'It's a bird! It's a plane! It's proof that America wants a female superhero!' Adapting Supergirl for #MeToo Era Television.

This article examines the 2015–2021 television adaptation of Supergirl, a 1950s DC comic book superheroine, as a revisionist adaptation shaped by the cultural and industrial context of the #MeToo era. Drawing on interviews with the show's creative team and textual analysis, it explores how producers navigated Supergirl’s historically diminutive name, sexualized comic book costumes, and secondary status to Superman, reimagining her as a feminist icon with a more modest costume, a central narrative role, and inclusive representation of BIPOC and LGBTQ characters. While the series offered a critique of past gender norms in comics and expanded diversity on broadcast television, it also faced limitations imposed by DC Comics, production constraints, and persistent patriarchal industry practices. Ultimately, Supergirl’s adaptation demonstrated both the progressive potential and ongoing challenges of bringing female superheroes to mainstream television audiences.