Ms. Marvel Star Iman Vellani’s Supergirl Review Confirms What’s Wrong With The DC Movie
DC’s Supergirl movie had its fair share of issues that contributed to the film failing at the box office, and Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani just honed in on the biggest factor behind why the latest DC Universe movie was not successful. James Gunn’s DCU came out of the gate with the perfect movie. That was 2025’s Superman, written and directed by Gunn.
In fact, prior to Supergirl, all the DCU’s releases had been directly developed by Gunn. The animated series Creature Commandos, the live-action DC showPeacemaker season 2, and David Corenswet’s Superman movie were all met with overwhelmingly positive reception. Among them, the worst Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score was Superman‘s at 83%. As for their audience score, the lowest was a 79% tie between Peacemaker and Creature Commandos.
Surprisingly, Supergirl came in lower than all of those DCU releases in both metrics. The Milly Alcock DC movie, which was directed by Craig Gillespie, currently stands at a disappointing 52% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and a DCU low 73% audience score. That translated into Supergirl‘s box office. The 2026 DC movie failed to get close to Superman‘s $618.7 million gross.
Before he was Clark Kent, Superman was born Kal-El on a distant planet doomed to destruction. His parents Jor-El and Lara placed him in a rocket ship as an infant, sending him across the cosmos to Earth. What is the name of Superman’s home planet?
✓ Correct! Krypton was a scientifically advanced planet that exploded due to its unstable core. Jor-El, Superman’s father, was the only scientist who foresaw the catastrophe and managed to save his son by launching him toward Earth in a small spacecraft.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Krypton. Thanagar is Hawkman’s homeworld, Apokolips is Darkseid’s domain, and Oa is the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps. Krypton’s destruction is the defining event of Superman’s origin story.
02
Superman’s greatest love is a fearless, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who works alongside Clark Kent at the Daily Planet. She’s known for her relentless pursuit of the truth and for being one of the few people who sees both the hero and the man. Who is she?
✓ Correct! Lois Lane has been Superman’s primary love interest since her debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938. A brilliant investigative reporter, she’s as iconic as Superman himself — tough, smart, and unafraid to chase the biggest stories in Metropolis.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Lois Lane. Diana Prince is Wonder Woman, Lana Lang is Clark’s high school sweetheart from Smallville, and Cat Grant is a gossip columnist at the Daily Planet. Lois Lane is Superman’s iconic partner.
03
Despite being nearly invulnerable under Earth’s yellow sun, Superman has one famous weakness — a radioactive mineral from the remnants of his destroyed homeworld. Exposure to it drains his powers and can even kill him. What is this substance called?
✓ Correct! Kryptonite is the irradiated remnants of planet Krypton. Green Kryptonite is the most common and deadly variety, but there are many other types — Red Kryptonite causes unpredictable behavior, Gold Kryptonite can permanently strip his powers, and Blue Kryptonite affects Bizarro.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Kryptonite. Vibranium is from Marvel’s Black Panther universe, Nth Metal is tied to Hawkman, and Red Sun Ore isn’t a real DC substance. Kryptonite is the iconic green-glowing mineral that is Superman’s ultimate weakness.
04
In 1978, a then-unknown actor donned the cape and made the world believe a man could fly. His portrayal of Superman became the gold standard for superhero films and he starred in four Superman movies. Who is this legendary actor?
✓ Correct! Christopher Reeve’s portrayal in Superman: The Movie (1978) is widely regarded as the definitive live-action Superman. His performance perfectly balanced the heroic confidence of Superman with the endearing clumsiness of Clark Kent, setting the template every Superman actor has followed since.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Christopher Reeve. Henry Cavill played Superman in the DCEU starting with Man of Steel (2013), Brandon Routh starred in Superman Returns (2006), and Tom Welling played young Clark in TV’s Smallville. Reeve was the original big-screen Superman.
05
Superman’s greatest enemy isn’t a superpowered alien — he’s a brilliant, ruthless human billionaire who believes Superman is a threat to humanity’s potential. This bald-headed genius has been Superman’s archenemy for over 80 years. Who is he?
✓ Correct! Lex Luthor is the ultimate foil to Superman — where Superman represents hope and selflessness, Luthor represents ambition and ego. Despite having no superpowers, his genius-level intellect and vast resources make him Superman’s most persistent and dangerous adversary.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Lex Luthor. Brainiac is an alien android who collects cities, Darkseid is the god-like ruler of Apokolips, and Doomsday is the monster who famously killed Superman. But Lex Luthor is the definitive archenemy — Superman’s dark mirror.
06
After crash-landing on Earth as a baby, Kal-El was found and adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, a kind farming couple. They raised him with strong moral values in a small rural town. Where did Clark Kent grow up?
✓ Correct! Smallville, Kansas is the quintessential American small town where Jonathan and Martha Kent raised Clark with heartland values of honesty, compassion, and humility. It’s the foundation of who Superman is — not the powers from Krypton, but the character instilled by his Kansas parents.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Smallville, Kansas. Gotham is Batman’s city, Metropolis is where Clark moves as an adult to work at the Daily Planet, and Coast City is Green Lantern’s home. Smallville is where the Kents raised Clark on their farm.
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As Clark Kent, Superman disguises himself as a mild-mannered reporter working at Metropolis’s most famous newspaper, alongside Lois Lane and photographer Jimmy Olsen. Their editor-in-chief Perry White runs the newsroom. What is the name of this newspaper?
✓ Correct! The Daily Planet, with its iconic globe on the rooftop, is one of the most recognizable fictional newspapers in pop culture. Working there gives Clark Kent both a cover identity and a way to stay informed about threats to the city and the world.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is the Daily Planet. The Daily Bugle is Spider-Man’s Marvel universe newspaper, the Metropolis Star and Gotham Gazette are lesser DC publications. The Daily Planet — with its spinning globe — is Superman’s journalistic home.
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This Kryptonian military commander was banished to the Phantom Zone for treason before Krypton’s destruction. He escaped and came to Earth seeking vengeance, famously demanding that others “Kneel before” him. His iconic portrayal by Terence Stamp cemented him in pop culture. Who is this villain?
✓ Correct! General Zod is one of Superman’s most terrifying foes because he has all of Superman’s powers but none of his morality. Terence Stamp’s portrayal in Superman II (1980) made “Kneel before Zod” one of the most quoted villain lines in film history. Michael Shannon later reimagined the role in Man of Steel (2013).
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is General Zod. Bizarro is a flawed clone of Superman, Parasite drains powers through touch, and Metallo is a cyborg with a Kryptonite heart. General Zod is the Kryptonian military leader whose cry of “Kneel before Zod!” echoes through decades of Superman stories.
Mission Complete Your Kryptonian Record
/ 8
Are you the Man of Steel — or still stuck in a phone booth?
Supergirl only brought in $126.3 million worldwide. Based on the DC movie’s high $170 million budget, Supergirl needed to finish its theatrical run between $340 million and $425 million just to break even. As a result, it lost DC Studios a lot of money. Now, the main criticism of DC’s Supergirl has been perfectly put into perspective by a Marvel star.
Iman Vellani Agress With The Biggest Supergirl Movie Criticism
Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel
Iman Vellani became famous worldwide not only for playing Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel in the character’s MCU TV show on Disney+ and in The Marvels, but also due to how she is a comic book super fan. Vellani is not only knowledgeable about Marvel, but the comics medium as a whole, with the actress having since penned both Ms. Marvel comics and her own creator-owned work through the recently released Chachu at Image Comics. That is why her review of Supergirl, which was shared on her recent appearance on the Revenge Ofpodcast.
While Vellani refrained from directly making negative comments about the new DC movie, the actress made it clear that due to her love for the original Tom King comic that Alcock’s movie is based on, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, she was not exactly thrilled by the film’s adaptation of that story. She praised King’s book, calling it, “the greatest thing I’ve ever read.” Vellani also said she does not feel like seeing every comic she loves adapted as a movie.
She wanted to give the DCU Supergirl movie a chance on its own, but could not help but compare it to Woman of Tomorrow. Based on the way Vellani talks about the comic and how she keeps commenting on how hard it is to make a movie and that it is a miracle that any film gets made, it is clear that she felt Supergirl did not live up to its source material, and that is the biggest criticism fans have had with it.
Supergirl’s Differences From The Woman Of Tomorrow Comics Impacted Its Box Office
Sure, DC’s Supergirl movie keeps the broad strokes of Woman of Tomorrow‘s story, like Kara’s personality, how Kara and Ruthye embark on a galaxy-wide quest to find Krem of the Yellow Hills after Krypto gets hurt, Supergirl’s darker backstory compared to classic comics, and so on. However, there are some major departures from the source material. For instance, by having Supergirl kill Krem at the end of the movie, which she did not do in the comics, messes with both Kara and Ruthye’s character arcs.
By killing Krem, Supergirl succumbs to violence, instead of showing she became a symbol of hope by rising beyond her dark origin story. As for Ruthye, instead of keeping the choice not to kill Krem hers, like in the comic, which signaled a major act of growth and that she would not lower darken her soul because of another’s actions, the movie merely had Kara take over for her and murder Krem to protect Ruthye, instead of the latter’s reaffirmation of strength by herself.
Additionally, Krem’s new design was that of a generic space villain meant to be scary, but who ended up looking stupid. The movie was also largely uninteresting visually, which is a shame, as Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow has some of DC’s most eye-popping art as the duo traverses the galaxy, something Vellani also agreed with. Supergirl being a lesser version of its source material ended up impacting its box office negatively.
