Spoilers ahead for the plot and ending of Superman.
Superman is the first film in James Gunn’s rebooted DC cinematic universe, but it plays like part of an ongoing story, skipping past the hero’s famous origins and picking up three years into his time as a superhero. That means the question of who owns Krypto the superdog, a lovable terrier-mutt modeled after Gunn’s own pet dog, Ozu, isn’t addressed until near the film’s end. Referred to by the Man of Steel as a “foster situation,” Krypto is cute and chaotic, and given the next DC Comics film scheduled for release, it isn’t hard to figure out who his owner is. But Gunn’s movie confirms it with an unexpected cameo from a new version of a familiar character.
After saving the day from Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), Superman (David Corenswet) retires to his Fortress of Solitude with Krypto in tow. As the movie begins wrapping up, his Kryptonian cousin Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl (played here by Milly Alcock of House of the Dragon) crashes into Superman’s icy hideaway, more than a little inebriated. Krypto excitedly tackles her to the ground, as Clark explains to one of his android attendants that Kara, who recently turned 21, is a party girl. She’s been hopping between planets with red suns because unlike Earth’s yellow sun, those don’t give Kryptonians superpowers and invulnerability. Which means she can get drunk.
It’s a minor appearance, but it speaks to the kind of heroine we’re likely to see in this character’s first solo film since 1984’s Supergirl, the Helen Slater-starring critical and commercial disaster. A far cry from the brooding Sasha Calle version in the recent Flash film and Melissa Benoist’s more straight-laced incarnation in The CW’s Arrowverse, Alcock’s Kara shows up wearing a baggy jacket over the iconic red-and-blue tights. She has a messy but fun-loving disposition, making her entrance here as if stumbling home in the wee hours of the morning on spring break.
That’s pretty much all we see of the Girl of Steel before Superman winds down, but it gives us some insight into what kind of story her solo film from director Craig Gillespie and writer Ana Nogueira might tell next June. The project was known as Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow when it was first announced, a title shared by a 2021 comic series from writer Tom King and artist Bilquis Evely, which begins with a depressed Supergirl drowning her sorrows and planet-hopping around red suns.
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King’s work seems to be a major source of inspiration for Gunn’s rebooted DC Studios. The director has shared art from King’s other comics — one of which became the basis for Superman’s mid-credits scene — and he recently posted a behind-the-scenes photo of Alcock reading Woman of Tomorrow in preparation for her role.
Superman’s interpretation of Kara plays like a carefree sorority girl, but there’s probably more to her demeanor than meets the eye. You can expect to see more of Krypto in the Supergirl film too; he’s often by her side in Woman of Tomorrow. The comic also features Kara’s teenage protégé Ruthye, an alien out for revenge against a villain named Krem, characters who’ll be played by Eve Ridley and Matthias Schoenaerts in the film, respectively. And we’ll see popular anti-hero Lobo, played by former Aquaman actor Jason Momoa. He’s not in the comic, but this departure may not be as random as it seems: According to King, Lobo was originally set to co-headline Woman of Tomorrow with Kara.
More importantly, it seems like Alcock’s version of Kara won’t be anything like her Kansas cousin — something a new version of the character sorely needs. Most on-screen Supergirls have been characterized as female versions of their era’s respective Supermen. Slater’s bright, smiling heroine reflected the Christopher Reeve films, while Calle’s was an alternate universe version of Cavill’s dour Superman, and Benoist’s was a wholesome, Clark Kent-like reporter. But while Corenswet imbues his Superman with a boy scout sensibility, Alcock is all set to be disorderly, which is an exciting prospect.
