Warner Bros. Animation puts the spotlight on Supergirl next month with the premiere of its latest feature, Legion of Super-Heroes. The film marks Kara Zor-El’s first appearance in DC’s Tomorrowverse continuity. And while her story has been told and re-told countless times over the years, it seems as if her new adventure examines her outsider status from a different perspective. For that, we can thank screenwriter Josie Campbell, who recently spoke with ComicBookMovie.com about how she breathed new life into the Girl of Steel.
The movie transports Supergirl (Meg Donnelly) to the 31st century, where she attends the Legion Academy at the behest of Superman (Darren Criss) and Batman (Jensen Ackles). By and large, the story is driven forward by Kara struggling to adjust to her new life on Earth. To an extent, her famous cousin can relate to this, as they both come from the same destroyed planet. But Campbell notes how Kara got the shorter end of the stick.
“Superman is the immigrant story, but Supergirl is the refugee story,” explained Campbell. “Unlike Clark, she had a whole life because she was a teenager and a young woman when Krypton blew up. She has this expectation of what her life was going to be life, and she had her own dreams and goals. Then, all of that was literally wiped away in a blaze of light.”
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She added, “To me, it made so much sense for this to be a story of finding a place to belong and a place with a newfound family where you’re accepted. She is, in so many ways, the most alien member of the Super-family. Clark is the mid-Western boy, but Kara is Kryptonian. It made all the sense in the world for her to be a fish out of water and for her struggle in this movie to be, ‘My world is gone. Where do I fit in now?’”
Based on this, it sounds like the film will spend a lot of time highlighting Kara’s vulnerable side. However, it was also important for Campbell to balance this with glimpses at the character’s resolve, which finally emerges during her training with other heroes in the future.
“Kara is such a multifaceted character because she’s got that grief and the connection with her mother,” said Campbell. “It would be traumatizing for anybody, but she’s also got this spark of resilience. And a lot of humor and heart. The fact you go through something so traumatizing and tragic and come out the other side and say, ‘Well, I’m going to help people with powers I just got and a cousin I never knew I had.’ That takes a lot of guts!”
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“For her, there is trauma and tragedy,” she continued. “But also a lot of fun, especially when we get to the 31st Century and see the funny, resilient person that she is. It comes out through her interactions with the Legion Academy, the Legionnaires, and Brainiac 5.”
Legion of Super-Heroes will be released on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 7.
Are you excited to see Kara’s journey play out onscreen? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1: Millennium
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