By Patrick Lugo
The Gunniverse
It’s been a minute since a movie featuring a blonde super-heroine earned such pre-release jitters. The online fervor is not nearly as controversial as during the lead up to Marvel Studio's release of CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019). SUPERGIRL is landing in theaters as the sophomore outing in James Gunn’s reign as the creative head of the DC Universe. A gig he earned with the raging success of THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021) and the HBO series PEACEMAKER (2022 - 2025) but began in earnest with CREATURE COMANDOS (2024) and of course SUPERMAN (2025).
Stepping into the directorial role is Australian film director Craig Gillespie most recently off of a handful of television projects but probably most widely known for directing the Margo Robbie vehicle I,TONYA (2017), and a decade before that, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL (2007). SUPERGIRL may well be Gillespie’s biggest swing. Similarly, this role represents lead actor Molly Alcock’s biggest swing as well. Though many will remember her as the young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in season one of HBO’s HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (2022) the GAME OF THRONES prequel series. Episode one of Season three just streamed this week as well.
Super Gals
Supergirl remains one of the most iconic female superheroes in pop-culture. She’s second only to Wonder Woman and perhaps tied with Batgirl who is unforgettable thanks to Yvonne Craig’s depiction during the 1967 season of the BATMAN television show and related movie. Both characters a mainstay in animation and those who pay attention might remember a BATGIRL movie starring Leslie Grace, J.K Simmons & Michael Keaton reprising his role as Batman. The movie was said to be complete when it was canceled in 2022. As these things normally go, bootlegs can probably be found at some of the larger comic-cons. Despite participating in BATMAN AND ROBIN (1997) Batgirl has yet to truly take on the big screen.
Supergirl did so with the 1984 film which starred Helen Slater and was directed by Jeannot Szwarc. At home, Supergirl maintained a six season long run on the CW television network. Featuring Melissa Benoist in the titular role, that show crossed-over with some other DC hero focused tv series and aired its final episode in November of 2012. That show is still remembered fondly and is already a primary source for contrast and comparison to the new movie.
Despite the best efforts of Captain Marvel and BLACK WIDOW (2021), none of the MCU or related comic characters are as recognizable as the blonde in a skirt with an S on her shirt. Published for the first time in issue 252 of Action Comics in May 1959, her origin is fairly simple, as is the reasoning for her creation. Just like Spider-Woman, She-Hulk, Bat-Woman and others, the goal is first and foremost copyright protection. No publisher successfully selling comics titled Superman is going to risk a rival selling a similarly titled comic. That’s not to say good stories can’t be told with these characters and SUPERGIRL 2026 proves it.
SUPERGIRL is a vibe - of course there’s a superhero origin story built in, but it makes more of a Star Wars movie than last month’s THE MANDALORIAN & GROGU. It’s certainly aimed at a higher age level and passes the Bechdel test with flying colors, cape and all. This space-adventure combines a revenge story with an item quest, all set in probably the most lived-in universe on screen, though perhaps manipulative in its John Wick style inciting incident. Our 21st Century Supergirl partys with a blend of nihilism and idealism that is a long way from her mid-century origin; she also kicks ass.
Girl-Fights in Space
A quick look at IMDB reveals no stunt double credit for Millie Alcock. That’s probably because of what clearly looks like digital body doubling. One or two cases of shaky-cam end up looking like cheats, but they are forgivable as the movie builds goodwill with a charming cast, like Emily Beecham playing Supergirl’s mom. There's a wide range of set pieces to be enjoyed: spaceship chases and laser-blasts, also a delightful amount of fisticuffs and cold arms are at play in this movie.
Credit could go to Bulgarian born fight coordinator Trajan Milenov-Toy for taking a hard swing at choreographing combat more complex than the massive haymaker punches which are also in abundance. Now that superhero movies are approaching a third decade, one can venture opinions on how Wuxia style fights can be expressed using modern VFX and today’s video game informed visual language. See The Anthropology of Kung Fu Cinema with Eric Jacobus for more.
IMDB also lists one British born Ben O’Hanlon as fight arranger for this film. He did stunt work in CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON: SWORD OF DESTINY (2026) the Netflix original movie penned by Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine contributor and friend John Fusco. In preparation for writing this review we discovered Sifu Derek O’Hanlon a student of Samual Kwok and head instructor at Han Lon Eastern Concepts, a Wing Chun academy based in Manchester England. As of this writing there’s no confirmation of this connection; but if this were a comic there would really be no doubt.
Together they deliver a drunken duel with a sci-fi maul wielding giant, they’re fighting over a sword, of all things. Our main baddie is quite good with an axe. There are a few bar room brawls with a fully powered Supergirl but one of the more interesting fight sequences features a 3 versus 1 foiled hijacking featuring short-ranged teleporters. That fight sequence alone might have some fun things to say about the nature of timing and distance in a fight - to the KFM Forum with that one.
Supergirl builds on the action and aesthetic established by James Gunn’s last handful of movies and keeps finding ways to unravel the common dilemma of over-powered super beings. For the comic readers, there’s a new bit of lore which may not yet have been found in the pages of comics. Serving as audience surrogate is Supergirl’s inconvenient sidekick Ruthye, played by Eve Ridley, she experiences the leveling up that comes with this kind of story. Our main character is constantly being knocked down only to get back up, but for her the struggle is really an internal one.
Ol’ Dirty Bastich
Because representation matters Supergirl also includes the palest of heavy metal space-bros in Lobo; cosmic bounty hunter. DC comics’ answer to Wolverine in Ghost Rider drag, Jason Momoa sheds his AQUAMAN (2018, 2023) role to glory in a character he seems to have been genetically engineered to portray. He’s both intimidating and funny and even plays a sort of inverted Obi Wan Kenobi role as the movie swings wildly from Star Wars Cantina to Mad Max in Space.
Rather than a light saber, it’s his galactic cigar which glows as red as his eyes. His weapon of choice is a rope dart length Chain Whip with an enormous hook on its end. Better for catching super powered criminals, or really, targets Lobo’s been set upon, psychotic mercenary that he is. The character’s breezy menace offsets the gravitas Supergirl executes on her way back to a primary colored superhero populated earth. This family and legacy focused movie for the daughters, sisters, mothers and of course cousins.
Author
Patrick Lugo is a freelance author, illustrator & comic creator who consults on comic Crowdfunding campaigns when not running one of his own. His acclaimed graphic novel series A Tiger’s Tale vols. 1 & 2 can be purchased at ATiger’sTale.com, as well as his newest comic UNDEAD KUNGFU GHOST KILLER #1. He has also been Senior Graphic Artist for Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine.
Thread
https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/supergirl-june-26-2026/63006
