Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)

Supergirl
Textless cover of Supergirl Rebirth #1 (August 2016). Art by Adam Hughes.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Action Comics #252 (May 1959)
Created by	Otto Binder Al Plastino
In-story information
Alter ego	Kara Zor-El (birthname) Adopted names: Linda Lee Danvers (Silver and Bronze ages) Kara Kent (Modern Age) Linda Lang (Modern Age) Kara Danvers (Rebirth, Infinite Frontier)
Species	Kryptonian
Place of origin	Krypton
Team affiliations	Justice League Justice League United Supermen of America Teen Titans Legion of Super-Heroes Female Furies D.E.O. Red Lantern Corps Secret Six S.T.A.R. Labs
Partnerships	Superman Batgirl (various) Krypto the Superdog Streaky the Supercat Comet the Super-Horse
Notable aliases	Supergirl Flamebird Claire Conner Kara Kent Girl of Steel Maiden of Might
Abilities	Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, senses, and durability Heat vision Wind and freeze breath Solar energy absorption X-ray vision Flight Invulnerability Advanced Hand-to-Hand combatant

Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) also known by her adoptive names of Linda Lee, Kara Kent, Linda Lang, and Kara Danvers, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Otto Binder and designed by Al Plastino. Danvers first appeared in the story "The Supergirl from Krypton" in Action Comics #252 (May 1959). Kara is the biological cousin of Kal-El, who went on to adopt the name of Clark Kent and the superhero identity Superman. Her father, Zor-El, is the brother of Superman's father, Jor-El. During the 1980s and the revolution of the Modern Age of Comics, Superman editors believed the character's history had become too convoluted, thus killing Supergirl during the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and retconning her out of existence.

DC Comics Senior Vice President Dan DiDio re-introduced the character in 2004 along with editor Eddie Berganza and writer Jeph Loeb, with the Superman/Batman storyline "The Supergirl from Krypton". As the current Supergirl, Kara stars in her own monthly comic book series. With DC's The New 52 relaunch, Kara, like most of the DC Universe, was revamped. DC relaunched the Supergirl comic in August 2016 as part of their DC Rebirth initiative.^[1][2][3]

In live-action, Supergirl first appeared in the film Supergirl (1984), played by Helen Slater. She later appeared in the television series Smallville, played by Laura Vandervoort, and the Arrowverse series Supergirl, played by Melissa Benoist on the show and also appearing on other Arrowverse series. Sasha Calle appeared as Supergirl in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film The Flash (2023). The character will appear in the DC Universe (DCU) franchise portrayed by Milly Alcock, in the upcoming films Superman (2025) and the self-titled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2026).