 |
Part III: I See London, I See France, I Wish Supergirl Wore Underpants
Supergirl kept this costume through nearly a decade of backup appearances and her own 4-issue miniseries. She was still wearing it when she merged with Linda Danvers in the first issue of the Peter David-penned Supergirl v.4 to become an Earth-born angel (okay, so it's not just her origin that'll make your head spin) and kept it for the first 50 issues of the series.
(At the risk of getting too autobiographical here, I was graduating from middle school when this outfit debuted, falling out of love with the Spice Girls and into love with a cute little faux-Catholic schoolgirl named Britney. The costume's dated now, but the 14-year-old in me loves it with a passion that will not be denied.)
The powers that be liked the costume so much that in Supergirl v.4 #51 Linda donned her own variation of it, cobbled together from items she picked up at a store in Metropolis called Meta Jeans (zing!). She wore it from then on until she retired from superheroics at the end of her series, with issue #80. She also had a grown-up version in a couple of issues towards the end, when she became Superwoman in an alternate timeline. There's another convoluted explanation behind that one, but the costume itself, with its three-quarter sleeves and no bared midriff, was very appropriate for a grown Superwoman. In that same plotline, Linda was visited by a 15-year-old Kara Zor-El, rerouted on her way to the Silver Age. Kara was dressed in her original costume, the blue tunic at the top right of this page. Also worth mentioning at this juncture is Linda's alternate timeline daughter with a Silver Age version of Superman, Ariella Kent (R'E'L in Kryptonian), who operates as Supergirl in the 853rd century with a wacky robot sidekick. Yes, really. Ariella wore a black leotard with a very non-standardized S, a blue skirt, yellow cape and gloves, and what appears to be an afro. For other fun variations on Supergirl's costume during her Peter David years, I highly recommend checking out this page at Maid of Might, which has everything, including the outfits from the short-lived but hilarious "Supergirl Enterprises."
Cir-El's costume was...well, let's just say that Brainiac doesn't have the fashion sense Lex Luthor does. (Lex created Matrix. Well, a benevolent, alternate universe Lex. Headspinny!) It was a black leotard cut rather too high up on the thighs for a teenage girl (and for anyone not in an exercise video from 1987) with a sloppy red "S" that can't even be deemed a proper S-shield, plus a blue cape and black gloves and boots. Cir-El was a short-lived character, her history erased when she jumped through a time portal to prevent Brainiac's evil coffee-related scheme from coming to fruition.
Her regular costume can be seen at the right - midriff-baring top with extra-long sleeves, ridiculously voluminous cape, red boots, and belted dust ruffle, all trimmed with gold. I have to confess I am a fan of the long sleeves, which are appropriately teenage. I don't even mind the bare midriff (see above re: my inner 14-year-old). But that prissy little belt fills me with irrational hatred, and, of course, I'd like for Kara's entire pelvis to be covered. That skirt (I use the term loosely) is more of a hero than Kara is, valiantly stretching its (unstable?) molecules to cover anything you can't show on television, hinting coyly as it does that this sixteen-year-old girl is not wearing underwear. Like I said: classy. Of course, a lot depends on the artist. The picture at right is drawn by Supergirl's main artist Ian Churchill, who tends to draw her...well, bony and naked. Over in Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes Kara's a bit better off under Barry Kitson's pencil, who is working with the same costume but manages to make it look age-appropriate. Amanda Conner drew a variation of the current Supergirl costume in Supergirl v.5 #12. The tube top and miniskirt are still skimpy but in Conner's hand not exploitative; they look like Kara chose to put them on. And the animated Supergirl has displayed solidarity with her comicsverse cousin, switching to a long-sleeved blue top and red mini that resembles a cross between the current Supergirl costume and the classic Matrix look. Supergirl is still looking, costume-wise. In Supergirl v.5 #13 she cobbles together an outfit using one of the late Superboy's old tee shirts, a long red skirt, sneakers, and an excess of bangles, but discards it when a little girl tells her "Supergirl shouldn't wear black. Too dark." The fact that she's still pondering what to wear is a good sign for the readers out there, but where she'll eventually land is anyone's guess. Has one of the Supergirl Memers hit upon Kara's new look? Only time will tell - hopefully, not too much time. Because that current costume is bad.
And don't forget... Disclaimer: This is a non-profit website dedicated to exploring the importance of Supergirl in pop culture from a feminist perspective. Supergirl and related trademarks are the property of DC Comics and Time Warner and are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended and no affiliation with the copyright holders is implied.
|
The
first post-Crisis Supergirl, 
Meanwhile,
Superman: The Animated Series had introduced its own
Supergirl in May of 1998. Kara In-Ze had a slightly different
backstory than Kara Zor-El (she was from Argos, a sister planet of
Krypton, and thus this Kara was not technically related to
Superman), but for all intents and purposes she was the Supergirl
the world knew and loved. Bruce Timm, who gave the toonverse its
striking style, designed a costume for Kara that was a striking
departure from what Supergirl had worn before. The animated
Supergirl wore a blue micro-mini, an S-shield on a white ringer baby
tee that showed her midriff, short red lace-up boots, a short red
cape, a headband, and white gloves.
As
Linda bowed out of the Supergirl gig, another young lady popped up
with a handful of Kryptonian-esque superpowers. This was Cir-El, who
claimed to be Superman's daughter from the future. She was actually
the result of Brainiac fiddling with a teenage girl's DNA as part of
a ridiculously circuitous plot against Superman that also involved
hypno-coffee. I can't make this stuff up.
The
Silver Age Kara Zor-El who'd visited Linda towards the end of
Supergirl v.4 had been such a hit that DC decided the time was ripe
to bring 
