The Geekcap: Supergirl "Myriad"

At the DEO, Non orders Lucy Lane to release the prisoners. One prisoner in particular, Maxima, fights back against the agents who captured her. Lucy informs her that Myriad has begun and offers her a position with Non and the Kryptonians as rulers of Earth. Maxima, who is spited after Superman refused her as a mate, welcomes the offer, only to then fight Supergirl. Supergirl eventually takes down the alien but is caught off-guard when Lucy fires back with Kryptonite bullets. Supergirl tries to reach her but is forced to fight back, using her old spaceship to blast Lucy and the other agents and trap the remaining prisoners. After painfully extracting a Kryptonite piece from her body, Supergirl flies to the Fortress of Solitude.

Supergirl looks for Superman, only to be informed by the robot Kal-Ex that he is involved in space travel. She demands the robot tell her about Myriad, but protocol prevents him from discussing it. Supergirl reminds him that he is bound to serve her family, and if he does not share the information, the Kryptonian heritage as they know it will be lost. He then shows an image of her mother Alura who explains the origins of Myriad. With the devastation facing Krypton and its leaders refusing to act, Astra and Non created a system that would bring the world under their line of thinking, a form of mass mind control which led to their imprisonment in Fort Rozz. She also reveals that they kept this information secret to prevent anyone from enacting this technology for their own selfish gain. Unfortunately for Supergirl, there is no way to stop it. Meanwhile, thirty miles outside Midvale, Alex and Hank hide from the military by disguising as a mother and son.

Supergirl flies back to Catco to find her co-workers acting as mindless drones to a Kryptonian coding on computer screens, including Winn and James. She is informed by General Lane that the military is now sealing National City in quarantine in order to protect the outside cities, though she is less optimistic about what to do. 

Suddenly, Cat Grant arrives acting as though everything is normal and surprised to see Supergirl instead of Kara. Not only that, she also seems oblivious as to what has happened. The two then spot hordes of people marching to the center of the city. Supergirl is messaged by Clark that he is on his way, but he too falls under the control of Myriad. With even Superman failing, Cat and Supergirl wonder how to beat this, until Maxwell Lord shows up at their door with a new form of technology.

Lord explains that Non is using Lord technology stolen from last Christmas which allowed the billionaire to create a countermeasure. He then deduces that Superman, being raised since by humans since he was a baby, fell under Myriad by being too human, unlike Supergirl who grew up on Krypton. Cat remarks that she wasn’t affected, but Lord reveals that he fashioned ion blockers in the earrings he gave her. He refused to give it to the DEO after Alex left, ridding the organization of all the people he trusted. With the entire city turned against them, Lord says there is only one thing they can do: kill all the Kryptonians.

At an undisclosed location, Non and Indigo discuss their plans with Myriad working according to their design. Indigo, however, notes that Kara still poses a threat to their plans since she already assisted in taking down Astra. Non does not immediately desire to kill his niece, but Indigo warns him that he may have to in order to save his plan.

Alex and Hank arrive at the home of Alex’s mother Eliza who questions why Alex is sneaking around with a little boy. The boy then changes back to Hank Henshaw which shocks Eliza even more in seeing the man who took her husband. Alex then quickly informs her mother that Hank is, in fact, a Martian shapeshifter named J’onn J’onnz who met Jeremiah before Hank died. J’onn informs Eliza that her husband saved his life and that he is dedicated to protecting Alex. Alex then asks her mother for supplies since they are now fugitives from National City. Eliza then informs the two that something worse is happening in their home city.

Supergirl is immediately reluctant to kill fellow Kryptonians but hears his plan with no other options. Lord informs her that he has developed a plan should Superman or she go rogue by setting off a Kryptonite bomb engulfing the city in Kryptonite radiation. Cat reminds him that Supergirl would also be affected, but Lord claims that if Supergirl flies the bomb, she could save herself. However, she would be unable to live in the city. After Cat persists, he also reveals that the bomb could kill up to eight percent of the city population or 300,000 people. Cat objects to the blatant sacrifice of innocent lives, but Supergirl agrees since it’s the only way to stop Myriad.

At the Danvers household, Eliza speaks with J’onn, who reveals that Jeremiah’s apparent last thoughts were of his daughters. She is then delighted to hear that he is, in fact, a big green man and bombards him with many questions on how he keeps his Martian stasis on earth. Alex converse with Kara who fills her in on the details of Myriad. She also refuses Alex’s request to help since she could prove vulnerable to Myriad. J’onn, however, says he will go since he is immune and, he reminds Alex in secret, Jeremiah needs her.

At Catco, the three are visited by Non who tries to reason with Kara to join their side. He argues that, through Myriad, the world can act as one mind to solve all the problems of mankind. He then uses James and Winn to argue for him, stating that Non had ended more crime in one minute than Supergirl had since she arrived. Supergirl argues that before Astra died, they forgave each other, and she would not want Non to hurt her niece. Non, regardless, then forces Winn, James, and another woman to jump off the balcony. Supergirl saves the men but cannot save the woman, leading her to further consider Lord’s plan.

With General Lane and the President’s permission, Lord plans to set the bomb off. Supergirl questions what turned Lord into this kind of man. Lord reveals that the CDC which failed his parents were warned by him that their services would fail, but that he did nothing to prevent their deaths anyway. He has since vowed that if there should ever be a danger that he would rush into action, just as she does as Supergirl. Similarly, they have to act now.

Maxwell Lord: “I swore from that moment on that if I could protect people, if I could save them, I wouldn’t wait for permission, I would act — just like you do every time you jump on the window and save the day. We act, you and I. We’re more alike than you think.”

Indigo has another talk with Non as he plans to pave his way on Earth. She then berates him for thinking to small in only taking over one planet. With this technology at their disposal, they could take over the galaxy. Back at the Danvers house, Alex plans to go with J’onn despite his refusal. She reminds him that the last time she saw her father walk from her life, she could do nothing about it. Now she wants to take action, especially if J’onn’s telepathy could help protect her from mind control. Eliza says goodbye to the two when Alex almost tells her about Jeremiah, but J’onn stops her. The two fly to National City.

Back at Catco, Cat muses with Supergirl over the view as Cat marvels at the people who used to walk below and wonders which ones will be sacrificed for Lord’s plan. Supergirl states that she does not want to sacrifice the people but feels she has no choice in a problem her mother could not even solve. Cat tells her that everyone has let fear guide them, but Supergirl was the one to inspire people to stand up for things even if they were afraid. She remarks that Supergirl even inspired her to open up to people, including her assistant Kara who helped forged a new relationship with her son. The people need to know that hope is stronger than fear, and Supergirl proved that by simply being herself. The two then embrace, giving Supergirl an idea.

Alex and J’onn arrive in National City with J’onn struggling to keep Myriad from Alex. Indgio then appears and fights the Martian. J’onn initially hold his own, but Indgio surprises him with a tendril to his gut. With Alex captured, J’onn returns to his natural form and falls unconscious. Alex then succombs to Myriad.

Just as Lord prepares his bomb, Cat and Supergirl arrive with a new plan: hope. Lord, at first, shrugs that faith, but Supergirl tells him that to honor his parents as well as hers, they must try a plan that doesn’t sacrifice the lives of thousands.

Cat Grant: “I believe you can change everyone out there. Not by violence. Not by fear. Just be Supergirl. That’s all anyone has ever needed from you.”

Indigo and Non then take Alex to their lair where Non plans to have Alex awake in watching the city fall, a form of revenge from her having killed Astra. Alex states that before Astra died, she refused to use Myriad after Non used the Black Mercy. When hearing Astra’s and Kara’s connection to family, she comes up with a plan to hurt both of the Danvers.

Using Cat’s old TV station, Supergirl, Cat, and Lord plan to broadcast a symbol of hope to the people in order to break them free of Myriad. Lord calculates that the older broadcast system of the technology will block them from Indigo but remains skeptical that this plan will work. Supergirl then hears a sound outside and finds Alex in a Kryptonite battle suit. Non has forced Supergirl to either kill or be killed by her sister who now wields the same Kryptonite sword that was used to kill Astra. 

Super-Notes

• Maxima from the planet Almerac makes another live-action appearance after apparently trying to take Superman as her mate. DC fans will remember this from her appearance not only in Smallville but in Superman: The Animated Series as well!
• Cat Grant may not be interested in Harrison Ford, but her actress Calista Flockhart might-she's married to him!
• According to Non, there may actually be a Central City on this Earth after all. Looks like Barry was wrong!
• This marks the first reference to the president in the Supergirl series as well as the first instant where that president is actually a woman.