Super Rumors!

This post about a possible Supergirl movie intrigues and horrifies me.

Admittedly I'm mostly horrified by the thought of Mischa Barton as Supergirl. I mean...well, I hate to insult someone I don't know, but from what I've seen the girl's simply terrible. I know Supergirl's not necessarily a complex role, but still, she makes Helen Slater look positively Shakespearian.

I have to disagree with the commenters though. I don't think it'd be a good idea to introduce Supergirl in a Superman movie. Not in the least because I don't think they'd do it well. I actually liked Superman Returns, mind, but I really don't trust their capability for introducing a character like Kara. The movies always seemed to play up the alienated orphan aspect of Superman a lot more (in contrast to say Smallville or Lois and Clark which plays up the Earth-raised aspect and the Kents) and I think Kara would destablize that. Also, look how well Superman Returns introduced a Superboy concept, so to speak, with Jason...

I think it'd be better to just make a Supergirl movie. It's not like we're talking about Power Girl here. Even non-comic book fans have some vague idea who Supergirl is and recognize her as the cousin of Superman. She really doesn't need that much explanation besides that. And this way, annoying fanatic fans can decide for themselves whether they want to acknowledge she exists. :-P

One thing though, I really hope they strengthen the whole secret identity aspect of the character. Kara in the comics right now, at least as far as I've read, really doesn't seem to have a very strong one, and while a great many of my favorite comics characters have no secret ID, I think that can make a movie a bit more difficult. Secret identities help make superheroes relatable and unlike a comic in which we have issue after issue to get to know characters, a movie's just an hour and a half. Secret identities let superheroes show, fairly quickly, sides that would take a couple of issues to see in a comic.

Either way, I definitely think a Supergirl movie would have a decent shot. I remember how many little girls I saw buying Supergirl merchandise when I worked in the toy store, there's clearly still a name recognition and market. I'd imagine they'd have to change the costume up though. The current one may work in a comic, but it seems like it'd look awfully slutty on a real girl.

I just really hope the Mischa Barton thing's just substance free speculation because while I'm sure the girl's very nice, and she's undoubtedly pretty, she acting is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Bleh.