collects the season on four discs with The Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2019, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and comes with a digital code.
Also included is a bonus disc of the DC Crossover Event Crisis on Infinite Earths containing all five episodes from four shows across the Arrowverse, including the fifth season of Supergirl. It has its own special features in relation to the original DC crossover event, written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by George Pérez, that launched a huge change for DC books in 1985. In the special features of the bonus disc, they provide insight into the development of the groundbreaking event in the DC Universe which changed DC Comics. Wolfman even appears in an episode of the Crisis on Infinite Earths as a fanboy seeing autographs and expressing his enjoyment of superhero team-ups. If you’re a DC comics fan, the Special Features section that covers the original crossover event is a treasured collectible.
