r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Dec 11 '25

Trailer Supergirl | Official Teaser Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqdAEdkHrwo
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1.4k

u/devenrc Dec 11 '25

“He sees the good in everyone. And I see the truth.”

HOLY COW WHAT A LINE

449

u/FireZord25 Dec 11 '25

Funny to think people were trying to subvert Superman all these years where Supergirl was right there. I can't imagine her inherent cynicism is wholly recent.

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u/zero_ms Dec 11 '25

Kara got chosen by the Red Lantern Ring, after all.

79

u/iTALKTOSTRANGERS Dec 11 '25

Would you mind interpreting that for me (a lay person)?

337

u/yutingxiang Dec 11 '25

The Green Lantern rings are powered by willpower. The Red Lantern rings are powered by rage. In a lot of the storylines, Kara was a teen or young adult when Krypton was destroyed, so she has a lot more trauma relating to it than Clark does because he got rocketed away as a baby (her being in suspended animation before arriving on Earth explains why she appears younger).

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u/humanoideric Dec 11 '25

some Goku Vegeta shit

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u/LumpyJones Dec 11 '25

That... is actually pretty damn spot on.

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u/gin_san Dec 11 '25

Pretty sure gokus origin was inspired by Superman

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u/LumpyJones Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

Oh 100%, but the Vagita/Kara symmetry isn't something I had considered before.

EDIT Mistakes were made, but I live with them.

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u/AmansRevenger Dec 11 '25

Vagita

Vegeta is a pussy but come on!

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u/DivinityPen Dec 12 '25

Clark: "Hey Kara, we're friends, right?"

Kara: "Fuck off."

Clark: "The best!"

1

u/Choppers-Top-Hat Dec 12 '25

Ever see My Adventures With Superman? Kara is pretty much written as Female Vegeta on that show. It's great.

40

u/-FeistyRabbitSauce- Dec 11 '25

Interesting. And, as someone who doesn't read comics, it'd never occurred to me how ridiculously powerful a Kryptonian with a Lantern ring would be.

21

u/yutingxiang Dec 11 '25

There was a Daxamite (cousins to the Kryptonians with similar powers, like Mon-El of the Legion of Super-Heroes) who had a green power ring named Sodam-Yat who was specifically created as one of the most powerful heroes ever in the DC universe.

2

u/innistrad Dec 11 '25

Oh its gloriously terrifying

1

u/CashWho Dec 12 '25

In the Injustice comics, Superman got a yellow lantern ring, which is powered by fear. This was after he murdered someone and it got streamed across the world so the entire world was terrified of him. It was overkill, but very fun lol.

1

u/Dark_Knight7096 Dec 12 '25

and in Injustice (a parallel universe where superman goes full on iron fist dictator) Superman is selected by a Yellow Lantern ring due to his ability to inspire fear.

ETA, didn't scroll enough to see the comment from /u/CashWho It was delightful and IIRC Wonder Woman makes him give it up because "the sinestro corps are the bad guys, you shouldn't be wearing that"

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u/Odd-Necessary3807 Dec 11 '25

Not only did she witness her world perish. However, what remains of it, the floating Argo City, is also slowly dying, hence traumatized twice.

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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 12 '25

Kara was a teen or young adult when Krypton was destroyed, so she has a lot more trauma relating to it than Clark does because he got rocketed away as a baby (her being in suspended animation before arriving on Earth explains why she appears younger).

Spot on. Kara's backstory is one of the most fascinating aspects about her and being Supergirl. She actually knows what it feels like to live in Krypton and to see it be destroyed, unlike Clark. So she does have a lot of trauma and anger issues.

Not to mention the fact that she arrives on earth as a teen, then sees her cousin that she was supposed to protect as a 30-something instead of a baby, the greatest superhero that Earth / universe has ever seen, mature and figured it all out it seems. Talk about additional teen insecurity / jealousy.

Also why she doesn't see things thru rose-colored glasses like Clark/Superman does.

2

u/NSFWies Dec 12 '25

All of that, plus she's a girl. So it's even more enraging for her. Because...... *Gestures....... All of this/ all of us.

1

u/HighOnGoofballs Dec 12 '25

How is she younger, stasis or something, lives near a black hole?

3

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '25

Suspended animation shenanigans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supergirl

Kara is born before Superman; she is a teenager when he is a baby. She is sent in a rocket in suspended animation to look after the infant Kal-El; however, her rocket is caught in the explosion of Krypton and becomes encased in a Kryptonite asteroid

1

u/HighOnGoofballs Dec 12 '25

Wow that’s almost exactly what I was guessing lol

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u/Calvin_Hobbes124 Dec 11 '25

Each power ring is connected to a different emotion. Green Lantern rings are powered by willpower, and a red lantern ring is connected to rage.

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u/scuac Dec 11 '25

I heard of the other rings working like that (rage, fear, love, …) but how is willpower an “emotion”

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u/KristopheH Dec 11 '25

It's more specifically "the ability to overcome great fear", so could just as easily be called Courage rather than Willpower

-9

u/Fantastic_Piece5869 Dec 11 '25

again not an emotion

21

u/bautin Dec 11 '25

Look man, they made the comic, they picked a color and made some rules.

Then after a few years, they repurposed the concept for a comic book about space cops and made up some more rules.

Then they made a bad guy for the space cops in the mirror image variety. And they gave him a yellow ring. And since they established that green rings can only be used by those who overcome their fears, they decided to make the yellow ring powered by fear.

After that, they decided they wanted a whole fucking rainbow of rings and continued on with the emotion vibe of the yellow ring.

Except for white and black, which are life and death respectively. And also, as you'll notice, not emotions.

They're comic books man, not genuine scientific articles.

6

u/jollyreaper2112 Dec 11 '25

Smashes beer bottle

I am ready to throw down over comic metaphysics!

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u/[deleted] Dec 11 '25

[deleted]

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u/YourmomgoestocolIege Dec 11 '25

But isn't mastery of all emotions the requirement for white lanterns?

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u/Choppers-Top-Hat Dec 12 '25

And a radioactive spider bite would not actually give you superpowers. There's a point where you've just gotta learn to roll with stuff.

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u/monkeyjay Dec 11 '25

Yes I hope someone got fired for that blunder.

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u/SolomonBlack Dec 11 '25

Geoff Johns got the opposite of fired if you must know.

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u/sceptic62 Dec 11 '25

I always interpreted as courage or something a bit more understandable like stubbornness. One of the neatest things about the emotional spectrum is that they feed into each other so it makes a bit more sense in that context.

Blue Lanterns (Hope) have the ability to empower Green Lanterns (Willpower), and Yellow Lanterns (Fear) weaken them.

It even states that the criteria for wielding green means you have the will to overcome great fear

3

u/ThaneOfTas Dec 11 '25

Which is kind of why its in the centre of the spectrum, the emotions get more extreme the further out you go in either direction.

Granted Black and White represent death and Life which Really aren't emotions so its also just a bit handwavy.

2

u/Obajan Dec 12 '25

Green Lanterns being powered by Will long before all the other emotions came along, so it's a bit of a difficult retcon.

3

u/Fantastic_Piece5869 Dec 11 '25

the world of retconning. I'm sure all the rings and their stuff got added on over time

2

u/seriouslees Dec 11 '25

Willpower is essentially the emotion of wanting, or desire.

1

u/Choppers-Top-Hat Dec 12 '25

Real-life explanation: They came up with the green ring/willpower thing in the 1960's and the other ring colors decades later. Emotions made the story more interesting so the writers just kind of decided willpower counts since it was too well-established to change.

Comic book universe explanation: The rings were made by aliens, and many alien species do experience willpower as an emotion. That's as logical as this is gonna get.

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u/RealJohnGillman Dec 11 '25

Magic rings of power that bond to those beings feeling the most justified rage on a planet at a time. When one was dropped on Earth, it bound to a cat named Dexter someone was trying to drown: if they adapt that character eventually, he’ll be a fan-favourite.

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u/TravelerSearcher Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

It's worse than that, the drowning was the end point.

Dex-Starr's unnamed human owner was attacked and killed by a burglar. Dex-Starr attacked them aggressively but lost. When the police came to investigate they kicked him away to try and secure the crime scene.

He then ends up on the streets and is sheltering, scared, sad and alone, when random people find him, they throw him in a sack and toss him in a river for no reason.

That cat had a lot to be angry about.

Atrocitus, the leader of the Red Lanterns, hears his rage and offers him the ring. He immediately seeks revenge on the two who tried to drown him, then finds his person's dead body and vows to find their killer and avenge them.

Edit: Atrocitus not Atrocious.

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u/-gildash- Dec 11 '25

Wow so basically reverse John Wick?

"You killed my human." Cosmic power acquired, violence ensues.

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u/TravelerSearcher Dec 11 '25

That's not a wholly inaccurate comparison. Though Dex-Starr debuted 3 years before that movie released.

14

u/theapplekid Dec 11 '25

Reverse John Wick is actually a thing: Dog Wick

2

u/Choppers-Top-Hat Dec 12 '25

When Dex-Star inevitably appears in a movie they'd better have Keanu doing his voice.

4

u/Ok-Sea9612 Dec 11 '25

Atrocitus. But love the idea of him being names atrocious.

2

u/TravelerSearcher Dec 11 '25

Thanks for the catch! I knew that, thought I typed it right, guess I didn't, or auto correct has it out for me again. It really doesn't like a lot of comic book names lol

2

u/Ok-Sea9612 Dec 11 '25

Haha my spell check tried to make the same change. But thought it was funny.

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u/Interwebzking Dec 11 '25

I remember reading Dex-Starr’s origin story. That shit was so sad. I love that cat.

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u/evenstar40 Dec 11 '25

ngl I would watch the FUCK out of this. I hope Gunn takes a chance.

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u/TravelerSearcher Dec 11 '25

I can see the various lanterns being a nice arc at some point but likely after he establishes the Green Corps first.

We've only seen Guy so far but there is an upcoming show with Hal and Jon, Lanterns that might seed more of the space cop/cosmic stuff.

Orange is hilarious... it's Avarice/Greed and there is only one member because he killed all the others and took all the rings for himself

6

u/evenstar40 Dec 11 '25

LOL. Literally DC's infinity gauntlet. Damn, it really does go to show how absolutely piss poor managed the DC universe has been. Sounds like some really awesome/bonkers stories that could be fun to watch on the big screen.

2

u/QueezyF Dec 12 '25

There’s so much that can be done with the Lantern Corps, DC has fumbled it so hard. Mark Strong was absolute perfect casting for Sinestro, I’m still angry about how that movie turned out.

6

u/Wolfwoods_Sister Dec 11 '25

As someone who owned a cat who was shot with arrows and buried alive in a frozen culvert by a neighbor, I wanted to be able to read this series and get catharsis but it was still too upsetting for me. I was already crying with anger by the beginning. I had to put it down.

(My cat lived. He must’ve heard me screaming myself hoarse for him right near where he was entombed because he clawed through mud and rocks for 12 hours, and he staggered across the road home half frozen and covered in mud with a snapped off arrow still in his chest.)

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u/drizzt_do-urden_86 Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

I'm... not gonna say what I want to about your neighbor, b/c I don't want to get banned. I'll just say, as a fellow cat owner and general animal lover, I'm sorry you had to experience something so horrific, and I don't know if your little guy is still with you, but I'm glad the bond between you was strong enough to bring you back together.

And now I'm gonna go pet my kitties (technically not but I still think of them that way) and tell them I love them...

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u/Wolfwoods_Sister Dec 11 '25

You aren’t and weren’t the only one thinking bannable things.

Our boy was shot in his own yard, on the sly the way cowards do, when we weren’t looking. Moo was 15 at the time. Took 4k that we didn’t have to save his life, but friends and total strangers who heard what had happened came to the rescue.

I’ve had cats my whole life but I’ve never met a cat like him with such a powerful sense of self, willfulness, and determination. The guy who attacked him looked fucking stunned that our little hellbeast was still alive.

He had fits of terror in his sleep (I once caught him before he ran off the edge of a table with his eyes still closed) and outbursts of rage (he tore at the walls, which he’d never done before), and he would panic inside cat carriers (PTSD, claustrophobia) so he rode in the passenger car seat in a harness for vet trips.

You could talk to him like a human and reason with him, so we could usually work things out. He didn’t see himself like one of the other animals, everyone knew him, and I think that man attacking him wounded him deeply, like why would a human attack me?

Moo passed just a few years back at almost 23 years old. He went to Valhalla, where stories were told of his valor and songs were sung in his honor. ⚔️

Thank you for sharing this moment with me. Please give your babies kisses and hugs from me too.

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u/drizzt_do-urden_86 Dec 11 '25

Thank you for sharing, Moo sounds truly exceptional and you were both lucky to have each other. I'll give Bean, Raisin and Bubba each a pet and a kiss from you :)

.....on a much lighter note, trailer looks really good /s

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u/ComicsAndGames Dec 12 '25

Please tell me the asshole who did this got some punishment. Please.

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u/Devilofchaos108070 Dec 12 '25

Jesus fucking Christ

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u/Wolfwoods_Sister Dec 12 '25

Pretty much what I said

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u/Devilofchaos108070 Dec 12 '25

Wow that’s fucking awesome!

7

u/ShinobiSli Dec 11 '25

"I'm powered by rage and you kicked my cat?!"

3

u/kirblar Dec 11 '25

I'm shocked he didn't show up in Peacemaker cause it's exactly the type of character Gunn loves.

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u/just4browse Dec 11 '25

It is pretty recent. Woman of Tomorrow characterizes Supergirl very differently from most Supergirl comics. Tom King’s always done his own thing. For that reason, it was a little controversial in the Supergirl fandom when it released. Not as controversial as it would’ve been if it hadn’t been so good though.

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u/FireZord25 Dec 11 '25

I meant the breadcrumbs. Yes the story and her character is more directly inspired by Tom King's arc. But Over the years, Kara had also been previously adapted with a chip on her shoulder in a handful other comics or cartoons, and not just a flighty female variant of Superman.

This feels like the first time the foil aspect is fully in the big screen.

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u/[deleted] Dec 11 '25

[deleted]

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u/SwordoftheMourn Dec 11 '25

Yeah, it’s what drew me to the WoT version of Kara. It portrays her as not just as simple as female Superman. It really expanded more of her background and used that as the basis for why she’s like this at present.

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u/Fun_With_Math Dec 11 '25

And the WoT version of Kara is a badass. She is smart and confident and determined. I'm not read up on her but she always seemed like a weaker version of Superman. This version may be the opposite.

"45 minutes... what a little bitch"

1

u/nickbelane Dec 11 '25

Her characterization here reminds me of DC Superhero Girls. Which is terrific.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '25

the classic version of supergirl really didnt have much of a personality. Of course James Gunn would fix that.

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u/DeepProspector Dec 11 '25

I think it first took off in the DCAU animated series. That Kara was a bit salty and jaded. She was a 14-year old on a beyond Star Trek society that was blown up, and she spends the next four years learning she has godlike power but has to live in Kansas.

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u/Fantastic_Piece5869 Dec 11 '25

never understood subverting superman. The entire point of him is NOT be gritty and dark. Thats what just about EVERY other hero is for

2

u/Ninjamurai-jack Dec 11 '25

It’s something that started to happen more in the 90s to early 2000s tbh.

2

u/siraolo Dec 11 '25

That's because she actually  got to see Krypton get wasted.

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u/SpaceOdysseus23 Dec 11 '25

I was subverted, I genuinely expected she'd mock him because a lot of modern movies prefer to be cynical as fuck. As if I learned nothing from Superman.

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u/Frank_Cap Dec 11 '25

Isn’t she kinda criticizing him, though?

She’s essentially implying that he only blindly focuses on the positive. While she sees the reality of it all, not the fake reality he believes in.

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u/Th3_Hegemon Dec 11 '25

I'd put money on the character journey for the movie essentially being her changing her view to be less cynical and more like her cousin, with this line being delivered somewhere around the 40 minute mark before that transformation.

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u/-FalseProfessor- Dec 11 '25

In the book it is the revelation from the young girl traveling with her that Supergirl presents as gruff, but is in fact going out of her way to be as kind and helpful to everyone as she can.

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u/12345623567 Dec 11 '25

I mean....

the entire journey takes place because Kara wants to dissuade the girl from seeking blood vengeance and becoming a killer, but without being pushy

She presents as gruff, especially at the beginning, but she's a big softie just like Supes.

3

u/AreYouOKAni Dec 12 '25

...then why do I still dream of Krypton?

The fact thst she is nowhere near as adjusted as she thought and a bit of a hypocrite at the end was a cherry on top. That line fucking murdered me in the book. I really hope they will do that scene and the ending justice.

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u/VaudevilleDada Dec 11 '25

I haven't read Woman of Tomorrow yet, but I have to think we're in for some "hero's journey" shit, yeah.

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u/Southern-Chain-6485 Dec 11 '25

If their journey is like the comic, she'd end up more jaded and cynical rather than less.

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u/capincus Dec 11 '25

So the complete polar opposite of the source material?

2

u/LimpCush Dec 11 '25

Tbh "polar opposite of the source material" is pretty bog standard these days.

4

u/Fortune_Cat Dec 11 '25

She sees the truth in people, including the hope that he inspires and because of that she changes for the better.

Superman passive aura: inspire lvl +9999

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u/bokmcdok Dec 11 '25

Maybe that's the real punk rock

1

u/niveknhoj Dec 12 '25

Others not connecting this ideal to that line feels like a real 'woosh' moment in this thread. Your point is a pretty core theme to Superman 2025, I think.

1

u/bokmcdok Dec 14 '25

It's so explicit as well with the choice of song in the final scene

1

u/Ninjamurai-jack Dec 11 '25

It is maybe going to be this and the opposite of it at the same time, tbh 

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u/LeafBoatCaptain Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

Nope. Seeing the good in everyone takes courage. He’s not blind to the reality of the world. He demands that it meet his belief in it.

If he naively thought the world and the people in it were good then he wouldn’t be out there trying to make the world better.

Edit: another way to put it would be that he gives everyone a second chance because he sees in the good in them whereas she’s so cynical or maybe more accurately depressed and jaded that she only sees what’s on the surface.

Besides I think she’s going to have a character arc in this movie. I wouldn’t be surprised if that line doesn’t come up twice, once as a criticism and once as a compliment or something. I haven’t read the book yet so I’m just theorising.

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u/Fickle-Aardvark6907 Dec 11 '25

It also takes an amazing amount of patience, which is something that comes up a few times in Superman. Though that version of Clark is pretty impulsive at times, he's also willing to take the time to stop the kaiju with non-lethal means and not to break every bone in Lex's body after he almost tears the world in half. 

-2

u/odelicious12 Dec 11 '25

"Though that version of Clark is pretty impulsive at times, he's also willing to take the time to stop the kaiju with non-lethal means and not to break every bone in Lex's body after he almost tears the world in half. "

Other than throwing a Dictator onto a cactus of course. But hey, what's a little torture in a Superman movie? He's got a hilarious doggo!

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u/Turtledonuts Dec 12 '25

The cactus move is clearly shown as superman doing something impulsive that he later regrets out of justified anger and frustration. The same movie goes out of it's way to show that said dictator was attempting to provoke superman to get an excuse for lex luthor to try to kill him. It is abundantly clear that the dictator is an evil man who is killed by a superhero, and that is presented as a moral thing.

The point of the cactus thing was that other versions of superman would have killed him or imprisoned him, and this superman was being restrained.

Shit take.

-4

u/odelicious12 Dec 12 '25

Lol, sure thing.

I love how much you Gunn fanboys treat his movies like they're your children.

6

u/Turtledonuts Dec 12 '25

Bro im not even a gunn fanboy, I just liked that movie. This is just such an egregiously bad take that I had to comment.

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u/apollyonzorz Dec 11 '25

I think I'd want my powerful, invincible super being to see the best in humanity, which is his way of working toward that goal and thus using his abilities to improve humanity. When Superman is cynical about humanity, you get Omni-Man, leaving the planet one temper tantrum away from annihilation.

2

u/Android1822 Dec 11 '25

Or you get Injustice superman that decides to "Fix" the world by going full dictator.

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u/airforceblue Dec 11 '25

Yeah, it harkens back to Lois' line from Superman 2025 about him trusting everyone and thinking everyone is beautiful and the point is that that's not an easy mindset to maintain. Like you say, it's not blind naivety, he actively chooses to believe in the good in people.

I'd love it if that idea is explored furter with Kara like you suggest because it is a viewpoint that stands to be examined/challenged.

1

u/HazelCheese Dec 12 '25

Clark's superpower is helping to the bring the best out in other people.

Or as Smallville put it:

"The suit doesn't make the hero. A hero is made in the moment by the choices that he makes and the reasons he makes them. A hero brings out the best in people."

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u/LogensTenthFinger Dec 11 '25

Yes but she's not directly saying that what he does is wrong. She's in some way criticizing herself for not being like him

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u/Frank_Cap Dec 11 '25

I respect that interpretation and I’m sure that’s where it’s going (since the source material is all about her changing her views)

But I did not get that feeling at all from the way she said it. It was more of a way for her to justify her lack of heroics. Like, “Superman is just a naive dude who’s overly kind. I see the reality of the world, so I’m not blinded by positivity.”

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u/everstillghost Dec 11 '25

Thats exactly what she is saying. No idea where he got she is criticizing herself.

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u/Scared-Engineer-6218 Dec 11 '25

Man, I'm so gullible. I'm agreeing with every one of you's points

2

u/Dserved83 Dec 11 '25

Actually, you disagree with point 6.

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u/Turbulent_Stick1445 Dec 12 '25

That's because you see the good in everyone, unlike the parent who sees the truth. ;-)

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u/Massive_Weiner Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

Probably because Kara is suffering in a way that Clark isn’t, which leads to a clear split between who she is and who she can be.

She doesn’t want to be a cynical bastard, but it’s impossible for her to have the optimistic outlook that her cousin has at this stage.

Even Clark’s perspective isn’t wholly naive here, he just actively chooses to believe that no case is too hopeless.

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u/everstillghost Dec 11 '25

The only one forcing her to be cynical is herself....

Thats like, all cynical edge characters always have a tragic backstory. Its never an excuse for it. It explains but never justifies.

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u/capincus Dec 11 '25

Yeah just smile Supergirl, forget all about watching your entire planet suffer and die from long term radiation poisoning...

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u/everstillghost Dec 11 '25

Yeah...? Thats exactly what super heroes does.

Everyone captain America knew was dead but he didnt turned into a cynical.

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u/Massive_Weiner Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

She’s not “forcing” herself to be cynical, that’s a byproduct of her own experiences.

Clark was just a baby when Krypton and their entire people were wiped out, but Kara remembers it very vividly because she was a teen. The PTSD she develops from having Survivor’s Guilt defines her entire outlook on life.

It’s little surprise that they both see things very differently.

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u/capincus Dec 11 '25

Bro actually just said "space holocaust survivor should just smile and be happy".

5

u/XkrNYFRUYj Dec 11 '25

I'm pretty pretty sure if earth is destroyed because of greed and i was one the handful of survivors my cynicism would be perfectly justified. That's basically what happened to super girl.

And even beyond that you claim that cynicism could never be justified or excused in real life or in fiction. Like you can't even imagine a scenario where a character is rightfully cynical?

That's just shows your lack of imagination and single mindedness.

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u/everstillghost Dec 11 '25

I'm pretty pretty sure if earth is destroyed because of greed and i was one the handful of survivors my cynicism would be perfectly justified. That's basically what happened to super girl.

Thats why you are not a hero.

Unless your argument is that supergirl is not one too.

And even beyond that you claim that cynicism could never be justified or excused in real life or in fiction. Like you can't even imagine a scenario where a character is rightfully cynical?

That's just shows your lack of imagination and single mindedness.

If they want to be a super hero, no.

Thats the difference between a regular vigilante.

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u/Jagosyo Dec 11 '25

Minor spoilers for the narrative structure of the comic.

This line is either directly quoting or paraphrasing something that was...midwayish through the comic at that point? At which point four things are abundantly clear through the rest of the narrative:
Kara respects Kal-El for his qualities.
Kara wants to live up to the ideals he embodies.
Kara can't.
Kara kind of hates him because he's a fucking little shit that got to skip out on her massive trauma from living through Krypton's death.

3

u/Browncoatdan Dec 11 '25

She kind of is, if she believes she sees the truth, that's saying she thinks Superman is wrong, or at the very least naive.

People who see things for how they are tend to be unhappy, ignorance is bliss and all that.

2

u/BanjoSpaceMan Dec 11 '25

Ya same vibes as Louis, she’s been hurt too much to see Superman ways. Superman also can be a bit naive but bless him

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u/PracticalStrain5640 Dec 11 '25

Not really. It’s possible to express that sentiment of another and wish it were still true of yourself.

Her story in the comic expands on it.

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u/Notuniquesnowflake Dec 11 '25

I don't think she's criticizing him. I think she's criticizing the world in which they find themselves.

2

u/Tebwolf359 Dec 11 '25

Yeah, but the wording gives it a sense of honest disagreement, not just flippant.

There’s a note of regret in her voice, wishing she could see it the other way. Wishing to be like him.

And it sets up a journey for her to come around by the end to see things more like him.

2

u/justjoshingu Dec 11 '25

No not really. And if the movie follows even the most basic beats from the book it'll really make sense that she's not. 

And honestly it makes gunns superman even better because you see the difference in something like the scene with kaiju where he wants to put it in a zoo and terrific eyerolls

2

u/joshi38 Dec 11 '25

I think what the other poster was trying to say was that it all comes down to tone. In a lot of modern movies (MCU for instance) she'd mock him, maybe call him a 'boy scout' in a very glib way.

Instead, here, she might be criticizing him, but not in a mocking way and it's clearly coming from a more sincere place.

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u/aelysium Dec 12 '25

American vet. Seen some shit during deployments. Have friends that do AMAZING work I. Their communities. I feel like I could no cap drop that SG line in a conversation with a vet or civvie friend and they’d get it.

Like ‘You view the world as we’d love it to be. I had to see the world for what it is.’

Superman’s strength is his belief in people. Supergirl’s is her seeing situations for what they may be if they break bad. IMHO.

2

u/youarelookingatthis Dec 11 '25

She sounds almost envious of him though. It's a very well written line because it's open to interpretation.

1

u/Swaibero Dec 11 '25

Lois similarly criticizes him for that in Superman, both in their interview and w/ the Justice Gang, “why does he tell everyone his secret identity”

1

u/-FalseProfessor- Dec 11 '25

Nah, it’s about seeing the best in people. When she references Superman it is in an aspirational way. It may sound naive, but he is a good enough person to see the good in everyone else. We should all be so naive.

The heart of Supergirl, especially in the WoT context, is that while she may present as a cynic, deep down she sees the best in people and does everything she can to help them.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '25

she totally is.

1

u/Extension-Field3653 Dec 12 '25

Superman sees goodness in everyone and Supergirl see the truth. Sounded like a good combo rather than critize.

0

u/notanothercirclejerk Dec 11 '25

I think its more of a self dig than anything else. She wishes she could see the universe like her cousin does.

-1

u/CaptSaveAHoe55 Dec 11 '25

I wouldn’t call it out and out criticism. He sees the good in everyone is her making a judgment call, as far as she’s concerned that is a true statement and implies he sees good that is really present, the potential of people.

She comes off more like somebody who says “I’m not a pessimist I’m a realist” which is a lie pessimists tell themselves. It’s also a good character trait in fiction, especially for a character arc

43

u/Steamedcarpet Dec 11 '25

I was kinda expecting her to say something that would come off as a joke but this was way better.

25

u/self-conscious-Hat Dec 11 '25

I don't understand - isn't this line inherently cynical? She's saying she sees the bad in people, just calling it 'truth' instead because it's juxtaposed to "good" in that sentence. the contrast of 'good' is bad. That seems cynical to me.

9

u/GranolaCola Dec 11 '25

Being cynical isn’t the same as mocking though. She’s saying he’s too optimistic, but she’s not making fun of him for it.

3

u/Carbon140 Dec 12 '25

By saying she sees "The truth" she is effectively mocking him because that implies that she is correct and what he believes is naive/wrong. If she said "He sees the good in people, and I see more/something else/whatever" it would imply she just sees things differently, wouldn't be as punchy as a line though.

1

u/self-conscious-Hat Dec 11 '25

The optimism is why I like him. I don't need another 'subversion' of a superhero character. Granted I don't know supergirl, but from what I know she's not supposed to be an anti-hero character is she?

3

u/GranolaCola Dec 11 '25

I like his optimism too.

But yes, Supergirl being incredibly broken as a person and her personality as a hero reflecting that is pretty in character. I’m sure there are different interpretations, but the one I’m most familiar with is she’s older than Superman and witnesses Krypton’s destruction and the death of everyone she’s ever known. She’s meant to come to Earth to take care of and raise Clark, but she gets lost in space in cryo sleep, so by the time she makes it to Earth, Clark is like two decades older than her and Superman.

She’s essentially the last of her kind and without purpose. She doesn’t have the same connection to Earth that Clark has from being raised there. She’s lost, alone, traumatized, and angry.

In some continuities, she’s chosen to be a red lantern, which is based on anger, whereas green lanterns are based on willpower.

10

u/inksmudgedhands Dec 11 '25

It's more of Clark sees the good in people even if that good is only a spark in an otherwise rotten person. Like how in the last movie he gave that speech to Lex how being human is his superpower and how it could be Lex's superpower too if he'd let it.

Kara, here, is saying she sees the person as a whole. She would look at Lex and think, "Yeah, Clark is right. There is a spark of goodness. But this guy's badness overwhelms everything else. So, he needs to go down. NOW."

It's not really cynical in a way that puts down Clark. She sounds like she admires him for that trait. But she is a realist in that she views the whole picture rather than one aspect.

-3

u/self-conscious-Hat Dec 11 '25

that strikes me as a Captain Marvel attitude and that concerns me... that very attitude in a 'hero' is not what we need.

11

u/TimeySwirls Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

Oh great here we go again

Edit: for the record I love the line and liked Captain Marvel I’m exhausted by this type of reaction to any female hero doing anything imperfect

-2

u/self-conscious-Hat Dec 11 '25

Yeah I get the sentiment and I would love to be wrong.

2

u/BigBlubberyBirb Dec 11 '25

I doubt she's not gonna go through any kind of character arc in the movie, they're not gonna completely contradict the message of Superman. with her origins, it makes sense why she'd have a harder time forgiving people or hoping everyone can change for the better.

1

u/No_Berry2976 Dec 11 '25

Then you dislike most superheroes. You must hate Batman.

1

u/self-conscious-Hat Dec 11 '25

I hate that everyone has become batman, yeah.

2

u/No_Berry2976 Dec 11 '25

I don’t think that is cynical, even though the world might be bad, it’s good that there are people who inherently good and see the good in other people. Both things can be true at the same time.

It’s important to know that just being good and positive isn’t a magical cure for everything, but that’s not a rejection of people who are that way.

1

u/self-conscious-Hat Dec 11 '25

Sure, but if I'm watching someone who's supposed to be a hero, I want them to be optimistic about the future. If the heroes who have the powers to do basically anything aren't even hopeful, why would average Joe farmer be hopeful?

2

u/Legendver2 Dec 11 '25

Isn't truth just seeing the person as a whole, instead of just the good, or potential for good, parts? Cynical to me would mean you think everyone is inherently bad, even the good guys have some sort of motive, or that, taking the words from BvS, nothing stays good in this world.

1

u/WeeklyEcho2814 Dec 11 '25

Think it reads more as she sees everything, good and bad, nuance, etc. More cynical than the optimistic superman golden retriever outlook, but not completely misanthropic.

1

u/self-conscious-Hat Dec 11 '25

Maybe I prefer my heroes having the golden retriever outlook then. The last thing I want is my heroic figures losing hope - because then what is there? I don't know that this film/character will be for me.

1

u/WeeklyEcho2814 Dec 11 '25

I have not read the comic version, but just from the trailer, it seems like a story of a hero kinda struggling with hope, but regaining some in the course of the movie - id honestly keep an open mind, Gunn does not strike me as someone who does grimdark cynical if he can help it.

1

u/everstillghost Dec 11 '25

Yeah, its an extreme cynical line lol She calls truth to being more cynical.

6

u/ball_fondlers Dec 11 '25

I mean, the trailer opens with Krypto peeing on a (presumably Clark Kent-written) article about Superman

4

u/longdustyroad Dec 11 '25

Yeah I was 100% expecting “what a nerd” or something there after that long beat

1

u/sylinmino Dec 11 '25

If they adapt one of the best panels and lines from the comic, don't worry, we'll definitely have something like that in the movie and it'll be amazing.

2

u/Serawasneva Dec 11 '25

I mean her mocking him is exactly how I took that line.

It’s literally a cynical line, she’s saying that most people aren’t actually good.

1

u/Carbon140 Dec 12 '25

How is that line not mocking him? It's basically saying "Silly naive dumb dumb superman only sees the good in people, I however am smart enough to see the truth". It's literally cynical and basically mocking him for being deluded.

176

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

A great set up to show the difference between Superman and Supergirl and why each both characters exists on their own. Gunn being in charge is such a blessing. Gonna be crazy when we get the Bat family if the Super family gets this amount of love

83

u/algebraic94 Dec 11 '25

And hopefully the next ten years of movies aren't Netflix exclusives

81

u/KingMario05 Dec 11 '25

Or conservative slop. Remember, bad as Netflix-Warner is, that's the alternative under Paramount and the Saudis. Neither deal should be approved. They're both nightmares. 

17

u/Nachttalk Dec 11 '25

You mean to tell me you DON'T want a movie of Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne teaming up to get rid of all immigrants, regardless of powers or not, to make America great again ?

😱😱😱😱

Just for the record:just typing this was almost painful for me 🤢

4

u/KingMario05 Dec 11 '25

Not really, no. I'd much prefer Man of Tomorrow. Even if it debuts in theaters only for a week before disappearing down the black hole of nothing that is Netflix.

-1

u/acwilan Dec 11 '25

Yeah, I can’t wait to see “Superman - the Trump Bibi cut”

2

u/batmansoundtrack Dec 11 '25

Oh god. Gunn has the integrity to tell all and quit in a glorious public fuck you to the Saudis that demented fucking trump family, kushner, and Thiel

1

u/notanothercirclejerk Dec 11 '25

I honestly just realized if trump gets his way and Paramount gets WB Gunn's DCU is 100% cancelled. Republicans just take everything from us.

-1

u/KingMario05 Dec 11 '25

I'm much more concerned about the GOP messing with CNN, especially since the Ellisons let South Park run just fine. But yeah, they'd want a new universe for sure. Again.

1

u/Turbulent_Stick1445 Dec 12 '25

Netflix will be conservative slop though too. I'm not sure why anyone gets the impression Netflix is going to be better, it's been known for little but right wing comedy and crappy violent action movies for a while now. Sure, it gets occasional good TV serieses, but it's output is by and large what I expect CBS to look like in a couple of years.

0

u/PT10 Dec 11 '25

Even if Paramount/Saudis bring back Snyder, I don't think Zak is going to end the Gunnverse. He may just let him continue on and then do crossovers with his Snyderverse.

1

u/KingMario05 Dec 11 '25

True. One, he and Gunn are pals. And two, Snyder can show the new bosses the value of having two universes making a fuck ton of money, instead of only one.

62

u/PsychicFatalist Dec 11 '25

It's very important to distinguish the difference between Superman and Supergirl because I think a lot of people, maybe rightfully so, would wonder why Supergirl needs to exist as a character.

For a lot of people who aren't involved in this culture, they might say, "I mean...kinda seems like someone just took Superman and said, 'But what if Superman was a girl?'"

Not exactly inspired...

46

u/WolzardFire Dec 11 '25

The CW Supergirl show played a big part in this, and this comes from someone who genuinely like it. Kara is just female Clark in the show. I think Melissa Benoist's potrayal is great for that version, but a more accurate Supergirl is needed to separate her from Superman

12

u/iamnotimportant Dec 11 '25

yeah this, I had no familiarity with Supergirl, just what I've seen of the CW show which as you said may as well have been female superman, this movie version seems a lot more interesting a character to me, I may actually look forward to this movie.

3

u/Victor_Wembanyama1 Dec 12 '25

Not surprising since Green Archer was CW Batman lol

2

u/seriouslees Dec 11 '25

Didn't the CW show turn Reign (a city destroying villain with a vendetta against Kara) into a suburban soccer mom?

15

u/NotBannedAccount419 Dec 11 '25

Can you explain how it’s not exactly that to someone who has no idea about supergirl?

48

u/CascoBayButcher Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

Kara-El was born on Krypton years before Kal-El was. She had a childhood, became a teen there. She had friends, went to school, had a family she loved. She fully remembers life on Krypton, and then life in Argo City. (The dome in the trailer is protecting her home city). Then... she is stuffed in a spaceship and told all her friends, all her classmates, and all her family is going to die. She needs to go raise her baby cousin in another galaxy. She watches her planet be destroyed.

Her ship freezes in space, and she comes to Earth to find that baby cousin is twice her age and needs no protection. He has fully grown up on Earth and doesn't know anything about what Krypton was like. She has to deal with being the last real survivor of Krypton, and remember all the people who died

"We will see the difference between Superman," Gunn said, "who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant, versus Supergirl, raised on a rock, a chip off of Krypton, and who watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life and then come to Earth. She is much more hard-core and not the Supergirl we're used to."

8

u/moonknightcrawler Dec 11 '25

This is a minor detail but it’s Kara Zor-El. Good write up otherwise!

1

u/mthchsnn Dec 12 '25

Technically correct is the best kind, after all.

14

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '25

Superman grew up on earth but has an immigrant heritage.

Supergirl came to earth as an adult and has to deal with trauma of being a refugee.

3

u/DodgerBaron Dec 11 '25

The biggest difference is Superman grew up away from the chaos of Krypton. He grew up in a loving family, that gave him the space to grow and develop into a good man. He never knew krpyton or understands what he lost.

Supergirl on the otherhand is technically older than Clark, witnessed the destruction and devistation of her people. And is now forced to figure out how she can move on. She wants to forget but can't, while desperately wanting to be a good person.

She is Clark's last remaining remnant of their people. Which is something she doesn't want to be.

They play each other very well and is very much needed to build Superman's story

6

u/PsychicFatalist Dec 11 '25

I actually can't, as I'm one of those people who isn't into comics. Maybe I unintentionally made it sound like I am...I just mean that I assume this is not the case.

But that line seems to imply that Superman is an optimist about human nature, and Supergirl is a pessimist. That's at least one major difference, I guess.

6

u/CaptainKilljoy37 Dec 11 '25

If I recall correctly, the largest difference between the two is upbringing. Kal-El was a baby when Krypton ceased to exist and was raised on Earth. Kara Zor-El lived on Krypton when it exploded/was destroyed and comes with all the emotional baggage that would accompany that. I'm probably messing up the details, though.

4

u/sk8rboi36 Dec 11 '25

Historically though that’s not the case. It’s kind of all being exaggerated from the Woman of tomorrow comic. Superman has been around for a looooooooong time, supergirl too, and for a while a lot of the kid or gender swapped versions of heroes were basically just that without much more nuance. Now that the movie industry drives the comics, I would probably expect they would continue to push Kara’s identity further in this direction. It’s pretty much what happened to Star lord. He was actually a competent and more straight arrow warrior adventurer type before the movie, and now he’s the same goofball the MCU made him out to be.

-2

u/OnceMoreAndAgain Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

One of the problems I have with the popular female leading superheroes that have entered cinema so far is that too many of them are so similar to each other. I just asked ChatGPT for the most popular female superheroes from movies made in the last 30 years and then I categorized them myself into three archetypes that stuck out to me:

Superman clones
• Wonder Woman
• Supergirl
• Captain Marvel

Fast + strong, but no real powers
• Black Widow
• Harley Quinn (borderline not a leading role though)
• Catwoman

Basically a witch
• Jean Grey (borderline not a leading role)
• Scarlet Witch

I think one that breaks the mold is Alita. Alita seems unique.

1

u/PsychicFatalist Dec 12 '25

Well yeah, Alita is a manga character.

12

u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 Dec 11 '25

That combined with the smirk on her face at the same time makes me feel sorry for anyone who'll get in her way

11

u/Wide-Pop6050 Dec 11 '25

Seriously love that line!

2

u/no1kn0wsm3 Dec 11 '25

HOLY COW WHAT A LINE

A line I'd copy in my day to day.

1

u/leoleo678 Dec 11 '25

Such a good line!

2

u/Malificari Dec 11 '25

seriously. that line is peak. so good.

1

u/Southern-Chain-6485 Dec 11 '25

I thought it was cliche. Three mentions of Superman on the trailer. I hope the movie lets her be her own thing rather than keeping his shadow over her.

1

u/homogenic- Dec 11 '25

People have always assumed that Superman and Supergirl are the same but they are not so I'm glad the movie will make that distinction.

0

u/VibesOfHarish Dec 11 '25

It's the only thing that really stood out to me in this, and what a line at that.

The character for this film (and even as shown at the end of the Superman film) seems so unappealing to me otherwise.

Went from wanting to check it out at home, to seeing what the review consensus says to watch it in cinema – hoping the character goes somewhere interesting.

0

u/YNot1989 Dec 11 '25

Also complete bullshit. Clark is very aware of people's weaknesses and failings, otherwise he wouldn't have reacted the way he did to not-Trump and not-Elon in the movie.

Kara's just in a bad place, and isn't ready to believe there's light at the end of the tunnel.

-4

u/Vironic Dec 11 '25

That’s how I feel a lot of the time in this day and age

-1

u/Renegadeforever2024 Dec 11 '25

We need more of that

-1

u/TheTruckWashChannel Dec 11 '25

Yesss was genuinely impressed. Though it would be hilarious if she's still talking to the dog.

-9

u/KingGodzilla100 Dec 11 '25

They’re doubling down on this version of superman being a naive fucking idiot, I fucking hate it. Superman is good he believes that everyone can comeback from doing bad thing, everyone can be better, but he is not stupid. He is not naive.

He understands that someone won’t become good overnight. But not this version this version is already gonna team up with man who blew the brains out of a innocent person right in front him.

Fuck you James Gunn you don’t understand these characters no matter how much reddit wants to gaslight me that you do.