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Pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El . Matrix . Linda Danvers . Post-Crisis Kara Zor-El . Power Girl . Cir-El . Lois Lane . Animated Supergirl . Movie Supergirl
Also called the Silver Age Supergirl, Kara Zor-El is Superman’s cousin from Krypton. She has all of his powers and goes by the secret identity of Linda Lee Danvers. She died heroically in the Crisis on Infinite Earths and was subsequently retconned out of continuity.
Matrix, the post-Crisis DCU’s answer to Supergirl, is an artificial life form created by the benevolent Lex Luthor of a pocket universe. She has super-strength, flight, and invulnerability, as well as the ability to morph and to shoot psychokinetic blasts.
When Matrix merged her protoplasmic body with the dying Linda Danvers’s in an attempt to save Linda’s life, the two became an “earthborn angel.” This Supergirl’s angelic powers included flame vision, wings of flame that doubled as teleportation devices, and the ability to judge the sins of the wicked. When Linda and Matrix became separated after a cataclysmic battle, Linda continued on as Supergirl despite her reduced powers.
Like her pre-Crisis self, Kara is Superman’s cousin from Krypton and has all of his powers, though she goes by the secret identity of Kara Kent. She is the only person currently active in the DCU as Supergirl.
Power Girl is Kara Zor-L, Earth-2’s version of Supergirl. After the Crisis, however, Earth-2 no longer existed, so Power Girl went through a series of confusing origins, mostly involving her being the granddaughter of an ancient Atlantean sorcerer. The recent Infinite Crisis has restored her original origin as the Kara Zor-L of Earth-2.
Cir-El was a superpowered teenager who claimed to be Superman’s daughter. She was in reality a street person named Mia and part of a plot by Brainiac to destroy Superman. When she discovered this, she threw herself into a time portal to stop herself from ever being born. She is no longer in continuity.
Lois gets superpowers a lot. That’s what happens when you hang around Superman.
Kara In-Ze is a native of the planet Argos, a sister planet to Krypton which was destroyed in the aftermath of Krypton’s explosion. Because they are the only survivors of their race, Superman and Kara consider each other “cousins,” and in fact Supergirl’s secret identity is Kara Kent, Clark’s cousin. This Supergirl has appeared in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited.
Helen Slater starred in the 1984 movie Supergirl, which fits in loosely with the canon of the Christopher Reeve Superman films. It was poorly received in America but did well internationally.
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