While Henry Cavill's Superman may be relegated to cameo appearances in other movies for the foreseeable future, Warner Bros. could shift the attention to Supergirl due to Zack Snyder's teases of her in Man of Steel. The concept of Supergirl stretches far back in the DC Comics canon, with the first "versions" of the character introduced in the 1940's. Since then, there have been dozens of different incarnations of the Girl of Steel, including an angelic/demon hybrid as well as Power Girl, the cousin of the Golden Age Superman from Earth-Two.

Kara Zor-El is undoubtedly the most popular version of the superhero, however, first appearing in 1959's Action Comics #252. In it, Kara is revealed as Kal-El's cousin from Argo City, a section of Krypton that survived the initial explosion only to die slowly from Kryptonite poisoning. To save her, Kara's parents rocketed her to Earth in a similar way to Kal-El, where she encountered her cousin and was inspired by him to become a hero. In the 1980s, DC's editorial staff decided that there were far too many Kryptonian survivors, so Kara was killed and erased from the timeline with the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot. The character's popularity endured despite her death, and in 2004 she was re-introduced into canon with the Superman/Batman story arc "The Supergirl From Krypton."

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Supergirl has experienced massive success outside the comics, with appearances in Justice League Unlimited, the animated film Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, and a 5 season television series. But what most people don't know is that the character is also prepped for a debut in the DCEU, courtesy of Zack Snyder's Man of Steel.

Supergirl Is Already On Earth

Supergirl Comic Man of Steel Prequel

In Man of Steel, when Clark discovers the Scout Ship on which he receives his suit, there's already an open pod inside the vehicle. This has led to much speculation and discussion on the part of audiences as to who or what was in the pod, and why exactly it's open. Attentive fans of Snyder's DC mythos already know that the answer to this mystery has been solved.

In Man of Steel: The Prequel, which was a one-shot comic book issue published by DC back in 2013, Kara Zor-El was introduced as a starship pilot who was forced to crash land on a foreign planet after her crew was murdered by an escaped Kryptonian criminal. As a result of their battle, the directional systems for the ship were fried, causing Kara to have to crash land on the nearest planet, which was Earth. The prequel comic reveals that the events take place thousands of years before the events of Man of Steel, meaning that Kara is alive somewhere on Earth.

This naturally raises a few questions as to how DC plans to move forward if they truly do want to introduce Supergirl into the DCEU. First and foremost, Kara's existence on Earth thousands of years before the beginning of the DCEU throws the entire franchise's timeline into a bigger limbo than it is in currently. It's possible that Kara could have been on Earth during Darkseid's ancient invasion in Justice League, fighting alongside the forces of the Atlanteans, Amazonians, and mankind in secret. Or if DC wanted to keep the character retired until they decide to give her a film, they could easily imply that she's been frozen in the Arctic or even trapped in the Phantom Zone herself, which could create tension between her and her famous cousin.

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The Kryptonians Are Alive In The Phantom Zone

Kryptonian Pods in Man of Steel

While Man of Steel is over 7 years old, there's still a lot of new insight about the movie coming to light. At the climax of the film, the combined efforts of the U.S. military, Lois Lane, and Superman himself help to force the Kryptonians back into the Phantom Zone where they came from. The confusion came from whether or not the villains were killed in the process, a fate that befell General Zod when he threatened to raze Earth to the ground.

Finally clearing up the controversy, Snyder recently revealed during his Man of Steel livestream and director's commentary that the Kryptonians indeed survived the jump to the Phantom Zone. This means that Zod's acolytes are ready and waiting for their round 2 against the Man of Steel, which might not come for years considering Clark's very recent death and return. In the meantime, there's always the possibility the Kryptonian criminals could run into Kara Zor-El instead.

A Supergirl Movie Could Be The Real Man Of Steel 2

Supergirl glying and smiling in DC Comics.

While reports have claimed that Henry Cavill's Superman will return in a limited capacity throughout the DCEU, there are also conflicting reports that suggest the studio is unsure of the viability of a Superman solo film. At best, this means that a potential Man of Steel sequel could be years off, and at worst it means that fans might never get one at all. Obviously this is disheartening news, as Cavill's Superman and the mythos built around him is the driving force behind the creation of the DCEU.

If the worst-case scenario were to occur, the plot threads introduced in Man of Steel could reach a natural conclusion in a Supergirl film. With Zod dead, the criminals in the Phantom Zone will need someone to lead them to the revenge that they'll desire, and who better to lead them than Faora? Antje Traue's performance as General Zod's second-in-command was one of the most frequently praised aspects of the film, despite her small role. Her cold and calculating demeanor served as a perfect foil to Zod's fiery and impulsive decision-making. She's the perfect candidate to lead the Kryptonians out of the Phantom Zone and back to Earth, and if Supergirl is there waiting for them then she would also serve as the perfect primary antagonist. With Kara's parents (and entire civilization) having been long dead on Krypton, Faora would be the perfect person to deliver this information to Kara, since she's been on Earth for thousands of years.

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Michael Shannon himself has also displayed an interest in returning in some capacity for a Supergirl movie, specifically if Zack Snyder himself was involved. Since Snyder helped to oversee the writing of the Man of Steel prequel comic, it wouldn't be a stretch for him to be involved in some capacity. Since Supergirl is such a popular female character in the comics, it only makes sense for her to be adapted to the screen by a female director, but Snyder could easily participate as a co-story writer or even a producer, as he was with Wonder Woman. At this point, the idea that fans may ever get a sequel to Man of Steel is entirely up in the air, but the fate of Supergirl in the DCEU may just be beginning.

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