Kara Zor-L (Earth-Two)



Real Name: Kara Zor-L Nicknames: P.G. Former Aliases: Karen Steele; Supergirl Other Aliases: Andromeda; Karen Starr; Nightwing

Status
Occupation: Crime fighter; former entrepreneur Legal Status: Power Girl is formerly a citizen of the planet Krypton, formerly a citizen of Earth-Two and currently a legally recognized alien living on the modern Post-Crisis Earth. Identity: Secret. Although Power Girl does not go to great lengths to conceal her true identity, the general populace is unaware that she also operates under the alias, Karen Starr. Marital Status: Single Group Affiliation: Former member of the second incarnation of the Justice Society of America; former member of Infinity, Inc.; former member of Justice League Europe; former member of Sovereign Seven (continuity in question); currently a member of the modern incarnation of the JSA. Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York City

Origin
Power Girl is the Earth-Two counterpart of the Kryptonian Supergirl and cousin to Kal-L the Earth Two Superman. Possessing her cousin’s superhuman strength and ability to fly, she took her place in that world's all-star team, the Justice Society of America, and has been an important member of that group ever since. Power Girl escaped Krypton as a baby at the same as Superman but her ship took a much longer time to reach Earth-Two, the universe that DC’s Golden Age heroes were deemed to exist in when the company reinvented many of its heroes in the 1950s. Power Girl was about 20 when she arrived and has a bob of blond hair and a white, red and blue costume created especially for her, that was not based on Superman's. She has an aggressive fighting style and the fortitude to speak out when her male colleagues lapse into sexist remarks.

DC rewrote its continuity in the 1986 maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths, eliminating Earth-Two and rewriting Power Girl’s origin as the descendent of the Atlantean sorcerer Arion. Further rewrites of the DC "multiverse" have disproved this and she has been revealed a refugee from Earth-Two in the current mainstream DC continuity.

Place of Birth: Kandor, Krypton (of the Earth-Two continuity) Known Relatives: Zor-L (father, deceased); Alura In-Ze (mother, deceased); Jor-L (uncle, deceased); Lora (aunt, deceased); In-Ze (grandfather, deceased); Kal-L (Superman, cousin, deceased); Kara Zor-El (counterpart from an alternate reality) First Appearance: All-Star Comics #58.

History
Journey from Krypton-Two

After discovering Krypton is about to explode, Kara's father Zor-L launches her as an infant to Earth in a ship at the same time that Kal-L's ship is launched; however, Kara's ship took a much longer journey, resulting in her arriving on Earth in the 1970s, decades after her cousin. Unlike Kal-L's ship, Kara’s "Symbioship” is designed to hold Kara in stasis through the longer journey. In addition, the ship's artificial intelligence has the life experiences and education of a Kryptonian in the form of a virtual reality wherein she could interact with virtual copies of her parents and fellow Kryptonians. When she lands on Earth, Kara had aged into her early 20's (post-Crisis, as referenced in JSA Classified, her initial age has been revised to about eighteen).

Debut of Power Girl

Unlike her counterpart Supergirl, Power Girl's existence is not revealed to the general public until much later, as her cousin Clark and his wife Lois would provide her a family environment to assist her transition towards real life relationships. In her first recorded case, Kara assists Justice Society members Flash and Wildcat in containing an artificially induced volcano which had erupted in China. She then joins them and other younger heroes Robin and Star-Spangled Kid to form a Super Squad along with then active members of the Justice Society to defeat Brainwave and Per Degaton's scheme for world domination. Later, she is provided full membership when she takes over the vacated spot on the team's roster, left when Superman retired from active membership.

Having been raised by the Symbioship with artificial Kryptonian life experiences, Power Girl has trouble fitting into life on Earth, but with the help of reporter Andrew Vinson, she eventually adopts the secret identity of computer programmer Karen Starr. She would obtain her knowledge in this field from treatment under Wonder Woman's purple ray on Paradise Island. She never wore a mask or other disguise between her two identities and, and at some point, her identity would be revealed to the public. On Earth-Two, Power Girl's is best friends with Huntress, Helena Wayne, the daughter of the Earth-2 Batman and Catwoman.

Modern adventures

The 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths retroactively erased the existence of the Earth-Two Superman, and Power Girl's continuity was thus substantially disrupted. Following the series, her background was retconned; she became the descendant of the Atlantean sorcerer Arion, having been frozen in suspended animation for millennia until the present day.

After the Justice Society disbands, Power Girl would join the Justice League. Later, while a member of Justice League Europe, she is badly injured by a mystical being. Superman assists in her medical treatment, using his heat-vision to perform surgery on her otherwise-invulnerable tissues. Although she recovered, she is significantly weaker, lost all of her vision powers, and could not fly for a time.

During ‘’Zero Hour,’’ she is mysteriously impregnated. She gives birth to a son, Equinox, who artificially aged rapidly. He would disappear, and he is never mentioned again.

Power Girl is one of Oracle’s first agents. Their short-lived partnership would end in failure after a disastrous mission that ended in a large loss of life. Power Girl believes that bad orders from Oracle were to blame for the tragedy and dislikes Oracle intensely as a result (although she has worked with her again on a few occasions when needed).

During the miniseries that established her ancient Atlantean origin, Power Girl was portrayed as having a highly athletic but slender physique. In the limited series Kingdom Come, artist Alex Ross restored Power Girl's extremely busty shape, rendering her as heavily muscled (as if an ardent bodybuilder). This approach has been carried forward by most other artists. The character's appearance and costume have become somewhat controversial, as Power Girl's voluptuous figure has been made light of in several recent appearances.

Power Girl is a key member of the Justice Society, which she joined after its reformation in the late 1990’s.

Infinite Crisis
JSA Classified: Power Trip

In Power Trip Power Girl is shocked to learn from Arion that her Atlantean origin is a lie. The story was for her own protection, and was created by her foster mother, Lois Lane of Earth-Two.

The Psycho Pirate shows Kara multiple origins in an effort to drive her insane, but eventually revealed to her that the Kryptonian origin is her true origin: Power Girl is not only a survivor of Krypton, she is a survivor of that entire Earth-Two universe. It is still unclear why she survived the Crisis, even retaining her pre-Crisis origin, when other Earth-Two figures, such as the Huntress and Robin, did not. It seems likely that Power Girl's survival has something to do with the fact that the remaining relative from her old life was Kal-L, who was also still alive.

The Other Survivors

In the pages of Infinite Crisis, Kal-L himself returns to the post-Crisis DC Universe after breaking down the walls of the paradise dimension in which he, Lois Lane, Alexander Luthor, and Superboy-Prime had been living since the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Appalled by the rapidly-deteriorating state of affairs on the contemporary Earth, their goal is to replace the post-Crisis planet with a recreated Earth-Two. Kal-L’s first order of business is to track down Power Girl and explain the events of the original Crisis to her. He also reiterates her pre-Crisis history as his cousin. A touch from the ailing Lois Lane-Kent inexplicably restores Power Girl's memories of Earth-Two.

Soon after this revelation, she is confronted by Superboy-Prime, who rendered her unconscious. In her sleep, she is attached to a ”tuning fork,” a device controlled by Alex Luthor whose purpose is to bring back the multiple Earths. Alex Luthor and Psycho Pirate coerce Black Adam (who is also attached to the machine) into saying "SHAZAM!," and used the now-raw magical energy to power the tower. After the reappearance of Earth-Two, everyone associated with that Earth is subsequently transported to it. (However, Power Girl would remain on Earth-One because of her proximity to the tower.)

After arriving on Earth-Two, Lois Lane collapses and dies. This led to a violent confrontation between the two Supermen, at the end of which Kal-L comes to the realization that Earth-Two had not been a perfect world since "a perfect earth doesn't need a Superman."[7]

Karen is freed by Wonder Girl and Kon-El and joins them in fighting Superboy-Prime and Alex Luthor. During the savage battle on Mogo between Superboy-Prime and the Supermen Kal-L and Kal-El, Kal-L is killed. She arrives on Mogo with the Green Lantern Corps just in time to bid a tearful farewell to her dying cousin.

One Year Later
Power Girl has recently been seen operating under the guise of Nightwing in the Kryptonian city of Kandor. She has been working alongside her dimensional counterpart, Supergirl, who has adopted the alias of Flamebird. After leaving Kandor, Power Girl has gone on to help re-form the current roster of the Justice Society of America.

Characteristics
Height: 5'11" Weight: 180 lbs (81.8 kg) Eyes: Green Hair: Blond Unusual Features: No unusual features

Powers
Known Powers: Power Girl exhibits all the classic Kryptonian powers of Superman: super-strength, flight, invulnerability, X-ray vision, heat vision, and super-hearing. After sustaining severe injuries early in her JLE days, she is left with only superhuman strength. She eventually would recover her ability to fly.

Her known powers appear to be similar now to those of Kal-L's as of Infinite Crisis #6. In magnitude, she appears to be as strong as Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) as shown when they fought briefly, and Supergirl in turn has comparable strength to the Mainstream Kal-El (Superman) rather than her cousin the Earth 2 Superman Kal-L as tested by Batman. Power Girl has also demonstrated an occasional weakness to Kryptonite, which are confused by her newly (re)established Earth-Two origins. In pre-Crisis times, Kryptonite from one dimension DID work on a Kryptonian from another dimension as shown when Ultraman from Earth 3 fought Kal-L and the Earth 1 Superman; this limited immunity may therefore be a result of the merging of dimensions during the Crisis. As of Infinite Crisis #7, it has been positively shown that the Kryptonite available in the mainstream DCU doesn't affect Kryptonians from other universes, such as Power Girl, Kal-L, or Superboy-Prime.

Kryptonian Physiology: Power Girl's cellular structure is more dense, resilient and biologically more effective than human tissue. Strangely enough, she does not seem to possess superhuman strength levels despite her enhanced cellular ability. Unlike Kal-L the Earth 2 Superman whose powers were explained as natural to his physiology and NOT needing yellow sun energy to continue at his superhuman levels, without constant exposure to solar energy, Kara's strength seems on par for a human of her height and weight who engages in regular physical activity thus making her more like the current Superman than her cousin Kal-L. She does possess several additional organs, the function of which are not yet disclosed or understood but are believed to be part of and perhaps even the source of her biomatrix force field and reclamation aura. Power Girl has manifested a wide range of metahuman abilities and is considered to be one of the most powerful metahumans alive. Power Girl's body also actively stores energy within her bio-cellular matrix as an energy pattern that is linked to her body's electromagnetic field. This energy powers most of Power Girl's electromagnetic capabilities such as flight and heat vision. It also supplements her physical strength roughly by a factor of 12,000.

Solar Energy Absorption: Technically, this is the main source of Power Girl's powers. Because Power Girl's powers are greatly due to exposure to Earth's yellow sun, her powers have been affected by extreme absorptions of solar power, whether voluntary or involuntary. However, Power Girl has used this to her advantage in battle in many instances; at other times, this has been used detrimentally against her.

Superhuman Strength: While the exact magnitude of Power Girl's strength is unknown, it is generally accepted that her strength easily surpasses the capacity to lift 100 tons, but how much more is not known exactly. This is because Power Girl's strength, like her other powers, has fluctuated over time. Power Girl has also shown the ability to become even stronger when "supercharged" with yellow solar radiation.

Invulnerability: Power Girl's body is nigh-invulnerable (for instance, she has survived high yield nuclear explosions). In addition, her immune system protects her from toxins and diseases. The most common explanations for her invulnerability are the possession of a super-dense molecular structure and/or a supercharged bioelectric "aura" which acts as an invisible "force field" around her body within a few millimeters from her skin, and presumably within her body as well. The proximity of this field to her skin means that loose clothes, for example, may be burned off of her, while cloth that is close to her body is protected by the "aura." This phenomenon is sometimes cited as Power Girl's reason for wearing a skin-tight bodysuit. It is sometimes implied that she can unconsciously extend this field to an undetermined extent to protect a greater area, allowing her to carry huge objects within the Earth's atmosphere and without gravity or inertia tearing them apart around her human-sized hands.

Superhuman Stamina: Ability to maintain continuous strenuous physical action for an undefined period. Theoretically, Power Girl has unlimited stamina, with nourishment coming from solar energy processed by her cells; she does, however, have the psychological need to eat and drink just as humans do, though she receives the majority of her nourishment from the Sun. She does require sleep on occasion so she can dream. She can also hold her breath for an undefined duration.

Flight: This allows her to maneuver precisely in any direction, as well as hover. The mechanism by which she flies is unknown, but some theories have included a field of energy allowing unconscious manipulation or reflection/deflection of gravity due to unidentified Kryptonian organs affected by a yellow sun or psionic manipulation of a personal anti-gravitational aura, which is also caused by her Kryptonian physiology and a yellow sun. Power Girl has been able to fly to the Moon in under two minutes.

Superhuman Speed: The ability to move at an incredible speed, like the Flash. This includes running, but flying is less strenuous and more versatile. Her top speed seems to be just under the speed of light. Recently, it has been established that she is not as fast as the third incarnation of the Flash, Wally West, who was able to exceed the speed of light and could time travel under his own power. Power Girl also possesses superhuman reflexes and the ability to move at incredible speeds by sheer force of will. She can also perform complex actions like assembling objects at hundreds of times faster than a normal human.

Enhanced Senses: Power Girl possesses greatly enhanced senses.


 * Telescopic Vision: The ability to "zoom in" to see something at a great distance without violating the laws of physics. The total telescopic ability is unprecedented but is known to be limited to some extent.


 * X-Ray Vision: The ability to see through anything except lead. She can see things behind a wall as if the wall were not there, or can "peel back" layer after layer of matter in her mind. Opponents sometimes used lead-lined constructs in an attempt to hide things from Power Girl. Kara Zor-l is able to focus her vision past layers of matter, literally seeing "through" them -- possibly perceiving x-rays, cosmic rays or other forms of energy invisible to normal human vision which pass through Earth's atmosphere (and solid objects) after emission from stars. Since it is passive, this ability would not generate harmful radiation in the same manner as a focused projection of hard X-rays.


 * Microscopic Vision: The ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the atomic level (normal optical microscopes can only see objects down to the size of chromosomes).


 * Infrared Vision: She can see into the infrared spectrum, allowing her to see in the absence of visible light.


 * Electro-magnetic Spectrum Vision: She can see well into most of the EM Spectrum. She can see and identify radio/television and any and all broadcast/transmitted frequencies, allowing her to avoid detection through radar or satellite monitoring methods. Power Girl can see the paranormal aura that every living thing generates. This ability is apparently one of the main reasons that Power Girl is a vegetarian, as she can see the passing of the "soul" at death.


 * Heat Vision: The ability to fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it with the conscious act of activating this power. Visually, the power is typically depicted as two beams of red light firing from her eyes. These beams can be made invisible, allowing Power Girl to work undetected. The maximum temperature of her heat vision is said to be around that of a nuclear detonation. The area of effect can be consciously determined by Power Girl, down to the microscopic level. Her beams are the color green, compared to the common color red.


 * Superhuman Hearing: The ability to hear any sound at any volume or pitch. The only Earth creature who can detect sounds at the frequency she can is a blue whale (0.01-200,000 Hz). She has shown enough control to block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source/frequency. Power Girl was able to detect disturbances in the frequency the human brain operates.

Super Voice: Power Girl is a master ventriloquist. She is also a brilliant mimic, able to impersonate human voices or animal sounds.

Super Breath: The ability to create hurricane force winds by blowing and to chill her breath in order to freeze a target (this latter ability has also been called "freeze breath" and "arctic breath"). Power Girl can also breathe in large amounts of air, an ability used when dealing with and disposing things like clouds of poison gas.

Super Intelligence: Power Girl has shown enhanced intelligence and computational abilities; her mind works sharply and with extreme speed. Her analytical powers are impressive — she is able to use her senses to read information directly from machines (and, with careful useage of her heat vision, she can even reprogram machines).

Limitations


 * Magic: Power Girl is vulnerable to magical and psionic effects. Although she is no more detrimentally affected by such effects than a normal human would be, this is a significantly exploitable weakness in comparison to her incredible physical resilience.


 * Kryptonite: Since the destruction of Krypton, its remains (rendered radioactive by the explosion) have been spreading throughout the universe as kryptonite, a crystalline substance which has many variants, which effect Power Girl in a number of different ways.


 * Kryptonians: On the rare occasions where he has battled other Kryptonians, they seem more easily able to harm one another as well.


 * Lead: Power Girl cannot see through lead with her vision powers.


 * Solar Energy: Power Girl will eventually weaken without replenishing her energy reserves with normal (yellow) sun radiation. She is not replenished by red sunlight, and its radiation can be used to weaken her.

Known Abilities: No known abilities.

Strength Level: Power Girl possesses the strength level of an adult female Kryptonian operating under a yellow sun.

Miscellaneous
Equipment: No known equipment. Transportation: Power Girl generally relies upon her own powers of flight for transporation. As a member of the JSA, she has access to the Steel Eagle. Weapons: No known weapons.

Trivia

 * Although some fans think that Power Girl was briefly married to Doom Patrol member, Robotman, this is an example of Internet rumor-mongering becoming regarded as fact. In an issue of Birds of Prey, Power Girl was mistakenly referred to as Karen Steele instead of her actual civilian name of Karen Starr. A joke arose online that she was temporarily married to Robotman at this time, hence the name 'Steele', though this was never the case.

Recommended Readings

 * Power Girl
 * All-Star Comics
 * JSA
 * JSA All-Stars
 * JSA Classified
 * Supergirl (Volume 5)

Related Articles

 * Power Girl appearances list
 * Power Girl image gallery
 * House of El