Supergirl
Most superheroes cope with trauma by saving the world. Kara Zor-El copes by finding the nearest red sun planet with an open bar. But when her dog Krypto’s life is on the line, she's forced to sober up, literally and emotionally.
On the journey to cure her dog, Kara is forced to face her past, make some new friends, some new allies, but also some new foes. She learns how much good she can do with her abilities.
Supergirl is an action-packed space-traveling superhero flick starring Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Eve Ridley, and was directed by Craig Gillespie. It has similar vibes to Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, or Jessica Jones, which all deal with superheroes finding a path that works for them.
Supergirl has a great story showing Kara partying and drowning out the past trauma to finally embracing her powers and remembering that her past is filled with a lot of pain but also a lot of good memories. Even though she is physically strong, the film highlights that even these super-strong Kryptonians can struggle. In the end, she honors her mom’s wishes of being good instead of letting life pass her by. I loved her journey to finally embracing who she is.
I love how they weave lore into the story that feels very natural. They don’t initially explain everything, but do a backstory drip where they slowly feed information to us. It was interesting to see her strength, how the red sun affected her vs. the green vs. the yellow, and why she was constantly drunk. The way information is presented feels less like someone talking at you, but like a conversation with Kara, and the audience is getting to know her.
Superman’s backstory is very familiar because he comes from Krypton and spends all his time on Earth. He mourns a family he never met and feels very separated from his Kryptonian genes. Kara, on the other hand, is a teen when she gets to Earth and experiences Krypton dying firsthand. In contrast to Clark, she’s mourning people she did know, her family, and she feels very sad about that, and while she has family alive, it's hard for her to deal with being the person they chose to let live. This is why I believe Krypto is so important to Kara because he is not only her dog but the last living part of her life on Krypton, so she will do anything not to lose him.
I love how we get more time on Krypton and see how the planet’s death was a slow one. They talk about the Kryptonite that was on the planet and how it poisons them, but it’s a slow-acting poison; at least it beats getting blown up with the planet. I think people familiar with Superman and Supergirl lore, well, at least the planet-dying part, would understand why Kara acts the way she acts in this movie. It’s sad to see it all play out and how she had such a good relationship with her parents, but they chose to make sure she had a chance to live, which is something she realizes in this movie, not to squander her second chance.
Lobo is a character whom I usually find annoying, but in this film, I was actually more interested in the character because of how Jason Momoa played him. He mostly only cares about money, seeing as he’s there for a bounty, but he also wants to help Ruthye get revenge, which was funny to see. He’s a horrible influence, but I think he makes her have more confidence and use her surroundings when fighting off someone. He’s not really there to help, but he and Supergirl have the same enemy, so they kind of work together.
I didn’t expect the movie to tie in a serious storyline about trafficking, but they do. I mean, Krem has already done so much bad, so why not just make him even worse by using these women because he wants a race of only men? His wanting to do this is sad because we see how some of them have parents trying so hard to get them back, but it’s scary because he’s such a threat, and they just need some help. I think it was great to show her saving all these women from being trafficked, and I loved how they eventually helped her, too, and found their strength to fight back once they were free.
When Kara starts thinking about her family when she is with Ruthye, she is reminded of how her mom said to be good. She’s given all these abilities, but she doesn’t use them to help people; she just uses them when she needs to heal. I loved seeing her start to use them for good, and eventually she helps Ruthye, helps the women on the ship, and still gets the antidote for Krypto. I’m glad she didn’t let Ruthye kill Krem because she didn’t want Ruthye to end up like her; she didn’t want that hanging over her, and wanted her revenge to be living a happy life. I think it’s important because it’s a moment of self-reflection too, because she tells Ruthye to handle her grief in a way that still lets her live, instead of sinking into her grief and forgetting that she still has life left in her, as Kara did.
Krem was a good villain who they just let be an awful person. I sometimes prefer it when villains are just bad because it makes me root for the hero even more, so they can stop them. I’m also happy he had goons because most times I see villains, and I’m like, wow, they did this all alone. Krem worked because he isn’t a villain you rooted for; he was a villain that you hoped Kara would take down permanently for his crimes.
She's not wearing her suit in the beginning, but the big moment, of course, is her finally wearing her suit. The suit for me symbolizes her being ready to face her past and realize she can do so much good with the life she was given. It shows her journey to become a better person and how, when you're at your lowest point, you are most open to change, usually for the better. It was great to see her be a force for good, as her mom wished before passing away.
Supergirl is an action-packed spectacle that I think is a great intro to the character. The film gives her a chance to shine and prove that Kara Zor-El is a hero in her own right. Being a hero isn’t easy, and for some people, it takes time; they just might need the right people to push them on their journey.
