Supergirl and Avengers: Doomsday: How Well Are They Adapting The Source Material?

2026 is a massive year for comic book movies. We've got a new Spider-Man movie, the Avengers returning to the big screen for the first time in almost a decade and Supergirl/Clayface marking their first solo movies in the new DCU.

While Brand New Day and Clayface are only not taking elements from any specific comic book run (it doesn't seem like Spider-Man is adapting many elements from the comic of the same name), the other two in this year's list feature direct adaptations of very iconic source material. Supergirl with "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" by Tom King and Doomsday with Jonathan Hickman's "Time Runs Out" run. Although both filmmakers and executives at both studios always make it clear that these are "adaptations" and not 1:1 storytelling, there's been a decently large uproar online about these two projects compared to their comic book counterparts.

Today, I want to take a look at both of these projects and compare them with the comic book runs they are attempting to adapt. As a lifelong comic book fan myself, I've read both runs multiple times and they have both become two of my favorite runs of all time (Hickman's Fantastic Four - Secret Wars run would be my sole favorite comic book run ever). After comparing them, I'd also like to give my opinion on comic book adaptations as a whole and how necessary they really need to stick to the original work.

Supergirl vs. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

Credit: DC Comics

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow released in Summer of 2021 and was received very positively. There were some skeptics, sometimes related to controversies with the creative team, but most fans were excited for Kara Zor-El to finally have a iconic comic event. The plot of the comic reads as "it follows the title character as she helps a young warrior (Ruthye) track the violent killer who slew her father across the universe, and explores her origins from a darker angle." The comic was known for its emotional exploration of Supergirl's past and future, but also an incredibly vibrant art style. It's no wonder that shortly after release, James Gunn announced an adaptation of the comic to fit into his first slate of movies in his DCU.

This was a project that most fans were very confident in from the beginning. Gunn hired a seasoned director in Craig Gillespie (I Tonya, Cruella) and cast up-and-coming actress Milly Alcock (House of The Dragon) in the title role. He also surrounded Alcock with a supporting cast that seemed to be very similar to the book. This felt like a story that would be easiest to do close to a 1:1 adaptation of, considering how little continuity issues there were so early in the universe.

Since the trailer has come out, there has been mixed reception. There's many things most people seem to agree on: Milly looks to be a great casting for Kara, they are sticking to the actual plot of the comic and the tone seems to mirror what we saw in King's book. But there's also a large group of the fanbase that instantly took issue with some of the changes.

Credit: DC Studios

The villain of the comic, Krem of the Yellow Hills, is far from an iconic DC Villain. He serves a very singular purpose as a deranged man who kills the father of our POV character, Ruthye. However, his simple design of just being a shirtless man with a beard and red hair is something that really worked in the context of the comic. That's why fans were so surprised to see his design in the trailers, with metal melded to his face and a bulky villain suit. There was even some confusion after the trailer dropped if that character was even supposed to be Krem. Not only did the design cause an outrage in the fanbase, but even early test screenings said that Krem was a forgettable villain in the end product. Add that onto the fact that Jason Momoa's Lobo, who doesn't appear in the comic, was such a standout with the fanbase and you have a serious villain problem.

The second major difference is the visual style of the project. There's no debate that Gillespie and his team took a very different approach compared to the bright visuals of the comic. The film definitely has a darker style, outside of the bright colors for Kara's suit and a few shots scattered across all the promo. To some, the bright visuals are what make this story what it is, so that caused another scatter of criticism for Gunn and his oversight of this adaptation.

So the question becomes, how pivotal are those two elements to the actual story? Can this project stand on its own as a good movie without them? My answer has to be yes. Sure, I'm disappointed as a fan of the comic that those two elements weren't included here. I've saved a ton of photos of the art over the years and I always thought the simplicity of Krem really made it impactful when he hurts both Kara and Ruthye. But at the end of the day, I don't think either are a huge problem as long as the changes are executed well. If Krem can still be at the very least a serviceable villain (think Ronan in Guardians of The Galaxy), I don't think the bizarre design will make much of a difference for the final product. Sure, the visual style is very different from the book, but it's not like it's bad. There's many shots, especially the ones in space, that are going to look stunning on the big screen. The movie itself is looking really strong with all of the elements we know so far and I personally don't think any of the changes are going to affect the quality of the film itself.

Avengers: Doomsday vs. Time Runs Out

Credit: Marvel Comics

Jonathan Hickman's run on both Fantastic Four and Avengers culminating in Secret Wars is widely considered as one of the best comic runs of all time. It took place over an entire decade and featured the crossover of so many characters. The run focuses on the topic of incursions, when two universes collide and are destroyed unless one destroys the other. The multiverse is collapsing and it's up to some of Marvel's smartest heroes to attempt to solve it. It serves as a moral struggle and an epic event that really does feel like the end of everything our heroes hold dear. There's many overarching villains in the run, but Doctor Doom emerges as the main one by the end. With Marvel coining this saga the "Multiverse Saga" after Endgame was released and gaining the rights to the previously-owned FOX characters, it felt like Hickman's run would be the end goal.

Avengers: Doomsday is an incredibly different case compared to Supergirl for two reasons: the MCU is already a well-established universe and there were behind the scenes issued that rushed the project into production. The original villain of the saga-ending films was meant to be Jonathan Majors' Kang, with Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars meant to be more loose adaptations of Hickman's run. But in 2023 Majors was fired by Marvel after being convicted for an assault charge, meaning that Marvel had to make a quick pivot from what they had been setting up all saga. Enter Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom and the Russo Brothers directing, a move that ignited more chatter for the announced Doomsday and Secret Wars than has been seen for any other Marvel film.

Not only did Marvel bring those creatives, but they also announced the return of old X-Men actors and people like Chris Evans that were thought to have been done with the genre for good. Marvel made the decision to go all out and attempt to close this rocky saga with a bang.

Credit: IMDB/SDCC/Marvel Studios

This one sparked chatter for a ton of reasons, some more related to the castings than the actual comic book. Robert Downey Jr. as Victor Von Doom was an incredibly controversial one, both due to the characters Romani roots and also the fact that he'd played Marvel's biggest hero in the previous saga. Some were saying that both the casting of Downey and the hiring of the Russos was a desperation move for Marvel after Majors hurt their plans. Then there was the cast being announced, mostly prioritizing legacy characters over heroes that have been a major focus in this saga (Doctor Strange and Spider-Man for example, still haven't been confirmed to appear in the project). Then there's the fact that the whole thing feels rushed, with most of the main storylines of the project not being set up besides a couple post credit scenes from Marvel's 2025 entries.

These are all reasons to be concerned for both the movie as a whole and the adaptation of it all. Even though this comic run means an incredible amount to me and I'd love to see it get the proper due over many years, the reality is that it is basically impossible for them to live up to Hickman's run. This took place over so many years and Jonathan Hickman basically had free reign over Marvel editorial for all of it. The lore and buildup was carefully built up, not only from Hickman's projects but everything that's come before. Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom's rivalry is at the height of the conflict, something Marvel Studios just didn't have time to establish because they didn't own the rights to either character until recently. Hickman's brilliance is something that just isn't possible in the Hollywood world, especially when Marvel had to pivot last minute after the Majors firing.

I think the hope from me and others is that the creatives on this project are so passionate that they will make an event epic enough to be experienced in theaters. The Russos are 4/4 on MCU projects and Downey probably wouldn't sign onto the project unless it made a lot of sense. The project itself is expected to adapt many elements of Hickman's story, including the colliding of universes and Doom as the main antagonist. It may not be even close to a direct adaptation, but the backdrop should be there to the point where comic fans will be satisfied.

Does It Matter?

Credit: Marvel Comics

So the question becomes, how valid is the outcry from comic book fans over these two projects? I think the answer isn't super straightforward. As someone who is both a fan of the comics and the movies, it's hard to get too upset over the changes either of these adaptations are making. Sure, I would've liked 5 more years of buildup for Doomsday and for Supergirl to make the necessary changes to get closer to Woman of Tomorrow, but it's hardly something that I think will prevent me from enjoying them. I think the problem here is that we as a community have to look at these projects as what they are: adaptations. They are adapting the source material, taking what they can from the books and fitting it into the story they want to tell within their universe. Sure, it's disappointing to see the changes to Krem and for Doomsday to (most likely) not feature the Illuminati, but it's hard to blame a filmmaker for trying to make some elements on their own. As long as the basic premise and themes of the comic are there, which they appear to be in both these cases, then I'm not sure I'm in the camp of outraging over the projects.

There's also the fact that we haven't actually seen either film yet. Doomsday hasn't even gotten a full teaser and Supergirl promises many surprises that we haven't seen. There's a chance that we sit down for both and find that it's much more similar to the books than was initially realized. But assuming that's not the case, it really doesn't bother me as much as others.

I think as long as we look at these projects for what they are, it'll make our mental health a lot easier. You can enjoy the comics and the movies at the same time, or pick one or the other. As long as one pays proper tribute to the other, the comic book industry will be in good hands.