Fellow citizens of America, these are complicated times. Some of you are confused, many of you are scared. You just found out that the President of the United States is not from northern Iowa like you thought. She's from a planet somewhere out in the vast universe. Many of you feel betrayed because you were lied to. President Marsdin took responsibility for that. She resigned from office. But the fear that's spreading in this country like wildfire isn't because the president lied. It's because she comes from someplace different. All of you know that I am also from a different place, another planet. But I've lived here long enough to know that it doesn't matter where we were born, because we are all the same. The character of a person, or alien, is not defined by where we are from, but by what we do. The people that exposed President Marsdin wanted to divide us. They want us to turn on one another, live in fear, grow in hate. But I know we are better than that. I know we can work together with love and respect, treat our neighbors with kindness. I'm an alien, and I love this planet that I am proud to call home. I want what we all want: to be a good American. I will stand by the new administration as this nation begins to heal. And I'll continue to protect my friends and neighbors just as I always have. I hope you will all do the same.
S1 E15Unfinished Business
We lost the Luthor Corporation contract last week.
What?
I had to shutter two blast furnaces. Takin' on statue commissions just to make ends meet.
What if you retrofitted the factory to process Nth metal? You could re-train your employees.
This town was built on steel. American steel. You rip out that foundation, and everything will crumble around it. You mark my words.
People thought textiles would be the end of modern society, but the Industrial Revolution, it created unprecedented opportunities...
I'm not one of your students, Ben. And I'll remind you, it was called a revolution for a reason. And I'll also remind you that steel is what paid for that fancy college education of yours that you only wanna use when you wanna condescend to your old man.
Worth every penny. Right, dad?
Not so much.
Nativist. A term often used in a derogatory fashion to describe those who fear the other. Question for you. What's wrong with those who wish to protect their homes from the outsiders?
Well, America is a country of immigrants.
Yes, but that's always been controversial. You see, in 1775, Benjamin Franklin himself writes of his own fears of immigrants, whom he warned "The immigrant will never adopt our language or customs any more than he can acquire our complexion."
Franklin was talking about German immigrants back when America was still a British colony. I don't see how it applies to anything.
Oh, I can see why this, uh, point of view would be problematic, especially since we are talking about human immigrants; human immigrants who, in the past 200 years, made America great no matter what their complexion. But now, we welcome immigrants not only from outside our borders, but from beyond our atmosphere, so let me just ask you, how does the human worker compete? Anyone? How does the human worker compete against an alien who could lift two tons of steel over its head without even breaking a sweat? How does the human worker compete against an alien that can fly goods from one coast to the other, leaving our trucks to rust away in the sand?
[confused] Sorry, professor, what page are we on?
Ben Franklin's fears have come to pass. The modern immigrant cannot assimilate, and it's not a question of desire, it's not a question of culture. It is a question of biology, and from that context... [an alien student, insulted, stands and leaves] From that context, I should be proud if you were to call me a nativist.
This... isn't nativism. It's xenophobia.
Well, I can't say I'm surprised to hear that from someone with your complexion.
Sometimes things happen in life that we can't explain. Like a good man being sent to an early grave. And when, not if, these things happen, it can make us feel like we want to give up. So, I'm very happy to, uh, read to you my father's favorite quote. Well, it's the only quote he knew. Winston Churchill. "Never give in." "Never give in. Never, in nothing, great or small, large or petty, except in considerations of honor and good sense. Never yield to force, or the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy that confronts you. Never. Never, ever, give in."
People love you, Ben. You have a rare gift of communication, like Franklin Roosevelt or Mussolini. The people I work with, they don't have such gifts. But I think if we could all work together, we could make this country a much better place.
How?
We're gonna expose the president as a liar, a fraud, and an alien.
Read a little 4chan, do ya?
I can understand why you wouldn't believe me. But can you imagine if we proved it was true? How that would change the world?
Well, that's a nice dream, but, um, I don't even know who you are.
Mercy Graves. And that's my brother, Otis.
[rolling down the limo's driver partition] What's up?
[offering Ben a folder] And most importantly, this is Fiona. Part-time bartender, full-time alien rights activist. Don't be fooled by the lipstick. Beneath the disguise, she's a monster. One who is organizing other monsters to defend themselves against us. But that's okay. Because some of these creatures have skills we can use. So what do you say? Besties?
Where is she?
She's this way. Hey, listen, I know that you and Supergirl, you don't always see eye to eye on everything, but it means a tremendous amount to us, to... to me, that you're always here when we need you the most.
People underestimate me, but I care. I really do.
[freeing two aliens from custody] Okay. Make it look convincing.
It's gonna look real convincing. [shoots Taylor]
I thought we didn't kill humans.
He wasn't human. He was loose ends.
Man, you picked the wrong house.
Don't think so. Man your age lives alone. No personal history to be found. A bit dodgy, that. Red flags. So, tell me, J'onn J'onzz, how do you know Fiona?
You're her fiancé.
That I am. Luckiest man in the world. Only Fiona dropped off the radar. Not like her. And you seem to have spent some time following her about.
Fiona is just a friend.
Well, friend, I'll ask you once more. Where is she?
[his eyes glowing red as Black grabs him] Today is not the day to push me.
Not from around here, are we? Relax, man. Weren't going to hurt you.
I seem to recall you telling me that Supergirl was dead.
We never said it was official.
We'll make her dead. The plan still stands.
Well, your plan is small.
Excuse me?
You want to show people that aliens are monsters. That's good, but you don't do that by attacking their protectors, the police, the DEO. Yeah, that will make them afraid. That'll make them feel fear, up here, in their mind. What you need to do is make them feel it in their bones.
And how do you plan on doing that, exactly?
You show them that they need to be afraid for their children.
That word, ahimsa, it's Hindu?
It means non-violence. Just something Fi used to say.
Tell me about her.
When I met Fi, I was... well, I guess you'd call it "ganged up".
Mm.
It was football hooligans. Sorry, soccer hooligans. Any excuse to break a window. We worked for me dad. He taught me how to win a fight. It's easy, once you know the trick. [points to his temple, indicating his brain] There's a switch in here. Keeps you from hurting another person. You can turn it on... [snaps his fingers] ...and off.
So, why did you stop?
I met Fi. She kept the books for the gang. Didn't hurt no one. No one but me, because one look from her, and I was dead, man, gone, hers. And she showed me... showed me other ways. Non-violent ways. Ahimsa. Then the boys found out she was an alien. Mm. Wasn't safe there anymore. So I told her... I told her to go to the States so she'd be safe.
I just wanted to mention how thankful I am. 'Cause, uh, I've been reading about Ms. Grant, and CatCo, and you. You know what we do up here is important, right? I... I've also been reading about matters of the law. Did you know someone could be prosecuted for continued instances of the same crime?
Yeah. I have a lawyer.
Of course. I'm not even saying you're thinking of taking up the shield again. But, if you were, especially with Supergirl down, don't.
Is this the same Nia Nal I'm talking to, the cub reporter who convincingly and rightfully convinced her boss to act? And to speak out when the innocent are being attacked?
I know. I don't sound like myself. But that's because this is different. If you go out there again, I have a feeling something bad will happen.
Heroes go out there, even when they know something bad's gonna happen. That's what makes them heroes.
Well, CatCo's newest addition. It's very nice to finally meet you.
We've heard a lot about you.
All good things, I hope.
Well, James said your passion for making the world a better place is matched only by the elegance of your prose, so...
I wish I could say I paid him, but I could not have made that up.
I've noticed you reorganized the strike team command and control system.
I did.
Are you aware that system has been in place since the DEO's inception?
Yes. But with all due respect, the system was outmoded. It used to take us 90 seconds to get out the door after first alert. And now by re-tasking two analysts...
You cut out the middle men and reduced deployment time to 60 seconds, which could be the difference between life and death.
Exactly. So...
I'm commending you, Director Danvers.
You've declined interviews for decades, but you've graciously agreed to speak with me today. Why now?
I see what is happening to our country. Divisiveness and discrimination. If we want to fight prejudice, people need to know about who we are as aliens and what we do. To lead as an example for others, I must be seen. It's not comfortable to me. But comfort is not my priority right now.
Well, I'm sure your example will inspire many. You've saved countless lives with your gift. Is it true your healing abilities don't work on humans?
As of yet, my frequency cannot reach humans. But it is my greatest wish to heal the human heart.
You know, I was just talking about you on my show recently.
So I heard. And just to be clear, you and I do not represent the same things.
Hmm. Far be it for James Olsen to listen to an opinion that is not his own.
I listen to opinions that are not my own. But what I heard in your show was full of discrimination and hate, and that's when I stopped listening.
I see. So this is the part where you and others like you start making crass generalizations based on ignorance and stereotype.
And you forgot the part where people like me walk away.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Supergirl pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.