The Forgotten DC Superhero Sequel Hiding On Apple TV+

The movie is considered the redheaded stepchild of the Christopher Reeve Superman films. Warner Bros. has so little regard for the film that it stranded Supergirl on Apple TV+ instead of putting it on Max with the other Superman movies. Meanwhile, known carcinogen Superman IV: The Quest For Peace is living its best life snuggled between the original Superman and Man of Steel.

Supergirl might not be perfect, but it’s nowhere near as brain-meltingly bad as Superman IV. I would even put it slightly above Superman III in terms of Superman films. If I were rating the movies based on nightmare fuel, however, Superman III would win hands down based on this scene alone.

Supergirl follows Kara Zor-El, the cousin of Kal-El, AKA Superman, as she travels to Earth to retrieve a ridiculously powerful MacGuffin known as the Omegahedron. Upon landing, she discovers Earth’s yellow sun grants her the same super abilities as her more famous cousin. She quickly enrolls in an all-girls college under the name Linda Lee, who is the cousin of one Clark Kent, where she bunks with Lois Lane’s younger sister, Lucy.

Soon, Kara discovers that the Omegahedron has fallen into the hands of a witch named Selena. The two women duke it out over a handful of encounters until Supergirl finally gains the upper hand. The rest is your basic happily-ever-after.

Supergirl came about when Alexander and Ilya Salkind, owners of the Superman film rights, decided to expand their cash cow franchise. The original idea was actually to have Christopher Reeve play a minor role in the film. Kara was originally supposed to travel to Earth on a rescue mission to save her cousin.

When Christopher Reeve bowed out, the movie had to be heavily rewritten. It’s possible that, if Reeve had co-starred as planned, Supergirl would have been a success. In that scenario, who knows what would have happened next?

If it was a success, Warner Bros. might have decided to make more crossover films. They might have given fans an early version of the MCU years before it was even a glint in Marvel’s eye. Instead, we got a version of Supergirl that Warner Bros. leaves out of all their Superman boxsets despite the films sharing a canon.

It’s not like the Supergirl cast didn’t include any other box-office draws. Star Helen Slater may have been a newcomer, but Faye Dunaway and Peter O’Toole were Hollywood veterans. Throw in a small role for Mia Farrow, and you have enough proven talent that the movie should have performed better than it did.

Meanwhile, French director Jeannot Szwarc seems cursed when it comes to sequels. Szwarc also helmed the similarly underrated Jaws 2. He brings the same workman-like competence to Supergirl.

So, how badly did Supergirl do at the movies? It performed abysmally. The Salkinds sunk $35 million into the movie—which, to be fair, does show on screen—only to get less than half of that back in ticket sales. When all was said and done, the movie managed to earn $14.3 million during its theatrical run. That’s $1 million less than Superman IV!

Was the movie really that bad? Hardly. Again, it’s not a great movie but it’s fun and entertaining enough to devote an hour and a half to.

Look, we all know that in 1984, a female Superman wasn’t going to attract as many comic book fans as the real deal. Comic books were seen at the time as male power fantasies. Girls hadn’t been told yet that they were allowed to enjoy things like comics and sci-fi, and the boys were raised in such a repressed way that living vicariously through a woman wasn’t an option.

REVIEW SCORE

Supergirl suffered from the usual culprits—studio interference, bad test screenings, and multiple edits. At least three different cuts of the film exist, all with different runtimes.

Without an appearance from Christopher Reeve, Supergirl never stood a chance. The real question is, without him, did it deserve one? I think so.

But don’t take my word for it. You can check out Supergirl for yourself on Apple TV+.