One: Never Underestimate Your Opponent. Expect the unexpected.
Two: Take it outside.
Three: Be nice.– Dalton’s three rules from Road House (1989)
When it comes to DC Comics, there is an incredible pantheon of characters to pull from, each with oscillating back stories based on everything from the era the character is introduced in, the vision of the writer, and, of course, the direction of the larger cannon. Among the greats, there is Kara Zor-El, most commonly known as Superman’s cousin — an accurate descriptor but one that makes her entire existence about her relationship to someone else. This is a character who, in the Prime timeline, took on the Anti-Monitor one-on-one in order to prevent calamity in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985-1986). She lost, but it was a valiant sacrifice that helped to prevent absolute destruction and put a stop to the onslaught. In the second theatrical outing for DC Studios, the Craig Gillespie-directed Ana Nogueira-written Supergirl serves to remind people that Kara is not Kal-El in an intergalactic western wherein evil is only held back by the active efforts of the good and upheld by the indifference of others.
Center: Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl in DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ SUPERGIRL, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo courtesy of DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2026 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved. TM & © DC.
Some time after the events of Superman (2025), fellow survivor of the destruction of planet Krypton Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) spends the week of her 23rd birthday getting hammered at various locations under a red son so as to allow her to feel the effects of the alcohol she drinks. On the specific anniversary of her birth, her solo festivities are interrupted by a young teen girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley), looking for a sellsword to assist in the tracking of Brigand leader Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts). Despite her desire to stay out of it, Kara finds herself joining Ruthye’s mission when Krem poisons Krypto while stealing Kara’s ship as the only antidote hangs from his neck. The duo set forth to find Krem and, in doing so, going to difficult regions of space which will push them both to discover who they really are.
Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem in DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ SUPERGIRL, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo courtesy of DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2026 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved. TM & © DC.
Screenwriter Nogueira (We Win) drew inspiration from the Tom King-written miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, intentionally making a tale that draws on westerns to position Kara (superhero name Supergirl) as a reluctant protector due to a traumatic past she’s unable to confront. Having not read the graphic novel, this review won’t address any similarities or deviations unless relevant. What can be said directly is akin to the John Wick series with a similar catalyst for the protagonist — it’s all about the dog, and yet, not at all. Krypto is Kara’s pet and most pet owners understand that, in a loving home, there’s a deep bond that makes any sense of danger quite uncomfortable for the other. The fact that Krem poisons Krypto merely as a means of dealing with a potential obstacle to his desires, only gives Kara a personal incentive to get involved in Ruthye’s quest as Kara wants nothing to do with revenge and sees Ruthye as putting herself on a path of self-destruction. But Krypto is more than a dog to Kara; he represents all that remains of Kara’s life in Argo City, the last remaining piece of Krypton after the planet’s destruction and the brief life she shared with her parents, Zor-El and Alura Zor-El (David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham, respectively). While the backstory of Kara has shifted over the years (at times making her older than Kal, being portrayed by Matrix, and even having her spirit hosted by Linda Danvers), the core of the character has remained the same, it just depends on how the writer wants to present her. Within this cinematic iteration, Kara clearly suffers from PTSD as she uses her visits to red sun planets as a means of distracting herself from the grief. When it’s no so obvious, it presents as faster expressions of violence, overstimulation to noise, and interpersonal dissociation. While modern audiences might immediately make a connection to the same sort of presentation in Zack Snyder’s iteration of Kal (Man of Steel; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), even Richard Donner’s Kal was prone to acts of retribution that might seem out of character for Big Blue. The point, if you will, is that this Kara isn’t going out to save her dog merely because it’s *her dog*, but because it represents that last connection she has to parents and a life that are both long since gone. How far would you go and what would you be willing to do to save the smallest sliver of memory?
L-R: Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl and Eve Ridley as Ruthye in DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ SUPERGIRL, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo courtesy of DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2026 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved. TM & © DC.
Fascinatingly, this is important thematically and directly ties into a narrative thread from Gunn’s Superman. As we learn in that film, a message sent by his parents was damaged in transit with only the first part translatable, a message of generosity and hope for their son. The second half, recovered by Lex Luthor and his Engineer (Nicholas Hoult and María Gabriela de Faría, respectively), speaks of tyranny and control, a call for domination by Kal upon the far weaker civilians. In contrast, aware of his brother’s intentions for Kal, Zor-El and Alura imbue their daughter with a different mission to be good; not necessarily nice, but strong and good. Whereas Kal willingly takes on the mission of ambassadorship he believes his parents wanted (first part of message-directed) as part of his upbringing from the Kents, a reaction on his part to better understand a life he never lived having been sent away as an infant on the day Krypton died, Kara‘s mission is a legacy she didn’t ask for. She wants to be with her family, one she spent years with and was, in her view, abandoned by. She can’t relate to Kal. But, she can be good. The script even goes so far as to have Kal offer an explanation that the colorful design of the uniform that Kal and Kara wear in their official superhero duties signifies safety. Though entirely unintentional by him, this speaks to what she was asked to do by her own parents and it explains why she rejects it in favor of common clothes. Wearing them not only prevents unwarranted attention, it’s a subconscious (or conscious) denial of her legacy. Yet, her ability to step in at a variety of times, sometimes by instinct, sometimes reluctantly, speaks to her own desire to abide by her parents and be nice, be kind, and be strong — all things that don’t equate to being soft or subservient; all things that butt up against someone like Krem who see women as things to be taken, abused, used, and cast aside. Someone who utilizes technology to enhance himself so that his cruelty can expand as far as his Brigands can reach. As a villain, he’s entirely one-dimensional, but Krem isn’t someone we need to understand — cruelty is the point. The ability to do as one wants is the point. Someone like Kara is the antithesis of this embodied by the gender he values least and desires most.
Jason Momoa as Lobo in DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ SUPERGIRL, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo courtesy of DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2026 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved. TM & © DC.
Smartly, the film mostly couches David Corenswet’s Kal primarily to either long-distance calls or brief flashbacks. This isn’t his film and his presence is a distraction to Kara’s story. The brief appearances serve the themes well, Alcock’s performance conveying a distinct discomfort and distance from Kara’s cousin, suggestive of someone who sees a relationship with him as a reminder of what she’s lost, but also aware that the two are so different that developing one means doing work that she’s instinctually protecting herself from doing. However, where there isn’t a super man, there is a Main Man. Portrayed by Jason Momoa (The Minecraft Movie; Fast X; Dune: Part One), the Czarnian bounty hunter Lobo pops up and again at different parts of the film. During the press in the run-up to release of Supergirl, writer King noted that his original miniseries was meant to include Lobo, but the character was removed in order to maintain focus on Kara’s arc. The inclusion might be hit-and-miss here as the character does little more than cause havoc and serve his own needs, aspects that make the cinematic presentation on-brand for immortal psychotic Czarnian but create a bit of deviation in the film. At the very least, his specific character introduction serves to further the notion that Kara has been traveling the solar system and beyond so that the mere recognition of Lobo in a bar is enough to have *her* make herself unnoticeable to him (a choice which helps to convey that there are stronger figures out in the frontier than either she or Kal). Having grown up with Brad Garrett’s (Elio; Saturday Night) vocal work as the character in its past Superman and Justice League animated iterations, Momoa’s physical performance is underserved by his vocal delivery which comes across like his prior characters in The Wrecking Crew (2026) or The Minecraft Movie (2025), each with a fairly normal timber for the dynamic actor, where something like the mania of Dante from Fast X (2023) would give Lobo more personality and gruffness. Between the makeup, costuming, and prosthetics, Momoa delivers a Lobo that will draw audiences in, even when he’s at his most bastich. His inclusion, however, serves to highlight the specific differences between Krem and Kara within the concept of “goodness.” Krem has utilized a great deal of tech to advance himself in strength and communication, using all of these enhancements to further the violent reach of his Brigands. He steals women and girls to use for procreation and, presumably from what we observe, tosses them once a boy is born. To a degree, Krem represents what Kal could’ve become had he heard and taken to heart the message of Jor-El. Canonically, Lobo can go toe-to-toe with the biggest hitters in DC Comics and, again, having Kara try to stay on his good side demonstrates just how fearsome the Main Man is; however, he only gets involved in this story when it involves a bounty, demonstrating that his code is driven entirely by financial benefit (though some personal incentive and good times can drive him, too). Lobo is apathetic to everything that doesn’t involve him despite being a living embodiment of strength. Kara could turn herself into either one of those and this journey is the crucible that will determine where she lands.
This brings us to a moment that, at least for this reviewer, felt so egregious that it ripped me out of the illusion of the film. The frustration is that a critical moment in the final confrontation, after all the time before was spent building toward it, in a climax that’s meant to be as satisfying for the audience to observe, is horribly reduced by a needle drop that transforms the riotous action into a slow-motion grrrl power moment. Supergirl has so many fantastic technical choices within it, from the reliance on practical props to its costumes and prosthetics, to create the cosmic world this intergalactic western exists within, belying a creativity and ingenuity that only bolsters the intriguing and complex themes both of its protagonist and villain. The film itself has a few needle drops, but the majority are diegetic, used to convey the small ways Kara has explored Earth culture. While a bit apples-to-oranges, the music in Wonder Woman (2017), whether it’s in the No Man’s Land sequence or Diana’s attack on the soldiers in the village, is not only action-packed, it speaks to who Diana is ethically, spiritually, and morally. These moments are critical for the audience getting to know who Diana is and are punctuated by Rupert Gregson-Williams’s score (built of Hans Zimmer’s cello motif) that meets the moment. Within Supergirl, the choice at a pivotal sequence to drop the energy via nondiegetic music (especially considering the lyrics and intention of the specific song) are meant to convey Kara’s specific growth and potential acceptance of self; except the placement does exactly the opposite, reducing instead of empowering. We’re seeing a version of Kara that would be right at home in Themyscira, something which has happened a time or two in the comics, or even a version who had grown up at the feet of Brainiac (such as in My Adventures with Superman). You want a Boy Scout? Call Kal. This is the work of a woman who is coming into her own and defining who she wants to be: good and strong, not soft or reduced.
L-R: Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl and Kyrpto in DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ SUPERGIRL, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2026 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved.
Mixing the misogyny of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) with the jaded protector pulled into battle of (pick a western) and the intergalactic affectations of The Ice Pirates (1985), Supergirl treads a different path from Superman, holding to the promise that each DC Studios title would be different from the next. Unfortunately, in this case, the narrative follows so many well-tread paths that the surprises are few, even if the thematic moments hit powerfully and the performances from the central cast, especially Alcock, ring true. Supergirl may not be the winning outing audiences may hope for, but it’s also not a lost cause, laying the groundwork for a compelling hero who may be exactly what’s needed Tomorrow.
In theaters and IMAX June 26th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Warner Bros. Pictures Supergirl webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Films To Watch, In Theaters, Recommendation, Reviews
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