History Film / Supergirl

* [[ForgotAboutHisPowers Forgot About Her Powers]]: At one point in the climax, the floor is swaying around and Supergirl forgets about the flight power she's been using for the entire movie.

* [[Main/HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoist By Her Own Petard]]: Once Supergirl escapes the clutches of the giant demon Selena summons, she takes Nigel's advice to turn the witch's powers against her. Supergirl creates a cyclone that traps Selena and the demon together, and since it now has nothing else to go after, it turns on Selena.
* HomicideMachines: Selena controls a a bulldozer to capture Ethan when he wanders off.

* UpUpAndAway: This was averted; director Jeannot Szwarc deliberately tried to avoid making the flight scenes similar to those in the Superman film by opting instead for a more ballet-inspired take.

* DeusExitMachina: A radio news report mentions Superman's departure from Earth on an intergalactic peacekeeping mission, which explains why he isn't around to handle Serena.

The film's running time was slashed by its North American distributor for the American theatrical release -- from 125 minutes to 105 minutes -- and slashed further (to 92 minutes) for broadcast networks and syndication. Scenes cut from the film include a "flying ballet" in which Kara discovers her powers after arriving on Earth. The film was eventually released on DVD with both the 125-minute International Cut and a 138-minute DirectorsCut present (the latter basically being the rough cut before any scenes were deleted).

Oh, yes, almost forgot one thing: the plot. Argo City is a part of Krypton that survived the planet's destruction and thrives in another dimension, but is dependent on the tiny-but-powerful device known as the Omegahedron. Zaltar has been secretly fooling with it and when he hides it with innocent Kara (cousin of a certain Kal-El), her own foolishness causes it to "escape" the city. Everyone will be doomed in a few days without it, so she heads out into our dimension to retrieve it; following it to Earth, she gains her own superpowers from its yellow sun. Supergirl tracks the Omegahedron to the small town of Midvale and learns it has fallen into the clutches of Selena, who is using its powers in service of her witchcraft to TakeOverTheWorld (of course!).

* RapidAging: Selena betrays Nigel, steals the Burundi wand, and makes him old to spite his affections.

* TheStarscream: Selena betrays Nigel, taking his Burundi wand for herself and turning him old.
* SupervillainLair: After channeling the Omegahedron's powers through the Burundiwand, a device of "pure evil", one of Selena's first acts is to create this -- a mountain crowned with her new, Gothic castle materializes at the edge of Midvale. Soon she conquers the town, puts the authorities under her command, and has the heroine's friends caged up within as she and Bianca plot to extend her reach further and further. Her magic allows her to create traps on the fly to stymie the heroine.

* AntiVillain: Neither Nigel nor Bianca really ''do'' anything evil, but association with Selena doesn't make them heroes.

* MostCommonSuperpower: This was averted. Helen Slater, whose bra size is reportedly 32A, said the following in an interview about the film: "In the comics, Supergirl is quite, um, buxom...so I hope people won't come to the film expecting that."

* ArtifactOfDoom: Subverted. Selena thinks the Omegahedron is a conduit for the power of shadow, but it's amplifying her existing powers and is also used to power Argo City.
* AscendedFridgeHorror: The Phantom Zone is shown in all its infamy, complete with an endless void, a craggy surface, and all-encompassing darkness. Supergirl is trapped there briefly. Zaltar voluntarily went there. Both tried to escape; he never made it out...

* EvilCounterpart: Nigel to Zaltar -- both are mentor figures, but to the villainess and heroine respectively.

* FatalFlaw: Selena's impatience and short-sightedness is commented on by several characters, and the main reason she lacked the power to take over the world until finding the Omegahedron.

* [[Main/HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoist By Her Own Petard]]: Once Supergirl escapes the clutches of the giant demon Selena summons, she takes Nigel's advice to turn the witch's powers against her. Supergirl creates a cyclone that traps Selena and the demon together, and since it now has nothing else to go after...

* InvisibleMonsters: Selena sends an invisible demon to fight the superpowered Supergirl and reduce the movie's special effects budget, though it's briefly visible at the end of the fight.

* PortalPool: Inverted; a lake on Earth turns out to serve as this between Supergirl's dimension and our mundane one.
* ProductPlacement: Even by 1984's standards, this movie's blatant about it. One of the biggest action scenes takes place in and around a Popeyes Fried Chicken franchise. Popeyes is even prominent in the background of some of the most memorable stills from the movie of Helen Slater as Supergirl.

* EvilIsPetty: Selena torments a girl Nigel is interested in just to hurt him, and to gain followers. She's ''furious'' when Linda accidentally makes Ethan flal in love with her and vows to make her as miserable as Supergirl.

* EvilTeacher: Nigel's day job is to teach at Midvale College.

* SocialButterfly: Bianca is good friends with the locals, inviting them to parties at Selena's house. Selena later exploits this to gain followers.

* YearInsideHourOutsideA: The Phantom Zone is implied to work like this. Zaltar feels it's been forever inside when only a few days have passed.

* IHaveYourWife: Selena and Nigel work together to kidnap Ethan so Supergirl will come to them.

* TakenForGranite: A scene in the international and director's cut versions has Selena turning a protestor into an ice statue... which melts.

* EvilIsPetty: Selena torments a girl Nigel is interested in just to hurt him, and to gain followers.

* ImpairmentShot: After waking up from the love potion's effects, the camera stumbles around as Ethan makes his way out of the haunted house.

* InstantSedation: Selena's love potion causes Ethan to fall asleep instantly.

* ATragedyOfImplusiveness: Kara messing with the Omegahedron and making a mechanical dragonfly come to life results in the dragonfly crashing through a window. The resulting vacuum causes the Omegahedron to fly out the window, putting Argo City in danger.

* AttemptedRape: Two truckers Kara encounters after her arrival have this on their mind.[[note]]One is Matt Frewer in a pre-''MaxHeadroom'' role![[/note]]
* BigBraToFill: While often (but [[DependingOnTheArtist not invariably]]) buxom in the comic books, Slater's Supergirl (even after a bit of help from the costuming department) is modestly endowed.

* CanonImmigrant: The headband Supergirl began wearing in 1984 (and was wearing when she died in ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'') was added at the request of the film's producers, who wanted DC's Supergirl to look like the movie version. DC agreed to the change -- and then the producers changed their minds. Screen test images of Helen Slater wearing the headband can be seen [[http://www.oocities.org/supergirl_helenslater/test-pilot.htm here]].

* EvilRedhead: Selena.

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Given the extreme liberties taken with her cousin's powers, such as [[SupermanII telekinesis]] and [[Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace "Rebuild-the-Great-Wall-of-China Vision"]], ''Supergirl'' surprisingly averts this, as Kara has all of her powers from the comics with no "extras" pulled out of thin air specifically for the movie.

* NoSocialSkills: Inconsistently applied with Kara; unlike her cousin, she arrives on Earth as a teenager instead of being raised amongst humans as a young child. She speaks fluent English, but doesn't understand certain customs (such as handshakes). She doesn't realize the function of a brassiere, either -- though considering her modest chest size and her mother being played by Mia Farrow, this may be justified.

* SocialButterfly: Bianca is good friends with the locals, inviting them to parties at Selena's house.

* AntiHero: Zaltar took the Omegahedron in the first place.

* DistaffCounterpart: This is noticed InUniverse by Selena's sidekick, Bianca:

** Bianca herself can be seen as this to Otis, Lex Luthor's sidekick in the first two films of the main series.

* [[Main/HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoist By Her Own Petard]]: Once Supergirl literally escapes the clutches of the giant demon Serena summons, she takes Nigel's advice to turn the witch's powers against her. Supergirl creates a cyclone that traps Serena and the demon together, and since it now has nothing else to go after...

* InvisibleMonsters: Selena sends an invisible demon to fight the superpowered Supergirl (and reduce the movie's special effects budget, though it's briefly visible at the end of the fight and foreshadows the demon she summons in the climactic battle).

* MagicMirror: Selena has one. Not only is it useful for spying on others, but it can also serve as a portal to and from the Phantom Zone!
* MostCommonSuperpower: This was definitely averted. Helen Slater, whose bra size is reportedly 32A, said the following in an interview about the film: "In the comics, Supergirl is quite, um, buxom...so I hope people won't come to the film expecting that."

* NoSocialSkills: Inconsistently applied with Kara; unlike her cousin, she arrives on Earth as a teenager instead of being raised amongst humans as a young child. She speaks fluent English, but doesn't understand certain customs (such as handshakes). She doesn't realize the function of a brassiere, either -- though considering her modest chest size and her mother being played by Mia Farrow, this may be justified. Perhaps Krypton is a PlanetOfHats where the Hat is UsefulNotes/{{Pettanko}} sized?
** Most people assume from that scene where Kara puts one of Lucy Lane's discarded bra on over her school uniform that she is doing so because she doesn't know what it is. But its equally plausible that she is simply trying it on to see whether it fits and then getting embarrassed when Lucy finds her trying to pad it out cause its too big. By this point she has been sharing a room with Lucy for a few days getting dressed and undressed in front of each other and even taking communal showers with the rest of the class. Kara is presented throughout the movie as a curious girl unafraid to ask questions. If she really didnt know what a bra was she would have asked Lucy before now and even if she didnt Lucy, and the rest of the class, would have certainly noticed that Kara wasnt wearing one.

* ProductPlacement: Even by 1984's standards, this movie's blatant about it. One of the biggest action scenes takes place in and around a Popeyes Fried Chicken franchise. Popeyes is even prominent in the background of some of the most memorable stills from the movie of Helen Slater as Supergirl. (This does ''not'' lead to a teamup of the Maid of Steel and a [[{{ComicStrip/Popeye}} certain sailor man]], though[[note]]Who didn't provide the restaurant's name, incidentally. According to the company, it was named for the protagonist of ''another'' film, ''Film/TheFrenchConnection'' - played by none other than Lex Luthor[[/note]].

* UpUpAndAway: This was averted; director Jeannot Szwarc deliberately tried to avoid making the flight scenes similar to those in the Superman film by opting instead for a more "feminine" ballet-inspired take.

* TakenForGranite: A deleted scene has Selena turning a protestor into an ice statue... which melts.

* LargeHam: Faye Dunaway

* WrittenInAbsence: The producers failed to secure a cameo from Christopher Reeve; during the movie, a radio news report mentions Superman's departure from Earth on an intergalactic peacekeeping mission. Reeve's Superman does appear once in the movie, but only on a poster in Lucy Lane's dorm room.

After considering many other actresses for the title role, Helen Slater was cast as Kara/Supergirl (marking her film debut), while Faye Dunaway played the movie's primary villain (the witch Selena) and Creator/PeterOToole portrayed Kara's Kryptonian mentor Zaltar. In an attempt to offer continuity with the Superman films, Marc [=McClure=] reprised his role as JimmyOlsen, and LoisLane's sister Lucy (Maureen Teefy) appears as the roommate of Linda Lee (Supergirl's secret identity).

[[caption-width-right:171: [[BoxOfficeBomb Also her last.]]]]

The film's running time was slashed by its North American distributor for the American theatrical release -- from 125 minutes to 105 minutes -- and slashed further (to 92 minutes) for broadcast networks and syndication. Scenes cut from the film include a "flying ballet" in which Kara discovers her powers after arriving on Earth. The film was eventually released on DVD with both the 125-minute International Cut and a 138-minute DirectorsCut present.

The 1984 film '''''Supergirl''''' followed ''Film/SupermanIII''; it was produced largely due to Creator/ChristopherReeve's lack of interest in portraying the Man of Steel a fourth time. Series producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind wanted to milk more money out of the franchise, and since they owned the film rights to Supergirl, they appeared to have found a way to continue the franchise despite no longer having its star actor.

* AllStarCast: Not to the extent of ''Film/{{Superman}}'' and its sequels, but besides Dunaway and O'Toole, there's Peter Cook (as Selena's mentor), Mia Farrow (Kara's mother), and Brenda Vaccaro (Selena's sidekick), all of whom have reputations comparable to the parent franchise's players.

* DawsonCasting: The casting of Kara isn't too bad by the usual standards of this trope; Helen Slater was 20 at the time, playing a high school age girl. But Lucy Lane? Actress Maureen Teefy was 31 at the time the movie was made! And, well... let's ''hope'' Jimmy Olsen (played by the 27 year old Marc [=McClure=]) is an example, as [[EpheboPhile the alternative interpretation]] is more than a little creepy.

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[Film/DieHard Ellis]] is in love with Linda!
* HeyItsThatVoice: Keen viewers will recognize Bianca as the voice of [[JohnnyBravo Bunny Bravo]].

* ''{{Magazine/MAD}}'': "Supergall," although unlike most of their satires - including their ones for the ''Superman'' movies - Supergirl got to keep her real name ("Can you do everything Superman does?" "Yes... except at the box office!").

* SupervillainLair: After channeling the Omegahedron's powers through the Burundi Wand, a device of "pure evil", one of Selena's first acts is to create this -- a mountain crowned with her new, Gothic castle materializes at the edge of Midvale. Soon she conquers the town, puts the authorities under her command, and has the heroine's friends caged up within as she and Bianca plot to extend her reach further and further. Her magic allows her to create traps on the fly to stymie the heroine.