SUPERGIRL

Real Name: Linda Lee Danvers (her native Kryptonian name is Kara Zor-El)

Occupation: Adventurer, former High School Guidance Counselor, former Actress, former Television Camera Operator 

Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no known criminal record

Identity: Secret, the general public does not believe her extra-terrestrial origins.

Other Aliases: None known

Place of Birth: Argos City, Krypton in the Rao star System, Xeno Galaxy

Marital Status: Single

Known Relatives: Zor-El (father), Allura (mother), Kal-El (cousin, alias Superman), Jor-El (uncle, deceased), Lara (aunt, deceased), Fred Danvers (adoptive father), Edna Danvers (adoptive mother), 

Group Affiliations: ally of Superman, Batgirl, the Justice League of America and the Teen Titans

Base of Operations: Chicago, Illinois, formerly Manhattan, New York, formerly Santa Augusta, Florida, formerly San Francisco, California

First Appearance: Action Comics #252

Origin: Supergirl I #1

History: Kara Zor-El is a native of the extraterrestrial Kryptonian race who lived in a fairly utopia society based on science and arts after ending their experiments on interstellar space flight. The Kryptonians had only limited space flight technology after an experimental rocket had accidentally destroyed one of their moons. The destruction of the moon resulted in debilitating effects on Krypton's atmosphere and her father, Zor-El, supervised construction on a weather-proof dome to protect Argos City. The dome protected the city from the adverse effects of the moon's damage as well as from cosmic radiation entering the planet's atmosphere. The damage, however, didn't stop there. Zor-El's brother, Jor-El, a member of Krypton's High Council, had realized that the shift in the planet's orbit had resulted in a catastrophic sequence of events breaking the planet apart and the resulting radiation in the atmosphere was fusing the core of the planet into a new destructive element known as Kryptonite, fatal to Kryptonians. Jor-El had wanted to reinitiate the civilization's defunct space program to evacuate the planet, but his peers refused to take such precautions, considering his research to be fallible and in error. Eventually, the changing pressures in the planet's core began ripping the planet apart. Jor-El just barely managed to create a small rocket to send his son, Kal-El, and Kara to Earth where they would be inextinguishable from the inhabitants, but in the terror and confusion tearing the planet apart, only young Kal-El seemingly survived, just moments ahead of Krypton exploding from the pressure at is core.

In actuality, Argos City remained preserved, held together by its weather-proof dome holding together a mass chuck of the crust of the planet into a large meteor-like land mass drifting out of the planet's orbit. The surviving Kryptonians seemingly prospered in the floating city until a meteor shower damaged the dome and released its atmosphere as well as allowing virulent cosmic energies into the city which began killing the inhabitants. Zor-El just managed to save Kara by recreating the rocket from his brother's specifications and sending her to earth to be reunited with Kal-El who had been raised on Earth under the name of Clark Kent. Investigating the crashing rocket, Clark discovered the rocket with Kara inside and took her to his adoptive parents, the Kents, to protect her. 

As Clark before her, Kara soon realized that the solar energies of the earth's sun granted her incredible superhuman powers as opposed to the red sun of Krypton under which the Krypton race had evolved. Under the less severe effects of the earth's yellow sun, Kara was almost as strong as her cousin in his identity as Superman and could run faster than any other woman her age as well as fly through the atmosphere without ill effects. Without any early desires to use her new powers publicly, she anonymously used her powers at first to help her cousin as Superman, but she eventually lost her powers against a Kryptonian sorceress named Lesla-Lar who had been a native of the city of Kandor taken from Krypton years before Krypton's destruction. Without her powers, Kara was adopted under the name Linda Lee by Fred and Edna Danvers through the Midvale Orphanage near Smallville, but eventually, she regained her powers through the plotting of an other-dimensional being named Mxyzptlk, a frequent nemesis of Superman. Hoping to embarrass Superman by making a woman as powerful as he was, he possibly sensed Linda's superhuman potential and restored her powers, ostensibly undoing Lesla-Lar's spell's in the progress. As Supergirl, she helped Superman defeat Mxyzptlk and was revealed to the public as a result. She revealed her past to the Danvers and was fully accepted by them and supported in her new drive to use her powers to the greater good.

Supergirl, however, rarely if ever faced the same adversary twice, but would come to face Lesla-Lar several times before exiling her to the spirit-filled limbo of the Phantom Zone, the Kryptonian name of  the astral realm. She joined with Superman and the Justice League of America on several missions, but despite considered a member of the Justice League, she never joined in an official capacity. (In one divergent timeline where Kal-El became Superboy, she did become a member of the Legion of Superheroes in one alternate future of the 30th Century.) She also became close friends of Mary Marvel, the female protégé of Captain Marvel, and Barbara Gordon, who was then known as Batgirl and worked alongside the Teen Titans on occasion.

Eventually, Supergirl discovered that her biological parents had survived the destruction of Argo City with a small group of Kryptonians by entering another level of existence which she called the Survival Zone, but she could not restore them to full existence within the Earth's dimension. A corrupt scientific agency known as the Council soon masterminded a plot to clone Supergirl when they failed to obtain cell samples from Superman. Each of the clones were only a foot in height and would have killed her had she not used Gold-Kryptonite to rob them of her powers. Bereft of their powers, the clones eventually merged into a normal-sized but powerless version of Linda Danvers and nearly took over Supergirl's civilian life.

On a mission with the combined heroes of Earth, Supergirl clashed with a being known as the Anti-Monitor in the Anti-Matter Universe. In his war with his counterpart known as the Monitor in the true universe, anti-matter was breaking through the temporal dimensional walls separating countless alternate earths and destroying them as a result. In order to save the universe, Supergirl was among many of the heroes attacking his base on the world of Qward in the Anti-Matter Universe, and he dealt her a fatal blow by unleashing energies that nearly ripped her apart, killing her in the process. Superman and many of the heroes of earth grieved greatly for her and Batgirl read the eulogy for her funeral before Superman took her remains away to be buried on an undetermined planet. However, after the defeat of the Anti-Monitor, the timeline had been restructured to accompany all the heroes who had originated from alternate timelines destroyed during the Crisis, and all memories of Supergirl ceased to exist in the recreated timeline. In the altered time stream, Superman became the sole survivor of Krypton's destruction, and one of Supergirl's alternate reality counterparts, Power Girl, became credited with many of her accomplishments and adventures, only to discover later discovered she had been the last survivor of Pre-Cataclysmic Atlantis rather than the cousin of the Man of Steel she had been in her native reality.

Another Supergirl from Superboy's alternate timeline which had escaped the effects of the Crisis meanwhile followed Superman to mainstream earth. This Supergirl had been a clone of Lana Lang created from experimental protoplasm by the Lex Luthor of that world in order to defeat three Phantom Zone villains accidentally released after the death of Superboy in the aftermath of the Crisis. During this time, the Linda Danvers clone had escaped the effects of the Crisis and had been taken in by the Danvers. When this alternate Supergirl met the clone, she ended up absorbing the memories of the original Supergirl from the clone, effectively destroying it in the process, and then taking its place as Linda Danvers.

During recent fluctuations in the time stream, the effects of the Crisis were somewhat "relaxed" and Supergirl actually survived her annihilation at the hands of the Monitor. Much younger than she was at the time of her death, she has been reunited with Superman and crossed paths with Power Girl who had been remade in her image in the restructured reality. The Batman, one of Superman's most trusted friends, has expressed doubts on her potential as a serious champion for good as well as her resurrection. As yet, Supergirl has not yet encountered the Lana Lang clone who usurped her likeness and heritage.

Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 125 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde (Brown as Linda Danvers)

Strength Level: Supergirl possesses Class 100 level strength enabling her to lift (press) more than 100 tons under optimal conditions.

Known Superhuman Powers: Supergirl possesses superhuman strength, invincibility and stamina spawned from her solar-energy enhanced cellular structure. Her Kryptonian physiology under a yellow sun has become supercharged via solar radiation, effectively heightening all of her physical abilities hundreds of times over to have the resilience and durability of steel. She is possibly one of the strongest and most powerful individuals on the planet, second only to individuals such as Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman and the Hulk. A natural bioelectric aura accounts for her invulnerability acting as a natural force field mere millimeters from her skin, however, when this aura is overtaxed, it becomes weakened, exhausting it and allowing damage to her clothing. Because her cape extends beyond this aura, it can be damaged. (Previous accounts erroneously claimed Supergirl's costume was created from Kryptonian fabric that like herself became impervious under yellow solar energy). The accentuation of normal abilities also applies to her senses allowing her the ability to see most of the EMG spectrum, extreme detail and to literally focus past normal matter (a.k.a. X-ray vision). Her highly efficient physiology renders him immune to terrestrial disease.

All of Supergirl’s physical activities have been amplified as a result of her solar-energized strength and stamina. She can run at incredible speeds approaching the Flash, who can run at the speed of light 9186,272 miles per hour). At such speeds, her accentuated mental patterns process her environment more quickly. She can also make a standing broad jump over a mile or at least a high jump more than 150 feet into the air. Her ability to fly enables him to cover far more distance.

Supergirl's senses are far in excess of any other superhuman except for perhaps Daredevil and Wolverine. She can observe minute details from over fifty yards and focus his vision into the atomic scale as well into ultra-violet and infrared proportions of the light spectrum, enabling her to see extreme heart or cold. By tapping the x-ray wavelength of solar energy in her body, she can peer through most solid objects one level at a time. Lead is the only substance her x-ray vision is impervious against. Her hearing is also sensitive; she can detect somewhere between 25,000 to 30,000 vibrations per second. Her attention to sound is so particular that he can center on a single ultrasonic signal across several miles. She also has acute senses of smell, taste and touch allowing him to detect minute traces of poison in the area around him. In addition, her extra sensitive nerve structure allows her a near-clairvoyant ability to sense events on a scale close to Spiderman.

Perhaps the most notable of Supergirl’s powers is her ability to fly by some form of self-telekinesis that also applies to any heavy object he was carrying. Because the Earth’s gravity is lesser than that of Krypton, she can conjure a field of energy around her strong enough to push against the gravity of the earth and carry her near infinite distances. Quasi-psionic in nature, this field allows her to levitate and then by mentally pushing forward and possibly emitting propulsion, she can fly the length of the planet and attain interstellar distances even in dimensions with different physical laws to earth.. She can reach orbits above the earth above 6,500 feet and attain casual speeds of 750 miles per hour. (Greater speeds while in the Earth’s atmosphere would cause sonic booms resulting in damage around him.) At great speeds, her Kryptonian physiology protects him from detrimental effects such as friction and dizziness. Since she is lighter than Superman, she demonstrates more aerobic maneuverability and athletic agility in flight than he can.

Her heat vision is generated by tapping her body’s solar energy reserves and expelling the energy via his eyes as a form of "heat ray" vision nearly identical to a laser. By contracting or expanding his irises, she can generate a blast small enough to burn a hole smaller than the size of a dime or an explosive blast enough to knock even Superman to his feet. She can cause fires or sear through concrete with the laser-like efficiency. It is unknown as to how long he could use his heat-vision before his solar energies were completely depleted, but since his cellular structure constantly processes solar energy, she might be able to use her heat-vision consecutively for up to several hours. Supergirl also has superhuman lung efficiency and by expelling all the carbon dioxide out of her body at once, she can generate freezing temperatures nearly identical to a fire extinguisher. resulting in one-sixteenth of an inch of ice appearing on the object she is freezing.

Superman’s also has exceptional mental and deductive reasoning enabling her to process information much faster that her deductive reasoning skills are almost always correct. She can pick up languages foreign and alien at will and mentally solve long mathematical algorithms unconsciously.

Limitations: Supergirl’s major source of weakness is Kryptonite. When Krypton exploded, the substance at the planet’s core transformed into a deadly radioactive isotope called Kryptonite. This new element is one of few with a high atomic weight that is reasonably unstable. It can be deadly to Superman, but harmless to human beings in small doses. While Kryptonite isotopes have half-lives of several years, even centuries, it can degrade into iron just as radium degrades into lead. However, it is frictionless and many chunks have reached the Earth through the warp in the wake of the rocket, which brought Kal-El to Earth. Kryptonite radiation tends to fill her cellular structure, driving out her stored solar energies in the process and poisoning her. Sustained exposure to Kryptonite radiation gives her a green hue to his skin, however, the effects are not cumulative and she will gain his full health and power once she is separated from the radiation or shielded from it by lead. Like all radioactive substances, Kryptonite radiation can be counteracted by lead to the point that Supergirl can handle it directly. Prolonged exposure can be deadly and kill virtually anything, even human beings, and even induce cancer as it did to Lex Luthor’s original body. For more on the various isotopes of Kryptonite, see Superman: Limitations.

Despite her level of power, Supergirl is immune to magic and items of mystical potential. She can be hypnotized, but not to the point she will reveal her true identity. She is also immune to harm in the presence of red solar energy which eradicates the yellow solar energy within his body and renders her with the normal strength, stamina and endurance of a normal human being.  

Abilities: Supergirl is trained in gymnastics and aerobics which she utilizes in the aerodynamic maneuverability of her flying abilities as well as in her fighting style. She also has limited apprentice-level skills in robotics, cybernetics and radiology.

Paraphernalia: Supergirl usually wore a brunette wig in her civilian identity as Linda Danvers; however, after several near misses with her identity, she resorted to using a comb charged with unstable molecules to revert her natural blonde hair to brown.

Pets: Supergirl formerly owned a an ordinary house cat named Streaky who had acquired Kryptonian style powers and human-level sentience from a rare isotope of Kryptonite, but since that isotope ceased to exist, Streaky reverted back to being an ordinary cat. She also used to ride a horse name Argo. Argo had once been one of the Centaurs upon Olympus, the home of the Olympian Gods. When he fell in love with Supergirl, the goddess Circe transformed him into a real horse. Both Streaky and Argos ceased to exist in the restructured timeline after the Crisis of Infinite Earths.

Comments: In one alternate reality, Supergirl came to earth only to retrieve an extra-dimensional power source called the Omegahedron. 

The Supergirl from Superboy's alternate earth also used the aliases Mighty Maid and Unknown Boy.

Clarifications:  Supergirl is not to be confused with:  

Last updated: 02/11/07

 

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