Editing Supergirl (section)

===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.