Small Details You Missed In Supergirl

In many ways, "Supergirl" offers exactly what casual audiences have been demanding from comic book movies for some time. With David Corenswet's "Superman" being the only connective tissue, this isn't full to the brim with Easter Eggs, plot lines happening in other corners of the universe, or even a post-credits sequence -– in other words, you don't need to do intensive DC Universe homework to understand what's going on. It's the kind of comic book movie they used to make.

This doesn't mean that there's nothing deeper beneath the surface, however, with several throwaway details in "Supergirl" inviting viewers to fall down rabbit holes about the fascinating DC heroine's history. From the details tweaked from the "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" comic source material to loving tributes to the artists who made that series possible, there are various details throughout that are worth sitting up and paying attention to. And that's without even referencing the fact that, yes, that is Seth Rogen's voice you hear as the alien bus driver; although, with his distinctive vocals, it's not really something anybody in the audience couldn't spot.

Here's our guide to the minuscule moments and throwaway lines of dialogue which hold greater significance –- and represent far weightier character transformations -– than you may have realized.

"Supergirl" is largely adapted from Tom King's eight issue miniseries "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow," which won huge acclaim upon its publication in 2021 for the incorporation of Western influences. While many of the locations are lifted from the source material (with director Craig Gillespie highlighting nine different stops across the galaxy), the first two planets we travel to are new inventions for the movie. These are Ruthye's (Eve Ridley) home planet Evely, and the expanses of Holzherr, which are bordered by three differently colored suns.

Evely is directly named after Brazilian artist Bilquis Evely, the co-creator of the Eisner Award-nominated "Woman of Tomorrow." Her visual inspiration is all over, with Kal-El's cousin playing a huge part in her career; she has said she never saw drawing comics as a career option until she encountered a "Supergirl" cover that had been drawn by a Brazilian artist. Now, her career has gone full circle, with her work being paid tribute to here.

Similarly, naming a planet Holzherr is another loving homage to a DC Comics creative who made the source material possible. The planet is named after editor Brittany Holzherr, who helped shape the direction of the story after convincing author Tom King to make Supergirl the protagonist, after originally planning to write a Lobo story. Lobo (Jason Momoa) is still here, but not having him in the driver's seat was for the best; it's a more complex revenge mission without him.

One of the smaller but most significant changes between the movie and its source material is the origin of Ruthye's sword. In the film, it's an heirloom passed down by generations of warriors in her family, promised to whoever is worthy enough to accompany her on the revenge mission against Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts). In the comic series, the sword is Krem's property, as he uses it to kill Ruthye's unnamed father (in the movie, he's goes by Elias Knoll (Ferdinand Kingsley)). In the movie, his reasoning for a seemingly unmotivated murder is self-preservation, retaliating after Ruthye's brother attempts to kill him when he appears at their home, and starting a frantic chase across the galaxy.

However, his motivation in the comics is that he didn't like that her dad didn't laugh at one of his jokes. After being told to leave, Krem responded by stabbing him, leaving his sword behind deep inside the wound. The movie Krem is just as psychopathic –- we shouldn't overlook that he's a child sex trafficker –- but less likely to lash out on a whim. He's a more fitting counterpart to Lobo in the comic series for that reason; the two easily-rattled, short-tempered characters are perfectly suited as enemies.

The soundtrack for "Supergirl" is unexpectedly contemporary, with the likes of Sleigh Bells, Wet Leg, Wolf Alice, and Halsey soundtracking various scenes -– worlds away from the nostalgic '70s and '80s hits of James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies. However, there is a nod to an earlier female rock icon, with Kara (Milly Alock) wearing a vintage Blondie T-shirt, giving Debbie Harry more screentime in "Supergirl" than the Supergirl costume itself. It's a fitting connection, not just because "Call Me" has been used extensively in the movie's marketing, but because Harry was a trailblazer and influence on this take of the character. Costume designer Michael Mooney shared that the team went through hundreds of bands before realizing it couldn't be anybody else.

Harry and her bandmate Chris Stein were present at the world premiere in Brooklyn, and Warner Bros. are betting big on this crossover, even teaming up with watch company Timex to produce a $299 leather-studded watch honoring the band and hero. This is Blondie's first detour into the world of DC, but it's not their first comic book appearance. 

In 2021, indie publishers Z2 Comics partnered with the band to make "Blondie: Against the Odds," which reimagined their origin story in 1970s New York, with bold artistic interpretations of some of their biggest hits. That comic book was written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, best known for their 2013 Harley Quinn DC series, giving some prior tie to DC.

Across Supergirl's insane history, her origins have been tweaked several times (some of which are far too bizarre for the DC Universe), and screenwriter Ana Nogueira lifts from a few different interpretations for the film. Here, Kara is born after the destruction of Krypton which engulfs all but Arco City -– and as the only lifeform born after this, is immune from the radiation poisoning that has been seeping through the ground for several years on Krypton, sent to Earth for her own protection to meet the cousin who left many years earlier. This is most faithful to the comic origin, with a few small changes to fit into the movie universe's timeline.

After the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover, she was made older than Kal-El, but with the destruction of Arco City coming a lot quicker courtesy of an android loyal to Brainiac. For the sake of timeline clarity and with Brainiac (Lars Eidinger) slated as the main villain in next year's "Man of Tomorrow" movie, it's obvious why nothing was lifted from this iteration of the origin story – although, even just tangentially, this is the only link we have to Brainiac within this material.

Following the "Flashpoint" storyline, the DC Comics universe was again rebooted in the early 2010s. Zor-El's realization that an impending disaster was coming before Krypton's collapse was carried over, most closely resembling the angst and alienation she experiences in the film.

Based on the timeline, Kara arrived on Earth long after the iPod Classic went out of fashion, although this appears to be a cute nod towards James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," where Star Lord (Chris Pratt) was gifted a Zune with contemporary music. There's no deeper plot relevance to the device's inclusion here, but its appearance in the trailer already started a heated debate in the Reddit r/iPodClassic forum, as eagle-eyed viewers noted this wasn't a product Apple ever manufactured. While appearing to be a fifth-generation model, with the distinctive black click wheel and button, the model was never manufactured in white. 

However, the iPod could be a mirror to the virtual jukebox Kara keeps back at her place, which prop supervisor Charlie Horwood has called a "Space iPod" (via Den of Geek), emphasizing how important music is to the character. But she's not listening to nostalgic classics like Star-Lord, preferring to rock out to modern female-fronted bands. It certainly contrasts with how Sophie Campbell, the author and illustrator of the current "Supergirl" comic book run, has imagined her music taste. She's made her deeply into Ace of Base and Erasure, with SZA and FKA Twigs as her cool, modern picks –- a version that couldn't be more different to what's seen onscreen.

Obviously, the horrors that unfolded on Krypton are very well known within the DC Universe, but this throwaway line from Krem suggests that the Brigands have long attempted getting their hands on the planet's last remaining survivors. Instead, the character is notable within Supergirl's rogue's gallery for the opposite reason, being one of her only adversaries who hasn't battled Superman. The two never even met on the page, with his sole comic appearance being in the "Woman of Tomorrow." Although this adapts that, it's still surprising to make a relatively obscure comic book villain the big-bad of a $170 million blockbuster.

The movie goes one step further in reinventing Krem, transforming him into a nightmarish human trafficker you'd find in the depths of "Mad Max." Speaking about differences from the source material, star Matthias Schoenarts told Games Radar+, "I've seen a lot of the (DC) films so I know what the legacy and the heritage is, and I'm like, 'Okay, I have to bring something new to the table,' and you want to be memorable. I wanted to make him funky and unpredictable, and then back and forth, I wanted to make him an unforgettable madman, your favorite romantic lead. That was what I had in my head, the nightmare romantic lead. I'm like, 'That's my guy.'"

We can only imagine what Kal-El would think of him.

Speaking of Kal-El, one of the very last lines of dialogue will have fans scratching their heads, as Kara and Krypto return to Clark's apartment in Metropolis, where he says he "could have used (your) help with the last guy." Naturally, this will make some audiences wonder whether he's referencing Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) from the last movie. However, Krypto was around on Earth for that, and this movie makes a few little nods to it throughout, suggesting we've skipped ahead in time. So is he referencing Brainiac, another big bad we've yet to see that appeared concurrently with the action of "Supergirl," or a throwaway reference to a villain he'd already defeated the last time he'd seen Kara?

With no post-credits sequences or direct ties to any future DC projects -– the next entry, "Clayface," will be the earliest narrative within Gunn's re-established timeline -– this could be the kind of carefully deployed line designed to trigger fan speculation when it has no greater significance. Supergirl will appear in "Man of Tomorrow," but it remains to be seen whether she'll have a weightier role or serve the same function she did in the last film, possibly showing her crash-landing on Earth from Clark's perspective. 

We'll find out next summer whether this, or any other "Supergirl" detail, were hinting at anything bigger.