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When the controllers of the originalSupermanfilm series, Alexander and Ilya Salkind, acquired the screen rights to the Superman character in the 1970s, they also bought the rights to the character of Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El, better known as Supergirl, who was originally supposed to be featured inSuperman III, as Superman’s love interest.
However, in the spring of 1982, beforeSuperman IIIwent into production, the Salkinds announced that, instead of introducing Supergirl in the film, they intended to produce aSupergirlmovie as a way of revitalizing the overall series, which was weakened by the relative commercial and critical failure ofSuperman III. Just as the Salkinds had castthe previously unknown Christopher Reevein the role of Superman, they selected then-unknown 19-year-old actress Helen Slater to play Supergirl in her feature film debut.
Unfortunately, Slater’s casting turned out to be virtually the only wise decision that was made for the film, which is otherwiseplagued by campy characterizations and dialogue, cheesy special effects, a dimwitted plot, and, perhaps most consequentially, a lack of faith in its source material. Released during the 1984 Christmas holiday season,Supergirlbecamea commercial and critical disaster.
On its 40th anniversary,Supergirl, which presently holds an 8% Rotten Tomatoes score, is rightly regarded as being one of, if notthe worst DC movie ever made. However, while the legacy of the firstSupergirlfilm seems cemented in history, there is real curiosity regarding whether the upcoming filmSupergirl: Woman of Tomorrowcan repair the damage done bySupergirlby avoiding its mistakes.
Helen Slater Is the Only Saving Grace of Supergirl
Just as Christopher Reeve infused the Superman character with excellent comedic timing and a towering physical presence, Helen Slater displays the ability, like Reeve, to wear a superhero costume without looking silly and seeming embarrassed. With her effervescent smile, healthy appearance, piercing eyes, and sheer pluckiness,Slater looks and sounds like Supergirl, especially as Slater, like Reeve, plays the role with the utmost seriousness.
One of the key ingredients of the wonderful first twoSupermanfilms is how the movies and Reeve take the character seriously and, therefore, enable the audience to derive laughter from the material. WhenSuperman IIIwent for an outwardly comedic approach, with the appearance of comedian Richard Pryor, the series lost focus and inspiration.Supergirlmakes the same mistake. Instead of allowing the audience to laugh at the material,Supergirllaughs at itself.
Original Supergirl Helen Slater “Passes the Cape” to Milly Alcock With Celebratory 40th Anniversary Post
Helen Slater celebrated all Supergirl actresses as she welcomed Milly Alcock to the role.
InSupergirl, Slater’s character, Kara Zor-El, is forced to leave her home planet, Argo City, and travel to Earth to recover a powerful orb vital to her planet’s continued survival. However, after establishing Supergirl’s civilian identity, in which she goes by the name of Linda Lee,Supergirl, instead of introducing a villain as formidable and memorable asGene Hackman’s megalomaniac Lex Luthoror the sadistic General Zod, pits Supergirl against an evil witch named Selena, played as a campy goddess with laughable self-awareness by Faye Dunaway.
In addition to Dunaway, Slater is joined in the film by the great Peter O’Toole as a wizard mentor figure to Supergirl. However, Slater often seems to be completely abandoned inSupergirl, in which she isn’t given anything interesting to do or say. While Superman fixes broken dams, rescues helicopters, and tosses a hydrogen bomb into space in the first twoSupermanfilms, Supergirl spends much of her time inSupergirlbattling Dunaway’s witch over a dull boy who isn’t worth fighting over.
The 1984 ‘Supergirl’ Needed Christopher Reeve’s Superman
The original concept forSupergirlhad Christopher Reeve as Superman appearing as a mentor to Supergirl, who learns how to use her powers from him and eventually needs rescuing from Supergirl after being cursed by a spell. Superman’s absence fromSupergirlis explained through a news broadcast stating that Superman left Earth on a peace-keeping mission to a distant galaxy. The most visible link to the originalSupermanfilms inSupergirlis Marc McClure, who appears as Jimmy Olsen, the role McClure played in all fourSupermanfilms with Reeve.
Supergirl Star Helen Slater Recalls Her Time Working on Smallville Alongside Tom Welling
The original, big-screen Supergirl, Helen Slater, discusses guest starring on Smallville and working with the cast and crew..
If Reeve had only appeared inSupergirlin a few scenes, this would have boosted the film’s marketability by reinforcing the links between the movies. After Reeve declined to appear inSupergirl, ostensibly because he disliked the comedic approach ofSuperman IIIand wasn’t keen on repeating this with the gag-filledSupergirl, Reeve’s absence gave the film the appearance of being a second-rateSupermanspin-off film, to which audiences had no emotional attachment.
The 1984 ‘Supergirl’ Nearly Doomed Female-Driven Superhero Movies
The box-office failure ofSupergirl, which grossed less than $15 million at the box office against a production cost of $35 million, was directly responsible for the dearth offemale-driven superhero moviesover the ensuing decades. While various female-driven fantasy fiction adaptations and video game movies have found success over the past 20 years, as seen with theHunger Games,Lara Croft, andResident Evilfranchises, superhero movies have struggled.
If 1984 was the worst year for DC movies because ofSupergirl, this is closely followed by 2004, with the disastrous release ofCatwoman, which, in addition to becoming a commercial and critical failure, presently holds the same dreary 8% Rotten Tomatoes score asSupergirl.The slow revival of female-driven superhero movies over the past 20 years began on television, most notably with the seriesSupergirl, which aired for six seasons between 2015 and 2021, with Melissa Benoist as Supergirl, who became a central figure within the Arrowverse franchise during the show’s run.
The Supergirl character may finally achieve redemption on the big screen with the upcoming filmSupergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the second installment inJames Gunn’s DC Universe, following the upcomingSupermanreboot. Based on Tom King’s acclaimed comic book series of the same name,Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which features Milly Alcock in the title role, is poised to completely reset the character and give Supergirl the authority and respect she deserves.Supergirlis available to rent onPrime Video,Apple TV, andGoogle Play.
