50 Fun Facts About Supergirl

Supergirl made her 1959 debut in which comic book title, the series that had introduced Superman?

Action Comics introduced Kara Zor-El in May 1959, after readers cheered a one-off Super-Girl whom Jimmy Olsen wished into being in a Superman story the year before.

Superman's mother was Lara; what is the name of Supergirl's mother?

Alura is Kara's mother in the comics, both films and the TV series, where she is a judge whose jailed criminals later escape to Earth and come after her daughter.

Supergirl's father Zor-El is the brother of which Kryptonian?

Jor-El is Superman's father, so Kara and Kal-El are first cousins. He could save only his baby son, while his brother Zor-El lived through Krypton's explosion with his wife and neighbours.

From which surviving fragment of Krypton was Kara sent to Earth?

Argo City was flung into space intact when Krypton exploded, but the ground beneath it turned to deadly kryptonite, so Zor-El rocketed his daughter to Earth.

In her 1959 comics debut, what secret identity did Supergirl adopt on Earth?

Linda Lee was the name she chose, worn with a brunette wig over her blonde hair, because Superman wanted her existence kept secret from the world.

Which couple adopted Supergirl in the comics in 1961?

Fred and Edna Danvers took her in, and she told them her secret just before Superman finally revealed her to the world.

Where did Superman hide the newly arrived Supergirl in the 1959 comics?

An orphanage in the town of Midvale took her in, and she stayed Superman's secret for three years, until he revealed her to a cheering world in 1962.

Which villain killed Supergirl in the 1985 comic Crisis on Infinite Earths?

The Anti-Monitor struck her down as she fought him hand to hand to save an unconscious Superman, and she died in her cousin's arms.

In a 2014 comics storyline, a ring enlisted Supergirl in which corps?

Red Lanterns run on rage, and a ring sought Kara out after a furious fight with Lobo. Taking one off should kill its wearer, yet she later shed hers and survived.

Which writer reintroduced Kara Zor-El in 2004 in Superman/Batman?

Her modern debut came in Superman/Batman #8, arriving inside a Kryptonian asteroid.

What was the name of Supergirl's pet Super-Horse?

Comet was no ordinary horse: he was a centaur from ancient Greece whom the sorceress Circe turned into an immortal, super-powered stallion.

In the 1960s comics, which Legion of Super-Heroes member fell for Supergirl?

Brainiac 5, the Legion's resident genius, fell for her. He claimed descent from Superman's enemy Brainiac and joined the Legion to redeem the family name.

Supergirl first met Batgirl in 1967 in which team-up title?

World's Finest Comics paired Superman and Batman for decades, and the Supergirl TV series borrowed the name for 'Worlds Finest', its 2016 crossover episode with The Flash.

In the Supergirl TV series, which member of the Luthor family becomes Kara's best friend?

Lena Luthor, Lex's half-sister, befriends Kara without knowing she is Supergirl; when a dying Lex reveals the secret to embitter her, the friendship breaks.

Which actor played Lex Luthor in the Supergirl TV series?

Jon Cryer had been in the family before: in 1987's Superman IV he played Lex's bumbling nephew Lenny, three decades before taking over as the uncle.

Supergirl's monthly title merged with Lois Lane's and Jimmy Olsen's into which anthology?

The Superman Family launched in 1974 by taking over Jimmy Olsen's numbering; at first its stars took turns with one new story while reprints filled the other pages.

Supergirl's Earth-Two counterpart, Kara Zor-L, is better known by which superhero name?

Power Girl left Krypton when her cousin did, but her rocket took far longer, so she arrived on Earth-Two decades after him.

In the Supergirl TV series, Kara says the crest on her chest stands for which family motto?

Stronger together, 'El mayarah' in Kryptonian, is the House of El motto on the show; in the film Man of Steel the same symbol simply means hope.

Who wrote the 2021 miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow?

Tom King wrote the eight-issue series with artist Bilquis Evely, and DC Studios chose it as the basis for the 2026 Supergirl film.

The revenge plot of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was inspired by which Western?

True Grit, in its novel and both film versions, inspired the writer, who set out to make a 'space Western' about a mentor and a pupil on a journey of revenge.

The stars of Supergirl and The Flash, who sang together in a 2017 musical crossover, had both appeared in which series?

Glee had featured both leads as high-school singers, and the crossover, 'Duet', brought in a third Glee alumnus, Darren Criss, as the villain who traps them in a musical.

Who played Supergirl in the 1984 film?

Helen Slater was a 19-year-old unknown picked from hundreds of hopefuls; three decades later she returned in the Supergirl TV series as Kara's adoptive mother.

Who played the villainous witch Selena in the 1984 Supergirl film?

Faye Dunaway took top billing over the unknown lead and played the witch as high camp, which earned her a Worst Actress nomination at the Razzies.

Which actor played Zaltar in the 1984 Supergirl film?

Peter O'Toole played the artist whose careless borrowing of the orb that powers his city sets the plot moving; the Lawrence of Arabia star got a Razzie nomination for it.

What powerful object must Supergirl recover in the 1984 film?

The Omegahedron powers her home city; when a mishap hurls it into space she follows it to Earth, where a would-be witch has already claimed it.

Which former Wonder Woman actress played the US president in the Supergirl TV series?

Lynda Carter played President Olivia Marsdin, who signs an amnesty for aliens while hiding that she is one; she resigns when her true form is exposed.

John Williams scored Superman; which composer scored the 1984 Supergirl film?

Jerry Goldsmith gave Supergirl a soaring theme of her own, then quoted John Williams's Superman march in a cue titled 'The Superman Poster'.

At which English studio was the 1984 Supergirl film shot, like Superman before it?

Pinewood meant the film's all-American small town, Midvale, Illinois, was really built in the English countryside outside London, during a shoot that ran from April to August 1983.

Which young star tested for the lead in the 1984 Supergirl film, only for an unknown to win it?

Brooke Shields was among hundreds who auditioned, but the producers, who had found Christopher Reeve through a similar search, wanted an unknown again.

After the 1984 Supergirl film flopped, its producers sold the Superman rights to which studio, maker of Superman IV?

Cannon paid the cash-strapped Salkinds $5 million for the rights in 1985, then hit a cash crisis of its own and cut Superman IV's budget roughly in half just before filming began.

Who played Kara in the TV series Smallville?

Laura Vandervoort joined Smallville in its seventh season, then crossed to the 2015 Supergirl series on the other side, as the villain Indigo.

Who plays Supergirl in the 2015-2021 television series?

Melissa Benoist led all six seasons, directed an episode in the fifth, and married Chris Wood, who played Kara's love interest Mon-El.

On which network did the Supergirl TV series air its first season?

CBS kept the costly series for only one season; it then moved to sister network The CW, home of the producers' other superhero shows, and filming shifted to Vancouver.

Where is the TV Supergirl based?

National City became so tied to the character on screen that DC's comics adopted it as her home in the 2016 Rebirth relaunch.

In the TV series, Kara's pod was trapped for 24 years in what?

The Phantom Zone, where time does not pass, held her pod after Krypton's blast knocked it off course, so she landed still 13 while her baby cousin had grown into Superman.

Which Ally McBeal star played media mogul Cat Grant in the Supergirl TV series?

Calista Flockhart only took jobs near her Los Angeles home, so when the show moved to Vancouver after one season she stayed on as an occasional guest.

Who plays Kara's adoptive sister Alex Danvers in the Supergirl TV series?

Chyler Leigh, once Lexie Grey on Grey's Anatomy, plays a character invented for the show; in season two Alex comes out after falling for detective Maggie Sawyer.

In the Supergirl TV series, David Harewood's Hank Henshaw is revealed to be which hero in disguise?

Martian Manhunter, J'onn J'onzz, had taken the dead Henshaw's face to run the DEO; the real Henshaw later returns as Cyborg Superman, his identity in the comics.

Mon-El, played by Chris Wood, is a prince from which planet?

Daxam is Krypton's sister planet and old enemy, so Kara distrusts Mon-El on sight; he hides that he is its prince, and she ends things when she finds out.

Nicole Maines's Nia Nal, the first transgender superhero on TV, goes by what codename?

Dreamer was created for the show, then crossed into DC's comics in stories written by Nicole Maines herself.

Who played Supergirl in the 2023 DCEU film The Flash?

Sasha Calle had signed for more films as Supergirl, but those plans were scrapped when DC Studios rebooted its film universe and recast the part.

Who plays Supergirl in the 2026 DC Universe film?

Milly Alcock was the first person James Gunn put forward for Kara, after watching her as young Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon; she debuted in an uncredited cameo in Superman (2025).

Who directed the 2026 Supergirl film for producer James Gunn?

Craig Gillespie, of I, Tonya and Cruella, made the first DC Universe film not directed by James Gunn; before release the studio reportedly tested its own cut against his.

Who plays the bounty hunter Lobo in the 2026 Supergirl film?

Jason Momoa, Aquaman in the previous DC film universe, had long called Lobo his favourite comic character and the part he always wanted to play.

In the 2026 Supergirl film, Kara hunts an adversary who has poisoned which companion?

Krypto is poisoned when bandits hijack her ship, which leaves Kara three days to chase them down for the antidote.

Who plays the villain Krem of the Yellow Hills in the 2026 Supergirl film?

Matthias Schoenaerts plays the leader of the Brigands, the bandits whose raid on Kara's ship sets off her chase across the galaxy.

Which actor appeared in all four Superman films of 1978 to 1987 and in the 1984 Supergirl spin-off?

Marc McClure's Jimmy Olsen turns up in Supergirl as the boyfriend of Lois Lane's sister Lucy; Christopher Reeve had agreed to a cameo, then pulled out.

How does the 1984 Supergirl film explain Superman's absence?

A peace mission to a distant galaxy is announced in a radio news bulletin, a line added once Christopher Reeve dropped his planned cameo and the script was rewritten.

Which former TV Superman played Kara's adoptive father in the Supergirl series?

Dean Cain, Clark Kent in Lois & Clark, played Jeremiah Danvers; the show later cast his old Lois Lane, Teri Hatcher, as a villain, Mon-El's mother Rhea.

Which series was developed as a direct spin-off of the Supergirl TV show?

Superman & Lois gave Tyler Hoechlin's Superman, first seen on Supergirl, a show of his own, but its second-season finale revealed it was set on a different Earth, cutting its ties to the parent show.