Supergirl is all that rage now that executive producer Greg Berlanti’s other DC Comics-inspired television show, The Flash, will crossover with it during its final episode in March. Multi-network events like these are rare, hence why CBS’ cooperation with The CW made waves on Wednesday. (Not to mention what it suggests for the possible existence of a live-action multiverse.) However, when last week’s episode came to a close, Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist) was attacked in her living room by an odd, alien creature of some kind.
The device sets up next week’s “For the Girl Who Has Everything,” which will finally see the Supergirl debut of a character who has remained in the background since the pilot — Superman, otherwise known as Kal-El to Kara and Clark Kent to the the rest of the world. Per CBS:
Kara’s friends must find a way to save her life when a parasitic alien attaches itself to her and traps her in a dream world where her family is alive and her home planet was never destroyed.
However, unlike the adult version hinted at by the opening credits sequence and a few off-camera appearances, this won’t be the Superman audiences have come to know (and mostly hate) courtesy of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and forthcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Thanks to the episode’s parasite-driven plot, Kara and the viewers will encounter a young Kal-El (Daniel DiMaggio) on Krypton who never became the “Big Blue Boy Scout.”
Without being exposed to the perilous temporal nature of the phantom zone, this version of Kara ages in accordance with her younger cousin. As a result, she’s still the same Kara Supergirl‘s audiences have come to know and love, whereas Kal-El looks like he could be the annoying little brother she never had. (To add insult to injury, he’s either a ginger or the show’s hair stylists made him one.)
“For the Girl Who Has Everything” airs on Monday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.