LOOK OUT! SUPERGIRL is back in theaters, and she’s got a style all her own, very different from her cousin Superman.
Played by Milly Alcock, Kara Zor-El a.k.a. Supergirl has her wild birthday party interrupted when young Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley) recruits the Maid of Might to track down the criminal Krem of the Red Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts) and bring him to justice for killing her father. But things get personal when Krem mortally wounds Krypto, driving her to even team up with Lobo, the ruthless bounty hunter played by Jason Momoa.
Obviously, director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Ana Nogueira have created a Supergirl very different from the one Helen Slater played in the 1984 film, and from the character Melissa Benoist played on the CW. But, believe it or not, Alcock’s Supergirl does come straight from the comics — specifically the 2021–2022 miniseries by Tom King and Bilquis Evely.
However, the sweet blonde girl who Slater and Benoist played also comes from the comics. In fact, Supergirl has been reimagined and reinvented time and again in the comics, characterized as everything from Superman’s kindhearted cousin to a purple shapeshifting blob to an angel born on Earth. Yes, really!
We’ve sorted out 10 of the best Supergirl comics to ever hit the stands. You’re sure to find a version of the Maid of Might that you like best, whether it’s happy and heroic or an untamed party girl.
”The Supergirl from Krypton,” Action Comics #252 (1959)
It all started here, in “The Supergirl from Krypton” by Otto Binder and Al Plastino. When a rocket lands outside of Metropolis, Superman has no choice but to investigate. From the projectile emerges a blond girl with a blue suit and extraordinary power set, just like his own. She introduces herself as Kara, daughter of his uncle Zor-El. Kara hails from Argo City, a section of Krypton that survived that planet’s explosion intact, thanks in part to the force field that Zor-El created. However, Argo City eventually fell too, prompting Zor-El to send his daughter to Earth.
Implausible? Of course! Weird? You bet! Such is the case with most Silver Age Superman stories, especially those written by Binder, who created some of the most enduring parts of Superman’s mythos. Modern readers may find the entire thing too inconvenient. But for those who like a heaping helping of weirdness in their comics, “The Supergirl from Krypton” doesn’t disappoint.
The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl (1982)
After her debut in Action Comics #252, Supergirl became a mainstay in Action Comics and Adventure Comics, where she regularly teamed with Superman and with the Legion of Superheroes. She even got her own solo series in 1972, which ran for ten issues. But like most of DC’s Silver Age characters, Kara didn’t have much of her own personality, a problem exacerbated by her similarities to Superman.
Kara really began to come into her own with her second solo series, written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Carmine Infantino. The ’80s series brings Supergirl out of Midvale and away from Metropolis, settling her in Chicago and, eventually, San Francisco. Outfitted in a blue blouse and red running shorts instead of the usual costume, this Supergirl is a modern woman, trying to find her place outside of her cousin’s shadow. The series finally makes Kara into her own woman — just three years before her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
