100 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.

Which Teen Wolf actor first suited up as Superman in the second season of the Supergirl TV series?

Tyler Hoechlin played werewolf Derek Hale before donning the cape. In season one the Man of Steel was played only by an uncredited stand-in.

In the Supergirl TV series, which metal in Earth's atmosphere forces Mon-El to leave the planet?

Lead is toxic to Mon-El's people. Kara herself triggers the weapon that spreads the dust, ending his mother's invasion and her own romance at once.

In the Supergirl TV series, James Olsen won which award for taking the first photograph of Superman?

A Pulitzer Prize made James a star at the Daily Planet before he moved west to be art director at CatCo. Kara wins one of her own in season five.

Which feature did Kara's redesigned suit finally gain in season 5 of the Supergirl TV series?

Pants replaced the pleated skirt Kara had worn for four seasons. The star and showrunners said they had discussed the change since the first season.

How does Kara end her double life in the series finale of the Supergirl TV show?

She reveals her identity after Cat Grant admits she has always known it. The offer that tips Kara over comes from Cat too: the top editor's chair at CatCo.

In the pilot of the Supergirl TV series, Kara first uses her powers in public to save what?

A crashing plane with her sister Alex aboard, bound for Geneva, pulls Kara out of hiding. It is the first time she has used her powers in years.

Which former Lois Lane actress plays Mon-El's mother, Queen Rhea, in the Supergirl TV series?

Teri Hatcher starred in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, then played Lois's mother in Smallville. Her Rhea leads the invasion that ends season two.

Why did Kara's parents send her to Earth after baby Kal-El in the Supergirl TV series?

To protect him was the plan, but her pod was knocked off course. She landed still a teenager to find her baby cousin already grown up and famous.

In the Supergirl TV series, James Olsen and later his sister Kelly both become which armored hero?

Guardian debuts in season two once James's armored suit is ready. Kelly takes on the role in the final season with her brother's and Alex's support.

Supergirl, like every Kryptonian, loses her powers under which kind of star?

A red sun like Krypton's leaves Kryptonians powerless. In the comic Woman of Tomorrow, Kara spends her 21st birthday on a red-sun planet so that she can get drunk.

Jeannot Szwarc, director of the 1984 Supergirl film, had earlier made which hit sequel?

Jaws 2 came six years before Supergirl for Jeannot Szwarc, who also made the time-travel romance Somewhere in Time and Santa Claus: The Movie.

Which reality-warping imp proposes marriage to Kara in season 2 of the Supergirl TV series?

Mister Mxyzptlk takes Kara's refusal as a challenge and bends reality to win her over. Thomas Lennon took over the role when the character returned in season five.

In the Supergirl TV series, Kara moves up from Cat Grant's assistant to which job at CatCo?

Reporter is the job Cat backs her for, though her gruff new editor Snapper Carr dislikes her and at first refuses to give her a single assignment.

In the Supergirl TV series, Kara's cousin Clark Kent defends which city while she protects her own?

Metropolis keeps Superman busy, and the producers kept his role minimal on purpose so that the focus stayed on his cousin.

To cut costs, the Supergirl TV series moved production from California to which city for season 2?

Vancouver stood in for Kara's city through the final season. The move cost the show Cat Grant as a regular, since her actress's contract required filming in Los Angeles.

Which Gotham City hero makes her debut opposite Kara in the 2018 Supergirl crossover Elseworlds?

Batwoman, played by Ruby Rose, arrived in the crossover before getting her own series. Elseworlds also brought Gotham City itself and Lois Lane into the shared universe.

In the Crisis on Infinite Earths TV crossover, Supergirl is named the Paragon of which quality?

Hope is Kara's virtue among the seven Paragons named in the Book of Destiny. Truth goes to a Superman from another Earth who has suffered terrible losses.

Before the Crisis crossover, the Arrowverse gave Supergirl's home universe which designation?

Earth-38 got its name from Cisco Ramon when he and Barry Allen crossed over to recruit Kara. The Crisis later merged it with Earth-1 into Earth-Prime.

In the crossover Crisis on Earth-X, Supergirl fights her own Nazi double, known by which name?

Overgirl is married to the Führer of her world, an evil double of Green Arrow. When her heart is damaged, he tries to seize Kara's as a replacement.

Which villain traps Kara and Barry Allen in a song-and-dance dream world in the Supergirl crossover Duet?

Music Meister promises the heroes they can go home if they follow his script. If they die in the dream world, though, they die for real.

In season 4 of the Supergirl TV series, Lex Luthor gives which name to Kara's clone?

Red Daughter attacks the White House disguised as Supergirl to turn the public against her. She ends up giving her life so that the real Kara can beat Lex.

Ben Lockwood, a professor turned hate-group leader in the Supergirl TV series, takes which alias?

Agent Liberty fronts the Children of Liberty, masked citizens who patrol the streets attacking innocent aliens. His armor is a gift from Mercy Graves.

In season 4 of the Supergirl TV series, why does President Olivia Marsdin resign from office?

She was exposed as an alien by extremists, and the outing set off a wave of hostility across the country. Her vice president, Baker, was sworn in.

Which secret organization, first led by the Earth-bending Rama Khan, menaces Kara in Supergirl season 5?

Leviathan hides behind the tech firm Obsidian and first shows its hand in the fourth season finale. In DC's comics, Talia al Ghul runs it.

In the Supergirl TV series, Kara's friend Winn Schott is the son of which Superman villain?

Toyman passes his name to his son, Winslow Schott Jr. In season five an evil double of Winn uses the alias to attack a toy convention.

In the Supergirl TV series, the real Hank Henshaw is revived by Cadmus as which villain?

Cyborg Superman is what Project Cadmus makes of Henshaw after finding and reviving him. He had been presumed dead since an expedition to Peru.

Alex Danvers of the Supergirl TV series eventually takes which superhero alias on J'onn J'onzz's advice?

Sentinel is the name J'onn advises Alex to take, after telling her the story of Norr Cott, an earlier hero who operated under it.

Which CatCo assistant in the Supergirl TV series is named after Lex Luthor's sidekick in the 1978 Superman film?

Eve Teschmacher was created for the 1978 film, where Valerie Perrine played her. On TV she turns out to be a spy planted by Lex Luthor.

Kara and Alex Danvers grew up in which fictional town, also the setting of the 1984 Supergirl film?

Midvale has been Supergirl's hometown since her earliest comics. A season three episode named after it flashes back to the sisters' high-school days there.

Which super-powered pet cat, changed by X-Kryptonite, joined Supergirl in the comics of 1960?

Streaky got his powers by accident after Supergirl tossed a failed kryptonite experiment out of the window. He joined a Silver Age menagerie of super-pets that also included a Super-Monkey.

Which 1990s TV action hero plays Mon-El's father, King Lar Gand, in the Supergirl TV series?

Kevin Sorbo, TV's Hercules, appears in three episodes as the ruler who arrives by ship wanting his runaway son to come home and rebuild their world.

Which secret government agency employs Kara's sister Alex Danvers in the Supergirl TV series?

The DEO, the Department of Extra-Normal Operations, had quietly employed the sisters' adoptive father too. He signed on so that the agency would not take Kara.

Which future star was cast as Lucy Lane in the 1984 Supergirl film but left to make Blame It on Rio?

Demi Moore had auditioned for and won the part of Lois Lane's sister. After she walked away, the role went to Maureen Teefy.

The star of the 2026 Supergirl film won the role after James Gunn saw her in which fantasy series?

House of the Dragon had her playing a young princess. Gunn says he first floated her name for Kara more than a year before she was cast in January 2024.

Which Merlin actress joined the Supergirl TV series in season 2 as Lex Luthor's sister?

Katie McGrath played the sorceress Morgana before crossing the Atlantic. Hired as a recurring guest, she was promoted to the regular cast in 2017 and stayed to the end.

Which extraterrestrial race do Supergirl, the Flash and Green Arrow fight in the 2016 crossover Invasion!?

The Dominators had first landed on Earth in the 1950s before mysteriously departing. Barry Allen crosses universes to recruit Kara for the rematch.

In the Supergirl TV series, Kara's clone is trained by the military of which fictional nation?

Kasnia's soldiers watch the duplicate punch through cavern walls as she learns her strength. Lex Luthor is quietly steering the rogue nation's project all along.

Querl Dox, the 12th-level intellect of the Supergirl TV series, comes from which planet?

Colu produced the half-artificial, half-organic genius, who turns up as a guest in season three and stays as a regular for the rest of the run.

Which Smallville actor plays season 4 villain Ben Lockwood in the Supergirl TV series?

Sam Witwer played Doomsday's human form in Smallville and voices Darth Maul in Star Wars animation. He joined the main cast in 2018 as the season's chief antagonist.

Which Broadway leading man plays Kara's friend Winn Schott in the Supergirl TV series?

Jeremy Jordan earned a Tony nomination as Jack Kelly in Newsies in 2012. He played Winn from the first episode and came back for the series finale.

Which Oscar-winning costume designer of Chicago created Kara's original suit for the Supergirl TV series?

Colleen Atwood had already dressed the heroes of Arrow and The Flash. She said she wanted to embrace the character's past while giving the look a modern update.

Which comics writer created Supergirl in 1959, with artist Al Plastino designing the character?

Otto Binder was best known for his Captain Marvel scripts and had already co-created another heroine, Mary Marvel. He came to comics from science fiction.

Which Supergirl season 4 character turns vigilante after extremists kill his fiancée, Fiona?

Manchester Black answers the murder by torturing a captured extremist for information. David Ajala played him; the character dates from a 2001 Superman comic.

By the end of the Supergirl TV series, Alex and Kelly have adopted an orphaned girl with which name?

Esme surprises everyone by breathing fire when an Infernian attacks. Kelly had been checking on her new foster parents.

Which Arrow and The Flash producer developed the Supergirl TV series with Ali Adler and Andrew Kreisberg?

Greg Berlanti made his name on Dawson's Creek and Everwood before building DC's TV universe. Early working titles for Kara's show were Super and Girl.

In the 2026 Supergirl film, which young girl recruits Kara to help avenge her family's death?

Ruthye is played by Eve Ridley. The comic the film adapts is told from her point of view, as she seeks justice for her father's killing.

In the Supergirl TV series, CatCo radio host Leslie Willis becomes which villain after a helicopter accident?

Livewire gets her powers when Kara rescues her from a helicopter in a lightning storm. The character was invented for Superman: The Animated Series, not the comics.

Nyxly, the vengeful princess Kara meets in season 6 of the Supergirl TV series, comes from which realm?

The Fifth Dimension is home to magical imps, and Nyxly was banished from it by her own father, who had also killed her brother. Her magic heals Kara's wounds.

Which sci-fi veteran plays Baker, the vice president who becomes president in the Supergirl TV series?

Bruce Boxleitner played the title hero of Tron and the captain in Babylon 5. His President Baker later demands that Supergirl tell him who she really is.

Which prison from Krypton crashes on Earth in the Supergirl TV series, freeing its inmates?

Fort Rozz came down when Kara's own ship did, as she learns in the pilot. Most of its inmates had been sentenced by her mother, which makes the fight personal.