Editing Supergirl (section)

==Original character: Kara==
{{Main|Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)}}

===Debut===
After positive fan reaction to Super-Girl, the first recurring and most familiar version of Supergirl debuted in the year 1959. Kara Zor-El first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #252 (May 1959). The story that introduced the character was drawn by Al Plastino and written by Otto Binder. Like Supergirl, Mary Marvel was a teen-age female version of an adult male superhero, wearing a costume that was identical to the older character's other than substituting a short skirt for tight trousers. (Binder also created [[Marvel Comics]]' [[Miss America (Madeline Joyce)|Miss America]], a superhero who shared little other than the name with her sometime co-star [[Captain America]].)

Reaction to Supergirl's first appearance was tremendous, with thousands of positive letters pouring into the DC Comics offices.

Issue #8 of the ''[[Superman/Batman]]'' series originally published in 2004 re-introduced [[Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)#Post-Crisis|Kara Zor-El]] into the DC continuity. Like the pre-''Crisis'' version, this Kara claims to be the daughter of Superman's uncle Zor-El and aunt Alura In-Ze. Unlike the traditional Supergirl, Kara is born before Superman; she is a teenager when he is a baby. She is sent in a rocket in [[suspended animation]] to look after the infant Kal-El; however, her rocket is caught in the explosion of Krypton and becomes encased in a Kryptonite asteroid. She arrives on Earth years after Kal-El, who has grown and become known as Superman. Owing to this extended period of suspended animation, she is "younger" than her cousin. At the end of "The Supergirl from Krypton" arc, Superman officially introduces her to all the heroes of the {{DC Universe}}. She adopts the Supergirl costume and accepts the name.

A new ''Supergirl'' series, written by [[Jeph Loeb]], began publication in August 2005. The storyline in the first arc of ''Supergirl'' depicts a darker, evil version of Kara emerging when Lex Luthor exposes her to Black [[Kryptonite]]. The evil Supergirl implies that Kara's family sent her to Earth to kill Kal-El as revenge for a family grudge. At the time, Kara herself refuses to believe this, but later [[flashback (continuity)|flashbacks]] indicate that not only is this partly true, but Kara had been physically altered by her father as a child before being involved in several murders on Krypton. However, these matters were later revealed to be delusions as a result of Kryptonite poisoning.{{citation needed|date= July 2019}} Upon being cured, she presents a personality more like that of her Silver Age persona.

===Biography===
[[File:Action Comics 285.png|thumb|upright|Supergirl is introduced to the world on the cover of ''[[Action Comics]]'' #285 (February 1962)<br>Art by [[Curt Swan]]]]
Kara Zor-El (so named because on Krypton, women take the full name of their fathers) is the last survivor of Argo City, which had survived the explosion of the planet [[Krypton (comics)|Krypton]] and drifted through space.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fleisher|first=Michael|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/173641581|title=The original encyclopedia of comic book heroes. Volume Three, Superman|date=2007|publisher=DC Comics|others=Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Janet E. Lincoln|isbn=978-1-4012-1389-3|location=New York|pages=307–312|oclc=173641581}}</ref> The city had been covered by a plastic dome for weather moderation, devised by [[Zor-El]], the younger brother of [[Jor-El]], a climatologist and engineer, the father of Superman ([[Kal-El]]). The dome held together a large chunk of land mass under the city as it drifted through space in the general direction of our Solar System. The land is converted into green kryptonite, which is covered with lead. However, the lead covering is destroyed in a meteor strike, forcing Kara to be sent to Earth.

It is later revealed that Zor-El and [[Alura (DC Comics)|Alura]] survived by entering the Survival Zone, a parallel continuum akin to the [[Phantom Zone]]. They are rescued by Supergirl and move to the bottle city of [[Kandor (comics)|Kandor]].<ref>''Action Comics'' #309–310 (Feb–March 1964), confirmed in ''Action Comics'' #370</ref> In the New Krypton storyline, the two are killed by [[Reactron]].

On Earth, Kara acquires powers identical to Superman's and adopts the secret identity of Linda Lee, a resident of Midvale Orphanage. She conceals her blonde hair beneath a brunette wig and functions as Supergirl only in secret, at Superman's request, until she can gain, in his opinion, sufficient control of her powers — and the wisdom to properly use them. Her debut was delayed by her powers being stolen by a Kandorian villainess; during this period, she is adopted by Fred and Edna Danvers.

She attends Midvale High School as Linda Danvers. In later years, after graduating from Stanhope College, she changes careers several times, holding jobs in student counseling, news reporting, and acting in a TV [[soap opera]], ''Secret Hearts'' (a play on the DC [[romance comic]] of the [[Secret Hearts|same name]]). She also attends college in [[Chicago]]. Kara has many boyfriends, including Richard (Dick) Malverne, Jerro the [[Mermaid|Merboy]] from [[Atlantis (Aquaman)|Atlantis]], and [[Brainiac 5]], a member of the [[Legion of Super-Heroes]]. However, she has shunned serious commitments, placing her super-career first.

Supergirl's secret identity is a closely held secret known only to Superman, her foster parents, and the [[Legion of Super-Heroes]], of which she is a member for a time. Like all Kryptonians, Supergirl is vulnerable to kryptonite. [[Streaky the Supercat]], her orange cat, acquires temporary superpowers as a result of its exposure to "X-kryptonite," a form of kryptonite Supergirl accidentally created in an unsuccessful attempt to neutralize the effects of green kryptonite. [[Comet (DC Comics)|Comet]], a former [[centaur]], is Supergirl's equine companion.

One way DC demonstrated the epic nature of its 12-issue [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]] ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'' (April 1985 – March 1986) was through the deaths of important characters. In issue #7 (October 1985), Supergirl sacrifices herself to save her cousin and the [[Multiverse (DC Comics)|multiverse]]. When the Superman continuity was rebooted after ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', DC editors felt that Superman should be the sole survivor of Krypton, resulting in Kara being removed.<ref>[[Peter Sanderson|Sanderson, Peter]]. ''[[Amazing Heroes]]'' #96 (June 1986). "Superman will be the only Kryptonian who survived the destruction of Krypton." – [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] on ''[[The Man of Steel (comic book)|The Man of Steel]]''. Excerpted at {{cite web |url= http://fortress.supermanthrutheages.com/History/end.php |title= The End of History |website= supermanthrutheages.com |access-date=2007-09-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154619/http://fortress.supermanthrutheages.com/History/end.php |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Unlike a number of other characters who are shown dying in the Crisis, no one remembers Kara dying or having existed.

After the events of ''[[Infinite Crisis]]'', the sequel to ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', many historical events from the Multiverse are now being remembered. [[Donna Troy]], after her rebirth and inheritance of the [[Harbinger (DC Comics)|Harbinger]]'s Orb, recalls the original Kara Zor-El and her sacrifice.<ref>''[[52 (comics)|52]]'': "Week Four and Week Five," 2006.</ref>
[[File:Postcard Supergirl.jpg|thumb|268x268px|Supergirl, Art by [[Curt Swan]] ]]
A Post-''Crisis'' Supergirl appears in ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (2004 team)|Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes]]'', in which she is transported to the 31st century and, as a result of her disorientation, for a time believes she is dreaming her surroundings into existence until finally convinced otherwise. Although her memories of her time with the Legion are erased before she returns to the present, the mental blocks break down upon encountering the pre-''Crisis'' versions of [[Karate Kid (character)|Karate Kid]] and [[Luornu Durgo|Triplicate Girl]].

Supergirl exhibits new powers, manifesting sunstone crystals from her body; so far, she only does so while under great stress (for example, when [[Cassandra Cain]] tries to kill her). Supergirl's father implants the crystals within his daughter's body to protect her from malevolent beings from the Phantom Zone. The Zone dwellers are released when Jor-El creates the Phantom Zone Projector and exploits the Zone as a prison. Kara's father, believing that Kal-El is a lure to the Zone denizens, instructs Kara to destroy him. More recent comics have cast this plotline as the result of kryptonite poisoning from the kryptonite asteroid in which she was trapped.

A recently completed storyline focused on her promise to a little boy that she would save him. She tries to make good on her promise, following different avenues searching for a cure for his cancer. After he died, she tracks down a villain with the ability to jump through time, but decides not to use that solution, as she would just be doing the same thing as the villain. She accepts that sometimes she cannot save everyone.

As part of ''[[The New 52]]'', Kara's origin was rebooted once again. An amnesiac Kara awakens after her lifepod crashes to Earth in the midst of a [[meteor shower]]. Upon emerging, she encounters humans and the extent of her powers for the first time. When encountered by Superman, she attacks him, believing him to be an impostor as her cousin was only a baby when she last saw him and she believed it to only have been a few days since then. After several battles with supervillains, including the Worldkillers, superweapons of Kryptonian design, she accepts Krypton's destruction, but continues to grapple with her grief. Her desire to restore Krypton results in her being manipulated into nearly destroying Earth by another [[H'El on Earth|Kryptonian]] whom she falls in love with. Upon realizing his manipulation, she kills him by driving kryptonite through his heart and succumbs to kryptonite poisoning.

Following her poisoning, Supergirl departs Earth to die alone. While adrift in interstellar space, she encounters a planet under attack by monsters and she intervenes to save them, unaware that the entire planet is a trap by [[Brainiac (character)|Brainiac]]. She is captured and restrained by the [[Cyborg Superman]], but after a struggle, she manages to escape. Returning to Earth, she is sent into the past by the Oracle alongside Superman and Superboy, where she ensures that a resurrected H'el cannot save Krypton. She sacrifices the planet and her family in order to save the universe.

Back on Earth, she is attacked by the assassin [[Lobo (DC Comics)|Lobo]] and, in the ensuing battle, kills him while unleashing her rage. A [[Red Lantern Corps|Red Lantern]] power ring finds her and attaches itself to her, transforming her into a Red Lantern. Driven insane by rage, Kara wanders through outer space, attacking everyone in her way, until captured by several Green Lanterns and brought to [[Hal Jordan]]. Immediately recognizing a Kryptonian and unable to remove the power ring without killing her, he brings her to [[Guy Gardner (character)|Guy Gardner]], the leader of one of the two Red Lantern factions, who manages to restore her sanity. After some time under Gardner's tutelage and protecting the galaxy as a Red Lantern, she is discharged from the Red Lantern Corps, as Guy did not want her to die needlessly fighting against [[Atrocitus]]' splinter group. On her way back to Earth, Kara encounters the leader of the Worldkillers, who are revealed to be parasitic suits of armor. He attempts to assimilate Kara as his host, but she voluntarily subjects herself to kryptonite poisoning in order to stop him and eventually flies into the Sun and removes her power ring, killing her and removing him from her body. However, Kara is revealed to be immortal while in the Sun's core and she is restored to life without the power ring or any kryptonite poisoning, immediately destroying the Worldkiller. She later helps Gardner against Atrocitus and his Red Lantern splinter group.