I’ve got to be honest. I saw Supergirl last week, and I’ve nearly forgotten that I sat in a theater for almost two hours viewing it. That’s not the kind of impression I wanted the newest DC movies to leave me with, and I’m not surprised by the movie’s big box office drop this past weekend. Especially because it’s yet another comic book flick for the girlies, and another example of big studios not giving female superheroes the same kind of fanfare as their male superhero counterparts. Let’s talk about it.
I Have A Theory About What Makes Superhero Movies Good... Supergirl Didn’t Pass
Now, I didn’t think Supergirl was as bad as some critics did. I thought Milly Alcock was awesome as Kara, and I liked getting to know her and going on the adventure she has in this movie. It’s a three out of five – right down the middle for me. What I didn’t like was the villain and a lot of the script decisions. And, I have a theory about what makes a superhero movie good: a superhero is only as good as its villain. Seriously, think about it and tell me it's not true! I think the only time where this hasn't been the case is the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and those guys fit more into the anti-hero archetype.
Supergirl had a very one-dimensional villain in the form of Krem of the Yellow Hills. Sure, he was in the Woman of Tomorrow comic book the movie adapts, but I’d argue the filmmakers could have had a lot more fun and creativity when bringing the pirate assassin to the big screen. I found Krem to be very boring, and in turn so was the movie itself at times. The disappointment I feel regarding Supergirl I feel is sadly a familiar feeling in the genre, especially in movies starring women.
Why Supergirl’s Weak Villain Really Bothers Me
Sadly, we’re in a time when there've been hundreds of big-budget superhero movies and only a few have been led by women. Like, what's up with that? And I don’t think a single one has had a well-written villain. Let’s do a little role call: Wonder Woman, Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Birds of Prey… are we still talking about any of the big bads in these movies? I’m certainly not.
To me, it feels like there’s an undercurrent of “Wait, let’s not give the female-led superhero movie a good villain and save them for the other superhero movies people care about” stench to it. Supergirl is just as cool as Superman is, and yet she was given the villain no one has ever heard of?
I really hope that the next time a women-led superhero movie is greenlit, one of these studios takes a chance on a truly great villain to put head-to-head with our protagonist because I need this trend to stop... like now and prove my point wrong.
Thankfully, Milly Alcock has another chance to really shine (and possibly punch Lex Luthor) in Man of Tomorrow alongside Superman; I just think Supergirl deserved a much better opponent in her own movie.
