DC Cinematic Universe ( The James Gunn era)

[Gaith]

Supergirl looks like a girl?

The movie says she's 23, right? (We'll just assume human and Kryptonian ages match.) Which would make her a woman, not a child 18 or younger, eh? It strikes me as blindingly obvious the reason she's called Supergirl and not Superwoman is because of the way those two names sound. "Supergirl" sounds punchy and concise, three syllables like Superman, with only one vowel after the "Super," whereas "Superwoman," with two syllables and vowels after the "Super," just doesn't have a ring to it. (If she were French, "Superfemme" sounds just as punchy and cool as "Superhomme," so she could go by that instead of "Superfille," but she isn't French, is she.) In other words, this is far more an English language issue than a Kara Zor-El issue.

IIRC, the TV series made this point explicitly - Kara should really go by Superwoman, but it just doesn't sound right, so everyone will please call her Supergirl, yet still treat her like the adult she is. And I'm imagine comics fans have been making this same observation for decades, so, uh, welcome to a groundbreaking analysis that's probably 40 years old or more.

Whether this particular movie's 23-year-old character goes by Supergirl or Superwoman, however, has no bearing on the visual contrast between Alcock and Gadot, which speaks for itself.

 

[Aragorn]

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[Samurai8472]

James Gunn and Peter Safran recently met with Paramount Skydance's David Ellison. Oh, to be a fly on the wall during that conversation:

DC Studios: James Gunn & Peter Safran Met with Paramount's Ellison

 

[JoeZhang]

I was talking more there about general *interest* - with no interest, films good or bad don't get made.

There seems to be little to no interest in superhero films (internationally) except for the characters I mentioned anymore. Superheroes as a genre seems to be a fad that has passed.

 

[oktay]

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[Mudd]

"It's not a name I would have guessed."

Oh, this is going to be good.

 

[Aragorn]

Armie Hammer.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

The movie says she's 23, right? (We'll just assume human and Kryptonian ages match.) Which would make her a woman, not a child 18 or younger, eh? It strikes me as blindingly obvious the reason she's called Supergirl and not Superwoman is because of the way those two names sound. "Supergirl" sounds punchy and concise, three syllables like Superman, with only one vowel after the "Super," whereas "Superwoman," with two syllables and vowels after the "Super," just doesn't have a ring to it. (If she were French, "Superfemme" sounds just as punchy and cool as "Superhomme," so she could go by that instead of "Superfille," but she isn't French, is she.) In other words, this is far more an English language issue than a Kara Zor-El issue.

IIRC, the TV series made this point explicitly - Kara should really go by Superwoman, but it just doesn't sound right, so everyone will please call her Supergirl, yet still treat her like the adult she is. And I'm imagine comics fans have been making this same observation for decades, so, uh, welcome to a groundbreaking analysis that's probably 40 years old or more.

Whether this particular movie's 23-year-old character goes by Supergirl or Superwoman, however, has no bearing on the visual contrast between Alcock and Gadot, which speaks for itself.

To be clear, Supergirl is called Supergirl because the character was a teenager for decades in the comics. And when the comics aged her up, there already were multiple other characters who used the Superwoman name, and Supergirl had become a valuable trademark.

Also, speaking as someone who has to regularly check people's IDs to see if I'm allowed to sell them what they want, looks can be very deceiving when it comes to legal age, especially with girl/women.

 

[JoeZhang]

“While ‘Supergirl’ didn’t meet our box office expectations, it’s just one component of a broader, long-term strategy at DC Studios that we remain confident in,” Peter Safran, co-chairman and co-chief executive of DC Studios, said by telephone.

From NY times.

Already written off by the studio.

 

[Nerys Myk]

To be clear, Supergirl is called Supergirl because the character was a teenager for decades in the comics. And when the comics aged her up, there already were multiple other characters who used the Superwoman name, and Supergirl had become a valuable trademark.

Also, speaking as someone who has to regularly check people's IDs to see if I'm allowed to sell them what they want, looks can be very deceiving when it comes to legal age, especially with girl/women.

I don't know about decades. PreCrisis she started college in a 1964 issue of Action Comics. She graduates in a 1971 issue of Adventure Comics. She remained twenty-something until Crisis. Not sure what the various rebooted versions were agewise.

 

[Christopher]

To be clear, Supergirl is called Supergirl because the character was a teenager for decades in the comics.

Although back then, it was quite common to refer to young, single adult women as girls. See Star Trek: "The Lights of Zetar," for example, where Captain Kirk and others repeatedly refer to Lt. Mira Romaine as "the girl." Or see any number of pop songs like The Beach Boys' "California Girls." Heck, to this day, we still use "girlfriend" and "boyfriend" for a romantic partners regardless of age.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Batgirl/Barbara Gordon was introduced as a fully accredited librarian.

 

[Tosk]

Whether this particular movie's 23-year-old character goes by Supergirl or Superwoman, however, has no bearing on the visual contrast between Alcock and Gadot, which speaks for itself.

It may speak for itself, but I'm not sure what it's saying. That two women look different from each other?

Apart from the fact that they should look different, Diana is hundreds of years older than Kara.

 

[Set Harth]

"It's not a name I would have guessed."

Oh, this is going to be good.

 

[Verteron]

Is there any reason to believe Clayface, a film about a character not widely known to non-comics audiences, will do any better than Supergirl?

 

[JoeZhang]

Is there any reason to believe Clayface, a film about a character not widely known to non-comics audiences, will do any better than Supergirl?

Not really but it only cost $40 million if reports are to be Believed,.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Is there any reason to believe Clayface, a film about a character not widely known to non-comics audiences, will do any better than Supergirl?

Might be going for the horror audience.

 

[Christopher]

Is there any reason to believe Clayface, a film about a character not widely known to non-comics audiences, will do any better than Supergirl?

Iron Man was obscure to mainstream audiences before 2008. The Guardians of the Galaxy were even more unknown before their movie became a hit. People don't exclusively go to movies about characters they already know.

 

[The Realist]

Although back then, it was quite common to refer to young, single adult women as girls. See Star Trek: "The Lights of Zetar," for example, where Captain Kirk and others repeatedly refer to Lt. Mira Romaine as "the girl." Or see any number of pop songs like The Beach Boys' "California Girls." Heck, to this day, we still use "girlfriend" and "boyfriend" for a romantic partners regardless of age.

Was about to post something similar, but you beat me to it.

 

[The Realist]

Not sure what the various rebooted versions were agewise.

Both of the major reboots of Kara Zor-El (post-Crisis and New 52) were physically mid-teens when they arrived on Earth.

(I say “physically” because there were timey-wimey factors in play for both.)