Superman Brings Tension & Team-Ups To "Supergirl"

Superman is coming to National City. In season two of "Supergirl," the Man of Steel's presence will be felt in a major way, as a character that was kept off-camera throughout all of season one joins the cast in a recurring role. Tyler Hoechlin will play Superman in "Supergirl's" second season, which also sees the show jump from CBS to the CW, and his increased role will mean big things for the show's cast. During a press event at San Diego's Comic-Con International, "Supergirl's" cast talked about what Hoechlin brings to the role -- and what Superman brings to the show.

"I think it's the perfect time," said "Supergirl" lead Melissa Benoist. "All of the interactions [Kara] had with him last season through the instant messaging and the texting, it never felt like enough to me. Their relationship is important, and they're family and she has things that he doesn't and he has things that she doesn't. They're only going to reap benefits from each other. I'm so excited about it."

Hoechlin also has specific ideas of who Superman should be, and those ideas lined up with what executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg had in mind. But this isn't Hoechlin's first brush with Superman. "I read for 'Man of Steel' years ago and I just remember going into that audition and being like -- it was one of the first auditions I remember actually physically going in and being like, 'This might be want they want to see, but it's not what I find interesting. I think this is interesting,' and kind of committing to that," said Hoechlin. "I think that was a huge step as an actor, you commit to what you find interesting and if they like it, great, if not, you don't want to show up to work everyday thinking like, 'Well, what do they want today?' You want to find someone with similar idea. With Greg and Andrew, it was an honest meeting about what I find fascinating and interesting about him and it kind of clicked. It felt right and it's really exciting to explore that some more."

Since Hoechlin has not yet to made it to "Supergirl's" set, he revealed that he has not seen the Superman suit -- although he has seen concepts. He also hesitantly revealed that he will be playing both Clark Kent and Superman on the show.

As far as how Superman interacts with "Supergirl's" other super-powered regular, Martian Manhunter, actor David Harewood said "it'd be great [if a team formed]. I think there's going to be a lot more crossovers, so that's going to be pretty cool, if we all get to kind of fight on the same team. There's a fight in episode 202, and it's Martian Manhunter, Supergirl and Superman -- and that's just going to be awesome to see that. It's going to be pretty cool."

Superman will also reconnect with his old friend James Olsen, played by Mehcad Brooks. And following that kiss between Olsen and Supergirl, Brooks teased that Jimmy will have the talk with Superman. "The talk happens, actually," said Brooks. "And no one chokes anybody, cause I would lose. We have an honest and open conversation about how I feel and how Kara probably feels and you know how it is." Brooks added that having Superman back in his life on a regular basis "kinda makes him self-conscious a little bit."

And while Winn Schott might not have super powers or a pre-existing friendship with Clark Kent, actor Jeremy Jordan promises he will be very excited to meet Superman. "[Winn] gets to meet Superman and he's very excited about that," said Jordan. "That dynamic is really fun. It's like, I dunno if you guys saw the episode with the Flash last year, when Winn kinda just fanboyed all over the Flash. It's like that times ten, because it's Superman."

There's one character that might feel some tension with Superman's increased role, though: Chyler Leigh's Alex Danvers. As Kara's adopted sister, the return of Supergirl's blood relative might shake up the show's established family dynamic. It's interesting," said Leigh. "[Superman and Alex] have not a ton of interaction [so far] but when you do see it, it's almost a little cryptic. Like, you sorta see bits and pieces of everything because it's family. In one way or another it's still, at the end of the day, family and whether or not adopted or whatnot. [Superman] brings [Kara] into our family, so obviously he's been involved in one way or another. It is pretty funny, though; there's some really good moments between the three of them in the first two episodes."

"Obviously it's an odd situation because you have this cousin who is one of the last surviving members of her race, and they share that bond -- a true blood bond," said Benoist. "Being the adopted sister, she might feel a little put out about that. I do think there's more history there than what we've seen in the scripts so far because Alex knew Clark. They all grew up together basically. Clark was older than them, but there could be some tension and I think it's a dynamic that's interesting to explore."

"Supergirl's" second season premieres on the CW on October 10, 2016.