DC_Comics_739

Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) also known by her adoptive names of Linda Lee Danvers, Kara Kent, Linda Lang, and Kara Danvers, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Otto Binder and designed by Al Plastino. Danvers first appeared on the story "The Supergirl from Krypton" in Action Comics #252 (May 1959). Kara is the biological cousin of Kal-El, who went on to adopt the name of Clark Kent and the superhero identity Superman. Her father, Zor-El, is the brother of Superman’s father, Jor-El. During the 1980s and the revolution of the Modern Age of Comics, Superman editors believed the character's history had become too convoluted, thus killing Supergirl during the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and retconning her out of existence.

DC Comics Senior Vice President Dan DiDio re-introduced the character in 2004 along with editor Eddie Berganza and writer Jeph Loeb, with her the Superman/Batman storyline "The Supergirl from Krypton". As the current Supergirl, Kara stars in her own monthly comic book series. With DC's The New 52 relaunch, Kara, like most of the DC Universe, was revamped. DC relaunched the Supergirl comic in August 2016 as part of their DC Rebirth initiative.

In live-action, Supergirl first appeared in the film Supergirl (1984), played by Helen Slater. She later appeared in the television series Smallville, played by Laura Vandervoort, and the Arrowverse series Supergirl, played by Melissa Benoist on the show and also appearing on other Arrowverse series. Sasha Calle will appear as Supergirl in the upcoming DC Extended Universe film The Flash (2023). An upcoming standalone film featuring the character titled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, is in development as an installment of the rebooted DC Universe (DCU) media franchise.