‘Supergirl’ Ending Explained

By George & Josh Bate

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Supergirl

Supergirl soars into theaters this week and brings the story of Kara Zor-El to the big screen.

Supergirl is the second film to be released in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new look DCU, following last year’s critical and financial hit Superman. From director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Cruella), Supergirl stars Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El / Supergirl, Superman’s jaded cousin who watched everyone she knew die on Krypton when she was young. Kara travels across the galaxy with her beloved dog Krypto to celebrate her 23rd birthday when she meets Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley), a young girl who wants to recruit Supergirl on a mission to avenge her family’s deaths at the hands of Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts). While reluctant to do so, Kara agrees when Krypto is poisoned by Krem, giving her three days to track down the villainous bandit and secure the antidote that will save her dog’s life.

How does Kara’s journey end in Supergirl and how does the new film set up the future of the DCU? Find out in this article….

Supergirl Saves Krypto

Much of the film follows Kara as she teams up Ruthye to track down the villainous Krem and his fellow raiders. At the beginning of the film Krem shoots Krypto, Kara’s dog, with a poison dart, giving him three days to live. The ensuing adventure finds Kara and Ruthye travel all around the galaxy to find Krem, who keeps the antidote to the poison on his person at all times.

The third act of the film follows Kara and Ruthye as they follow Krem to a far away planet. Much to Kara’s surprise, the planet has two suns, one of which is a green sun. The green sun, like Kryptonite, is poisonous to Kryptonians and thus renders Kara incapicated in a cave, while Ruthye is kidnapped by Krem.

As Ruthye orchestrates an escape from captivity alongside Lobo, who also landed in prison off-screen, Kara regains her strength as the green sun sets and the yellow sun rises. Donning the unmistakable Supergirl costume, Kara journeys to Krem’s ship and arrives just in time to rescue a recently recaptured Ruthye.

Kara kicks ass as she easily disposes of Krem’s men, with the help of Lobo. Eventually, she and Ruthye corner Krem, who Ruthye desperately wants to kill to avenge the deaths of her family members. Kara convinces Ruthye not to murder Krem as she believes the act will forever tarnish Ruthye’s soul and well-being. As Ruthye walks away, Kara stabs Krem to death, showing that she is unafraid to engage in such an act of violence given her traumatic past.

Kara manages to set free all of the Brides, the young women who Krem and his men have captured in order to produce male heirs. If this sounds similar to Mad Max: Fury Road, that’s because it is exactly like Immortan Joe and the Brides in George Miller’s 2015 action epic.

Kara and Ruthye then journey back to Krypto now that they have the antidote from Krem. A physician adinisters the antidote to Krypto, who quickly bursts joyfully into frenzied flight all around the room.

Supergirl and Ruthye’s Journey Together Continues

Kara drops Ruthye off back home, where she will now live with her aunt following the deaths of her mother, father, and older brother. Over the course of the film, Kara and Ruthye have developed a big sister-little sister bond, a stark contrast to Kara’s initial reluctance to give Ruthye the time of day.

While the original plan is for Ruthye to start a new life under the guidance of her aunt, Kara invites Ruthye to join her in rounding out her 23rd birthday celebrations, which were interrupted by Krem’s arrival and Krypto’s poisoning.

Ruthye enthuastially agrees to join Kara and hops aboard the ship with Krypto and her de facto big sister.

Supergirl Sets up Man of Tomorrow

While the film seems to be culminating in Kara and Ruthye journeying off into space together, it ultimately concludes on Earth.

Kara and Krypto enter Clark’s apartment, the same stark and high-rise apartment that he occupies in Superman. Kara and Clark sit across from one another as Clark says that he could have used her help in his last battle. He is presumably speaking of his clash with Lex Luthor in Superman, although this isnt entirely clear.

Clark is quick to backtrack, however, as he kindly qualifies that he knows Kara needs to figure out who she is and what she wants to do for herself moving forward given her traumatic past.

Kara then tells Clark that she plans on staying ‘home,’ referring to Earth. This brings a smile to Clark’s face, which is quickly quelled as Krypto makes a mess in the kitchen and starts eating some chocolate.

In concluding with Kara moving back to Earth, Supergirl sets the stage for Kara to appear in next year’s Man of Tomorrow. The DCU movie, which will reportedly pit Superman and Lex Luthor against Braniac, is currently in production under the direction of James Gunn ahead of its July 9, 2027 release.

So far, Man of Tomorrow has been described as a reluctant team-up movie between the Man of Steel and his greatest nemesis, but Supergirl’s ending suggests that Superman will receive some help from his cousin in the battle against Braniac. Coupled with confirmation that Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl, and two Green Lanterns will all play roles in the upcoming film, Man of Tomorrow is seemingly shaping up to be an unofficial Justice League movie of sorts.

Providing further evidence that Man of Tomorrow will serve as a Justice League-esque teamup movie is the persistent rumor that Adria Arjona has been cast as Wonder Woman. The Andor actress has been announced to play Maxima, the warrior-queen of the planet Almerac who believes Superman is her suitable mate, but speculation on social media remains rampant that Arjona is actually taking over the role of Wonder Woman from Gal Gadot.

Supergirl is now in theaters