Supergirl screenwriter Ana Nogueira appears to have misinterpreted the ending of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, resulting in a very different fate for a major villain.
Warning: Major spoilers for Supergirl below!
"The ending between Kara and Krem was always in it, from the pitch, truly from the very beginning," Nogueira told Variety. "Because the comic ends with Ruthye killing him, but in the far, far future. We knew we weren’t gonna be able to do that kind of time jump, and I find it’s quite a dark ending of the comic. He essentially has changed, and she kills him anyway, because she still just has this anger, and you understand there’s this element of deserve, right?
"So, we wanted to craft a villain who would deserve this, but we also wanted Kara to really care about preserving Ruthye’s innocence, and to feel like she could take on [killing him], that she could be the one to bring justice to this man, and do it without burdening this child. It’s different for Supergirl, and I think it will feel different for audiences."
The new DC movie is based on the eight-issue limited comic series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. At the end of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #8, Ruthye appears to hit Krem over the head with her cane and leave him there alive.
Woman of Tomorrow writer Tom King confirmed this in a 2024 podcast, stating, "This is not supposed to be ambiguous. He’s supposed to be alive at the end. That’s why he grabs his head. Ruthye does not forgive him, still f***ing hates him, bops him on the head, and walks away" (via ComicBookMovie). You can check out the panel below.
The new movie, which marks the second feature-length entry in the rebooted DCU, currently sits at a 54% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, though the audience score is at a much higher 76%. Milly Alcock will appear again as Kara Zor-El in the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, which is set to hit theaters in 2027.
Supergirl is in theaters now. For more, check out our spoiler-filled breakdown of the Supergirl ending, plus a rundown of all the major differences between the DCU movie and the Woman of Tomorrow comic. You can also read our Supergirl review or see our guide on how to watch the DC movies in order.
