What Is Supergirl’s Real Name? Earth & Kryptonian

The world of superheroes is full of great, amazing, and strong female characters. While Wonder Woman or Catwoman would probably first come to your mind when you think about the most-known DC superheroines, let’s not forget about the Woman of Tomorrow — Supergirl. Supergirl is known as Superman’s cousin with the same set of superpowers and abilities as him. We’re going to see Supergirl in the upcoming DCEU movie ‘The Flash,’ and while we’re waiting for it, let’s talk about Supergirl’s real name.

In the history of DC comics, several characters donned Supergirl’s mantle. The original and most-known incarnation is Kara Zor-El, Superman’s first cousin. While she was known by many adoptive names on Earth, the most known is Kara Danvers, which was given to her after Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers adopted her. Other notable aliases of Supergirl are Linda Lee Danvers, Kara Kent, and Linda Lang. The other alternate character versions are Matrix, Linda Danvers, Cir-El, Laurel Gand, Power Girl, and Ariella Kent.

Supergirl first appeared in the source material in ‘Action Comics’ #252 in May 1959. Her birth name was always Kara Zor-El, although her adopted names were changed over the years, unlike Superman, who was always known as Kal-El on Krypton and Clark Kent on Earth. In the following paragraphs, we’ll further examine Supergirl’s history in the comics and all of her names.

What was Supergirl’s first adopted name?

There have been several attempts to bring a character known as Supergirl or Superwoman in the past. In 1943, Lois Lane once dreamed she got Superman powers after a blood transfusion, becoming Superwoman. That idea didn’t live for long, although there’s an alternate, evil version of Lois Lane, aka Superwoman, who is a member of the Crime Syndicate on Earth-3.

In 1958, Jimmy Olsen used a magic totem to wish a “Super-Girl” to help Superman. But this version also didn’t live for long after the Kryptonian meteor fatally injured her. After Jimmy used to totem again to wish the dying Super-Girl out of existence, DC used this story to test how the public would react to the introduction of a new female counterpart to Superman.

The original Kara Zor-El was finally introduced in May 1959, created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino. She was born in Argo City, the last surviving piece of planet Krypton, to Zor-El and Alura In-Ze. Although she lived a happy childhood, she was sent to Earth when she was fifteen years old after Argo City suffered a meteor shower that pierced the sheeting, and all the Kryptonians that survived the planet’s destruction now died due to radiation poisoning.

Kara was sent to planet Earth, and upon arrival, she made Midvale Orphanage her home, adopting the name of “Linda Lee.” In ‘Action Comics‘ #279,’ in July 1961, she was adopted by Fred and Edna Danvers, adopting her full name — Linda Lee Danvers. This incarnation of the character was adapted into the 1984’s original ‘Supergirl’ movie starring Helen Slater in the title role, which was a commercial and critical failure. According to some sources, the movie’s poor reception partially resulted in DC’s decision to kill the character in the ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ event in 1985.

The revival of the character and the first introduction of Kara Danvers

After Crisis on Infinite Earths established a mainstream universe called “New Earth,” some alternate versions of Supergirl were introduced, such as Matrix in 1988, Linda Danvers in 1996, and Cir-El in 2003. But, Supergirl’s true, modern revival happened in ‘Superman/Batman’ #8 in May 2004.

This modern version of the character had a short-lived adopted name Claire Connor, which she dropped after a week. After several months of being Supergirl full-time, she created a new secret identity, Linda Lang, and posed as Lana Lang’s niece.

In 2011, the New Earth continuity ended with the Flashpoint storyline, and Prime Earth took over as the new mainstream universe. With the launch of The New 52 continuity, Supergirl was re-introduced again as Kara Zor-El, who was sent to Earth by her parents when she was fifteen years old.

Kara’s spaceship, per its programming, spent two decades orbiting the Earth’s sun while keeping her biologically the same age. This is why Supergirl seems younger than Superman, although she actually isn’t. This origin story was revised with the launch of the Rebirth continuity in 2016.

The New 52 continuity ended in 2016, with the death of Superman in the last issue of ‘Superman’ Volume 3. In the Rebirth period, Kara eventually started working for the DEO and was adopted by her handlers Eliza Danvers and her husband Jeremiah, adopting the name Kara Danvers. The modern take on Supergirl’s origin story was partially adapted into the ‘Supergirl’ TV series starring Melissa Benoist, which premiered in 2015 and concluded in 2021.

What is Supergirl’s real name in The Flash Movie?

As we know, Supergirl will get her next live-action incarnation in ‘The Flash’ movie in June 2023. Played by Sasha Calle, this Supergirl will be introduced as Kara Zor-El from the alternate timeline that Ezra Miller’s title character accidentally created. Now, Barry Allen will need the help of his alternate self, Supergirl, and Michael Keaton’s Batman to save the universe from Michael Shannon’s General Zod.

It’s unknown how Supergirl’s origin story will be handled in ‘The Flash’ movie, so we don’t know this character incarnation’s adopted name on Earth, considering it’s basically a crossover movie. We expect that Supergirl’s origin story will be further explored in the upcoming movie ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, ‘which is also in development. The catch is, ‘The Flash’ movie is a part of the soon-to-end DCEU, and the upcoming ‘Supergirl’ movie is set in the upcoming DCU. Therefore, we can’t be 100% sure that Sasha Calle will continue to play the character in DCU.

Sasha Calle’s Supergirl will debut in ‘The Flash’ movie, premiering worldwide on June 16, 2023.

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