Who Is The New Supergirl?

[supermanfan]

Can someone give me the low down on the new Supergirl. I had grown up reading Superman in the 1970s and early 1980s. So I know that the entire Superman legend had been rebooted after Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Who is she? Is she really from Krypton? If so, how did she survive? Kal-El was an infant when Krypton exploded and she is only about 15 or so. I doubt that the modern writers of DC went with the Argo City floating in space version that was used in the 1960s and 1970s.

Thanks!

[Blake Petit]

She showed up in the Superman/Batman series, issues #8-13 if I remember correctly. Yes, she is Kara Zor-El from Krypton, who drifted through space in suspended animation for a long time before she came to Earth in a Kryptonite meteor shower.

[Bad_Monkey]

Yeah, if I'm recalling correctly, she's actually Kal-El's older cousin, and she was suppose to come to Earth and look over him, but her ship wound up adrift in space for thirty years or whatever.

[Blake Petit]

Yeah, I think you're right, BM.

I've so gotta re-read that run. Man, it was great.

[supermanfan]

So this Kara Zor-El lived on Krypton and has knowledge of spending her first 15 years on the planet. This is actually a more realistic story that a single city floating in space under a protective dome.

Based on this, I assume that Krypton is more like the pre-Crisis version. Not the boring world of extreme isolationist that was introduced in the re-boot of 1986.

One more question, and please forgive my lack of current comic knowledge. In the JLA cartoons that I occassionally watch with my children, Braniac was the primary computer system of Krypton. After it was destroyed, Braniac continued and searched the cosmos for inhabited worlds. Which he would pretendt to be a benefactor, record their knowlege, and then destroy them. Is this consistent with the comic book, or only created for the sake of the cartoon audience?

Thanks!

[Blake Petit]

That's straight from the cartoon, SMF -- the Brainiac from the comics is the Couluan (apologizes if I spelled that wrong) alien/computer intelligence that he's always been.

And yeah, the "official" version of Krypton has leaned closer to the Silver Age version than the Byrne version these days. Like I said elsewhere, if you haven't read it already, I highly recommend Superman: Birthright which is the current "official' version of his origin. It takes the character back to a more classical version, I think you'd like it.

[Mark Blicharz]

Birthright is closer to the current Smallville tv series then anything. It works very well though and is an excellent read.

[Blake Petit]

Birthright is close to Smallville, no doubt, but the version of Krypton is very Silver Age. I think the book is really intended as a bridge between Smallville and the DCU.

[Mark Blicharz]

Yep, Krypton is silver age, but it also really hasn't been explored much in Smallville.

[Blake Petit]

Except for the implications about Jor-El, at least.