Supergirl Makes Big Change To Kara's Origin And Doubles Down On Superman's Villainous Parents - Spoilers

Supergirl Makes Big Change To Kara's Origin And Doubles Down On Superman's Villainous Parents - Spoilers

Supergirl simplifies Kara Zor-El's origin story and makes some big changes to her past on Krypton. We're breaking down that and the DCU's decision to double down on Jor-El and Lara being villains.

By JoshWilding - Jun 25, 2026 08:06 AM EST
Filed Under: Supergirl

Supergirl makes some sweeping changes to the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic book, and ultimately has little in common with Tom King and Bilquis Evely's critically acclaimed series (beyond a few characters and Ruthye's mission of revenge).

On the page—and this is typically the case in Kara Zor-El's history—Argo City leaves Krypton before its destruction, sealed in a dome. The surviving Kryptonians don't exactly thrive, and the soil begins to turn into deadly Kryptonite. Ultimately, using some of his brother's designs to build an escape vessel, Supergirl's father, Zor-El, sends a teenage Kara to Earth.

The DCU makes a significant change to Kara's origin story, revealing that she was born in Argo City after Krypton exploded. Zor-El had managed to put a force field around the city, and it's his wife, Alura Zor-El, who, while pregnant, suggested they send their daughter to Earth, where she can join her cousin.

Zor-El is not a fan of the idea, arguing that he doesn't want to send his daughter to a planet where she's "some sort of God." This is a not-so-subtle reference to Superman's controversial reveal that Jor-El and Lara sent their son, Kal-El, to Earth to form a harem and repopulate the Kryptonian race as a God among men.

Kara's father clearly doesn't have the same outlook as his brother, but eventually concedes and agrees to send the grown-up Kara to Earth when it's clear that Argo City is doomed. However, by then, Supergirl has learned enough from her parents to know she has to do the right thing and be a good person.

With Supergirl, DC Studios has made it so that Kara is now younger than Superman, without any convoluted explanations about her being stuck in suspended animation. 

The DCU's Kara didn't know Kal-El as a baby, and grew up without ever meeting her cousin before he discovered her downed ship on Earth. It could be that DC Studios decided to simplify things, or that getting Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan to return as Jor-El and Lara was too expensive.

As for them being Omni-Man-style villains in the DCU, that's not something James Gunn is backing down from after Superman. Chances are, he has plans to expand on that in Man of Tomorrow, exploring a connection between Jor-El and Brainiac, perhaps. 

How do you feel about these changes to Supergirl's origin and DC further establishing Superman's parents as villains? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and stay tuned for more spoiler coverage.

About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
A lifelong comic book fan who grew up on Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the '90s, Josh Wilding has been contributing to ComicBookMovie.com since 2009.

While he's also written for websites like Batman-News, HeyUGuys, and WhatCulture, Josh is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic for CBM and the site's #1 contributor with nearly two decades of experience covering film and TV news (including interviews with Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Gary Oldman, Halle Berry, Jon Bernthal, Tom Welling, and hundreds more).

Based in the UK with his wife, Josh is also an avid WWE and Formula 1 fan and writes about those passions on CBM's sister sites, TheRingReport.com and FullThrottleHQ.com. Favourite superhero? Spider-Man. Favourite pro wrestler? CM Punk. Favourite F1 driver? Max Verstappen.
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HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 6/25/2026, 8:45 AM
Way to destroy the Superman Supergirl family dynamic. I can't wait to see what he does with Batman.

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SpideyPuffsMJ
SpideyPuffsMJ - 6/25/2026, 8:49 AM
@HashTagSwagg - “Damian Wayne is my favorite Robin”
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 6/25/2026, 9:10 AM
@HashTagSwagg -
Bucky74
Bucky74 - 6/25/2026, 9:27 AM
@HashTagSwagg - on top of that, it creates a huge plot hole. Why didn’t Kara ever tell Clark his parents were evil despots who wanted him to rule Earth and take sex slaves to repopulate? Wow, even typing that I find it incredible that WB allowed Gunn to go that insane and stupid route
TDKRnry88
TDKRnry88 - 6/25/2026, 9:30 AM
@Bucky74 - Did Zor-El tell Kara that her uncle & aunt were evil? We don't know this, so it's not a plot hole. We only ever see him say he disagrees with his brother's stance to Alura.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 6/25/2026, 9:47 AM
@TDKRnry88 - Zor-El: "Daughter, I am sending you to the planet where your psychotic uncle and his psychotic wife have sent there child in the hopes that he will eventually conquer it but I don't see how that information could possibly by relevant to you so I'm just gonna leave that part out and hope for the best".
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Bucky74
Bucky74 - 6/25/2026, 9:49 AM
@TDKRnry88 - You’d think something that huge would come up at some point, no? And it would make sense that they’d think Clark already is ruling there with his countless hybrid children before they sent her and warn her. Gunn’s insane decision creates a lot of problems he didn’t need aside from the obvious
Bucky74
Bucky74 - 6/25/2026, 9:52 AM
@HashTagSwagg - Exactly. And he’d assume Kal was already ruling and had tons of sex slaves at that point and that he’d maybe want to bed Kara (Tygarian style) to keep the Kryptonian blood line pure. Gunn’s degeneracy creates a ton of plot holes and destroys the pure character of Superman in the process
newhire13
newhire13 - 6/25/2026, 9:54 AM
@Bucky74 - You’re assuming she knows that, the conversation was between he and his wife, not him and her.
Bucky74
Bucky74 - 6/25/2026, 9:55 AM
@newhire13 - But there is no logical reason he wouldn’t tell her, at least to even warn her. Maybe Kal would want to use her to keep the bloodline pure if something. It makes zero sense she wouldn’t know
newhire13
newhire13 - 6/25/2026, 9:56 AM
@Bucky74 - Except it’s not a problem lol. Out of desperation he sent her somewhere where she would survive. I can understand not liking the story idea but you not liking it doesn’t make it a story problem lol.
Nomi
Nomi - 6/25/2026, 9:58 AM
@HashTagSwagg - he kills every villain he faces
bobevanz
bobevanz - 6/25/2026, 9:59 AM
@HashTagSwagg - the dynamic is just fine
Bucky74
Bucky74 - 6/25/2026, 10:08 AM
@newhire13 - Even desperate, you’d want to warn your kid if you were sending them to a place you thought was ruled by an evil despot cousin who was sent to rule and restore the Kryptonian blood line. He wouldn’t give her the heads up?
Patient2670
Patient2670 - 6/25/2026, 11:36 AM
@Bucky74 - Having not seen it yet, and not having all the information... I would think that if her parents believed that Kal El woas already ruling Earth, that would be a positive for them. Even if they thought he was wrong, or a dictator of some sorts, Kara would likely have some ammount of safety or be welcomed by family. Even though Jor El and Lara were mal intended, they did keep talking about love for their son. As wrong in their execution as they were, their desire to protect and preserve the Kryptoonian people, would indicate Kara's safety.
TDKRnry88
TDKRnry88 - 6/25/2026, 12:18 PM
@Bucky74 - That is a good point. I dislike the Jor-El stuff because it makes him & Lara maybe marginally better than General Zod.
TheJackAss
TheJackAss - 6/25/2026, 1:22 PM
@newhire13 - The Box Office will say its a problem
TheJackAss
TheJackAss - 6/25/2026, 1:23 PM
@bobevanz - The Box Office will say other wise
dragon316
dragon316 - 6/25/2026, 3:51 PM
@Bucky74 - it’s not like marvel have plot holes with there characters why Bucky be called white wolf , how gamura know location of last stone bot thanos , how thanos know alll locations of stones but one why thanos save gamura and many others
Bucky74
Bucky74 - 6/25/2026, 4:12 PM
@TDKRnry88 - It makes them almost the same
Matchesz
Matchesz - 6/25/2026, 8:49 AM
I remember when Russel Crowe played Jor El and said the S on the suit stood for hope. Gunn said he had a better idea lol
newhire13
newhire13 - 6/25/2026, 9:58 AM
@Matchesz - It definitely stands for hope, because Superman stands for it and that’s his symbol.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 6/25/2026, 8:51 AM
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Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 6/25/2026, 9:07 AM
@HashTagSwagg - Gotta admit, Sasha has the better Oh face.

User Comment Image
User Comment Image
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 6/25/2026, 9:13 AM
@Feralwookiee - User Comment Image
TDKRnry88
TDKRnry88 - 6/25/2026, 9:31 AM
@HashTagSwagg - Nah. Sasha is better-looking, but there was barely a character. Milly had a character arc. Milly > Sasha as Kara Zor-El.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 6/25/2026, 9:37 AM
@TDKRnry88 - Flash's Supergirl (while not in looks) is a hell of lot closer in spirit to the comics Supergirl that what Gunn shit out. She is shown to actually give a shit about Clark.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 6/25/2026, 10:28 AM
@TDKRnry88 - yeah I was gonna say this is just Action Comics #252
dragon316
dragon316 - 6/25/2026, 3:53 PM
@HashTagSwagg - all except for supergirl long blonde hair looks are not everything kang in books is white but movie he’s black
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 6/25/2026, 4:06 PM
@dragon316 - Kang was shit in those films though. Be it the actor or he way he was written, or a combinataion of both.
Sominan
Sominan - 6/25/2026, 8:57 AM
The kryptonians aren't villains. They just want their kid to survive and continue their race and prosper.

That said, it is about time it got spelled out to audiences that only the powers are what come from Krypton for Superman, and that the morality, costume, S shield, Superman persona, and mild mannered reporter disguise all come from being Clark first, which comes from the Kents.

I am very happy Gunn has finally got that essential point of the character right and laid to rest the space Jesus messiah "sent to earth to be its savior" rather than being sent to save himself nonsense. This is like a bucket of cold water on snyderbots and the over emphasis on the alien aspect that has been done for decades, and I fully support it.
Ojeet78
Ojeet78 - 6/25/2026, 10:17 AM
@Sominan - I liked the birthright origin where they simply send their child away to save him . No grand design or symbolism . I...just wish Gunn didnt have to double down on the Els being imperialists. Even if he did I wish he had filmed it to be more ominous and foreboding than goofy or weird. It made little sense that they said all that heartfelt stuff to their infant only to follow it up with that kind of rhetoric. Hopefully we get to see more of Clark in the next one.
Sominan
Sominan - 6/25/2026, 10:30 AM
@Ojeet78 - Birthright is the start of the overemphasis on Krypton nonsense canonically in the comics, where the S stopped being an S that Clark created to stand for Superman and became the "hope glyph" symbol of Krypton that coincidentally resembled an S all because Mark Waid sees Krypton as the most important part of Superman and wanted to ape the Reeve film where Jor El has an S shield because actor Marlon Brando insisted on wearing it, even tho it made no sense for it to be on Krypton.
Sominan
Sominan - 6/25/2026, 10:31 AM
@Ojeet78 - I don't see how their message is contradictory. They wish their son well then say they hope he continues their lineage.
Ojeet78
Ojeet78 - 6/25/2026, 10:45 AM
@Sominan - Yeah i dont care for the hope and glyph stuff either. Loved what he did with the Kents, the Els stuff didnt work for me cause i didn't buy it at all. It sounded comedic cause they were saying stuff like form a harem and take over simple minded earthlings and then the crowd immediately turns on him. Hilarious. He just saved a squirrel in front of you all and this is how you respond. My suspension of disbelief could not carry me through this part. It was just very unintentionally goofy.
THEKENDOMAN
THEKENDOMAN - 6/25/2026, 9:00 AM
People are acting like every [frick]ing change from the comics is automatically a bad one.

Comic book characters have been rebooted, reimagined and rewritten for the better part of 90 [frick]ing years. If every film copied every panel, we’d all be sitting here complaining there’s nothing new.

As for Jor-El and Lara… I actually [frick]ing like the idea. It’s bold, it’s different, and it gives Superman and Kara something to wrestle with beyond just “our parents were perfect.” That’s a far more interesting [frick]ing conflict if it’s handled properly.

And Kara having a different origin? Fine by me. If it streamlines the mythology for a wider audience and still respects the core of who she is, then I’m all for it. The heart of the character matters a hell of a lot more than every [frick]ing detail matching the comics.

I’ll judge whether it works after I’ve watched the [frick]ing film, not because someone tells me it dared to change a few pages from a comic.

#DCAlliance

For [frick]s Sake
TDKRnry88
TDKRnry88 - 6/25/2026, 9:34 AM
@THEKENDOMAN - Actually... the movie used the original 1958 origin mixed with Woman of Tomorrow. In her first appearance, it's stated that Kara was born after Krypton exploded. I just read it on Sunday. Her being alive to witness Krypton's destruction was a Post-Crisis thing.
clarksupermankent
clarksupermankent - 6/25/2026, 9:40 AM
@THEKENDOMAN - change everything from the comics to the film adaptation, and that's what gets you interested... Nuff said
newhire13
newhire13 - 6/25/2026, 10:00 AM
@THEKENDOMAN - It’s not even that big of a change, Jor-El and Lara sending Kal-El to Earth because he’d have the advantage and could “shape them into proper Kryptonian ways” is from the Man of Steel reboot in the late 80s.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 6/25/2026, 10:30 AM
@THEKENDOMAN - This is her original origin.
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