Power Girl

Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths

When Kara’s father, Zor-L, discovered that Krypton was able to explode, he placed Kara in a spaceship and shot it towards Earth. This happens at the exact same time that Kal-L’s ship was being launched towards Earth. However, Kara’s ship traveled much more slowly then Kal-L’s ship and resulted in Kara arriving on Earth decades after her cousin. Kara’s ship was called the Symbioship and it was designed to keep her in a stasis mode during her flight to Earth. It also provided her with a virtual reality that gave her life experiences and education as if she was still living on Krypton. She was also able to interact with virtual copies of her parents and friends in her home city of Kandor. Kara finally arrives on Earth in her early 20’s, but was later rewritten for her to arrive on Earth around 18 years old in the modern age. Kara would later be trapped in her Symbioship here it would project a virtual world that made Kara believe she was still on Krypton, she also marries and has a child. She was helped freed by a newspaper reporter named Andrew Vinson, and afterwards Kara destroyed the ship.

On Earth-One (as the Earth inhabited by DC's main characters was called), Superman had been joined by his cousin Supergirl, whose existence he had kept a secret from some time while she performed helpful tasks in secret and training for the day when Superman felt that she was ready for public hero-ing. The older Earth-Two Superman however never met Supergirl (Supergirl was introduced in the 1950s after the hypothetical cut-off dates from that of Earth-Two stories from Earth-One's). So the quickest ways to add a powerful female character to the Justice Society of America was to make a parallel Earth-Two Supergirl. So as a result Earth-Two Supergirl was added because of her existence on Earth-One had been kept secret from the world for some time. And it was also easier to add her because Superman had kept her secret for some time but only longer on Earth-Two than the Earth-One Supergirl. Also it was made believable because Earth-Two Superman was named Kal-L instead of of Kal-El, just as the Earth-Two Supergirl name would be Kara Zor-L instead of Earth-One's Supergirl Kara Zor-El.

Joining the JSA

She began her very first adventure when she assisted the Justice Society members Flash and Wildcat by helping them stop a volcanic eruption. Due to her early life being raised by a virtual reality in a kryptonian spaceship, she found it difficult to adjust to life on Earth. Kara would finally adopt a secret identity with the help of Andrew Vinson.

Kara became Karen Starr, a computer programmer, which she had gained the knowledge due to exposure to Wonder Woman’s Purple Ray. Power Girl became a full time member of the Justice Society upon the retirement of Superman, and her best friend was the Huntress (who on Earth-Two is the daughter of Batman and Catwoman).

Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths

During her time as a member of the Justice League Europe, she suffered a serious injury in battle against a mystical being. Using his heat vision, Superman was able to perform surgery on Power Girl, cutting through her otherwise invulnerable flesh. Upon recovery, Power Girl found that she was significantly weaker, having lost her super hearing and sight and the ability to fly. Eventually these powers would return. During the Zero Hour event, Power Girl became impregnated by magical means. She gave birth to a son, Equinox, who aged rapidly and disappeared. He has not been mentioned since. Power Girl was one of the very first Birds of Prey, that is, an field agent of Oracle. However, due to a failed mission that resulted in the deaths of dozens of bystanders, Power Girl has refuses to ever work with Oracle again. Although the two have worked together occasions when needed, there is significant friction between them. When the Justice Society reformed in the late 1990's, Power Girl became a key member of the team. During one of her adventures with the JLA, Kara meets Arion, who reveals that her Atlantean heritage is a lie.

Infinite Crisis

 

During Infinite Crisis, Kal-L had broken down the walls of the paradise dimension he had been living in with Lois, Alexander Luthor Jr., and Superboy-Prime since the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths. They had become disappointed with where Earth-One had been heading and all the corruption in that Earth. They devised a plan in which will help them replace Earth-One with Earth-Two. Kal-L’s first priority was to find Kara and explain her true history to her as his cousin. Later Kara accidentally touches Lois and it restores Power Girl’s entire memory of Earth-Two.

Later, Kara is assaulted by Superboy Prime and he beats her unconscious and attached her to Alex Luthor's "cosmic turning fork" in order to bring back the multiple Earths. Luthor Jr. was able to trick Black Adam into saying “SHAZAM” and as a result, his magical lightning hit the tower. This resulted in the reappearance of Earth-Two and everyone that was from that Earth, was transported there.

JSA Classified

Power Girl later learns from Arion that her Atlantean origin was a lie. It had been her foster mother, Lois Lane Kent, that created that origin for Kara to help protect her. When Kara was kidnapped by the Psycho-Pirate, he attempted to drive Kara insane by showing her different origins. However, he later reveals that her true origin is that she is a Krypton Survivor and one of the only other people from Earth-Two to have survived Crisis on Infinite Earths. It still has yet to be revealed how she survived the Crisis on Infinite Earths and how she was able to retain her Pre-Crisis origin. (Every other character had their origins rewritten or adjusted after the Crisis except for Power Girl.) It has been hinted that Power Girl’s survival after Crisis on Infinite Earths is connected to Earth-Two’s Kal-L and his survival by remaining in a different dimension. 

   One Year Later

Power Girl remained a member of the Justice Society of America. She would later take the code-name Nightwing and try to free some natives on a city called Kandor. Kandor had been taken over by Ultraman who was pretending to be Superman and claimed Kandor as Krypton. When Power Girl was captured and about to be executed by Ultraman, Kara Zor-El would rescue her from it as Flamebird. The two of them would eventually leave Kandor when they discover more information about Supergirl’s past and purpose. Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman have all agreed to invite Kara to the new Justice League of America. Kara was also offered to rejoin the Birds of Prey, however Power Girl has declined to join. She is currently acting as chairwoman for the JSA.

Powers and Abilities

As a Kryptonian of the Earth-Two universe, Power Girl has all the powers of Pre-Crisis Superman. She has super strength, speed, flight and invulnerability. She also has super senses and heat vision. When Supergirl of Earth-One arrived, the two's power seemed to go haywire when they touched each other. They battled briefly and appear to be evenly matched. Power Girl also has the same weakness as Superman except hers is an occasional weakness to Kryptonite. The reason it is occasional weakness is because she is from Earth-Two. It was revealed in Infinite Crisis that she and other Earth-Two Kryptonians could only be affected by Kryptonite from Earth-Two and not Earth-One.

Justice League Unlimited

Galatea

In the Justice League Unlimited cartoon, Galatea is actually a clone from Supergirl. She was created by Professor Hamilton and Project Cadmus. She was designed to defeat Supergirl and Superman if they were to go rogue and destroy Earth.

Even though Galatea was cloned from Supergirl, her mental state and age appearance make them different. Galatea was emotionally unstable and villainous. She was constantly trying to prove she was better than her original. Supergirl defeated her by electrocuting her when she used the Ultimen to invade the watchtower.
 
The name Galatea comes from classical myth. Aphrodite allowed a sculpter to create a statue in her perfect image while he was searching for a wife. He fell in love with the statue which he named Galatea.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies