Super Girl

Though there have been numerous women who have had Kryptonian-level superpowers ever since Superman's debut in 1938, there have traditionally been four true comic book Supergirls. The various Supergirl comic books began in 1959 with the arrival of Kara Zor-El.

Known as the Silver Age Super girl (though her stories continued past the Silver Age), the first Kara Zor-El was the daughter of Alura In-Ze and Zor-El, Superman's uncle. When she came to Earth, she was quickly discovered by Superman, who was delighted to meet another of his kind. However, Superman wanted to keep Kara's existence a secret, so that he might be able to use her as a secret weapon.

As a result, Kara went off to the Midvale orphanage, where she wore a brunette wig and consciously tried not to get adopted. Despite those efforts, she was eventually adopted by Fred and Edna Danvers. Under her identity of Linda Lee Danvers, Kara graduated high school, finished an undergraduate degree and pursued a graduate education in drama. She held numerous jobs, including counselor, journalist, and actress.

Unlike her other teenage counterparts, Kara was never really a sidekick in the traditional sense. She was part of the Superman family, but she was frequently off doing her own thing, and never needed Superman's approval to do it.

In 1984, this version of Kara Zor-El was killed off in the universe-altering Crisis on Infinite Earths. DC did even more damage by declaring that in the new timeline she never existed, which meant that unlike many of the ones lost in Crisis, Kara was not mourned by her loved ones.

The next major Supergirl was a shape shifter from a pocket dimension. Made by a "good" version of Lex Luthor, the Matrix Supergirl was so named because she had been created based on the molecular matrix of Luthor's dead wife, Lana Lang. She traveled from her world to Superman's in hope that he could save her world from the evil Kryptonians that were invading it, but it was too late for her world. Matrix became the soul survivor of her world. She also engaged in an ill-fated match with Lex Luthor, believing him to be the good man that her world's Luthor had been.

In time, Matrix sacrificed herself to save Linda Danvers, a dying woman whose guardian angel was later revealed to be the original, pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El. With Matrix's sacrifice, she and Linda Danvers become one. The Matrix/Linda Danvers Supergirl is considered by many to be the best. It's certainly full of a rich supernatural, angel and demon mythology that had never been present in Supergirl comics before.

Eventually, Linda and Matrix were separated and Linda gave up being Supergirl entirely.

In 2004, the Superman/Batman comic introduced a new Kara Zor-El. This one was also the cousin of Kal-El. This Kara, however, was a brasher version than any of her counterparts, and Wonder Woman immediately took her to Themyscira for some much needed training. The new Supergirl went through many different creative teams and suffered from continual revisions in history and personality. She also seemed to have ties to practically everyone in the superhero community, from a silly schoolgirl crush on Nightwing to being "mentored" by Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman. Her series is currently being retooled once again, both in costume and personality in an effort to make the series more appealing to female readers.

The four comic book Supergirls all have a very fun and interesting history, but there is always the danger hiding around the corner that says getting to attached to them is a bad idea, because they will inevitably be replaced.

Essential Storylines:

~ Crisis on Infinite Earths

~ Superman: Exile

~ Superman: Panic in the Sky

~ Supergirl: Many Happy Returns

~ Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl and Batgirl

~ Supergirl/Batman # 8