Simon Gallagher has worked in movie and TV journalism for more than 17 years. He has written more than 6000 articles and reviews, and edited thousands more. He is an expert in the entertainment industry, particularly in the golden age of screen superheroes. Simon is also a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic.
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Quite apart from the quality of the movie - which, again, was actually far higher than Supergirl’s ending, and a major change to the original comic threatened to be the defining discussion point very quickly. And all because one of DC’s most heinous villains - a sex trafficking, murderous wretch who wanted a child bride (played a little too well by Matthias Schoenaerts) - was killed off. If you got a familiar feeling to Why Kara Kills Krem At The End Of Supergirl
Defeated, Krem is at the mercy of Ruthye and Kara, and the former goes to kill him, only for Supergirl to beg her not to, promising it won't ease her pain. We're led to believe this is Kara's growth and her eventual victory over her own trauma. And then, as Ruthye walks away, convinced not to spill blood for the sake of her own soul, Kara sticks a sword through Krem's neck and kills him, ignoring her own message.
There is some logic here, however, because the first time Kara stopped Ruthye from killing Krem led directly to more death, and a further escalation of Krem's villainy. He's presented as completely irredeemable and a threat who requires a permanent solution to break the cycle. There's probably an element of revenge to Kara's choice, too, given And beyond the narrative reasons, we actually know why it was decided that Kara would kill Krem at the end of Supergirl, because the writer also revealed it. Incredibly, it was because she simply didn’t understand what actually happened in the comic.
How Supergirl Killing Krem Changes The Comic
Decades later, Ruthye and Kara reunite to release the rehabilitated Krem at the end of his sentence; he apologizes and Ruthye hits him over the head with her cane before leaving. It’s a cathartic moment, but it’s one Noguiera misread, believing Ruthye actually killed him, as she confirmed in an :
“I find it’s quite a dark ending of the comic. He essentially has changed, and she kills him anyway, because she still just has this anger, and you understand there’s this element of deserve, right?”
Only, she didn’t kill him. As Tom King, the writer of the comic firmly stated , Krem undeniably survives:
"This is not supposed to be ambiguous. He’s supposed to be alive at the end. That’s why he grabs his head. Ruthye does not forgive him, still f***ing hates him, bops him on the head, and walks away. "
Obviously, in the movie, we don’t to see the epilogue flash forward into the future, because Krem isn’t sentenced to imprisonment. His death means Ruthye isn’t able to deliver her morality lesson to Kara, and nobody achieves any kind of growth, though Kara stopping Ruthye from killing Krem does save her from eternal torment, apparently.
The Problem With Kara Killing Krem In Supergirl
Clark tells Kara that they wear colorful costumes so everyone knows they’re the good guys, and her first act while wearing it is to kill. There is, obviously a commentary in here that sometimes good guys have to make difficult decisions, but it’s all very garbled, and all that’s resulted is a repeat of
6/10
- Release Date
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June 26, 2026
- Runtime
- Director
- Writers
108 minutes
Craig Gillespie
Ana Nogueira
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Supergirl
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Eve RidleyRuthye