When James passes his camera on to Simon, Simon says "Thanks, chief," to which James replies "Don't call me chief." In the comics, this was a famous, and often repeated, exchange between employees at the Daily Planet and Perry White.
Simon Kirby is a reference to both famous comic book artist, Jack Kirby, who is widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators, and also his partner throughout the 1940s and until 1955, Joe Simon. The partners were oftentimes referred to as "Simon and Kirby," and their most famous creation while working together was Captain America in 1940 for Timely Comics (the company that went on to become Marvel Comics).
The bomb Malefic uses on Alex Danvers is Tamaranean. The DC Superhero Starfire from the Teen Titans is from the planet Tamaran.
Julie Gonzalo was the only main cast member who did not appear in this episode, making it the first since becoming series regular.