James Gunn's Superman Introduces A Major DC Comics Hero Hidden From Marketing

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Spoilers for "Superman" to follow.

To answer the first question I'm sure you're asking after the headline, I'll quote the "Simpsons" episode "Marge vs. the Monorail" — "It's not Batman!"

(Though you can get a glimpse of the DC Universe's Dark Knight in "Creature Commandos.")

Now, onto "Superman." As critics, including the Atlantic's David Sims, have pointed out, James Gunn's new movie is the first one to embrace how zany Superman's world is by putting him alongside other superheroes from the beginning. This Clark Kent (David Corenswet) wasn't the dawn of the DCU's age of Gods and Monsters, he merely shines the brightest of all its heroes.

During "Superman," Kal-El works alongside the so-called "Justice Gang," which is composed of Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Later, he also meets the elemental superhero Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan). The Marvel Cinematic Universe has trained us to be cynical about storytelling like this; when a superhero pops up in a movie not named after them, surely it's a backdoor spin-off pilot. But in "Superman," you don't feel like you're watching a trailer whenever the Justice Gang pops up; superheroes are just a reality of this world.

We knew going in that there would be a lot more heroes besides Superman in "Superman"... and there are some who weren't marketed ahead of time. For one, John Cena's Peacemaker appears, disparaging Superman in a TV interview.

During the movie, Clark is also watching over the super dog Krypto. He says it's "more of a foster situation" and in the last pre-credits scene of the movie, we find out why. Krypto actually belongs to Clark's cousin, Kara Zor-El/Supergirl (Milly Alcock). She even stops by to pick him up, so expect to see Krypto in the upcoming "Supergirl" movie.

Kara was created in 1959 by legendary Superman writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, debuting in "Action Comics" #252. She's the daughter of her namesake Zor-El, who was the brother of Superman's father Jor-El. Like Jor-El, Zor-El sent his child away in a rocket ship to Earth. Kara's existence means that Kal-El technically still is the Last Son of Krypton.

Supergirl has previously been played in live-action by Helen Slater (in the 1984 "Supergirl" film), Laura Vandervoort (in "Smallville"), Melissa Benoist (in The CW's "Supergirl" TV series), and Sasha Calle (in the 2023 movie "The Flash"). Calle's dark-haired Kara was a departure from the character's usual look, with a skirt-less costume mirroring the DC Extended Universe's Superman (Henry Cavill).

Milly Alcock's Kara (who has Supergirl's usual long blonde hair) is wearing a brown overcoat when we see her, but underneath it is a classical Supergirl costume: blue top, red short skirt, but no bare midriff. Alcock's breakout role as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (ancestor of Emilia Clarke's Daenerys) in season 1 of "House of the Dragon" also proves that she's got more than enough talent for the part.

During Supergirl's appearance in "Superman," she's not her best self; she's drunk. Clark explains that Kara likes to travel to solar systems with red suns, which nullify her Kryptonian powers, so she can party. When Kara shows up in "Superman," she's just come back from a bender.

Kara has a good reason to keep her head in a bottle. Supergirl is a much harsher hero than her cousin, as Gunn explained back in 2023:

"Superman was sent to Earth and he was raised by incredibly loving parents, whereas Kara was in a piece of Krypton that was drifting away from the planet and lived there for the first 14 years of her life [in] a horrible situation in which she watched everyone around her die."

Kara spending time in space sets up the "Supergirl" movie, which is based on the planet-trotting adventure comic "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" by Tom King and Bilquis Evely. The plot will involve an alien girl, Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley in the film), recruiting Kara to track down Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts), the warrior who murdered her father. "Woman of Tomorrow" is a Supergirl story by way of "True Grit" — Kara plays the part of Rooster Cogburn, the cynical, one-eyed, aging cowboy portrayed by John Wayne in 1969 and then Jeff Bridges in 2010.

The animated series "My Adventures with Superman" recently reinvented Supergirl (Kiana Madeira) in the image of Vegeta from "Dragon Ball Z." We can only wait and see if Milly Alcock's Kara measures up to that.

"Superman" is now playing in theaters. "Supergirl" is set for a theatrical release starting on June 26, 2026.