Why Not Be Super, Girl?

Uff. Comic book movies frustrate once more.

Here, a loud, rambunctious, action-filled trailer for Supergirl:

A tad loud for my tastes, but okay. If they want to visit the Superman family through the James Gunn/ Guardians of the Galaxy lens, that is fine. Not what I prefer. However, they are in charge so they get to play how they like. Plus, they based it on a very popular comic book. Again, it is not my favorite Supergirl story, but they are in charge. Not me.

I go into the theater Friday. I watch the movie. And it was fine. Overly-explode-y. The Krypton/ Argo scenes added heart. The actors did their jobs well enough. Kudos for letting the lead have some emotional baggage that she was still working through. The movie only failed me in the last ten minutes.

For all the aspiration that the Superman crests instills… They went out of their way to make “Do not seek revenge” a plot thread. And then Supergirl stops the other guy from killing the villain. Only to do it herself. Out of revenge.

Sigh.

“Oh, is that why you didn’t like the comic?” If only. Fun fact: The comic was on my side. The comic punished the villain, but did not murder him.

This is not the first time DC movies have pulled this. Less than three years ago, we were presented with Blue Beetle. An adventure where the hero struggles to keep the alien technology at bay and delivers the message of not killing… Only to have his family turn out to be a bunch of murdering, weapon-lovers. Another tale that starts off with a moral precept and then discards it entirely.

Once again, I return to my stance on adapted media: The folks get to make the movies they want. I do not have to watch them. I do not have to sign up for this version of Supergirl. They can have their little party. I still have the comics that I like on my shelf. To each their own. On my screen at home, we stick with a happier, more helpful Supergirl.