DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn directly addressed a Supergirl controversy on Threads. The DCU firmly established rules surrounding Kryptonian biology in 2025's Superman. Under a red sun, Kryptonians like Kara Zor-el (Milly Alcock) lose all their powers, becoming as vulnerable as ordinary humans. This was explicitly shown in the film's final moments, where a visibly drunk Supergirl crashed into the Fortress of Solitude after partying on a red-sun planet.
In a post from Threads, a fan asked how Supergirl has ear piercings despite the fact that her skin is bulletproof. DC Studios boss James Gunn responded by saying that this can be explained "the same way she gets drunk," implying that she might have her ears pierced in a planet under a red sun.
"As explained in 'Superman,' the same way she gets drunk — she goes to a planet with a red sun. Not to mention she was raised on a chunk of Krypton, so didn't even experience superpowers until her teens."
Additionally, in this continuity, Kara grew up on Argo City (a surviving Kryptonian fragment orbiting a red sun), so she lived as a normal, powerless teenager for years before developing powers on Earth's yellow sun. This means that she had plenty of time for piercings before she arrived on Earth.
This is consistent superhero logic that fans have accepted for years, and Gunn's response turned a single nitpick or question from a fan into organic buzz for 2026's Supergirl movie.
While the question was resolved with Gunn's response, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman legacy Superman actor Dean Cain, who played the Man of Steel in the series, perpetuated the controversy by signal-boosting it on X, fueling more conversation on the platform.
Dean Cain made headlines in July 2025 after he called out DC Studios boss and Superman director James Gunn by criticizing his decision to frame Superman as an immigrant and the story as an allegory for the American experience.
"How woke is Hollywood going to make this character? How much is Disney going to change their Snow White? Why are they going to change these characters [to] exist for the times? For Superman, it was 'truth, justice, and the American way.' Well, they dropped that… They came up with 'truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.'"
Supergirl officially confirmed that Kara Zor-El will lose her powers in the film because she will be on a red planet at one point in the movie. It will be interesting to see how the upcoming DC Studios movie will portray a powerless Kara as she fights her way against Krem of the Yellow Hills and his allies with only Ruthye as her real backup.
Supergirl arrives in US theaters on Friday, June 26.
Why the Legacy Superman Actor's Social Media Mockery Only Helps Supergirl
By engaging with the Supergirl promo imagery and the ear-piercing conversation, Cain, a legacy Superman actor, once again positioned himself as a vocal skeptic of Gunn's DCU direction, reigniting old tensions between the classic Superman era and the DC reboot.
Truth be told, Supergirl's latest ear-piercing mystery is nothing new, and this could be framed as an innocent fan asking a genuine question, with James Gunn responding with a straightforward answer. However, as a former Superman actor, Dean Cain decided to engage by amplifying the conversation on social media.
Instead of landing a meaningful blow against James Gunn's DCU, Cain's decision only triggered a wave of support for Milly Alcock and the Supergirl movie, essentially turning the entire thing into free, targeted publicity. The actor also opened himself up to immediate backlash, with fans and DCU loyalists pushing back hard.
What's interesting in this whole online fiasco is that Gunn didn't even need to respond. If anything, what began as a silly canon mystery evolved into something more as the old guard (Cain) nitpicks while the new generation rallies around a fresh, exciting heroine.
