Just How Many Supergirls Are There?

Next fall, CBS will introduce millions of viewers to Supergirl, Superman’s cousin from Krypton. While she appears to have a simplistic origin, Supergirl has a convoluted history with multiple versions appearing throughout the years. But just how many Supergirls are there? To help you sort out the Girls of Steel, here’s a list of every Supergirl to appear in DC Comics.

[Note: This list only notes Supergirls who have appeared in “in-continuity” comics.]

Super-Girl

While the first “official” Supergirl wouldn’t be introduced until 1959, DC had two proto-Supergirls that appeared in Superman stories during the 1940s and 1950s. The first Super-Girl to be introduced was Superboy himself, transformed into a girl by an alien after he made disparaging comments about the female gender. Jimmy Olsen wished the second Super-Girl into existence after he discovered a magic totem.Both Super-Girls appeared only once in the comics.

Kara Zor-El

Supergirl became a popular character at DC and gained a massive following after her first appearance. Much like Superman, Kara had her own share of wacky adventures during the Silver Age, including one time where she unknowingly made out with her talking horse, Comet. In 1985, DC decided to kill off Kara Zor-El in order to re-establish Superman as the last survivor of Krypton. Supergirl died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths event series protecting her cousin from the evil Anti-Monitor. .

Power Girl

Post-Crisis, Power Girl gained a new origin as DC had decided to make Superman the sole survivor of Krypton. Power Girl was revealed to be the descendent of an ancient Atlantean wizard, who had sent her forward in time to get impregnated with a demon seed and give birth to the “perfect being” (comics in the 1990s were weird). Power Girl also had adopted a sticky one eyed cat who other Justice League members would unsuccessfully try to bathe. DC eventually undid the changes to Power Girl’s origins, making her the cousin of Earth-Two’s Superman shortly before he returned in the 2005 event series Infinite Crisis. Power Girl reappeared in the New 52 as a survivor of Earth-Two initially stranded in the main DC universe with Batman’s daughter, the Huntress.

The Matrix Supergirl

Linda Danvers

Cir-El

The Post-Crisis Kara Zor-El

The New 52 Supergirl

Which Supergirl is your favorite? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!