Supergirl Gives Kara a Major Costume Shift (But It Makes Perfect Sense)

One of the most important parts of any superhero isn’t their superpowers or their origin story. It’s their super suit, the specific costume that lets people know exactly who they are dealing with and as superhero costumes go, there are few more iconic than those worn by DC’s Kryptonian heroes. The blue and red suit with its hope-inspiring House of El sigil has long been a defining detail for both Superman and his cousin, Supergirl, but when Supergirl soars into theaters in just a few weeks, fans can expect a bit of a shift in what she wears but don’t worry; there’s a good reason for it.

During ComicBook’s visit to the Supergirl set last year, we learned that while the upcoming movie is going to be a largely faithful adaptation of Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, one thing that will be notably different and perhaps a bit unexpected is that, instead of Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El wearing her iconic Supergirl costume, we’ll see quite a bit more of Kara traversing the galaxy in regular street clothes—think the jeans and band t-shirt we’ve seen her in in trailers. According to executive producer Chantal Nong Vo, there’s a deliberate and logical reason for this shift: Kara’s not “working” as Supergirl when she’s off planet.

“First of all, she’s off the job when you meet her, so she’s always being Supergirl on Earth,” Nong Vo said. “When she comes to other planets, it’s how she gets a break. So, we think that when she’s on break, she wouldn’t necessarily be in costume, and it’s more fun for her to be incognito.”

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Kara’s Costume Shift Has Deeper Emotional Meaning As Well

The idea that Kara would eschew her super suit when she’s off duty and trying to get away from everything on other planets makes a lot of sense. So much of her Earth-based identity centers around being Supergirl so it is a logical choice that she would want to put on something less work-oriented, if you will. But it turns out that there is also an emotional reason for why we’ll see a bit less of the iconic red and blue suit in Supergirl, and that has to do with Kara’s journey within the film. As fans who have read the King and Evely comic already know, Kara has been through quite a bit in her short life. While her cousin was a baby with no actual memories of his home world and family, Kara was much older and not only remembers Krypton, but had to endure the loss of her world, her home, and everyone she knew. The symbol on the suit holds different meaning for her—and her quest across the galaxy in Supergirl is as much a journey of self-acceptance as it is a journey for justice.

“So, this journey is she’s already been a hero, but not in the way where she’s her full self and her full whole self,” Nong Vo said. “And so, the movie is really about kind of accepting who you are, accepting your past, processing it, and then that’s who she is in the end, in that symbol, you know, the super suit is symbolic of that.”

What do you think about Kara wearing her super suit a little less than you might expect in Supergirl? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!