Supergirl Remakes A Legendary Western – And Improves One Key Thing

This article contains spoilers for the ending of "Supergirl."

There's an old adage that says "good artists copy, great artists steal," and this is boldly on display in the new DC Universe film, "Supergirl" (read our review here). Based on the "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" comic book miniseries by Tom King and Bilquis Evely, the plot of "Supergirl" centers on a young, grieving teenage girl named Ruthye (Eve Ridley) who hires the seemingly perpetually white-girl wasted Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) to help her hunt down the powerfully violent mercenary who killed her father. If this sounds like a familiar tale, it's because "Girl of Tomorrow" is an iteration of the greatest Western films of all time, "True Grit."

Based on Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, "True Grit" is the story of Mattie Ross, a vengeful, stubborn young girl who is on a mission to kill a criminal named Tom Chaney, who murdered her father and numerous others. Mattie hires the aging, alcoholic U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn to help her take him down. The novel has been adapted twice (and given a pretty unwatchable sequel): once in 1969, starring John Wayne and Kim Darby, and again in 2010, starring Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld. In both adaptations, as well as "Supergirl," the outcome of Mattie/Ruthye's revenge plot all conclude on very different terms.

And in this writer's opinion, Ruthye's ending is the one Mattie Ross deserved all along.

The original "True Grit" Mattie is played by Kim Darby, who was 21 at the time of filming. While she certainly has a childlike face, there's a maturity to her performance that cannot be denied. While she does get the opportunity to wound him, when Mattie later fires the would-be kill shot at Chaney, the Dragoon's recoil knocks her backward into a snake pit, and it's up to Rooster Cogburn to kill Chaney to essentially clean up her mess.

In the Coen Brothers' take on "True Grit," Mattie was played by a 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld, unquestionably a young woman who might not be fully aware of the extent of her actions. When she approaches Tom Chaney, he fails to recognize her as a threat, even after she pulls a gun on him while they're standing in the river. Later on, when Mattie gets the opportunity to kill him again, the gun does not misfire, and she is the one who takes him out, but in doing so, she falls into the snake pit, where she's bitten and has to have her arm amputated.

"True Grit" (1969) has a noticeably more upbeat ending, with Mattie and Rooster Cogburn reuniting later in life, and Mattie appears well-adjusted. "True Grit" (2010) shows an adult Mattie who has grown into a fiercely independent person to the point of being a frigid old woman with little community. The original showed her failing in her quest for vengeance, but the film ends optimistically. The remake shows her mission succeeding, but with a solitary life that followed. Both endings have very different ideas of what is "right" for Mattie, but "Supergirl" finds the balance that hits just right.

"Supergirl" makes some structural changes to the "Woman of Tomorrow" comic on which its based, but what stays the same is that from the moment Krem massacres her family, Ruthye is on a mission to track him down and kill him by any means necessary. When she first meets Kara, it's because she's announced to an entire room that she's on a mission to kill Krem and is looking for assistance. Kara spends the film's runtime trying to explain to Ruthye that killing Krem won't make her feel better or bring her family back, but will change her forever. When Ruthye finally has Krem in the position where she could kill him once and for all, she listens to Kara and walks away, tears in her eyes. She chooses not to kill Krem, not in a show of weakness or mercy, but by valuing her own psyche and refusing to give him any more power in influencing her future. She listens to Kara's advice, knowing it is coming from a place of sincere protection.

She also knows that Kara, who is already carrying the burden of a dying planet on her heart, is willing to add one more to the pyre. Kara kills Krem to honor Ruthye's family, as penance for Krem nearly killing Krypto, and for the hell he has inflicted upon countless planets. Ruthye gets to move forward, and the killing of Krem allows Kara to turn the page on this destructive chapter in her life.

Ruthye might not have delivered the killing blow, but Krem died knowing exactly why Kara was killing him, thereby avenging her family's deaths and allowing her to move toward a future where she has a found family and community of her own.

"Supergirl" is now playing in theaters everywhere.