Sometimes the Road to Redemption has a lot of Bumps along the Way
(Warning: Mild Spoilers)
When Supergirl (Milly Alcock) first appears on screen, she is a far cry from the icon of heroism that fans have come to know over the years. She’s also not the super cute girl next door like Melissa Benoist’s TV incarnation was. She’s a hot mess.
It’s her birthday week (which we learn from a video message from her famous cousin, Clark (David Corenswet). She has left Earth (which she has a habit of doing) and is on an interstellar bender. Her sole companion is her faithful pet dog, Krypto.
Supergirl/Kara Zor’el feels completely alone. This is partially because she never overcame the loss of her family (more on that later), and partially by design. She doesn’t want to be counted on. In fact, she stashes herself on a planet with a red sun, effectively rendering herself as vulnerable as a normal human on Earth. In such a location, she can get drunk, feel pain, and wallow in her sadness.
Enter the villain. Krem, leader of the Brigands. Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) is brutal, violent, heartless, and horrific. The Brigands are guilty of many atrocities, including trafficking women to a mostly dead planet so the males of the remaining species can breed with them. It’s galactic human trafficking. (Their motive is never really explained. They’re just mostly asshole brutes who are abusive to weaker life forms.)
Krem shows up in a very Hans Landa scenario (Christoph Waltz’s delightful villain in Inglorious Basterds). He is visiting a family with the goal of taking super high-quality swords crafted by the father. In an unfortunate turn, the son jumps out and appears to be a threat. Krem kills him and both parents, leaving the daughter, Ruthye (Eve Ridley) as the only survivor. Ruthye’s quest for vengeance is all-consuming. It leads her to a bar in search of the Brigands. When one giant alien bullies her, Kara decides to step in. Even without her power, she outlasts the brute.
Kara and Ruthye (and Krypto) manage to track down the Brigands, but Krem, being the insufferable piece of trash that he is, poisons Krypto. He escapes and Kara learns that this particular poison induces paralysis. She has 72 hours to save her beloved doggo. The interstellar chase is on.
Kara doesn’t just go after Krem and his crew because they are horrible beings. She really doesn’t care. She just wants to save the only soul she feels comfortable with. Writers Ana Nogueira, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster lean into this dynamic. There are flashback scenes where Kara meets Krypto, and others that show how they essentially grew up as best friends.
One flashback is a devastating depiction of Kara’s birth and early years. It is closer to the 1959 origin of Kara as a survivor of Argon, rather than Kryton. The scene itself is only minutes long, but it provides a thorough and important depiction of just how alone Kara has been. Even when she arrives on Earth, face-to-face with Superman, she is an alien. She doesn’t know the language. She is unaware of how her powers will grow. The only thing she has that is familiar with is her beloved Krypto.
Now, the elephant in the room. While searching for Krem, Kara and Ruthye cross paths with an immortal, cigar-smoking, motorcycle-riding beast of a man. Finally, after years of fans hoping for the moment, Lobo makes his debut. Lobo (Jason Momoa) is to DC as Deadpool is to Marvel, except viewers should expect to replace all the snark and acrobatics with blunt force trauma. He is a pure agent of chaos. Now that James Gunn has inserted him into the DC Cinematic Universe, there is just no telling where he is going to impact and influence other films.
Supergirl is trying to cover a lot of bases, and the writing is very aspirational. This has to be an origin story, expand an established universe, introduce known and unknown characters, and fit in with a redemption arc for its protagonist. It accomplishes many of these efforts to differing degrees. I withhold judgement and ask viewers to share their opinions.
Alcock has to juggle all of that in an emotionally demanding script, and she does. This version of Kara is a very complicated one. Alcock handles being broken, desperate, forlorn, and maniacal with precision. Momoa dives into the deep end, finally playing the role he petitioned DC to grant him for years. Ridley’s Ruthye is at a precipice that could make her a hero or a villain. She inhabits an innocence that viewers will really champion.
One of the most unsung elements of the film is Claudia Sarne’s score. The themes for each character are unique, immediately identifiable, and provide an absolute acceleration to the pace of the film.
Supergirl is a wonderful introduction to viewers of this (broken yet redeemable) version of Kara. It sets the stage for plenty of different directions this character can go under Gunn’s strategic guidance. I, for one, am curious to see where she and Krypto (and Lobo) show up next.