Power Girl

Power Girl
Power Girl as she appeared on the cover of Power Girl Special (vol. 1) #1 (July 2023). Art by Will Jack.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	All Star Comics #58 (February 1976)
Created by	Gerry Conway Ric Estrada Wally Wood
In-story information
Alter ego	Kara Zor-L Kara Zor-El (post-Flashpoint) Karen Starr Paige Stetler
Species	Kryptonian
Place of origin	Krypton-Two
Team affiliations	Justice Society of America Justice League Europe Justice League International Infinity, Inc. Birds of Prey Suicide Squad Sovereign Seven Justice League Teen Titans
Notable aliases	Kara of Atlantis Nightwing Super-Girl
Abilities	List Superhuman strength, stamina, endurance, speed, agility, reflexes, intelligence, longevity, and hearing Solar radiation absorption Enhanced vision EM spectrum vision Microscopic vision X-ray vision Telescopic vision Infra-red vision Invulnerability Ice and wind breath Flight Heat vision Telepathy Combat experience Business management

Power Girl, also known as Kara Zor-L, Karen Starr, and Paige Stetler, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books by DC Comics, making her first appearance in All Star Comics #58 (January/February 1976).^[1] Power Girl is the cousin of the superhero Superman, but from an alternate universe in the fictional multiverse in which DC Comics stories are set. Originally hailing from the world of Earth-Two, first envisioned as the home of DC's wartime heroes as published in 1940s comic books, Power Girl becomes stranded in the main universe where DC stories are set, and becomes acquainted with that world's Superman and her own counterpart, Supergirl.

In common with Supergirl's origin story, she is the daughter of Superman's aunt and uncle and a native of the planet Krypton.^[2] The infant Power Girl's parents enabled her to escape the destruction of her home planet by placing her in a rocket ship. Although she left the planet at the same time that Superman did, her ship took much longer to reach Earth-Two. On Earth, as with other Kryptonians, Power Girl discovered she possessed abilities like super strength, flight, and heat vision, using which she became a protector of innocents and a hero for humanity. Though the specifics of how vary over subsequent retellings, Power Girl is later stranded on another Earth when a cosmic crisis affects her home of Earth-Two, and later carves out a separate identity for herself from her dimensional counterpart Supergirl once they are forced to coexist.

Although she and Supergirl are biologically the same person, there are vast differences between the two. Power Girl is older and more level-headed due to her maturity, and her fighting style is more aggressive. She also adopts a different secret identity from her counterpart. These changes are reflected in their differing costumes and superhero names as well; Power Girl sports a bob of blond hair; wears a distinctive white, red, and blue costume with a cleavage-displaying cutout. The name Power Girl reflects that she chooses not to be seen as a derivative of Superman, but rather her own hero and this choice is reflected in the strong independent attitude of the character. Over various decades, Power Girl has been depicted as a member of superhero teams such as the Justice Society of America, Infinity, Inc., Justice League Europe, the Sovereign Seven, and the Birds of Prey.

Power Girl's origin has gone through revisions, but over time has reverted to her original conception as the Supergirl of Earth-Two. The 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths eliminated Earth-Two from history, causing her to be retconned as the granddaughter of an Atlantean sorcerer known as Arion. This was an unpopular change and writers depicted the revised Power Girl inconsistently. The 2005–2006 Infinite Crisis limited series then restored her status as a refugee from the Krypton of the destroyed Pre-Crisis Earth-Two universe. This has been her consistent depiction ever since.