Superman Actor Criticized for Mocking Supergirl Star Ahead of Film Release

Former Superman actor Dean Cain is catching heat online after taking shots at Supergirl star Milly Alcock on social media. On Sunday, June 7, the 59-year-old reposted a photo of the 26-year-old actress in her Supergirl costume, amplifying a user’s joke about the character’s ear piercings—if her skin is bulletproof, how would she have pierced ears? Cain responded with a thinking face emoji, then doubled down with a comparison photo of Cha-Ka from the 1970s series Land of the Lost, asking“And why does she look like this guy?”

What started as what Cain seemed to think was harmless snark quickly snowballed into genuine backlash. Commenters didn’t hold back, pointing out the irony of someone who played a legendary superhero mocking a newcomer trying to do the same. One user reminded Cain that he’d been on the receiving end of harsh criticism during his own career—he was called“Sushi Man”by detractors—and suggested he should know better than to pile on a young actor just breaking into the business.“You were loved by hundreds of thousands around the world, shes a young kid getting into the business, show her the love they showed you,”the commenter wrote.

Cain’s response?“They called me Sushi Man.”Which, fair point about his own experience with vitriol, but also kind of missing the mark when someone’s basically asking you to be better than the people who hurt you.

Here’s the context that makes this timing particularly awkward: Alcock’s Supergirl film drops on June 26—just weeks away. The movie, loosely based on Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s acclaimed DC comic series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, follows Kal-El’s cousin, Kara Zor-El, as she’s recruited by a young girl named Ruthye Marye Knoll to avenge her father’s murder. In a March interview with Vanity Fair, Alcock was candid about her nerves:“Of course I’m scared. Of course I want people to like me and the movie. But ultimately, it’s out of my control.”

So there she is, days before her big superhero debut, watching a guy who literally wore the Superman suit take playful jabs at her appearance. Cain may have thought he was just riffing on internet jokes, but the power dynamic here is impossible to ignore. He’s an established actor with decades of goodwill in the superhero space; she’s a newcomer putting herself out there for the first time in a role that comes with enormous expectations. One person’s joke is another person’s anxiety spiral, especially when you’re about to share your work with the world.