Kara, The Original Supergirl profile picture

Kara, The Original Supergirl

Who needs Superman?

About Me


A History of Comic Book covers:
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The Original Super-Girl:
There have been a number of different Supergirls in DC's history. The first debuted in August 1958 in "The Girl of Steel" from Superman #123 (first series - written by Otto Binder with art by Dick Sprang and Stan Kaye). This "Super-Girl" was a magical creation that comes to life when Jimmy Olsen makes a wish on an ancient Indian totem that "a Super-Girl, with super-powers equal to Superman's, would appear and become his companion."
In the originally published story, Super-Girl wore the traditional blue and red outfit. However, in the reprint from Giant Superman #216, Super-Girl's appearance is obviously influenced by her creator, Jimmy Olsen - she became a redhead wearing an orange shirt with green cape, skirt, and boots (no doubt so that readers wouldn't confuse her with Superman's cousin, Supergirl, who was active at the time of the 1969 reprint). The reprint in The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told collection has Super-Girl dressed in red and blue.
Despite her good intentions, Super-Girl causes only trouble for the Man of Steel -- while using her powers alongside Superman, she blows roofs off buildings, causes explosions, and generally just gets in the way. She also accidentally reveals Superman's secret identity to Lois when she greets Clark as Superman.
Lois doesn't come off very well, as usual for almost any woman in that era. Her first concern is the lovelorn complaint -- "What chance have I anymore with Super-Girl around? They'll fall in love and get married... (choke!)". While tempted to cancel Jimmy's wish, Lois' conscience strikes as she decides, "But -- but Superman won't have me anyway! It would be mean to take Super-Girl away from him... She'll make Superman happy... (sob!)".
Gosh, Lois is terrific! For a girl, that is.
But she reverts to stereotypical type again when she hears Super-Girl refer to Clark as Superman. Lois quickly jumps to the attack and says, "Your secret is out, Clark!" As usual, Superman cleverly throws Lois off the track. This time he gives her a love note adorned with hearts and roses that says, "My Darling Lois! I've fallen madly in love with you! But I'm too timid to pop the question in person... Will you marry me? Clark Kent"
In the twisted logic of the times, Lois decides, "Oh my goodness! If - if Clark were really Superman, he wouldn't dare propose... I'd accept! Then... then it must have been a sheer case of mistaken identity when poor, bewildered Super-Girl called him Superman!" She turns down Clark saying, "It's sweet of you Clark, but I could only marry you if you were really Superman!" Our hero thinks, "I figured she'd reject Clark! But what if she'd accepted? Whew!"
Anyway, returning to the theme of this article, Super-Girl is conveniently redeemed when she sacrifices herself to save Superman from deadly Kryptonite. Unlike many stories of the day, Super-Girl doesn't end up as an imaginary tale, a dream, or a computer prediction. Super-Girl remained in-continuity (although as far as I know, she was never referred to again). Super-Girl was a one-issue test on the popularity of a female counterpart to Superman - a test that was apparently popular with readers and/or editors.

Classic Supergirl:
The idea of a Supergirl proved sufficiently popular that the Silver Age Supergirl debuted less than a year later, in May 1959's Action Comics #252, titled "The Supergirl from Krypton" (reprinted in Giant Superman Annual replica edition as well as a Millennium reprint edition). Otto Binder again wrote the story, with art by Al Plastino.
Superman investigates a rocket crash outside town and is greeted by a young, blonde girl wearing a variation of his costume. Supergirl explains how, when Krypton exploded, a "street of homes" on "a large chunk of the planet" was hurled into space "by sheer luck", complete with air bubble and a food machine.
The survivors cover the Kryptonite ground with a sheet of lead and life continues, as scientist Zor-el and his wife (Alura is unnamed in the story) have a young daughter whom they name Kara. Tragically, a meteor shower destroys the lead shielding, and Zor-el and his wife, discovering Superman on Earth through a "super-space telescope", send their daughter to safety. After exchanging the names of their respective fathers, Superman exclaims, "Great Scott! Then you're my -- cousin!" Well, that solved the potential romance concern for Lois Lane.
The issue sets up the rest of the basic Silver Age Supergirl background when Superman disguises her as an orphan and delivers her to the Midvale Orphanage. Supergirl decides on the name Linda Lee (continuing the L.L. tradition) and agrees to train in secret until Superman decides she is ready to reveal herself to the world, which occurred in February, 1962's Action Comics #295.
There are far too many Silver Age Supergirl stories to do justice to them by mentioning only a few. Kara Zor-el had a long career, including her own self titled comics, and gathered her own supporting cast and villains along the way, until her heroic death in 1986's Crisis On Infinite Earths #7.
Post-Crisis, Supergirl has been forgotten by continuity. However, she does appear in a memorable story in Christmas With The Super-Heroes #2 (cover dated December 1989). The story, "Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot", written by Alan Brennert with art by Dick Giordano, has Deadman in despair during the holidays until a mysterious blonde (later giving her name as Kara) tells him:
"We don't do it for the glory. We don't do it for the recognition. We do it because it needs to be done. Because if we don't, no one else will. And we do it even if no one knows what we've done. Even if no one knows we exist. Even if no one remembers that we ever existed."
The story is dedicated to Supergirl scribes, Otto Binder and Jim Mooney, with the inscription, "We still remember".

The New Supergirl:
Even though the new Superman regime emphasized that Superman was now the sole survivor of Krypton (no Krypto, Kandorians, or Phantom Zone criminals - and no cousin Kara), John Byrne still managed to reintroduce a new version of Supergirl.
Supergirl first appeared in Superman #16 (story and pencils by John Byrne, with inks by Karl Kesel). While most of the issue dealt with (as the cover says) "the perfidious perils of the pusillanimous Prankster!" (a fun read by the way), the final two pages had a team of scientists investigating an anomaly under the frozen Antarctic ice. Arriving at the site, they find the temperature registering at 126 degrees and, beneath the slush, the unconscious figure of a lovely blonde woman, dressed in a variation of Superman's costume.
The story runs as a sub-plot over the next several months as the scientists discover that she had apparently been lying under that ice for several hundred years. Awakening from her sleep, Supergirl heads out to find Superman, finally catching up to him in Superman #21 (by Byrne with inks by Terry Beatty), the first part of "The Supergirl Saga".
Superman is flying over the blue skies of Kansas when he becomes aware of someone following him. Quickly doubling back, he is surprised to find "a flying woman in a variation of my costume!" More surprises follow as the young lady introduces herself as Supergirl and then morphs into Lana Lang, telling Superman that she was given these powers by Lex Luthor.
Supergirl's powers are very different from Superman's Kryptonian powers. In addition to her "chameleon powers", she also uses a "psycho-kinetic blast" and turns invisible. However, Supergirl is clearly confused about her identity, location, and mission. She tells Superman that Metropolis has been destroyed, and accuses him of being an impostor attempting to deceive her. Eluding her attack, Superman heads for Lana Lang's farm to try and find some answers. When he arrives, he finds the original Lana Lang and his parents tied up in the cellar.
Rescuing them, Superman tells them that Supergirl is not just posing as Lana. His scan reveals that Supergirl is identical to Lana, even on the molecular level. Recalling the Superboy he had met a few months before (in the epic battle against the Time Trapper), Superman deduces that Supergirl must be from the Earth of the Pocket Universe.
Superman heads off to lure Supergirl to his world's Metropolis and Lex Luthor. While Supergirl tries to reconcile her recollections with this reality, Superman tells her his theory of her origin. This triggers the return of her full memory and, activating a device in her belt, she transports the two of them to the Pocket Universe's Earth.
In Adventures of Superman #444 (by Byrne and Jerry Ordway with Dennis Janke's inks over Ordway's pencils), we learn that three criminals from that universe's Krypton have destroyed the planet. Lex Luthor explains that two years previously, he discovered a way to give Lana super-powers, and that Lana used a variation of the missing Superboy's costume as a rallying symbol for the people of Earth.
In a fancy bit of pseudo-science to explain how Supergirl was discovered, Lex explains that the only way to get Supergirl to Superman's Earth was to send her in suspended animation from the Antarctic, as "the poles would be the most stable areas from which to launch our mad gamble".
In 'stereotypical plot device explanation; scientifically convoluted and mad' (SPDESCM, or 'speedy scam') [acronym tm sean hogan], Luthor says that he sent Supergirl back in time 200 years because, "With his ability to travel through time, there will be plenty of opportunities for Superman to find you." (Lex is unaware that Superman, unlike Superboy, cannot travel in time under his own power). To complete the SPDESCM mystery, Lex blanks Supergirl's memory (so that if she is captured by the enemy, she "will not be able to reveal anything to them") and leaves her with a compulsion to seek out Superman and thus trigger her memory.
After all, where's the fun in just sending her straight over with her memory intact?
The big fight scene against the Phantom Zone criminals takes place in Superman #22 (an all Byrne issue), but Supergirl is quickly taken out of the action by the combined heat vision of Zod and Zaora. Supergirl's body turns into an oozing purple form and falls to Earth. Lex stops Superman from going after her, mysteriously saying, "the protomatter will regenerate itself soon enough."
There is no time for further explanation until the fight ends and a dying Lex confesses, "sorry... about the deception... with Supergirl. Lana was one... of the first killed. I used her... molecular matrix... to create... pattern for protomatter. Artificial life form... my creation... Hoped... you'd come if it was Lana... She... never knew she wasn't real."
Later, as Superman prepares to leave the dead planet, he sees Supergirl's protomatter form moving. Gathering her up, he somehow returns to his own Earth and delivers her to his parents and Lana. Lana is shocked by the figure's strange, mottled appearance -- so unlike the vibrant Supergirl that attacked them earlier. Superman asks them to look after Supergirl, "while it regenerates".

My Interests



I changed careers several times, including roles in student counseling, news reporting, and acting in a TV soap.

I'd like to meet:

Fellow Heros with superpowers, and my "sister" Supergirls...


The "Supergirls":

The Supergirls was a three-part story-line, which occurred in Action Comics # 806-808, that featured several female Superman related characters. The issues starred Cir-El, Girl 13, and Natasha Irons. A ninja-like woman named Byakko, who blamed Superman for the death of her husband (Gunshin), was able to use her mystical abilities to critically injure Superman. Superman had convinced her to be merciful to her enemies, and when she spared the life of a Yakuza member called Sakki, Sakki killed Gunshin. Byakko felt that if Superman hadn't tried to twist her values, Gunshin would still be alive. Girl 13 intervened and teleported Superman to safety. Byakko followed, but Natasha Irons, in her guise of Steel IV, aided Girl 13 in Superman's defense, and was wounded by Byakko's energy dagger. Cir-El then entered the fray, desperate to protect her "father". Cir-El and Girl 13 engaged the ninja in battle, while Natasha administered first-aid to Superman. But it was Lana Lang who ended the battle, showing the ninja letters from the families of people Superman couldn't save, letters he kept, that showed that Superman agonized over every death he couldn't prevent, including Gunshin. Byakko relented, and said that Superman was lucky to have three children who would risk their lives for him. Superman referred to the three exhausted girls as "Supergirls".













Music:

Jazz and Blues

Movies:

All the Superman and sequels

Television:

Old Superman reruns

Books:

Graphic novels

Heroes:

Jim Mooney, The DC Comics Artist, who made me look good
Haven't you heard? I'm SUPERGIRL!
Supergirl's Secret Revealed:
(Continued from bottom of right column...)
Matrix:
Superman, traumatized by his execution of the criminals on the Pocket Universe Earth, eventually leaves for adventures in outer space. He says his farewells to his parents in Adventures of Superman #450. At the Kent farm, he also sees Supergirl again, now referring to herself as Matrix. Pa explains, "She started calling herself that a while back, and I guess it kind of stuck."
Matrix has not returned to her former look, and appears to be a slightly androgynous female with purplish skin and a shock of short white hair. Her speech is halting, she cries easily when upset, and she doesn't appear to be very animated -- mostly observing those around her. Superman's parting words to her are, "stay with them, protect them... love them."
The outside world begins to intrude on the Kent farm after an explosion in Clark's apartment leads to concerns by his friends in Metropolis that Clark has been killed. Matrix becomes increasingly obsessed with Clark's pictures -- staring at and studying them. In Superman #30 we learn that, "her only memories are vague remembrances copied from a woman long dead." Matrix is able to fly, but only weakly. She longs to be human and wonders, "what is it like to be Clark Kent?"
In Adventures of Superman #453 Matrix painfully changes her shape again until she is an exact duplicate of Clark, saying that s/he wants to help. In Adventures of Superman #454, Matrix leaves the Kent's home and travels to Metropolis where s/he is soon threatened by three hoods, until Bibbo intervenes to even the odds. Matrix takes off as the police arrive.
While Superman battles on Warworld, Matrix stumbles around Metropolis in Superman #32. Once again confused and lost, Matrix is having difficulty remembering anything other than, "He knows he is Clark Kent... and that something terrible had happened... something to do with Superman."
Jimmy Olsen comes across Matrix and rushes him to safety, assuming Clark has amnesia. Matrix vaguely remembers Jimmy from Clark's pictures and goes along. In Adventures of Superman #455, Clark's friends try to reintroduce him to his old life, assuming that his amnesia comes from the attempted mugging that Clark vaguely recalls.
Matrix's life changes yet again when Superman returns from space in Action Comics #649. At the end of the issue, Superman resumes his life as Clark and returns to his apartment, just as a massive, silent explosion tears it apart. Inside, Clark is shocked to find an unconscious duplicate of himself, holding the Eradicator device which he had brought back from his space adventures.
In Superman #34, the two Clarks are together when Jimmy Olsen arrives. The real Clark quickly switches into Superman's costume and Jimmy takes the often seen picture of Clark and Superman standing together. Matrix is still confused, believing herself to be Clark Kent. Superman talks to his parents and decides to return Matrix to them, but super-duty intervenes, forcing him to delay Matrix's return.
Matrix eventually returns to Smallville and the Kent farm on his/her own in Action Comics #644, an all-Matrix issue written by Roger Stern and George Perez, with art by Perez and Brett Breeding.
When the confused Matrix sees Superman, s/he explodes with anger saying, "Someone's threatening me -- trying to get inside my head! Someone close by! There!! And he's stolen my face!" Blasting Superman, Matrix removes the Kents and Lana to hide out at the old limestone quarry.
They try to convince Matrix of her identity, but Matrix refuses to accept the truth. To convince them of her reality, Matrix transforms her clothing into a grey and black version of Superman's costume. Fuelling the confusion, a mental link has formed between Superman and Matrix as Matrix recalls memories that are not her/his own and even finishes sentences as Superman thinks them. A huge battle ensues between them, ending only when Superman has to save Lana and his parents from a collapsing building. As a shaken Matrix approaches them, Superman takes the opportunity to remind Matrix of her origins and of the Eradicator device that somehow linked their minds. Matrix blasts Superman with psi-bolts, but Superman is prepared this time and continues to reason with Matrix, until Matrix collapses in defeat.
Similar to Superman's earlier departure, Matrix decides that, without control, "we are a danger to those around us" and that, "I must learn what I am truly to be. Until I do -- I must not put another single life at risk!" Matrix turns invisible and, visiting the Kent home briefly, leaves for the depths of outer space and exile. The narration adds ominously, "Today, Matrix learned what he is not. Now he goes to discover what he is. We may never see him again."
The Redemption Of Supergirl:
Matrix disappeared for over two years, real time, returning to take part in the "Panic In The Sky" arc (triangle titles 19928-15; also collected in trade paperback -- and again, I'm not going to refer to the individual writers or art teams). The prologue in Action Comics #674 opens on an alien world when a handsome stranger saves a barmaid from unwanted attentions by a customer. The stranger's hat and poncho are removed in the following fight - revealing ...
... Clint Eastwood. Oops, wrong story.
... revealing a black and grey Superman.
The stranger comes to the attention of several people, including the cellkeeper and Draaga (both from the real Superman's adventures on Warworld), and Maxima -- the red haired Lady of House Almerac. While the cellkeeper talks with the shapeshifted Matrix, Draaga appears and demands to continue the fight to the death that began on Warworld.
Throughout the prologue, Matrix, although still in Superman's guise, seems to have found some peace and tranquillity. Matrix's explanations as to her true identity prove unsuccessful as Draaga begins a relentless attack. Matrix uses invisibility and psychokinetic beams to repel Draaga, but is ultimately defeated.
However, when Draaga raises his fist to finish the death-rite, he pauses as the figure he holds morphs into Supergirl's form and costume (for the first time since her defeat in the Pocket Universe). During this pause, the two figures are transported to Warworld where its new leader, Brainiac, takes mental control of Supergirl. Brainiac's mental abilities also allow him to examine Supergirl's mind -- learning that she is an artificial life form who is, "most malleable... in both body and mind!"
Brainiac sends Supergirl against Earth's heroes in Adventures of Superman #488. Although Supergirl initially attacks Superman as "my greatest enemy", she soon pauses, resisting Brainiac's mental compulsion to fight Superman. A blow from Superman stuns her and breaks Brainiac's mental hold, and Supergirl quickly joins Superman in the battle.
For the rest of the arc, Supergirl and Draaga fight on the side of the heroes. When captured and questioned by Maxima in Superman: The Man Of Steel #10, she says about Superman"I once hated him as well, but now... now I believe he is the bravest, most honourable man alive... save for Draaga... while Brainiac is a madman who destroys all he touches!" So convincing are her arguments, that she persuades Maxima to release her and join with them against Brainiac.
Although Supergirl is prepared to sacrifice her life to stop Brainiac, it is Draaga who stops her by acting first"I have vowed to protect your life with my own... as I have foolishly vowed Superman's death or my own! So let one act now redeem both vows... for if I must die, I would spend my life... to further a good cause!" For the rest of the battle, Supergirl assumes Draaga's form and, although the transformation is painful, "the agony and pain I endure to take his form shall be nothing in relation to the glory I will bring to the name of Draaga... who ransomed our lives with his own."
The battle concludes in Superman #66 as the combined might of the heroes on Earth and on Warworld succeed in defeating Brainiac and leaving him an apparently mindless husk. While the heroes return to a tribute on Earth in Adventures of Superman #489, Supergirl goes to the cellkeeper's asteroid where she places Draaga's remains beside those of the Cleric.
To the cellkeeper, Supergirl reflects that, "For too long, little one, I wandered the galaxies, frozen in the form of Superman... unsure of who I was supposed to be, or where I belonged." As to the form of Supergirl that she has again resumed, she says"This is the image I assumed when Draaga attacked me, thinking I was Superman. It is the form he died protecting. This 'skin' feels right and the name 'Supergirl' does suit me."
She decides that it is now time to return to Earth, which is "the closest thing to a home I have." The cellkeeper helps her find a ship and bids her farewell with the wish"May your destiny be bright!"
Unfortunately for Supergirl, her destiny held falling in love - with Lex Luthor.