Supergirl '85

**Supergirl '85** is a 2019 superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero Supergirl. The film was directed by Reed Morano and stars Hayden Panettiere, Jena Malone, Josh Brolin, Angela Bassett, Lena Headey, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Jon Hamm. It was released on March 8, 2019 and grossed $1.100 billion against a $150 million budget. It ran 125 minutes and received generally positive reviews, with praise directed towards Panettiere’s performance as well as the action sequences. However, the film received criticism for its villain and slow pace.

## Plot

The planet Krypton explodes, and Councilman Jor-El and his wife Lara send their infant son, Kal-El to Earth to survive. Jor-El's brother, Zor-El and his wife Alura Zor-El send their daughter teenage daughter Kara Zor-El with Kal-El to raise him on Earth. However, after sending her away, the couple is approached by a militia who have found a way off the planet, and promise them positions. Meanwhile, Kara's pod is caught up in a black hole, which sends her a decade into the past, 1970. Kara is found by A.R.G.U.S. scientist couple Fred and Sylvia Danvers. Taking her in, they raise her alongside their older daughter, Jane, who is not fond of Kara at first but the sisters soon become close. In 1980, Kara is found by her parents, who lead a colony of Kryptonians off of the planet and have named it Argo City. Kara wants to stay on Earth, as Kal-El will arrive soon, though Zor-El kidnaps his daughter and brainwashes her into believing she has been with them the entire time, and they leave Earth.

Five years later, Jane now works as an A.R.G.U.S. scientist as well, while her parents continue to work with her, and have not given up hope in Kara's return. In space, Argo City is a thriving colony. Kara leads a task force specializing in neutralizing threats in space. Zor-El is informed of a Phantom Zone opening and sends the force after it. They discover Kryptonian prisoner Jax-Ur has escaped through a black hole. During the fight, Kara is sent hurdling toward Earth, where she lands in Washington D.C. A.R.G.U.S. Agent Amanda Waller is sent to the scene, where she meets Kara. They get into an altercation, which leads to Waller trying to make peace. Kara warns her that Jax-Ur is coming, but Waller believes she is insane and tries to take her into A.R.G.U.S. custody, calling for back-up. Kara instead attacks her and takes down the back-up agents as well, and escapes. Returning to A.R.G.U.S., Waller describes what happened to the Danvers. Fred and Sylvia believe it could be Kara, while Jane does not want to get her hopes up.

They attempt to track Kara, who is found by them again after seducing a biker and stealing his motorcycle and some clothes. She convinces Waller of being an alien, but warns the others won't believe her. Waller allows Kara to get away before meeting up with her again after the altercation. Kara reveals that Jax-Ur was a genocidal maniac who killed hundreds during his experiments. She believes he intends to do the same on Earth. Waller agrees to help her. In space, Jax-Ur comes to Argo City, where they attempt to fend him off. He finds Zor-El and they make a peace treaty: Jax-Ur will leave them alone if they help him get to Earth. After Zor-El asks him about his intentions, Jax-Ur reveals his plans to turn Earth into New Krypton1, where he will allow Argo City to land on as its capital. Zor-El agrees. On Earth, Waller secretly returns Kara to A.R.G.U.S, where Sylvia sees her and instantly recognizes her. After she attempts to hug Kara, she defends herself by hurting Sylvia. Waller gets her to back off, and Sylvia realizes Kara doesn't remember her. Waller learns about Kara's origins from Sylvia, but Kara believes she is lying and storms off. Sylvia informs Fred of her reunion with Kara, which Director Henry Henshaw overhears and sends a team after her.

Waller finds Kara on her own on the side of a road and tries to get her to return to A.R.G.U.S. However, the team shows up and attacks them. Kara believes that Waller tricked her into being captured, but she insists that she had nothing to do with it. Waller is captured but Kara flies away and agrees to rescue her. Waller is interrogated by Henshaw, who deems Waller a traitor and orders the team to go after Kara again and bring her in, even if they have to kill her. Fred and Sylvia get Waller out of her cell and they are joined by Kara, who agrees to work with them, even if she doesn't remember them. Jax-Ur, with Zor-El and Alura, arrives on Earth and they find Kara, Waller, and the Danvers. Kara fights Jax-Ur and criticizes her parents for joining sides with him. The Danvers accuse Zor-El of taking their daughter, which Kara learns is true. Alura admits to wiping her memory of her time on Earth and blames it on Zor-El. Zor-El deems Alura a traitor and kills her, which causes Kara to lose all loyalty to him. However, before she can fight them, Jax-Ur and Zor-El disappear. Henshaw realizes Waller has escaped, as well as the Danvers, and deems them all fugitives, which Jane does not believe.

Using Alura's corpse, Kara, Waller, and the Danvers are able to detect where Jax-Ur is going to next. They arrive in Metropolis, where they see Argo City heading for the spot. Jax-Ur reveals his plans to hit Metropolis with Argo City, which would take out the entire Western Hemisphere, and would likely destroy the city, except the people. Waller convinces Henshaw to trust them and he orders an evacuation of Metropolis. Kara goes to Argo City, where she tries to convince the people to stop blindly following Zor-El. Kara is captured by her father once again and brainwashed, though only just enough to return her loyalty to him. She returns to Earth, where she attacks Waller and the Danvers. Jane arrives and talks to Kara, which restores many of her memories of Earth. After reuniting with her sister, she fights through the Argo City task force, her former teammates, and knocks her father out as well. She pushes Argo City away from Earth just before it hits, while she sends Jax-Ur, her father, and the task force to the Phantom Zone.

Kara formally reunites with Fred and Sylvia, and they have a family dinner, which Waller attends as well. Despite just returning to Earth, Kara reveals that she needs to leave again, as Argo City needs someone to guide them in returning to normalcy. She has Waller begin a project to locate Kal-El, who they deduce is somewhere in Kansas, but tells them not to inform him of her, as he will go looking for her, which would distract him from his destiny. Kara leaves, but gives A.R.G.U.S. a way to contact her if they ever need her to return in a time of need. In a mid-credits scene, Kara is contacted by A.R.G.U.S. and arrives in Washington D.C., which she finds in shambles, with its citizens appearing completely confused. In a post-credits scene, decades later in 2010, Waller is given a file on "Clark Kent".

1An idea that would later be taken by General Zod.

## Cast

* Hayden Panettiere as Kara Zor-El/Kara Danvers/Supergirl
* Jena Malone as Jane Danvers
* Josh Brolin as Zor-El
* Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller
* Lena Headey as Alura Zor-El
* Sandra Bullock as Sylvia Danvers
* Kevin Costner as Fred Danvers
* Tom Cruise as Hank Henshaw
* Michael Kenneth Williams as Jax-Ur
* Jon Hamm as Henry Henshaw

## Reception

### **Box office**

**Legion of Super-Heroes** grossed $415.7 million (37.8%) in the United States and Canada and $684.7 million (62.2%) in other territories for a total of $1.100 billion. Worldwide, it is the third highest-grossing 2019 film. It achieved a worldwide opening weekend of $471.4 million. *Deadline Hollywood* calculated the net profit of the film to be $579.1 million, making it the blank most profitable release of 2019.

### **Critical reception**

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 74% approval rating with an average score of 6.48/10, based on 291 reviews.