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1[[foldercontrol]]
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3[[folder: General]]
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5!!Tropes referring to all incarnations of the character:
6
7* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Depending on who you ask, Pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El is the nicest girl ever, a short-tempered sweetheart, her cousin's doormat, or an insecure and afraid teenager who grew up to be a confident, sassy, brave and self-reliant woman.
8* AlternateSelfShipping: There are a not insignificant number of fanfiction stories pairing Supergirl with her alternate self Power Girl.
9* AudienceAwarenessAdvantage: A large number of people in-universe seem to know Supergirl is Superman's cousin rather than his girlfriend, little sister or fangirl. They know she is specifically his cousin and has his same powers and weaknesses, even in realities where they haven't made their relationship public.
10* EscapistCharacter: Supergirl was originally created in the Silver Age as a power fantasy for young female readers: a cute and kind-hearted fifteen-year-old girl who is powerful enough to make anything, including but not limited to move planets, outrace light, shrug bullets - and nukes - off, fly, breathe in space and travel to other planets and time periods under her own power to live all kind of adventures (such like taming and riding a dinosaur).
11* FanonDiscontinuity: As far as people who became Supergirl fans from the mid-2000's onward are concerned, Supergirl was, is and always will be Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El; and she was never replaced by increasingly weird and convoluted proxies between 1985 and 2004. DC ended validating their views by going out of their way to give Post-Flashpoint Supergirl Pre-Crisis Kara's origin, and declaring her heroic sacrifice against the Anti-Monitor is remembered and honoured.
12* FandomSpecificPlot: There are a lot of stories exploring the possibility of Kara and her cousin making it to Earth together, or Kara surviving the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''.
13* FirstInstallmentWins: Ask someone on the street who Supergirl is and they will describe a blond girl wearing a feminine version of Superman's costume and who happens to be Kal-El/Clark Kent's cousin. Ask them about her name and they will say "Kara". If they're on the older side, they might say "Linda" after Kara's original alias. No one will bring up other Supergirls. Peter David even states that his book hardly sold anything because most fans only cared for/knew of the original Kryptonian Kara. Of course, appearances in animated shows and movies, as well as videogames, ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' and [[Series/Supergirl2015 her own live-action show]] have solidified this. It helps that, unlike other Supergirls, Kara has a much more straightforward backstory and flaws, making her more relatable.
14* GirlShowGhetto: Supergirl had this problem for decades. Even though she is one of the most recognizable superheroines in the world, she has never been on the same level of sales as her cousin, and her character is often disregarded and put down by people who never read her stories due to their perception of her being a "Superman with a skirt and boobs", to the point that DC decided to kill her off in the ''Crisis On Infinite Earths'' (in spite of her books having decent, albeit not great, sales). This situation started changing gradually since her reintroduction in 2004. She has starred in several solo comic book series, cartoons, and TV shows - including [[Series/Supergirl2015 her own self-titled series]] - and she has become a kind of household name since then.
15* HardToAdaptWork: For Supergirl, it's been difficult (outside of the [[Film/Supergirl1984 1984 movie]] and [[Series/Supergirl2015 2015 series]]) for Kara to make ''any'' stand-alone appearances in other mediums. The fact her character varies DependingOnTheWriter and the fact that her AlternateSelf Power Girl still exists contribute to this.
16* IncestYayShipping: A number of Franchise/{{Superman}} and Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} fans ship both characters together despite them being first cousins, either because they think there's no getting around the [[ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex "Kryptonian of Steel, Human of Kleenex"]] problem or because they genuinely think Clark/Kal and Linda/Kara make a good couple. To be fair, Silver and Bronze stories provided plenty of fuel, {{accidental innuendo}} and [[IncestSubtext subtext]] if you know where look, with scenes like ([[http://www.orgamesmic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/superman-supergirl-kiss.jpg Action Comics #260]], [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/actioncomics270_page027.jpg Action Comics #270]], [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pScx8BN4h3s/SMkfbsSeQCI/AAAAAAAAA_c/_XIlCBhpesg/s1600-h/action+289+pan+5.jpg the infamous Action Comics #289]], [[https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-42hj4CP59UU/TW0EOjbIjyI/AAAAAAAALSk/MyJ0VPlDuGo/s1600/sm+309-04.jpg Superman #309]] during the ''Comicbook/KryptonNoMore'' story arc, and [[http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvzhjklUch1r2ntbyo1_500.png this panel]] from ''Literature/TheSuperdictionary''). Fanfic writers such like [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/megamatt09/pseuds/megamatt09 Megamatt09]] have penned long tales featuring them together.
17* MorePopularReplacement: When Kara Zor-El was introduced, her popularity completely eclipsed the former Supergirls (Lucy of Borgonia and Super-Girl), who were completely forgotten by comic fans. Similarly, modern Kara Zor-El became more successful and more popular than her predecessors (Matrix, Andromeda...), even making the leap to non-comic media.
18* NewerThanTheyThink:
19** Although Supergirl is an iconic and inextricable part of the Superman mythos, the best-known and most enduring version of the character (Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El) didn't make her first appearance until 1959, twenty-one years after the debut of Superman. In 1985, DC killed the character and attempted to replace her several times with little success, finally reintroducing a modern Kara Zor-El in 2004.
20** Supergirl going by "Kara" in her civilian identity. It only started with ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' which went with "Kara Kent", and later the ''[[Series/{{Supergirl2015}} Supergirl]]'' series cemented it with "Kara Danvers", which the comics [[RetCanon subsequently used.]] Despite this, for much of her publication history Supergirl went by the civilian name "Linda Lee" and later "Linda Lee Danvers" or just "Linda Danvers" after her adoptive parents. There was also a different Linda Danvers under Peter David. Thus, many DC fans will still often think of Supergirl as "Linda", regardless of incarnation. The shift seems to be because "Kara" is not an uncommon name now in the US compared to when she was created (as it can be taken as a variation of "Cara").
21*** The push of "Kara Danvers" has led to some [[HilariousInHindsight hilarity in hindsight,]] as by then ''[[ComicBook/CarolDanvers Carol]]'' Danvers over at Creator/MarvelComics, also a blonde FlyingBrick woman whose most prominent superhero alias was derivative of a male superhero - ComicBook/MsMarvel to their ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}} - had since been raised to A-list status as their current Captain Marvel with a more Superman-like costume and even got [[Film/CaptainMarvel2019 a solo movie]] announced around the time the ''Supergirl'' series started. And Carol's creator Roy Thomas has said that he'd have named her differently if he'd remembered at the time that Supergirl was "Linda Danvers".
22* OneTrueThreesome: In several fanworks, Supergirl is part of a threesome. The [[https://archiveofourown.org/series/32266Stranger "Stranger in a Strange Land"]] series does not waste time setting up a ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}[=/=]ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}[=/=]/ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} triangle. When Kara sees Bruce boasting about his female companions during a party, she hugs both Dick and Babs and proudly proclaims "hers" are "prettier".
23* SequelDisplacement: Most people who have heard about Supergirl are only aware of Kara Zor-El, and they completely ignore the existence of older characters with similar codenames (Lucy of Borgonia/Super-Girl). They are also more likely to know about Post-Crisis Kara than her 90's substitutes.
24* SmurfetteBreakout: Supergirl is more popular than any male supporting character who is not called Jimmy Olsen or maybe Perry White, and she eventually became popular enough to have her own ongoing series. Kara's adventures were published continuously as her own book or as a backup strip during twenty-six years until DC decided to kill her off. Even so, Kara Zor-El was so popular and well-known that DC had to end up bringing her back.
25* VindicatedByHistory: In the early 1980's, the Superman books were going through a sales slump that was attributed to the focus on Krypton and the existence of Silver/Bronze age characters such like Supergirl, whose [[ComicBook/Supergirl1982 book]] had been cancelled at the time. It was then decreed Supergirl had to be killed off, banned from continuity and replaced with non-Kryptonian substitutes. Flash-forward fifteen years, and the franchise is going through a slump again, and none of the replacements except for the Superboy Kon-El have caught on with the fandom or been successfully translated to other media. This situation prompted DC to revoke the "Superman is the only Kryptonian survivor" policy. Since then, Kara Zor-El has been reintroduced and featured in several successful comic storylines as well as animation, live-action series and games, becoming more popular than ever.
26[[/folder]]
27
28[[folder: Comic Books]]
29!!The ComicBooks
30* AccidentalInnuendo: In ''Comicbook/ActionComics #270'', Superman asks his sixteen-year-old cousin [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/actioncomics270_page027.jpg to take off her clothes]]. In context, he wants Kara to put on her civilian clothes because he is going to give her a costume-compressing device and he needs to show her how it works. Taken out of context... well...
31-->'''Superman:''' Take off that Supergirl costume right now! And remove those boots, too!
32* AdaptationDisplacement: Most of people, including comic fans, who know Supergirl are completely unaware of [[https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Supergirl_Publication_History several one-story predecessors]] like Lucy of Borgonia or Super-Girl who were completely eclipsed by Kara Zor-El.
33* AudienceAlienatingEra: See [[AudienceAlienatingEra/TheDCU the DCU page on the topic]].
34* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The premise of Peter David's book -wherein a parallel lifeform merges with a dying Satanist, becomes an "Earthborn angel" and lives supernatural-themed adventures with a religious bent- turned off older Superman fans (who wanted Kara Zor-El back), newer Superman fans (who did not care for Supergirl or supernatural-themed Superman books), religious fans (who felt David was writing an AuthorTract about beliefs he did not know or understand), non-religious fans (who felt David was using the franchise as a mouthpiece for his religious views), and more widely speaking, whoever was already David's die-hard fan. Ultimately the book was cancelled and all but outright declared non-canon. DC tried to re-release the series as a trade collection in 2016, but it was cancelled after only four issues due to flopping in sales.
35* AuthorsSavingThrow:
36** Writer Sterling Gates reconciled Post-Crisis Kara's origins.
37** ''ComicBook/ManyHappyReturns'' led to Kara Zor-El's return by proving the original Supergirl still had fans.
38** Tony Bedard's ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' was a redemption story that fixed Supergirl after a series of stories where she was depicted as a childish, angry brat.
39* AwesomenessWithdrawal: Gates and Igle's run. Arguably the best Supergirl's run, and then it was over.
40* BadassDecay: Pre-Crisis Supergirl was one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy, as well as mature, experienced and self-assured hero because she was allowed to grow up. Then DC [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths killed her off]], and when [[ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004 she was reinstated in the main continuity]], [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Kara was an insecure teenager girl]] who was definitely less powerful than her previous, godlike incarnation.
41* BizarroEpisode: Both issues of the Supergirl — Matrix ''Comicbook/{{Convergence}}'' tie-in, which are written by Keith Giffen, notorious for writing satirical stories about the DC Comics staff, current status quo, and characters.
42* BrokenBase:
43** Since 1988, the fanbase has become polarized between fans of Kara Zor-El and fans of the other Supergirls that DC spent eighteen years attempting to replace Kara with. Fans of the other characters to take up the mantle like Matrix, Linda Danvers, and Cir-El believe they were more interesting characters and resent Kara's increased popularity and exposure since her return in 2004. Kara's fans argue back that she was an interesting and well-developed character in her own right, as well as the only Supergirl who actually makes sense, worked fine for twenty-six years until she was killed off, and her death and failed attempts to replace her with short-lived substitutes led to a gigantic ContinuitySnarl and a lengthy AudienceAlienatingEra. History has sided with the second group, though, and over time, the other Supergirls' fanbases have dwindled down to some few supporters online.
44** Kara becoming a Red Lantern in the New 52 ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline. While being HotBlooded is a long established character trait, and she has plenty of reasons to be angry, many feel it's just out of character to make her so DarkerAndEdgier by making her a member of a group known for being the most volatile of the Lantern groups. However, Tony Bedard and Charles Soule's handling of the story in the ''Supergirl'' and ''ComicBook/RedLanterns'' books have been mostly well-received, and many feel they made the story actually work.
45** The miniskirt costume. Some find it demeaning and stupid, considering the obvious implications of [[PantyShot flying in a skirt and how regularly it's used for fanservice]]. Others, however (not including the ones who just like it for the fanservice) like the skirt because it's so synonymous with her character, like Superman's trunks; it's a stupid design choice, but something so iconic to her design at this point. The ''New 52'' outfit is generally given a similarly mixed reception since it doesn't do anything to reduce the fanservice while also doesn't resemble her classic outfit at all.
46** Back in 2009, Jamal Igle drawing bike shorts under Supergirl's skirt [[http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com.es/2009/06/what-more-bike-shorts-talk.html split]] [[http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com.es/2009/07/one-last-bike-shorts-post.html the fanbase]] and was a hot topic on Newsrama and other comic sites.
47* CharacterRerailment: Supergirl was originally a short-tempered but optimistic, sweet girl. When she was reintroduced in 2004, editors thought the best way to bring the character up to date was characterizing her as a permanently angry, immature, edgy jerkass. Fans hated it and mass-dropped the book. The next creative team hurried to revert her to her kind-hearted self, and writer Sterling Gates dismissed her initial weird characterization as temporary Kryptonite-induced craziness. No one complained.
48* CommonKnowledge:
49** Everyone knows Supergirl is a gender-flipped weaker Superman, a submissive sweetheart with no distinctive traits to distinguish from her cousin, who does not even has her own villains. Her comic-books, though, have gone to great lengths to establish her personality is different, depicting her as more hot-tempered, more reckless, and focusing on her alienation and survivor trauma). Jerry Siegel himself established that she is as powerful as Superman in "ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl". And she has her own recurring villains.
50** "ComicBook/TheSuperSteedOfSteel"'s second half, wherein Comet the Super-Horse develops a crush on Kara, started the "Silver Age Supergirl dated a horse" meme. Too bad that Kara never dated a horse. To start with, Comet was not a horse but a centaur, and he flirted with Kara while in human form. Kara never knew who that handsome cowboy was, and although she kissed him once, she never dated him, the whole thing being forgotten after two issues and never brought up by the characters again.
51** Due to the ''Series/Supergirl2015'' show, the general public believes that Lena Luthor is a mainstay of the ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' comics, filling the role of best friend/rival/friendly enemy. In reality, Supergirl and Lena have not been friends for decades. The original Lena was in fact conceived as a Lois Lane's supporting character (first appearing in ''ComicBook/SupermansGirlFriendLoisLane'' #23) before being transferred to the ''Supergirl'' strip in "ComicBook/TheGirlWithTheXRayMind", made an smattering of appearances during the 60's, and then she almost completely vanished, reappearing briefly in "ComicBook/TheStrangeRevengeOfLenaLuthor" to complete her character arc before heading into comic-book limbo for good. Althought she would be replaced by other versions, Lena Luthor and Kara Zor-El have not talked or even known each other in the main continuity since that 1981 storyline.
52* CompleteMonster: The Post-Crisis version of [[SociopathicSoldier Benjamin Martin Krull]], aka [[NuclearMutant Reactron]], is Supergirl's ArchEnemy. Having been rebuilt by Lex Luthor into a cyborg with a Gold Kryptonite heart, Reactron invades New Krypton alongside Metallo, depowering and killing numerous Kryptonians, threatening to rape Supergirl, and then murdering her father, Zor-El, in front of her by giving him radiation sickness. Tasked by General Lane with eliminating Supergirl, Flamebird, and Nightwing, Reactron murdered all the soldiers assigned to help him when they expressed doubts about the mission, and did his best to slowly torture Supergirl and Flamebird to death. Captured and tortured by Supergirl's mother, Alura, Reactron waited until Supergirl came to free him from the torture chamber to reveal that his capture had been a set up and that Luthor had transformed him into a living bomb. [[DyingSmirk Detonating himself with a smile]], Reactron gives a serene look as he incinerates Alura, the city of Kandor, and [[EarthShatteringKaboom the entire planet]] of New Krypton, killing over ninety percent of the population in a single fell swoop.
53* ContinuityLockOut: According to Creator/JephLoeb, this is the major reason why Linda Danvers and DC brought the original Supergirl back. His argument was that Linda's origin was far too confusing and tenuously-tied to the Superman mythos to make sense to casual fans, which is hard to argue. After all, "Kara Zor-El is Superman's teenage cousin who survived the destruction of Krypton while in stasis" is a far more coherent origin story than "Linda Danvers is a teenage Earth-born Angel of fire who merged with a protoplasmic creature from another dimension to become the new Supergirl".
54* EnsembleDarkhorse:
55** Supergirl herself started out as a test to gauge fan interest in a female character with Kryptonian powers. Fan reaction was incredibly positive, and DC introduced a proper Supergirl in Kara Zor-El the next year. Six decades and hundreds of comics later, Supergirl is still one of the most popular characters of the Superman mythos, even though DC killed her and tried to get the fandom to forget about her in 1985. They failed and eventually had to reintroduce the character.
56** Streaky the Supercat made his first appearance in 1960 and faded in comic limbo in 1971. He's still remembered fondly by fans.
57** The modern, Post-Crisis Bizarro-Girl turned up in a story by Sterling Gates. She became so popular that she made appearances in Tiny Titans and the live-action show.
58** Kara's father Zor-El only appears sporadically, but he has a large fanbase for using force field technology to save his entire city from dying with Krypton in just about every continuity, even if they tend to get killed or incapacitated later on due to their {{Story Breaker Power}}s.
59* FairForItsDay: Much of Supergirl's early comic book appearances in the Silver Age focused more on her love life and whims versus adventures. She also would chiefly use her superpowers for things like super-cleaning in her downtime. Supergirl was, however, the most powerful female comic book character in the world and did have many fantastical adventures. Defenders also point out a huge number of then-Superman stories also focused on ''his'' love life and [[{{Superdickery}} misusing his powers in oddball ways.]]
60* FanNickname: Post-Crisis Supergirl was called Supertorso during her short-skirted, belly-midriffed, whisper-thin phase.
61* FandomEnragingMisconception: Suggesting that Supergirl is nothing but a "Superman with skirt/boobs" with no distinguishing traits who added nothing to the Superman mythos and had no good stories prior to ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' or Peter David was the first who wrote the character right will get everyone who actually know Supergirl's character and history laughing their asses off or groaning in exasperation.
62* FanonDiscontinuity:
63** Fans of Linda Danvers will refuse to accept how the character was treated in ''Reign in Hell'' and tend to ignore it completely.
64** ''ComicBook/Superman1939 #415: Supergirl: Bride Of -- X?'' was hated by everyone, feeling that introducing a never previously mentioned -and creepy-looking- husband which she had somehow forgotten about, right after Kara's death, was an extra insult to the character and her fans. No one considers it canon anyway, since it was a time of way out stories as writers were cut loose to write any story they wanted before the reboot.
65** Most fans prented that ''ComicBook/Supergirl2005'' Joe Kelly's run never happened.
66* {{Flanderization}}: Supergirl started off as a sweetheart with quite a temper if pushed and a snarky side. Then [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths she got killed]] and writers and fans got into their heads the notion that Kara was a saccharine-sweet, ever-smiling girl who never, ever, talked against her cousin (which flies in the face of her character development throughout the Pre-Crisis period). In order to (over)compensate for this, [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 subsequent]] [[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 reboots]] amped up her hotheadness and hotbloodedness to the point [[ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton she was turned into a Red Lantern]] and became "Miss Rage Issues" to the fandom's eyes.
67* FriendlyFandoms: Supergirl fans and Batgirl fans tend to get along marvelously, perhaps because of the similarities between both heroines (both are distaff counterparts of famous male heroes, both have been looked down on by comic fans because of it, both were fridged for decades, replaced and eventually brought back). Or perhaps because they are always friends in every comicverse and even other media as the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse, ''WesternAnimation/SuperBestFriendsForever'' or ''WebAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls''. Regardless of the reason, Kara Zor-El fans tend to be Barbara Gordon (and/or Stephanie Brown) fans too, and vice versa, and both fandoms respect each other.
68* HarsherInHindsight: In ''Action Comics #270'', Superman dreams he travels to the future and his cousin is now Superwoman, the world's greatest heroine. Fast-forward twenty-five years and she is killed by the Anti-Monitor, never becoming Superwoman or taking over her cousin. On the other hand, Superwoman ''is'' one of her worst enemies in the Post-Crisis universe.
69** In ''ComicBook/ActionComics #275'', Kara dreams that Superman never turned up and she lived her cousin's life. In ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', written 37 years after, Superman never turned up and Supergirl was world's greatest hero... because [[spoiler:Lex Luthor found Kal-El's rocket and murdered the baby]].
70** [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pScx8BN4h3s/S_PJXGpxHGI/AAAAAAAAIYY/hesshogulz8/s1600/adv+383.jpg The cover]] of ''Adventure Comics #383''
71** ''Adventure Comics #421'' stated that Kara had an internal death wish. It was written by Marv Wolfman, who fourteen years later wrote ''Crisis on Infinite Earths #7''.
72** In the last page of Supergirl vol. 2, this paragraph was inserted: "It is at this dramatic moment that we reluctantly suspend publication of Supergirl. In the near future we hope to announce the reappearance of the Maid of Steel in a new magazine! Meanwhile, you can look forward in July to seeing ''Film/{{Supergirl|1984}}'' at your local movie theater -- as well as in DC's magazine adaptation! IT'S A DATE!" Shortly after the movie bombed, DC killed the character because they didn't care about her at all, and Kara Zor-El didn't reappear for nearly twenty years.
73** The original Supergirl was mistreated and dissed by a number of vocal fans after her death. Matrix fans gloated that Mae had more personality than Kara ever had. Linda Danvers fans claimed that Kara only did what Superman didn't and "the only ones who miss her are a small but very vocal group of fans." However, Peter David said people missed Silver Age Supergirl, not any other later version, and that sales of his Supergirl book were almost non-existent. Fast-forward one decade. Supergirl is again Kara Zor-El. She stars in her own book and live-action series and shows up in other characters' books, cartoons, live-action shows and video-games. Silver Age Kara Zor-El has made several appearances and [[ComicBook/{{Convergence}} her death has been undone]]. And her replacements have disappeared.
74** In ''Action Comics'' #303, Fred and Edna are grieving their son's passing, but they find solace in the fact that their adoptive daughter Linda Danvers is still alive. Flash-forward twenty-two years later...
75* HeartwarmingInHindsight: When Supergirl made her appearance in ''Action Comics'' #252 she spent several years training and struggling to be treated with respect and be able to operate publicly. Then, in ''Action Comics'' #275 Superman revealed his cousin's existence to the world, making all her effort and hardships worthwhile.
76** "Super Britney," the derisive nickname given to the Post-Crisis Kara back when she was whiny and insufferable, becomes rather ironic when noting how, much like Kara TookALevelInKindness and gained more stability later in her series, Music/BritneySpears saw her career getting revitalized and is in a much more emotionally healthy place than she was before.
77* HilariousInHindsight:
78** In ''Action Comics #270'', Superman dreams he has travelled to the future, and Linda Lee works as a reporter in the Daily Planet. Linda never was a reporter in the comics, but in 2016 she became one in ''[[Series/{{Supergirl 2015}} her live-Action show]]''.
79** Linda Danvers worked for San Francisco news station KSF-TV in the 1971-1972 period. Some years later a real life San Francisco TV station with call letters similar to the one in the Supergirl comics was started. The station is KTSF-TV, channel 26. It is an independent station broadcasting mostly in Chinese, serving the Chinese community there.
80** In Supergirl Volume 2 #17, Linda thinks about adding glasses to her disguise [[http://www.cbr.com/and-of-course-how-supergirl-changed-her-hair-from-blonde-to-brunette-and-back-again/ but discards the idea]]. Flash-forward several years and her disguises usually include glasses.
81* HypeBacklash: In the late 90's, the Peter David title was hailed as the best ''Supergirl'' title ever by its fans, lasting eighty issues before getting cancelled in 2003. After its ending, though, it quickly became forgotten by everyone but a handful of passionate supporters. Nowadays, it is unknown or regarded as an obscure, dated and overly preachy 90's relic which has nothing do with the ''Superman'' mythos and stars a Supergirl in name only. The trade reedition being cancelled due to abysmal sales does not help matters.
82* MisaimedFandom: ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' has Supergirl becoming a [[Franchise/GreenLantern Red Lantern]] after a severe breakdown. Her becoming a Red is in no way treated as a positive change but as a sign that Kara Zor-El had severe psychological issues dragging her down which she needed to overcome. Nonetheless, a number of fans chose to focus on how badass she looked, complained when she left the team, and later demanded a Red Lantern arc in [[Series/Supergirl2015 her live-action show]].
83* {{Misblamed}}: A number of Dark Age DC fans blame the cancellation of ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'''s fourth self-named book on Creator/DanDidio and alleged old-school fans and writers who supposedly hated the Earth Angel Supergirl and wanted her out of the way of Kara Zor-El. In reality, the book was always in hot water due to perpetually dismal sales, and the decision to cancel it was taken long before Kara was reintroduced because of her less convoluted backstory (and not because of old-school fans).
84* {{Moe}}: Silver Age Supergirl. Even if she's one of the strongest beings in the galaxy Kara's cute appearance and upbeat, sweet-natured personality in the face of her unfortunate circumstances makes her deeply endearing and extremely huggable.
85* MyRealDaddy:
86** Jerry Siegel Supergirl's stories are simplistic and maybe somewhat dated, but they are more complex and emotionally-charged than the then-current Superman stories, and Supergirl was depicted as a girl who had flaws and made mistakes but was determined, brave, slightly impish and a worthy heir of her cousin's mantle. He also created most of her early supporting cast and her first real nemesis.
87** Paul Kupperberg, writer of ''The Daring Adventures of Supergirl'' depicted her as a mature, self-reliant and confident young woman who was finding her own path and started following it, and was not under the shadow of Superman. He also came up with several of her main villains as Reactron or Psi.
88** Jack C. Harris wrote lengthy, serious story arcs with plenty emotional and personal conflicts in the ''Superman Family'' books.
89** Creator/MarkWaid - who is a big fan of Silver Age Kara - treated post-Crisis Supergirl as a smiling, optimistic young hero as opposite to Joe Kelly's run's self-absorbed jerkass.
90** Sterling Gates for post-Crisis Kara. He gave her a personality that was palatable to the fans. Artist Jamal Igle moved her away from MsFanservice, drawing her more like human being than a stick, and lengthening her skirt and putting shorts under it. Their run is [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/superhero-comic-books-100-best-934371/item/supergirl-by-sterling-gates-jamal-934858 incredibly well-regarded]].
91** Tony Bedard gets an excellent handle on the character and his post-Crisis and New 52 runs are noteworthy for rehabilitating the character and transforming her from a self-absorbed jerkass or an angry, angsty loner to a heroic, young woman.
92* OlderThanTheyThink:
93** Peter David's Supergirl's fans think she's more unique than the original Supergirl because of her stories' supernatural bent. However, Kara Zor-El ran into and fought ghosts, sorcerers and demons every so often during her ''Adventure Comics'' run in the early 70's.
94** Peter David's Supergirl fans also claim that Linda's eighty-issue-long run is Supergirl's longest run. However, that record belongs to the original Kara, whose run lasted 261 issues published without a break from 1958 to 1984.
95** In ''Series/Supergirl2015'' Kara and Jimmy have a short-lived romance. Some fans have shipped both characters since the late fifties, and they even married in alternate universe story ''ComicBook/SupermansPalJimmyOlzen'' #57.
96** As revealed in ''Action Comics'' #303, the original Supergirl already had an adoptive big sibling, although Jan Danvers passed away before Kara got adopted by the Danvers.
97** Superman's fans who watched the Grand Finale of ''Supergirl (2015)'' Season 2 protested when Superman stated that Supergirl was more powerful than him, but in ''ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl'', written by Superman's creator 1961, Superman states she is his equal, and he would not care if she was his better.
98* NeverLiveItDown: Pre-Crisis Kara is never going to live down [[BestialityIsDepraved dating her horse, Comet.]] Even though she did not actually date a horse.
99* ParanoiaFuel: If Supergirl knows you well enough, she can identify your heartbeat from across the city... or even hear it from the moon. It's not as bad as it could be because she's a nice girl... except she's also short-tempered and reckless. Short-tempered enough to draw a Red Lantern Ring and becoming a mindless, living "extinction level threat".
100* ReplacementScrappy:
101** The Matrix incarnation of Supergirl wasn't Superman's cousin but a protoplasmic shape-shifting blob with some of Superman's powers. She was a NaiveNewcomer and TheIngenue who dated Lex Luthor II (not knowing he was the original in a cloned body). In short, many fans viewed her as an InNameOnly incarnation of the character as well as TooDumbToLive.
102** The Peter David version of Supergirl had detractors due to the angel angle, which was rather outside the norm for Supergirl (or even Superman). There are plenty though who greatly appreciated the series and wish the character wasn't PutOnABus (as she got RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap). Her later popularity was ironic, as Peter David noted.
103** Cir-El was loved by nobody, in large part due to being a ReplacementScrappy for the Peter David version of the character. So, she was a ReplacementScrappy for a ReplacementScrappy. The fact she came in the heels of the wildly popular ''ComicBook/ManyHappyReturns'' arc didn't help. The backlash over it was so fierce, they ended up {{Retgone}}-ing the character. Though she did get ''some'' fans.
104* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap:
105** Creator/MarkWaid was the first to make Post-Crisis Kara a likable character in ''Supergirl and the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', but it was Tony Bedard and Sterling Gates who made it permanent in her main series.
106** For as much as Cir-El was initially hated for being a ReplacementScrappy to Linda Danvers ''and'' Kara Zor-El, she's developed a noticeable fanbase of people who liked the idea of her being a daughter figure to Superman because of how much she wanted to be a hero in order to earn her father's approval, to the degree she willingly retconned herself out of existence to save his life. They tend to focus more on her bubbly, plucky personality instead of her convoluted backstory and the "split personality" aspect of her character.
107* SavedByTheFans: Creator/DCComics killed off the original Kara Zor-El in the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' event, believing she was diminishing Superman's "uniqueness", and replaced her with several non-Kryptonian substitutes. Nonetheless, Kara fans spent eighteen years campaigning and begging for her return until DC finally gave way and brought her back in 2004.
108* SignatureScene:
109** Supergirl flying out of her space rocket in the cover of ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton1959'' has been paid tribute to, referenced and parodied countless times.
110** The Danvers adopting Linda.
111** Superman revealing his cousin's existence to the world and the Earth's people organizing a parade in the cover of the last issue of ''ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl''.
112** Kara fighting the Anti-Monitor, being blasted away and dying in her cousin's arms.
113** Superman holding Supergirl in his arms in the cover of ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' #7 has been frequently referenced and/or parodied and has sold tons of merchandising.
114** Superman wrapping her body in her cape and taking her to her birth parents.
115** The cover of ''ComicBook/Supergirl2005'' #53 in which Supergirl rips off her shirt as she runs towards several thugs while they shoot at her.
116* Supergirl accepting her Red Lantern Ring in ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton''.
117* SignatureSeriesArc:
118** ''ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl'' was the first lengthy story arc in the ''Superman'' family of books (spanning nine issues), and changed irreversibly Supergirl's status quo in favor of giving Kara Zor-El her own setting and supporting cast, as well as her first nemesis. Metropolis holding a parade in honor of Supergirl is one of the most iconic moments in the character's decades-long history.
119** ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004'' was the storyline which reintroduced Kara Zor-El in the modern DC Universe after remained exiled from continuity for eighteen years. The story arc was popular enough to be adapted into an animated movie: ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanApocalypse''.
120** ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'', wherein Supergirl becomes a Red Lantern, is one of her most famous and most popular stories.
121* TakeThatScrappy: In ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}'' #7, the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Supergirl punches the ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' Wonder Woman into a mountain and expresses disbelief at someone like her being Wonder Woman.
122* TheissTitillationTheory: Kara has fallen victim to ridiculously skimpy suits from time to time. [[https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/File:Adventure_Comics_Vol_1_409.jpg Her one-time suit]] in ''ComicBook/AdventureComics #409'' was completely backless and displayed her {{Sideboob}} prominently. In ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004'', Darkseid got her brainwashed and dumped into a cape, skintight trousers and an impossible bra. At the beginning of her Post-Crisis book, her midriff shirt was so tiny it almost displayed her underboobs. Finally, her alternate universe counterpart Power Girl is infamous by her [[CleavageWindow boob window]].
123* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Back in 2009 DC took steps to correct several issues which had plagued the book until then, such like excessive, disturbing fanservice. Artist Jamal Igle started to drawing bike shorts under Supergirl's skirt, which led to fans [[http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com.es/2009/06/what-more-bike-shorts-talk.html complaining]] [[http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com.es/2009/07/one-last-bike-shorts-post.html loudly]], to the point Newsrama and other comic sites echoed the "controversy".
124* UnexpectedCharacter: Saturn Queen was a villain in an arc of ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman'' who was seemingly erased from time when her story was over. No one ever expected her to show up again when ''Absolute Power'' ended.
125* {{Wangst}}: There was a brief attempt to turn the Post-Crisis version of Kara into a [[DarkerAndEdgier dark, brooding]], whiny teenager. The fans didn't like it, and now she's upbeat again.
126* TheWoobie:
127** Post-Crisis Kara has now survived three holocausts, [[DoomedHometown two home]] [[EarthShatteringKaboom planets exploding]] from under her, and losing her parents twice.
128** To say nothing of the Pre-Crisis version who had to spend years hidden in an orphanage and sabotaging well meaning attempts by would be foster parents to take her in so she could keep her role as Superman's 'secret weapon'. Not to mention the first time she did get adopted it turned out to be by crooks who only wanted to exploit her to making a profit.
129* WTHCostumingDepartment: Her New 52 outfit gets some scorn for the odd design choices, notable the cut-out knees on the high boots, the strange red patch on the crotch that almost evokes the image of panties but just looks off, and the general armoured look that, like Superman's costume, doesn't really make much sense. However, some fans like the armoured and distinctive look of the costume.
130[[/folder]]
131
132[[folder: 1984 Film]]
133
134* See [[YMMV/Supergirl1984 here]].
135[[/folder]]
136
137[[folder: TV Show]]
138
139* See [[YMMV/Supergirl2015 here]].
140[[/folder]]

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