Supergirl Was Good Actually

I am going to go on the record as a defender of Supergirl (2026). This may seem controversial. After all, people generally did not like Supergirl (2026) for reasons I have seen very poorly articulated, and most criticisms I’ve seen stem from the fact that it is not profitable. (I have seen one article speculating that generative AI was used for Lobo concept art, but this allegation is not confirmed.) So let me break down the parts of it I liked, and speculate in kind why I think this movie was so poorly received.

Firstly, let me say that this movie was campy as hell. A lot of people did not like that, but I always sustain that the DC Universe—and by that token comic book movies in general—need a spectacular degree of campiness to not be boring. Take the recent The Batman, for instance. I hated that movie so much. It was boring. It took itself too seriously. It was dragged out way longer than it had to be. It climaxed in an army of incels trying to assassinate a progressive newly-elected mayor. By all means, it was a strong film, but was it a strong Batman movie? Absolutely not. Movies like these need to lean into the campiness of the genre. Otherwise, the army of incels becomes just another opportunity for Batman to be badass, and not a moment of, “Ha ha, wouldn’t it be ridiculous if that existed IRL—Wait.”

And James Gunn gets the assignment significantly more than most. He makes these societal issues boisterous and, most importantly, fun. Dazzle the masses with the flashy lights and then get them talking about social issues soon as they leave the theaters. That was the strongest part of James Gunn’s Superman, after all. Not only was it an immigrant narrative, it was also an anti-genocide narrative that blended three ruthless dictators in the modern day (Trump, Putin, Netanyahu) and an anti-technocracy narrative. James Gunn is an observer, and as such his DC Cinematic Universe is a mirror of the times.

So what does Supergirl have to say? Let’s break down the plot. Supergirl is a refugee, a member of a diaspora for a planet that no longer exists. Supergirl lacks purpose, but obviously has a lot of kindness and affection to give, as embodied by Krypto. Criminals kill a little girl’s family. Little girl asks Supergirl for help getting revenge. Criminals mortally wound Supergirl’s dog. Supergirl and Ruthie go out to track down the criminals, find the antidote to save the dog, get revenge for Ruthie’s family. Typical fetch quest narrative.

But then the criminals turn out to be sex traffickers.

All of a sudden, Supergirl, who heroically has been telling Ruthie that revenge does not lead to peace, and that her priority should be to preserve the little bit of innocence she has left, is confronted with a moral quandary. She lets the sex traffickers escape once. Innocent people die. She cannot let that happen again. And while Ruthie still has some innocence left, the burden falls on Supergirl to not let this wound fester in the side of humanity and she ends the life of Head Honcho Sex Trafficker.

Now, let me pose a question. Why would the internet want to convince you that an anti-human trafficking narrative is bad? Why would they want you to hate it? Why would they want you to hate this specific one, with this specific conclusion? One more question: Whatever happened with those Epstein Files?

Maybe it wasn’t peak cinema. But it was flashy, it was engaging, it was goofy, it was everything a comic book movie should have been, and it covered topics that are relevant to today’s society. The hate is manufactured, and I won’t lie, I feel like a ton of it also has to do with internalized (and externalized) misogyny in society, but that’s a whole other can of worms to unpack. I guess what I’m trying to say is, watch Supergirl if you haven’t. Rewatch it if it isn’t fresh in your brain. It’s a fun romp.