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Description
Supergirl is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino . Going by the real name Kara Zor-El, Supergirl is the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman , created by writer Jerome Siegel and designed by artist Joseph Shuster .
The Supergirl character first appeared in a story published in Action Comics #252 (May 1959) titled "The Supergirl from Krypton". Since the character's comic book debut, Kara Zor-El's Supergirl has been adapted into various media relating to the Superman franchise, including merchandise , television , and feature film . However, during the 1980s and the revolution of the Modern Age of Comics , Superman editors believed the character’s history had become too convoluted, and desired to re-establish Superman as "The Last Son of Krypton". Supergirl was thus killed during the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths and retconned out of existence. In the decades following Crisis, several characters unrelated to Superman used the alias "Supergirl ".
Kara Zor-El re-entered mainstream continuity in 2004 when DC Comics Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Dan DiDio , along with editor Eddie Berganza and comic book writer Jeph Loeb , reintroduced the character in the Superman/Batman storyline "The Supergirl from Krypton". The title paid homage to the original character’s 1959 debut. As the current Supergirl, Kara Zor-El stars in her own monthly comic book series . With DC's 2011 relaunch , Kara, like most of the DC Universe, was revamped. She is currently featured in her own series Supergirl, as well as related comics like Superman. 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.
The first story to feature a female counterpart to Superman was "Lois Lane – Superwoman ," which was published in Action Comics #60 (May 1943). In the story, 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 a version of Superman's costume. [2]
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 retaliation for his disparaging thoughts about women drivers which she picked up telepathically. 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. Once Superboy has learned his lesson about feeling more respect for women, Shar-La reveals the episode to be a dream which she projected into Superboy's mind. [3] This incident could be a reflection of the gender discrimination present against women at the time and the resentment by women of the period.
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. [4]
Otto Binder wrote, and Al Plastino illustrated, her debut story in Action Comics #252 (May 1959), in which the definite Kara Zor-El is sent to Earth by her parents Zor-El and Alura to be raised by her cousin Kal-El, known as Superman. [5]
Reaction at the DC Comics offices to Supergirl's first appearance was tremendous, with thousands of positive letters-of-comment pouring in.
Following this debut appearance, Supergirl adopted the secret identity of an orphan "Linda Lee", made Midvale Orphanage her base of operations, and like her cousin, as a teenager joined the Legion of Super-Heroes . [6] Linda was adopted by Fred and Edna Danvers in 1961, becoming "Linda Lee Danvers". [7] Supergirl acted for three years as Superman's "secret weapon," until she was at last introduced by her super-powered cousin to an unsuspecting world in Action Comics #285 in 1962. [8] Supergirl shared Action Comics with Superman until transferring to the lead in Adventure Comics at the end of the 1960s. During this period, "Linda" moved to Stanhope College, and then to San Francisco. In 1972, she was finally moved to her own eponymous magazine, but the move, which involved a change in creative staff, was not successful and the magazine was canceled. Supergirl, along with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen , whose magazines were canceled at about the same time, was moved to Superman Family , of which she soon became the lead, before her magazine was relaunched some years later.
In 1985, the maxi-series 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 continued popularity and status as a central member of the "Superman Family", the editors at DC Comics and the creators of the maxi-series decided to kill Supergirl off during the Crisis. According to Marv Wolfman , writer of Crisis on Infinite Earths:
Before Crisis it seemed that half of Krypton had survived the explosion. We had Superman, Supergirl, Krypto, the Phantom Zone criminals, the bottle city of Kandor, and many others. Our goal was to make Superman unique. We went back to his origin and made Kal-El the only survivor of Krypton. That, sadly, was why Supergirl had to die. However, we were thrilled by all the letters we received saying Supergirl’s death in Crisis was the best Supergirl story they ever read. Thank you. By the way, I miss Kara, too. [9]The idea of killing Supergirl was first conceived by DC's vice president/executive editor Dick Giordano , who lobbied for the death to DC's publishers. He later said he has never had any regrets about this, explaining, "Supergirl was created initially to take advantage of the high Superman sales and not much thought was put into her creation. She was created essentially as a female Superman. With time, writers and artists improved upon her execution, but she never did really add anything to the Superman mythos—at least not for me.". [10] The poor initial reception of the 1984 Supergirl (film) was also blamed by some sources. [3]
The Supergirl film however gained popularity on VHS, eventually becoming a near cult classic.
In 1989, in the tale "Christmas with the Super-Heroes" the soul of Kara appears to Boston "Deadman" Brand , cheers him up, and then disappears from continuity until 2001 (see below).
The character of Supergirl proved impossible to suppress: several characters unrelated to Superman soon took on the Supergirl persona, including the Matrix , Linda Danvers , and Cir-El .
A hero resembling the Pre-Crisis Kara would later appear in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #5, along with an entire army of Legionnaires gathered from alternate worlds, times, and realities, to battle the Time Trapper .

Description
Supergirl is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino . Going by the real name Kara Zor-El, Supergirl is the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman , created by writer Jerome Siegel and designed by artist Joseph Shuster .
The Supergirl character first appeared in a story published in Action Comics #252 (May 1959) titled "The Supergirl from Krypton". Since the character's comic book debut, Kara Zor-El's Supergirl has been adapted into various media relating to the Superman franchise, including merchandise , television , and feature film . However, during the 1980s and the revolution of the Modern Age of Comics , Superman editors believed the character’s history had become too convoluted, and desired to re-establish Superman as "The Last Son of Krypton". Supergirl was thus killed during the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths and retconned out of existence. In the decades following Crisis, several characters unrelated to Superman used the alias "Supergirl ".
Kara Zor-El re-entered mainstream continuity in 2004 when DC Comics Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Dan DiDio , along with editor Eddie Berganza and comic book writer Jeph Loeb , reintroduced the character in the Superman/Batman storyline "The Supergirl from Krypton". The title paid homage to the original character’s 1959 debut. As the current Supergirl, Kara Zor-El stars in her own monthly comic book series . With DC's 2011 relaunch , Kara, like most of the DC Universe, was revamped. She is currently featured in her own series Supergirl, as well as related comics like Superman. 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.
The first story to feature a female counterpart to Superman was "Lois Lane – Superwoman ," which was published in Action Comics #60 (May 1943). In the story, 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 a version of Superman's costume. [2]
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 retaliation for his disparaging thoughts about women drivers which she picked up telepathically. 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. Once Superboy has learned his lesson about feeling more respect for women, Shar-La reveals the episode to be a dream which she projected into Superboy's mind. [3] This incident could be a reflection of the gender discrimination present against women at the time and the resentment by women of the period.
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. [4]
Otto Binder wrote, and Al Plastino illustrated, her debut story in Action Comics #252 (May 1959), in which the definite Kara Zor-El is sent to Earth by her parents Zor-El and Alura to be raised by her cousin Kal-El, known as Superman. [5]
Reaction at the DC Comics offices to Supergirl's first appearance was tremendous, with thousands of positive letters-of-comment pouring in.
Following this debut appearance, Supergirl adopted the secret identity of an orphan "Linda Lee", made Midvale Orphanage her base of operations, and like her cousin, as a teenager joined the Legion of Super-Heroes . [6] Linda was adopted by Fred and Edna Danvers in 1961, becoming "Linda Lee Danvers". [7] Supergirl acted for three years as Superman's "secret weapon," until she was at last introduced by her super-powered cousin to an unsuspecting world in Action Comics #285 in 1962. [8] Supergirl shared Action Comics with Superman until transferring to the lead in Adventure Comics at the end of the 1960s. During this period, "Linda" moved to Stanhope College, and then to San Francisco. In 1972, she was finally moved to her own eponymous magazine, but the move, which involved a change in creative staff, was not successful and the magazine was canceled. Supergirl, along with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen , whose magazines were canceled at about the same time, was moved to Superman Family , of which she soon became the lead, before her magazine was relaunched some years later.
In 1985, the maxi-series 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 continued popularity and status as a central member of the "Superman Family", the editors at DC Comics and the creators of the maxi-series decided to kill Supergirl off during the Crisis. According to Marv Wolfman , writer of Crisis on Infinite Earths:
Before Crisis it seemed that half of Krypton had survived the explosion. We had Superman, Supergirl, Krypto, the Phantom Zone criminals, the bottle city of Kandor, and many others. Our goal was to make Superman unique. We went back to his origin and made Kal-El the only survivor of Krypton. That, sadly, was why Supergirl had to die. However, we were thrilled by all the letters we received saying Supergirl’s death in Crisis was the best Supergirl story they ever read. Thank you. By the way, I miss Kara, too. [9]The idea of killing Supergirl was first conceived by DC's vice president/executive editor Dick Giordano , who lobbied for the death to DC's publishers. He later said he has never had any regrets about this, explaining, "Supergirl was created initially to take advantage of the high Superman sales and not much thought was put into her creation. She was created essentially as a female Superman. With time, writers and artists improved upon her execution, but she never did really add anything to the Superman mythos—at least not for me.". [10] The poor initial reception of the 1984 Supergirl (film) was also blamed by some sources. [3]
The Supergirl film however gained popularity on VHS, eventually becoming a near cult classic.
In 1989, in the tale "Christmas with the Super-Heroes" the soul of Kara appears to Boston "Deadman" Brand , cheers him up, and then disappears from continuity until 2001 (see below).
The character of Supergirl proved impossible to suppress: several characters unrelated to Superman soon took on the Supergirl persona, including the Matrix , Linda Danvers , and Cir-El .
A hero resembling the Pre-Crisis Kara would later appear in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #5, along with an entire army of Legionnaires gathered from alternate worlds, times, and realities, to battle the Time Trapper .