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Golden Age . Silver Age . Bronze Age . Modern Age May 1943 Lois Lane dreams that she receives superpowers thanks to a blood transfusion from Superman and becomes Superwoman (Action Comics #60). March/April 1947 Fake magicians Hocus and Pocus trick Lois Lane into thinking they’ve turned her into Superwoman (Adventure Comics #45). May 1951 An invention of Lex Luthor’s gives Lois Lane temporary powers. She wears a blond wig while in her Superwoman identity (Action Comics #156).
August 1958 Jimmy Olsen wishes for a female companion for Superman on a magic totem. When Super-Girl is fatally injured protecting Superman, Jimmy wishes her away. This story was meant to gauge reader interest in a less temporary Supergirl (Superman v.1 #123). May 1959 Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El lands on Earth and takes up the dual identities of Linda Lee and Supergirl (Action Comics #252). January 1960 Superboy makes a sexist joke about an alien woman’s driving ability and is turned into a girl to teach him a lesson. “He” poses as Claire Kent, an out-of-town Kent relative, while Superboy becomes “Super-Sister,” Superboy’s twin (Superboy v.1 #78). May 1960 A blood transfusion from Superman temporarily gives Lana Lang and Lois Lane superpowers (Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #17). May 1961 Supergirl joins the Legion of Super-Heroes (Action Comics #276). September 1961 Bizarro-Lois is turned into Stupor-Woman by Bizarro-Mxyzptlk (Adventure Comics #288). February 1962 Kara Zor-El, now going by her adopted name of Linda Danvers, makes her public debut as Supergirl (Action Comics #285). June 1962 Superman briefly courts Luma Lynai, a Superwoman from another world who only has superpowers under an orange sun and who looks exactly like an adult Kara Zor-El (Action Comics #289). August 1964 The Amazon Superwoman and the Crime Syndicate of America, villains from Earth-3, debut (Justice League of America #29).
November 1972 Supergirl gets her first self-titled series (Supergirl v.1 #1). October 1974 The last issue of Supergirl hits stands before the series merges with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen to become Superman Family (Supergirl v.1 #10). January 1976 Kara Zor-L, the Earth-2 counterpart of Kara Zor-El, debuts as Power Girl and joins the Super Squad (All-Star Comics #58). February 1977 Power Girl is promoted to full Justice Society membership (All-Star Comics #64). July 1980 In a one-shot story, Superman returns home from space to find everyone gender swapped, including a “Superwoman” replacing him, and a “Superlad” replacing Supergirl (Superman v.1 #349). November 1982 Supergirl gets her second self-titled series, this time with a catchy name (The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1). 1983 Kristin Wells, a descendant of Jimmy Olsen from the 29th century, travels to the 20th century to fight crime alongside Superman as Superwoman (DC Comics Presents Annual #2). March 1984 Power Girl helps found Infinity, Inc. (Infinity, Inc. #1). July 1984 The movie Supergirl, with Helen Slater in the title role, hits theaters. March 1985 Power Girl leaves Infinity, Inc. to focus on her JSA duties (Infinity, Inc. #12). September 1985 Supergirl v.2, formerly the Daring New Adventures of Supergirl, ends (Supergirl v.2 #23). October 1985 Kara Zor-El sacrifices herself to save Superman and, by extension, all of existence (Crisis on Infinite Earths #7). July 1986 Power Girl’s membership in the Justice Society ends when most of the other members are trapped in another dimension (The Last Days of the Justice Society Special). October 1986 The rebooted Superman debuts, and with him a continuity in which Kara Zor-El no longer exists (Man of Steel #1).
February 1987 It is revealed that Power Girl is apparently not Kryptonian, but the granddaughter of the Atlantean sorcerer Arion, born 45,000 years ago (Secret Origins #11). April 1988 Matrix, an artificial life form created by the benevolent Lex Luthor of a pocket universe, debuts. When she comes to Superman’s Earth, she takes on the identity of Supergirl (Superman v.2 #16). June 1988 Power Girl’s only self-titled series, a four-part miniseries, begins (Power Girl #1). February 1989 Power Girl joins the Justice League Europe (Justice League International #24). February 1994 The third Supergirl series, a four-part miniseries starring Matrix, begins (Supergirl v.3 #1). April 1995 Supergirl joins the Titans (New Titans #120). February 1996 Dana Dearden, an obsessed Superman fan, steals mystical artifacts which grant her superpowers and becomes Superwoman (Adventures of Superman #532). June 1996 Power Girl joins the Justice League America (Justice League America #111). August 1996 The Justice League America disbands, effectively ending Power Girl’s membership, although she remains a part of the Justice League Reserves (Justice League America #113). September 1996 Matrix merges her protoplasmic body with the dying Linda Danvers in an effort to save her life. Her sacrifice causes Matrix/Linda, now sharing a body, to become an Earth-born angel. Supergirl gets her fourth self-titled series (Supergirl v.4 #1). 1997 In an Elseworlds where Superman has committed crimes against women while transformed into an evil centaur, he must atone for them while in the body of a teenage girl (Whom Gods Destroy #4). January 1998 Power Girl joins the Sovereign Seven (Sovereign Seven #31). May 1998 Superman: The Animated Series’s version of Supergirl debuts in the two-part episode “Little Girl Lost.” This Supergirl is Kara In-Ze, sole survivor of Argos, a moon of Krypton. June 1998 Power Girl’s membership in the Sovereign Seven ends when the series ends – and is revealed to have possibly been an imaginary story (Sovereign Seven #36). October 2000 Supergirl, fallen and bereft, is visited by her “guardian angel,” a mysterious spirit known only as Kara (Supergirl v.4 #49). November 2000 During a battle with the Carnivore, Linda Danvers becomes separated from her Matrix/angel half, leaving her with reduced powers and no divine connection. She continues to operate as Supergirl while searching for her missing half (Supergirl v.4 #50). February 2002 Power Girl rejoins the Justice Society of America (JSA #31). December 2002 Kara Zor-El, rather than landing on pre-Crisis Earth, arrives in Linda Danvers’s town (Supergirl v.4 #75) February 2003 Girl 13, a teenager with innate magical powers, debuts (Superman v.2 #189). March 2003 Cir-El, a superpowered teenager claiming to be Superman’s daughter, debuts, calling herself Supergirl (Superman: The 10 Cent Adventure). April 2003 Ariella Kent (R’E’L in Kryptonian), daughter of the post-Crisis Linda Danvers and the pre-Crisis Superman and possessor of phenomenal powers, debuts (Supergirl v.4 #79). May 2003 Linda Danvers retires as the Supergirl series ends (Supergirl v.4 #80). October 2003 Natasha Irons, niece of John Henry Irons, takes up his legacy by becoming the next Steel when John Henry is injured (Action Comics #806). October-December 2003 Cir-El, Girl 13, and Natasha Irons team up to save Superman in a three-part story called “The Supergirls” (Action Comics #806-808). February 2004 After discovering she is part of an evil plot by Brainiac, Cir-El throws herself into a time portal to prevent her own birth and is erased from continuity (Superman v.2 #200). May 2004 The post-crisis version of Kara Zor-El lands on Earth (Superman/Batman #8). July 2004 Toon Supergirl Kara In-Ze returns in the pilot of Justice League Unlimited, “Initiation.” October 2005 Supergirl gets her fifth self-titled series, the first post-Crisis series to star Kara Zor-El (Supergirl v.5 #1). December 2005 Power Girl’s true origin is revealed: she is once again Kara Zor-L, Superman’s cousin from Earth-2 (JSA Classified #4). January 2006 While Batman teams up with female versions of himself and Superman from a parallel universe (plus Superlad), Bizarro recruits pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El, post-Crisis Kara Zor-El, Linda Danvers, Power Girl, and Cir-El to rescue Superman (Superman/Batman #24). April 2006 Supergirl finds herself in the 30th century with the Legion of Super-Heroes. The title of the series (formerly Legion of Super-Heroes) changes accordingly (Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #16).
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