When DC Studios announced Supergirl as part of the "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters" slate, James Gunn singled out Tom King and Bilquis Evely's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow as one of the comics that would shape the new DCU. Describing it as a major inspiration, he set expectations that fans would finally see one of DC's best modern stories brought faithfully to the big screen.
Nobody expected a page-for-page adaptation. Comic book movies have always made changes, and sometimes those changes improve the source material. However, when you repeatedly point to a particular story as your blueprint—our first look at Supergirl was literally Milly Alcock reading the graphic novel—fans naturally expect the heart of that story to survive the transition.
Unfortunately, while Supergirl borrows the comic's premise, characters, and broad narrative beats, several of its biggest changes fundamentally weaken what made Woman of Tomorrow so special.
Before production began, Gunn repeatedly praised Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, encouraging fans to read it while describing it as the basis for Kara Zor-El's cinematic debut.
The subtitle was dropped, and the finished film often feels like a much more conventional superhero adventure. Supergirl and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow have little in common, but beyond the story (and the baffling decision to have the Maid of Might embrace revenge, which goes against the comic's core message), the murky colour palette is a similarly problematic issue.
In the comic, Evely's breathtaking artwork embraces sweeping alien landscapes, cosmic wonder, and dreamlike worlds that make every planet feel distinct. It's simultaneously beautiful and melancholic, creating a fantasy-western atmosphere unlike almost anything else DC has published.
While there are flashes of vibrant imagery throughout Kara's DCU journey, much of the film leans into greys, washed-out environments, and subdued lighting that makes many locations blend together rather than stand apart. Considering how visually distinctive the source material is, it's surprising that one of its greatest strengths wasn't embraced more fully.
The blame for that may lie with filmmaker Craig Gillespie, who recently told Rolling Stone:
"The interesting thing is, I didn’t go back and look at anything of Supergirl before the meeting. I just read [Ana’s] script, and I put together this 120-page visual deck of what I wanted the world to be just off of the script. I didn’t even look at Tom King’s comic. I just wanted to do something that I was excited about. It was very gritty and dark, and you could just feel the dirt and the grime, and just being on the fringe of this alien world with the poverty and the crime. I went down this rabbit hole of what that visual idea was to me. And then also, literally the first thing in the meeting was, 'I don’t want her to put on the superhero outfit for long as possible...until she’s emotionally ready to take that on.' And they signed off on all of it."
Judging by those comments, the director was clearly not a good fit for this specific Supergirl movie, but he doesn't deserve the lion's share of blame. Ultimately, Gunn signed off on his and writer Ana Nogueira's vision and, in doing so, one of the best modern comic books was butchered.
There are definitely issues that began at the script stage, and while Gunn was impressed enough by Nogueira's work to hire her for Teen Titans and Wonder Woman, it's currently hard to understand what he saw that fans and critics haven't. Then again, the same could be said for The Flash creative team, Andy Muschietti and Christina Hodson, currently developing The Brave and the Bold.
Whether these changes ultimately derail the DCU remains to be seen, but they do raise an important concern. Gunn built enormous goodwill by promising a filmmaker-driven universe that would respect the source material while adapting it for the screen. That's the one big mistake mentioned in the headline.
If one of the very first projects in that shared universe is marketed as a faithful adaptation of a beloved comic only to significantly alter its themes, visuals, and ending, fans will begin to question those promises. Trust is difficult to earn and easy to lose, particularly among comic book readers who invested in the DCU because Gunn championed stories like Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
You know what's really worrying, though? Next up is Lanterns, which swaps out colourful space battles for a grounded, murky tribute to True Detective. Then, Clayface will turn its title character into a horror movie monster in a Gotham City without Batman. It seems Gunn loves comics, just not enough to adapt them in a way that most fans seem to want and expect...