Supergirl has been around since 1959, and is one of DC Comics‘ most iconic heroes. But unlike her fellow DC icons, Superman and Batman, she didn’t have that one definitive comic book that encapsulates her character. One comic that you can just hand to a newbie and say, “THIS is Supergirl.” That all changed in 2021, with Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s mini-series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Now collected as a graphic novel, this story explores who Kara Zor-El really is, and how she’s not at all like her famous cousin — but also exactly like him. This is why James Gunn chose this particular story for her first modern big-screen adaptation, directed by Craig Gillespie and starring Milly Alcock. Below, we explore the original comics, and they will (and won’t) adhere to the source material.
You can also, if you’d rather, read it for yourself.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Is Perhaps Kara’s Greatest Comic Book Story
The story begins on Kara’s 21st birthday. Instead of her usually bubbly, blonde self, a version that had permeated in comics for decades, we find her depressed, heavily drinking in a bar on a distant world with a red sun. Kara, like all Krytonians, has no powers on red sun planets, so she can actually become drunk there. She’s drowning her sorrows, because, unlike her cousin Kal, who left Krypton as a baby, Kara was a teenager. She vividly remembers watching her family and civilization die. She’s there with only Krypto the Superdog to keep her company. But her life soon changes when a strange young girl enlists her help.
A young alien girl named Ruthye Marye Knoll, who seeks the great Supergirl of Earth to kill a man named Krem of the Yellow Hills, soon approaches Kara. This man came to her family farm under false pretenses and killed her father in cold blood. Kara reminds Ruthye that as a member of the Superman family, she took a vow against killing. But when Krem shoots Krypto with a poison arrow and steals Kara’s spaceship, she changes her mind and agrees to help Ruthye seek revenge. Ruthye, who tells the story as almost a folk legend or tall tale, narrates the comic.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Is an Intergalactic Revenge Quest
Without powers, Kara and Ruthye go on a galactic journey to find Krem. This journey takes them to planet after planet, and eventually, they find Krem as part of a group of intergalactic pirates known as Barbond’s Brigands. Some magical shenanigans ensue, involving Supergirl’s loyal friend Comet the Super Horse (whom we suspect has been left out of the movie adaptation). Eventually, Supergirl and Ruthye catch up to the villainous Krem, and Supergirl must make a choice. Will she kill him, fulfilling her vow to Ruthye, or not? Ultimately, she chooses to banish Krem into the Phantom Zone where he’ll exist as a spectre for 300 years. A fate worse than death, in a way, but allowing for an eventual second chance at life.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Is True Grit & John Wick in Space
The inspiration for Woman of Tomorrow is clearly the film True Grit, in which a young girl in the Old West tracks down a grizzled outlaw in her quest for revenge. Only with the 21-year-old Supergirl in the grizzled “seen it all” outlaw role. Somehow, it works amazingly well, and gives Kara a depth rarely seen in regular ongoing Supergirl comics. There’s also a bit of John Wick here, with Krypto being shot and an ensuing revenge spree. Of course, Krypto gets better. Relax folks, he’s fine.
Lobo was Supposed to be in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
The bounty hunter Lobo was originally set to appear in the comic book. However, DC asked King and Evely not to use him, as they had plans for the character. The movie is now correcting that mistake, with Jason Momoa as “the Main Man.” In most regards, Supergirl is adapting the source material closest to any other DC adaptation since Watchmen, with some changes made for the existing DCU. Given how great the source material is, we fully expect another banger on par with James Gunn’s Superman. And if you can’t wait for summer, when Supergirl hits theaters, we highly suggest buying a copy of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. You won’t regret it.
Supergirl, starring Milly Alcock and Jason Momoa, hits theaters everywhere on June 26.
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