Has Supergirl surpassed Wonder Woman in popularity?

[LastSonOfShaolin]

I feel like Supergirl is more popular than Wonder Woman these days. And if the upcoming Flash movie is good then Supergirl's appearance (if she's good in it also) will rise her stock even more.

The last few seasons of Supergirl tv show and the last Wonder Woman movie hasn't done any favors for either character but can a case be made that Supergirl is DC's current most popular heroine?

[MadFacedKid]

I’d be surprised if anyone would come to this conclusion given the fact Diana or her brand is constantly on the shelves. She has two live action movies and 2 animated ones. As well as featured prominently in pretty much every animated adaptation. I really don’t see anyone on any forum really talk about the Supergirl show but to be fair I also don’t really look for it. Her casting for the Flash movie got attention but honestly every casting gets attention.

I don’t even think Supergirl is even able to touch Harley right now in popularity let alone Diana.I’d honestly imagine her Marvel counterpart has more attention right now as well.

[LastSonOfShaolin]

I’d be surprised if anyone would come to this conclusion given the fact Diana or her brand is constantly on the shelves. She has two live action movies and 2 animated ones. As well as featured prominently in pretty much every animated adaptation. I really don’t see anyone on any forum really talk about the Supergirl show but to be fair I also don’t really look for it. Her casting for the Flash movie got attention but honestly every casting gets attention.

I don’t even think Supergirl is even able to touch Harley right now in popularity let alone Diana.I’d honestly imagine her Marvel counterpart has more attention right now as well.

Who's her Marvel counterpart?

We cant forget though that Supergirl was the first female hero to get a movie.

[DrNewGod]

Unless I see verifiable data-driven study to the contrary, I'd say no.

[Digifiend]

Who's her Marvel counterpart?

We cant forget though that Supergirl was the first female hero to get a movie.

I assume they meant Captain Marvel. Notice how similar their names are? Kara Danvers and Carol Danvers?

[MadFacedKid]

Who's her Marvel counterpart?

We cant forget though that Supergirl was the first female hero to get a movie.

Having a movie isn’t the end all of popularity though. There’s more factors to think on, the push for Supergirl isn’t the same for the one Diana gets

[Nite-Wing]

WW isn't that popular because DC doesn't really go all in with promoting her in comparison to Batman or Superman
Still she's getting a movie trilogy and she would have had a tv show before supergirl if that pilot got greenlit
Make of that what you will
Supergirl is popular but she is always going to have the same problem that WW sort of has but not to the degree Supergirl does
Being viewed as the female version of superman not a lot to set you apart there

[Ilan Preskovsky]

Absolutely not.

If anything Wonder Woman hasn't been this popular in decades. And a lukewarm reception to WW84 has done nothing to change that.

[Jim Kelly]

Wonder Woman got a T.V. movie (two in fact) before Supergirl got her theatrical movie. You might not think that counts--but it's only in the United States where this matters, really. In other countries--whether it was on T.V. or in a theatre in the U.S. is immaterial. They are all movies and viewed on either the big screen or the small screen.

Both super-heroines have been so much rebooted and retconned--but I'd say Supergirl is the worst for this--so it's hard to follow what is the actual Supergirl story. With Superman and Batman, there are certain basic facts that never change.

In terms of merchandise Wonder Woman is huge in other parts of the world. Supergirl is just a sub-category of Superman--it's the same T-shirt.

[achilles]

Not even close. WW is the top female character in DC, full stop, far more popular than any other such character.

[Jabare]

No Wonder Woman's been in 4 (5 if you count the Snyder Cut) big-budget blockbuster movies.

Supergirl has a show with okay ratings on the CW that probably does better in recent years due to people streaming more and the fact that we are still very much in a pandemic.


Wonder Woman's been around longer. She's more of a pop-culture icon and she isn't derivative. There is nothing inherently wrong with being derivative, but Supergirl is derivative with Superman and hasn't ever truly separated from him beyond a storyline. Even the initial seasons of Supergirl very much tied her to Superman.


Just to clarify, someone can initially be a derivative character and find their unique niches like She-Hulk or current Captain Marvel, but Supergirl especially in the show you are referencing is still very similar to Superman that looms over her. Wonder Woman doesn't have that.


Then Wonder Woman is more well known globally. More marketing dollars are spent on her. She does better with merchandising. There are tons of figures you could easily google to support all those points.

[LastSonOfShaolin]

No Wonder Woman's been in 4 (5 if you count the Snyder Cut) big-budget blockbuster movies.

Supergirl has a show with okay ratings on the CW that probably does better in recent years due to people streaming more and the fact that we are still very much in a pandemic.


Wonder Woman's been around longer. She's more of a pop-culture icon and she isn't derivative. There is nothing inherently wrong with being derivative, but Supergirl is derivative with Superman and hasn't ever truly separated from him beyond a storyline. Even the initial seasons of Supergirl very much tied her to Superman.


Just to clarify, someone can initially be a derivative character and find their unique niches like She-Hulk or current Captain Marvel, but Supergirl especially in the show you are referencing is still very similar to Superman that looms over her. Wonder Woman doesn't have that.


Then Wonder Woman is more well known globally. More marketing dollars are spent on her. She does better with merchandising. There are tons of figures you could easily google to support all those points.

What about in comics? Has Wonder Woman always been a top seller as far as comics are concerned? I've never really looked into comic sales.

[Castling]

I feel like Supergirl is more popular than Wonder Woman these days. And if the upcoming Flash movie is good then Supergirl's appearance (if she's good in it also) will rise her stock even more.

The last few seasons of Supergirl tv show and the last Wonder Woman movie hasn't done any favors for either character but can a case be made that Supergirl is DC's current most popular heroine?

Wonder Woman is more popular, without a doubt.

[Agent Z]

Who's her Marvel counterpart?

We cant forget though that Supergirl was the first female hero to get a movie.

A movie that was a critical and commercial flop. Wonder Woman's film is known for dispelling the myth that female led superhero films can't sell.

[Jabare]

What about in comics? Has Wonder Woman always been a top seller as far as comics are concerned? I've never really looked into comic sales.

Truly, I don't know for certain. Compared to top-selling comics, Wonder Woman runs are usually average to subpar for the industry, but DC has continually published her comics. I'm guessing more for the brand and what she represents to DC.

If you count the issues Supergirl headlines in Action Comics and Legion along with her solo comics she might edge Wonder Woman out in a weighted average. I'd still think Wonder Woman would edge Supergirl out due to her longer publication history, but again I'm not sure.

If you want to cherry-pick specific statistics or compare certain aspects there are certain elements that Supergirl probably edges out Wonder Woman on. As you said Supergirl had a live-action theatrical movie well before Wonder Woman, but it wasn't very successful at the box office. If it had been they would have made sequels. However, Supergirl live-action tv show has performed better. Her shows had far more episodes and seen more measurable success (ratings, advertising, etc.). I'd still argue Wonder Woman is more of a pop-culture icon due to her show's historical headstart. They even cast Lynda Carter paying homage to Wonder Woman in a sense.

NBC turned down the Wonder Woman show a few years back, you could argue that's a strike against Wonder Woman but I don't think that's entirely fair. You have to look at the pilot the team behind it and the current tv landscape at the time. The pilot was shot in 2011. This was pre-Arrowverse and the comic-book show explosion we are currently living in. Yes the MCU had been chugging along for about 3 years but it was still an environment where networks were less willing to take risks on superhero shows. The CW superhero shows work in part because that network is very different than NBC, CBS, and FOX and because it boasted lower ratings and made most of its money through syndicating long-running shows like Smallville the network was more apt to go down the Superhero route. Then Arrow turned into a hit they kept doing more syndicating past seasons and selling rights to Netflix and it all just kind of took off. Anyway I digress

Also, historically Supergirls had a better costume than Wonder Woman, but this is more of a subjective opinion.


Honestly, I don't think there needs to be a battle between the two. They are both appealing for a multitude of reasons and can inhabit different spaces.