10 Best Supergirl Costumes in DC Comics History, Ranked

Supergirl is one of the most well-known DC heroes ever. She was introduced back in 1959, when the Man of Steel’s comics were at the height of their sales powers. She quickly became a beloved character, the first member of what we now call the “Superman family”, and has been an icon ever since. She’s had her failures over the decades; her ’80s film debut was a flop, she was killed and replaced by a new version in the post-Crisis DC Universe, got replaced by a short-lived future version who was Superman’s daughter, and a 21st century return that has had amazing peaks and valleys. However, she’s always a fan favorite who can brought back to prominence with the right story.

One thing that has linked her various incarnations and eras are her excellent costumes. Kara Zor-El made a huge splash right off the bat with her gender-swapped Superman fighting togs, a look that instantly became iconic. Most fans only remember her original costume, but that’s far from the only one she’s worn over the years. She’s taken her costume in all kinds of directions, with some of them rising to the top of the heap immediately. These are the ten best Supergirl costumes in comic history, examples of the sartorial excellence of the Maid of Might.

10) DC Rebirth Costume

DC Rebirth ended the maligned New 52, and was meant to be a return to form. It’s ultimate failure came because DC editorial at the time wanted to keep the New 52 instead of going all in on what fans actually wanted (which was anything but the New 52). However, the beginning was a great time for fans who felt like they were being listened to, getting back the characters and concepts they loved. Every major DC character was relaunched, including Supergirl. New 52 Supergirl had been terrible and this “new” version of the character was meant to make readers forget that. That started with this costume. It’s not really much different from her classic costume – the main differences seem to be cape size and the skirt being a bit more full – but it looks fantastic and gave the book the old school feel DC was going for.

9) CW-Inspired Costume

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was a masterpiece and it ended with the reveal of this new costume. It didn’t last for very long – merely from February 2022 to March 2023 – but was a big change from the Supergirl costumes that we had gotten. However, this costume didn’t originate in the costume and was instead based on one that was being used in CW’s Supergirl series. There’s something mature about this look that her skirted costumes don’t have (the hair cut might also be part of it) and it felt like a step forward for her after Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, a story that felt like it was pushing the character out of youth and into adulthood. It doesn’t get a lot of praise, but it was an interesting costume change that never really gotten the chance it deserved to shine.

8) The Debut Costume

DC created the Silver Age of Comics and Supergirl became one of the poster children of the era. That all began with her first appearance in Action Comics #252, where readers got their first look at her in this costume. Right off the bat, you’ll notice that her skirt is blue instead of red. Fans have grown up with her red skirt, so there’s something strange about seeing her without it, but this costume delivers in basically every other way. It set the standards for all of her future costumes, introducing design elements that would go down in her history. It’s a great costume, but it was certainly a work in progress.

7) The Superman Family Costume

Superman’s return to Earth in “Kal-El Returns” was a huge deal, with the Superman Family becoming the stars of Action Comics starting with issue #1051. The various members of the family all got new costumes that gave them more of a team feel, as they worked together to protect Metropolis from the greatest threats. Supergirl kept the pants of her last costume and was given the bigger S-shield that were the showpiece of these new costumes. Her cape was taken away and replaced with a jacket, giving the costume a cool ’90s Conner Kent Superboy feel to it. This costume had a nice sleek feeling to it that made it look spectacular in action. While you can make the argument that it’s a bit generic and uniform-y, there’s just something that is undeniably cool about it.

6) ’00s Return

Supergirl’s death in Crisis on Infinite Earths was the last time that readers would see the real Kara Zor-El for almost two decades. In the early ’00s, DC was trying to bring their universe back to a more Bronze Age-inspired direction and resurrection of the classic Kara was a huge part of that. She returned in “The Supergirl from Krypton”, which ended with her premiering this excellent costume. It fit the trends of young women’s clothing of the time and had more sex appeal than previous Supergirl comics. Giving her a blue skirt, paying homage to her original costume, was a great idea, linking the pre and post-Crisis Karas beautifully. It modernized the hero’s look perfectly and has become an iconic look for the heroine that is still inspiring her costumes to this day.

5) All-In Costume

Supergirl (Vol. 8) is a fantastic book. Writer/artist Sophie Campbell is able to take the character and bring her into the modern age perfectly. She pays homage to some of the coolest parts of the character’s history and her costume is a part of that. It’s not wildly different from a lot of other Supergirl costumes out there; it has the blue top and red skirt, there’s the bare midriff that has been a big part of her costumes over the years, there’s the big red boots. However, there are all kinds of little design flourishes that make the costume sing. The cape and skirt are bigger, the gold trim looks great, the modern S-shield fits her and the book’s tone, and I love the thumb hole-having long sleeves. Add in the neck and shoulders area and you have a great costume that pays homage to the past while also looking modern.

4) The Classic Costume

Supergirl’s original all-blue costume set the standard and then this one came along. This is the look that we all think of when we think of the Maid of Might. The skirt’s color was changed to red and she was given a belt that was more like the one her cousin had. Changing the color of the skirt broke up the costume and gave it much a more dynamic, eye-catching look. It’s all about the contrast between the colors, which is why we remember this version more than we do the original. She got a bigger cape than she had before, which gave the costume a more regal feel. This is a near perfect costume, taking everything great about her first costume and adding to it brilliantly.

3) ’80s Costume

There are some fans out there who will tell you that this is a bad costume, but they have no idea what they’re talking about. This was DC’s attempt to modernize the character’s costume for the 1980s and it definitely looks like it came from the decade from excess; it’s that headband that really screams Wall Street, New Wave, and greed. The cut of the skirt was changed and the S-shield was shrunk a bit and moved up to just below her neck. Her shoulders were changed as well, connecting to the shield, and giving the top some more color. It kept the classic design elements, but tweaked them just enough. The costume can look dated in the modern day, but there’s just something to it that works. This was the look she wore when she died and it will always be a huge part of the history of the comic industry.

2) ’70s Costume

This is another costume that doesn’t really get a lot of love but is way cooler than it gets credit for. The early ’70s would see Supergirl finally get her own solo series and this new costume was part of the marketing for it, a change to her look to get readers to pick up the book. It was something of a departure from her old costume, especially because it looked more like real clothes than it did the spandex suits that most costumes looked like. The top was changed into a baggy blouse with a v-neck, the S-shield was shrunk and moved to the left side of her chest, the skirt was replaced with short shorts, and her boots changed out for flats. It was a sea change from what came before. She kept it for years and there’s just something about it that I’ve always loved. It’s different and all the stronger for it.

1) Post-Crisis Costume

Crisis on Infinite Earths changed DC for years to come, with the Superman family getting some of the biggest changes. There were no longer other surviving Kryptonians, and this meant that Supergirl didn’t exist in the mainline DC Universe. However, readers would get a new Supergirl, a protoplasmic being called Matrix, who was a protoplasmic lifeform created to protect her alternate Earth by Lex Luthor. She came to the main Earth and wore this costume. It’s a modification of the classic costume and it has one of my favorite parts of modern Supergirl costumes – the sleeves. They were lengthened, and there is just something about the way this looked that really makes it all look better. Her skirt cut was also changed and she got the much larger cape that echoed the one that Supes wore in this period. This costume is perfect; it takes everything cool about other costumes and brings them together for a look that fits comfortably alongside the best comic costumes.

What’s your favorite Supergirl costume? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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