In the first season of Supergirl , Superman remained a bit of an ethereal presence – whether we saw him from afar, from Kara’s dazed POV mid-fight or simply as text appearing in an IM from cousin Clark. But that’s changing in Season 2, as Tyler Hoechlin will actually play the Man of Steel.

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So what changed behind-the-scenes to allow this to happen? Supergirl executive producer Andrew Kreisberg told IGN it’s not as complicated as some might assume.Said Kreisberg, with a laugh, “I think people would love to hear that we had to promise our children and there was a blood right, and a goat was sacrificed, but the truth is we're all partners, and we all want what's best and so it really wasn't a tough sell. We had our plan, and we presented it to Warner Bros. and to DC and they were totally supportive of it. It was more once they actually said yes, it was like, ‘Oh crap, now we have to do Superman!’ We have to find the right actor, and we have to write the best scripts. We have to make the suit. That was the stuff that gave us [headaches]. Actually pulling it off. But behind the scenes, everybody at Warner Bros. and DC and the CW, we're all growing in the same direction.”As for why now is the right time to introduce Superman into the series, Kreisberg remarked, “I think we've spent a year establishing her, and the year ended triumphantly with her saving the world, so there wasn't any sort of doubt that Supergirl couldn't do it on her own. It felt like you weren't bringing him in to save the day. It was bringing him in the same way that the crossovers with Flash and the Arrow... it becomes about a partnership. It becomes about deepening the characters’ relationships, not “Well, Arrow couldn't do it alone!” or “Flash couldn't do it alone!” So that's why it felt right.”Kreisberg also noted, “We were planning this when we were still going to be on CBS, and it just felt like, with the beginning of Season 2, you want to come out of the gate strong, whether it was getting people who would watch the show who had given up on it, or people who'd watched the show all year and said, "Great, I've had enough." You're starting Season 2, how do you get people to come in and check it out and watch? This felt like the best way to do that. We felt like we had an interesting, unique take on Superman because our show is viewed through the prism of Supergirl.”Elaborating on the Supergirl/Superman dynamic, Kreisberg explained, “When Supergirl and Superman walk into the room, everyone gets really quiet about him. And her reaction is, “Oh, please…” We sort of liken it to if your brother was a famous rock star, or a famous movie star, all you remember is a lifetime of growing up and fighting over who's sitting in the backseat, and sharing a bathroom, and he pulled my hair. And then you go to a restaurant, and people are sending him drinks, like, ‘Oh, right this way...’ and that's sort of Kara's interaction. People have asked us how do you make sure that Superman doesn't overwhelm the lead of your show? Rather than shy away from that, we're embracing it. It's kind of the idea like, yeah, he is more popular than she is. How does she deal with that? That's our take on that dynamic that’s between them.”For now, we know Superman will be in the first two episodes of Season 2. But could he pop up more? Said Kreisberg, “ That's going to be up to Warner Bros., DC, and the audience, quite frankly. He so much a part of [this world], but the show is called Supergirl. It's about her. If it turns out as well as we hope, and the audience responds, then we'll see what happens down the road.”

Supergirl: Season 2 premieres October 10th on its new home on the CW.Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @TheEricGoldman , IGN at ericgoldman-ign and Facebook at Facebook.com/TheEricGoldman