Power Girl

Kara's father discovers that Krypton is about to explode, and places her in a spacecraft directed towards the Earth. Although this occurs at the same time that Kal-L's ship is launched, Kara's ship travels more slowly, and she arrives on Earth decades after her cousin has landed. Kara’s Symbioship is designed to keep her in stasis during the journey and provide her with life experiences and education in the form of virtual reality. The Symbioship allows her to interact with virtual copies of her parents and fellow Kryptonians. Originally, by the time she arrives on Earth, Kara is shown to be in her early twenties. However, as mentioned in JSA Classified #1, her age at arrival has now been retconned to about eighteen in post-Crisis continuity.

In Showcase #97, Kara is reclaimed by the sentient Symbioship and reimmersed into Kandorian society for a time. Several years of virtual time elapse, in which Kara is married and has a child. She is freed with the assistance of newspaper reporter Andrew Vinson, at which point she disables the ship.

Power Girl's existence is not revealed to the general public until much later; her cousin Clark and his wife Lois Lane provide her a family environment to assist her transition towards real life relationships. In her first recorded adventure, Kara assists Justice Society members Flash and Wildcat with containing an artificially induced volcanic eruption in China. She then joins Robin and Star-Spangled Kid to form a Super Squad to assist the Justice Society in defeating Brainwave and Per Degaton, who were causing disasters around the world. She pushes their base towards the Sun, the heat causing the villains to fall unconscious. Later, she becomes a full member of the Society when Superman retires from active membership.

Having been raised by the Symbioship with artificial Kryptonian life experiences, Power Girl finds it difficult to adapt to life on Earth. However, with the help of reporter Andrew Vinson, she adopts the secret identity of computer programmer Karen Starr (she obtains her knowledge in this field from exposure to Wonder Woman's Purple Ray on Paradise Island). On the pre-Crisis Earth-Two, Power Girl's closest friend is the Huntress, the daughter of the Earth-Two Batman and Catwoman.

The first contact between Power Girl and Earth-One's universe was on the crossover Justice League of America #147, written by Paul Levitz & Martin Pasko, where the character shows her attraction to that reality saying, "It has a much nicer brand of Superman, y'know?".[15]

The 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series erased the existence of the Earth-Two Superman, and Power Girl's continuity was thus substantially disrupted.[16] Initially she believed herself to be Superman's cousin, as she had been before the reboot. However, her background was retconned; she was told that she was the descendant of the Atlantean sorcerer Arion, and was frozen in suspended animation for millennia until the present day.[17]

After the Justice Society disbands, Power Girl would join the Justice League. Later, while a member of Justice League Europe, she suffers a near fatal injury while battling a mystical being. Superman must assist in her medical treatment, using his heat-vision to perform surgery on her otherwise-invulnerable tissues.[18] Although she recovers, Power Girl is significantly weaker, as she lost her vision powers and could not fly for a time. However, she regained them all as time went on. Power Girl adopts a one-eyed mangy cat, an animal which would affect much of the team. One aspect of this is her beloved cat is used to spy on the group by intelligence gathering criminals.[19]

During the 1994 Zero Hour event, Power Girl experiences a mystical pregnancy[20] and gives birth to a son (supposedly named Equinox),[21] who ages rapidly.[22] Finally he disappears, and has never been mentioned again[23] in DCU.

Power Girl appeared in later issues of the Sovereign Seven series, Chris Claremont's creator-owned comic book for DC.[24] However, the final issue revealed that the entire series had been a story appearing in a comic book, and events in the book have had no bearing upon DC continuity.

Power Girl was one of Oracle’s first agents. Their short-lived partnership ended after a disastrous mission which resulted in a large loss of life.[25] Power Girl believes that Oracle's poor leadership was responsible for the tragedy, being disgusted that Oracle would sacrifice hundreds of lives & herself following orders. Although she has worked with her again on a few occasions when needed, the relationship between the two is tense. In Birds of Prey #35, Power Girl admitted that she is primarily to blame for the tension, but is unable to overcome the memories of the deaths.

Power Girl is a key member of the Justice Society, which she joined when it was reformed in the late 1990s. During an adventure with the JSA, she meets Arion, who reveals her Atlantean heritage to be a lie he concocted at the behest of Power Girl's "mother".[26]

While attempting to save her teammate Ted Grant from the new female Crimson Avenger, Power Girl is severely wounded by supernatural bullets fired from the vigilante's cursed handguns. Despite being saved by Doctor Mid-Nite, Power Girl comments that her near-death experience has shown her that she needs to make more personal connections outside of the superhero community.

Power Girl, from JSA Classified #1 (Sept. 2005). Art by Amanda Conner.

The Psycho-Pirate shows Kara multiple versions of her origin in an effort to drive her insane. Eventually, he reveals the truth: Power Girl is a survivor of Krypton from the dimension which contained the pre-Crisis Earth-Two.[27]

In the "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Kal-L himself returns to the post-Crisis DC Universe after breaking down the walls of the paradise dimension[28] in which he, Lois Lane Kent (of Earth-Two), Alexander Luthor, Jr. (of Earth-Three), and Superboy-Prime (of Earth-Prime) had been living since the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths.[29] Appalled by the rapidly deteriorating state of affairs on the contemporary Earth, their goal is to replace the post-Crisis Earth with a recreated Earth-Two. Kal-L's first order of business is to track down Power Girl and explain the events of the original Crisis to her. Kal-L also reiterates her pre-Crisis history as his cousin. A touch from the ailing Lois of Earth-Two inexplicably restores Power Girl's memories of pre-Crisis Earth-Two.[30]

Soon after this revelation, Power Girl is confronted by Superboy-Prime, who renders her unconscious.[31] She is attached to a ”tuning fork”, a device controlled by Alex Luthor whose purpose is to bring back the multiple Earths. Alex Luthor and Psycho Pirate coerce Black Adam (who is also attached to the machine) into saying "SHAZAM!", and use the now-raw magical energy to power the tower.[32] After the reappearance of the created Earth-Two, everyone associated with that Earth is transported onto it (although Power Girl remains on New Earth because of her proximity to the tower).

After being brought to the barren created Earth-Two by Kal-L, Lois Lane Kent collapses and dies. A violent confrontation between the two Supermen ensues, at the end of which Kal-L comes to the realization that this created Earth-Two had not been a perfect world, since "a perfect earth doesn't need a Superman."[33]

Power Girl is freed by Wonder Girl and Kon-El, and joins them in fighting Superboy-Prime and Alex Luthor. During a savage battle on Mogo, Superboy-Prime beats Kal-L to death and is later subdued by Kal-El. Power Girl is brought to Mogo by the Green Lantern Corps just in time to bid a tearful farewell to her dying cousin.[34]

In the "One Year Later" storyline in Supergirl, Kara takes up the mantle of Nightwing in an attempt to free the natives of Kandor. Ultraman, masquerading as Kal-El and working in concert with the Saturn Queen, has taken control of the bottle city. Kara Zor-El is the city's Flamebird; she prevents Ultraman's forces from executing the captured Power Girl.[35] Power Girl is forced to leave Kandor with Kara (against her better judgment) after Saturn Queen reveals to Supergirl information about Supergirl's past and purpose. This causes another rift to grow between the two women, as Power Girl feels Supergirl left an entire city of people to suffer, all because of her own selfish desires. This animosity is still on display when she next encounters Supergirl.[36]

Power Girl remains a core member of the Justice Society.[37] Power Girl is selected as the chairwoman of the team after Mr. Terrific steps down.[38]

Power Girl is invited to rejoin Oracle's Birds of Prey, but refuses, stating that she would do so only "when Hell freezes over". Her ill will toward Oracle is the result of a single mission in which she served as one of Oracle's agents, which ended badly.[39] However, Power Girl does come to Oracle's aid against the Spy Smasher in Birds of Prey #108.

The appearance of the Earth-22 Superman (and his resemblance to Kal-L) upsets Kara greatly when he first arrives on New Earth. However, they adopt each other as family after a period of time.[40]

Following the events of Infinite Crisis, a new Multiverse is created. Among them is an Earth-2 from which its Power Girl and Superman are both missing.[41] The Power Girl of this Earth returns to Earth-2 after failing to find her cousin. The Power Girl of New Earth is accidentally sent to the pre-Crisis Earth-2 by the Third World god Gog.[42]

The Power Girl of New Earth faces off against the Power Girl and Justice Society Infinity of the new Earth-2, due to the Earth-2 Power Girl's grief and rage over the loss of her cousin prompting her to believe that the 'other' Power Girl is an impostor with some role in Superman's absence.[43] Power Girl returns to New Earth with the help of the Earth-2 Michael Holt,[44] until the Justice Society Infinity follow her and take her back to Earth-2, where it is revealed that the recreation of the Multiverse created a new Earth-2 and duplicates of its heroes, including its own Power Girl. The Power Girl of New Earth then returns home with the JSA.[45]

Power Girl briefly appears in the Final Crisis crossover event, battling the forces of Darkseid after he conquers the Earth using the Anti-Life Equation.

After deciding to once again use the Karen Starr identity, she moves to New York City and begins rebuilding Starr Enterprises while continuing solo superheroics. She eventually takes teenaged hero-in-training Terra as her sidekick following the horrific events depicted in the Terror Titans mini-series. After the duo fight off a robot invasion of the city, Power Girl is kidnapped by the new Ultra-Humanite, who plans to transplant his brain into her body. Using her ice breath to destroy her gravity enhanced shackles and gag, Power Girl easily defeats the villain and saves New York.[46] She also helps a trio of lost alien princesses and their bodyguard adjust to life on Earth, buying them a home in South America to stay until they can get back to their home planet.

Following a massive battle that ends in the destruction of the Justice Society's HQ, the team decides to split up into two separate squads. Power Girl partners with Magog to start a more youth-oriented team dubbed the JSA All-Stars. Using Stargirl as leverage, the two are able to convince all of the teen JSA members except Jennifer Pierce to join the All-Stars. During the team's inaugural press conference, they are attacked by a group of mercenaries led by the villainous nephew of Sylvester Pemberton. Karen and her team emerge victorious, only to discover that Pemberton has kidnapped Stargirl during the confusion of the battle. The team eventually rescues Stargirl.

During the 2009–2010 "Blackest Night" storyline, both JSA teams gather in Manhattan to stave off the invading Black Lantern Corps. Several of the team members examine the corpses of Kal-L and Psycho Pirate, both of whom had been reanimated as Black Lanterns only to be killed again during a battle with Superboy and Superman. Karen breaks down in tears upon seeing the twisted corpse of Kal-L, and swears vengeance upon whoever is behind the creation of the Black Lanterns. While on her way to the streets of Manhattan to assist her teammates, Karen hears Ma Hunkel screaming. She rushes to her side, only to see Ma being attacked by the Black Lantern Lois Lane-Kent of pre-Crisis Earth-Two.[47] Black Lantern Lois sacrifices herself by removing her ring and giving it to Kal-L to reanimate him.[48] During the battle between Kal-L and Power Girl, Mr. Terrific invents a machine to destroy the Black Lanterns. He activates the machine and it wipes out the Black Lantern ring connection and Kal-L and completely dissolves Kal-L's corpse.[49]

In the 2010–2011 storyline "Brightest Day", Power Girl attacks her comrades, and after being subdued, is discovered to have been possessed by the Starheart (the cosmic entity that gave Alan Scott and Jade their powers)[50] to which she was vulnerable because of her Kryptonian heritage, as Kryptonians draw their abilities from the sun. Staying out of action in order avoid another possession, she helps Mr. Terrific work on a machine that may be able to dampen the Starheart's power.[51] Nonetheless, the Starheart takes control of Miss Martian's body and transforms into her White Martian form, causing her to attack her comrades again. Batman ultimately tells her to stay on Earth and try to fight the other metahumans being controlled by the Starheart, explaining that bringing her along would jeopardize the mission.[52]

During the events of Justice League: Generation Lost, Power Girl assists her fellow heroes in a global manhunt to track down Maxwell Lord, the former head of Justice League International and the murderer of Ted Kord, who had been restored to life at the end of "Blackest Night".[53] Lord uses his powers to erase his existence from the minds of everyone on the planet, including Power Girl.[54] She subsequently helps Booster Gold find proof of Lord's existence.[55][56] Through the course of their search, during which Power Girl encounters Divine, a raven-haired clone of herself, she manages to regain her memory of Lord.[57] As she attempts to inform the Justice Society of this, Lord uses his powers to take control of her and attack the Justice League International, but manages to convince the others of his existence through the exhumation of Ted Kord's corpse.[58][59]

Following the New 52 reboot of 2011, Power Girl appears as a refugee from Earth 2 in Worlds' Finest along with Huntress.[60]

In the post-DC Rebirth DC Universe, Power Girl (Karen Starr) appears to be trapped in some sort of interdimensional void between earths. Tanya Spears tries to get Karen Starr out by using an etheric transponder that allows her to travel there in an incorporeal state, but her physical body was disconnected from the machine by an unaware Kid Flash (Wallace West), so both women remain trapped as a result.[61]

In the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock," Power Girl returns to the DC Universe when Doctor Manhattan, inspired by Superman, undoes the changes that he made to the timeline that erase the Justice Society and the Legion of Super-Heroes.[62]

She can be seen talking with Blue Beetle on the background alongside Supergirl.[63]

• Although Power Girl did not directly appear in the Justice League animated series or the follow-up, Justice League Unlimited, the JLU character Galatea (voiced by Nicholle Tom) is based on her. This character is a clone of Supergirl (also voiced by Tom) created by Emil Hamilton (who sees her as a daughter, while she sees him as a father figure) from Project Cadmus as a contingency plan in case the Justice League turned against the US. Although the clone resembles Power Girl and wears a similar hairstyle and costume (at one point, she briefly drapes a red workout towel over her shoulder, resembling the half-cape of her comic book counterpart), her personality and origin are significantly different, being a supervillain who seeks the League's destruction. She also possesses a mental link with Supergirl, allowing them to experience each other's recent memories in the form of dreams. Galatea first appears in the first season's sixth episode, "Fearful Symmetry." She subsequently appears at the end of season 2's "Flashpoint", and she is last seen in season 2's "Panic in the Sky". In her last appearance, "Panic in the Sky", she fights Supergirl for control of the Watchtower. She is defeated by Supergirl, who traps her in a contact, causing all of the Watchtower's power to flow through her, causing an overload. Following the massive surge of electricity, she is left twitching and catatonic; it is unknown whether she ultimately survives. Conversely, this continuity's Supergirl borrows several elements from Power Girl, such as having been in suspended animation (which had not been introduced in the Kara Zor-El mythology at that point) and being a surrogate cousin of Kal-El rather than a biological relative. Also, in her first appearance, in Superman: The Animated Series, when she first meets Jimmy Olsen, she's without a disguise and tells him that her name is "Karen".
• Smallville
  • In the Smallville season 2 episode "Visage", Chloe Sullivan identifies Tina Greer (Lizzy Caplan) by the moniker "Power Girl".
  • In the Smallville season 3 episode "Extinction", the "meteor freaks" database created by Chloe Sullivan uses a program called Starr-Ware Database System 5.0, which hints at the existence of Karen Starr's corporation, Starrware, in the Smallville universe.
  • In the Smallville season 3 finale "Covenant", a girl named Kara (played by Adrianne Palicki) claims to be from Krypton, although she does not claim to be Kal-El's relative. However, when Lana Lang asks who she is, Clark pretends Kara is his visiting cousin. At the end of the episode, she is revealed to be Lindsay Harrison, a human empowered and possibly brainwashed by Jor-El's technology. As with many of the show's future superheroes, who tend to be dressed in the same colors as the costumes of their comic-book counterparts, Lindsay is dressed in white, matching the color of Power Girl's costume (minus the red cape and blue boots, as Lindsay never wore either a jacket or shoes).
  • In the Smallville season 10 episode "Supergirl", Lois Lane suggests "Power Girl" as a name for Kara Zor-El (then known as "Maiden of Might").
• Former The Flash executive producer Andrew Kreisberg hinted that Power Girl could appear in the series.[96]
• In the DC Super Hero Girls episode "#Powersurge", Supergirl (voiced by Nicole Sullivan) is presumed dead after a major battle with Livewire and decides to reinvent herself as a new heroine and becomes Power Girl. Her comic book origins on Earth-2 are referenced when Superman begins to suspect the ruse and she makes up a story on the spot about being an alternate universe's Supergirl.

• Power Girl appears in the animated Superman/Batman: Public Enemies film, voiced by Allison Mack. This marks her first true appearance in animation, as opposed to the above JLU version which is merely based on her.[97] In the film, she works under the command of Captain Atom, who is under orders from President Lex Luthor. When Superman is framed for murdering Metallo, she is the only one of her group to truly doubt his guilt, and she later switches sides and helps him and Batman. She angrily attacks Major Force after it is revealed he killed Metallo and almost killed Batman; in the fight, she accidentally ruptures Force's containment suit, almost causing him to explode, which would unleash his nuclear energies on the city. The potential disaster is averted by Captain Atom, who absorbs all of the dying Force's energy into his own containment suit, making himself considerably more powerful in the process but passing out from the strain. She is later revealed to have helped them escape from Hawkman and Captain Marvel. As in the graphic novel on which the film is based, she is assigned to watch over the new teenage Toyman, Hiro Okamura, who finds her quite attractive, even "testing" his X-ray goggles on her, which she finds offensive; so she breaks his goggles and avoids him from then on (he later tries to make a comment on her breast size as well, before being interrupted by Batman). She is knocked unconscious by Lex Luthor in his new kryptonite enhanced battle-suit, but she recovers and is seen at the end, along with her squad members, taking the now-impeached Luthor into custody.
• In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, a evil version of Power Girl appeared on a computer page of the lesser members of the Crime Syndicate.
• Power Girl is portrayed by Ashley Hinshaw in the 2011 short film The Death and Return of Superman.[98][99]
• While Power Girl doesn't appear herself, the animated Batman and Harley Quinn film briefly features a waitress, at a superhero themed restaurant called Superbabes, who is dressed in a Power Girl costume. The same restaurant is shown to offer a "Power Girl Jumbo Combo".
• Power Girl makes a brief appearance in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.

• Power Girl appears in the DC Animated Universe in the comic book series: Adventures in the DC Universe (vol. 1) #6, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #13, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #16, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #3, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #34, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #8 and Superman and Batman Magazine (vol. 1) #1.
• Power Girl appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1 (March 2009), in which she helps Batman to stop Lex Luthor. Much like her mainstream comic counterpart, she came from an alternative universe's Krypton. In her civilian identity, she goes by the name Karen Starr and is a computer programmer. Her goal is to create a device to monitor Earth's condition, so that her new home planet will not suffer the fate of Krypton.[100]

• Power Girl appears in the DC Universe Online video game, voiced by Adrienne Mishler. In the villain campaign, the players help Parasite to defeat Power Girl and to gain a sample of her DNA so that Lex Luthor can be one step ahead of cracking the Kryptonian genetic code. She is also a playable character in DC Universe Online through "Legends PvP".
• Power Girl appears as DLC in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.[101]
• Power Girl appears in Injustice 2 as a premier skin for Supergirl, voiced by Sara Cravens.[102]