How Supergirl's Ending Sets Up Her Future in the DCU
Less than a year after her cameo appearance in James Gunn’s Superman, Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El is back in Supergirl to show a side of the character we’ve never seen on screen before.
The director is Craig Gillespie, who helmed movies like I, Tonya and Cruella. However, as space adventures go, this one is about as Gunn-coded as they come: a movie packed with profanity, slo-mo brawling, oddly coloured aliens, and general bad behaviour—hell, our hero even carries a trusty Walkman.
Like anything Gunn-related, it’s also deliriously chaotic, so if you’re wondering what exactly happened in the Supergirl finale or what that final scene means for the character’s involvement in the DCU going forward, we’ve got you covered—and please be warned that that means major spoilers from this point.
How Does Supergirl Reach Its Finale?
The main narrative of Supergirl follows Kara/Supergirl as she attempts to save her dog Krypto from a deadly poison. The man responsible for this is Krem, the ruthless leader of a group of space pirates called the Brigands, who also happens to be the revenge target of a young girl named Ruthye.
After discovering that the Brigands have been kidnapping young women to propagate their all-male race (now there’s a plot point you won’t find in Ant-Man 3), Kara and Ruthye decide to work together to track him down.
A few drinks, skirmishes and exposition dumps later, we land on the planet where the Brigands are hiding out—which, of course, has a green sun that leaves Kara temporarily incapacitated. As she waits for the other sun to rise, Ruthye boards the Brigand ship to find Klem and free the captured women, but ends up freeing a cigar-smoking demi-god named Lobo (Jason Mamoa) instead. Ruthye then makes her way to the upper deck, where Klem quickly overpowers her, but before he can take her life, a newly rejuvenated Kara arrives to kick some ass.
What Happens In The Climactic Scene
The final battle sees Kara, Ruthye and Lobo face off against Klem and his goons. First, Kara is taken down by Klem’s kryptonite-enhanced darts before being saved by Lobo. After much toing and froing (set to a cover of Jimmy Eat World’s The Middle), Kara is forced to dash the ship’s hull to save the caged women, leaving Ruthye on the beach, where she eventually gets the opportunity to take Klem's life.
Just before that fateful moment, however, Kara returns to warn her that such an act of cold-blooded revenge will not cure her heartbreak. When Ruthye yields and walks away, Kara steps in to drive the sword through his throat before racing back to cure Krypto.
When all that dust has settled and the time comes for them to part ways (Ruthye says she plans to follow in her father's footsteps and become a swordsmith), Kara semi-reluctantly decides to invite her along for the ride.
Does Supergirl Have a Post-Credit Scene?
If we’re talking about the classic MCU post-credit scene (i.e. wait for every SFX artist’s name to pass by for a quick 15-30 second gag), then no. As we saw with Superman last summer, Gunn has made a point of stripping away things like lengthy origin stories and post-credits scenes to get to the fun stuff as soon as possible.
That said, Supergirl does end on a low-key stinger, with Kara returning to Earth (we see Krypto but no Ruthye in tow) to find Clark waiting in her apartment. It’s a typical Gunn sequence—a found family coming together to share some touching and slightly wounded emotions—that also sets up a lot without the need for a great deal of dialogue: namely, that a newly sober Kara is ready to embrace her life on earth, stand alongside Clark, and help the people of Metropolis. We also learn that it’s never safe for a dog to eat chocolate, regardless of what planet they come from...
What Does It Mean For Supergirl In the DCU Going Forward?
One thing that isn’t explicitly mentioned is when this scene takes place. At one point, Clark vaguely tells Kara that he could have "used some help with the last one”, but given that he'd already defeated Lex Luther by the time that Kara popped in to grab Krypto at the end of Superman, is there a chance he might be talking about another foe? Could this scene be happening after the events of Man of Tomorrow, in which Clark and Luther are likely to team up against Brainiac?
At this time, I'm inclined to say no. I also think it’s a safe bet that Supergirl will be on hand to help Clark, the Justice Gang, the Lanterns and whoever else when Man of Tomorrow is released next year. A bigger question might be whether Kara’s evident lack of fuss when it comes to killing might get in the way of their newly cosy family bond. We shall have to wait and see.
