From Hugh of @hughv302

On June 16th, The Flash will be bringing forth many familiar faces from several of DC’s cinematic installments over the years but they will also be introducing a brand new face: Kara El aka Supergirl. But who is this Supergirl? Is she really related to Kal El? Is she as strong as him? How will she impact the story in The Flash? Find out more below!

Origin

As with most comic book characters there are multiple origins, identities, incarnations and adaptations of certain characters across comics and various media. Supergirl has had multiple incarnations over the years but for this overview we are going to focus on the Kara El incarnation that the upcoming Flash film is choosing to use. Kara Zor-El was born in Argo City to Zor-El and Alura In-Ze. During Kara's naming ceremony, her uncle Kru-El attempted to kill her father and her uncle, Jor-El, intending to take control of the House of El for himself. However, the attempt was not successful, and Kru-El was arrested before being sentenced to the Phantom Zone. As she grew, Kara developed a keen interest in history. As such, she became an avid student of the teacher and historian Catar-Ol. Argo City survived Krypton's destruction as a result of the efforts of her father, though many of its citizens perished. Though her mother Alura survived the initial destruction, she ended up dying as a result of radiation poisoning as the minerals in the soil beneath Argo slowly became Kryptonite. Ever the scientist, Zor-El created a solution; he would mass-produce lead shields and spread them over every inch of exposed land in Argo. Every hand was required to complete this massive task, including Kara's. The task was long and arduous, and by its completion, only five thousand citizens survived out of the initial eighteen thousand, and many who survived were still slowly dying of radiation exposure from before the lead shield was completed. In the next year, she continued to survive in the slowly dying city, living a relatively solitary life. However, as stellar debris hit the exterior of the unsteerable Argo, it penetrated the city's air bubble, and asteroid fragments rained down on the city, penetrating the lead shield they had struggled so hard to build, dooming the survivors of Argo. Desperate, her father salvaged what was left of the lead shield and his own creations and built a rocket capable of carrying a singular passenger, and used it to send his daughter out into the cosmos, leaving her as the the sole known survivor of Argo. Her rocket became trapped in a meteor formed out of what remained of the exploding planet of Krypton and Kara was kept in suspended animation for three decades before her rocket crashed on Earth in Gotham Bay. She awoke in the Batcave to find that her baby cousin Kal-El who was sent to Earth years before her had outgrown her and became the world-famous Superman. Deciding that the best thing to do was have her trained in the use of her newfound superpowers, Superman arranged for Kara to stay on Themyscira, the island home of the Amazons. There she was tutored in the fighting arts and quickly mastered her powers until she was abducted by the furies, who brought her to Apokolips and the feet of Darkseid. The naïve teen had her mind altered until she was a powerful engine of hatred, groomed to lead the Furies. Superman, assisted by Batman and Wonder Woman, arrived to free her. When she was returned to Earth, she adopted the costumed persona of Supergirl.

Powers & Weaknesses

Supergirl has just about the same powers and weaknesses that Superman has since both of them are Kryptonians. A yellow sun gives her the powers akin to that of superman. Like all Kryptonians under a yellow sun, the current version of Kara Zor-El possesses virtually unlimited strength, stamina, and invulnerability. She is able to fly and with super speed that she can also use on foot, similar to Superman and The Flash. Also like Superman, Supergirl possesses super senses, super-breath, and freeze breathe, as well as multiple forms of supervision (including X-Ray, Infrared, Telescopic, and Microscopic). Kara also has a bio-electric aura that enhances her near invulnerability and also protects her skin and her costume from dirt and tear; as such, Kara is perpetually clean. The Sun also provides Kara with a longer lifespan than that of a human being, to the point that she is effectively a biological immortal. Kara doesn't require food, water, or sleep to survive. She is also immune to most diseases, mental and physical, and would require a very strong strain to have a chance at affecting her. In the rare instances that Kara is harmed by someone matching her strength or by the use of one of her weaknesses, she can heal almost instantaneously. Her power surpasses most other beings, though she can be overpowered by those who rival her strength such as Black Adam, Darkseid, Despero, Doomsday, Bizarro, Wonder Woman, and Superman. And of course much like her cousin she can be severely weakened by Kryptonite. In reality, Kara is actually older than her cousin, Clark, and spent time on Krypton before its destruction. As such (unlike Superman), she possesses memories of Kryptonian culture as well as her cousin's parents. Continued exposure to a yellow Sun will slowly increase abilities. Many characters in the DC Universe have noted that Supergirl appears, at times, to be even more powerful than Superman himself. In answer to this, Superman states that this is because he has spent his entire life subconsciously suppressing his full powers to avoid hurting others, having been absorbing solar radiation since his infancy. Kara, not having such practice or experience, simply uses the full magnitude of her powers. Unlike her cousin, Kara was taught to fight in Krypton as part of her tests, and at the Crucible Academy, being adept at various Kryptonian fighting styles like Klurkor and Torquasm Rao. Supergirl also learned the art of Bagua under I-Ching's instructions. She practiced how to manipulate her Chi or Qi to gain better control of her powers due to them becoming overwhelmed after her conflict with the Fatal Five. Superman recommended guardianship with I-Ching to Supergirl first. In addition to training in Krypton, Kara was trained by Batman in advanced martial arts and trained with the Amazons in Themyscira in unarmed and armed combat, Amazonas martial arts, fencing, Shield handling, and other Amazon weapons. She trained with Wonder Woman and Artemis extensively.

The 1984 Supergirl Film 

Ever wondered why it took so long for this character as well as many other female superheroes to make their debut on the big screen? Well the first Supergirl adaptation of 1984 is considered partly to blame for that. Unlike the first two Superman films starring Christopher Reeve, the Supergirl film that was intended to be a direct spin off of those films ended up being an absolute disaster in every conceivable way. It was acted horribly, written horribly and directed horribly. It was not afforded the same relative respect afforded to male superheroes, a problem that sadly continues to this day with some projects. Due the film’s failure there were many studio executives that were using the film as an excuse not to pursue female lead superhero films for many years. The most famous instance was when former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter was exposed in a leaked e-mail between him and Sony Studios executive Michael Lynton where Ike Perlmutter used the Supergirl film, as well as several other poorly made female led superhero films like Elektra & Catwoman, to attempt to justify why female led superhero films should not be made citing that they would not bring in as much box office compared to white male superheroes. Obviously this ended up being proven completely wrong and was clearly coming from an individual that was on record known to be a massive sexist and racist that prevented many types of superhero films from being made for several years. Kevin Feige was the one to end up pushing for more diverse superhero films like Captain Marvel & Black Panther that contained strong female characters especially after the major success of 2017’s Wonder Woman. Ike Perlmutter attempted to put up multiple roadblocks to prevent both films and many others from happening once again using Supergirl’s failure as an excuse for not letting powerful female superheroes or even heroes of color take the center stage for several years. The film might have been really bad but using it as a decades long excuse to prevent many female led superhero films from being made much sooner is ridiculously absurd. 

What to expect?

Kara El has a long and detailed history that it is unlikely we will get to see or hear all of it in her upcoming appearance in The Flash. In fact based on the trailers we have been given there is very little known about what her exact role is in the film, how she came to be on Earth and also why she is there instead of her cousin Superman. All will be revealed with the film’s release but it is suspected that due to Barry’s time traveling actions she was sent to Earth instead of her cousin and when she landed she was not raised by the Kents but instead was captured and locked up in a government facility similar to what happens to her cousin in the Flashpoint storyline that the film is adapting parts of. She also seems to be considered the only hope to defeat Zod in this new timeline as there seems to be no other meta-humans in existence to help protect Earth. Another thing to note about this portrayal of the character is that while she is confirmed to be Kara for this film her short black hair and costume seem to be highly inspired by the Lara Lane-Kent. iteration of Supergirl who briefly featured in Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Three #7. Lara is the imaginary daughter of Clark Kent/Superman, and Lois Lane, who appears to Superman in a dream sequence. The dream sequence showcases a world in which Superman was not manipulated by The Joker into killing Lois Lane, allowing both her and their unborn child to survive. The child would have hypothetically grown up to be Lara, who would follow in her father's Kryptonian footsteps. In regards to her future after The Flash there is a new Supergirl film in the works set in the new DCU slate that will focus on Kara El and adapt the Woman of Tomorrow comic series, which is considered by many as one of the best storylines for the character. What remains unclear though is if Kara El will be reprised by Sasha Calle or if she will be recast. Given some of the early positive responses Sasha Calle has received for her performance as the character there is a potential chance she could indeed return as the character but again this is DC where nothing feels guaranteed at the moment.

The Flash hits theaters on Friday, June 16th, 2023.

Follow Hugh