HISTORY: The First Supergirl
- THE FIRST SUPERGIRL
- REBIRTH
- FULL CIRCLE
In the Silver Age Superman comics, Supergirl was Superman's cousin, Kara from Argo City, with a slightly different costume and earthly identity and she possessed all of Superman's powers. Due to a rewriting of the Superman universe which took place during 1985 in a maxi-series known as the Crisis on Infinite Earths, this original Supergirl died in battle and history was changed so that Supergirl had never existed. This rewriting of the Superman mythos as the sole survivor of Krypton with no other relatives led to some obvious problems when it came time to reintroduce Supergirl and other characters back into the new continuity (and as one of the most popular superheroines ever, she had to come back!)
Through a convergence of supernatural events, Linda and Supergirl were brought together in a merging of physical form and consciousness that brought a new meaning to both their lives, and very handily brought the character of Supergirl much closer to her original identity as Superman's cousin than the morphing clone she had been during the post-Crisis and pre-SUPERGIRL series limbo of 1988-1996 (a long period of time, but one in which Supergirl appeared infrequently and never developed much past her initial reinvention as the protomatter being created in a pocket universe in 1988.)
While
it is a great tragedy that Supergirl was killed off during the Crisis
battle, her rebirth eventually brought about a much stronger and more
interesting character. Her adventures are no longer a watered-down version
of Superman's, nor is she Superman's sidekick. Although younger than her
"cousin" (technically she is no longer genetically related to
him within the DC Universe, but many people assume she is) she has already
had just as harrowing adventures and has her own regular supporting cast
of fascinating and often wacky friends and family, something the old Supergirl
lacked. Thanks to the strong writing of Peter David, the author of the
current series, she is now a superhero in her right who is easily Superman's
equal, and to many fans, a lot more interesting ^_^
But how did the new Supergirl get to the point she is today? Well, it's
a long and convoluted story. Nothing so simple as being shot to Earth
from a dying planet...no, Supergirl's story is a very strange one.
Stranger still, she has in many ways come full circle. But first, a brief
interlude as her rebirth brought Supergirl back into Superman's universe...
- REBIRTH -