Who's ready to chat about this week's superhero goodness?
Small Screen Supes
Speedy Synopses
Lucifer 1x4: Manly Whatnots
In what has to be my favorite episode title ever (“Manly Whatnots”), Lucifer breaks into Chloe’s house to make her truffle omelets and bacon. Naturally, she kicks him out; but Lucifer Morningstar isn’t used to being rejected by women. A quick sesh with his favorite (ahem) therapist convinces him that all he needs to do to feel better about this whole Chloe-rejection-thing and bring her down from her power pedestal is … sleep with her! Right?!
Meanwhile, Chloe’s on the case of a missing girl, sweet Lindsey from out of town—vanished with some kind of connection to a mysterious Player’s Club, where men learn to be “players” in hot shot nightclubs. This is bad news for Chloe, because it turns out that Lucifer, as a hot shot nightclub owner, is on the guest list to one of these Player’s Club events. I smell a partnership!
A sneaky visit to the Player’s After-Hours Party reveals that sleazy Player’s Club front-man Cruz—previously prime suspect in the disappearance of Lindsey—is actually the missing girl’s boyfriend, and just wants her back from the bad people who’ve kidnapped her. Handily, immortally persuasive Lucifer brokers a deal to rescue Linsey from the evil kidnappers - his powers of seduction seem to work just fine over the phone. Luckily for the kidnappers, when you make a deal with the Devil, the Devil takes it pretty seriously—so when he promises no cop involvement in the ransom exchange, Chloe finds herself locked out and left out.
That also means that when said kidnappers want to play the player, Lucifer isn’t too happy about it. As it turns out, sweet innocent Lindsey actually kidnapped herself to get back at boyfriend Cruz—who doesn’t even remember their first passionate encounter, when Lindsey was a virgin and Cruz was still just playin’ the field. Turnabout’s fair play, but when Lindsey wants to shoot Cruz right there, the Devil isn’t having it. Murder for sliminess doesn’t really fit Lucifer’s sense of appropriate punishment, and he steps in with his real face to stop Lindsey—and Chloe, who rushes in just in time to catch his horrific reflection—in her tracks.
Stunned into thinking that maybe, there might just be a possibility that Lucifer’s been telling the truth all along, Chloe is talked into firing a shot at the supposedly impenetrable Ruler of Hell. And to everyone’s—well, Lucifer’s—surprise, it hurts. A LOT. And it bleeds. The case wraps up successfully, and everyone goes home safe—but both Lucifer and demon pal Maze are troubled by the blood. What’s the Ruler of the Underworld to do? (Savannah)
The Flash 2x14: Escape From Earth-2
Barry is still trapped in Zoom’s jail cell, along with Jesse and a mysterious stranger in a mask. Wells and Cisco don’t know where Zoom’s lair is, so they recruit the help of Detective Iris West and a reluctant Earth-2 Barry. (Iris takes their story in stride rather well, considering she just made out with a man who was not her husband.)
Using Barry’s algorithm that tracks metahumans, they find the likely location for Killer Frost. She agrees to take them to Zoom’s lair after Cisco convinces her that the supervillain doesn’t deserve her loyalty after what he did to Deathstorm.
Back in the jail, Jesse and Barry decode the message that the masked man has been tapping on the glass: J.A.Y. Before they can learn more, Zoom reappears just to mess with everyone. He gives Barry a clue that he could phase through the cell wall to escape. (Why didn’t you think of that before, genius dude?) But with Earth-2 being on a different frequency than Earth-1, Barry can’t figure out how to pass through.
Cisco and the others arrive, free Jesse with Killer Frost’s help, and Earth-2 Barry delivers a pep talk that gets our Barry to phase through the wall. Zoom speeds in and thanks Killer Frost for bringing Wells to him. (Let’s all sing it together, col-col-col-coldhearted, SNAKE.) But as Killer Frost watches Zoom about to kill Jesse in front of her father, she has a change of heart, and puts the evil speedster on ice long enough for everyone to get away.
Everyone makes it through the portal back to Earth-1, including Wells and Jesse, who have nowhere else to hide. As the portal closes, Zoom’s and reaches out and impales Jay, pulling him back to Earth-2. Gasp! (Kelly)
Agent Carter 2x06: Life of the Party
Since dark matter seems to stabilize Dr. Wilkes, Team Peggy decides to obtain another sample in order to keep him from completely disappearing. The problem is that the only known source of dark matter is Whitney Frost, and she'll see anyone from Team Peggy coming a mile away.
ENTER DOTTIE UNDERWOOD. Madcap, undercover, ballroom dancing shenanigans with Dottie and Jarvis. This episode is probably my favorite this season so far. (Dottie steals every scene she's in, and she's up against some pretty heavy hitters!) Peggy disguises herself as an American psychiatrist in order to visit/break out Dottie. She and Jarvis go to the Council of Nine's, aka Old White Men Who Drink Scotch's formal shindig (Jack Thompson is there—ugh—because of course he is), and Dottie manages to get the sample from Whitney by stumbling into her in the ladies room.
Sousa and Peggy have a VERY heated, close conversation as they're stationed in a van nearby, and Sousa confesses that Violet broke up with him because she believes him to still be in love with our Peggy. SWOON.
Of course Dottie's not going to do as she's told, and she sniffs a much BIGGER game afoot, so she stores away in a closet in the boardroom and is privy to seeing Whitney Frost KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES. And by that I mean that she absorb-kills all who would stand against her INCLUDING her codfish of a husband. Bye Chadwick! (Is it wrong that I kind of love her?) Dottie gets recaptured by Thompson, and this puts Red from That 70's Show hot on Peggy's trail. Luckily, Jarvis manages to retrieve the sample that Dottie made sure to leave behind as a clue that she's been taken. Later, Jack visits Peggy at Chez Stark and she feigns ignorance of any goings-on of the night before. (I can't quite figure out if Thompson is going to go Full Asshole this season, or if he'll have Peggy's back in the end but I am INVESTED.)
We're left with Dottie Underwood being shoved into the trunk of Frost's car; the showdown between these two is going to be EPIC. (Amanda R.)
Agent Carter 2x07: Monsters
Whitney Frost and Dottie Underwood have much in common, but one thing that really connects them is the entire world's willingness to constantly underestimate them. Dottie makes that same mistake when she smiles smugly at Whitney while being interrogated. A little bit of dark matter wipes the smug smile right off her face and we now know what Dottie looks like when she's terrified. All I can do is wince watching this Black Widow be broken.
The dark matter works on Jason and he's so excited that he leans in and kisses Peggy. HELLA AWKWARD. Jarvis finally gets her to talk about her two suitors and Peggy is truly at a loss with how to move forward with either (or neither) of them. (Sidenote: Jarvis Is The Best.)
Peggy feels responsible for Dottie's disappearance and insists on a rescue mission, which turns out to be a trap, except that it's not Jarvis and Peggy who are the prize—it's Dr. Wilkes. Dottie spilled the beans about him still being alive and full of dark matter, and Frost LOVES her some dark matter. While Peggy and Jarvis are off rescuing Dottie, Frost and her goons are at Chez Stark kidnapping Jason. Ana Jarvis wheels a rifle at Frost and her courage just makes my heart ache because what happens next is so predictable. Ana is shot and Jarvis's world is turned upside down. He and Peggy arrive in time to take her to the hospital but we won't know about her condition until next week! (Amanda R.)
Arrow 4x14: Code of Silence
Ruve Adams (Darhk’s wife) and Oliver prepare to face off in a mayoral debate! But when they find out HIVE has wired the building to blow, they pause to kick a little henchmen butt first. The show spares us the actual debate, but Star City news declares Oliver the winner.
Meanwhile, Darhk’s teamed up with Malcolm Merlyn and is plotting against Captain Lance, who narrowly survives when HIVE rigs a building to fall down around him. Lance follows this to its logical conclusion by telling Donna he owes money to some gangsters, and that they should take a short break while he works it out. Wait, what? This sets off her finely tuned BS detector and she ends things with him entirely, saying she’d rather be alone than with another liar. Later, Felicity tries to convince her that she should give Lance the benefit of the doubt, that his lies are meant to protect, and that she’s being the problem by not trusting him implicitly. I just…wow. That’s some interesting feminism you got there, Felicity. Relatedly, Thea discovers Oliver’s been keeping his love child a secret, and gives him the permission he needs to keep Felicity in the dark about it, and I just can’t with this plotline.
Felicity and Ollie have an engagement party during which Lance starts truth telling and Donna forgives him on the spot. Also, Curtis shows up with a gift—tech that will possibly allow Felicity to walk again. Damn. The rest of the guests better up their gift game, stat. But it’s not all good news. Unbeknownst to our heroes, Darhk has kidnapped Oliver’s secret son. (Amanda K.)
Legends of Tomorrow 1x05: Fail-Safe
Prison break! This inside joke will never get old. Sara and Cold are sent to retrieve Stein, Ray and Mick from the gulag while Kendra and Jax are benched to keep them safe from Savage. Rip Hunter is still super annoying and I need the writers to fix this post haste kthxbye.
Ray is a human golden retriever and tries to make nice with the other men in the gulag. Oh Ray. You naive, sweet little cinnamon roll. Mick tries to tell him to keep his trap shut and ultimately leaves Ray in a battered heap in the yard after Ivan Drago beats seven colors of shite out of him.
Savage tortures Ray and Mick in order to get Stein to give up the Firestorm formula, and he finally caves. Ray distracts the guard hell bent on beating Mick with the classic "That's what your mom said last night" taunt, resulting in Ray taking a beating for Mick—because Ray Palmer is a REAL MAN.
Valentina manages to figure out that Stein is part of Firestorm after she sees the message carved into his arm via Jax. He tries to talk her down with talk of how the USSR crumbles in 1991 but this woman is drunk with power. She ignores his pleas of needing a quantum splicer and makes him merge with her as Firestorm. Gross.
Jax and Kendra convince Rip that they're better used in the game, and so Rip and Kendra distract Savage long enough for Jax to shut the power off at the prison. He then rescues Stein from Valentina with the power of an I Believe In You-pep talk and she goes cold nuclear. Cold rescues Mick and Mick rescues Ray. Aww. They all manage to escape and time warp their way out of Russia only to have Kronos (seriously, didn't that guy die in the last episode?) get all up in their business. They manage to shake him but his missile still blasts them into 2046—Star City to be exact (Smoak Industries WHAT IS UP), and they come face to face with … Connor Hawke?? (Amanda R.)
Hero of the Week: Heat Wave/Mick Rory, Legends of Tomorrow
This week’s Legends provided us the first opportunity to see Mick as something more than a beefcake (though we got a little of that, too—see Ab-tastic, below), when he put some feels into saving Ray from himself. In typical Ray-fashion, he fails to woo a lady and the pair land themselves in a Russian gulag. We see a little twinkle of affection when Mick tells Ray to cool it with trying to play nice with other alpha inmates; Mick later tells Ray they’re not on the same team so there’s clearly still some conflict. Not one to let down his team, Ray takes a beating for Mick and the icy(?) parts of Mick’s heart start to melt. In their latest prison break, Snart admonishes Mick for rushing out of the gulag with Ray on his back and “risking his life for this idiot.” Aw, bromance! (Christy)
Honorary mentions: Earth-2 Barry and Killer Frost, The Flash; Ana Jarvis, Agent Carter; Curtis Holt, Arrow
Villain of the Week: Whitney Frost, Agent Carter
Is it wrong to cheer for a villain when she makes mincemeat out of those who would underestimate her? Use her and dispose of her? Good, because I did so much cheering for Whitney Frost this week. Don't get me wrong—she's as mad as a box of frogs but her misandry is so DELIGHTFUL. However, whoever breaks my Jarvis's heart is a bad, bad person indeed, and very deserving of Villain of the Week. (Amanda R.)
Honorary mentions: Dottie Underwood, Agent Carter; Ruve Adams (Darhk), Arrow; Zoom, The Flash; Valentina Vostock, Legends of Tomorrow
Comic Relief of the Week
GIF via harrisnwells.tumblr.com
Ab-tastic
Although the situation these abs find themselves in isn’t the nicest, we’ll take what we can get.
Biff! Bam! Pow!
GIFset via trish-jessica.tumblr.com
Pull List
Top Titles
Avengers Standoff: Welcome to Pleasant Hill #1 by Nick Spencer, with art by Mark Bagley
If you’re looking for an easy entry point to the Marvel Universe, this opening to their big spring event is your ticket in. Pleasant Hill is this year’s Pleasantville, where people take in strangers they found in the woods, everyone waves hello, and neighbors all know each other by name. But what do you really know about your neighbors? Full of twists, the two main characters will have you guessing till the end. (Christy)
Secret Six #11 by Gail Simone, with art by Dale Eaglesham
It's hard to pick a favorite out of the Secret Six (and Catman will always have a special place in my heart/pants) but I find myself drawn to Strix again and again. Honed as a weapon and treated as a machine her entire life she has the emotional reach of a child. She's deadly, yet innocent. And she's in danger. Batgirl tracks Catman (in a very hilarious sequence) to let them know that Strix is in danger. Meanwhile Strix is learning to love her whole self, scars and all, during a makeover with Porcelain. This series continues to hit all the right beats. (Amanda R.)
Superman: American Alien #4 by Max Landis, with art by Jae Lee
College-aged Clark is on a mission to make a name for himself and starts out by interviewing Lex Luthor before Lex Luthor is the man we know today. What Clark did not count on is running into so-to-be-Robin, Dick Grayson, who honed in on Superman while hanging out at Lexcorp Kidz-Zone and stirs up a bit of trouble for the burgeoning reporter. After spending the previous issue pretending to be Bruce Wayne, he runs into a familiar face and sets a precedent for the future world of superheroes we all know and love. If you’re not reading this miniseries chronicling life before Superman, head on down to your LCS and catch up. Next issue will surely keep us on our toes with Lois Lane on the trail! (Christy)
Honorable Mentions: Bitch Planet #7, Lumberjanes #23, Buffy the Vampire Slayer 10x24
Pick of the Week
Power Man and Iron Fist #1 by David Walker, with art by Sanford Greene
This is my first experience reading Danny Rand (Iron Fist) OR Luke Cage (Power Man) as a main character. Their dynamic is, frankly, adorable: Luke is the stoic, brawny, no nonsense-taking bulldog to Danny's excitable, yappy chihuahua. Luke promises Jessica that they're not "getting the band back together", they just need to do a favor for an old friend, but we all know how that goes. I like my comics with a lot of humor and heart, so this series is going straight to the top of my pull list! (Amanda R.)
As Seen in the Daily Planet
News
- Natalie Cordova-Buckley will join Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Slingshot.
- Turns out, the speedster in The Flash trailer from last week Trajectory.
- A DC relaunch is happening this summer.
- There will also be a DC Super League crossover event this spring.
- Vixen makes her debut on Arrow next week!
- Here’s a first look at Italia Ricci as Silver Banshee on Supergirl.
- Candice Patton dishes on the future of #WestAllen.
- Azreal will appear on Gotham, and the actor portraying the character is somewhat surprising.
- 2046’s Green Arrow rocks the Golden Goatee on next week’s Legends of Tomorrow.
- You might have caught some Easter eggs in Deadpool, but did you see all 100?
- Related: Wolverine 3 might be rated R after the success of Deadpool.
- DC has released a Suggested Reading Guide to prepare you for Suicide Squad.
Trailers/Clips
Daredevil, season 2
Gotham
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
There’s much to discuss! Let’s take it to the comments.