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JAmes Gunn’s Superman was a big make-or-break moment in the latest DC movie reboot. And yet his follow-up can prove to be a revelation, not least because it gives a real indication of the kind of universe Gunn wants to create when the novelty of metal’s return is over. Will every DCU chapter be tied to the kind of world-saving scenes we remember from old Zack Snyder movies? Or is there room for unusual, small stories to take place in shared experiences?
With Supergirl, the answer seems to be yes. Craig Gillespie’s film leads in some unexpected directions, it changes very boldly from its source, Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s famous comics Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and quietly shows that the main power of DC may not be an attempt to get out-Marvel Marvel. Here’s the lowdown for those who’ve seen it — and don’t forget to let us know your thoughts in the comments on how this affects the rest of Gunn’s universe.
This is not Superman with long hair
Gunn’s Superman gave us the hope of a Kal-El who truly subscribes (despite his parents’ best efforts) to the basic tenets of Kryptonian morality: protect the weak, watch the bad guys and try to leave the universe in a better state than you found it. His cousin couldn’t be more different, and now we know why. When Supes arrived as a baby on Earth, and sees his great powers under the yellow sun as a gift to be used in the service of humanity, Kara Zor-El spent his early years in the Kryptonian exo-city of Argo, watching everyone around him slowly being burned by the poison of kryptonite. Maybe that’s why they spend so much time traveling to the solar planets to get drunk.
Either way, Kara doesn’t act like a hero at all. When orphan Ruthye Marye Knoll pleads for help in avenging her family’s death at the hands of the ruthless leader Krem of Yellow Hills, Kara keeps drinking. It’s when his beloved mutt Krypto is poisoned by Krem’s weapons – and a pirate steals his ship – that he decides to follow him in search of the cure.
There is a whole vast universe out there
Which brings us to the plot of the film. Where the previous DC Extended Universe saw aliens as a threat to Earth from a mysterious place out there, Supergirl imagines an intergalactic society that includes both humanoid and non-human species. As they travel from planet to planet, it is felt that this DC universe has more in common with Star Wars or Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy than Man of Steel or Justice League, with their strange journeys and visitors with the Bible from the sky. There’s a definite western feel to the setting, though it’s hard to reconcile the natural bus stops Kara uses to jump between countries with lawless borders. Mos Eisley has certainly never had anything more effective.
Not so much Saturday morning cartoons
When Supergirl lands on Bilquis, it’s clear that this isn’t just a cute star chase. The old DC comics probably had Krem and his Brigands pursuing galactic rule; in which they kidnap girls from remote villages and kill anyone who stands in their way. There are shades of Mad Max: Fury Road and Unforgiven here, in the sense that this is a universe where technology can advance at light speed, but gender equality still moves with horses and carts.
This is also where the film begins to question whether someone with Kara’s powers could just pretend the suffering around her isn’t her business. Finding a cure for Krypto and restoring his ship may still be her first priorities, but when the universe is dark and twisted, Supergirl begins to realize that looking the other way is another way to choose a side.
Change from website
In the original comic book, Kara convinces Ruthye that killing Krem won’t fix her broken life, or bring her family back together, and ends up putting her in jail. In this movie, Supergirl herself plays a scary pirate. This is an important shift from the moral of the eight-episode miniseries, that revenge does not provide lasting peace, to a more nuanced perspective. Perhaps Gillespie and cinematographer Ana Nogueira just thought Kara’s journey from nihilistic party girl to cape-cosmic white was pretty cool, Nogueira’s comments certainly suggest so. Of course, this sounded like borderline justice to me, even if Superman wouldn’t be too impressed. What did you think?
Different powers under different suns
Just like in the comic book, Kara loses her powers under the red sun, regains them in the yellow light and is exposed to something similar to the poison kryptonite when the light changes. It’s a great way to wrap up his journey across the galaxy, and to keep the future stories of Gunn’s DC universe alive. We’ve already seen how easy it is to travel between planets in this type of reality, so what’s to stop all the red solar aliens coming to Earth and taking over? As we know, our planet has only a few people to protect, including two Kryptonians. Don’t worry about Zod or Doomsday, it would only take a saloon full of super villains to decide that they only care about how the world looks and trouble can begin.
Not every DC movie has to end with an apocalypse
By the time the movie ends, all Kara has done is take down a strange villain, and help a sad girl get off the edge. In the grand scheme of things, this is not a problem for Infinite Earths. But maybe that’s part of the reason why little drama is so popular in blockbuster movies?
The most recent Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, was criticized because no planets were destroyed, there were no sudden revelations about the secret lineage of any of the main characters, and the fate of the entire galaxy was not constantly hanging by a thread. Supergirl feels like the DC equivalent. Kara doesn’t waste her time fighting extraterrestrials, and the film also doesn’t have to expand its story into some extraterrestrial space emergency because it could end up in a galaxy full of inhabited planets. This is a new direction for blockbuster movies, which often eschew comedy, with well-established comedies in favor of big, high-stakes spin on blockbuster franchises.
Whether the audience – and the critics – are ready for the kind of small, strange magical stories that rely on character, appearance and tone rather than an apocalyptic show remains to be seen; The mixed reception of the video does not show. But if comic book movies are to survive as a medium, there will be a need for a tale of sadness and redemption amidst the overwhelming, destructive piles of reality. If classic movies are really the new western, they can’t all be Noon. Some will need to be True Grit in the cape.
