Supergirl

Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her first appearance in Action Comics #252 (May 1959) and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.

Concept

Created as a female counterpart to Superman, Kara Zor-El shares his superpowers and vulnerability to

Since her initial comic book appearances, the character later branched out into animation, film, television, and merchandising. In May 2011, Supergirl placed 94th on IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time.^[2] In November 2013, the character placed 17th on IGN's list of the Top 25 Heroes of DC Comics.^[3]

Precursors

• Superwoman – The first comic ever to feature a female counterpart to Superman is "Lois Lane – Superwoman", a story published in Action Comics #60 (May 1943), in which a hospitalized Lois dreams she has gained Kryptonesque superpowers thanks to a blood transfusion from the Man of Steel. She begins her own career as Superwoman, complete with copycat costume. Similar stories with Lois Lane acquiring such powers and adopting the name "Superwoman" periodically appeared later. One such story is in Action Comics #156 (May 1951), in which Lois accidentally gains those powers through an invention of Superman's arch-foe, Lex Luthor. In the story, Lois wears a short blond wig in her crime-fighting identity, giving her an appearance almost identical to the later version of Supergirl after the latter's real name was specified as Kara Zor-El.
• Supergirl – In Superboy #5 (November–December 1949) in a story titled "Superboy Meets Supergirl", Superboy meets Queen Lucy of the fictional Latin American nation of Borgonia. She is a stellar athlete and scholar. Tired of her duties and wanting to enjoy a normal life, Queen Lucy travels to Smallville, where she meets Superboy and soon wins his heart. Superboy puts on a show with her where he uses his powers to make her seem superhuman; during this contest, she is called Supergirl. As Supergirl, Queen Lucy wears a tan dress with a brown cape and Superboy's "S" symbol. Superboy later saves her from a scheming minister. She returns to her throne, leaving Superboy to wonder if she ever thinks of him.
• Super-Sister – In the Superboy #78 story titled "Claire Kent, Alias Super-Sister", Superboy saves an alien woman named Shar-La from a life-threatening crash. After he ridicules her driving, Shar-La turns Superboy into a girl. In Smallville, Clark Kent (Superboy's alter ego) claims to be Claire Kent, an out-of-town relative who is staying with the Kents. When in costume, he plays Superboy's sister, Super-Sister, and claims the two have exchanged places. As a girl ridiculed and scorned by men, he wants to prove he is as good as he always was. In the end, it is revealed that the transformation is just an illusion created by Shar-La. Superboy learns not to ridicule women.
• Super-Girl – In Superman #123 (August 1958), Jimmy Olsen uses a magic totem to wish a "Super-Girl" into existence as a companion and helper for Superman; however, the two frequently get in each other's way until she is fatally injured protecting Superman from a Kryptonite meteor that a criminal has dropped towards him. At her insistence, Jimmy wishes the dying girl out of existence. DC used this story to gauge public response to the concept of a completely new female counterpart to Superman. In the original issue, she has blond hair and her costume is blue and red like Superman's; indeed, it closely resembles the uniform that actress Helen Slater would later wear in the 1984 movie. Early reprints of this story show her with red hair and an orange and green costume to prevent readers from confusing her with the then current Supergirl character. Much later, the story was again reprinted in its original form.

Original character: Kara

Debut

After positive fan reaction to Super-Girl, the first recurring and most familiar version of Supergirl debuted in the year 1959. Kara Zor-El first appeared in Action Comics #252 (May 1959). The story that introduced the character was drawn by Al Plastino and written by Otto Binder, who had also created Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel's sister and female spinoff. Like Supergirl, Mary Marvel was a teen-age female version of an adult male superhero, wearing a costume that was identical to the older character's other than substituting a short skirt for tight trousers. (Binder also created Marvel Comics' Miss America, a superhero who shared little other than the name with her sometime co-star Captain America.)

Reaction to Supergirl's first appearance was tremendous, with thousands of positive letters pouring into the DC Comics offices.

Issue #8 of the Superman/Batman series originally published in 2004 re-introduced Kara Zor-El into the DC continuity. Like the pre-Crisis version, this Kara claims to be the daughter of Superman's uncle Zor-El and aunt Alura In-Ze. Unlike the traditional Supergirl, Kara is born before Superman; she is a teenager when he is a baby. She is sent in a rocket in suspended animation to look after the infant Kal-El; however, her rocket is caught in the explosion of Krypton and becomes encased in a Kryptonite asteroid. She arrives on Earth years after Kal-El, who has grown and become known as Superman. Owing to this extended period of suspended animation, she is "younger" than her cousin. At the end of "The Supergirl from Krypton" arc, Superman officially introduces her to all the heroes of the DC Comics Universe. She adopts the Supergirl costume and accepts the name.

A new Supergirl series, written by

Kara Zor-El (so named because on Krypton, women take the full name of their fathers) is the last survivor of

It later develops Zor-El and Alura survived the radiation poisoning that killed everyone else in Argo City by entering the Survival Zone, a parallel continuum akin to the Phantom Zone. They were eventually rescued by Supergirl and the couple decide to live in the bottle city of Kandor.^[5] Later, Kara is reunited with her parents, but that reunion becomes bittersweet, as Reactron kills her father and her mother dies when New Krypton is destroyed by a trap in Reactron left by Lex Luthor, her own cousin Superman's greatest enemy on Earth and now her greatest enemy on Earth as well.

On Earth, Kara acquires powers identical to Superman's and adopts the secret identity of Linda Lee, a resident of Midvale Orphanage. She conceals her blonde hair beneath a brunette wig and functions as Supergirl only in secret, at Superman's request, until she can gain, in his opinion, sufficient control of her powers — and the wisdom to properly use them. Her debut was delayed by her powers being stolen by a Kandorian villainess; during this period, she is adopted by Fred and Edna Danvers.

She attends Midvale High School as Linda Lee Danvers. In later years, after graduating from Stanhope College, she changes careers several times, holding jobs in student counseling, news reporting, and acting in a TV

Supergirl's secret identity is a closely held secret known only to Superman, her foster parents, and the Legion of Super-Heroes, of which she is a member for a time. Like all Kryptonians, Supergirl is vulnerable to kryptonite. Streaky the Supercat, her orange cat, acquires temporary superpowers as a result of its exposure to "X-kryptonite," a form of kryptonite Supergirl accidentally created in an unsuccessful attempt to neutralize the effects of green kryptonite. Comet the Superhorse, a former centaur, is Supergirl's equine companion.

One way DC demonstrated the epic nature of its 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths (April 1985 – March 1986) was through the deaths of important characters. In issue #7 (October 1985), Supergirl sacrifices her life to save her cousin and the DC Multiverse from destruction. When the Superman continuity was rebooted after Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC editors felt that Superman should be the sole survivor of Krypton, resulting in Kara being removed.^[6] Unlike a number of other characters who are shown dying in the Crisis, no one remembers Kara dying or even ever having existed.

After the events of Infinite Crisis, the sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths, many historical events from the Multiverse are now being remembered. Donna Troy, after her rebirth and inheritance of the Harbinger's Orb, recalls the original Kara Zor-El and her sacrifice.^[7]

A Post-Crisis Supergirl appears in

Beginning in September 1996, DC published Supergirl (vol. 4) written by Peter David. The 1996 Supergirl comic book revamped the previous Matrix Supergirl by merging her with a human being, resulting in a new Supergirl. Many elements of the Pre-Crisis Supergirl were incorporated in new ways. The woman that the Matrix merges with has the same name as the Pre-Crisis Supergirl's secret identity, Linda Danvers. The series is set in the town of Leesburg, named after Danvers' pre-adoption surname. Linda's father is named Fred Danvers, the same as the Pre-Crisis Supergirl's adopted father. Furthermore, new versions of Dick Malverne and Comet appear as part of the supporting cast.

As the series begins, the Matrix sacrifices herself to save a dying Linda Danvers and their bodies, minds and souls merge to become an "Earth-Born Angel", a being created when one being selflessly sacrifices him or herself to save another who is beyond saving. As the angel, Supergirl loses some of her powers, but gains others, including fiery angel wings and a "shunt" ability that allows her to teleport to any place she has been before.^{[volume & issue needed]}

The angelic aspect of Supergirl eventually falls from grace,

Peter David's creator-owned series Fallen Angel, published by DC Comics, is set in a fictional city named Bete Noire, and features a character, Lee, who is similar to Linda and explores the same themes as his Supergirl series. Prior to Fallen Angel moving to another company, Lee was written in a manner such that she could have been Linda, though David remained coy as to whether the two characters were one and the same during the DC run of the title. After it moved to IDW, David revealed Lee's origin, which clearly showed that Lee was not Danvers. However, Fallen Angel #14 introduced "Lin," who was said to be Lee's "predecessor" as the guardian of Bete Noire.^[13] Lin had recently escaped Limbo, an apparent metaphor for what happened to Danvers after the cancellation of Supergirl. David wrote in his December 13, 2006 blog entry, "Any fans of my run on Supergirl—particularly those who are torqued because Linda Danvers was consigned to oblivion in the DCU--must, must, MUST pick up "Fallen Angel" #14 and #15 when they come out next year."^[14] However, since David could not explicitly claim that a character owned by DC was the same as the character he owned, he stated, "Can I say this is Linda Danvers? Of course I can't. However, it's pretty freaking obvious that it is."^[15]

According to an interview with Newsarama,^[16] the Matrix Supergirl is wiped from existence by the events depicted in the 2005 limited series Infinite Crisis, although Infinite Crisis writer Geoff Johns later stated that Danvers is not.^[17] The debate was finally settled in the 2008 miniseries Reign in Hell, where the Shadowpact is shown trying to apprehend Linda Danvers before Linda is "recalled" to Hell.

Cir-El

A Supergirl named Cir-El appeared in 2003's Superman: The 10 Cent Adventure #1, claiming to be the future daughter of Superman and Lois Lane. Although she has super-strength, speed and hearing like Superman, she can only leap great distances. She also possesses the ability to fire blasts of red solar energy. Her alter ego is a street person named Mia. She is later found to be a human girl who was altered by Brainiac on a genetic level to appear Kryptonian; she dies thwarting a plot involving Brainiac 13. Superman (vol. 2) #200 implies that when the timeline realigned itself, Cir-El was erased from existence.

Supporting characters

Even though Supergirl is a Superman supporting character, she is also a

• Zor-El and Alura  – Kara Zor-El's biological parents. Zor-El, the younger brother of Jor-El, is a scientist who invents the dome over Argo City and oversees the placement of lead shielding over the ground of Argo City, thus enabling the city's residents to survive the explosion of Krypton. The city drifts in space for about 15 years, the residents clinging to a precarious existence. During that time, the couple have a daughter, Kara, who grows to about the age of 10 or 12, when the city is put in peril when its lead shielding is punctured by meteors, releasing deadly Kryptonite radiation. At this point, Zor-El and Alura In-Ze place Kara in a rocket ship and send her to Earth, which Zor-El had observed using a powerful electronic telescope. Observing a super-powered man resembling his brother Jor-El, and wearing a uniform of Kryptonian styling, Zor-El and his wife conclude the man is probably their nephew, Kal-El, sent through space by Jor-El when Krypton exploded and now grown to adulthood. In later Silver Age accounts, Zor-El and Alura survive the death of Argo City when, shortly before the radiation reached lethal levels, Zor-El projects them both into the immaterial Survival Zone, a separate dimension resembling the Phantom Zone; later they are released from the Zone and go to live in the bottle city of Kandor, preserved in microscopic size at Superman's Fortress of Solitude. In the Silver Age version of the continuity, Supergirl could regularly visit with both her adoptive parents, the Danvers (see below), and her birth parents.
• Streaky the Supercat – Supergirl's pet cat. In the pre-Crisis continuity, he is named after a jagged horizontal stripe of lighter fur on his side, and acquires super-powers after exposure to X-Kryptonite. In post-Crisis continuity, she is a normal housecat Supergirl takes in, whose name is taken from her inability to understand the concept of a litterbox.
• Circe
  into being trapped in the form of a horse. In post-Crisis continuity, Comet is a superhero who is a romantic interest of Linda Danvers.
• Fred and Edna Danvers – The foster parents of pre-Crisis Supergirl. Shortly after they adopt Linda Lee from the Midvale orphanage, Superman reveals his cousin's identity to them, so they are aware of her powers. Later, they also learn that Superman is secretly
  Clark Kent
  .
• Dick Malverne
   – An orphan at the Midvale Orphanage who is one of Pre-Crisis Supergirl's romantic interests. While living at the orphanage as Linda Lee, Supergirl meets and befriends a fellow orphan, Dick Wilson. Dick suspects that Linda is secretly Supergirl and constantly tries to prove it. Later, Dick is adopted by a couple named Malverne, and changes his name to Dick Malverne. In the post-Crisis continuity, Dick Malverne is a newly arrived resident of Leesburg who befriends Linda Danvers.
• Jerro the Merboy – A merperson from Atlantis who is another of pre-Crisis Supergirl's romantic interests. Superman has a similar relationship with mermaid Lori Lemaris.
• Lena Thorul – Another orphan at the Midvale Orphanage who is one of Pre-Crisis Supergirl's/Linda Lee Danvers's best friends. Lena is unaware that she is the long lost younger sister of Lex Luthor. When Lena was still a small child and Lex was a teen, Lex turned evil after the laboratory accident he blamed on Superboy turned him bald. Lex's parents disowned him and told him to leave home. In order to prevent disgrace to Lena, they moved away from Smallville and told Lena that her brother had been killed in a mountain climbing accident. They changed their family name to Thorul, an anagram of Luthor. Eventually Lena's parents were killed in a car accident and Lena was sent to Midvale Orphanage. A childhood accident while playing in her brother Lex's laboratory empowered Lena with extrasensory perception.
• Siobhan Smythe
  - Kara's best friend who mistook her for an enemy. They both bonded and later battled Siobhan's father, the Black Banshee.

Enemies

• Black Flame – A Kandorian who takes to a life of crime and fights Supergirl. Introduced in Action Comics #304 (September 1963).
• Blackstarr – Rachel Berkowitz discovers the secrets of the
  Unified Field Theory and employs it to manipulate reality as the leader of a group of neo-Nazis called the Party For Social Reform. Introduced in Supergirl
  vol. 2, #13 (November 1983).
• Blithe – Earth-born angel servant of Carnivore who merges with the evil form of Matrix. She later becomes an ally. Introduced in Supergirl (vol. 4) #36 (September 1999).
• Buzz – Gaius Marcus sells his soul to Baalzebub who goes on to become an agent for the Lords of Chaos. He would later become a shaky ally. Introduced in Supergirl (vol. 4) #1 (September 1996).
• Carnivore – The son of Lilith and Baalzebub, Carnivean is the first vampire to walk the Earth and usurp the rule of Heaven. He was introduced in Supergirl (vol. 4) #32 (May 1999).
• The Council – A clandestine criminal organization in Chicago that employs the Director, Matrix-Prime, and the Gang. Introduced in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #3 (January 1983).
• Decay – Daniel Pendergast manipulates Psi into trying to destroy Chicago only to be turned into a monstrous slime creature. Introduced in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1 (November 1982).
• The Gang – A group of mercenaries whose members are Brains, Bulldozer, Ms. Mesmer, and Kong. Introduced in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #4 (February 1983).
• Lesla-Lar – A Kandorian who tries to switch places with Supergirl on several occasions. Introduced in Action Comics #279 (August 1961).
• Lilith – The Mother of Demons, Lilith seeks revenge on Supergirl for destroying her son Carnivore. Introduced in Supergirl (vol. 4) #67 (April 2002).
• Matrix-Prime – A powerful robot built by the Council that acts as their agent, collecting funds and eliminating threats. Introduced in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #6 (March 1983).
• Murmur – Demonic servant of Carnivore. Introduced in Supergirl
  (vol. 4) #33 (June 1999).
• Nasthalia Luthor – Lex Luthor's niece and Supergirl's rival. Introduced in Adventure Comics #397 (September 1970).
• Princess Tlaca –
  Superman Family
  #165 (June 1974).
• Psi – Gayle Marsh is a powerful psionic manipulated by Daniel Pendergast into trying to destroy Chicago. Introduced in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1 (November 1982).
• Reactron – The Living Reactor, Reactron seethes with radioactive energy and is able to generate concussive blasts and disintegration beams. Pre-Crisis, he is Army Sergeant Ben Krullen, who served with Tempest and developed his powers because of the hero. Post-Crisis, he is Benjamin Martin Krull and his origin is essentially the same as before. He murders Zor-El. Introduced in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #8 (June 1983).
• Reign – A Worldkiller, a biological weapon created on Krypton
  that was soon outlawed by the Kryptonian Science Council. Introduced in Supergirl (vol. 6) #5 (March 2012)
• Siobhan McDougal/Silver Banshee – An aggressive enemy of Superman and the arch enemy of Supergirls Kara Zor-El and Linda Danvers.
• Superwoman – Lucy Lane becomes her father's agent against the residents of New Krypton, bringing her into conflict with Supergirl. Lucy appears as Superwoman for the first time in Supergirl (vol. 5) #35 (January 2009).
• Twilight – A New God who would curse the Presence and sees Supergirl as a means of exacting revenge. She merges with Matrix and becomes an ally. Introduced in Supergirl (vol. 4) #15 (November 1997).

Other notable versions

Cir-El, and Power Girl

.

Several different versions of Supergirl have appeared in continuity.

• Superman (Kal-L)
  . As part of the New 52, the reintroduced Power Girl is now from Earth 2, and had used the name Supergirl in that universe.
• Zero Hour reboot of the Legion; post-reboot
  , Laurel remains Andromeda.
• Ariella Kent
   – Supergirl of the 853rd century, later revealed to be the daughter of post-Crisis Linda Danvers and Silver Age style Superman from the Many Happy Returns story arc.

Alternate universe versions

Main articles: Multiverse (DC Comics) and List of DC Multiverse worlds

In the final issue of DC Comics' 2006-07 year-long weekly series,

52 parallel universes

, with each Earth being a different take on established DC Comics characters as featured in the mainstream continuity (designated as "New Earth") had come into existence. The Multiverse acts as a storytelling device that allows writers to introduce alternative versions of fictional characters, hypothesize "what if?" scenarios, revisit popular Elseworlds stories and allow these characters to interact with the mainstream continuity.

• In
  Robin and others in the Justice Society Infinity. In Justice Society of America Annual #1, this world's native Power Girl re-emerges. In a subsequent reiteration of Earth-2 after the events of Flashpoint
  , Power Girl had a prior career on Earth-2 as that world's Supergirl before she and Earth-2's former Robin, Helena Wayne, were displaced onto Earth-0 after inadvertently entering a dimensional warp. They resided there for seven years until both returned.
• Following 52 (2007), on the evil parallel universe of Earth-3, a mirror of the Earth-2 Kara Zor-L exists in the form of Ultragirl, first introduced in Countdown to Final Crisis #16 (2007). Unlike Ultraman, the Superman counterpart of Earth-3, this version of Supergirl is in fact vulnerable to kryptonite and not powered by it, implying she may be of Kryptonian origin. Following Flashpoint (2011), Earth-3 is an evil world once again most closely mirroring Earth-0. Ultraman is once again a Kryptonian, but a new Ultragirl has not yet been introduced.
• On Earth-10, Nazi Germany won World War II and that world's Superman, named Overman, is a part of the JL-Axis. That world's Supergirl was called Overgirl. She is first seen as a sketch made by exiled
  Brunnhilde
  (Earth-10's Wonder Woman).
• Multiversity
  Guidebook (January 2015), Power Man is described as existing on this Earth, although not depicted.
• In
  Earth-22
  . However, a Supergirl appears with the Legion of Super-Heroes alongside Superboy in one panel, with dialogue implying they settled in the future permanently as the 21st-Century became difficult to live in. A brief line of dialogue from Superman implies that Argo City was never destroyed in this continuity, as he left some of the defeated Brainac’s circuitry there. According to Ross, a minor character in the story is the time-traveling daughter of Supergirl and Brainiac 5.
• In the Tangent Comics imprint (established as Earth-97 prior to Infinite Crisis, now known as Earth-9 post-52), Powergirl is a genetically engineered superheroine created by the Chinese government. Supergirl was an unsuccessful prototype.
• On
  DC Multiverse Earth-29, a Bizarro-Supergirl imperfect abiotic alternate version of the Kryptonian original exists. As with that world's Bizarro
  -Superman, it is uncertain whether they are native to Earth-29/Htrae, or arrived there from Krypton-29/Notpyrk.
• On
  gold kryptonite
  in utero, her brother Joel Kent is jealous of his sister and that leads him to eventually murder his mother Lois Lane and Kara/Supergirl during her wedding to Bruce Wayne Junior/Batman II.
• In Supergirl vol. 5 #32, Supergirl is shown 50 years in the future. She has a modified costume that is similar to her Pre-Crisis, original uniform. Here, she is seen fighting Dorlok, a man with a device that allows him to jump through time. In the end Supergirl, after contemplating using the device, destroys it and moves on.[19]
• In the Trinity series, reality is rewritten and Superman is removed from existence. In this alternative timeline, Kara Zor-El is known as "Interceptor" and has no knowledge of her Kryptonian heritage. Her ship was found by the Navy, but apparently no investigation took place.^[20]
• In Legends of the DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Earth D is introduced as a previously unknown Pre-Crisis alternate Earth. In this reality, the heroes of the DC Universe are more ethnically diverse. Supergirl of Earth D is still named Kara, but she is married to Earth D's Superman. From Krypton's Vathlo Island, she and her husband resemble African-Americans. Along with her husband and the other members of Earth D's Justice Alliance of America, she was killed during the Crisis as antimatter storms consumed their Earth.
• In the
  Ame-Comi imprint, both a Supergirl and a Power Girl exist together. In this universe, Supergirl is still Kara Zor-El, while Power Girl is actually the equivalent of Superman — her name is Kara Jor-El, and she is the daughter of Jor-El and cousin of Kara Zor-El. According to Supergirl, Jor-El and Zor-El destroyed Krypton intentionally as part of a failed attempt to destroy Brainiac, after sending both their Karas to Earth. Brainiac later reaches Earth and uses black kryptonite to turn Supergirl evil. Unusually for most depictions of Kryptonians, this Power Girl claims her powers do not come from the Sun.^[21]
• In the 2015
  Kortni Dugiovna. The two sisters became best of friends and in their teens traveled to Moscow to join the legendary Night Witches, an all-female fighter squadron, but became Russian mascots after their powers were discovered. They abandon Russia when they find out the general intended to use them for his own destructive means and join the Bombshells team to aid in defeating the Nazis. When Brother Night turns into the Titan, Supergirl volunteers to sacrifice herself to defeat the monster, but Stargirl knocks her out and does it instead, saving Britain and devastating Supergirl in the process.^[23]
  Kara becomes romantically involved with Lois Lane in this universe.
• The 2016 miniseries Supergirl: Being Super written by
  Joelle Jones is a coming-of-age take on Supergirl's origins,^[24]
  depicting Kara as a seemingly ordinary teenager living in the rural Midvale with the Danvers, since the couple found her inside a pod in the middle of a field. Kara grows up aware of the pod and her unknown origins (which are glimpsed in dreams) and struggles to live a normal life as she discovers her astonishing super-human abilities, which she keeps a secret even from her closest friends.
• In the world of Gotham City Garage, Kara Zor-El was adopted by James Gordon and becomes Kara Gordon, Barbara's adoptive sister and a ridealong technician.^[25]
• In
  Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again
  , Superman and Wonder Woman hide their daughter Lara from the world her entire life, but she later becomes important to the defeat of Lex Luthor and Brainiac, the story's antagonists. Lara possesses some of Wonder Woman's powers, benefiting from both a Kryptonian and an Amazonian heritage as that universe's Supergirl.
• In
  Clark Kent who lives in the real world, Lois gives birth to two girls who grow up to manifest their father's powers and adopt variations on his costume.^[26]
• Conner Kent
  Superboy named Supergrrl. This Supergrrl is a clone of Supergirl, only aged at sixteen or so, who was created by that world's Lex Luthor.
• Supergirl: Wings reworks the Earth-born angel storyline with Zauriel as her companion; in it, Linda's guardian angel is Matrix, whose cynical view of her charge may lead to her fall.^[27]
• In the
  xenomorphs
  . Superman befriends the sole survivor, a plucky 16-year-old girl named Kara. The story reveals that Kara is not Superman's cousin, and that the colony is not Kryptonian, but is instead part of a world whose culture and religion were strongly influenced by Krypton.
• In
  gold kryptonite as a fetus, was manipulated by Lex Luthor
  into striking against his family with artificial superpowers bestowed by a formula Luthor created; he leads Kara away from the reception and kills her in a rage, but dies himself from the deliberately imperfect serum that Luthor gave him.

In Superman & Batman: Generations 3, Knightwing (Joel's son Clark, whose Kryptonian genes were activated by a perfected version of Luthor's serum) and his wife have twin daughters, Lois and Lara, who take the heroic identities of Supergirl Red / Supergirl Blue. Supergirl Blue gives up her powers in the 25th century so she can age normally, but uses Luthor's serum in the 26th century to restore them. Supergirl Red is killed the same century, leaving her sister as the last Supergirl. Supergirl Blue dies in the 30th century. When Darkseid is destroyed, she is erased from the timeline.

• In JLA: Created Equal, Linda Danvers, fifteen years after the Fall (an population destroying plague that killed all males), changes her name to Superwoman.^[28]
• In JLA: Act of God, Linda Danvers is one of many metahumans who loses her powers due to the Black Light event that strips the entire metahuman community powerless. However, she, along with the Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and the Flash, trains with Batman and his associates so they may still be heroes. Changing her name to Justice, Linda and the others form the "Phoenix Group".
• In Superman/Gen¹³,
  Caitlin Fairchild of Gen¹³
  had received a bump on the head and suffered amnesia. When she awoke, she found Superman's cape draped over her and assumed that, with her super powers, she was Supergirl. She believed that she could not fly due to exposure to red kryptonite which, at the time, was only considered an urban legend. After going through multiple Supergirl outfits and generally causing more havoc than good, she was found by the other Gen¹³s and Superman when the real Supergirl knocked her out. When Caitlin awoke, she regained her memory.
• Supergirl is shown in Justice with other heroes helping the Justice League in their confrontation against the Legion of Doom. Since the continuity resembles the Silver Age and she is wearing a variation of her 70s era costume, this Supergirl is most likely Kara Zor-El.
• Supergirl made a brief appearance in
  JLA: Another Nail
  when all time periods meld together. She is presumably Kara Zor-El, since she is wearing a costume identical to her first appearance in Action Comics #252.
• In DC Comics Bombshells, set in an alternate history 1940, Supergirl and Stargirl are both Soviet pilots in the Night Witches, a nod to Superman: Red Son.^[29]
• Kara Zor-El appears in the six-issue mini series Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade. The series features elements from all aspects of Supergirl continuity, but is written with a more tongue-in-cheek tone for young readers. In this series, Kara is designed as a typical teenager from Krypton's moon, Argo, who (unintentionally) ends up on Earth and meets up with her cousin, Superman. With his help, Kara is given a cover identity as Linda Lee and is enrolled in school. Over the course of the series, Kara befriends a local student named Lena Thorul (who, ironically, is actually Lex Luthor's sister (her last name is an anagram of “Luthor”)), deals with her own "Bizarro" self, Belinda Zee and ultimately gets drawn into the reality-conquering schemes of
  Mr. Mxyzptlk
  .
  • An alternative version of Kara is accidentally created when she gains time travel powers in order to prevent a meteor from hitting the school. This version of Kara is called Supragirl (after wanting to be called "Andromeda").
• Supergirl appears in the Tiny Titans comic book. Due to her pets Krypto, Streaky, Comet and Beppo appearing, this Supergirl is probably Kara Zor-El. She is portrayed as giggly and kind. She is shown to fly everywhere giving her character a sense of innocence. She is very smart, gaining A's and 'super' comments from her supervillain teachers. Batgirl and Robin are shown as two of her closest friends in the book; they all attend pet club together. Batgirl and Supergirl spend time together without the other Titans by having picnics.

In other media

Main article: Supergirl in other media

Film

Producer Ilya Salkind originally wrote a treatment for the third installment from the Superman film series starring Christopher Reeve that expanded the film's scope to a cosmic scale, introducing the villains Brainiac and Mister Mxyzptlk, as well as Supergirl.^[30] The original outline featured a father–daughter relationship between Brainiac and Supergirl and a romance between Superman and Supergirl, even though the two are cousins in the comics.^[31] Warner Bros. rejected the outline.

• The first live-action depiction of Supergirl was in the eponymous 1984 film, starring Helen Slater as Kara Zor-El / Linda Lee / Supergirl. The film is a spinoff from the Salkind Superman film series, to which it is connected by Marc McClure's character, Jimmy Olsen.^[32] Its plot, which connects more traditionally to the comics than Salkind's outline, concerns Supergirl, Superman's cousin, leaving her isolated Kryptonian community of Argo City for Earth in an effort to retrieve the unique "Omegahedron", which has fallen into the hands of the evil witch Selena (Faye Dunaway). The film was poorly received and did poorly at the box office and no reference to the character was made in the subsequent Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
• In August 2018, a film centered around Kara Zor-El / Supergirl, was announced to be in development with Oren Uziel penning the script.^[33][34] The studio intends to hire a female director, with Reed Morano—who has expressed interest in the project—being its top choice.^[35][36] Filming was expected to start production in early 2020.^[37]
• In February 2021, Colombian-American actress
  Kara Zor-El version of the character^[39]
• In January 2024,
  Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2021–22) miniseries by writer Tom King and artist Bilquis Evely.^[40][41]

Television

Live-action

• In the
  CW's hit show Smallville, Kara is introduced into the cast and was portrayed by Laura Vandervoort. Smallville depicts her as Clark's (Tom Welling) cousin, whose spacecraft became trapped in stasis until the events of the sixth season finale, when the destruction of the dam the ship had landed near disrupted the stasis systems and allowed Kara to wake up. Much of season seven is concerned with Kara's attempts to adjust to life on Earth, especially after learning of Krypton's destruction and the fact that her "younger" cousin is now at least the same age as she. She makes guest appearances in season eight and in the show's tenth and final season, in which she becomes a Justice League member. In the season finale, she is sent into the future by the artificial intelligence of the Fortress of Solitude so that Clark can realize destiny and defeat Darkseid
  alone.
• A television series centered around the Kara Zor-El version of Supergirl, set in the shared universe
  Ben Lockwood / Agent Liberty
  and the evil secret organisation Leviathan.

Animation

• Supergirl was voiced by Nicholle Tom in Superman: The Animated Series, an American television show. She is depicted as Kara In-Ze, not Superman's cousin as in the comic book, but rather a near-Kryptonian from Krypton's sister planet Argos. Argos was jolted from its orbit by Krypton's explosion into a much further orbit and only Kara survived freezing to death. When Superman finds her, he brings her back to Earth and treats her as a cousin. As continued in Justice League Unlimited, she and Superman grow very close, almost like siblings, but she departs when she falls in love with Brainiac 5 of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the distant future, feeling that she had never really fit in on Earth in the present.
• Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, a direct-to-video animated film released in September 2010, largely parallels the origin-story arc launched in the Superman/Batman comic series in 2004, with some minor plot differences. Kara Zor-El, voiced by Summer Glau, is described unambiguously as Kal-El's cousin from Krypton.
• Cheetah, Hawkgirl and Catwoman also appear.^[44] Amanda Waller is featured as the principal of the series' setting Super Hero High. Many other DC Comics Heroes and Villains appear in the background as cameos. The story is about at Super Hero High School, well-known DC heroes attend classes and deal with all the awkwardness of growing up (with the added stress of having superpowers).^[45] Supergirl was voiced by Anais Fairweather. A movie DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year based on the series, was released in 2016.^[46] She also appeared in the 2019 TV series of the same name, voiced by Nicole Sullivan
  .
• Melissa Benoist reprises her role of Overgirl in the animated web series Freedom Fighters: The Ray, set in the same continuity as the CW's Supergirl.^[47]
• Supergirl appears in the fourth season episode of Harley Quinn "Getting Ice Dick, Don't Wait Up", voiced by Lacey Chabert.

Video games

• Supergirl appears as a playable character in Justice League Heroes exclusive for PlayStation Portable.
• A Lego minifigure version of Supergirl appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, and will appear in the DC TV Super-Heroes DLC pack in Lego DC Super-Villains.
• Supergirl makes a cameo appearance in the IOS version of Injustice: Gods Among Us as a support card.
• Supergirl appears as a playable character in
  Laura Bailey
  . In the story, her escape pod is retrieved by Black Adam after the events of the first game. She is trained by Black Adam and Wonder Woman into perfecting her powers as they tell her stories of her cousin, inspiring her to become Supergirl. After the Regime and Insurgency ally with each other to take out Brainiac (who was responsible for Krypton's destruction), Kara discovers what the Regime has truly done on the planet and is appalled by her cousin's actions. She and Batman infiltrate Brainiac's ship to stop the tyrant, and when Batman and Superman argue with each other over the Brainiac's fate, she allies herself with Batman, believing that her cousin is behaving more like General Zod than Jor-El. She appears in both of the game's endings, where she will either become a part of Batman's Justice League to recapture what her cousin stood for before Lois' death, or will be imprisoned by Superman until she becomes a part of his Regime. In her single player ending, she works with the Justice League to revive the Kryptonian civilizations of Argo City and Kandor.
• Supergirl appeared in
  Ninjago appeared in the PS4 version of the Starter Pack. She shares most of her abilities with Superman
  , but unlike in previous Lego games, she can turn into a Red Lantern, which is a reference to the comic “Red Daughter of Krypton”.

Homages and pastiches

• Suprema is
  Alan Moore's Supreme
  's sister with identical powers to him.
• Ultragirl is a Big Bang Comics daughter of the Earth-A Ultiman.
• Eiko (or A-ko) from Project A-ko is shown as Superman's daughter in one scene.

See also

• Miss Martian, created as a stand-in for Supergirl in Teen Titans
• Team Superman
  , the name for the unofficial team of Superman and his supporting characters
• Woman warrior
• List of women warriors in folklore

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Estrella, Ernie (May 28, 2018). "Inside Supergirl: Being Super with writer Mariko Tamaki". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
2. ^ "Supergirl – #94 Top Comic Book Heroes – IGN". Uk.ign.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
3. ^ The 25 Best Heroes of DC Comics - IGN, June 26, 2019, retrieved June 22, 2021
4. OCLC 173641581
   .
5. ^ Action Comics #309–310 (Feb–March 1964), confirmed in Action Comics #370
6. The Man of Steel. Excerpted at "The End of History". supermanthrutheages.com. Archived from the original
   on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 7, 2007.
7. ^ 52: "Week Four and Week Five," 2006.
8. ^ "Killing Supergirl was my idea, approved by DC in order to make Superman the sole survivor of Krypton for his new relaunch. Everyone was in agreement but I was the first to suggest it." Archived January 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine – Marv Wolfman, MarvWolfman.com: Q&A. Retrieved on September 14, 2008.
9. ^ Superman (vol. 2) #16
10. ^ Superman (vol. 2) #21-22
11. Frank, Gary
    (p). Supergirl (vol. 4) #50. DC Comics
12. ^ David, Peter (w), Benes, Ed (p). Hail and Farewell, vol. 4, no. 80 (May 2003). DC Comics.
13. ^ David, Peter (w), Woodward, J.K. (p). Fallen Angel, vol. 1, no. 14 (March 2007). IDW Publishing.
14. ^ David, Peter (December 13, 2006). "Fallen Angel #14 and #15: Supergirl Fans, please note". PeterDavid.net. Retrieved June 24, 2007.
15. ^ Taylor, Robert (January 21, 2007). "Reflections: Talking With Peter David, Part 2". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2007.
16. ^ "Newsarama | GamesRadar+". Newsarama. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007.
17. ^ "The Comic Bloc Forums – Geoff, We need to talk – Page 2". Comicbloc.com. May 3, 2006. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
18. ^ Multiversity: Mastermen (February 2015)
19. ^ Supergirl vol. 5 #32 (October 2008)
20. ^ Trinity #25 (November 19, 2008)
21. ^ Ame-Comi IV: Power Girl #1-3 and Ame-Comi V: Supergirl #1-3
22. ^ "BOMBSHELLS #1". DC Comics. August 12, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
23. ^ DC Bombshells
24. ^ "Inside Supergirl: Being Super with writer Mariko Tamaki Inside Supergirl: Being Super with writer Mariko Tamaki | SYFY WIRE". Archived from the original on June 24, 2018.
25. ^ "The Women of DC are Anti-Fascist Bikers in 'Gotham City Garage'". July 20, 2017.
26. ^ Superman: Secret Identity #4
27. ^ Supergirl: Wings #1
28. ^ JLA: Created Equal #1
29. ^ Lake, Jeff (August 13, 2015). "DC Comics: Bombshells #1 Review". IGN.
30. ^ "You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman". DVD Talk. 2006.
31. ^ "Story Outline of Superman III" (PDF). Supermancinema.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
32. ^ Pantozzi, Jill (December 7, 2009). "Helen Slater is Still "Super"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
33. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (August 6, 2018). "Supergirl Movie On Drawing Board For Warner Bros/DC; Oren Uziel Scripting". Deadline. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
34. ^ Galuppo, Mia; McMillan, Graeme (August 6, 2018). "Supergirl Movie in the Works with 22 Jump Street Writer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
35. ^ Busch, Anita (August 13, 2018). "Female Director Scorecard: Warner Bros Lining Up Its Superheroes". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
36. ^ "Peter Dinklage, Elle Fanning Think Reed Morano Should Direct WB's 'Supergirl'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
37. ^ Hughes, Mark (May 31, 2019). "Robert Pattinson To Star In Matt Reeves' 'The Batman'". Forbes. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
38. ^ Rubin, Rebeca (February 19, 2021). "Sasha Calle to Debut as Supergirl in 'The Flash' for Warner Bros. and DC".
39. ^ "Sasha Calle as Supergirl Revealed in New Trailer for the Flash". February 12, 2023.
40. ^ Welk, Brian (January 31, 2023). "Superman, Batman, Supergirl, and Swamp Thing Movies, Green Lantern Series Among DC Universe's First Chapter". IndieWire. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
41. ^ Aaron Couch & Borys Kit (January 29, 2024). "Supergirl Found: Milly Alcock to Play Heroine in James Gunn's DC Movies". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
42. ^ Mendelson, Scott. "Girls To Get 'Separate But Equal' DC Super Hero Girls Product Line". Forbes.com. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
43. ^ Reich, J.E. (July 8, 2015). "Hotly Anticipated DC 'Super Hero Girls' Website Is Now Live". TechTimes.com. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
44. ^ "Meet the Heroes – Others". DC Super Hero Girls. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
45. ^ "Welcome to Super Hero High School". dccomics.com/. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
46. ^ Pantozzi, Jill (June 9, 2016). "DC Super Hero Girls Are Getting Their Own Movie". HitFix. Archived from the original on June 20, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
47. ^ "Freedom Fighters: The Ray Enlists Supergirl's Benoist to Voice Overgirl". Comic Book Resources. August 30, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Supergirl.

• Official website
• Supergirl Site Archived June 20, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
• Supergirl History
• A History Of Supergirl
• Supergirl on DC Database, a DC Comics wiki
• Supergirl on the DC Animated Universe Wiki, an external wiki