Criminal. Liar. Thief. A Kingsagent sent to test the loyalty of the citizenry, who killed a good man for criticizing the ruler. That’s how Krem of the Yellow Hills is described in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely. We knew that Krem would get an upgrade to be the big bad of the upcoming movie Supergirl, directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueir, but until the final trailer released, we weren’t sure how much more imposing Krem would become.
The trailer shows off Krem and his group the Brigands, space marauders like the Ravagers from Guardians of the Galaxy, only worse. Played by Matthias Schoenaerts, Krem now has a face adorned with steel rivulets and wears imposing body armor. Most impressively of all, he seems capable of catching a whole tank with one hand and tossing it aside. This is not the same low-life from the comics.
Krem’s upgrade doesn’t totally come as a surprise. Already, we knew that Supergirl would deviate from the comics in some ways. It still seems to follow the basic True Grit-derived plot of Woman of Tomorrow, with Supergirl (Milly Alcock) being recruited by Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley) to hunt down Krem for killing her father. But it also seems to move away from the colorful, fantasy-influenced world designed by Evely in favor of a more gritty sci-fi setting. Further, Supergirl features Jason Momoa as the bounty hunter Lobo, a welcome and sensible addition, but an addition nonetheless.
Still, even an upgraded Krem is better than pitting Supergirl against someone like Rampage, Toyman, or Livewire, Superman enemies that Clark lends out to his cousin. As seen in the largely enjoyable CW series Supergirl, Kara often does battle with Superman villains, as her own rogues gallery isn’t nearly as recognizable as Clark’s. While the decision makes sense from an audience engagement perspective, it tends to relegate Supergirl to B-tier status, despite the fact that she does have some pretty good enemies in the comics.
