Remember how we all waited years to see The Flash, and then it finally released and nobody saw it? In some ways, that’s a blessing for new DC co-boss James Gunn, as he seems to be positioning his New DCU outside of the main timelines of The Flash.
Although Gunn will be continuing some characters and story threads from his own DCEU entry The Suicide Squad (the good one) and its TV spinoff Peacemaker, reports say his forthcoming Superman: Legacy will be the start of a new story in a new universe.
But some DC fans want to hold on to just one thing from The Flash. No, not Ezra Miller. Not even Michael Keaton. It’s Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, who has found her way into some fans’ hearts even though she hails from a defunct universe.
While some DC fans are rallying behind this cause, others aren’t convinced. It’s not that Calle is bad in the role — she certainly brings convincing raw emotions to the character, and she looks great in action — but she doesn’t have a whole lot to do in the narrative.
Since all of her screentime takes place immediately after she was trafficked and experimented on, and amid the revelation that her cousin Clark was killed as a baby, she isn’t exactly in a mood where fans can appreciate the more traditional aspects of her character. Also, well, she dies in The Flash. Sure, people come back all the time in comic book movies. But she dies a lot.
Here are some of the critiques:
We have to agree with the naysayers, though we’re still fans of Calle’s brooding take on the character. (Heck, we’re even fans of The Flash overall.) But it doesn’t make sense to bring that character back, especially when the film tanked at the box office.
People are pretty much over the current version of the DCEU. Box office receipts have been spelling this out all year. It’s possible the forthcoming Aquaman 2, the final film of the old guard, will perform well since the first made a billion dollars. But sometimes people just want to see giant turtles throw down against crab armies. Mostly though, people have been focused on the New DCU since Gunn was announced as its overlord, or they’ve had enough of superheroes in general.
Gunn has announced a Supergirl film on his slate, and we really can’t see Calle taking up the mantle again. She definitely burned bright, but ultimately she was underused in a movie that most people didn’t care about. And hey, maybe in 30 or so years, she’ll follow the Keaton path and reprise the role for a corner of fandom that wants to relive their childhoods. Except, you know, she’s dead.