Power Girl

In the universe containing Earth-2, Kryptonian scientists and brothers Jor-L and Zor-L built spacecraft to escape the impending destruction of their world. In the end, each could only save their infant children. Jor-L’s son Kal-L and Zor-L’s daughter Kara arrived on Earth, making lives as that world’s Superman and his cousin, Power Girl.

Revised

When the Crisis on Infinite Earths destroyed the multiverse and replaced it with a single, combined universe, Power Girl survived—but her history did not. At first she believed herself a lost cousin of Superman, and she fought injustice with various superhero teams including Infinity, Inc. and Justice League International.

It became clear that Kara was not from Krypton, and was eventually told that she was actually a survivor of ancient Atlantis before it fell. She was the infant granddaughter of the mage Arion, and had incredible magic potential. Unfortunately she was also possessed by the spirit of evil sorcerer Garn Daanuth. To save her, Arion had placed her in an alternate dimension that Daanuth could not reach, and so she awoke in the present day.

In the Justice League

Shortly after joining the League, she was seriously injured in a battle with The Grey Man (an agent of the Lords of Order), vastly reducing her powers. She can still fly, and remains super-strong and partially invulnerable, but not to the same extent. In recent months her powers have begun to fluctuate. Sometimes she has heat vision, sometimes she is vulnerable to kryptonite, etc.

During her time with Justice League Europe, Kara exhibited mood swings and general crabbiness due to an allergy to diet soft drinks. Needless to say, she did not suffer Wally’s hotheadedness or his then-womanizing ways gladly, and there were regular clashes between the two.

Also while in Europe, Kara became mystically pregnant as a result of spells cast by none other than Arion (though she believed it to be a result of a deal with a Chthonic Earth-mother deity). She gave birth to a baby boy in the midst of Zero Hour. Her son grew rapidly to adulthood, called himself Equinox, defeated a creature called Scarabus, and vanished. Arion, or his ghost, revealed that she was not Atlantean after all.

Truth at Last

At the urgings of the Psycho Pirate, Kara has finally learned her true origin: a survivor of Earth-2, cousin of that world’s Superman..

• Art Credits
• Origin Tales
• Profiles in Print
• Series Regular In...
• Legacy-Era Appearances
• One Year Later Appearances
• Further Notes
• Related Commentary

Art

• Modern (white with cape): Infinite Crisis #2 (January 2006) - Jim Lee and Sandra Hope
• JLE-era (yellow-and-white): Who’s Who (loose-leaf edition) #6 (January 1991) - Bart Sears

Origin Tales

• Secret Origins #11 (February 1987): “Ancient Histories,” Paul Kupperberg
• JSA Classified #1–4 (September–December 2005): “Power Trip,” Geoff Johns

Profiles

• Who’s Who in the DC Universe #18 (August 1986)
• Who’s Who Update ’87 #4 (November 1987)
• Who’s Who (loose-leaf edition) #6 (January 1991)
• JLA / JSA Secret Files #1 (January 2003)
• The DC Comics Encyclopedia (2004)
• 52 Week 36 (January 10, 2007)

Series Regular In...

• All-Star Comics #58–74 (1976–1978)
• Infinity, Inc. (1984–1986)
• Justice League Europe/International (1989–1994)
• JSA (2002–2006)
• Justice Society of America (2007—)
• Probably others

Significant Legacy-Era Flash Appearances

• Flash #59–60 (February–March 1992): “Last Resorts,” William Messner-Loebs
• Flash #61 (April 1992): “The Old Wedding Dodge,” William Messner-Loebs (cameo)
• Green Lantern #30 and Flash #69 (October 1992): “Gorilla Warfare Parts 1–2,” Mark Waid (cameo)

Significant One-Year-Later Flash Appearances

• All-Flash #1 (September 2007): “Justice, Like Lightning,” Mark Waid (cameo)

Notes

Related Commentary

• Retcon Restoration

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