Real Name: Kara Kent / Kara In-Ze
Voiced by Nicholle Tom
The sole surviving inhabitant of the planet Argos—a
world from Krypton’s star system—Kara was discovered preserved in a cryonic
tube by Superman during a
chance visit to the planet.
Taken back to Earth and adopted by the
Kids' WB on Supergirl: "When Krypton exploded, its smaller neighbor planet, Argos, was thrown out of its rotation and sent flying into space. Fortunately, Argos' top scientist convinced the people of Argos that Krypton's destruction was at hand, and together they managed to construct a force field that maintained the gravity and atmosphere of their planet. For sixteen years the residents of Argos survived. In time, [however], Argos' force field began to fail and, sensing, the end of their world, the scientist placed her family in cryo-tubes to preserve them until help could arrive. Kara, however, was the only one to survive. Clark was delighted to know there had been another survivor of the Krypton system.
"Superman introduced Kara to his adoptive parents who took her in and are now helping her adjust to life on Earth. In order to blend in, Kara has taken the last name Kent and Jonathan and Martha explain that she is a niece on Jonathan's side of the family. Inspired by her 'cousin' Clark, Kara has made a costume similar to Superman's and occasionally joins on missions as Supergirl. Kara frequently visits Clark in Metropolis and, as Supergirl, she has full access to Superman's Fortress of Solitude.
"Because Argosians and Kryptonians sprang from a common humanoid ancestor millions of years before, Supergirl's powers closely parallels Superman's. As a result, Supergirl has powers that are similar to Superman's (flight, strength, heat vision, super-hearing), but is more resistant to Kryptonite (exposure to the radioactive element would will Superman in about twenty minutes, but Supergirl could hold out for several hours). Also, because Supergirl is nearly half Superman's age (16), her powers are not quite as strong as his. She more than makes up for this in attitude, which is cocky, hip, and very independent.
"With Supergirl, Superman has a living link to his alien heritage, and someone he can talk to about his dual lives as Superman and Clark Kent. She is a frequent friendly ally who can be trusted with Superman's secret (courtesy of the New Batman / Superman Adventures Homepage)."
Cartoon Network on
Supergirl:
“Supergirl is the only survivor from Krypton’s sister planet,
Paul Dini on Supergirl (circa 1998): “We wanted a take on her that was not the current version, [where she was] some sort of alien who is combined with a human girl and is all confused and angst-ridden, and we didn’t want to do the blob of protoplasm that takes the shape of Supergirl’s form. We wanted to do the original version, which is Superman’s cousin from Krypton; [however], we ran into a wall with DC because they insisted that Superman be the last Kryptonian. So we did a compromise: she’s from a small planet in the neighboring system that was colonized by Kryptonians, but they’ve evolved slightly differently.
“She’s sort of a cousin, in terms of being from pretty much the same race and, when she shows up on Earth, she’s a feisty 16-year old. She loves being here, she loves being able to fly, she loves having powers. […] She really wants to join up with Superman and help him whenever she can […but] he’s very protective of her because he doesn’t want her rushing into some battle with a supervillain and getting killed. He wants her to realize there’s responsibility involved in what she’s doing (courtesy of [website name removed]).”
Paul Dini on Supergirl's place in the Justice League: “Supergirl’s great—I saw the first episode ['Initiation']. She’s the kid of the group, [and] everything she does reminds you that here’s the energetic kid hero, trying to earn her wings (courtesy of [website name removed]).”
Bruce Timm on Supergirl’s age: “And, for the record, we haven’t really set the DCAU timeline in stone (it helps keep our storytelling options open), but in “Fearful Symmetry,” Kara references the events of a STAS episode as occurring, “A few years ago,” so I figure that puts her at about eighteen or nineteen (courtesy of Toon Zone).”
Dwayne McDuffie on Supergirl’s age: “Supergirl’s twenty (courtesy of DwayneMcDuffie.com).”
Bruce Timm on returning to Supergirl’s “classic” outfit (circa 2004): “Which ‘classic’ outfit? The original Jim Mooney-era one? Or the 70’s Bob Oskner-era puffy-sleeved blouse / hotpants combo? I don’t know, they’re both kinda retro. Of course, her current ‘riot grrl’ look is rapidly on its way to becoming ‘retro’ too, so maybe it is time to go back to the drawing board (courtesy of Toon Zone).”
Dwayne McDuffie on Supergirl: “Kara is vulnerable to Kryptonite, as previously revealed in [the STAS episode ‘Legacy’], if not other places. The average person on the street probably thinks she’s Superman’s sister, but the fiction is that she’s his cousin. [...] Although they aren't blood-kin, Superman [...] often refers to her as his cousin (and thinks of her that way, too).
“[Also],
just because there’s a planet named
Images
Supergirl Model Design Sheet #1 | Supergirl Model Design Sheet #2
Supergirl Image #1 (Unused STAS Design) | Supergirl Image #2 (STAS and JLU Design)
Supergirl Image #3 | Supergirl Image #4 | Supergirl Image #5 | Supergirl Image #6 | Supergirl Image #7
Supergirl Image #8 | Supergirl Image #9
Supergirl Image #10 | Supergirl Image #11 | Supergirl Image #12 | Supergirl Image #13
Supergirl Image #14 | Supergirl Image #15
Commentary
Commentary coming soon!
Images courtesy of Toon Zone, Nickel Animation Art eBay Store, DC Cartoon Archives, the New Batman / Superman Adventures Homepage, The Bruce Timm Gallery, timmfans, Comic Art Fans, and The World's Finest.
