This story originally appeared on Them.
Supergirl has many powers and one of them is defying the binary.
While speaking to journalist and content creator Ana Paula Barbosa for her Narrativa Feminina platform, Supergirl star Milly Alcock affirmed that there’s a very good reason why many queer fans see themselves in Kara Zor-El, the heroine’s real name.
“I think because she doesn’t live inside the binary of what we think a woman should be,” Alcock said. “That is what makes her so special and so exciting and so new.”
Alcock added that she also had a queer reading of the character. “I kind of thought that as well,” she said. “I was like … She’d do what she’d want to do in that regard anyway.”
She continued, “I have many queer friends. So, honestly, I’m kind of honored. I’m honored that that’s happening.”
Aside from playing Zor-El, Alcock also said that she’s played a “few characters that might have a potential queer through line.” Prior to stepping into the role of Supergirl, the 26-year-old Australian actress has also been a part of the incredibly popular Game of Thrones franchise, playing Rhaenyra Targaryen in the prequel series House of Dragons. In the show, Targaryen is one half of an extremely sapphic situationship with her best frenemy Alicent Hightower.
Alcock’s comments did receive minor pushback from some online fans of the franchise, who could think of nothing worse than a superhero being called queer. “James Gunn should gag her,” one person wrote, referencing the director of the 2025 film Superman. (Meanwhile, Supergirl is actually directed by Craig Gillespie, who has previously helmed I, Tonya and Cruella.)
Aside from criticism of her embracing the possibility of a queer Zor-El, Alcock has faced intense scrutiny from fans since news of her casting was first announced. She has also been vocal about such attacks, which she has faced since her time on House of Dragons. “I am aware that I am going to get comments,” she told Vanity Fair. “But I can’t really stop them. I can only be myself.”
This would not be the only interpretation of Kara Zor-El that heavily implies the character’s queerness. In fact, according to many Reddit threads and articles, the CW show Supergirl engaged in quite a bit of queerbaiting with Zor-El and her female characters. (For those of you keeping track at home, an instance where a television show continuously goads its audience with the potential of a queer relationship is the actual definition of queerbaiting and has nothing to do with your favorite celebrity having a nontraditional gender expression.) Fans of the CW show specifically sensed some sexual tension between Zor-El and Lena Luthor; however, nothing ever materialized between the two.
