The churn of summer movies goes ever onward, and so too do the associated fast food tie-ins. And so it goes that a scant few weeks after consuming an astonishingly-dangerous level of sodium via Burger King's Mandalorian and Grogu-themed meal that I was called into action again. This time, my love of garbage fast food, the culinary arts and internet content led me to everyone's favorite (?) fried chicken restaurant, KFC for their "Supergirl Ultimate Meal," a tie-in to the latest film in James Gunn's burgeoning DC Comics cinematic universe.
The story of the film, loosely based on the 2021 Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow series, finds Supergirl (Milly Alcock) in an intergalactic fight for justice alongside a young girl named Ruthye (Eve Ridley) and the bombastic bounty hunter Lobo (Jason Momoa). What any of it has to do with fried chicken, I can't say, but bizarrely, this isn't the first time a Supergirl film has teamed up with a fried chicken restaurant. Back in 1984, the original Supergirl film starring Helen Slater featured an extended action sequence set against the backdrop of a Popeye's Chicken restaurant (one constructed entirely on a Pinewood Studios set), a perk for which the Louisiana-based chicken chain presumably paid handsomely. Check out the film's Letterboxd page and you'll see one of the shots with the fabricated Popeye's prominently featured in the background.
Fast forward a few decades, and a new Supergirl is starring in a new film with another fast food fried chicken chain helping foot the bill. And so it was that I strapped on the ol' feed bag and headed down to my local KFC (or "Kentucky Fried Chicken," as we Old Ones once knew it, before the post-"super size it!" health consciousness of the late 90s prompted KFC's parent company to hide the word "fried" in the restaurant's name) for lunch one sunny summer afternoon. My mission: eat the Supergirl Ultimate Meal and put my intestinal fortitude to the test. All in the name of art, of course.
The Supergirl Ultimate Meal
Includes 3 pc Original Recipe® Tenders, 3 Supergirl sauces, side of your choice, 1 biscuit, 1 mystery Supergirl collectible, and a medium (21 oz) Supergirl’s Kryptonian Kooler.
This time out, I left the family at home for my culinary adventure — in part, because my kids aren't nearly as infatuated with KFC as they are Burger King (and McDonald's), and in part because, frankly, the Supergirl Ultimate Meal isn't really that much food. Strip away the gimmicky sauces and drink, and you've basically got a meal composed of three chicken tenders, an order of fries (I was not given the chance to select a different side) and a biscuit. Call me a fatty fat fat fat if you will, but that's really not enough to craft a satisfying meal for me (you can also order the Supergirl Ultimate Meal with six chicken nuggets instead of three chicken tenders if you prefer). Honestly, that's really the biggest disappointment about this whole endeavor: when all was said and done, I left my local KFC still kinda hungry.
It also doesn't help that KFC's chicken tenders are mid, at best. In the not-too-distant past, they changed their breading or frying process or something such that the tenders now seem much less heavily fried (for lack of a better team), less crispy and thus less satisfying. Their current french fries are also a sad substitute for the discontinued but far superior potato wedges they had for decades and briefly brought back as a tease a few months ago (the best KFC side — and possibly the best thing on the entire menu — is of course their surprisingly-good coleslaw. I'm also a sucker for their gluey mashed potatoes and gravy, but then, I also always loved that whipped scoop of mashed potatoes we'd get in the elementary school cafeteria).
And then there's the hilarious fact that my local KFC is located in a bizarre nexus of fast food fried chicken places, with its chicken ranking, at best, fourth amongst that coterie of cluckery. Literally next door to the FKC is a Raising Cane's (nothing is sadder/funnier than watching people park in the KFC parking lot then walk over to Cane's cuz their lot is full and the KFC lot is wide open). In a strip center behind the Canes is a Wing Stop. Two restaurants over, on the other side of KFC (after a McDonald's and Taco Bell), is a Dave's Hot Chicken. Across the street from all that is 1980s Supergirl's favorite fried chicken place, Popeye's, and across the street from that is the always-sanctimonious Chick-Fil-A. That's all at one intersection. Downtown Apple Valley loves fried chicken, apparently. And in the face of all that deep fried poultry, the Colonel's paltry three tenders-fries-and-a-biscuit meal struggles to compete, no matter how many secret herbs and spices it has.
Especially when Raising Canes is right there.
Score: 4/10
The Sauces
But what about the three unique-to-this-meal dipping sauces that help make this meal and "ultimate" one?
They are:
- Supergirl’s Solar Honey Mustard: A bold, golden mustard sauce that hits with bright tang, honey-sweet balance and a sweet-heat finish inspired by the power Supergirl draws from the yellow sun.
- Lobo's Wild Ranch: A bold, savory ranch that includes everything from garlic, onion, herbs, sesame to poppy seed particulates — classic, creamy and just unpredictable enough for Lobo.
- Ruthye’s Sweet Chili Revenge: A sticky, sweet-and-spicy chili garlic sauce that starts smooth and sweet, then builds to a savory garlic kick and gentle heat — because revenge is best served sweet.
Sadly, my KFC was out of the Sweet Chili Revenge, so I can't speak to that (I got the regular KFC Buffalo Ranch instead; it's fine). Of the two sauces I could try, they were, like the chicken itself, pretty mid. Supergirl's Solar Honey Mustard, a slightly spicier riff on standard honey mustard, was the better of the two (though more orange than "golden" in color). Lobo's Wild Ranch was essentially a ranchier ranch, more herbaceous and not unpleasing but not terribly distinct from "regular" ranch (less pleasing is the look of it which, thanks to the poppy seeds mixed in, resembles the color scheme of Lobo himself).
Score: 4/10
The Kryptonian Kooler
A specialty beverage made with Starry, blue raspberry syrup, and strawberry popping boba,
While it's possible to order the Supergirl meal with a regular beverage for a lower price, I'm glad my commitment to this bit led me to get the Kryptonian Kooler, which was the best part of the entire meal. Granted, I completely missed the presence of "strawberry popping boba", to the point where I didn't even know they were in it until just now, when I looked up the official description of the beverage for this article. But a blue raspberry-flavored pop (which is basically what this is)? That is 100% my jam.
(Fun fact: blue raspberry as a flavor exists because raspberries were the last red fruit to make it into the candy and snow cone game back in the day; with "red" thoroughly staked out by the likes of cherries, strawberries and watermelon, confectioners settled on a vibrant blue for their raspberry flavor to help it stand out. Sucks to be you, blueberries).
Score: 8/10
The Toy
While less aggressively-themed than the earlier Burger King meal — the Supergirl Ultimate Meal comes in a uniquely branded box, its drink in a cup with the S-shield on it, but that's about it — the non-food collectible included in the meal is far superior to the Mandalorian and Grogu toy included in the whatever-Burger King's-Happy-Meal-is-called. Each meal comes with one of five Supergirl backpack clips in a blind bag: two versions of Supergirl, Ruthye, Lobo and Krypto.
Backpack clips are all the rage at the moment — McDonalds recently concluded a Super Mario Galaxy Happy Meal tie-in featuring all the Mario characters as bag clips, and my eleven year old's backpack is heavy with an assortment of such clips. While Krypto is the clear #1 get of the five possible options, I got the "off duty" Supergirl in her trenchcoat. At least it's better than getting Ruthye, and I'm overall impressed by the relative detail and solid-ness of the figure, as well as the fact that it dangles via a piece of cord rather than a flimsy piece of plastic. The McDonald's Mario clips were all pretty ephemeral-feeling; this has a nice heft to it.
Score: 8/10.
Final Verdict
Averaging out the score for the regular portion of the meal, the sauces, the drink and the collectible comes to 6/10. That feels a bit high, given the lack of satisfaction I felt after finishing the meal — if I'm going to gorge on fast food in the name of content, I expect to come out of it feeling awful and questioning my life decisions, not wondering what time is too early to start cooking dinner. That six out of ten is also buoyed by the relatively high scores of the drink and figure, both of which double the lackluster food-based scores. Given that most of what is dragging down the score is typical KFC fare that has nothing to do with the movie tie-in, it's probably safe to call the Supergirl Ultimate Meal a win for Supergirl, but a loss for the Colonel.
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