The DCU’s Best Character to Return During the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl remains the most significant annual sports event in the United States, commanding a massive television audience that routinely exceeds 100 million viewers. Because of this unparalleled reach, the broadcast has functioned as a primary launchpad for high-budget Hollywood trailers, with DC and Marvel often competing to dominate the post-game cultural conversation. However, in 2026, neither DC Studios nor Marvel Studios will utilize the main broadcast to debut footage for their most anticipated upcoming blockbusters. Despite this absence from the primary commercial slots, DC Studios plans to maintain the creative tradition established in 2025 by featuring a special look at the undisputed best character in the current DC Universe.

While a traditional theatrical trailer for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will not appear during the Super Bowl, the production is scheduled for a dedicated presentation during the 2026 Puppy Bowl. The Puppy Bowl serves as a long-running, adoption-focused alternative program on Animal Planet, and DC Studios successfully utilized this platform last year to introduce audiences to Krypto the Superdog in 2025’s Superman. Given that Krypto plays a fundamental role in the upcoming Supergirl film, the studio is likely bringing the superpowered canine back to the forefront of its marketing before Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) takes flight in her solo DCU debut.

It Makes Sense for DC (And Marvel) to Avoid the Main Super Bowl Event

DC and Marvel’s decision to bypass the primary Super Bowl broadcast makes sense, from a financial perspective. In 2026, the cost of a 30-second advertisement during the game has climbed to an estimated $10 million, a staggering investment that requires guaranteed returns to justify. This financial hurdle arrives as superhero media is no longer achieving the unfettered box office dominance seen in previous decades. For instance, James Gunn’s Superman finished its theatrical run with a global total of $616 million. While this performance secured its position as the highest-grossing superhero film of 2025—outperforming Marvel rivals like The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Thunderbolts*—the figure highlights a shifting reality for the genre. In earlier eras of the blockbuster boom, a flagship title earning less than $700 million would have been viewed as a disappointment, yet in 2025, it was the ceiling for caped icons.

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Instead of exhausting marketing budgets on broad television buys, the current leadership at DC Studios appears to be favoring a partnership-driven strategy that maximizes existing corporate ecosystems. The reliance on the Puppy Bowl in a network owned by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery allows for high engagement with a family-oriented audience at a fraction of the cost. This method proved effective for Superman, which utilized the event to launch the Krypto-branded dog food and pet accessories. These product partnerships serve a dual purpose by providing additional advertising through physical store presence while simultaneously offering the studio additional revenue, which takes pressure off box office performances.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 26th.

Do you think using the Puppy Bowl to market Krypto is a better move than a traditional Super Bowl trailer?  Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!