Well, it's been a week and the news has spread around the internet, so I figure it is okay to comment about that Supergirl cameo in James Gunn's Superman.
First, to level set, I very much liked the movie. Yes, at times it felt a little overstuffed with lots of moving parts and plots. But to be honest, it felt very much like a 'comic book movie', a sort of six issue arc in a title. This chapter is fighting the kaiju while Lex invades the Fortress. Next issue, Superman imprisoned, the breakout from the pocket universe! So I was very pleased with it and plan on seeing it again.
As for Supergirl, I'll start out by saying Milly Alcock in the Supergirl uniform looks great. I cannot tell you how amazing it was to see my favorite hero in a comic accurate costume on the IMAX screen.
We all knew that the Supergirl movie in the Gunn universe was going to be based on the Tom King Woman Of Tomorrow series. So I was not surprised by anything that happened on screen.
She is drunk. She is so drunk she thought Superman moved the door of the Fortress. Krypto is her dog. She calls Superman a bitch.
All that fits King's version.
I didn't like it. I was not surprised. And so I took it with a grain of salt. Somewhere inside me, I am hoping that the Supergirl movie is going to be a redemption story, so that at the end she has come through her trauma and becomes the hero I want her to be. The inclusion of Lobo makes me wonder if he is going to be a living lesson of what embracing a darker path leads to.
But this could be someone's first exposure to Supergirl. And I don't know if this scene would entice someone to see a movie. We shall see.
While I wasn't surprised by the portrayal on screen, I was surprised by the outpouring of support from friends who were worried about my reaction. To anyone who reached out to get my thoughts, I thank you.
Seriously though, she looks great.
The teaser poster has dropped.
'Look out'.
So all the 'here to help', 'look up' inspiration of the Superman promotions are sort of opposite here.
Again, no surprise given the source material ...
And the inclusion of the duster jacket really shows how they are leaning into the Woman of Tomorrow story.
Will they have Krypto perforated with arrows and poisoned like they do in the book? Or is that too much for the big screen (given we already heard they removed a shot of Ultraman punching Krypto in the Superman flick).
What did you all think?
13 comments:
I absolutely hated the presentation of Supergirl as a regular drunk; I’m no fan of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, but at least writer Tom King’s first issue justified Supergirl wanting to get rat-arsed because she was having a fit of mopiness. The one bit of hope the scene give me is that if Kara is starting out as a mess, her character arc in the upcoming film is likely to be a more positive one.
Oh, and the wonderful Krypto is not Supergirl’s dog!
I agree with yout take of being basically "I had fun, I'm a bit worried about the future but we'll see". I think that, considering Jams Gunn history, he'll have Kara's character arc be a positive one. I don't think he'll have her be a mess and a drunk for the entire DCU universe, so I think she'll move past it (or start to) in her movie.
I liked the movie in general, I have my thoughts about the twist about Jor-El, but I feel that, the more I think about certain parts of the movie, the more problematic it appears, and I don't think Gunn thought about it so hard, so I'm okay with being "It was fun, I hope the sequel is better".
I was underwhelmed by the movie. I didn’t really like it or connect with much of it at all. A lot of superficiality with a facade of depth.
Thought Supegirl’s appearance was gross. As Mart points out above, this scene is without context of the bigger story in the comic.
I fear that she’s going to be drunk a lot and with Lobo along it’s a real reason to skip her movie.
-Matthew Lloyd
My own tripwire is the stoning sequence in "Woman of Tomorrow" I can see a lot of moviegoers falling dead silent if that one is transliterated from the miniseries in it's original context. All this clip did for me was signal this Supergirl was gonna be "edgy" (whatever that means, its a word that creates obscurity not clarity IMHO)...and we will see in 12 months how that shakes out. I've taken a private vow not to pre-judge the film until I actually see it whatever my trepedations may be...but once I've seen it it'll be "katie-bar-the-door" :). JF
“What did you all think?”
I thought the scene was wonderfully funny. Loved it. Looking forward to the movie even more than I already was.
“And I don't know if this scene would entice someone to see a movie.”
My sense from extensive postgame Internetting is that it generated a lot of interest and excitement. That great poster was perfectly timed to add to the positive buzz.
I enjoyed the movie overall, feeling like Superman's world and the DCU overall grew with this take. I'd love to see more of all of these characters.
And Supergirl, this was not the Kara I wanted. But even moreso than King, this is a take that made me nervous having Gunn helm the movie. I legit worried his use of over-the-top gory violence and swearing would turn me off for the movie. So I'm glad that didn't happen, but he saves that penchant for Supergirl's scene. Oy, I REALLY hope her movie is a growing up/redemption story.
Gotta say I’ve seen almost nothing but positivity from people that saw her cameo, and people hyping up how excellent Woman of Tomorrow is. I think us classic Kara fans have entered the minority of the fanbase now, or at the very least a very silent majority. I just hope the movie is good. Superman gives me hope, which is a lot more than the Snyder films gave me.
First off, loved the Superman movie. Lots of fun, colorful, and great characters. Especially our new Superman, Lois, and Lex. It's a great fun superhero movie, and nails the core of Superman's character. Great stuff.
The Supergirl introduction at the end, first I was surprised it wasn't a post-credit sequence. So, that was cool that she did get to pop up at the end of the film. I'll admit, real curious what Supergirl's public status is as it seems Lois didn't know anything about her or Lex. Might that be a slight nod to her old school 'Secret Weapon' Silver Age aspect? Hard to say.
As to her characterization...I'm trying to imagine this as more 'Guardians of the Galaxy Supergirl' vs WOT Supergirl. My 'hope,' is that she's more treated in that vein to start with her film, but as others have said she grows to be her own hero. One maybe not 1 for 1 like Superman, as she should stand out as her own character, BUT one that's not murdering someone asking for mercy.
My buddy has a interesting theory that they might lean into the 'survival guilt' Kara feels, and all her drinking attitude is a result of that. However her adventure in her film, helps her deal with her feelings, and become again, hopefully a better hero.
I want to reserve judgement as well and hope that like we saw with say, Captain America Civil War, or Spider-Man No Way Home and doing the 'One More Day' idea WAY better than that awful comic. Hopefully, 'Supergirl' will be a better adaptation than the source material. We'll see when we get more from a trailer.
I mean, I worried Superman movie was going to be overstuffed from the initial stuff, but in the end pleasantly surprised how it wasn't. Hope to be true about my worries about the Supergirl movie.
“BUT one that's not murdering someone asking for mercy.”
100 percent not a thing that happens.
It’s really hard to judge based on a short cameo and her short interaction with Krypto and Superman, but I thought it was fine for what it was. Milly Alcock does look great as Supergirl. I’m not a fan of Supergirl having darker turns in the comics or being drunk but I get that they were going for shock value here and it seems to have worked with most audiences. Despite her seemingly inebriated state, under that facade, I still think there is an outgoing, fun, carefree, sunny, empathetic, and compassionate person in there. She is just currently handling her grief in a harmful and unproductive manner. At least that’s how I have rationalized it. Hopefully we go up from here.
I’m just hoping that they don’t flanderize her character to the point where she is only known for being the “drunk one,” “the party girl” or the “messed up one”. I think that would be the worst possible outcome and it’s not really a compelling story if she stays one-dimensional. I doubt this will happen and we’ll have a story of someone who is still learning and growing into a hero.
My other concern is if they go with darker or violent themes for this movie that it would gate-keep younger audiences from seeing it. Hopefully they don’t go too dark.
I’m still excited and cautiously optimistic about the upcoming Supergirl film. We’ll just have to wait and see.
-SoE
The few changes from her comic WoT characterization that we can already see actually give me some hesitant optimism towards the film.
We see that she’s not just a ball of gloom and edge and rage. She, while drunk, smiles and laughs and has fun while Krypto plays with her. There’s probably more brightness in her personality in that one scene than in the entirety of her WoT comic portrayal.
They also emphasize that her current state is not a sustainable one. This isn’t like the comic where she’s an active capable hero who goes to get drunk once — this is a Kara that’s in an explicitly and actively unhealthy state who’s repeatedly getting drunk and partying. While Kara was pretty constant throughout WoT, the way they showed her here makes me think this is the starting point of a growth/healing arc for her.
Finally, but significantly, it doesn’t actually seem like she’s debuted as Supergirl yet. No one mentions a second Kryptonian in the movie. Clark doesn’t act like she’s dodging superhero responsibilities, despite the fact that she is REGULARLY going to red-sun planets to get drunk and party. She might be “Superman’s secret weapon” a la her early comics, but I don’t think she’s actually a Superhero yet. That makes a WoT like characterization MUCH more tolerable for me. I’m okay with Kara being unhealthy in this way, as long as it’s something that she heals from before she becomes Supergirl.
These factors combined, I think we may be seeing an arc where she starts the movie in this “being a drunk party girl as a coping mechanism for her trauma” state, but ends the film having learned to move past her trauma and to move forward with her life and to make her true debut as Supergirl.
If that’s the arc they do for the movie, I expect that I’ll end up loving it. Anything else, and well… I just hope that it isn’t anything else.
I wonder if the role Lobo plays might be 'This could be you if you keep going in this direction.' IDK. maybe that doesn't make sense.
Been away on a brief vacation and thankful for all the comments left here.
As lots have said, the Superman movie's optimism has made me hope the Supergirl movie will end with a similar outlook.
Hopeful.
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