Supergirl first appeared in 1959 in Action Comics #252, the same DC comicbook in which Superman debuted. She operated during the Silver and Bronze Ages (1) of superhero comics. Supergirl was Superman's cousin Kara from Argo City, Krypton (2). Her parents were Alura (spelled Allura in early stories) and Zor-El, Superman's uncle. "Sole survivor of the doomed planetoid which had hurtled away intact from an exploding Krypton - with a huge bubble of air conveniently attached - Supergirl crash-landed on Earth, just as her famous cousin originally had, after Argo City itself fell prey to deadly green-kryptonite radiation." (3) She had a red, yellow and blue uniform emblazoned with the family crest, a secret earthly identity (Linda Lee Danvers), and standard Kryptonian superpowers. Supergirl was only 15 when she first landed on Earth, but over the course of the next 25 years she would mature into a young adult and acquire a suprising amount of life experience. Although she was a teenager, she was never a teenage sidekick. Her adventures were her own. Superman was a distant authority figure who would visit from time to time during her high school years (while keeping obsessive tabs on her every move). But once she graduated and went off to college, she lived on her own with almost no adult supervision and generally operated independently.
The Great Superman Book (Michael L. Fleisher and Janet E. Lincoln, 1978, volume three in the The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes) has this to say about Supergirl:
On Earth, like any Kryptonian survivor, she acquired super-powers identical to Superman's. Kara assumed the secret alternate identity of Linda Lee, an orphan at the Midvale Orphanage, concealing her blond hair beneath a brunette wig and functioning as Supergirl only in secret (at Superman's insistence) until 1962. She made her debut to the world in Action Comics #285. Adopted by Fred and Edna Danvers, she attended Midvale High School as Linda Lee Danvers, graduated in 1964, and then went on to attend Stanhope College on a scholarship, graduating in 1971.
Supergirl's alternate identity is a closely held secret, but it is known to Superman, to her foster parents the Danverses, and to the Legion of Super-Heroes, of which she served as a member until resigning her membership at the age of twenty-one. Supergirl is fully aware that her cousin Superman is secretly Clark Kent. Like all Kryptonian survivors, Supergirl is vulnerable to kryptonite. Comet the Super-Horse is Supergirl's pet and equine companion. Streaky, the orange cat that acquires temporary super-powers as the result of its exposure to 'X-kryptonite', is Linda Lee Danvers' pet cat.
Supergirl's early adventures in Action Comics are short, simple, and formulaic. The stories started becoming more complex and interesting during her college years, especially once she moved into her own book in Adventure Comics. The late sixties and early seventies marked a time of increased focus on character development and social issues in DC Comics, and while the results were mixed depending on the creative team, there was nothing dull about Supergirl's 70's run in Adventure, her own 10-issue Supergirl series, and her eight-year tenure in Superman Family. Kara had a very full career as Linda Lee Danvers: after graduating from Stanhope University with an unknown degree, she took a job as a camera operator and part-time journalist at a San Francisco TV station. Her working relationships at that job were certainly a challenge, especially with Lex Luthor's niece Nasthalthia "Nasty" Luthor there! A year later she went back to school as a grad student to study drama. Her next and longest position was as a student counsellor at a progressive high school - perhaps her undergrad was in social science? She made use of her drama training when she quit that job too (she always quit her jobs due to poor working conditions for some reason), upon receiving an offer to star in daytime television. Surprisingly, her last series had her returning to college once again, this time studying psychology. After 23 issues the second Supergirl series was cancelled, only a few months before her theatrical debut in 1984. DC intended to place Supergirl in another series, but someone in editorial must not have liked her, because she was shockingly killed off in the Crisis on Infinite Earths which herelded the end of so many female heroes. But Kara had far too strong a presence in DC comics to ever be forgotten.
Linda Danvers/Supergirl
Linda Danvers was a human girl in her late teens, living with two ordinary parents in the small town of Leesburg. Linda viewed Supergirl as her role model and frequently found herself sculpting the superheroine's form in her artistic endeavours. But an evil demon named Buzz had played upon Linda's loss of faith in those around her by drawing her into his cult in preparation for using her as a human sacrifce to the otherworldly creature known as Lord Chakat. It seems that Buzz knew that there was more to Linda that she herself realized, and that she would come to play an important role. Supergirl managed to reach Linda before the sacrifice took place, but not in time to save her life. With Supergirl filled with grief over her failure and Linda feeling overwhelmed at how her life was ending before she could set right what had gone wrong, the two reached out to each other, and at the moment of death, Supergirl merged her protoplasmic form with that of Linda's form and spirit, and the two souls became one. The spirit of Kara had been reborn in the form of another Supergirl. (The "guardian spirit" of Kara appeared in issue #49 of the current series and stated that she has been Linda's "guardian angel" since childhood.)
While it is a great tragedy that Supergirl was killed off during the Crisis battle, her rebirth eventually brought about a much stronger and more interesting character. Her adventures are no longer a watered-down version of Superman's, nor is she Superman's sidekick. Technically she is no longer genetically related to Superman within the DC Universe, but the spirit of Kara within Linda/Supergirl may remember her cousin even if he doesn't. Although younger than her "cousin", she has already had just as harrowing adventures and has her own supporting cast of fascinating and often wacky friends and family, something the old Supergirl lacked. Thanks to the strong writing of Peter David, the author of the modern Supergirl series, she is the superhero that Kara always had the capacity to be, now that she is no longer constrained by the sexist cultural mores of the Silver Age. The second Linda Danvers is a worthy successor to the Supergirl tradition.
Kara II: The (Post-Crisis) Supergirl from Krypton
 |  |  |  |
| Superman-Batman #13 (M.Turner) || Supergirl #1 (I.Churchill) || SG #5 (I.Churchill) || SG/Legion #16 (B.Kitson) | |||
Part 1: The Supergirl From Krypton (SUPERMAN/BATMAN #8-13)
First appearance: March 2004. Twenty years after the original Kara died and not quite a year after Linda Danvers retired from being Supergirl, a second Kara from Krypton has been introduced into the current DC universe. She first appeared in the March 2004 SUPERMAN/BATMAN #8, discovered by Batman after she escaped from her downed escape shuttle which had crashed to Earth in a meteor from Krypton. Her origin mirrors that of Power Girl of Earth 2, in that she was sent by her parents at the same time as Kal-El when Krypton was about to explode, but did not arrive until many years after Kal's. Kara arrives on Earth, unaged due to suspended animation, to discover that her baby cousin is already a great superhero. Superman is overjoyed to see her (seemingly forgetting all about his relationship with the previous Supergirl), for the single fact that she is his cousin.
Batman makes it clear that he does not trust a super powered girl claiming to be from Krypton. At one point he admits to himself that the thought of a Supergirl equal or greater in power to Superman disturbs him (what, Batman afraid of strong women? nah!) Wonder Woman understands that Kara's raw power is untrained and unfocused, and takes her to Themyscira (Paradise Island) for some Amazonian warrior training. It beats being stuck in an orphanage! There Kara makes friends on Earth for the first time, but all is not well as Darkseid sees the opportunity to recruit the most powerful girl on Earth as the leader of his Female Furies. He abducts her to Apokolips, and, offscreen, brainwashes her to turn "evil". Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman travel to Apokolips to rescue her, and Kal-El literally knocks Kara back to her senses by uppercutting her wearing a Kryptonite ring (no, I don't understand how that works either). Back on Earth, Superman and Wonder Woman conspire to trick Darkseid into thinking Kara is dead. The threat from Darkseid eliminated, Superman officially introduces Kara as Supergirl to the Teen Titans, the Outsiders, the JLA and the JSA. Supergirl is set to start her career as a superhero. If only she'd been given a less embarassing costume!
