Every Major Supergirl Costume Change, Ranked From Worst to Best

Supergirl has long been one of the most well-known superheroes in the world. She debuted a time when the Man of Steel was at the heights of his popularity and became an integral part of the Superman mythos. She would become her own character as the years went on, joining the Legion of Superheroes and having some awesome yet bizarre adventures. She’d die in Crisis on Infinite Earths, return as a protoplasmic being called Matrix, bond with a girl named Linda Danvers, disappear again, have a non-Kara Zor-El version from the future show up, came back to life, and has been soldiering on ever since. Reading all of that shows that if there’s one thing that has been fundamental to the Maid of Might, it’s change.

This has included her costumes. Over the years, she’s had more than the costume that everyone knows and loves, with some of these changes being excellent and others being blah. These major Supergirl costumes run the gamut of amazing to bad, but they are all an important part of Kara Zor-El’s legacy.

7) Cir-El Costume

The Superman family has reached its most powerful stage, but it took time to get here. After Crisis on Infinite Earths, there were less Kryptonians than ever before; even Supergirl wasn’t Kryptonian. Eventually, we’d get a new version of the Teen of Steel – Cir-El. She was the daughter of Superman from the future and came back in time to stop the machinations of the Futuresmiths. She took the place of the Matrix Supergirl (who had become an Earth angel thing and it was amazing; more on that later), and fought alongside the present version of her dad and Conner Kent. She showed up with a costume that is honestly terrible. This was a massive shift from the last couple of Supergirl costumes, using the blue and red that has been a major part of Supergirl costumes sparingly. I think it was supposed to look modern, but it was honestly just bad. The less we think about this one, the better it will be.

6) Early ’00s Supergirl

Peter David’s Supergirl (Vol. 4) was brilliant, taking the Matrix Supergirl, mixing in old school Silver Age ideas, and modernizing it brilliantly. The Matrix costume was just the post-Crisis one – blue top, red skirt, so not exactly a big change from the classic (I guess you could call her Earth angel form with the flame wings a costume change, but it was just trading the cape for wings, so not exactly a major change in my opinion, even if it was super cool-looking) – but issue #51 would see her debut a new, more modern costume. I honestly saw girls that looked just like this without a cape in clubs in the early ’00s, so it definitely fit the zeitgeist of young women’s clothes from the time. That said, this costume is pretty much just all right and honestly a downgrade from the costume that she had just had before.

5) ’00s Return Costume

DC entered the ’00s in a great place, with some of the best writers in the industry giving readers amazing stories. As the ’00s ran on, the publisher decided to start to restore pre-Crisis ideas to their comics and one of the first of these was bringing back Kara Zor-El in the hottest DC book of the day, Superman/Batman, with the story “The Supergirl from Krypton”, paying homage to her first appearance. This new version of Kara went on a shopping spree, becoming your stereotypical ’00s young woman. Her new costume was a perfect example of this. Belly shirts were still in, the skirt was smaller, the belt became an actual belt, and we got some cool red trim. This was a big change from the Cir-El costume; it actually looked amazing and screamed Supergirl.

4) The ’80s Costume

I’m gonna be real – most people hate this costume, but I’ve always loved it. This one first debuted in 1982’s Supergirl (Vol. 2) #19, replacing the ’70s look (which we’ll be seeing later). This was a huge change form that one and it was ’80s as all get out. The shorts of the previous costumes were replaced by a newly cut skirt, her top was changed to one that was closer to the one that she wore before the ’70s, but raised the S-shell closer to her neck and added a band of red on each of her shoulders. Finally, there was the head band, which was the most ’80s touch of the whole thing. There’s just something about it that I love – probably all the red; it’s so eye-catching – and it was a good change from a rather underrated costume. She wore it until her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, making it a major part of DC history.

3) Post-Crisis Costume

Supergirl’s death in Crisis was the symbolic death of the Silver and Bronze Ages in DC Comics, but there was no way a character as well-known as her was going to stay dead. Superman was the only Kryptonian left, so Kara wasn’t coming back. Instead, we got Matrix, a protoplasmic lifeform made by Lex Luthor to guard their alternate Earth. She was one of the few survivors of her world after it was attacked by Zod and helped Superman defeat him, Ursa, and Non, then came to Earth. Her costume as Supergirl was basically just the classic one with some minor cosmetic changes, but was a big change from the ’80s costume that Kara had died in. It was a huge change to her visual identity, even if it was just going back to an older model. This is a classic look, so fans loved the change, especially since the ’80s costume wasn’t as beloved.

2) The ’70s Costume

There are two types of Supergirl fans in the world: ones who know that the ’70s Supergirl costume is amazing and ones who are wrong. For years before this, she had what can be looked at as the “standard” Supergirl costume – the blue Super top, the red cape, and a blue or red skirt with high boots – and this costume was a massive departure from it. It gave her a more modern, blouse-y top with loose sleeves, with a smaller S-shield near her shoulder. She put on a red choker and went from the skirt to short shorts. Finally, she left behind her boots and put on smaller shoes. There’s just something about this costume that works for me and its other fans. It was a big change from the original, giving her a look that fit the era. This costume is just great; go check out Doug Braithewaite and Alex Ross’s art in Justice, where you get to see this costume in its fully painted glory, and prepare to be astonished.

1) The Modern Costume

The current Supergirl series is sensational, with writer/artist Sophie Campbell bringing her into the 2020s, giving readers slice of life superhero action that is, honestly, everything you could want from a Supergirl comic. Kara is amazing in this book and she was given this fantastic costume. It brings back the midriff but lengthens the skirt, giving it a different look. I love the end of the sleeves and the whole thumb hole thing. The gold trim looks fantastic and the way the cape connects to the costume is awesome. The high neck is perfect, yet another small but important change. Her last costume, which was a Superman family costume, was cool, but this new costume took design flourishes from the best Supergirl costumes and combined them in amazing ways.

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

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