Why Is Supergirl a Prisoner in ‘The Flash’? Explained

People were excited when they saw that Supergirl was going to be in the upcoming The Flash movie, especially after the big reveal of the trailer at the Super Bowl. In that regard, there were many things to be excited about Supergirl in this upcoming movie. But the one thing that some fans were wondering about was Supergirl’s status as a prisoner. So, why is Supergirl a prisoner in The Flash?

Supergirl is a prisoner in The Flash because she was possibly captured by the government when she arrived on the planet. She was probably used as an experimental lab rat by scientists that wanted to get to the bottom of her powers. As such, she likely ended up getting imprisoned for a long time.

It is important to note that The Flash movie seems inspired by the popular Flashpoint storyline in the comics, which also became an animated movie. In that story, Superman also became a prisoner after he was captured by the US Government when he arrived on the planet. Supergirl’s storyline may be the same in The Flash as we get to the bottom of this discussion.

Why Is Supergirl a prisoner in The Flash?

The trailer of The Flash, which was released during this year’s Superbowl, was one of the things that fans were excited about the DCEU, even though this entire fictional universe is set to see a reboot under the helm of James Gunn. But there’s a good chance that this movie will be the one to explain the reboot, as we are going to get to the point later on.

Of course, fans were excited about the different things that the trailer had to offer. But while we are all excited for the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman and General Zod’s appearance, one other Kryptonian got fans excited. We are talking about Kara Danvers, who we know as the Kryptonian hero called Supergirl.

But while Supergirl in the comics and the animated movies and shows have always been a character that was associated with Superman due to their familial ties, Kara in The Flash seems to be a different kind of character in terms of her appearance, personality, and story. Out of all of the different things people saw about her in the trailer, the one that caught the eye of fans was the fact that she was initially a prisoner. So, why is Supergirl a prisoner in The Flash?

As mentioned, we are going to talk more about the possibility of The Flash being the movie to reboot the DCEU, and that’s due to how it has a lot of similarities with the Flashpoint storyline, which was quite popular in the comics and was adapted into an animated movie. And Superman’s (or Supergirl’s) story is interesting in Flashpoint.

In Flashpoint, we saw how Barry Allen wanted to take control of his life by returning to the past to save his mother from getting killed. He succeeded in that regard but changed the course of history with one small act. 

In the new timeline that he created, there were a lot of things that were different. This included the fact that Bruce Wayne was the one who died in his father’s place and that it was Thomas Wayne who became a brutal version of Batman. But Superman’s story in Flashpoint is incredibly interesting.

Instead of growing up in Smallville and turning into a superhero, Kal-El was a foundling captured by the US Government when he landed on Earth. As such, instead of becoming Superman, he became a lab rat for the government as he was kept a prisoner so that scientists could conduct experiments on him. While in prison, he was a scared and skinny man that acted like a child due to how clueless he was about the world. Luckily for him, the Flash, Cyborg, and Batman trio broke him out.

Considering that The Flashpoint storyline seemingly inspires the Flash, there is a good chance that Supergirl was imprisoned for the same reason as his Kryptonian counterpart in Flashpoint. It is possible that she also landed on Earth but was apprehended and immediately imprisoned by the US Government so that they could conduct experiments on her and learn more about her Kryptonian physiology.

This explains why, in the trailer, the two versions of the Flash and Michael Keaton’s Batman were seen working together to break Kara out of prison, as the original Barry Allen was familiar with Clark Kent’s abilities. So, in this universe, it is possible that Clark never existed or landed on Earth but was replaced by Kara. This also solves the problem of a new actor taking over the role of Superman after the confusion about Henry Cavill’s role as the iconic character.

What is Supergirl’s role going to be in The Flash?

As mentioned, Supergirl will likely serve as Superman’s ” replacement ” in The Flash. This movie is set to introduce a new universe wherein Clark likely never landed on Earth or even existed. But what exactly is her role going to be in this movie?

At this point, we are not sure what Supergirl’s role in The Flash will be. But there are already clear indications of what will happen in the film, especially considering that General Zod is set to return.

As strong as the Flash may be, he doesn’t stand a chance against Zod’s might, which meant that he and Batman probably decided to find their big gun in the form of another Kryptonian. This leads us to Kara, who Barry thought would be Clark when he probably heard about a Kryptonian being held captive by the government.

Of course, in the trailer, we saw that Supergirl was the one who challenged Zod and tried to stop him from terraforming the Earth, and this was what Superman did in the Man of Steel movie released about a decade ago. As such, in this universe, since Kara was the Kryptonian that crashed on Earth instead of Clark, she will likely be the Kryptonian protector of the planet against domestic and interstellar threats.

That is why, in the trailer, we saw Supergirl donning a similar costume that Cavill’s Superman wore while playing the iconic superhero role. This makes me think that Supergirl here is more likely to be a female version of Superman instead of her being the live-action version of the skirt-wearing and blonde Supergirl that we are familiar with in the comics.

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