Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow's ending could be clearer about the fate of its three central characters, but there is a definitive answer.
Warning: contains spoilers for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #8!
The recent ending of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow has a few fans scratching their heads, wondering if the book’s main villain was actually killed by the comic's titular hero and if it's final scene is a lie. The answer is straightforward, though there's an obvious reason for any confusion. The eight-issue miniseries was written by Tom King with art by Bilquis Evely.
This space-fairing adventure follows Supergirl as she travels the stars with a companion named Ruthye. The two of them are in search of Krem, who killed Ruthye's father and poisoned Krypto, Supergirl's pet. As the two chase Krem across space, they learn he has signed up with a vicious crew of pirates, ravaging several worlds. The comic has explored the idea of whether Supergirl will allow Ruthye to kill Krem once they catch him, with the darkness they encounter along the way seemingly hardening her heart and corrupting one of DC's kindest and most altruistic heroes.
In Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #8, fans find out the answer, as Ruthye is unable to kill Krem due to Supergirl's influence, and he is instead imprisoned within the Phantom Zone to reflect and be rehabilitated. Throughout the series, the story is narrated by Ruthye, who writes a book about her adventures with Supergirl years later. However, at the end of the book Ruthye claims that Supergirl killed Krem. This is a fabrication made up by Ruthye at Supergirl's request so that Krem’s allies wouldn't know what really happened to him, and would focus their revenge on the superpowered Kryptonian. When Krem is released from the Phantom Zone decades later, he apologizes to Ruthye, who responds by cracking him over the head with her cane.
After Krem gets knocked out, he falls to the ground and it would be easy for readers to believe Ruthye has actually killed him. Adding to the confusion, it is at this point that Ruthye's narration fictitiously describes how Supergirl killed Krem. With a hidden resolution to their fight in the present, a fake narrative about what happened next, and a future scene depicted in silhouette where Krem is hit, falls down, and doesn't get up, it's easy to get the wrong impression. But Ruthye has only knocked Krem down in a symbolic act of disapproval, not killed him, as his arm is seen moving in the comic’s final pages.
Before this occurs, the conversation between Supergirl and Ruthye confirms that Ruthye made up the ending to her book, which she later comes to regret. She wishes she told the truth about what happened, despite the fact it would have risked her life. In her old age, she is no longer afraid of Krem's allies coming to avenge him. And that probably would have been for the best. Much of Ruthye's narration was a beautiful testament to how special and strong Supergirl actually is. It's a shame that the book she wrote about her time with Supergirl ended on a lie about murder rather than a lesson in justice and mercy.
Related Topics About The Author
Frank Martin is a comic writer and author who is not as crazy as his work makes him out to be. He's written the one-shot comics Macabre Motel and Grimm Space as well as the 2-part stories Polar Paradox, Pipe Creepers, and The Last Homicide. Frank's novels include the YA sci-fi thriller Predestiny published by Crossroads Press, the lake monster tale Oscawana published by Severed Press, among others. His work on Screen Rant primarily focuses on comics. Frank currently lives in New York with his wife and three kids.
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