The Travesty of the "Supergirl" movie... 2026

   NOTE: This is not a review of the 2026 "Supergirl" movie, but rather commentary on the background of the film and related concerns. 

  I'VE been a Superman comic book collector, since 1960, when I was age 6. Having amassed thousands of comic books over the decades and having been written into an actual Superman comic book story in 2008, I'm no average fan of all-things Krypton.

  But imagine to my shock when another "Supergirl" movie is produced and released in the summer of 2026.

  There is just one, only one single comic book that ever, ever disgusted me so much that I actually threw it away in the trash ... and that is the Supergirl comic that the latest movie is based on. The artwork in that comic was horrendously bad and the storyline was both lackluster, uncreative and even boring. ("Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow," 2021.)

  Why would anyone make a movie based on that comic, the worst-ever in my 66-year history of DC Comics? And, there's no way that comic sold well enough to logically or economically be made into a big screen movie.

  Yes, the movie's inspiration strikes a nerve with me.

  Enter James Gunn.

  First, he did only an average job on the 2025 "Superman" movie. It could have been so much better. And, he changed what is to me a cardinal principle of Superman legend ---  he made Krypto Supergirl's dog, not Superboy's or Superman's. (You don't mess with such long-standing legends and this male ownership of the canine goes back to 1955, a year after I was born. And, to be fair, Supergirl had both a super cat and a super horse in her early comic books years.)

   I'm a dog lover and yet does anyone else not find it odd that Gunn made Krypto such a key part of both of the latest "Super" movies? Or far worse, that Krypto is the one that needs oodles of help in both movies, as he seems to get hurt more and be less invulnerable than Supergirl or Superman?

A panel from "Superman Unlimited" No. 3, where Krypto is less cute, but more intelligent and forceful.

   Did Gunn not read some of the past Superman comics where Krypto became absolute savage in especially protecting his owner and usually held his own ground in conflicts?

  (Gunn's Krypto is also all artificial CGI too.)

  In addition, Gunn apparently has no accurate understanding of comic books, or super-hero stories. They are primarily a male domain and nothing one will ever do will change that fact. (But,  obviously with a woke mindset, he thought a Supergirl movie, based on a sub-par comic book, of his making would be perfect to follow a reboot of Superman.

  "Supergirl" comics have come and gone many times over the decades in DC comics and they never last. Will DC never learn from its own past?

  Other than the anomaly of CW's "Supergirl" TV series, which was very, very good, ever other "Supergirl" movie, TV  or comic book attempt has never done well, or went the distance.

  No, Supergirl is just an accessory character, as the history of DC Comics has proven over and over again.

  (I sold all of my old Supergirl comics years ago, as they seemed the least in my vast collection and none of the stories therein were that good.)

   

  Gunn missed the mark with "Supergirl." Now, if he had made, say the DC animated movie, "Superman: Unbound" (2013) into the 2026 major motion picture, it would have been a hit -- and that animated movie included Supergirl in a high standing role and not a woke way.

  I haven't seen the new "Supergirl" movie and I won't pay to. The movie previews and "honest" reviews are all I need to go by. The reviews that laud the new "Supergirl" movie are likely being paid to say so, or they are written by woke folk, who are the a minority of total comic book/movie fans. 

   (Someone months down the road will have a DVD copy of the movie and let me see it for free....)

  

  

Thoughts on "Crisis on Infinite Earths" CW miniseries" -- Very inclusive of the DC 'Multiverse'

(Spoilers below, if you haven't seen "Crisis")


AS TV goes, the CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" saga is about as good as it gets. Reasonable special effects, good storylines and attention to detail are all evident in the miniseries.
My only complaint is that with one swoop the series deflated the bubble on the decade-long "Smallville" TV series.
It was great to see "Smallville" incorporated into the series, but the scene of just a few minutes made a mockery of the show and what it espoused.
So, Clark Kent takes 10 years to accept the status of hero and of Superman in the TV series, only to throw that all away in less than nine years? Yes, that's what the "Crisis" showed. I would have thought of a much better way to include "Smallville" in "Crisis," than basically throwing it into the junkyard.
Apparently the show's producers thought that was a natural way to portray "Smallville," since that Clark Kent was at home on the family farm. I disagree. 
(One report was that this was about the only scenario -- being powerless -- that actor Tom Welling would come back to do. So, which is worse, a powerless Clark Kent, or a different actor in that role?)
But it appears that one of the "Batwoman" show writers (who also used to write for "Smallville") made the suggestion of a powerless Clark Kent. As awful as the "Batwoman" series is, that pretty much explains where that terrible "Smallville" idea came from in "Crisis."
(As bad as the "Batwoman" TV series is, if it is renewed for a second season, then the CW is poor at judging success.)

-And, perhaps the Smallville event IS NOT as it seems?
One of the first things I noticed in the Crisis segment about Smallville was that Clark Kent was wearing a watch with a blue face, that stood out way more than it should have. Is that a reference to the watch having blue Kryptonite in it?
In Smallville, Blue Kryptonite takes away super-powers, but only while it is near a Kryptonian. Remove it and the super-powers come back fast. That's more acceptable if that is indeed what happened in Crisis. Yes, Clark's powers are gone, but he can get them back fast, if he is needed for a crisis.
This "easter egg" is probably just a little too hidden by the writers, who should have made this more obvious to average viewers  ....

I also did not like the old Batman portrayal in the "Crisis" either.

On the positive side, the "Kingdom Come" version of Superman was nearly perfect. Superb attention to detail there and homage to the big screen TV Superman was excellent. In fact, that part was as good as the "Smallville" portions were bad.
AND IN part three of Crisis, it was pretty clever to have Lex Luthor take the place of this Superman at the Vanishing Point.

All, in all, just tackling the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" saga for a 5-hour TV series is a challenging undertaking and after watching just two of its five hours, it appears to be a big success.

Is Supergirl more powerful than Superman?

IS Supergirl more powerful/or stronger than Superman?

No, the very idea goes counter to the standards of the universe.
Although there was a time in DC Comics that Supergirl appeared stronger than Superman, it is only on the CW TV shows, where this false idea rules.

Men are naturally stronger than women. That's a fact when you look at any world records, regarding strength, power or speed.
Kryptonians would be no different.

Also, Superman has spent much more time on Earth, absorbing more yellow sun radiation than Supergirl.

The CW show, "Supergirl" simply goes out of its way to demean Superman and make him less powerful.
This was very evident in the network's December of 2018 crossover event. Superman was all but worthless in that series. All he did was serve as a punching bag and he added nothing to the plot.

(And, my prediction is that if any hero dies in the sequel to that CW crossover in December of 2019, "Crisis on Infinite Earths," it will Superman, not Supergirl who perishes.... as it was Supergirl who died in the original comic book series of "Infinite Earths.")

Review of Reign of the Supermen: 4-Star animated movie

"REIGN of the Supermen" is another 4-star DC Animated movie!
It is great and well worth the $16 purchase price (What I paid, at least).
Although it is closer to the storyline of the comic books of the early 1990s than its predessor ("Superman Doomsday"), it still had plenty of plot twists to make it very surprising and fresh.
My only real complaint was that they didn't spend enough time showing how Superman's body ended up at the Fortress and how he was revived.
The voice work and animation is first class and the Lex Luthor character kind of stole the show at times with his subtle humor.
-Again, DC/Warner Brothers, how come your live action movies are never as great as your animated movies are?

Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio -- Superman BBC style

THE annual Christmas Day (2016) "Doctor Who" special on BBC was surprisingly loaded with Superman and Man of Steel references.
Not only was the show centered around a super-hero, but I counted many references and similarities to Superman in the program.

Titled, "The Return of Doctor Mysterio," producer Steve Moffat made it no secret that this special was his take on super-heroes, particularly about Superman. His "superman" was called "The Ghost."

The Doctor Who Christmas specials are also more humorous than the regular series and this one was no exception. Doctor Who is, in a way, his own variation of a super-hero, so this plot worked smoothly.

Any serious Superman fan -- even if they have never watched a Doctor Who before -- will not want to miss this show, also playing in a limited number of theaters on the big screen.



BELOW is a list of the Superman similarities I noticed in the show -- and they include SPOILERS, lest you read further below ...........

1. There's an early reference in a corporate setting to a Siegel and Shuster (creators of Superman).
2. There's a female reporter, Lucy Fletcher Lombard, in the show. Steve Lombard is a womanizer in Superman lore and apparently is too, as he left his former wife.
3. Lucy is an obvious reference to Lois Lane's sister,
4. There's a rotating globe on top a business building.
5. The show takes place in New York City (a Metropolis).
6. At one Point bullets bounce off "the Ghost" the super-hero, who flies and also has a big chest emblem.
7. The Ghost's powers come from the stars, kind of like Superman's.
8. At one point Lucy and The Ghost fly off together over the city, reminiscent of "Superman the Movie."
9. The Ghost also has super-strength, X-ray vision and super-hearing.
10. The Ghost has a secret identity as a mild-mannered nanny, named Grant.
11. At one point in the show, Doctor Who is reading an actual Superman comic book. Later, a reference is also made to Spider-Man.
12. Grant wears glasses in his civilian identity.
13. Lucy interviews the super-hero on top of a tall building rooftop.
14. Lucy asks the super-hero, "Do you have a girlfriend?" (Both reminiscent of "Superman the Movie.")

-All-in-All great fun -- and Doctor Who is eventually shown to have been the one who created "The Ghost."

-There are lots of non-Superman references too, as Doctor Who is mistaken for Santa Claus at one point.

-In the end, Doctor Who makes it clear that The Ghost should retire and that he is Earth's protector, not The Ghost.

-I couldn't tell if DC Comics or Superman showed up in the show's credits, as BBC America made them so small in side window at the end ...

-I surmise the "Doctor Mysterio" title is a reference to next season of "Doctor Who," where he moonlights as a college professor.

Don't Judge a (DC Comic) Book by its Cover ....

DC Comics has been putting way too much effort into its comic book covers of late (fall of 2016).
They often have 2 covers for one single regular comic book issue.
Also, the old adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover" also applies heavily of late to DC Comics.
DC isn't paying enough attention to its inside art or storyline.

EXAMPLE: I purchase "The Flash" No. 9 issue, solely based on the great cover artwork. I should have looked inside. The artwork inside was way sub par, almost bizarre in nature and the story not so great either.
A total waste of $2.99, except for the cover.

Lois Lane dies ...

DC Comics has quietly killed off Lois Lane --- yes Lois Lane.
Admittedly, there were two Lois Lanes in Superman comics at the start of DC Comic's new reboot, as were there two Supermans too.
Then, the younger Man of Steel died.
I was personally looking forward to the surviving Superman having to deal with two Lois Lanes -- the one he was married to and the other one, who worked at the Daily Planet.
When the other Superman died, The unmarried Lois eventually gained powers similar to Superman's.
A new comic book, Superwoman, came out and there was a super-powered Lois.
However, she got sick and died in issue No. 2, meaning a super-powered Lana Lang was really the actual Superwoman.
Kind of disappointing that all doppelgangers are now gone .
AND, the surviving Lois has assumed the Daily Planet identity of the late Lois Lane and works there now ...