Supergirl
The current Supergirl, Kara Zor-El. Cover to Superman/Batman #13. Art by Michael Turner.
DC Comics First appearance Historical: Action Comics #252 (1959) Modern: Superman/Batman #8 (2004) Otto Binder Al Plastino
Characteristics Alter ego Kara Zor-El Species Kryptonian, from Krypton Team affiliations Teen Titans Legion of Super-Heroes Outsiders Themyscira Notable aliases Flamebird, Linda Lee Danvers, Claire Connors Abilities Superhuman strength, speed & stamina, various extra sensory and vision powers, invulnerability, flight.

Kara Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media. Co-created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino as Supergirl, she is a female counterpart to Superman, created by artist Joe Shuster and writer Jerry Siegel. She first appeared in Action Comics #252 (May 1959) entitled "The Supergirl from Krypton."^[1]

Since her comic book debut, Kara Zor-El's Supergirl has been adapted media relating to the Superman franchise including feature film,^[2] television,^[3] and merchandise^[4][5] making her a cultural icon.

During the 1980’s and the revolution of the Modern Age of Comics, Superman editors believed Superman’s history had become convoluted and desired to reestablish Superman as The Last Son of Krypton. To that end, Supergirl is killed during the mini-series Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, then retconned out of existence.^[6]

DC Comics Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Dan DiDio, along with Editor Eddie Berganza and comic book writer Jeph Loeb reintroduced Kara Zor-El into mainstream continuity in 2004 with the Superman/Batman storyline "The Supergirl from Krypton"; an homage to the character’s original debut.^[7] Supergirl now stars in her own monthly comic book series.^[8]

Publication History

Creation

Although Kara Zor-El was the first character to use the name Supergirl, DC Comics tested three different female versions of Superman prior to her debut.

• Lois Lane (Superwoman) — The first comic 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 Lane dreams she has gained superpowers thanks to a blood transfusion from the Man of Steel. She begins her own career as Superwoman, complete with copycat costume.^[9]
• Claire Kent — In the Superboy #78 story entitled "Claire Kent, Alias Super-Sister", Superboy saves the life of an alien woman named Shar-La, who turns Superboy into a girl. In Smallville, Clark claims to be Claire Kent, an out-of-town relative who is staying with the Kents. When in costume, he appears as Superboy's sister, Super-Sister, and claims the two have exchanged places.^[10]
• Super-Girl — In Superman #123 (August 1958), Jimmy Olsen uses a magic totem to wish a "Super-Girl" into existence as a companion and aid to Superman; however, the two frequently get in each other's way until she is fatally injured protecting Superman from a Kryptonite meteor. 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 super-powered female counterpart to Superman.^[11]

In her debut story in Action Comics #252 (1959), Kara is sent to Earth by her parents Zor-El and Allura to be raised by her cousin Kal-El, known as Superman. To ensure Superman will recognize Kara is his cousin, her parents provide a costume based closely on the Man of Steel's.^[12]Upon meeting Kara (who begins to display powers similar to those of Kal-El), Superman decides she will become his secret weapon, and explains to Kara that her presence on Earth must be kept confidential while he trains her in the use of her new powers.

Death during Crisis on Infinite Earths

Main article: Crisis on Infinite Earths

From the inception of DC Comics, until the mid-1980’s, many of the company’s characters had developed multiple origin myths leaving its continuity with severe inconsistencies. In addition to multiple origin myths, many characters had ongoing storylines in alternate universes such as Earth-One, Earth-Two, Earth-Three and Earth Prime. Crisis on Infinite Earths was conceived as a way to reduce DC Comic continuity to a single universe in which all characters maintained a single history.

Despite Supergirl’s popularity among readership, the character was destined to die during the Crisis which threatened to destroy all reality. According to Marv Wolfman, writer of Crisis on Infinite Earths:

Insert the text of the quote here, without quotation marks.

The cover at right has been chosen by popular acclaim "and by a surprisingly large margin", by DC fans as: "The Best cover of a DC Comic Book of all time", in a poll conducted by the publisher in early 2007.

Resurrection

Prior to the post-Crisis introduction of Kara Zor-El into mainstream continuity, the pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El made a startling appearance in Peter David’s Supergirl: Many Happy Returns. The current Supergirl series, at the time starring Linda Danvers, was in danger of cancellation and Peter David thought a story arch involving Kara Zor-El would be enough to revitalize the series. In an interview with Cliff Biggers of Newsarama, David states:

Insert the text of the quote here, without quotation marks.

While Many Happy Returns did not save the Supergirl series from cancellation, it did revitalize an interest in Kara Zor-El. During the launch on the Superman/Batman series, Executive Editor Dan DiDio had been looking for a way to simplify the Supergirl character from her convoluted post-crisis history; the simplest version of course, being Superman’s cousin. Jeph Loeb and Editor Eddie Berganza would find an opening to reintroduce the character following the conclusion of the first arch of Superman/Batman. Loeb states:

It was the convergence of two trains heading on toward each other. I was working on the Superman monthly when Superman Group Editor Eddie "Extravaganza" Berganza and I were kicking around an Armageddon type story where this giant asteroid from Krypton was making its way toward Earth and somewhere out past Neptune Superman was beginning to feel it. We figured we could tie it into The Fall of Luthor since DC was very kind to let me both put Lex in the White House and figure out how to get him out. Eddie and I started giggling over the possibilities of there being something in the asteroid. Or someone in the asteroid -- neither of us daring to speak her name, but we both knew who were talking about. [13]

The modern version of Kara Zor-El made her debut in Superman/Batman #8 (2004). Kara takes the mantle of Supergirl at the conclusion of the storyline. The Supergirl comic book series would later be relaunched, now starring Kara Zor-El as The Girl of Steel. The first arc of the new series is written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Ian Churchill. Loeb would later describe the appeal of writing for Supergirl:

Insert the text of the quote here, without quotation marks.

Fictional Character History

Silver age

In her debut story, Kara Zor-El is described as the last survivor of Argo City of the planet Krypton. Although Argo, which had survived the explosion of the planet, drifted through space as a self-sustaining environment, the soil of the colony eventually turns into Kryptonite. While lead sheeting is placed on the ground to pretect the citizens from radiation, meteorites pierce the sheeting and the Kryptonians began to die of radiation poisoning.^[14]

After her debut, Supergirl starred in her own backup feature in Action Comics. In these stories, Supergirl adopts the identity of Linda Lee, an orphan at Midvale Orphanage. She disguises herself by hiding her blonde hair beneath a brunette wig. During this time, Supergirl interacts with humans on a person-to-person basis performing good deeds and "saving the world" by helping one person at a time. Supergirl also uses clever schemes in order to avoid being adopted before Superman can introduce her publicly.^[15]

While temporarily powerless due to the scheming of Kandorian scientist Lesla-Lar who is out to supplant her on Earth, Linda allows herself to be adopted by engineer and rocket scientist Fred Danvers and his wife, Edna. She reveals her secret identity to her adoptive parents on the same day her cousin Superman introduces her to the world in the finale of then-DC's longest series ever published, titled "The World's Greatest Heroine".^[16]

In 1967, Supergirl meets Batgirl for the first time in World's Finest Comics.^[17] Developing a strong friendship, the two characters team again in Superman Family #171.

In 1969, Supergirl leaves Action Comics and becomes a featured character in Adventure Comics beginning with issue #381 (June 1969).^[18]

During the 1970's, Supergirl's costume changed frequently, as did her career in her civilian life. In her secret identity as Linda Danvers, Kara Zor-El took a variety of jobs including college student, television reporter, student counselor, and became an actress on the TV soap "Secret Hearts."

Bronze Age

Supergirl starred in her first eponymous monthly series beginning in 1972.^[19] Though the series was canceled after ten issues, DC Comics gave her a second series titled The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl which ran from 1982-1984.^[20]

Crisis on Infinite Earths

Main article: Crisis on Infinite Earths

During issue seven of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the greatest heroes from Earth-One, Earth-Two and Earth-Three join forces in order to defeat the Anti-Monitor. Among their ranks are Superman and Supergirl. While both heroes fear their failure may result in the destruction of all reality, they remain determined to carryout their mission. When Superman comes face to face with the Anti-Monitor and is knocked unconscious, Supergirl rushes to save him before he is killed by the villain. She is able to fight him off long enough for Dr. Light to carry her cousin to a safe distance, but is killed by the Anti-Monitor in the process.^[21]

Following Supergirl's death, Batgirl gives her eulogy at a publicly held memorial service in Chicago. In the final words of her speech, Batgirl states, "Kara is a hero, she will not be forgotten."^[22] Superman then gives his late cousin a private burial. It is later revealed in a "Superman" title the following month, that Kara had been granted a premonition about her own passing. However, when the universe is rebooted, the timeline is altered and Kara Zor-El is erased from existence, with no one knowing that she has died or ever existed in the first place.

"Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot"

Despite her removal from DC continuity, the soul of Kara Zor-El made an appearance a story titled "Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot" in Christmas with the Super-Heroes #2 (1988). Within the story, Boston "Deadman" Brand tries to feel the warmth of Christmas by possessing revelers' bodies. Feeling guilty upon the realization that he has been stealing others' Christmases, he flies off feeling sorry for himself for being denied a reward after a year of helping people. A warmly-dressed blonde woman approaches Brand, startling him. Somehow seeing the normally invisible Brand, she converses with him, reminding him,

Insert the text of the quote here, without quotation marks.

She reminds Brand that even though he is dead, he is still human, and he should rejoice because it means his spirit is still alive. As the woman leaves, Brand asks her who she is, to which she replies, "My name is Kara. Though I doubt that will mean anything to you." The story, written by Alan Brennert and penciled by Dick Giordano, is dedicated to Otto Binder and Jim Mooney, adding: "We still remember."^[23]

The soul of Kara Zor-El appeared twice in Peter David's run, specifically in issues #48 and #49 when she appears before a defeated and imprisoned then-Supergirl, Linda Danvers from Earth and comforts her. Linda acknowledges she has been helped thrice by her phantom-friend, and when she asks her name she is told by the smiling figure: "I have gone by many names, but the one I am most fond of is: Kara!"

Modern Age

Kara Zor-El is reintroduced into DC continuity in the Superman/Batman series.^[24] Her arrival on earth is discovered by Batman, who initially doubts that she is truly Kryptonian, believing that it is too much of a coincidence. After capturing the girl and running a series of tests on her physiology, he contacts Superman and asks him to visit the Batcave. When the young woman awakens from her stasis, she is furious and begins screaming in Kryptonian, however, she calms herself when Superman begins to speak to her in their native tongue. Similar to her pre-Crisis origin, she states her name is Kara Zor-El and claims to be the daughter of Superman's uncle Zor-El and his wife Alura. She explains that she was a teenager when Kal-El was a baby. When Krypton exploded, she was sent in a rocket - in suspended animation - to find and look after her younger cousin. However, her rocket got caught in a huge chunk of the planet and she only arrived recently on Earth; years after her cousin who consequently has matured into an adult. So, while chronologically born before Kal-El, she is still 16 years old both physically and psychologically.

After an ambush set up by Batman and the Amazons, Superman reluctantly agrees to allow Kara to be combat trained by Wonder Woman and Artemis. The Amazons and Batman feared a young woman with the same level of power as Superman is a dangerous threat to the world’s safety and an easy target for enemies if not trained properly. Although Kara takes her life and duty on the island of Themyscira very seriously, Superman becomes increasingly over protective and disrupts her training.

While Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman argue over who should have responsibly over her, Kara demands to know why no one will address her point of view. She also adds that if Jor-El’s original plan had succeeded, it would have been she who raised Kal-El. Superman disregards Kara’s argument as irrelevant, since things obviously did not go according to plan.

She is captured by Darkseid, and after being brainwashed into becoming the new leader of Darkseid's elite Female Furies, attempts to kill Superman. Superman defeats her and returns her to Earth, where he fakes her death so Darkseid will not come looking for her. She then assumes the role of Supergirl.^[25]

Power

After the events of the Supergirl arc in Superman/Batman. Kara Zor-El stars in her own eponymous monthly series as Supergirl. During the events of the first arc entitled "Power", Kara feels out of place, not sure where she really belongs. She is uncomfortable with her cousin's over-protectiveness, and although attempts to forge a friendship with her alternate-self Power Girl, finds they are unable to associate in close quarters since their powers go haywire when they touch. (This appears to have been resolved by the events of Infinite Crisis.)^[26] She finds solace with the Amazons on Themyscira until said island disappears from reality, due to the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline. She also finds kindred spirits in Superboy,^[27] Wonder Girl,^[28] and fellow alien Starfire.^[29]

Her self-discovery is interrupted when Lex Luthor uses black kryptonite to split her into a good Kara and an evil Kara.^[30] The evil Kara states that she was sent to Earth by Zor-El for the sole purpose of killing the infant Kal-El. Zor-El had devised a special crystal that would influence her personality as she traveled to Earth, making her "innocent", thus creating the good side of Kara's personality. However, the good side became dominant. At the climax of the struggle between the two Karas and the Justice League, the good Kara urges Wonder Woman to use her golden lasso of truth to bind the two together and ask: "Who is Kara Zor-El?" The two Karas fuse back into a single good Kara, who decides her past is not important and acknowledges Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman as her foster parents.^[31]

Infinite Crisis

Main article: Infinite Crisis

Supergirl joins the heroes whom Donna Troy has recruited to operate in deep space during the impending crisis. However, Kara's return from deep space is disrupted by the zeta-beam malfunction which befalls Donna's space team. While some incur grievous physical injuries and deformities (Adam Strange loses his eyes; Hawkgirl grows to enormous size), Supergirl simply disappears.^[32][33][34] It was revealed that prior to the crisis, Superboy-Prime's reality-altering ripple effect brought Kara Zor-El back to existence.^[35]

52

Main article: 52 (comics)

After Infinite Crisis, many historical events from the Multiverse are again remembered. Donna Troy, after her rebirth and inheritance of Harbinger's Orb, recalls the original Kara Zor-El and her sacrifice to save the Universe.^[36]

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes

Main article: Legion of Super-Heroes

Kara appears in the 31st century and is revered as a member of the Superman family. Upon her arrival she concludes that she is "dreaming" the Legion and the 31st century isn't real.^[37] Saturn Girl, attempting to learn more about how Kara arrived in their era, scanned Kara's mind and found a particularly vivid memory—that of the zeta-beam accident.^[38]

The Legion hypothesized that Kara is rationalizing her fantastic existence by believing her life is a dream. In a relatively short period of time (due to suspended animation):

• She lost her planet.
• She lost her parents.
• She arrived on Earth to find her baby cousin grown up and a legendary hero.
• She discovered her extraordinary powers and quickly reached the status of "living legend."
• She found herself inexplicably a thousand years in the future.

To complicate matters, every time Supergirl wants something to happen in her supposed dream world, it does. For example, when told she can't become a full member because the Legion is out of flight rings, one is immediately sent to her from Brainiac 5.

Soon afterwards, Brainiac 5, concerned about the effects of a superpowered being like her slipping in madness, exposes her to green Kryptonite. He then sedates her and leaves her in the care of Kandorian scientist in the enlarged Rokin/New Krypton Kandor City for being "re-educated" on the uses of the last Kryptonians. With the new language, which had developed and changed over the last thousand years, Kara couldn't even be an effective member of Rokin society, thus making her an outcast yet again. Her "romance" with Cosmic Boy was dismissed as the side-effect of the residual zeta-beam radiaton affecting the young boy's body chemistry.

One Year Later: Kandor

One year after Infinite Crisis, during World War III of Week 50 of 52, Supergirl returns to the 21st century. After briefly filling in for a temporarily depowered Superman as guardian of Metropolis^[39], she assumes the identity of Flamebird to fight crime in Kandor with Power Girl as Nightwing. They oppose a religious cult based around warped versions of Superman's earlier appearances in Kandor. Supergirl also believes the key to Argo City, her home town, lies somewhere in the city.^[40][41] "Flamebird" and "Nightwing" find themselves battling the Saturn Queen and Ultraman (posing as Superman), villains who have established themselves in Kandor. At the climax of the struggle, Supergirl unexpectedly leaves (with her comrade in tow). Since she does not consult with Power Girl about the timing of their exit, the two part on somewhat strained terms. Supergirl re-establishes herself on Earth, attaining financial independence after selling an item of Kryptonian technology that would completely "heal" anybody who uses it to Batman for his own personal use, at the price of one million dollars. With this lump sum, she purchases her own apartment.

After returning from Kandor, Kara Zor-El attempts to establish ties with the Kent Family, who are still mourning the loss of Conner Kent, Superboy, who was killed during Infinite Crisis. During a visit, she takes one of Conner's trademark black t-shirts and gives it to Cassie Sandsmark, the superheroine Wonder Girl and Superboy's lover.

Supergirl has also forged a close friendship with Wonder Girl, despite their initial friction experienced during "Power." She also has a close relationship with former-villain Captain Boomerang. Owen clearly wishes to date Kara Zor-El, but she views him as a big brother of sorts. Instead, she began dating the former Teen Titan known as Power Boy.

Identity

In an attempt to create a secret identity during the arc entitled "Identity," Supergirl attends high school under the name Claire Connors, pretending to be a teenage girl from Kansas. Like the Silver Age Linda Danvers, Kara Zor-El uses a wig, glasses, and plain clothes to become "Claire."^[42] Her attempts to assimilate fail because she is unable to connect with the other students, and she drops out after a week or so, due to the cruelty of her classmates.

As a favor to Captain Boomerang, Supergirl is granted an "audition" with the Outsiders. It had been revealed before Infinite Crisis that she had a crush on Nightwing, leader of the Outsiders. She even stole a kiss, her "first true one", from Nightwing (her first kiss was stolen by Poison Ivy) during their first encounter. The members of the Outsiders are all very suspicious of her. They believe she is using lethal force against criminals, but she was acting at super speed to disable them. She also broke the leg of a passenger on a cruise ship, who was really Metamorpho in disguise. She used x-ray vision to detect that the passenger was Metamorpho, and she is upset that the Outsiders decided to test her rather than tell her all the details of her mission. Supergirl does not join the Outsiders.

Soon afterwards, She begins dating Power Boy (without telling Captain Boomerang). She met the new Terra, but still little is known of her true intentions and origin. A series of haunting half memories of her past show Zor-El subjecting an unwilling Kara to grievous experiments to enhance her powers. In Supergirl #14, when badly injured by Batgirl Cassandra Cain in an artificial red-sun environment, Kryptonian Sunstones sprout from her body, healing her and impaling her foe.^[43]

Supergirl accompanies Hal Jordan on a mission to the casino world of Ventura.^[44] She assists the Green Lantern partly out of a desire to see more of the Universe and partly in order to avoid a lecture about responsibility from her cousin. Her personality is slightly different from normal, as she appears to be quite flirtatious and playful with Hal, but when he politely rebuffs her advances, she enters a gladiatorial contest dressed in a pink dress and pigtails. The ploy turns out to not only be a response to Hal's comments but also a clever ruse designed to flush out their prey. Kara's physical age is established at seventeen, as evidenced by Hal's repeated reminders to himself when thinking of her.

Eventually, Power Boy revealed that he loved Supergirl so much, he was obsessed with her. After Kara is about to visit Owen Mercer in the hospital, Power Boy immediately stops her, turning on Supergirl. He is later revealed to have been born in Apokolips.

Truth

During the "Truth" arc, when Supergirl finds herself in deep space and near death, she sees a vision of her Father, Zor-El. He explains to her that she is remembering things wrong, so he needs to retell her why he did what he did before she left Krypton. He started by explaining that the Phantom zone was inhabited by some sort of ghostly life. These beings were angry about being removed from their home by the projector and took out their anger by possessing various people who lived on Krypton. Zor-El then discovers that the only way to destroy the phantoms is with Kryptonian Sunstones. He implanted sunstone into her to make her immune to possession by the Phantoms. Shortly afterwards, the students at the School Kara goes to on Krypton are possessed by these Phantoms and they are forced to kill them all with sunstone. For this the Kryptonian Science council had decided that Zor-El, Kara, and Alura should be sentenced to exile in the Phantom Zone. However the final quakes before Krypton's destruction interrupted this before the sentence could be carried out. Then in the present day Kara finds herself back on Earth and sees the Phantoms there.^[45]

Kara is then assaulted by hundreds of Phantom-possessed humans, including Wonder Girl who forces Kara to admit all the dark secrets that she has been denying since arriving on Earth. Disgusted with Kara, Wonder Girl releases her. Kara then flies to the Batcave in the hopes that Batman might be able to help her. Unfortunately, the Phantoms have possessed him, and he has sealed himself inside the cave. Before Kara can try to break her way inside, Robin who is also possessed blocks her path. He provokes Kara into hitting him, and she accidentally stabs Robin with a sunstone. This surprisingly does not kill nor even mortally injure him, but instead frees him of the Phantom Ghost. Robin who had apparently been keeping tabs on Superman since the sun went red (using a Batsuit loaned to Superman since his powers were gone), then gives Supergirl directions to locate Superman in Metropolis. When she reaches Metropolis, she discovers that the phantoms are coming out of Superman's body.^[46]

Once reunited with her cousin, Kara admits to everything. Clark, who has been going mad from the Phantoms that were leaking out of him, begs her to kill him and free their adoptive homeworld. But before any actions can be taken, a pre-crisis version of Supergirl appears and attacks Kara, cheerfully taunting her with accusations of imperfection and inadequacy during their battle over Metropolis.^[47]

Several scenes in Supergirl #15 and Supergirl #17 seem to suggest that this is all an illusion created by one of Supergirl's enemies. The defeat of Kara's counterpart in Supergirl #18 finally reveals that Kara's recent ordeals, including the Phantom-infested Earth, Cassandra Cain's attack, and Kara's direct encounter with her father, are part of a twisted "test" designed by Dark Angel, who also masqueraded as pre-Crisis Supergirl.^[48] Acting under the auspices of one of the Monitors to identify post-Crisis "anomalies" who threaten the Multiverse, Dark Angel had become personally invested and then obsessed with proving Kara's status as an anomaly through increasingly brutal means. The Monitor appears and chastises Dark Angel harshly. He asserts that Kara is, indeed, this universe's Supergirl, and apologizes for Dark Angel's excess. After stating that Kara's tragic memories of her journey to Earth are real, the Monitor departs with his employee, leaving Kara in deep space with her Kryptonian abilities apparently restored and no outward sign of her sunstone implants.

Kara is then met by the reborn Pariah, who warns her of a "Great Disaster" that is coming during which she will play a role. Kara then returns to Earth where she sets about correcting some of her past wrongs, apologising to Boomer for leading him on, repairing her friendships with Cassie and Sarah (a girl she met during her brief time in High School) and dealing with her cat Streaky. Though she attempts to apologise to Power Girl for her actions in Kandor, Power Girl says she can't trust her and challenges Kara to fix things with Clark. After spending fifteen minutes outside Lois and Clark's apartment deciding what to do, Lois invites Kara inside where she and Clark embrace. Her actions over the past year forgiven, Kara races her cousin to the Fortress.^[49]

Amazons Attack

Main article: Amazons Attack

Later when Wonder Girl confides in Kara some of her personal problems, they discover that the Amazons of Themyscira have invaded Washington, D.C. as part of the events of Amazons Attack. Because of the McCarran Internal Security Act, implemented by the US President, Wonder Girl's mother and a friend of Supergirl's, named Alison, are held at an internment camp. As they try to storm the camp and free the women, they are stopped by the Titans, and told by Robin that negotiation would be a better solution. Consequently, they fly to Washington D.C. and talk to Queen Hippolyta, who tells them that negotiations are impossible, since the President is safe on Air Force One. Agreeing to bring the US leader to the Amazon Queen, the two girls block the path of Air Force One and threaten to bring the plane down if the President does not come with them. After the Amazons then forcefully cause Air Force One to crash, Cassie and Kara realize how foolish they are and aid the heroes battle against the Amazons.^[50]

Supergirl receives membership with the Teen Titans shortly after.^[51]

Powers and abilities

Main article: Powers and abilities of Superman

Like all Kryptonians under a yellow sun, the current version of Kara Zor-El possesses vast super strength, speed & stamina; various extra sensory and vision powers (including super hearing, x-ray vision, telescopic vision, microscopic vision, and heat vision); tremendous lung capacity and super breath (wind and ice); invulnerability and flight.^[52] The modern day Kara Zor-El is also a capable fighter, having trained with the amazons.

Continued exposure to a yellow sun will cause the level of her abilities to slowly increase. Many characters in the DC Universe have noted that Supergirl appears at times to be even more powerful than Superman. However, as Superman himself explains, this is because he has spent a lifetime trying to hold back so that he doesn't hurt the people around him, while Kara, without such experience, simply uses her powers to the fullest without being as fearful of risks to others.^[53]

Due to experiments performed by her father, this version of Supergirl has had a small amount of sunstones implanted in her body which seem to appear when she is under red-sun light. They allow her to maintain super-powers under the red sun, as well as free those who are possessed by Phantom Zone ghosts.

Alternate versions

Elseworlds

Main article: Elseworlds

Supergirl and Batgirl

Elseworlds is an imprint of DC Comics which takes place outside of mainstream continuity. Character's appearing in Elseworld titles are placed in alternate timelines and realities making heroes "as familiar as yesterday seem as fresh as tomorrow."

Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl

Main article:

In Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl, Kara Zor-El is portrayed as the sole surviver of the planet Krypton and her home Argo City. When she arrives on Earth, she gains membership with the Justice Society of America. Lex Luthor, a primary antagonist in the Superman mythology, becomes her mentor and trusted ally.

Amalgam Comics

Main article: Amalgam Comics

Amalgam Comics was a collaboration between DC Comics and Marvel Comics. The Imprint combined characters from both companies in order to create new ones for the duration of the series. The series of Amalgam Comics were published between 1996-1997.

• In Amalgam Comics, Supergirl is combined with Bucky Barnes to form American Girl.

In other media

See: Supergirl: In other media

See also

• Supergirl
• Power Girl

Bibliography

• 1959 to 1969: Action Comics #252 to #376.
• 1969 to 1972: Adventure Comics #381 to #424.
• 1972 to 1974: Supergirl #1 to #10.
• 1974 to 1982: Her comic merges with Jimmy Olsen's and Lois Lane's to become Superman Family #164 to #222.
• 1982 to 1984: The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1 to #23.

Kara Zor-El appeared in over 750 stories published by DC from 1959 to 1985.

Trade Paperbacks and Hardcover Collections

Title	Material collected
Original
SUPERGIRL ARCHIVES VOL. 1	Action Comics #123, #252-268
SUPERGIRL ARCHIVES VOL. 2	Action Comics #269-285
Supergirl Vol. 1: Power	Supergirl #0-5
Supergirl Vol. 2: Candor	Supergirl #6-9 Superman/Batman #27 Superman #223 JLA #122-123
Supergirl Vol. 3: Identity	Supergirl #10-19 Infinite Holiday Special #1

Notes and references

•  • [ e] Superman
Creators	Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
Characters	Superman (Clark Kent) Lois Lane Jimmy Olsen Perry White Jor-El and Lara Ma and Pa Kent Lana Lang Steel Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) Superboy (Kal-El; Kon-El) Krypto Eradicator Chris Kent
Villains	Lex Luthor Bizarro Brainiac Cyborg Superman Darkseid Doomsday General Zod Metallo Mongul Mr. Mxyzptlk Parasite Toyman Ultra-Humanite Intergang Phantom Zone villains Livewire Volcana
Locations	Daily Planet Fortress of Solitude Krypton Metropolis Smallville
	The Origin of Superman Relationship of Clark Kent and Lois Lane The Death of Superman Alternate versions of Superman
Miscellanea	Kryptonite Powers Symbol Supporting characters Publications Superman in popular culture