Poll: Favorite Film/TV Interpretation of Supergirl

With the recent announcement of a Supergirl television show we are all wondering exactly what sort of Supergirl we'll see on the new Greg Berlanti/Ali Adler show. The initial blurb says she will become the hero she was meant to be which leads me to think she won't be the angry isolated New 52 version.

Thinking about the new show reminded me that Supergirl has had a handful of other incarnations on the big and small screens. So I figured we could look back at those other versions of Kara, many of them from the recent past. And, to add to the fun, I thought you could vote on which 'outside of comics' Supergirl interpretation is your favorite.

Let's start at the beginning!

1) Supergirl movie starring Helen Slater - I think the Supergirl movie has a special place in the hearts of all Supergirl fans. It is completely campy. The plot makes little sense. The villain feels like she would fit right in on the old Batman television show, crazy with a headquarters at an abandoned carnival.

But the movie is saved by Helen Slater. She just embodies the optimism and grace and determination of Supergirl. She really is Supergirl here. This is the first appearance of the 'Matrix' style costume. And it includes Linda Lee, Midvale High, and a rubbish boyfriend.

Can Slater's performance trump the sheer lunacy of the movie to have this be your favorite Supergirl outside of comics?

2) Timmverse Supergirl - I have to believe that DC Animated Producer Bruce Timm is a Supergirl fan. He made sure to introduce Supergirl in both Superman the Animated Series and the subsequent Justice League Unlimited. This was Kara In-Ze, from the planet Argo, a planet in Krypton's solar system.

And Timm really had this Kara grow over the course of these series. The early episodes of S:TAS show a young, eager, almost impetuous young girl desperately trying to help. We see her befriend Batgirl in a famous Batman:The Animated Series episode. And then in JLU, we see something of an older and wiser Kara. Initially she is still a bit of a hothead. But over the series, we see her mature. We see her confront some demons when she battles Galatea. We see her acting like the veteran compared to Stargirl. And ultimately, she completes the hero's journey, joining the Legion in the future. If people want to see an arc of a character, this is where to go. 

As Timm said (somewhere) and I am paraphrasing "I don't care what people say, Supergirl kicked ass."

I am very partial to this incarnation of Supergirl.

3) Smallville - I have issues with how Clark was portrayed in the Smallville show feeling that he moped and sulked around before finally ... FINALLY ... being a hero!

But I have very few issues about how Supergirl was portrayed on the show. And much of that strength is thanks to Laura Vandervoort. She made Supergirl a strong, proactive, and heroic character. She was the perfect foil to Clark. While he was running around as a blur, she was in your face in her costume.

Unfortunately, Clark was the star. So as a result, this Supergirl had to lose her memory, hang out with Lex, and eventually leave the present time, heading into the future to join the Legion so that Clark would be 'free' to achieve his destiny.

Still, when she was active ... she was fantastic. And I liked the variable 'costumes' she wore. If any one of these non-comic interpretations show that a Supergirl show would work, it is Smallville and Vandervoort's performance

4) Superman/Batman:Apocalypse -This movie made by DC Animation is basically a retelling of the Jeph Loeb/Michael Turner comic arc which reintroduced the Kara Zor-El Supergirl to the DCU.

Visually, this is a great movie. I love the way this Supergirl looks, with wisps of blonde hair and (occasionally) a big smile. She is voiced by Summer Glau who does a great job getting across the young hero. And Glau gives the movie some street cred.

That said, this is the story where she is brainwashed by Darkseid and becomes a dirty girl for a short period of time. She does get in a decent fight with Darkseid at the end. And the movie does smooth out some of the rougher spots of the Loeb plot.

Superman Unbound - This was a movie based on Geoff Johns' Brainiac storyline. There is a lot to like about this version of Supergirl as well. She is a bit scarred by the Brainiac attacks on Krypton. But she channels that into a desire for justice. She is more proactive that the Smallville Kara. She ends up saving the world by stopping Brainiac solar missile. And the performance by Molly Quinn is fantastic.

I also think the overall look of Supergirl in this movie is slick as well.

Okay, those are the other non-comic versions of Supergirl. So let me know which one you like best. And vote on the poll over on the right.