- "Supergirl's like a folk tale. In theory, comforting, noble. In reality, oof, ill-equipped and clinging to ideals of a time long past. When they go low, she goes high. We put them six feet lower. We're through giving these devils the benefit of the law. Supergirl's done. This is the era of the Elite."
- —Manchester Black
"What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of Supergirl, and the seventy-eighth episode overall. It aired on March 3, 2019.
For the Season 1 episode, see "Truth, Justice and the American Way".
Synopsis[]
Manchester Black breaks out of prison with the help of his new team, the Elite, who are set on punishing the anti-alien forces. Supergirl pulls double duty as she tries to apprehend Manchester Black and his team as well as deal with a shocking new development with Ben Lockwood.[src] |
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers/Supergirl
- Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen
- Chyler Leigh as Dr./Director Alex Danvers
- Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor
- Jesse Rath as Querl Dox/Brainiac 5
- Sam Witwer as Professor Ben Lockwood
- Nicole Maines as Nia Nal/Dreamer
- April Parker Jones as Colonel Lauren Haley
- David Harewood as J'onn J'onzz
Guest starring[]
- Bruce Boxleitner as President Phil Baker
- David Ajala as Manchester Black
- Jessica Meraz as Pamela Ferrer/Menagerie
- Louis Ozawa Changchien as Hat
- Andrea Brooks as Eve Teschmacher
- Michael Adamthwaite as Cooper
Co-starring[]
- Elinet Louicius as Guard
- Jaymee Mak as Mackenzie
- Hugo Raymundo as Guard #1
- Sonia Sunger as News Anchor
- Mark Sussman as Kelex
- Sheldon Trosko as Marine Guard #5
Plot[]
A man drops change in a man's hat as he strolls by, yet rather than a thank you, the strange man makes a blade appear out of nowhere. At CatCo, a fatigued Kara is resolved to keep the open mindful that Lockwood is an awful fella, to such an extent that she twofold books herself for lunch with Alex and preparing with Nia. In the wake of covering with Alex, Kara and Nia get together with Brainy and head to the Fortress of Solitude for preparing.
J'onn visits Manchester Black in jail, yet the person who made the blade appear out of nowhere in the opening? He's currently imitating the jail monitor who dropped change in his hat, and he hauls something out, impairs J'onn with it and enables Manchester to get away, yet not before they battle the watchmen and get Manchester's coat. Supergirl endeavors to stop the break however is halted by Manchester and the Hat who are currently joined by Menagerie.
Nia's preparation proceeds at the Fortress, yet Nia is irritated by the way that Brainy knows her future relative and won't advise her. They don't get an opportunity to work that out before Supergirl and J'onn show up. The Elite are slaughtering the counter outsider Children of Liberty and boasting about it on record. At the DEO, Lena has altered her perspective on working with the administration, causing Alex a deep sense of shock. In the mean time in the country's capital, a free Lockwood meets with a nearby pioneer of Children of Liberty who uncovers the Children are irritated he's not actually battling in the road.
At the White House, Lockwood requests that the President delegate the Children of Liberty while at the Fortress, Supergirl and J'onn examine managing Manchester and The Elite. Nia gets some information about Naltor. Supergirl goes to meet Manchester in England, however it's reasonable Manchester has no designs to do things calmly, particularly since the administration intends to begin killing outsider boats with a satellite. Supergirl then goes to visit the President, however he's resolute on pushing ahead with the arrangement. She at that point attempts Alex however can't get her to help.
Everything meets up at the site of the satellite dispatch. The Elite appears, yet Supergirl, J'onn, Brainy, and Dreamer are pausing. A battle results, Alex appears at help, doing what she feels is correct. Turns out The Elite began the dispatch and plans to focus on the White House. Supergirl can change the objective of the satellite firearm and spare the White House, at that point pulverizes the satellite totally. The president is not exactly satisfied. The following day, he moves to assign Lockwood, making him the Director of Alien Affairs and giving him considerably more force than previously.
Dreamer gets a redesign as gloves that channel her "fantasy vitality".
Hat takes Brainy's Legion ring.
Turns out, even Colonel Hayley didn't think about the satellite.
Alex, shaken by Hayley's disclosure, chooses to work with Lena.
James chooses to seek after the anecdote about LexCorp he recently halted to protect Lena.
Gallery[]
Video[]
Trivia[]
- The episode's title is a reference to the 2001 Superman story of the same name that features the debut of Manchester Black and the Elite.
- Supergirl calls Hat "Clockwork Orange", a reference to the 1971 film of the same name.
- Brainy mentions his friend "Val", a reference to Val Armorr, aka the Karate Kid, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He is a master of every form of martial arts to have been developed by the 31st century. The extent of Karate Kid's skill is so great that he can severely damage various types of hard material with a single blow, and was briefly able to hold his own against Superboy through use of what he called "Super Karate".
- Manchester Black slightly breaks the fourth wall when, at the end of a broadcast aimed at Supergirl, he says "Now, for a commercial break". The act then ends, going into an actual commercial break.
- Commercial break timings are different on Sky TV in the UK, so when the episode was shown on British television, Manchester Black's comment was not followed by a commercial break.
- As she comes into a diner for a meeting with Manchester Black, Supergirl asks him if he expects them to re-enact the diner scene from the 1995 film Heat.
- A couple of Easter eggs from two films starring Richard Dreyfuss are featured in this episode.
- The scene at the end of the episode, having the base for the satellite being at a base in Devils Tower, Wyoming, is a homage to the 1977 film Close Encounters of The Third Kind, where the final scene is the meeting of aliens and humans at Devils Tower.
- Brainy wears a "Don't Hassle Me I'm Local" shirt that Dreyfuss' co-star Bill Murray famously wore in the film What About Bob?.
- Manchester Black quotes several famous people including Mark Twain's "No man is a failure who has friends", Michelle Obama's "When they go low, we go high", and Isaac Newton's third law "Every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction".
- J'onn mentions that the Hat's power comes from the 5th Dimension, a reference to Mr. Mxyzptlk.
- Kara mentions that Lois Lane introduced Kelex to Brainy; this may have occurred during the Elseworlds crossover.
- This episode aired on Andrea Brooks ' (Eve Teschmacher) 30th birthday.
- Manchester makes a reference the Biblical story of Moses, as he referenced Moses' cry of 'Let my people go' and referenced the 12 plagues.
- Kelex and Brainy display marked dislike for one another. While it was never exlained, it may have to do with the fact that Coluans used to serve as supercomputers on Krypton centuries ago, and were apparently at some point replaced; therefore, Brainy, a Coluan, views Kelex as part of the technology that replaced his people, whereas Kelex probably views Coluans in general as having inferior capabilities.
Goofs[]
- Manchester Black would not have been able to keep up with Supergirl, and even if he can fly, his body wouldn't be conscious any higher than 6-10 thousand feet.
- He was flying with the use of Brainy's Legion Ring which grants the user oxygen independence therefore the ability to breathe even in the vacuum of space.
- Baker is revealed to have pardoned Ben, but Baker had previously concluded that Ben could not be charged and he was released without trial, so no pardon is necessary.
- Ben says his father was a union man. As a factory owner, it's unlikely Peter Lockwood would also be in a union.
- Lockwood is released because the "Patriot Act" only applies to terrorist acts against humans, but his group's first attacks were in fact staged on humans in order to create anti-alien fear, which meant they should have fallen under the act.
- From the distance of the Claymore Satellite and the amount that Supergirl moved it would have sent the blast miles away from the White House, not just several hundred feet
References[]
Supergirl season 4 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
"American Alien" • "Fallout" • "Man of Steel" • "Ahimsa" • "Parasite Lost" • "Call to Action" • "Rather the Fallen Angel" • "Bunker Hill" • "Elseworlds, Part 3" • "Suspicious Minds" • "Blood Memory" • "Menagerie" • "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?" • "Stand and Deliver" • "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" • "The House of L" • "All About Eve" • "Crime and Punishment" • "American Dreamer" • "Will The Real Miss Tessmacher Please Stand Up?" • "Red Dawn" • "The Quest for Peace" |