Supergirl

Some people just have all the luck. Some end up being raised on a farm in Kansas. Others end up having to fend for themselves. Take Clark Kent for example; when he was sent to Earth to escape the destruction of Krypton, he ended up being found by a lovely couple and became the world-famous Superman. His cousin, Kara Zo-rel, aka Supergirl, well, her upbringing was far from stellar (get it? Stellar, like space? I crack myself up)

Anyhow, as I said, Kara has always had to rough it on her own. When Krypton was destroyed, until Clark (who was an infant), Kara was old enough to remember being sent away in a pod to Earth (after shortly living in a small protected portion of Krypton with the surviving Kryptonians). She never wanted to leave her family to die, she was forced to. After she landed on Earth, well she had to fend herself which tends to lead to a certain mentality: “Clark sees everyone in a positive light; I see them for who they are more realistically.”

As such, Kara tends to avoid people, unless she’s in her Supergirl persona. She does have a friend, well I’d say companion, a dog named Krypto that came with her from Krypton. Krypto means the world to her, so when Supergirl tries to save a girl who is seeking revenge against a tyrannical warlord named Krem, as Krypto goes after Krem Krypto is shot with a slow poisonous and paralyzing dart.

Kara is of course devastated. “There is an antidote to the poison. However, it’s with brigands (Krem’s lackeys) and if you don’t retrieve the antidote in 3 days, Krypto’s heart will give out”, says the healer. Now, for Kara, it’s personal. Kara teams up with one of Krem’s victims, a little girl named Ruthye, to find the antidote and deal with Krem once and for all

I guess things weren’t meant to stay quiet forever…

Sometimes you watch the end of a film and shout, “Yep there’s definitely a sequel or spin-off of that coming.” For example, when watching the end of the first Inside Out movie, you knew right off the bat that there was going to be Inside Out 2. It’s like looking at the gray clouds and saying, “It’s gonna rain, you just wait.” Some things are just obvious.

At the conclusion of James Gunn’s 2025 reboot of “Superman,” Kara makes a one minute appearance at the very end reuniting with Krytpo and Clark in Clark’s Fortress of solitude. Before the announcement about a Supergirl spin-off even came out, I knew that it was going to happen. However, this version of Supergirl is not as clean and fun, as let’s say Kara Benoist’s Supergirl from the Supergirl TV series that ran from 2015-2021. No, no, no, Gunn’s is far more depressed, far less of a role model, and frankly, far more crass.

James Gunn has never been afraid to create and mold traditional characters into people that are far more complex or even darker versions of these characters. 2025’s “Superman,” while it did stay true, mostly, to who Superman was, it made Superman more human than Kryptonan. 2025’s Superman killed someone (indirectly of course but that’s neither hear no there). James Gunn’s Superman was more rugged, more defensive and less, at least to me, the Superman from the comics. He does this with Supergirl and the problem is, well, Supergirl herself.

These two Kryptonians are supposed to be the heroes that others aspire to be, and for the most part, I believe they are. I think it was Aunt May who said it best in Sam Raimi’s “Spiderman 2”…

“Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names, and years later they’ll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them to hold on a second longer…

To that point, it’s these characters’ personalities when they aren’t Supergirl and Superman that has troubled me with the franchise. Do we look for realistic people when we see these supernatural beings saving others on screen? No. Do we look for heroes who struggle with personal problems when we watch Superman and Supergirl save others? No. While this unrealistic, unfair, this is what the comics made these two out to be, non-human.

All of this is to say that 2026’s “Supergirl” shows a very vulnerable side to Kara. I can respect this (and there are some great talking points made by Kara herself about fairness, courage, and the cost of revenge) but only to a certain degree. Her behaviors, like her swearing (which Clark never did) or her excessive drinking (Clark never drank as it affects Kryptonians in the wrong way) and just her overall attitude to people when she’s just Kara is not something I would want my child, if I was a parent, to want to aspire to be like.

And there’s the issue front of center: little girls who look at the Supergirl in this film, always drinking, swearing, beating the living daylights out of villains (to extremes even Superman wouldn’t be caught dead doing) and not thinking twice about it, and believing that this is someone they want to grow up and be.

Filmmaking wise, “Supergirl” is just okay. As I walked out I let out a big sigh and said to my friend. “I wish there was something more. I don’t know what, but I just wanted more from this movie.” A day later I still don’t know what the “more” was: more humor, more action, more character development, more layers to the story line.

To the film’s credit (and I know that once again I’ve been bashing another film others will praise), the movie has those strong messages I mentioned earlier and Kara does change as a person toward the end of the film: she’s less pessimistic, less withdrawn and actually opens herself up more to building friendships and relationships. I also credit Milly Allcock’s portrayal of Kara/Supergirl. You get to see both sides of Supergirl in this film, the heroic side and the more personal side and how she faces her harsh reality. Jason Momoa always puts in a humorous yet important performance as the mercenary, Lobo.

Content of Concern

VIOLENCE: Very Heavy! A young boy is killed by an ax to the back. There is an explosion killing parents in a massive fire. Kara and a customer have a fight outside of a bar. Krypto bites someone in the genitals. Krypto is shot with a paralyzing and poisonous needle by Krem. Lobo chains one of the brigands to his bike and drags him across the dirt and then the character is stabbed and killed. There are two massively long fight sequences to save girls who are being trafficked (more on that later). Someone snaps the neck of a mouse. A girl jumps on a guys back and strangles him. One battle sequence contains knives, falls, and a lot of death.

Someone is tased. A shuttle carrying passengers is robbed at gunpoint (or taserpoint?). Someone’s head is slammed into a wall. A character is jettisoned out of a spaceship airlock. Someone is hit with a laser beam multiple times. Kara breaks someone’s wrist.

Kara attacks some low-life club guests (20 of them) in a matter of seconds. Someone is said to have killed everyone on an entire planet. Force field rips through krypton and people panic (the people remaining on Krypton that are outside the force field are killed). Someone is choked and slammed against walls and thrown (in fact, characters are slammed against walls and thrown around in a lot of scenes throughout the film). There is a massive action sequence. A little girl is in consistent danger throughout the story.

Someone is shot with a green kryptonite crystal. A ship explodes. Someone nearly drowns. Someone is slammed by a piece of fuselage. A main character kills a bad guy.

VULGAR LANGUAGE: F-word (1), Freak*ng (1), Frickin’ nerd (1) (both are used to substitute the F-word), an obscene gesture (1), Whore (1), B*lls (1), B*llsy (1), Scr*w-you (1), B*stards (1), T*ts (1), A** (2), B*tch (1), Sh*t (5 and 1 cut short), B*ll-Sh*t (2), D*psh*ts (2), Sh*t-head (2), Little Sh*t (2)

PROFANITY: Oh my G*d, God complex, Whhat the H*ll

SEXUAL CONTENT: It is rather obvious that the villains are trafficking in girls—kidnapping, buying, raping and also using them for breeding. Kara is seen sitting on a toilet (the camera only shows her head and one of her thighs from outside of the bathroom). Someone asks “Why is Kal in his underwear?”. Someone is shown urinating (no genitals shown).

PARTIAL NUDITY: Lobo is shirtless throughout the film. Various bare-chested men. Some female characters at a club wear revealing outfits.

DRUGS: Someone is seen smoking out of a hookah or bong. A poisonous dart is used on a couple characters. A main character is poisoned.

ALCOHOL: The lead character, Kara, is an alcoholic throughout. Bottles of liquor are seen in her a home (tons of them!). She drinks in massive amounts to celebrate her birthday. She is shown waking with a hangover. Lead male character freqently smokes a cigar. Various charactrs are shown drinking alcohol and referring to it.

OCCULT: Someone states, “The gods are not that kind.” A healer, of some sort, is seen chanting some healing spells, or something, over Krypto as he is sick and on the table.

OTHER: The green sun extremely sickens Kara and we watch as she begins to go in an out of consciousness. Some kind of cricket or leech attaches itself to Kara’s thigh and when she removes it her thigh is bleeding. Someone vomits several times. The people of Argo City (the portion of Krypton saved by the force field) are poisoned by the soil and many die. A two headed rat is seen eating a bowl of worms.

Morals

Revenge is a common theme in “Supergirl.” Kara tells Ruhbey that no matter happens, revenge will not help her avenge her parents’ deaths. She tells Ruhbey that if she kills Krem there is no going back and that her heart will blacken over time.

Revenge is a topic that is often found in action stories and scripture is very clear on the role of revenge. Paul, my favorite apostle, said it best….

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” —Romans 12:19

Jesus himself stated to his followers…

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” —Matthew 5:38-39

And here’s the one that I feel many Christians, including myself sometimes, find difficult to do….

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” —Mark 11:25

God stated in Scripture that vengeance is His to deal with, and His alone. Not only that though, he asks us to “turn the other cheek” even if the other party never acknowledges or tries to make amends for what they’ve said and done. Read the last half of Matthew 5:38-39 again.

“…But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

When one prays to the Lord in earnest to help them turn the other cheek, God gives you the strength to do it. As humans we don’t have that ability. With God, though, he gives you the strength and ability to do this.

Closing Thoughts

Maybe I’ve become a tad overly sensitive over superhero films, or just films in general, over the years. Maybe I’m having too deep of a discussion over the role of a superhero and what they’re supposed to be. Just…maybe…. But Superman, and even Supergirl, have always been beacons of light. Yes they feel emotion but they have more control over them. Yes they struggle, but they never show it. Sure, it’s unrealistic to think this way, but that’s the platform we have put superheroes on. They show up, they show out, they are the role models we grow up reading about even when we realize they aren’t real.

I think “Supergirl” (and by extension “Superman” from 2025) makes a great argument about human nature and how difficult it is to overcome something you’ve struggled with for so long and so often. Kara (not Supergirl) shows us the side we are all familiar with: loneliness, grief, pain, but we also see her persevere, protect, serve and defend others Supergirl, and that is something I can praise.

However, the film itself is a mixed bag of content concerns. The overall tone is dark and bleak. There are very heavy moments of violence, some ugly vulgar language, and a LOT of drinking. Although ther are some good messages, there is a lot of head-scratching and jaw dropping content to contend with as well.

This film is not suitable for young children, only mature teens and adults. Overall, the choice is yours whether this is a superhero you want as your role model…

• Violence: Very Heavy
• Vulgar/Crude language: Moderately Heavy
• Drugs/Alcohol: Moderate
• Profane language: Mild
• Nudity: Mild
• Sex: Although there are no on-screen sexual acts, there are implications… • Heavily implied sex slavery • References to sexual violence and abuse of girls
• Occult: Minor
• Wokeism: Although the actress who plays Supergirl is definitely vocally Woke—pro-LGBT, has made negative reference to Christian men, etc., the film itself does not appear to promote Wokism, nor does it attempt to emasculate men.

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.

• Negative
• Critics