For the longest time, one of the most difficult origins for DC Comics to reconcile after Crisis on Infinite Earths was that of Power Girl, the Supergirl of Earth-Two. One way involved retconning her origin into making her an Atlantean, and granddaughter of the ancient Atlantean sorcerer Arion. In the end, it was undone, and with 2005's Infinite Crisis, her original origin was restored, making her not only a survivor of Krypton, but of the original multiverse. This was done in both the IC miniseries and one of its preludes, the first four issues of JSA: Classified. After a 2007 story which partially involved PG venturing to the 'new' Earth-2--created during the events of "52"--PG finally seemed to lay her old ghosts to rest, and her successful attempt at opening a new chapter in her life were depicted in the ongoing "Power Girl" series, which was published for 28 issues from 2009-2011, with the first 12 issues done by writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Amanda Conner, Palmiotti's wife.
The series saw her restart her former company Starrware as an R&D firm, while having her fight bad guys alongside new best friend Atlee, the third young woman to take up the Terra name.
PG is my #2 favorite DC character, and I do hope to read the whole of her series at some point. To me, it (or rather, the first 12 issues) was DC's answer to Marvel's "The Sensational She-Hulk", minus the breaking of the fourth wall. It combined superhero action with office sitcom humor that is sort of, to me, a mix between "The Tick" and "Just Shoot Me", which may or may have not resulted in the series getting such good reviews. I think that it would actually make a very good TV series, so I decided to conceive what one would be like. And so begins my attempt at
Here's how my idea would work:
-The show would air on G4--it (and maybe SyFy *shudders*) would be a great home for this cartoon series.
-The character designs and art style would mimic Amanda Conner's--since she'd be the one doing them!
-Scripts would be adapted by Gray and Palmiotti, with voice direction by Andrea Romano.
-There would be two seasons: the first would be based on both the "Power Trip" arc in JSA: Classified and the first 12 issues of PG's ongoing, while season two, instead of adapting Judd Winick's stories, would be a mix:
+The first few episodes would be the "year one" of Kara's career on Earth-Two, adapting her early stories with the JSA in the 70's run on "All-Star Comics".
+Following that would be episodes focusing on the background of Atlee (based on the 2006 "Terra" miniseries, which Gray/Palmiotti/Conner also did) and Doctor Mid-Nite/Pieter Cross (based on Matt Wagner's 1998 miniseries).
+Finally, the remaining episodes would be based on Matthew Sturges's stories as the PG title was winding down...one of which is the Power Girl Convention story.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for--the cast and episodes! This first part will focus on the pilot episode. Seasons one and two will be the subject of later fancasts. Our main cast for the series overall will comprise of:
Laura Prepon as the voice of Power Girl/Karen Starr/Kara Zor-L
Like I said before when I cast Prepon as PG in my "Last Days of Animal Man" fancast, I think Prepon has the best voice for the other "girl" of steel, and would absolutely nail her headstrong, yet intelligent, personality and the wit that comes with it. A lot of people really liked that casting choice as well...(here's lookin' at you, twinkieeeees3 and DDD).
Andrea Bowen as the voice of Terra/Atlee
Bowen's geek cred--at least the only one I know of so far--was voicing Talia Al Ghul in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold", and she gave Talia a pretty dark sense of humor in that particular episode ("Sidekicks Assemble!"). I think with Atlee, she could do something a little more...lighter, especially with someone new to both heroing and customs of the surface world.
Christopher Gorham as the voice of Doctor Mid-Nite/Pieter Cross
Gorham's DC geek cred was as the voice of the Wrath on "The Batman", and he plays a blind guy already on Covert Affairs. I think (vocally) he and Prepon would have great chemistry together--especially since later in the show, PG and the Doc become a couple....
And of course, we couldn't forget about
'Stinky' the Cat
and Charlie the owl
During the end credits of each episode of season two, you'd see a little segment where these two give us some "Garfield"-esque comedy.
We'll start the show off with the pilot episode, titled and based on "Power Trip", the JSA: Classified arc that restored PG's Earth-Two origin. (Summaries taken from the DC wiki, and slightly modified.)
"Dr. Mid-Nite (Pieter Cross) has Power Girl at the labs of JSA Headquarters, where he runs her through a gauntlet of tests. Recently, Power Girl has displayed feats of power that are exclusively Kryptonian traits, such as heat vision. Power Girl fantasizes about the time when she believed that she was the cousin of Superman, late of the planet Krypton. However, she has since discovered that she is in fact the grand-daughter of Arion, the sorcerer of pre-Cataclysmic Atlantis. Now, even that origin is being called in to question.
Power Girl leaves the HQ and discovers Garn Daanuth, the Atlantean nemesis of Arion, is tearing up the streets of Manhattan. Power Girl launches herself at him and begins beating him mercilessly into the ground. Several members of the JSA show up to try and calm her down. Apparently, she has only been fighting an illusion. Meanwhile, a shadowy menace operates from behind the scenes in an effort to torment Power Girl even further. He has the three founding members of the Legion of Super-Heroes at his disposal to aid him.
Flash (Jay Garrick) and Mr. Terrific (Michael Holt) go to S.T.A.R. Labs in Kansas City to inspect the rocket that allegedly brought Power Girl to Earth all those years ago. When they arrive they find that Mister Bones and agents of Checkmate are keeping the rocket closely guarded.
In Metropolis, Power Girl sits on top of the Daily Planet where she encounters Jimmy Olsen. Moments later, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad of the Legion of Super-Heroes arrive from 31st century. They confront Power Girl and tell her that she is actually a Daxamite from their era by the name of Laurel Gand. She was sent back in time as part of a pre-emptive measure to fight Mordru–-a wizard who threatens both the modern era and the 31st century. Power Girl notices an airplane in danger of crashing into the city. She flies to rescue them, but members of the Legion actually try to prevent her from doing so. They claim that they are threatening the timestream by doing so. After Power Girl saves the plane, she comes upon Superman. She tells him about the Legion, but it appears as if the Legion has entirely disappeared. Superman detects no trace of their presence at all. Power Girl begins to wonder if she is going mad. Meanwhile, "Jimmy Olsen" and members of the "Legion of Super-Heroes" return to the lair of the Psycho-Pirate. They are all part of his carefully crafted plan to drive Power Girl insane.
Later, we see the Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) is fighting the villain known as Houngan in Gotham City. She delivers a crushing kick to him that knocks him off of a balcony. Houngan's comrade in the Brotherhood of Evil, Plasmus, arrives and melts the end of her crossbow with his acid touch. Power Girl arrives and plows through Plasmus, cutting him in half. After the fight, Power Girl seems troubled and wants to confide in the Huntress. The Huntress doesn't understand why Power Girl would come to her–-they know so little of one another. Power Girl is at a loss to explain why she felt the need to confide in the Huntress.
In Kansas City, Missouri, Director Bones and several Checkmate agents recover Kara's space ship from S.T.A.R. Labs. When Flash and Mr. Terrific question Director Bones' motives, the ship opens up and a ring is discovered. The ring quickly transforms into the Medusa Mask of the Psycho Pirate, who then fully appears and uses his emotion-controlling powers to force the JSA members to fight Checkmate.
Back in Gotham City, numerous super-villains (including the Crime Syndicate of Amerika) begin to attack the Huntress and Power Girl. The Huntress doesn't see anything, but Power Girl dives into the fight. Each new adversary that appears claims to know the truth of Power Girl's origin. The Crime Syndicate of Amerika claims that she came from the Antimatter Universe while the Kryptonian versions of Nightwing and Flamebird state that she is in fact Krytponian. Even Superman and Wonder Woman from the Titans Tomorrow storyline come and claim Power Girl as their daughter. Captain Marvel arrives and claims parentage over Power Girl. Even the Phantom Zone criminals show up and claim that Kara is a Phantom Zone refugee. Power Girl forces all of the phantasms out of her mind, until only one foe is left standing--the Psycho-Pirate himself, who then captures Power Girl.
Psycho-Pirate holds her captive in her own starship in Kansas City, which he had stolen from S.T.A.R.-Labs. He 'entertains' her by delivering a retelling of his own origin, then follows it up by revealing Power Girl's true origin. Power Girl is actually from the pre-Crisis, Earth-Two reality, the daughter of Zor-L and Allura In-Z of the city of Kandor on Krypton, making her the cousin of the Superman of Earth-Two. Since the event known as the Crisis, Power Girl's body has been displaced from one reality to this one and she was provided with false memories of her origin. Her subconscious mind however maintains a mental tether to the Earth-Two reality. Power Girl begins experiencing a wash of Earth-Two memories including her friendship with the Earth-Two versions of Robin and the Huntress.
Power Girl freaks out and disperses Psycho Pirate's influence from her mind. She destroys the Medusa Mask, supposedly ending his threat. Psycho Pirate returns to his lair to lick his wounds and consult with Alexander Luthor, Jr. According to Luthor, everything is going according to plan.
Power Girl returns to JSA headquarters, where she ends up pouring her heart out to Ma Hunkel. After which, she flies off into the afternoon sky in search of her identity."
Characters featured:
-Dan Akroyd as the voice of the Flash/Jay Garrick
I honestly think that Akroyd would vocally make a great Jay Garrick, especially for a series with a semi-humorous tone as Power Girl.
-Aldis Hodge as the voice of Mr. Terrific/Michael Holt
Hodge would make a great Holt, as both he and Hodge's character on Leverage are very, VERY qualified tech experts.
-Jackie Earle Haley as the voice of Director Bones
Haley I believe would be a fine fit for the man with the cyanide touch, and the dry humor to match. In season two, we'll see some of Kara and Bones's interactions back when she helped found Infinity Inc.
Paul Reubens as the voice of the Psycho-Pirate/Roger Hayden
I think Reubens could play someone so utterly insane such as the Psycho-Pirate--he pretty much did in his Pee-Wee Herman days. Just think, his take on Bat-Mite from "Batman: The Brave and the Bold", but as more of a crazy, conspiracy theorist type. Originally, I was going to go with Jeffery Combs, but I just thought that his voice would be too deep and slightly raspy for the character.
Odette Anable as the voice of the Huntress/Helena Bertinelli
Though I understand if you'd call Huntress's appearance in the arc more than an extended cameo, I thought someone like Anable would be a decent fit as the voice of the character, especially as this is during a moment where Kara's almost recalled another Huntress from a different time.
Estelle Harris as the voice of Mathilda "Ma" Hunkel
I had a bit of a time trying to figure out who would voice the former Golden Age Red Tornado, and almost went with Doris Roberts--but then I remembered the character Harris had voiced on "Dave the Barbarian", Lula the talking sword. Sometimes she was a good someone to talk to for the other characters on the show, and that's what led me to casting Harris as "Ma" Hunkel. This is especially true of the final couple of scenes, where she acts as a shoulder for Kara to cry on, when Kara's become so frustrated with what happened with her and the Psycho-Pirate.
Additional Voices
-James Denton as the voice of Superman
-Kevin Michael Richardson as the voice of Houngan, Power Ring (illusion)
-Fred Tatasciore as the voice of Plasmus, Kryptonian Nightwing (illusion)
-Yuri Lowenthal as Lightning Lad (illusion), Captain Marvel (illusion), Jimmy Olsen (illusion), Conner Kent Superman (illusion)
-Adam Wylie as Cosmic Boy (illusion), Earth-Two Robin (illusion), Kryptonian Flamebird (illusion)
-Tara Strong as Saturn Girl (illusion), Superwoman (illusion), Cassie Sandsmark Wonder Woman (illusion)
-Hank Azaria as Ultraman (illusion)
As a teaser for the next installment of this fancast:
'The first episode of the first season does a "Previously on..." bit that shows a "cliff notes" version of the pilot, then begins the episode with the words "One Infinite Crisis later...".'
Thanks for looking, and tune in next time when I do season one of the show. As a reward...ladies and gentlemen, SNAP: