Supergirl (Film)

***Supergirl*** is a 1984 British superhero film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and written by David Odell, based on the DC Comics character of the same nameand serves as a spin-off to Alexander and Ilya Salkind's *Superman* film series. The film stars Faye Dunaway, Helen Slater as Supergirl, and Peter O'Toole, withMarc McClure reprising his role as Jimmy Olsen from the *Superman* films. He was the only actor to do so.

The film was released in the United Kingdom on July 19, 1984 and failed to impress critics and audiences alike.[6] Dunaway and O'Toole earned Golden Raspberry Award nominations for Worst Actress and Worst Actor, respectively. However, Slater was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress. The film's failure ultimately led the Salkinds to sell the Superman rights to Cannon Films in 1986.

The first DVD release was by the independent home video company Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2000, under license from StudioCanal. Warner Bros. acquired the rights to the film and reissued it on DVD late in 2006 to coincide with the release of *Superman Returns*. Although it is canon with the Christopher Reeve*Superman* films, it is not included in any of the *Superman* DVD or Blu-ray box sets by Warner Bros.

## Plot

Kara Zor-El (Helen Slater) lives in an isolated Kryptonian community called Argo City, in a pocket of trans-dimensional space. A man named Zaltar (Peter O'Toole) allows Kara to see a unique and immensely powerful item known as the Omegahedron, which he has borrowed without the knowledge of the city government, and which powers the city. However, after a mishap, the Omegahedron is blown out into space. Much to the distress of her parents (Simon Ward and Mia Farrow), Kara follows it to Earth (undergoing a transformation into "Supergirl" in the process) in an effort to recover it and save the city.

On Earth, the Omegahedron is recovered by Selena (Faye Dunaway), a power-hungry would-be witch assisted by the feckless Bianca (Brenda Vaccaro) and seeking to free herself from her relationship with warlock Nigel (Peter Cook). Whilst not knowing exactly what it is, Selena quickly realizes that the Omegahedron is powerful and can enable her to perform real magical spells. Supergirl arrives on Earth and discovers her powers. Following the path of the Omegahedron, she takes the name Linda Lee, identifies herself as the cousin of Clark Kent, and enrolls at an all-girls school where she befriends Lucy Lane (Maureen Teefy), the younger sister of Lois Lane who happens to be studying there. Supergirl also meets and becomes enamoured with Ethan (Hart Bochner) who works as a groundskeeper at the school.

Ethan also catches the eye of Selena, who drugs him with a love potion; however Ethan regains consciousness in Selena's absence and wanders out into the streets. An angry Selena uses her new-found powers to animate a construction vehicle which she sends to bring Ethan back, causing chaos in the streets as it does so. Supergirl rescues Ethan and he falls in love with her instead while in the guise of Linda Lee.

Supergirl and Selena repeatedly battle in various ways, until Selena uses her powers to put Supergirl in an "eternal void" known as the Phantom Zone. Here, stripped of her powers, she wanders the bleak landscape and nearly drowns in an oily bog. Yet she finds help in Zaltar, who has exiled himself to the Phantom Zone as a punishment for losing the Omegahedron. Zaltar sacrifices his life to allow Supergirl to escape. Back on Earth, Selena misuses the Omegahedron to make herself a "princess of Earth", with Ethan as her lover and consort. Emerging from the Phantom Zone, Supergirl regains her powers to defeat Selena by putting her and Bianca into the vortex. After that, it transforms back into a mirror. Free from Selena's spell, Ethan admits his love for Linda and that he knows that she and Supergirl are one and the same, but knows it is possible he may never see her again and understands she must save Argo City. The final scene shows Kara returning the Omegahedron to a darkened Argo City, which promptly lights up again.

## Cast

* Faye Dunaway as Selena
* Helen Slater as Kara Zor-El / Linda Lee / Supergirl[7]
* Peter O'Toole as Zaltar
* Hart Bochner as Ethan
* Mia Farrow as Alura In-Ze
* Brenda Vaccaro as Bianca
* Peter Cook as Nigel
* Simon Ward as Zor-El
* Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen
* Maureen Teefy as Lucy Lane
* David Healy as Mr. Danvers
* Sandra Dickinson as The Pretty Young Lady
* Matt Frewer as Eddie
* Kelly Hunter as Argonian Citizen