10 Supergirl Comics for DC Fans to Read After the New Movie

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.

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 Fransisco. 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.

No one can doubt the bravery that Supergirl showed when she sacrificed her life to help heroes escape the powerful Anti-Monitor in 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths #7. However, it’s hard not to see that moment for what it really was: an editorial dictate that Superman be the only survivor of Krypton. Yet, as much as DC tried to erase Kara from history, the universe needs a Supergirl. So just a few years later, in the pages of the rebooted Superman series by John Byrne, Supergirl returned… sort of.

The Supergirl Saga is where things really start to get weird for Supergirl, as DC keeps reinventing the Maid of Might, with each iteration stranger than the last. Here, we meet the Matrix, a purple goo alien born of Kryptonian technology, who ultimately takes the form of Supergirl. Slightly more alien than her predecessor, this Supergirl has no problem disagreeing with Superman, which she does by dating the seemingly heroic Lex Luthor Jr. (actually Lex Luthor in a sexy cloned body, complete with flowing red hair and an Aussie accent for some reason). The Matrix Supergirl didn’t last long, but she’s one of the character’s more memorable incarnations.

If you thought the Matrix was weird, wait until you see where she goes next. In 1996, writer Peter David introduced Linda Danvers, a regular teen who just so-happened to have the same name that Kara used as a secret identity in the Silver Age. When her no-good boyfriend gets involved in the occult, Linda is nearly sacrificed to a demonic entity. Through divine intervention, the Matrix Supergirl finds Linda and bonds with her, becoming a new, supernatural Supergirl, dubbed the Earth-Born Angel.

If that sounds like a lot, well, it is. And yet, the ‘90s Supergirl remains one of the all-time greatest runs on the character. One of the best writers of all time, David masters the characterization of a teen girl thrown into world she doesn’t understand. Even better, he and artist Gary Frank, who hadn’t yet developed the more realistic style that marks his modern work, manage to make the mixture of alien adventure and supernatural origin into something unique, fully establishing Supergirl as a worthwhile hero, separate from Superman.

Twenty years after she was wiped from continuity, Supergirl returned. Not the Matrix, not the Earth-Born Angel, but the actual Kara Zor-El. Unfortunately, the story kind of stinks, a clunky tale about the evil Darkseid intercepting Kara’s rocket and raising him as his own—complete with a slinky black outfit that really feels icky when you remember she’s about sixteen. That take continued through the first few issues of the new Supergirl series, and while great writers like Joe Kelly and Greg Rucka helped improve the character, she really hit her stride when Sterling Gates started penning Kara’s new adventures, especially with Jamal Igle on pencils.

Daughter of New Krypton finds a new role for Kara by getting her involved in the New Krypton storyline. When Superman finally finds a way to return the population of the Bottle City of Kandor back to normal size, he inadvertently lets loose thousands of people who have the exact same powers as him, but not the same values. Although some of the Kryptonians want to follow Kal-El’s example and assimilate (including Supergirl’s parents Zor-El and Alura, retconned here to be citizens of Kandor), others want to use their strength to conquer Earth and make it the New Krypton. Caught in the middle is Supergirl, who wants to do the right thing, but never felt at home on Earth like she did on Krypton.

As much as DC Comics insisted this new girl was the real Kara Zor-El, she never felt quite right. She was a bit too mean, a bit too alien to be an updated version of the character we first met in 1959. Turns out, all she needed to get her head straight was to get back to the future. Following the events of the Infinite Crisis crossover, Supergirl was flung 1001 years into the future, where she joined the Legion of Superheroes.

Written by Mark Waid and penciled by Barry Kitson, this third incarnation of the Legion of Superheroes was also quite different from the team that Otto Binder created in the 1950s, just as a rebellious and grouchy as Supergirl was in her own book. Yet, when Kara arrived in the 31st century, she returned to the sweet and optimistic personality she exhibited in her original incarnation. The juxtaposition made for some great character moments, adding a new wrinkle to the far flung adventures of the Legion.

Just when Supergirl starts feeling like Supergirl, we have to start all over again. That’s because in 2011, the DC Universe rebooted with the New 52. Almost all previous continuity was wiped out, and DC’s heroes started anew, sometimes in very different ways. Such was the case with Supergirl, who did not meet her cousin when she arrived on Earth. Instead, she landed in Siberia, where she first had to contend with the elements and then with mistrustful Earth governments.

This meaner, more alien Supergirl eventually found her place, not by joining Superman and the Justice League, but by becoming a member of the Red Lantern Corps. Like the Green Lanterns, the Red Lanterns channel energy to create constructs and battle their enemies. But where the Green Lanterns use will-power, the Red Lanterns use anger, and this Supergirl has a lot of rage to expel. Supergirl’s time with the Red Lanterns may have been short-lived, but it was one of the most unique points in the character’s history.

In the current ongoing series, writer and artist Sophie Campbell tells exciting and innovative stories about Supergirl not by recreating her origin or giving her strange new powers, but by bringing her back to her roots. The new series begins with the adult Kara returning to Midvale and her adoptive Earth parents, the Danvers, only to find that someone else has taken her place, and her identity.

What follows is a playful story that infuses wholesome small-town shenanigans with manic cartoon energy and superhero action. Campbell’s soft, pleasing style pairs well with bright colors from Tamara Bonvillain, resulting a story that feels as playful as Supergirl’s first adventures, while still remaining thoroughly modern.

With a lesser character, such wildly different interpretations would be a weakness. But mutability is one of Supergirl’s strengths, a point made particularly clear in the new collection, Supergirl: The World. A collection of eight stories, ten pages each, The World provides different ways of looking at the Last Daughter of Krypton, each from artists from different places on Earth.

In “The Chicken,” writer Mariko Tamaki follows up her acclaimed run on the mainline Supergirl comic with a stand-alone story about Kara inspiring a young girl, penciled by Skyler Patridge. Italian creators Francesca Michielin, Irene Marchesini, and Federica Croci create a dark fantasy about Kara’s self-doubts come to life. Kara meets Ngonnso, founding mother of the Nso, in a story by writer Suyru Njoka and artists Minko Coeurtys Ulrich and E.N. Ejob of Camaroon. Together, The World shows Kara’s ability to transcend borders as much as she does realities.