Turning Supergirl (1984) From Rotten To Certified Fresh | Kinolime Fix It Ep 2
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Show Notes
Supergirl (1984) is one of DC Comics' biggest flops, in this video we ask the question: can it be fixed?
With James Gunn's new DC Universe kicking off and Supergirl now on the big screen again, starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, we thought it was the perfect time to revisit the original Supergirl (1984) and see what went so wrong.
In this episode of Kinolime Fix-It, creative executive and screenplay reader Meara Owen-Griffiths breaks down why the original film starring Helen Slater never reached its full potential. We're not looking at budget, or special effects, we're looking at the screenplay itself.
Full Transcript
[00:00]
Hello and welcome to the KinoLine Podcast, I'm Mira, and today we're fixing Supergirl.
[00:09]
With Supergirl having another chance at the big screen now in 2026, I wanted to look
[00:14]
back at the original version and dare to ask the question, how did they get it so wrong?
[00:19]
Back in 84 Supergirl was unleashed upon the world and went down as one of the biggest
[00:22]
superhero disaster classes of all time, and that's really saying something.
[00:26]
This world will keep her forever.
[00:31]
As a screenwriter myself, a script doctor and a creative executive here at KinoLine,
[00:35]
I read thousands, thousands of screenplays, and as we always say, the screenplay is the
[00:39]
heart of the movie.
[00:41]
If you have a bulletproof screenplay, chances are you'll have a good movie.
[00:45]
If you're script sucks, you're really what you're asking for is a miracle.
[00:49]
So for the purposes of this video, we're going to focus entirely story, narrative, character.
[00:53]
Let's treat Supergirl like it's going into production next week.
[00:56]
We've not got much time.
[00:58]
The script lands on my desk for a final polish with a week to go.
[01:01]
Oh boy.
[01:02]
My goal won't be to tear it apart completely and rebuild it from the ground up as appealing
[01:07]
as enticing as that may sound.
[01:09]
My aim is to look at the framework that already exists and ask the question, how could this
[01:13]
be strengthened while remaining fundamentally parallel to the original story?
[01:17]
And vitally today we're going to be looking at how character always drives story.
[01:21]
Because if even your protagonist doesn't know what they're trying to achieve, why the
[01:24]
hell should anybody at home care?
[01:26]
So today we're fixing Supergirl.
[01:31]
Getting general audiences to take Supergirl seriously has always been an uphill battle.
[01:35]
The character is by design, an offshoot of a far more famous hero, an extension of Superman
[01:39]
Cal-El's story, rather than a standalone creation.
[01:43]
The most significant thing writers ever did with the comic book character of Cara L is
[01:46]
Killer Off in 1985, just a year after the 1984 Supergirl movie bombed.
[01:51]
That reality still hangs over the upcoming 2026 adaptation.
[01:55]
In the 80s, audiences were only deemed deserving of Supergirl after Superman had already had
[01:59]
lined an entire trilogy of films.
[02:01]
The assumption seemed to be that audiences first needed years of investment in the Man
[02:05]
of Steel before they'd follow his cousin into her own adventure.
[02:08]
Today audiences work very differently.
[02:10]
Yet she still remains an afterthought.
[02:12]
The new Supergirl is arriving after just a single film, Superman 2025, suggesting a level
[02:17]
of confidence that simply didn't exist for decades ago.
[02:21]
But it's still piggybacking off the first century success.
[02:24]
Advance material does not seem confident in marking itself as a solo venture.
[02:28]
The Caped Crusader himself and Crypto, the annoying Superdog, are set to appear to ensure
[02:33]
return on investment.
[02:35]
This is the third attempt at a live-action feature film Supergirl, and we've also had three
[02:39]
live-action television versions, five really if you include unsuccessful pilots.
[02:44]
Maybe if more of these adaptations had resonated with audiences, DC would be a little bit more
[02:48]
confident in this new entry.
[02:50]
Today let's take a look at the original attempt and investigate why it failed so badly,
[02:54]
grossing $14 million against a $35 million budget, boasting a $4.4 on IMDB, and a measly
[03:02]
20% on Rotten Tomatoes.
[03:04]
That's Rotten Tomatoes for you Americans out there.
[03:07]
In case you haven't seen it for a while, or don't want to subject yourself to the film
[03:09]
at all, here's a brief summary.
[03:12]
When a powerful energy source known as the Omega Headron, which I'm going to mispronounce
[03:15]
a lot, is accidentally lost from the idyllic safe haven of Argo City, Cars or L travels
[03:20]
to Earth to recover it.
[03:22]
Adopting the identity of Lindellie, she enrolls at a girl's school while searching for the
[03:26]
missing artifact.
[03:27]
The Omega Headron is fallen into the hands of Selena, an ambitious witch uses its power
[03:31]
to pursue wealth, influence, and romance.
[03:35]
Selena's magic grows increasingly dangerous, car embraces her destiny as Supergirl, and
[03:40]
battles dark sorcery, monstrous creations, and supernatural forces.
[03:44]
Ultimately she defeats Selena, restores the Omega Headron to Argo City, and returns home,
[03:50]
as celebrated hero.
[03:51]
Immediately, Supergirl feels less like a superhero movie and more like a fantasy epic, and that's
[03:56]
not a bad idea.
[03:57]
In fact, it's probably the best thing the script has going for it.
[04:00]
The problem is that the concept is far stronger than the execution.
[04:03]
At its core, the story revolves around a mystical artifact being lost across time and
[04:07]
space, prompting a quest to recover it before disaster strikes.
[04:10]
That's classic fantasy territory, countless fantasy stories have built entire worlds around
[04:15]
that premise, and managed to make them compelling.
[04:17]
Whereas the Omega Headron's purpose is nebulous, it's variable, and it's uninteresting.
[04:23]
Supergirl is attempting something remarkably similar, yet it never commits to the genre's
[04:27]
strengths.
[04:28]
The fantasy quest, the magical maguffin, and the otherworldly setting are all lost to
[04:32]
familiar environments that just feel like plot engines.
[04:35]
In fantasy, we see ordinary heroes venturing to exciting but dangerous new environments.
[04:40]
In Supergirl, we see a near godlike hero venturing to stuffy boarding school and a local
[04:46]
fairground.
[04:49]
The biggest problem with Supergirl is its characterization, and specifically cars.
[04:54]
Her motivation seemed to undulate from scene to scene, leaving the audiences with little
[04:58]
sense of what she actually wants.
[05:00]
At first, she's pursuing the lost Omega Headron.
[05:03]
Alright fine.
[05:04]
Then she's trying to blend into human society, but it's never entirely clear why.
[05:08]
She has no reason to hide or blend in, doesn't need to learn human ways, there's absolutely
[05:12]
nothing to stop her kicking earth stores down and taking what she needs.
[05:17]
This happens, or more accurately, does not, because the plot insists upon it, and the
[05:21]
producers want some half-baked romance in there.
[05:24]
By this point, the film has accumulated plenty of activities for car to do during her
[05:28]
stay on earth, but very little, in the way of a coherent internal journey.
[05:32]
She has goals, but no overarching objective that ties them together.
[05:36]
So let's zoom out for a moment.
[05:38]
The very existence of Argosity, this refuge built by survivors of planet Krypton after
[05:43]
its collapse.
[05:44]
It feels like it defies the logic of Superman.
[05:47]
He's the last of his people, gifted with these extraordinary powers he must learn to understand
[05:51]
all by himself.
[05:52]
And that falls flat if his kin are living in this magical utopia with in reachable distance.
[05:58]
If we begin by reimagining Argosity as effectively a leaky bomb shelter with dwindling power and
[06:03]
resources, this necessitates some courageous individual to brave dangerous space travel
[06:08]
to find a solution.
[06:10]
Immediately, the story has a big, hero-shaped hole right in the middle of it.
[06:14]
A rather elegant solution to this issue would be to give Kara a clear emotional need before
[06:19]
she ever departs for earth.
[06:21]
Imagine a version of Argosity where Calais exploits have become the stuff of legend.
[06:26]
Superman is held up as this ideal Kryptonian, brave, selfless, heroic.
[06:31]
This addresses Kara as an extension of her cousin rather than avoiding that issue.
[06:36]
Kara idolizes him and dreams of following in his footsteps, but the society around her
[06:40]
refuses to take her seriously.
[06:42]
She's young, she's ambitious, eager to contribute, yet constantly patronized by those
[06:47]
in authority.
[06:48]
No matter how capable she proves herself to be, she's always kept on a short leash.
[06:53]
This backward, stubborn Argosity makes more sense in the utopia we're provided.
[06:58]
If it's populated by the survivors of Krypton's collapse, these are the same people who thought
[07:02]
their planet was too advanced to perish.
[07:05]
The colony should retain the same arrogance and regressive thinking.
[07:08]
Crucially, Kara needs to believe that these limitations are unique to Kryptonian society.
[07:13]
She assumes that once she leaves home, she'll finally be judged on her merits rather than
[07:17]
her gender or age.
[07:19]
On earth, she believes she can be appreciated.
[07:23]
That gives her a much stronger reason to journey to earth rather than simply trying to retrieve
[07:27]
a lost object.
[07:29]
Superman we're told is off-world on a peacekeeping mission, according to a convenient
[07:33]
news broadcast, but it would make more sense and for a more interesting character, if Kara
[07:38]
never intended to seek him out.
[07:40]
She's assured in her own ability to rectify the situation.
[07:44]
This Omega headron becomes the plot objective, but proving herself, making a name for herself
[07:48]
beyond being just Superman's cousin, becomes the emotional objective.
[07:53]
This also offers us a heavy dose of meta-carbon Terry, and now when Kara arrives on earth,
[07:58]
she soon discovers something unexpected.
[08:00]
The same prejudice is from back home, exists here too.
[08:04]
That single change immediately gives her more agency.
[08:07]
The story is no longer happening to Kara, it's happening because of Kara.
[08:11]
She's making choices.
[08:13]
Now when she arrives on earth, she encounters a far more interesting obstacle than just
[08:17]
a supervillain.
[08:18]
She discovers that the social attitudes she thought were unique to home are alive and
[08:22]
well.
[08:23]
The same dismissiveness, the same condescension, the same tendency for people to underestimate
[08:28]
her.
[08:29]
And unlike the villains in a typical superhero film, these aren't problems she can solve
[08:33]
with heat vision or flight.
[08:35]
She cannot punch society's ails into submission.
[08:39]
This creates a meaningful distinction between Kara and Superman.
[08:42]
Superman's story is often revolve around the question of how a godlike figure should
[08:46]
use his immense power.
[08:48]
Kara's story becomes about confronting problems that power alone cannot solve.
[08:52]
No amount of strength can force people to respect you.
[08:55]
The Omega Headron therefore remains the external objective, the ticking clock that keeps the
[08:59]
plot moving along.
[09:01]
But internally, Kara is pursuing something much larger.
[09:05]
She begins the story believing that heroism means emulating Superman, saving the day,
[09:10]
recovering the artifact, and proving her worth to others through action.
[09:14]
This now gives Kara the basis for a genuine character arc.
[09:17]
She begins the film trying to emulate her cousin and ends it when she learns she has to
[09:21]
stop measuring herself against Superman and define heroism on her own terms.
[09:26]
Suddenly every strand of the story is pulling in the same direction which is what we want,
[09:31]
the quest, the coming of age narrative, and even the romance if we really have to, can
[09:36]
all become expressions of the same central theme.
[09:38]
Kara's struggle to define herself in a world determined to underestimate her.
[09:44]
That's the kind of internal journey the existing film is missing.
[09:47]
It doesn't require rebuilding the story from scratch, just give its protagonist a destination
[09:51]
beyond the very next scene.
[09:53]
Let's continue to do what we can to distinguish this story from a standard Superman fair.
[09:58]
Instead of trying to fit in at the daily planet, Lara is trying to fit in at this really,
[10:02]
really boring high school, a much less dynamic location with much more regimented rules.
[10:06]
That contributes very little beyond the odd, brief, fish out of water moments.
[10:12]
Consider if she comes to Earth seeking this artifact.
[10:14]
Perhaps she could position herself in an archaeology university or some kind of course or
[10:18]
some kind of internship which will help her locate the Omega Headron.
[10:22]
Where she ends up cannot be random.
[10:24]
It needs to directly correlate to her apparent rush to return the sphere to her home city.
[10:29]
It needs to be a step on that journey.
[10:31]
This would give her more specificity and drive verses in listing her in a regular school.
[10:36]
Again, this feels proactive.
[10:38]
School is a necessity.
[10:39]
University or applying for a job is a choice.
[10:42]
It ages her up.
[10:43]
It makes her feel less of a hapless teenager, more of a motivated character.
[10:47]
It even gives her a cooler outfit or disguise.
[10:50]
Imagine if instead of plaid skirts, she's got an Indiana Jones thing going on between
[10:53]
the red and blue.
[10:55]
Instead of classrooms and dorm rooms, she's on dig sites.
[10:58]
Leveraging her supervision to help find artifacts, trying to impress her archaeologists so she
[11:02]
can be included in the next dig, attempting to work her way up the corporate ladder.
[11:07]
We can keep the structure of a dismissive male teacher in Nigel and instead posit him
[11:11]
as the person who possesses key information on the Omega Headron's location.
[11:15]
Carmus appealed to him, but she has to work ten times as hard as her male colleagues
[11:19]
to impress Nigel.
[11:21]
Okay, next up we fix the antagonist.
[11:23]
The easy fix would be to scrap Selena entirely, replacing someone expressly created for the
[11:28]
film with one of Supergirl or Superman's existing rogue's gallery.
[11:33]
Failing that, it's imperative that the antagonist has values and objectives that counters
[11:37]
Supergirls directly.
[11:39]
Instead of Selena using the Omega Headron to make a man fall in love with her and turn
[11:44]
herself into some kind of princess, look, the less we say about that the better.
[11:48]
She could feasibly use it as a way that mirrors the collapse of the planet Krypton, a response
[11:52]
to oppression.
[11:54]
If Selena is someone who suffers one of the same film as Kara, she can respond to it in a
[11:58]
different way.
[11:59]
Rather than trying to change the system from within, she has reached her wit's end and
[12:03]
is determined to tear it down.
[12:05]
She turns to magic and the arcane to dismantle not to fix.
[12:08]
She therefore posits Kara and Selena as twin products of the same inherent issues and
[12:14]
neither can succeed in their goals while the other prevails.
[12:16]
He's really good at this, I can hear you thinking, but this shouldn't be complicated, this
[12:20]
should be basic fundamental rules of storytelling.
[12:24]
Kara crashes to Earth, Selena is a would be witch watching the stars for signs.
[12:28]
She sees the rough trajectory of the falling star and is seeking the crash site, leaving
[12:33]
this object from the heavens to be something that could grant her the power she desires.
[12:37]
Now both of them are seeking the same artifact, putting them at direct odds.
[12:42]
They are a collision course rather than Selena, conveniently bringing the Omega head drawn
[12:46]
to Kara in the current version.
[12:48]
These changes help fix another issue, the episodic nature of the script.
[12:52]
Now, it feels at times like this is a series of episodes mashed together into one overbloted
[12:57]
story.
[12:58]
Now we have a classic and therefore progression.
[13:01]
Kara comes to Earth through a tree of the artifact.
[13:03]
Great.
[13:04]
There's nowhere to begin, she has to seek it out, thus necessitating archaeology.
[13:08]
Great.
[13:09]
The existence of power structures necessitates her to conform and challenge them.
[13:13]
Great.
[13:14]
These same power structures oppress and radicalise Selena.
[13:18]
Now Selena and Kara can clash.
[13:20]
Perfect.
[13:21]
We still conclude with them doing battle and Kara's obvious victory, but it's much more
[13:25]
multifaceted now.
[13:27]
It's not just a fetch quest with a random love triangle thrown into the middle.
[13:31]
Speaking of which, let's address the elephant in the room.
[13:33]
The love triangle.
[13:34]
Again, this movie wouldn't have been greenlit in the early 80s without this being tacked
[13:38]
on, so I'm going to try and adapt it rather than just nuke it entirely.
[13:43]
Firstly, the love potion and coursing of Ethan needs to go.
[13:45]
We've learned our lessons.
[13:47]
It doesn't make sense in the first place.
[13:49]
Why is it a potion rather than a spell?
[13:51]
Why can it only last 24 hours?
[13:52]
Why?
[13:53]
Ethan is this shirtless, grounds keeper feels pretty objectified ironically and I would rather
[13:59]
cast him as a fellow archaeology student, a peer to Kara.
[14:03]
Someone who can acknowledge the discrimination she and Selena by extension face every day.
[14:09]
Someone who can see Kara in action become fond of her weird alien idiosyncrasies, someone
[14:14]
who can become appreciative of her strengths.
[14:17]
Build a natural chemistry rather than some cockamama magical of potion.
[14:21]
To protect his utility as connective tissue between Kara and Selena, maybe we could even
[14:25]
position him as someone previously, romantically, involved with Selena, but she lost him as
[14:29]
she became writer-clies, pushed him away.
[14:32]
He now serves as a prize, Selena is convinced she has to win back once she reshapes reality
[14:37]
to fit her worldview.
[14:39]
Kara, a pure soul who wants to redefine systems of power peacefully, is a more attractive
[14:44]
option to Ethan and a reminder that Selena's methodologies continue to alienate her.
[14:49]
A little drinking game for any of the editors or anybody listening at home is to take a shot
[14:54]
every time I use the word necessitates in this video.
[14:57]
It's far too many.
[14:59]
I've learned my lesson and I'm going to use a Thessaurous for the next episode.
[15:04]
So what do you think?
[15:06]
Here's the new and hopefully improved synopsis.
[15:08]
Populated by the scant few survivors of planet Krypton, Argo City risks encountering
[15:13]
the same grisly fate.
[15:15]
Determined to prove her worth and outgrow her cousin's long shadow, Kara Zorrel takes
[15:19]
it upon herself to travel to Earth where she hopes to acquire the Omega Headdron.
[15:23]
A mystical source of unlimited energy capable of stabilizing the colony.
[15:29]
Adopting a human identity, Kara enrolls in an archaeological course to locate the artifact,
[15:34]
but is soon surprised to learn that the pervasive prejudices and narcissism that play Gargo City
[15:39]
also exist on this planet.
[15:42]
Selena, an ambitious downtrodden witch, rivals Kara in seeking the Omega Headdron intent
[15:48]
on using its limitless power to violently reshape reality in her own image.
[15:54]
As Kara races to secure the orb, she must overcome underestimation and disadvantage,
[15:59]
while battling Selena's dark sorcery and monstrous creations.
[16:04]
Kara must adapt to an alien culture, redefine how she understands heroism and save Argo City
[16:09]
before it wastes away.
[16:12]
Now this more assured proactive version of Kara she has an overarching objective throughout
[16:16]
the entire story.
[16:18]
Each new sequence details a step towards that goal, and she clashes against forces of evil
[16:23]
that represent how aless, optimistic, and hopeful individual may react to the same stimulus
[16:28]
that she faces herself.
[16:29]
So what are we thinking?
[16:30]
Could these changes to Kara's characterization have helped sharpen her maiden voyage?
[16:34]
Or was the base screenplay just too weak to begin with?
[16:37]
I really hope that today you've learned a little bit more about how to make your character
[16:40]
more proactive, the importance of a strong, thematic core for your story, and how to position
[16:45]
your antagonist as a foil for your hero rather than just an obstacle.
[16:49]
Alright, I've been Mira, thank you guys for watching, and happy writing Keenalimers.
[16:53]
If you got something out of today's podcast, please share it with your filmmaking and
[16:57]
screenwriting community and hit subscribe.
[16:59]
It genuinely helps us keep making these.
[17:02]
We need them, and we'll see you in the next one.
