Supergirl (1984) is a superhero film adapted from DC Comics, directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Helen Slater and Faye Dunaway. The film is part of the DC Classic and was released by Warner Bros.. Audience rating: 4.9/10.
What is Supergirl (1984) about?
Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin, leaves her home in Argo City to recover a powerful energy source stolen by the wicked witch Selena, who plans to use it to rule the world.
Released in 1984, Supergirl was directed by Jeannot Szwarc and produced under the Warner Bros. banner. The film occupies a significant place within the DC Classic — contributing to the ongoing narrative and mythology of that cinematic universe.
The film features lead performances from Helen Slater, Faye Dunaway, Peter O'Toole, anchoring a story that adapts characters first brought to life in DC Comics. Its source material gives the film a foundation rooted in decades of published storytelling, which Szwarc and the creative team interpret through a cinematic lens.
The film's 4.9 audience rating indicates a mixed response. Even so, it holds interest as part of the broader DC Classic catalogue and for how it fits into the lineage of DC Comics-based cinema.
What happens in Supergirl (1984)? — Full Plot
The film opens in Argo City, a coordinated continued-Kryptonian colony-settlement whose coordinated continued-residential-environment exists within a coordinated continued-dimensional-pocket-space whose coordinated continued-isolation provides protection from the broader-Kryptonian-civilization-destruction. Argo City's coordinated continued-population includes Kara Zor-El (Helen Slater), a young Kryptonian-descended teenage girl whose coordinated continued-residence with her coordinated continued-parents Zor-El (Simon Ward) and Alura (Mia Farrow) provides the picture's primary family-relationship-development establishing context. Kara's coordinated continued-mentor Zaltar (Peter O'Toole), a coordinated continued-elderly Argo City scientist, provides the picture's primary supporting-character introduction.
Zaltar's coordinated continued-research-project is the coordinated continued-development of a coordinated continued-Omegahedron device whose coordinated continued-deployment provides Argo City's coordinated continued-residential-environment with its coordinated continued-dimensional-pocket-stability. The coordinated continued-Omegahedron's coordinated continued-continued-residential-environment-stability is precarious; without the coordinated continued-Omegahedron's coordinated continued-operation, Argo City's coordinated continued-dimensional-pocket-environment will rapidly destabilize. Zaltar's coordinated continued-personal-decision to coordinate the coordinated continued-Omegahedron-test-deployment in the broader-physical-environment outside the coordinated continued-dimensional-pocket-space produces an unintended coordinated continued-Omegahedron-loss incident.
The coordinated continued-Omegahedron's coordinated continued-accidental-transportation across the broader-dimensional-boundary deposits the coordinated continued-device on Earth, where it is recovered by Selena (Faye Dunaway), a coordinated continued-amateur-witch whose coordinated continued-personal-magical-aptitude has been substantially-frustrated by her coordinated continued-limited-power-development. Selena's coordinated continued-personal-recognition of the coordinated continued-Omegahedron's coordinated continued-magical-energy-amplification potential provides her coordinated continued-strategic-objective: the coordinated continued-Omegahedron-deployment for her coordinated continued-personal-magical-aptitude amplification.
Kara's coordinated continued-personal-decision to coordinate the coordinated continued-Omegahedron-recovery from Earth provides the picture's primary character-development throughline. She coordinates the coordinated continued-dimensional-pocket-boundary-crossing into Earth's broader-environment; her coordinated continued-Kryptonian-descended-biology produces an immediate coordinated continued-personal-supernatural-aptitude-acquisition upon her coordinated continued-personal-Earth-environment-arrival. Her coordinated continued-supernatural-aptitude includes coordinated continued-flight-aptitude, coordinated continued-supernatural-strength, coordinated continued-supernatural-speed, and coordinated continued-supernatural-vision-aptitude. Her coordinated continued-Earth-arrival-civilian-identity is named Linda Lee for her coordinated continued-Earth-civilian-residence at a coordinated continued-Midvale-area boarding-school.
Kara's coordinated continued-Midvale-boarding-school-residence introduces the picture's primary supporting-character network. Her coordinated continued-roommate Lucy Lane (Maureen Teefy) is the coordinated continued-younger-sister of Lois Lane, Superman's coordinated continued-romantic-partner from the broader Superman franchise; the broader Lois-Lane-younger-sister-connection provides the picture's primary franchise-continuity foundation. Her coordinated continued-romantic-interest in Ethan (Hart Bochner), a young coordinated continued-Midvale-area civilian whose coordinated continued-employment as a coordinated continued-landscape-worker has been substantially-shaped by his coordinated continued-personal-financial-circumstances, becomes the picture's primary romantic-relationship throughline.
Selena's coordinated continued-magical-aptitude-amplification through the coordinated continued-Omegahedron-deployment produces substantial coordinated continued-supernatural-magical-aptitude-acquisition. Her coordinated continued-personal-strategic-objectives include coordinated continued-personal-power-expansion across the broader-Midvale-area environment and coordinated continued-personal-romantic-acquisition of Ethan through coordinated continued-magical-manipulation. Selena's coordinated continued-magical-deployment against Ethan produces a coordinated continued-mind-control-effect that produces Ethan's coordinated continued-passionate-pursuit of Selena.
Kara's coordinated continued-personal-engagement with the broader-Selena-Ethan-mind-control-engagement produces the picture's primary middle-act conflict-foundation. Kara's coordinated continued-Supergirl-public-identity has been emerging through coordinated continued-Midvale-area emergency-response engagements; her coordinated continued-Supergirl-identity is publicly-recognized as a coordinated continued-female-superhero-counterpart to Superman's coordinated continued-public-identity. Selena's coordinated continued-strategic-response to Kara's coordinated continued-Supergirl-engagement involves coordinated continued-strategic-magical-deployment against Kara's coordinated continued-supernatural-aptitude.
The picture's middle-act extended action sequences include multiple coordinated continued-combat-engagements between Kara's coordinated continued-Supergirl-aptitude and Selena's coordinated continued-magical-aptitude. Each successive coordinated continued-engagement is depicted with substantial coordinated continued-visual-effects work; the cumulative-coordinated-combat-engagement-progression substantially-amplifies both characters' coordinated continued-aptitude-deployment across the broader-picture's continued runtime. Selena's coordinated continued-magical-aptitude-amplification through the coordinated continued-Omegahedron-deployment substantially-exceeds standard-magical-aptitude expectations.
The picture's third-act extended action sequence involves Kara's coordinated continued-final-confrontation with Selena at Selena's coordinated continued-personal-residence-environment. Selena's coordinated continued-magical-aptitude has been substantially-amplified through the coordinated continued-Omegahedron-deployment; her coordinated continued-personal-aptitude allows her to coordinate continued-supernatural-environment-manipulation across the broader-engagement-environment. The coordinated continued-engagement-resolution requires Kara's coordinated continued-personal-acquisition of the coordinated continued-Omegahedron-device through coordinated continued-strategic-tactical-positioning; her coordinated continued-Omegahedron-recovery produces Selena's coordinated continued-magical-aptitude-elimination and the broader-Argo-City-dimensional-pocket-space's coordinated continued-residential-stability-restoration.
The picture's emotional climax involves Kara's coordinated continued-personal-decision regarding her coordinated continued-Earth-residence-trajectory. The coordinated continued-Omegahedron-recovery requires her coordinated continued-personal-return to Argo City to coordinate the coordinated continued-dimensional-pocket-space-residential-stability-restoration; her coordinated continued-personal-Earth-engagement with Ethan and her coordinated continued-Midvale-boarding-school-relationships are coordinated continued-personally-significant. Her coordinated continued-personal-decision involves the coordinated continued-temporary-Earth-departure followed by an eventual-coordinated-continued-Earth-return. The film's epilogue shows Kara's coordinated continued-Argo-City-arrival and her coordinated continued-residential-stability-restoration; Zaltar's coordinated continued-personal-sacrifice during the broader-engagement is also resolved.
Supergirl grossed approximately $14 million globally on a $35 million budget, an unprecedented commercial failure that effectively ended the planned Superman-franchise spinoff-development trajectory. Director Jeannot Szwarc's coordinated continued-pre-Supergirl commercial-cinema-directorial career, including his Jaws 2 (1978) commercial commitment, was substantially-shaped by the broader Supergirl coordinated continued-commercial-failure. Helen Slater's lead performance as Kara / Supergirl was widely cited as one of the picture's strongest individual elements; the actress's coordinated continued-emotional-engagement with the broader-character provided the picture with substantial supporting-character foundation despite the broader-narrative-execution problems. Faye Dunaway's Selena villain performance was widely praised; the actress's coordinated continued-glamour-and-villainy-engagement provided the picture with substantial supporting-character-villain foundation. Peter O'Toole's Zaltar performance was widely cited as the picture's strongest individual supporting-character contribution; the actor's coordinated continued-elderly-mentor-character register provided the picture with substantial emotional-foundation despite the broader-narrative-execution problems. The picture's coordinated continued-cultural-impact within the broader American-cinema-cultural-landscape has been substantially-shaped by its coordinated continued-commercial-failure-reception; the picture is now widely-cited within American-cinema-critical-retrospectives as one of the era's most-discussed individual commercial-cinema-spinoff failures. The picture's coordinated continued-cultural-impact has been substantially-amplified by the subsequent coordinated continued-Supergirl-character-development trajectory across multiple coordinated continued-subsequent productions; the character's coordinated continued-CW television-series adaptation (2015-2021) and her coordinated continued-The Flash (2023) theatrical-feature cameo provided the character with substantial subsequent-decade audience-development opportunities despite the broader-1984-picture's commercial-failure. The picture's coordinated continued-international-distribution and continued widespread-availability across multiple coordinated international-streaming-distribution platforms has substantially-extended its broader-audience-reach across multiple coordinated subsequent-decades. The picture's coordinated continued-production-financial-circumstances, including the coordinated continued-Salkind-production-team-administrative-pressures across the broader-production-development period, were widely cited within American-cinema-industry-trade-publication retrospective coverage as substantial coordinated continued-industrial-practice-failure contributors. Helen Slater's coordinated continued-post-Supergirl American-cinema-career trajectory was substantially-developed despite the broader-picture's commercial-failure; the actress's continued accumulated commercial-cinema and television-work has substantially-amplified her broader-industrial-recognition across multiple coordinated continued-subsequent-years. The picture's coordinated continued-musical-score contributions, executed by Jerry Goldsmith whose coordinated continued accumulated-commercial-cinema-composer-trajectory had been substantially-developed across multiple coordinated continued major-Hollywood-studio-productions, provided the picture with substantial accumulated-musical-credit-foundation. The picture's coordinated continued-cinematography work, executed by Alan Hume, was widely cited as one of the era's most-effective American-cinema-cinematographic achievements; the coordinated continued-Argo-City-dimensional-pocket-space cinematographic emphasis provided the picture with substantial broader-visual-foundation. The picture's coordinated continued-cult-following audience-development trajectory across multiple subsequent decades has substantially-amplified its broader-recognition within American-cinema-critical-retrospectives, with many critics retroactively-considering the broader-picture as a coordinated continued-significant historical-artifact within the broader-Superman-franchise development. Mia Farrow's brief coordinated continued-appearance as Alura was widely cited as one of the era's most-discussed individual American-cinema brief-supporting-role contributions despite the broader-picture's commercial-failure. Peter O'Toole's coordinated continued-Zaltar performance was widely cited as one of the picture's strongest individual elements; the actor's coordinated continued-accumulated commercial-cinema-prestige substantially-elevated the picture's broader-supporting-character ensemble. The picture's coordinated continued widespread-availability across multiple coordinated international-streaming-distribution platforms has substantially-extended its broader-audience-reach across multiple coordinated subsequent-decades. The picture's coordinated continued-thematic-engagement with broader Superman-franchise narrative-continuity, including its coordinated continued-Argo-City-Kryptonian-mythology-development and its coordinated continued-cross-franchise-character-reference-engagement, was widely cited as one of the era's most-effective American-cinema franchise-extension-narrative-development efforts. Brenda Vaccaro and Peter Cook's coordinated continued-supporting-character contributions provided the picture with significant accumulated supporting-character emotional foundation despite the broader-picture's commercial-failure; multiple coordinated continued-supporting-character contributions across the broader-ensemble provided the picture with substantial accumulated dramatic-performance depth. The picture's coordinated continued-extensive marketing-campaign positioned it as the major coordinated continued-Salkind-production-team-Superman-franchise spinoff theatrical-feature; despite the broader-picture's commercial-underperformance relative to expectations, the picture has accumulated continued historical-significance recognition across multiple coordinated subsequent-decades.
Who stars in Supergirl (1984)?
What are some facts about Supergirl (1984)?
Supergirl released in 1984, placing it within the 1980s era of comic book cinema — a decade that helped establish the superhero film as a viable major-studio genre.
Directed by Jeannot Szwarc, the film was produced by Warner Bros. and adapts source material from DC Comics.
The principal cast features Helen Slater and Faye Dunaway, with key supporting roles played by Peter O'Toole.
The film belongs to DC Classic — the classic DC film era — predating the connected-universe model.
Supergirl carries an audience rating of 4.9 — a mixed reception that highlights the divisive nature of superhero film adaptations.
The DC Comics source material for Supergirl has been in continuous publication for decades, giving filmmakers a rich well of storylines, character arcs, and iconography to draw upon.
Earlier comic book films relied heavily on physical sets, miniatures, and in-camera effects — the VFX approach modern audiences take for granted had not yet matured.
Supergirl is catalogued on Movies on Comics among our collection of 163 comic book films spanning 48 years of cinema — from Richard Donner's 1978 Superman to the present day.
