Supergirl (2026)

Supergirl (2026) Review 🦸‍♀️

The Main Man Shows Up… For About Five Minutes

Let’s Start by Showing Y’all the Trailers, Shall We?

When the first trailer dropped, I was honestly excited. Milly Alcock looked great as Kara, the cosmic visuals looked interesting, and it looked like James Gunn and DC were taking Supergirl in a very different direction than Superman. Then Jason Momoa got announced as Lobo and my excitement somehow got even higher. I have wanted to see Lobo in live action for years, and if there was one actor who always looked like he was born to play him, it was Jason Momoa.

After seeing the movie, I’d say the trailers did a pretty good job selling the tone. They definitely leaned into the space adventure angle. The only problem? They also kind of showed almost everything Lobo actually does in the movie. Looking back, almost all of his scenes were either in the trailers or in the clips they released online before the movie came out. That’s… not exactly ideal.

Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

Supergirl follows Kara as she celebrates her birthday far away from Earth under a red sun where she can actually get drunk. During her birthday trip she crosses paths with a young girl named Ruthye, whose family has been brutally murdered by a man named Krem. Ruthye wants revenge and asks Kara to help her hunt him across the galaxy.

What follows is basically a cosmic road trip mixed with a revenge story. Kara and Ruth travel from planet to planet chasing Krem and his Brigands while learning more about each other along the way. There are bar fights, bounty hunters, giant space barges, Krypto, and more than enough weird alien creatures to remind you this is definitely the DC Universe.

I had fun with it. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. The screenplay has several issues that I’ll get into later, but I was entertained throughout most of the runtime. Sometimes that’s enough.

Character Rundown

Milly Alcock absolutely owns this movie. I thought she did a fantastic job as Kara. She plays her as someone who’s sarcastic, emotionally broken, stubborn, reckless, and constantly trying to bury years of pain underneath alcohol and bad decisions. This isn’t the bright-eyed Supergirl some people may expect. She’s damaged, and I actually found that pretty refreshing.

Her backstory is easily one of my favorite parts of the movie. Without spoiling too much here, the movie shows Krypton in a way I wasn’t expecting, and while I have some issues with the larger mythology changes, Kara’s personal story is genuinely heartbreaking. Milly Alcock absolutely sells those emotional scenes.

Ruthye surprised me. Going in I honestly thought she’d just be another kid sidekick following Kara around. Instead, she’s really the second main character. The entire revenge story revolves around her, and I liked watching her relationship with Kara slowly grow throughout the movie. Their chemistry carries a lot of the quieter moments.

Now let’s talk about Krem.

Man… what a disappointment.

Krem is one of those villains where I kept waiting for the movie to give me something—anything—to latch onto. Instead, he just feels like “villain.exe.” He kills people, laughs about it, does more evil things, laughs again, and repeats that cycle for nearly two hours. Visually he has a unique look… I guess. Honestly he looks like Cruella de Vil bedazzled his face. Beyond that? There’s just not much there.

I read a review that described him as “a look in search of a character,” and honestly… that’s probably the most accurate description I’ve heard. That’s exactly how I felt. He’s visually recognizable, but I never felt like I knew who he actually was as a person.

Then… there’s Lobo.

Jason Momoa was born to play this role.

I’m serious.

I’ve always respected what Momoa did as Aquaman because he helped make audiences actually care about Aquaman. That’s not an easy thing to do. But Lobo? This feels natural. The attitude, the voice, the humor, the biker aesthetic… it all just clicks immediately.

For those unfamiliar with him, Lobo is basically DC’s immortal space bounty hunter. He rides a motorcycle through space, smokes cigars, mouths off to everyone he meets, and generally only cares about collecting his paycheck. He’s not really a hero. He’s just… Lobo.

Fun fact for comic fans: although this movie is based on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Lobo wasn’t actually in the finished comic. He was reportedly part of Tom King’s original pitch before being removed, so it’s actually pretty cool that the movie brought that original idea back.

Unfortunately… that’s also where my biggest criticism begins.

Jason Momoa absolutely steals every scene he’s in.

The problem?

He’s barely in the movie.

I’m not exaggerating when I say he probably has around five or six minutes of actual screen time. He shows up almost an hour into the film, has a handful of hilarious scenes, disappears for long stretches, comes back during the third act, and then leaves again.

That’s frustrating because every single time he appears, he injects energy into the movie. I walked out wanting a Lobo movie.

I did not walk out thinking Lobo was an important part of Supergirl.

That’s the difference.

The marketing made him look like a major supporting character. He’s really more of an extended cameo that just happens to be incredibly entertaining.

One thing I do want to mention is Jason Momoa himself. It’s actually pretty awesome that he’s now one of the few actors to play two major DC characters. First he became Aquaman, and now he’s Lobo. Personally… I actually think Lobo fits him even better.

Should have warn y’all. He has a vulgar mouth. But d*** was Jason Momoa born to play lobo.

One thing I do want to be upfront about is I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I’m some giant Lobo comic expert. Outside of playing him in LEGO Batman 3 and LEGO DC Super-Villains and watching a few videos over the years, I don’t know the character inside and out. So I can’t honestly tell you whether every single line in this movie is something comic Lobo would actually say. When he walked into the bar saying, “Three more of whatever you call that s***,” my first thought wasn’t, “Yep, that’s comic accurate.” My first thought was, “Yep… that’s Jason Momoa’s personality blending into the role.” Whether that’s a good thing or not is up to you, but I thought it worked and made him ridiculously entertaining whenever he was on screen.

Also visually? This guy looks like Lobo taken straight out thr comics, but how he’s utilized? Is a completely different story.

Finally, there’s Krypto.

Yes… the dog is adorable. And if anyone is a dog person like me, then this movie is gonna tear at your heartstrings.

Yes… I was invested in making sure the dog survived.

I’m a dog person. Leave me alone.

Pacing / Episode Flow

For the most part, I thought the pacing was solid. The movie moves from planet to planet at a nice pace, there’s always something happening, and I never found myself bored. Every time Kara and Ruth landed somewhere new, I was interested to see what weird alien or situation they were about to run into next. It definitely has that space adventure feel James Gunn’s DC seems to be embracing.

That said, there are moments where the screenplay starts spinning its wheels. Lobo is probably the biggest example. He’ll show up, completely steal the scene, disappear for twenty or thirty minutes, randomly show back up, disappear again, and repeat that process until the movie ends. It almost feels like he wandered in from another movie.

The movie also has a habit of finding new ways to depower Kara. I get it, Supergirl is incredibly powerful. You need ways to challenge her. But after a while it started feeling like the screenplay had a checklist. Red sun? Check. Green sun? Check. Kryptonite poisoning? Check. Kryptonite darts? Check. By the end I was just thinking, “Okay… what are we doing to weaken her this time?”

Pros ✅️

Milly Alcock is fantastic. She completely won me over as Supergirl. She plays the emotional moments well, has great chemistry with Ruth, and balances the sarcastic attitude with genuine vulnerability. I walked away excited to see where this version of Kara goes next.

Jason Momoa absolutely kills it as Lobo. Every scene he’s in is entertaining. His introduction alone had me smiling. “Three more of whatever you call that s***… I’m looking for a Briggen… Frakken Bastich.” That’s Lobo. He feels ripped straight out of the comics personality-wise.

Kara’s Krypton backstory is emotionally effective. Seeing what happened to her family and the effects of Kryptonite poisoning gave Kara’s trauma real weight. Watching Kryptonians slowly dying from radiation-like sickness was disturbing in a way we haven’t really seen before.

Ruth turned out to be much stronger as a character than I expected. I thought she’d mostly be there to get rescued. Instead, she’s constantly making decisions that affect the plot, and her relationship with Kara becomes the emotional core of the movie.

Krypto is… well… Krypto. He’s adorable. Any movie that lets the dog survive gets bonus points from me.

The action is fun. There are some genuinely enjoyable fight scenes, especially once Kara finally gets to unleash her powers. Even if I have issues with some of the writing around those moments, I was still entertained.

Jason Momoa as Lobo (The Best… and Most Frustrating Part of the Movie)

Jason Momoa was born to play Lobo. The moment he walks into that bar, the movie gets a shot of adrenaline. He looks like Lobo, sounds like Lobo, has the attitude of Lobo, and completely chews the scenery every time he’s on screen. Every line made me smile. “Three more of whatever you call that s***.” “Frakken Bastich.” “Revenge is overrated.” “Seems pretty simple to me.” “See ya, Tits.” That’s Lobo. Every scene he appears in is memorable.

And that’s exactly why he’s also one of my biggest disappointments.

He barely exists in this movie.

He’s introduced almost an hour into the film, disappears for long stretches, randomly pops back up, steals another scene, then disappears again. By the time the credits rolled I wasn’t thinking, “Wow, Lobo was an amazing supporting character.” I was thinking, “Why was Lobo even in this movie?” He doesn’t really affect Kara’s emotional journey, Ruth’s revenge story still reaches the same destination, and if you removed him from the script, surprisingly little changes.

That’s what makes him both the best and worst part of Supergirl. Jason Momoa absolutely nails the character, but the screenplay never gives him a meaningful purpose beyond reminding us that Lobo exists in this universe. I walked out wanting a Lobo movie more than I walked out thinking about Lobo’s role in Supergirl, and I don’t think that’s what the movie intended.

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Favorite Lobo Quotes

> “Three more of whatever you call that s*.”**

> “I’m looking for a Briggen… Frakken Bastich.”

> “Is there a bounty on his head?”

> “Revenge is overrated.”

> “You forgot someone.”

> “I’m proud of you.” (after Ruth tricks and kills the guard, said with complete sarcasm)

> Kara: “It’s not that simple.”

> Lobo: “Seems pretty simple to me.”

> “See ya, Tits.”

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I honestly think this little segment is worth including because it captures your overall feeling perfectly:

> Jason Momoa isn’t the problem. In fact, he’s one of the movie’s biggest strengths. The problem is the screenplay introduces a fantastic Lobo and then forgets to actually use him.

Cons ❌️

Let’s start with Krem.

He is one of the weakest comic book villains I’ve seen in a while.

Not because he isn’t evil.

Because that’s literally all he is.

He murders people. He laughs. He kidnaps people. He laughs. He does another terrible thing. He laughs again. That’s not a personality. That’s just a list of villain traits. By the time he was throwing his arms in the air laughing after murdering innocent people, I had already checked out. He stopped feeling threatening and started feeling cartoonish.

The Brigands don’t help either. Honestly, Krem doesn’t even feel like a leader. He feels like generic henchman number one. If you removed his weird face decorations, he blends right in with the rest of his crew.

I can’t even put him up there with the bland villians such as Steppenwolf, because at least Steppenwolf had somewhat of a presence, while Krem Of The Yellow Hills (dumb name btw) just feels like a henchmen, along with his goons, and thats somehow worse.

Heck doesn’t make sense why Krem has a cure around his neck, he’s evil and he just conveniently has the cure around his neck, but uh why? No really?

Don’t worry thats not the only thing in this film that will not begin to make any sense and just feel convenient.

Also in this film Kara keeps telling Ruthye that revenge won’t fix anything, making it sound like she’s been through a revenge arc. But here’s the truth, from what we see? She hasn’t, not even one bit, so where has this revenge moral complex come from?

Also the dialogue comes off as exposition dumping, for example when lobo first appears at the bar, Kara tells Ruthye “he’s an immortal with a god complex, killed off his entire species, isnt a fun guy to be with”.

Tell me does any of that sound like how humans would talk? Because no not really, also does that even sound fluid enough? Like its woven in good? Uh no, this is the perfect case of telling instead of showing.

Lobo is another mixed bag. Let me be clear… Jason Momoa is not the problem.

The screenplay is. He’s barely given anything to do that, will make him stick out. Heck hos involvement has nothing to do with Kara or Ruthye revenge arc, he’s just there to collect a bounty on Drom Baxton, a henchment we barley know or remember since he has no memorable standouts.

Would been better if he was hunting down Krem, then it would made sense for him to be where Kara and Ruthye are. But as it stands, he doesn’t. He’s just inserted in this film because fans wanted Momoa as Lobo.

He doesn’t really function as a secondary character. Ruth is the real second lead. Lobo basically runs into Kara’s story every now and then, does something awesome, then leaves again. If you removed him from the script, surprisingly little actually changes. That’s my biggest issue. I loved watching him. I just kept asking myself why he was even in a Supergirl movie if he wasn’t going to meaningfully affect Kara’s journey.

The movie also leans a little too heavily on convenience. Kara is dying under the green sun? Don’t worry… the yellow sun rises at exactly the right moment. Krem suddenly has Kryptonite wrist darts? Apparently he’s never tested them on a Kryptonian before… which immediately made me ask, “Then why do you own Kryptonite darts?” The movie never really answers that.

The movie also visually looks unappealing, like color wise is kind of just dab and gray.Also, the c g I looks terrible.But c g I has been looking terrible in blockbuster movies for a while now. So that’s not any different from here.

Also, the needle drops in this movie.As in the music, not the best, in fact, by the end at borderlines on terrible.

I also wasn’t a fan of the Brigands suddenly being revealed as kidnappers keeping women in cages to become wives. It didn’t feel naturally woven into the story. It felt like the screenplay saying, “Quick! We need another reason for everyone to hate these guys!” Instead of making Krem deeper, it just added another layer of evil on top of a villain who already lacked personality.

The third act also has a song choice that completely took me out of the movie. During one of the biggest action scenes, the soundtrack just didn’t fit what I was watching. Combined with the dusty gray visuals of the battlefield, it made that portion of the finale feel oddly flat visually.

Finally… I actually prefer the destruction of Krypton in Man of Steel. That’s just personal preference. I loved the urgency of that version. Here, Kara’s colony survives for decades after Krypton’s destruction before Kryptonite poisoning eventually wipes everyone out. It changes the nature of the tragedy, and personally I found the DCEU version more emotionally intense.

Also, another issue I have is, why is it when it comes to female lead superhero movies? Hollywood always rushes the script, gives them a half fast mediocre script that just passable and rush production and ponded off to a inexperienced script writer or an inexperienced director. like when is this gonna change?

Also I need to address something. James Gunn, when he got the job of being the CEO of the D. C universe he he said in an interview that people don’t have hero superhero fatigue. They have bad movie fatigue. If there’s just too many superhero movies, and most of them are mediocre or terrible. And it doesn’t get people excited for the next installment. There is an irony to that. Because this movie is very, very mediocre at best. You’ve seen everything that this movie offers.

The james gunn type music drops the headphones and guardians of the galaxy.The the star lord characterisms, the same jacket star lord used the the the vibe of james gunn movies.

In a funny turn off event, this reminded me of those spin-offs. And the conjuring movies where it’s not directed by James Wan, and they try to capture the same feeling of James Wan, it’s, it’s and coming off as lesser versions of the original product. So it’s like I don’t know what’s going on. But things need to have a course correct? Because even though I love d c and liked the way, james gunn started with this d.C u.

And just because I did not hate this movie and I found it, and had a good time doesn’t mean I can’t say that there needs to be a course correction very quickly or we’re in deep doodoo.

Also, it would have benefited for us to see the backstory of crypto. Early on in the movie, the problem is the way this movie is structured. His backstory comes in the middle of the movie. After, he’s taken out from a majority of this movie. That’s not good storytelling.bIt’s just relying on, did.Fans love crypto from the last years superman, which isn’t how storytelling is supposed to be.

Final Thoughts

I had a really good time with Supergirl.

Do I think it’s one of the best superhero movies ever made?

No.

Do I think it’s better than some people are giving it credit for?

Absolutely.

This movie has problems. The screenplay can be clunky. Krem is disappointingly generic. Lobo feels more like a glorified extended cameo than a true supporting character. There are conveniences that made me roll my eyes.

But despite all of that…

I had fun.

Milly Alcock is an excellent Supergirl. Jason Momoa completely nails Lobo. Ruth surprised me. Krypto is lovable. The emotional moments generally landed for me, and I left the theater smiling.

Honestly, I walked out wanting more Supergirl… and I also walked out wanting a Lobo movie.

Hopefully next time… they actually let him be part of the story.

Rating

7.4/10

Its an above average movie, sure it’s a fun time but it’s nothing amazing.

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⚠️ Spoiler Warning ⚠️

From this point forward I’m talking about the entire movie, including the ending. If you haven’t seen Supergirl yet, now’s your chance to back out. Alright? Good. Let’s get into it.

The movie opens on Krypton with a young Kara living alongside her parents. Right away I liked seeing more of Kryptonian life instead of immediately jumping to Earth. The biggest surprise is that Krypton isn’t immediately gone. Zor-El, Jor-El’s brother, successfully creates a shield that lifts their city away from the exploding planet, allowing everyone there to survive for years afterward. Personally, this is where I preferred Man of Steel. I loved the desperation of Jor-El trying to convince everyone the planet was doomed while Zod launched his coup. Here, the city actually survives for decades before Kryptonite contaminates the soil and slowly poisons everyone. It’s tragic, but it doesn’t carry that same immediate pressure for me.

That being said, Kara’s personal backstory is heartbreaking. Watching Kryptonite poisoning slowly spread through the colony was disturbing. Her mother becomes bedridden with veins spreading across her body, people are dying everywhere, and coffins begin piling up. Carrying her mother’s coffin through rows of other dead Kryptonians was one of the movie’s strongest emotional moments. Milly Alcock sells every second of it.

I do have one issue with the larger mythology though. Between Superman and Supergirl, James Gunn’s DCU has turned Jor-El into someone I just don’t recognize anymore. Hearing Zor-El refer to Kal-El as “the conqueror of worlds” after everything we learned in Superman about Jor-El’s intentions… yeah… I’m just not a fan of that reinterpretation. I know it’s a different universe, but personally that change doesn’t work for me.

Fast forward to Earth and adult Kara is… working in Human Resources. I wasn’t expecting that. She’s obsessed with finding her missing sword, her apartment is covered in drawings of Eternia—wait, wrong movie. Sorry. Wrong review. Kara is instead trying to drown years of trauma with alcohol while celebrating her birthday beneath a red sun where she can actually get drunk. That’s where she meets Ruth.

Ruth’s revenge story is what kicks everything off. Unfortunately, I felt absolutely nothing when her family died. Not because I don’t care about Ruth, but because the sequence felt so forced. Krem is calmly getting what he wants, then Ruth’s brother randomly jumps out to scare his sister because he had headphones on, startling Krem into killing everyone. Instead of being emotional I was just sitting there thinking, “Nobody told the kid to stay inside while an armed stranger was standing in your house?”

The bus sequence afterward is one of those scenes I have mixed feelings on. Does it really matter to the overall plot? Not really. Kara gets attacked by scavengers, loses her watch, Ruth loses her sword, Kara gets blasted into space, and the yellow sun conveniently restores her powers. It doesn’t move the story forward much… but I still had fun watching it.

Then we get to the bar.

This is where Jason Momoa finally enters the movie and immediately steals it.

“Three more of whatever you call that s***.”

“I’m looking for a Briggen.”

“Frakken Bastich.”

That introduction is fantastic. Simple. Funny. Completely Lobo. Unfortunately, after about five minutes… he leaves. That ends up becoming the story of Lobo’s entire role in this movie.

After the bar, Kara and Ruth follow the bartender and his wife home. Kara tells Ruth her Krypton backstory, which I thought was genuinely one of the best parts of the movie. Then the family betrays them in exchange for their daughter. Krem arrives with women locked inside cages and suddenly the movie introduces a sex-trafficking subplot. Honestly… this felt like pure shock value to me. It wasn’t woven into the story in any meaningful way. It just felt like the writers saying, “Look how evil these guys are!” The problem is Krem is already so one-dimensional that adding more evil acts doesn’t make him more interesting. It just makes him more evil.

Speaking of Krem…

This guy is about as generic as villains come.

There’s one scene where he murders the bartender’s family, throws his arms into the air, and starts laughing maniacally. That’s when I completely checked out. He isn’t intimidating. He isn’t charismatic. He isn’t fascinating. He’s just evil because the script says he’s evil. Like I said earlier, “a look in search of a character” describes him perfectly.

Then Kara heads off alone to find Krem, lands on the planet with the green sun, and gets Kryptonite poisoning. Ruth drags her into a cave, finds the Supergirl suit, then gets captured while searching for water.

Now we get one of my favorite Lobo scenes.

Ruth wakes up in a prison cell next to Lobo. She tells him she wants revenge and he immediately asks, “Is there a bounty on his head?” When she says no, he just shrugs and says, “Revenge is overrated.” I love that line. It’s funny because it perfectly fits Lobo’s priorities.

Ruth tricks a guard into opening the cell, kills him, grabs the keys, and starts leaving. Then Lobo casually reminds her…

“You forgot someone.”

She rolls her eyes, unlocks his cell, and he mockingly pats her on the shoulders saying he’s proud of her before casually walking down the hallway while Ruth escapes through the vents. Again… hilarious scene.

Then… the yellow sun conveniently rises over the hill just as Kara is about to die.

Yeah… that was a little too convenient for me.

The final battle is fun even if it’s messy. Kara attacks the flying barge, Krem suddenly reveals Kryptonite wrist darts—which make absolutely no sense considering he admits he’s never tested them on a Kryptonian before, also why does he even have Kryptonite darts? No sorry none this makes sense.

And Lobo jumps in to save Kara.

Then comes another great Lobo moment.

He grabs Krem over the edge while Ruth is dangling below.

Kara tells him not to.

Lobo says, “Why? The girl wants revenge.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Seems pretty simple to me.”

Then he literally throws Krem off the side.

After that… Lobo immediately goes back to his own story. He decapitates Drom Baxton, bags the head for the bounty, gets on his motorcycle, smiles at Kara and says, “See ya, Tits,” throws grenades across the barge, and rides off into the sky while everything explodes.

That’s exactly why I’m so conflicted about him.

Every scene is fantastic.

He still contributes almost nothing to Kara’s actual story.

The movie then keeps going. Kara gets trapped underwater inside one of the crashed vehicles, rescues Ruth, saves all of the imprisoned women from the burning wreckage, and finally confronts Krem.

I honestly wasn’t expecting Kara to kill him.

She stabs him through the chest… then through the throat… while wearing the Supergirl suit.

That felt very out of character for me. Different versions of Supergirl have killed under extreme circumstances before, but here it just didn’t feel earned.

The ending itself is sweet. Kara retrieves the antidote, saves Krypto—thank goodness because I was genuinely worried about the dog—and Ruth suddenly reveals she has… a grandmother.

Wait.

You have a grandmother?

I thought your entire family died.

Apparently not.

That reveal came completely out of nowhere.

The movie ends with Kara deciding to stay on Earth for a while. She visits Superman, Krypto immediately starts causing trouble, Superman tells him not to eat the cake, and… that’s it.

No post-credit scene.

Honestly?

I kind of respected that.

Overall, I really did enjoy Supergirl. It’s flawed. The screenplay is easily the weakest part of the movie. Krem never becomes interesting, Lobo deserved a much larger role, and there are quite a few conveniences that made me roll my eyes. But despite all that, Milly Alcock won me over as Kara, Jason Momoa absolutely nailed Lobo, and I walked out smiling.

That’s why, even with all my criticisms, I’m sticking with my 7.4/10. It isn’t perfect… but it was a fun ride.