History Supergirl / TropesKToL

* LawOfAlienNames: Kara, which is an example of the trope, but an odd one in that the name became popular in English as an actual name after the introduction of the character, to the point where on Smallville she just calls herself Kara and there's nothing weird about the name. In truth, it is not actually alien, rather of Proto-Italo-Celtic origin (Italian "beloved", Irish "friend"), but as stated above, it was hardly ever used as a given name until long after Supergirl started.

!!!Tropes found in ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}''

** Zigzagged in the post-Crisis ''Comicbook/NewKrypton'' arc. When Kara brings Reactron to Kryptonian justice, Alura coldly informs him that he'll be judged, found guilty and executed. However she ''intends'' to put him on trial rather than lynching him, unlike a lot of Kryptonians. ''However'' during a preliminary hearing a judge questions the trial's legality since Reactron hasn't been extradited lawfully, and Alura dismisses his concerns. ''However'', when a lynch mob breaks into the building, she protects Reactron.
** In ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'', secondary character Sheko became a [[TheBerserker Red Lantern]] because she was a judge on a planet where kangaroo courts were the rule, the concept of justice had been turned into a joke, rich and powerful people got away with anything, and when she tried to make her job fairly, she got shot.

** And from Bronze Age storyline ''Comicbook/KryptonNoMore'' comes [[https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-42hj4CP59UU/TW0EOjbIjyI/AAAAAAAALSk/MyJ0VPlDuGo/s1600/sm+309-04.jpg Superman walking out of the shower and finding his cousin waiting for him]]... and the writer seems completely unaware of the tone he is setting. At least Kara was already an adult woman at the time.

** In the ''Comicbook/NewKrypton'' storyline, Supergirl faced off against Reactron, an enemy powered by golden kryptonite which nullified her powers.
** In the ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' arc, Silver Banshee managed to contain Supergirl for a short while when they fought because her sonic attacks are magic, and Kryptonians are vulnerable to magic. Later on, Kara was weakened when she fought [[spoiler:Worldkiller-1]] because Earth's atmosphere was poisoned with kryptonite.

* LawOfDisproportionateResponse: In ''Comicbook/SupermanBrainiac'', Supergirl accidentally reveals that Daily Planet's journalist Cat Grant has fake boobs. Later, Supergirl accidentally gets Cat slightly bruised while saving her. As a result of this, Cat spends one whole year slandering Supergirl in the hope that her tripe drives the young hero away from Metropolis.

** Kara kept this attitude for a long while in the ''Comicbook/{{New 52}}'' universe. When Franchise/{{Superman}} and Supergirl argue in ''Red Lanterns #30'', he reminds his cousin that she wanted him to leave her alone to live her own life since she showed up on Earth.

** In ''ComicBook/TheFinalDaysOfSuperman'', Superman tells his cousin that he is dying and asks her to carry on in his name. In ''Comicbook/SupergirlRebirth'' she joins the DEO -Department of Extra-normal Operations- to help her to restore her powers and carry on her cousin's work.

** In ''Comicbook/NewKrypton'' storyline, Reactron kills Supergirl's father and later frames her best friend Thara Ak-Var (Flamebird) for his murder. In ''ComicBook/TheHuntForReactron'', both friends come to blows.

*** In the Pre-Crisis universe, Clark cared about Kara [[http://www.abload.de/img/dcretroactivesuperman20jjj.jpg more than almost any other]], and when he is told that ''[[Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths she will die]]'', [[http://www.abload.de/img/dcretroactivesupermanjbkfq.jpg he goes ballistic]] and then [[http://abload.de/img/dcretroactivesupermanfwklp.jpg becomes very, very distressed]].

*** They were not so close in the New 52 continuity. Still, in ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'', Kara can only think of Kal when she [[spoiler:believes she is dying]].
** Dick Grayson alias ''Comicbook/{{Nightwing}}'' also sees his relationship with the post-Crisis Kara this way. On the other hand, Supergirl [[http://40.media.tumblr.com/4e7330c5fc7e88f1c6e6c6c4ed7b9ff1/tumblr_n1mznrylgK1rc8doao2_1280.jpg is attracted to him at the beginning]], but after a while she starts treating him like a big brother.

** People from the Bottled City of Kandor. Kandor was a Kryptonian city which was shrunk by Comicbook/{{Brainiac}} before Krypton's destruction. Superman managed to retrieve the city from Brainiac, and he and Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} spend most of Silver and Bronze Ages looking for ways to re-enlarge Kandor and its inhabitants (they finally succeeded in a 1979 story).

** In ''Comicbook/KryptonNoMore'', [[spoiler:they are so worried about Superman’s deteriorating mental stability that they talked Supergirl into convincing him that they did not exist for his own good]].

* LiteralMinded: Kara Zor-El suffers from this at the beginning of ''Comicbook/ManyHappyReturns''. Justified because she is a very innocent kid who has just been stranded in another planet and can barely speak English. Sarcasm, jokes and idiomatic expressions tend to go over her head.

** In the post-Crisis pre-New 52 continuity, Supergirl teamed up with [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl 2009}} the third Batgirl]], Stephanie Brown. They hit it off from the start and often fight together. Kara goes to Steph's aid whenever she needs her, and doesn't put up with people picking on her friend.

* LoverTugOfWar: Supergirl and Comicbook/{{Zatanna}} do this in the [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/9/91/Supergirl_Vol_1_7.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20081031042042 cover]] of ''Supergirl vol. 1 #7'', although [[CoversAlwaysLie that scene never happens in the book]].

** During her time working as a photographer in San Francisco, Linda Danvers had a crush on her boss Geoffrey "Geoff" Anderson. Geoff was not interested in Linda but he liked Supergirl. He even kissed her at the end of ''Comicbook/DemonSpawn''. However, Linda quit her job and moved away shortly after, and they never saw each other again.

** In ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1972}}'', setting aside Linda Danvers' need to inform readers that she is Supergirl, she is about to use her XRayVision or how her powers work, in issue #2 she flies to the Fortress of Solitude and explains that is her cousin Superman's Fortress of Solitude, which only he and she can unlock with a special massive key.

* KickTheSonOfABitch:
** In ''ComicBook/TheKillersOfKrypton'', [[BigBad Empress Gandelo]] slaps Harry Hokum with her rock-hard, razor-sharp hand and then she gets him dumped into space. It is not a pretty or clean way of dying, and you would almost feel sorry for him... if Hokum wasn't an utterly amoral, sadistic tyrant who regards people as tools, blames his own mistakes on his loyal subordinates and has murdered countless people in atrocious ways. Gandelo does not care about ''any'' of his misdeeds, though; she is pissed off because he revealed her organization's secrets to ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}.
** ''ComicBook/StarfiresRevenge'': Derek Marlowe/Ames is a conman who enthusiastically seduces and steals gullible wealthy women. His boss gets him killed off because he cannot be trusted to keep quiet about her ambitious scheme.

** Peter David would make fun of this issue in ''Comicbook/ManyHappyReturns'' where the Pre-Crisis Superman [[spoiler: ''does'' marry Linda Danvers a.k.a the second Post-Crisis Supergirl.]] Superman, of course, knew she wasn't his cousin the entire time due to his super senses.

* LadyLegionnaireWear: Kara wears a red and golden armoured skirt during her Amazon training in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton''.

** After the death of the original Supergirl, two characters took up the mantle of Supergirl (Matrix and Linda Danvers) before Kara Zor-El returned to the main universe.
** In ''Comicbook/SupermanSuperLeague'', Superman tells his cousin that he is dying and asks her to carry on in his name. In ''Comicbook/SupergirlRebirth'' she joins the DEO -Department of Extra-normal Operations- to help her to restore her powers and carry on her cousin's work.

* LeotardOfPower: Post the {{Comicbook/Flashpoint}} reboot for the DC Universe. Although other versions of ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} had used it before.

* LongLostRelative: A constant in every Supergirl's origin story (some examples: ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'', ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'', ''ComicBook/LastDaughterOfKrypton''...): Clark Kent/Kal-El grows up believing he is his biological family's only survivor until another Kryptonian rocketship crashes on Earth, and Clark meets his long-lost first cousin Kara Zor-El, who -depending on the version- was launched into space later and/or took longer to arrive.

** In imaginary story ''Comicbook/JimmyOlsen Superman's Pal #57'' Linda and Jimmy marry. However Linda is amnesiac and depowered when the wedding happens, and doesn't remember anything about her SecretIdentity. When Linda regains her memories and her powers she decides she needs to tell Jimmy she is Supergirl but in a tactful way. Her "great" plan was revealing Supergirl's existence to him. Then, as Supergirl, she will make him fall in love with her. Then when he is in love with both Linda and Supergirl, she'll reveal she is one and the same. Surprisingly, her nutty idea worked.

** In the third page of ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1982}}'' #1 Linda Danvers explains she is Supergirl -as she's changing clothes and flying off- and she has SuperSenses. One page later she comments she is using her freezing breath as she blows away and freezes a shower of molten steel.

** Lampshaded in Peter David's Supergirl #57:
--->'''Buzz:''' Dominique... I am your father... Oh, I'm certain that didn't sound too "Darth Vader".

* LongLostRelative: A constant in every Supergirl's origin story (some examples: ''ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber252'', ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'', ''ComicBook/LastDaughterOfKrypton''...): Clark Kent/Kal-El grows up believing he is his biological family's only survivor until another Kryptonian rocketship crashes on Earth, and Clark meets his long-lost first cousin Kara Zor-El, who -depending on the version- was launched into space later and/or took longer to arrive.

* KindheartedCatLover: Kara is a cat person. Back in the Silver Age she owned a pet tomcat called Streaky -which accidentally got super-powers-. In [[ComicBook/Supergirl1982 the 80's]] [[https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MTwWbbx306Y/V2u-Rd8G-KI/AAAAAAAAqwg/s4UrgLkcRqYs3rYO0LEAxNotSBlNBDyXwCKgB/s1600/dnaos%2B6-10.jpg she found a stray female cat and she adopted it and named Streaky right away]]. [[https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fWggXIjrZs8/V2u-RTryVNI/AAAAAAAAqwk/VsEhsjFGs-U3frgfLr2p4cjs1UcbmTviwCKgB/s1600/dnaos%2B6-11.jpg She really adores her cats.]] In ''ComicBook/TheComingOfAtlas'', Kara [[https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PL5y2k7GJAg/VqnODZZtj-I/AAAAAAAAHqk/xidprEOLdzc/s0-Ic42/RCO014.jpg is playing with a pride of thoroughly confused lions]] when she hears her cousin is in trouble. It must be a genetic trait, because [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Post-Crisis Kara]] and Power Girl also own pet cats (although Power Girl's is called [[UnfortunateNames Stinky]]).

* TheLeader: Albeit usually a solo fighter, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} has led teams like the ''ComicBook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}'' from time to time, proving she can be level-headed and make good decisions when it's required. In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Good-Looking Corpse]]'' story arc she quickly puts together a team to take down a villain who is targetting young heroes, and although she doubts her leadership skills, her team thinks she did just fine.

** At the beginning of ''Red Daughter Of Krypton'' Kara does this when ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}}'' [[http://abload.de/img/supergirl28-2lvkbh.jpg tries]] and [[http://abload.de/img/supergirl28-3otkq6.jpg manages]] to drive her mad, and it is used to hint that she is about to lose it and become a [[Franchise/GreenLantern Red Lantern]].

** In alternate universe story -''Comicbook/{{Superman}} #149: Comicbook/TheDeathOfSuperman'', written by Jerry Siegel- [[http://www.cbr.com/silver-age-september-the-first-death-of-superman/ Kara finally reveals herself to the public by crashing a party the bad guys are throwing in a full Superman suit and mask, then removing it to reveal herself]].

* LawOfDisproportionateResponse: In ''Comicbook/SupermanBrainiac'', Supergirl accidentally reveals that Daily Planet's journalist Cat Grant has fake boobs. Later ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 2005}} in her own book]]'' Supergirl accidentally gets Cat slightly bruised while saving her. As a result of this, Cat spends one whole year slandering Supergirl in the hope that her tripe drives the young hero away from Metropolis.

** In an imaginary story (''Superman vol.1 #149'': "The Death of Superman!"), Kara takes up the role of Supergirl to fight crime and protect Earth after her cousin gets murdered by Lex Luthor.

** In ''Comicbook/NewKrypton'' storyline, Reactron kills Supergirl's father and later frames her best friend Thara Ak-Var (Flamebird) for his murder. In ''The Hunt for Reactron'' storyline, both friends come to blows.

** ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl 2005 "Girl Power"]]'' is the modern version of that story. This time, Supergirl's evil clone -properly named Dark Supergirl- was spawned by black Kryptonite and wore a [[PaintItBlack black version of Kara's normal outfit]].

** Kara and Barbara Gordon alias Batgirl during the Silver Age. They first teamed up in ''World's Finest 169'' and they quickly became best friends and an excellent crime-fighting duo.

** Subverted with Lesla-Lar. After being disintegrated, her consciousness lived on. This messed with her mind to the point where she thought Supergirl was her sister. When she made this claim, Kara replied she had no siblings.

* KidSidekick: Silver Age Supergirl played it straight at the beginning, but she eventually subverted it. She was Superman's sidekick and emergency secret weapon while he was training her, but when he revealed her existence to the world, he made clear that she was his partner. Before that, in ''Action Comics #288'', Kara becomes invulnerable to Kryptonite for a while, and Superman seriously regards her as superior to him, and wonders if he should become ''her'' sidekick. During the Silver and Bronze Ages both cousins interacted as equals, but in the Post-Crisis universe, teen Kara became his sidekick again.
* KindheartedCatLover: Kara is a cat person. Back in the Silver Age she owned a pet tomcat called Streaky -which accidentally got super-powers-. In TheEighties [[https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MTwWbbx306Y/V2u-Rd8G-KI/AAAAAAAAqwg/s4UrgLkcRqYs3rYO0LEAxNotSBlNBDyXwCKgB/s1600/dnaos%2B6-10.jpg she found a stray female cat and she adopted it and named Streaky right away]]. [[https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fWggXIjrZs8/V2u-RTryVNI/AAAAAAAAqwk/VsEhsjFGs-U3frgfLr2p4cjs1UcbmTviwCKgB/s1600/dnaos%2B6-11.jpg She really adores her cats]]. It must be a genetic trait, because Post-Crisis Kara and Comicbook/PowerGirl -her alternate universe counterpart- also own pet cats (although Power Girl's is called Stinky).

* KryptoniteRing: In ''Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl And Batgirl'', Lex Luthor has a Kryptonite ring that he plans to use against Supergirl... until Batgirl steals it from him and takes it to a lead-lined vault, saying "I see it as insurance... which I hope I never need to use."

* LingerieScene: ''Superman Family'' featured a reasonable amount of scenes where Linda Danvers lounged around her home wearing nothing but undergarments.

* LegacyImplosion: Because of the decision that Superman had to be the last ''Kryptonian'', Kara Zor-El died and her existence was erased from history. Several more characters took up her mantle until DC backpedaled and Kara returned to the main universe.

** In the post-Crisis pre-New 52 continuity, Supergirl teamed up with ''[[Comicbook/{{Batgirl 2009}} the third Batgirl]]'', Stephanie Brown. They hit it off from the start and often fight together. Kara goes to Steph's aid whenever she needs her, and doesn't put up with people picking on her friend.

** In ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1972}}'', setting aside Linda Danvers' need to inform readers that she is Supergirl, she is about to use her XRayVision or how her powers work, in issue #2 she flies to The Fortress of Solitude and explains that is her cousin Superman's Fortress of Solitude, which only he and she can unlock with a special massive key.
** In the third page of ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1982}}'' #1 Linda Danvers explains she is Supergirl -as is changing clothes and flying off- and she has SuperSenses. One page later she comments she is using her freezing breath as she blows away and freezes a shower molten steel.

** In ''Supergirl vol 6 #24'', super-villain Cyborg Superman gets his memories back... and remembers what he is Supergirl's father. Several months later, in ''Supergirl vol 7 #2'' he tells Kara he is her father (who she had previously thought dead).

** In ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'', secondary character Sheko became a [[TheBerserker Red Lantern]] because she was a judge in a planet where kangaroo courts were the rule, the concept of justice had been turned into a joke, rich and powerful people got away with anything, and when she tried to make her job fairly, she got shot.

* LadyLegionnaireWear: Kara wears a red and golden armoured skirt during her Amazon training in ''The Supergirl From Krypton''.

* LetsYouAndHimFight/ComicBooks:

** At the beginning of ''Red Daughter Of Krypton'' Kara does this when ''Comicbook/{{Lobo}}'' [[http://abload.de/img/supergirl28-2lvkbh.jpg tries]] and [[http://abload.de/img/supergirl28-3otkq6.jpg manages]] to drive her mad, and it is used to hint that she is about to lose it and become a [[Franchise/GreenLantern Red Lantern]].

** In a non-canonical ''Comicbook/TheDeathOfSuperman'' story written by Jerry Siegel (''Franchise/{{Superman}} #149''), [[http://www.cbr.com/silver-age-september-the-first-death-of-superman/ Kara finally reveals herself to the public by crashing a party the bad guys are throwing in a full Superman suit and mask, then removing it to reveal herself]].