Major spoilers ahead for The Flash.
The DC Universe has had plenty of peaks and valleys since it debuted in theaters with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. There’s been a bunch of changes in leadership, some bonafide hit movies, as well as a number of box office disappointments. Unfortunately, The Flash is in the later category, although it’s been getting more life via VOD and now that it’s streaming with a Max subscription. I recently re-watched The Flash on Max, and I’m doubly bummed about the handling of Sasha Calle’s Supergirl. Here are my thoughts.
Prior to the release of The Flash, anticipation for the upcoming DC movie was partly due to its ensemble cast of heroes. That included the introduction of Supergirl, played by actress Sasha Calle. This is a character that I’ve been longing to see back on the big screen, and Calle’s casting also made history as a Latina actress in the role. But unfortunately her part left something to be desired for me. Especially because we were forced to watch her die over and over again.
In The Flash, Ezra Miller’s title character accidentally creates a new reality after going back in time and saving his mother from being killed. In this alternate universe Micheal Keaton is Batman, and Kal-El never made it to Earth. But his cousin did, with Supergirl having all the same powers as Henry Cavill’s former superhero.
It takes a long time for The Flash to finally bring Supergirl into the narrative. And even when she does, she’s a character of few words. So while Sasha Calle was heavily marketed in the movie’s road to theaters, it felt like her role was much smaller than I anticipated– especially where dialogue is concerned.
Still, it was fun to see her kick ass and face Zod and his forces as the Girl of Steel. But after seeing Kara recharge her powers and be at full Kryptonian might, the unthinkable happened: she’s successfully killed by Michael Shannon’s Zod. Barry #2 once again accesses the Speed Force in order to try and save her, and the movie’s third act conflict begins.
During this time we watched a montage of Barry unsuccessfully attempting to go back in time and stop Kara from being murdered; this would also save the Earth from Zod destroying the planet. Supergirl dies over and over again, and it feels downright cruel at one point. Not only was this character not getting the story I thought she would, but we had to watch her being murdered multiple times in quick succession.
And now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are forming a new DCU, it feels like this version of Supergirl might be dead for good. Rather than Sasha Calle joining the shared universe and returning for crossover events, she might be a one hit wonder in the shared universe. After all, a new timeline is being created. Superman: Legacy will feature a new Clark Kent instead of Henry Cavill. So why would Gunn bring in the cousin of that version of Superman? Technically the studio hasn’t revealed its future plans for Kara, but it’s not looking good. Which makes her disappointing role in The Flash an even bigger bummer.
The Flash is streaming now on Max, and the next DC movie hitting theaters is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.