It is not unusual for little details to be changed in an adaptation. This is certainly the case with the new DCU to date and the classic Superman comics. The first trailer for the 2026 Supergirl movie reveals another seemingly small change from the comics. However, this change addresses a minor plot hole from the source material.
The comic book miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is the main inspiration for the upcoming movie. Beyond confirming a shared plot, the first trailer features several visuals and lines of dialogue taken from the comic. However, the trailer also reveals a significant change which subtly affirms one of the movie’s themes.
What does DCU Supergirl movie change from the comics?
(Image Source: DC and Warner Bros.)
The trailer includes a brief scene, where a clearly drunk Kara Zor-El is celebrating her birthday alone in an alien bar. “Twenty-three will be the best year yet,” she toasts before adding, “Let’s be honest, babe. It’s not a very high bar to clear.” This establishes that the DCU Supergirl has just turned 23 years old. It also hints at her rough life to date and the horrors she has seen outliving her homeworld.
There is a similar scene involving Kara Zor-El drinking alone in a bar in the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow miniseries. However, in this scene, she declares that she is celebrating her 21st birthday. She also asserts that it is perfectly fine for her to be drunk now because of her age.
(Image Source: DC Comics / Bilquis Evely)
While the two year difference may not seem significant, it does denote two important changes. First, in the case of the DCU Supergirl, it reveals that she is not drinking purely to celebrate a milestone birthday. Indeed, the scenes showing her hungover imply that she has a drinking problem prompted by survivor’s guilt.
The other change addresses a logic problem with the scene from Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Namely, why does Kara Zor-El care about honoring the American drinking age? It makes sense that she might travel to an off-world bar to enjoy a drink where a yellow sun wouldn’t render her immune to alcohol. It does not make sense that she would feel the need to note that she is the legal drinking age in a country on another planet.
Supergirl arrives in movie theaters on June 26, 2026.