History Series / Supergirl2015

** James Olsen takes on the mantle of Guardian in Season 2. In the comics, Guardian is Jim Harper ([[DecompositeCharacter who already appeared in the first season]], although there have been two African-American LegacyCharacter versions -- [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Mal Duncan]] and [[SevenSoldiersOfVictory2005 Jake Jordan]]. Both have similarities to James -- Duncan was originally a non-costumed supporting character, and Jordan worked for a newspaper). (In addition, James's costume is metallic-finish armour, rather the comics' gold and blue bodysuit, which, coupled with his being a bald African-American, suggests [[ComicBook/{{Steel}} another of Superman's friends]].)

Other characters included Cat Grant (Creator/CalistaFlockhart), the head of media conglomerate [=CatCo=], whom Kara works for in her civilian guise; [[ComicBook/JimmyOlsen James Olsen]] (Creator/MehcadBrooks), an art director for [=CatCo=]; Winn Schott (Creator/JeremyJordan), a programmer for [=CatCo=] and Kara's neighbor; and [[ComicBook/MartianManhunter J'onn J'onzz]] (Creator/DavidHarewood), a benevolent Martian and director of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations, a secret government agency where Alex also works.

Main characters introduced in the following seasons include [[ComicBook/{{Valor}} Mon-El]] (Creator/{{Chris Wood|Actor}}), a Daxamite prince who crash-lands on Earth and develops a romance with Kara; Lena Luthor (Creator/KatieMcGrath), CEO of L-Corp and half-sister of ComicBook/LexLuthor; Eve Teschmacher (Creator/AndreaBrooks), a loyal supporter of Lex Luthor who initially poses as a [=CatCo=] employee; Maggie Sawyer (Floriana Lima), an NCPD cop; Samantha Arias (Creator/OdetteAnnable) the new CFO of L-Corp who harbors the split personality of a hostile Kryptonian; Querl Dox (Creator/JesseRath), a Coluan and member of the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes who eventually joins the D.E.O. as a strategist; Nia Nal (Creator/NicoleMaines), a [=CatCo=] reporter, psychic, and an ally to the Superfriends; Ben Lockwood (Creator/SamWitwer), the leader of the anti-alien group called the Children of Liberty; Lauren Haley (April Parker Jones), a former officer tasked by the US government to oversee the D.E.O.; Kelly Olsen (Azie Tesfai), James' younger sister and a psychologist; Andrea Rojas (Creator/JulieGonzalo), head of the tech company Obsidian North who takes over [=CatCo=] in the fifth season; William Dey (Staz Nair), a new reporter for [=CatCo=] who frequently butts heads with Kara; and Nyxlygsptlnz (Creator/PetaSergeant), the exiled Princess of the Fifth Dimension and an ally of Kara in the Phantom Zone.

In 2019, it was announced that a spin-off focusing on the lives of Superman and his wife, ComicBook/LoisLane, was in the works. Hoechlin and Creator/ElizabethTulloch returned as Superman and Lois, respectively. Titled ''Series/SupermanAndLois'', it was picked to order on January 14, 2020. Though originally expected to air in October 2020, the spin-off's premiere was delayed to February 2021 because of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, which delayed production of most shows from The CW. ''Supergirl'' itself saw its sixth season being postponed all the way to Spring 2021, thanks to a combination of the pandemic and Melissa Benoist's pregnancy.

** Siobhan Smythe is a heroic character in the comics and Kara's best friend. [[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E14TruthJusticeAndTheAmericanWay Her]] [[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E15Solitude villainy]] [[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E16Falling in]] [[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E17Manhunter the]] [[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E18WorldsFinest show]] seems to come from being a CompositeCharacter with Siobhan [=McDougal=], the [[{{Comicbook/Flashpoint}} pre-Flashpoint]] Silver Banshee who was evil from the get go.

* AdaptedOut: The inaugural {{Crossover}} with ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'' confirms that Harrison Wells, Eobard Thawne, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, and S.T.A.R Labs as a whole all do not exist in this universe. While Cisco not existing certainly means that this universe doesn't have the superhero ComicBook/{{Vibe}}, the Supervillain Killer Frost can still appear via the Crystal Frost or/and Louise Lincoln versions[[note]]Caitlin is the third person to don that identity in the comics following the two mentioned[[/note]]. As for other characters, it's confirmed that their superhero/villain identities do not exist, but whether or not they're just regular people here remains to be seen.

** In "Childish Things" Kara sets off the sprinkler system at a toy convention and uses her freeze breath to freeze the water into a wall of ice help protect the convention goers from a bunch of bombs the VillainOfTheWeek had planted. Setting aside the concept of freeze breath ([[AWizardDidIt Kryptonian superpowers]]), generally speaking, a sprinkler system really shouldn't be able to put out water in a large enough quantity in a matter of seconds to make freezing it into a solid wall of ice a viable plan.

* CanonDiscontinuity: Thanks to [[Series/CrisisOnInfintieEarths2019 Crisis]] and ''Series/SupermanAndLois'', it seems as though large chunks of Seasons 1 and 3, specifically the parts involving General Sam Lane and Morgan Edge respectively, were erased, or at least significantly changed.

** Eve Tessmacher originally appeared as ComicBook/LexLuthor's SexySecretary in the Creator/RichardDonner ''Film/{{Superman|FilmSeries}}'' films.

** As has become tradition for any film or TV show based on Superman characters, actors from former incarnations have roles, this time Creator/DeanCain (''Series/LoisAndClark'') and Creator/HelenSlater (Film/Supergirl1984 herself) as Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers, respectively. Producers Creator/GregBerlanti and Andrew Kreisberg seem to like this type of casting, since they also cast [[Series/TheFlash1990 the previous live-action Flash]] to play the father of the [[Series/TheFlash2014 current one]]. Further, when they had to replace Creator/LauraBenanti as Alura Zor-El in Season 3, they cast ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' Lois Lane Creator/EricaDurance. And Creator/TeriHatcher, the [[Series/LoisAndClark Lois Lane to Dean Cain's Superman]], was cast to play a villain.

** Indigo is played by Creator/LauraVandervoort, best known for playing an earlier incarnation of Supergirl ([[ComicbookMoviesDontUseCodenames sans the name]]) in ''Series/{{Smallville}}''. Not only that, but ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} disguised himself as Kara there. Here, she's Brainiac 8.

** Creator/JonCryer was cast as ComicBook/LexLuthor for the fourth season. Cryer previously played Luthor's nephew Lenny in ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace''.

** Kara is a big fan of ''Series/GameOfThrones'', yet her long lost best friend from Krypton is played by Creator/EsmeBianco, who played the show's resident MsFanservice character in the first three seasons[[note]]Creator/RilaFukushima ([[ComicBook/{{Katana}} Tatsu Yamashiro]]) and Dean S. Jagger (Mr. Collins) have also guested there, though it remains to be seen if they have Earth-38 counterparts[[/note]].

** There are also the reverse, where shows mentioned there having actors from this Earth but is yet to be acknowledged here, namely; the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' Saga[[note]]which has Peter Facinelli (Maxwelll Lord) as a main character[[/note]], the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' shows[[note]]which has Creator/LauraBenanti (Alura Zor-El and Astra) as a RecurringCharacter, and Creator/MelissaBenoist, Creator/MehcadBrooks (Jimmy Olsen), and Jeremy Jordan (Winn Schott) as guest stars, all in ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU''. Charles Halford (Jemm) played a SmallRoleBigImpact villain on the same show, but him having a ([[YouLookFamiliar different and unrelated]]) character on Earth-1 complements that[[/note]], ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' [[note]]which has Briana Venskus (Agent Vasquez) as a minor RecurringCharacter starting its seventh season and Justice Leak (Hellgrammite) as a {{Mook}} in its fifth . Creator/BrendaStrong (Lillian Luthor) also plays a RecurringCharacter in its SpinOff, ''Series/FearTheWalkingDead'', while Creator/EmmaCaulfield (Cameron Chase) is also set to appear in the SpinOff[[/note]], the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' film series [[note]]Creator/KatieMcGrath (Lena Luthor) had a memorable supporting role in ''Film/JurassicWorld''[[/note]], the ''Film/JamesBond'' film series [[note]]Creator/TeriHatcher (Queen Rhea of Daxam) plays a BondGirl on ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies''[[/note]], ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}''[[note]]Creator/BrendaStrong (Lillian Luthor) was part of the film[[/note]], ''Series/TwinPeaks''[[note]]Creator/BrendaStrong (Lillian Luthor) played a multi-episode antagonist in its second season[[/note]], ''Series/IZombie'' [[note]]Rahuli Kohli (Jack Spheer) is a main cast member of the show[[/note]], the ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'' [[note]]Creator/GlennMorshower (Sam Lane) plays a prominent supporting character in the film series, while Creator/OdetteAnnable (Reign) is part of the [[Film/Transformers2007 inaugural film]] playing a minor character[[/note]], and the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' [[note]]Faran Tahir played the franchise's StarterVillain in ''Film/IronMan'', Creator/DichenLachman (Veronica Sinclair) played the BigBad of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' Season 2, Creator/GlennMorshower guest-starred on Season 2 twice, and Briana Venskus (Agent Vasquez) plays a RecurringCharacter on the latter show during its fourth season.[[/note]].

* ComesGreatResponsibility: Kara tries to convince Mon-El that he needs to do something good with his powers (which aren't as impressive as hers but are still better than normal), but he doesn't understand why he needs to do that.

*** In the episode [[Recap/Supergirl2015S2E8Medusa "Medusa"]], Alex prepares to come out to their mother on Thanksgiving, and it's largely PlayedForLaughs. Firstly, Alex and [[Comicbook/JimmyOlsen James]] argue as he wants to reveal to the group that he's National City's newest hero, the Guardian, and Alex doesn't want him overshadowing her announcement. Later, when Alex is about to come out to her mother, a [[SwirlyEnergyThingy small hole in the space-time continuum appears over the dinner table]]. Finally, Alex gets the opportunity... only for her mother to have already worked it out, and she's happy for her daughter.

** Siobhan Smythe takes two elements from the Silver Banshee. She shares the name of the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}}'' version, who is Kara's friend, but she is confirmed to eventually become her enemy here, making her more similar to Siobhan [=MacDougal=], the Silver Banshee of the original comics.
** James Olsen takes on the mantle of Guardian in Season 2. In the comics, Guardian is Jim Harper ([[DecompositeCharacter who already appeared in the first season]], although there have been two African-American LegacyCharacter versions - [[Comicbook/TeenTitans Mal Duncan]] and [[Comicbook/SevenSoldiers Jake Jordan]]. Both have similarities to James - Duncan was originally a non-costumed supporting character, and Jordan worked for a newspaper). (In addition, James's costume is metallic-finish armour, rather the comics' gold and blue bodysuit, which, coupled with his being a bald African-American, suggests [[Comicbook/{{Steel}} another of Superman's friends]].)

** The Maxwell Lord of this series seems to be much more clearly based on ComicBook/LexLuthor from the comics than on Maxwell Lord from the comics. We even get an iconic scene of Superman confronting Lex outside his office window (Lex being smug in his untouchability and Superman not being able to do much at the moment) as seen in multiple adaptations reproduced here with Supergirl and Max.

* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: The coffee-store employees of the National City equivalent of CC Jitters seem to lose their jobs for a variety of reasons often relating to VillainOfTheWeek, but are back within weeks. Also applies to DEO employee Agent Reiff (portrayed by Donna Benedicto) who seems to be working for the DEO, then re-hired, cyclically.
* GettingSickDeliberately: When we first meet ComicBook/LexLuthor, he's suffering from cancer, supposedly the result of kryptonite radiation poisoning, and the only thing that can potentially cure him is his estranged sister Lena's research into Harun-El, which she grudgingly agrees to let him help with. As it turns out, though, he actually gave ''himself'' cancer on purpose by walking into a radiation chamber in order to manipulate Lena into letting him work with her, as he needs access to her research for his own purposes.

* TheGhost: ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}. His existence has been hinted at and his descendants have shown up, including Brainiac 2 (in a tie-in comic), Brainiac 5, and Brainiac 8 (AKA Indigo), with the latter even being an ArcVillain and Brainiac 5 becoming a main character starting in season 4, but the real deal is yet to make an appearance or be explicitly referenced.

** Inverted with ComicBook/JimmyOlsen. In this series, he prefers to go by his real name James rather than his more famous nickname. He says only his mom and "the big guy" get a pass for it.

** ComicBook/JimmyOlsen and Catherine Grant are part of the staff of the ''Daily Planet''. Here, James and Cat both used to be at the ''Daily Planet'' before moving elsewhere, and James still has a history with Superman.

** A scene in episode 16, where Kara x-ray visions through a copy room door and accidentally sees a couple having sex is a ShoutOut to a scene from episode 11 of [[Series/LoisAndClark Lois and Clark]] where Clark does the same. His reaction to it though, is much different than [[BrainBleach Kara's]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Season 1 ends with a SequelHook of General Lane giving Maxwell Lord the Omegahedron. In Season 2, none of them are anywhere to be seen.

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: In classic DC fashion, the location of National City in the US is never specified. However, the sunny climate, the proximity to a desert, its seaport and the fact that it's within a few hours' drive of Ojai and 500 miles from an unspecified spot in the Nevada desert would all indicate that National City is a stand in for UsefulNotes/LosAngeles.[[note]]Not to mention the establishing scenery shots showing the Los Angeles skyline.[[/note]] Or, at least, somewhere on the California coast between San Jose and San Diego.[[note]]There is in fact a National City, California, just north of the Mexican border near San Diego, but it is nothing at all like the city shown in the series.[[/note]] It gets even more complicated in season 2 when the production moves from Los Angeles to Vancouver, B.C.
** Braniac-5's mention of shopping at Piggly-Wiggly in "Of Two Minds" limits National City's location to within 17 states.[[note]]Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin[[/note]]

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Krypton exploding makes it impossible for Kara to return to her home planet.
** Season 2 introduces Daxam as a neighboring planet in the same solar system as Krypton. As a result of the latter's explosion, Daxam is an irradiated wasteland.

** There are also the reverse, where shows mentioned there having actors from this Earth but is yet to be acknowledged here, namely; the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' Saga[[note]]which has Peter Facinelli (Maxwelll Lord) as a main character[[/note]], the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' shows[[note]]which has Creator/LauraBenanti (Alura Zor-El and Astra) as a RecurringCharacter, and Creator/MelissaBenoist, Creator/MehcadBrooks (Jimmy Olsen), and Jeremy Jordan (Winn Schott) as guest stars, all in ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU''. Charles Halford (Jemm) played a SmallRoleBigImpact villain on the same show, but him having a ([[YouLookFamiliar different and unrelated]]) character on Earth-1 complements that[[/note]], ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' [[note]]which has Briana Venskus (Agent Vasquez) as a minor RecurringCharacter starting its seventh season and Justice Leak (Hellgrammite) as a {{Mook}} in its fifth . Creator/BrendaStrong (Lillian Luthor) also plays a RecurringCharacter in its SpinOff, ''Series/FearTheWalkingDead'', while Creator/EmmaCaulfield (Cameron Chase) is also set to appear in the SpinOff[[/note]], the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' film series [[note]]Creator/KatieMcGrath (Lena Luthor) had a memorable supporting role in ''Film/JurassicWorld''[[/note]], the ''Film/JamesBond'' film series [[note]]Creator/TeriHatcher (Queen Rhea of Daxam) plays a BondGirl on ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies''[[/note]], ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}''[[note]]Creator/BrendaStrong (Lillian Luthor) was part of the film[[/note]], ''Series/TwinPeaks''[[note]]Creator/BrendaStrong (Lillian Luthor) played a multi-episode antagonist in its second season[[/note]], ''Series/IZombie'' [[note]]Rahuli Kohli (Jack Spheer) is a main cast member of the show[[/note]], the ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'' [[note]]Creator/GlennMorshower (Sam Lane) plays a prominent supporting character in the film series, while Creator/OdetteAnnable (Reign) is part of the [[Film/{{Transformers}} inaugural film]] playing a minor character[[/note]], and the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' [[note]]Faran Tahir played the franchise's StarterVillain in ''Film/IronMan'', Creator/DichenLachman (Veronica Sinclair) played the BigBad of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' Season 2, Creator/GlennMorshower guest-starred on Season 2 twice, and Briana Venskus (Agent Vasquez) plays a RecurringCharacter on the latter show during its fourth season.[[/note]].

* AlternateSelf: Apparently averted with the Arrowverse Earth-1 heroes. So far, this universe never share any characters with any of the established Franchise/{{Arrowverse}} [[TheMultiverse multiverse]]. The closest they share are the Dominators, the Thanagarians, and Music/MariahCarey (see CelebrityParadox below). However, Earth-2 Harrison Wells said on ''Series/CrisisOnEarthX'' that there are 52 Karas.

** The entire planet of Daxam undergoes this. In the comics they're a race of FantasticRacist {{Absolute Xenophobe}}s so despicable that [[TokenHeroicOrc Sodom Yat]], one of only two known decent modern Daxamite (the other being Mon-El), refused to save them from Sinestro. Here they're more like obnoxious frat boys than space Nazis, although the Queen of Daxam turns out to be much worse that Mon-El suspects.

** Instead of Lar Gand, Mon-El's given name is changed to actually being "Mon-El" - which was his superhero alias in the comics - and his father, who is usually named Kel Gand, is now named Lar Gand, while his mother is named Rhea instead of Marisa (his brother Del doesn't appear to exist). No explanation is given for why his second name would be El when he has no relation to the Els of Krypton and his father's second name is Gand.

** Instead of Lar Gand, Mon-El's given name is changed to actually being "Mon-El" - which was his superhero alias in the comics - and his father, who is usually named Kel Gand is now named Lar Gand, while his mother is named Rhea instead of Marisa (his brother Del doesn't appear to exist).

** Instead of Lar Gand, Mon-el's name is changed to actually being "Mon-El" and his father, who is usually named Kel Gand is now named Lar Gand, his mother gets renamed Rhea from Marisa and his brother Del doesn't appear to exist.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: Mon-El married to Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl, with whom he has zero romantic subtext in the comics since she's generally busy being married to Lightning Lad, rather than his comic wife and teammate Tasmia Mallor/Shadow Lass. He previously had a WillTheyOrWontThey with Kara herself, which never happens in the comics.

** Toyman's son is usually named Anton, rather than being his junior as was Winn's case.

** On Earth, Kara is going by Kara Danvers instead of Linda Lee, Linda Lee Danvers or any other civilian names she used in the comics.

** The resident ThreeAmigos.
*** Kara, same reason above. (Id)
*** Winn, usually TheFettered. (Superego)
*** James, usually the OnlySaneMan but is NotSoAboveItAll. (Ego)

Originally conceived as separate from the Arrowverse, the two realities were confirmed as existing concurrently within [[TheMultiverse a shared multiverse]], and Creator/GrantGustin guest-starred as Franchise/TheFlash on an episode of ''Supergirl''. The first season was a ratings success, however the series moved to The CW for its second season, following budgetary issues pertaining to filming in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles; the series was filmed in UsefulNotes/{{Vancouver}} from then on. After the ChannelHop, the show's setting was designated as Earth-38, as a MythologyGag about the year Superman was created. The series has been participating in the franchise's annual crossover event since 2016, first as a RedSkiesCrossover (''[[Series/Invasion2016 Invasion!]]'') and then as a full-fledged CrisisCrossover from the third season onward (''Series/CrisisOnEarthX'', ''{{Series/Elseworlds|2018}}'', and ''{{Series/Crisis on Infinite Earths|2019}}''). This Earth was destroyed then merged with Earth-1 and what [[TheWikiRule the Arrowverse Wiki]] dubbed [[Series/BlackLightning2018 Earth-BL]] into an "Earth-Prime" in ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', meaning the series became a part of the Arrowverse proper.

** Eve Tessmacher originally appeared as ComicBook/LexLuthor's SexySecretary in the Creator/RichardDonner ''Film/{{Superman}}'' films.