The poster boy of DC comics, Superman hasn't really gotten the love he deserves over the last few years. After some influential but rocky live-action movies in the 70s and 80s, Superman's mainstream presence was relegated to a series of animated shows. Eventually, Superman returned to the big screen with the maligned Superman Returns in 2006, and his outings have been fairly dire since with even Henry Cavill's great acting chops not being enough to save the Snyderverse version of the character. But while Superman has at least still appeared in movies and shows over the last few decades, his video game counterpart hasn't been quite so lucky.
For decades now, DC fans have been begging for a good Superman game. Though the Man of Steel has appeared as a great supporting character in titles like Injustice, he hasn't had his own game for years, and any he has been the center of haven't been great. But as time moves on, and the pressure to create a good Superman game increases, it might be time for DC to focus on a different Kryptonian altogether.
Supergirl Might Be the Better Choice for a Video Game Adaptation
Despite his lackluster appearances in movies and TV, Superman is still one of the most beloved superheroes out there, and for good reason. Over the decades, countless comics have dived into what makes this hero tick, and more often than not, those stories end up being some of the best DC has to offer. So it's only natural then that fans are desperate to see these high-quality stories in video game format, just like Batman: Arkham did for the Caped Crusader. But over the years, the pressure to create a quality Superman game has only increased.
Fans have been asking for a Superman game for so long now that no matter what DC puts out, it'll be heavily scrutinized. Batman: Arkham Asylum performed so well on its initial release partly due to it taking fans by complete surprise, and it'd be impossible for a Superman game to do that now, even if it was good. Instead, DC might want to shift its focus to a different Kryptonian, Kal-El's older cousin, Supergirl. While Supergirl is still a fairly popular character, a game focused on her wouldn't warrant the same level of scrutiny as a Superman game, and it'd give the developer a lot more creative freedom when it comes to the story.
Debuting all the way back in 1959, Supergirl has had plenty of time to breach the mainstream. Supergirl has appeared throughout media since her 1950s debut, with one earlier example being the 1984 movie. Though its reception has been pretty divided, the CW's Supergirl show has done a lot to bring the character into the public consciousness since its debut in 2015. On the video game side of things, Supergirl also plays a prominent role in Injustice 2's main story.
But while many DC fans will now know a lot about Supergirl, she's about to get a lot more popular. According to James Gunn's recently announced DC movie and TV slate, Supergirl will be appearing at least twice over the next few years, with her first appearance being in the upcoming Flash movie, and the second being in her very own title movie, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, an adaptation of Tom King's beloved comic run.
With Supergirl presumably about to get a whole lot more popular, it's the perfect time for a video game centered on her. By having Supergirl as the main protagonist of a video game, fans can still access all of Superman's iconic powers, like flight, super speed, heat vision, and ice breath. On top of that, the creators are given much more freedom in how they approach the game's narrative and characterization because the expectations are not as high as with Superman.