Milly Alcock now has an official award for playing Kara Zor-El in Supergirl.
The Critics Choice Association named her Best Actress in a Superhero Movie at the sixth annual Critics Choice Super Awards. The winners were announced on August 6, with the event recognizing superhero, science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and action movies and series.
The full category name is important. This was not a general Best Actress award covering every movie released during the year. It was created for performances in superhero, comic-book, and video-game-inspired films. Even within that group, Alcock faced several actors from major franchises.
Milly Alcock Beat a Strong Group of Nominees
Alcock won for her performance as Kara Zor-El, beating Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane in Superman, Camila Mendes as Teela in Masters of the Universe, and Adeline Rudolph as Kitana in Mortal Kombat II.
The category also included two actors from The Fantastic Four: First Steps: Julia Garner as Silver Surfer and Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm. That made the award a direct comparison between several of the year's most visible comic-book performances.
Alcock did not win because Supergirl dominated the entire event. The movie received only one award, and it belonged to her.
Supergirl Did Not Win Best Superhero Movie
Supergirl was nominated for Best Superhero Movie, but Superman won that category. David Corenswet was also named Best Actor in a Superhero Movie for playing Clark Kent.
That result keeps Alcock's win in the right context. Critics Choice did not select Supergirl as the best superhero film of the group. The voters singled out its lead performance even while choosing another DC movie for the top award.
For people who had mixed feelings about Supergirl, that may be easy to understand. A movie can have problems and still contain a performance worth recognizing. Many of the conversations around the film separated Alcock's work from complaints about the story, tone, and theatrical run.
Her Kara Zor-El Does Not Feel Like a Copy of Superman
Alcock's performance works because Kara is not presented as a brighter version of Clark Kent. She is more impatient, more defensive, and less interested in making strangers comfortable. Her humor often comes from frustration rather than confidence.
That gives the character a clear personality without making her difficult to care about. Kara can be angry and reckless, but Alcock also shows the grief and loneliness underneath those choices. The quieter moments help explain the louder ones.
