How Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Rewrites Kara Zor-El's Kryptonian Origins

A new clip from Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow shows Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El landing on Earth in a capsule with her dog Krypto, marking her first arrival on the planet. That detail confirms the Supergirl film will take place both before and after the Superman movie, jumping around Kara's timeline rather than sticking to a single point in it.

The clip opens with Kara and Krypto touching down at Clark's Fortress of Solitude following the destruction of the remaining piece of Krypton that Kara and other surviving Kryptonians had been living on, a location known as Argo City. Superman's own origin is so well known that the first DCU Superman movie did not bother explaining it. Kal-El was sent to Earth by his parents not just to survive Krypton's destruction but, per a new piece of lore added for this DCU version of the character, to rule over the people of Earth and rebuild Krypton there.

Why Kara's Origin Story Works On Screen Where Superman's Didn't Need To

While the first Superman movie did not need to retread Superman's origin, it works well for Supergirl to show that same origin story through Kara's eyes instead, since she is a far less well known character than her cousin. That approach lets the film fill in gaps audiences already know the broad shape of, but seeing them play out on screen through Kara feels necessary for a Supergirl movie in a way it would not have felt necessary inside a Superman film.

Clark was sent to Earth as a baby while Kara remained on Krypton, living with a surviving group on a shard of the planet drifting through space under a dome, the remnant known as Argo City. Eventually that piece of Krypton and its people died as well, leaving Kara and Krypto seemingly the only survivors. She then made her way to Earth to reconnect with her younger cousin, the only other living Kryptonian she knows of. Kara has watched her entire planet and everyone she ever knew or loved die, which is why she is so miserable that she travels to planets without yellow suns so her powers switch off and she can drink to numb the pain.

Two Different Comic Origins Feed Into This DCU Version

In the original comics dating back to the 1960s, Argo City suffers a deadly kryptonite contamination and meteor storm that dooms the city. Realizing the end has come, Kara's parents, her father being Superman's father's brother, build a rocket and send her to Earth, where her cousin Kal-El has already become Superman. Superman investigates the crash and discovers a blonde teenage girl in a costume similar to his own who introduces herself as Kara Zor-El and explains she is his cousin from Krypton.

A more recent version of the story, from around 2004 or 2005, has Kara sent from Krypton as a teenager around the same time as baby Kal-El, with a mission to protect him on Earth as the older cousin. Something goes wrong with her ship and she veers off course, and due to time dilation and cryosleep she remains the same physical age while baby Clark grows into Superman.

This DCU version of the story appears to borrow from both versions, but more so from the original, and it is primarily pulling from the recent comic of the same name, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. The DCU's Kara witnessed the fall of Krypton, lived on Argo City, watched it fall too, and somehow she and Krypto get placed into a shuttle sent to Earth, landing near Superman's Fortress of Solitude because it is born of a Kryptonian crystal that can be traced by Kryptonian technology.

Kara Is Technically Older Than Superman, Yet the Two End Up Close in Age

Whether due to time dilation or cryosleep, Kara, who is technically older than Clark, ends up the same age as him, or actually a little younger, which creates an interesting dynamic between the two. She has seen truly horrific things and carries the pain and knowledge of where they come from, which makes her feel like the older sibling, while Superman is too young to remember any of it and is not burdened by that same pain, at least not to the same extent.

In other ways Superman appears physically older and carries something of an older brother vibe toward Kara, since he has more experience and authority when it comes to being a superhero and fitting in on Earth. Kara could act as the older sibling and teach Superman a thing or two about where they come from and about not being so naive, while Superman tries to teach her how to be a superhero.

This Scene Happens Before Superman Learns the Truth About His Parents' Plan

This landing scene takes place before the 2025 Superman movie, meaning it happens before Superman learns the truth about his parents' actual intentions for him on Earth, the plan for him to lord over the planet as the last son of Krypton and take as many wives as he can so his genes, and Krypton's might and legacy, would live on.

I think the timeline goes like this, and these gaps will likely be filled in the Supergirl movie: Kara witnesses the fall of Krypton and then the fall of Argo City, goes to Earth with Krypto looking for Kal-El, and learns about Earth, English, and the powers that come to all Kryptonians under Earth's yellow sun. I would assume she then meets Clark's Earth parents, since I would guess Ma Kent makes Supergirl her suit, and Clark trains her up to learn how to use her powers, with the two doing some superheroing together, similar to what was shown in Peacemaker.

Kara's Drinking and a Possible Confrontation Over Superman's Parents

At the end of the day Kara and Superman are very different, and while I think we will see Kara try to fit in on Earth and with Superman, I think we will learn she just is not able to, which is when she regresses and starts drinking, becoming the character glimpsed at the end of the first Superman movie heading into Supergirl. She is far rougher around the edges than Clark because she has not had his sheltered life, and that trauma has led her to go on off-world drinking benders.

We have not yet seen Kara and Clark discuss his parents' true mission for him, and I would assume Clark would have questions for her, including something like asking if she knew. The bulk of the Supergirl movie will take place after Superman, following Kara picking up Krypto and heading back into space, likely looking to go on another bender for her birthday, though there may be a scene where she and Superman finally have that conversation.

I think throughout the Supergirl movie we will get flashbacks to Krypton, as already glimpsed in the trailer, along with flashbacks to her interactions with Superman after arriving on Earth, jumping between the present and the past to tell Kara's origin story across the film rather than placing it all at the beginning.

Man of Tomorrow Footage and Overall Feelings on the DCU

Beyond Supergirl, the Man of Tomorrow movie is currently being made, and a behind the scenes look has surfaced showing Lex in his big green costume resembling Buzz Lightyear. Overall I am feeling really good about the DCU right now, saying it is turning out really well and that I am excited for the future.

On the trailers themselves, while I have thought they look good, I did think earlier ones looked a little ugly in terms of how they were shot, with color correction that looked very digital and flat. The later trailers look like they are really beginning to dial that in, boosting contrast, which has me excited for the movie and hoping it turns out well.

What do you think Kara and Superman's first real conversation about his parents' true plan for him will look like once the Supergirl movie gets there?