Supergirl Who? DC Comics to Mention Kara Zor-El in a Superman Book Sometime This Spring

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Ever since Supergirl’s comic book series was cancelled last April, fans have been scouring the DC Comics solicitations each month for any news of Kara’s reappearance in the main DC universe. Finally, this week, there was a hint that Supergirl may be returning to the comics. Eventually.

Per the official synopsis for Action Comics #51, on sale April 20, 2016:

Superman is shocked to learn that Kara has been missing for some time as part three of “Super League” begins! Now, with Batman’s help, Kal-El is on his cousin’s trail—but he can’t believe where it’s leading him and who she has joined!

So she won’t actually appear in the book, but Superman and Batman will be “looking” for her. In the third part of an eight-part crossover series running through the Superman-related titles that will follow Superman’s quest to assemble a league of superpowered heroes. I thought that was called the Justice League. 

Hmph. Colour me unimpressed. It will be a full year since Kara last appeared in the DCU. What’s happened to her since she lost her powers at the end of her final issue?

Supergirl-40-p20

Supergirl #40, April 2015

How could her cousin possibly have not noticed she was gone? What about her friends? How much time has actually passed in-universe – a few months?

So many questions need to be addressed, but unfortunately it looks like we’ll have to read a bunch of unrelated books devoted to other characters to find any answers. The “Super League” story will run through Superman, Batman/Superman, Action Comics and Superman/Wonder Woman in April and May and will all be written by Peter Tomasi (and edited by Eddie Berganza, sadly). At the inflated price point of $3.99 USD each, these books are anything but an impulse buy. This crossover is, once again, aimed at that small but heavy-spending niche of readers who will buy everything no matter what.

Here are the official synopses for the first four issues in the crossover:

SUPERMAN #51 (APRIL 6)

Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by MIKEL JANIN
Cover by JOHN ROMITA, JR. and KLAUS JANSON
Variant cover by JOHN ROMITA, JR. and DANNY MIKI
On sale APRIL 6 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US

It’s the start of a new chapter in the Man of Steel’s life that will change everything you know as the epic eight-part “Super League,” all written by Peter J. Tomasi, spans BATMAN/SUPERMAN, SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN and ACTION COMICS in April and May!

His time without powers made Kal-El realize that the world is in need of more protectors…more super-powered beings like himself. But where will he find such beings?

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #31 (APRIL 13)
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by DOUG MAHNKE and JAIME MENDOZA
Cover by YANICK PAQUETTE
Variant cover by JOHN ROMITA, JR. and KLAUS JANSON
On sale APRIL 13 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US

In part two of “Super League,” Superman enlists Batman’s aid in seeking out people that can help form his new super-league. A shocking discovery is made about a new super-being no one knew existed, and something is beginning to stalk Superman…

ACTION COMICS #51 (APRIL 20)
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by FERNANDO PASARIN
Cover by KARL KERSCHL
Variant cover by JOHN ROMITA, JR. and KLAUS JANSON
On sale APRIL 20 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Superman is shocked to learn that Kara has been missing for some time as part three of “Super League” begins! Now, with Batman’s help, Kal-El is on his cousin’s trail—but he can’t believe where it’s leading him and who she has joined!

SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #28 (APRIL 27)
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by ED BENES
Cover by PAUL RENAUD
Variant cover by JOHN ROMITA, JR. and SCOTT HANNA
On sale APRIL 27 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US

In part four of “Super League,” Wonder Woman and Superman encounter the being that was discovered in BATMAN/SUPERMAN #31. But will this person be Superman’s savior—or destroyer? And what is Ulysses’s role in all of this?

Source: DC Comics

If you haven’t been keeping up with Supergirl in the comics recently, here’s some background on why this is such a big deal. In the final issue of her now-cancelled series, Kara discovered that she’d lost her powers after returning from the space academy “Crucible”. The next month she appeared in a few issues of the crossover event Convergence, where the dialogue seemed to suggest the original version of Kara from Pre-Crisis might actually have survived. Which was huge.

But neither of those two cliffhangers were ever resolved, as the Supergirl series was never restarted after Convergence as everyone expected. Stranger still, Kara disappeared completely from the Superman books and hasn’t been seen or heard from since in the New 52 universe, and DC Comics editorial has refused to answer any questions as to why she’d disappeared or when she’d return. It’s like she was erased from existence.

* Note: Supergirl is still appearing in DC Comics in multiple forms, just not the version who had her own ongoing series and is connected to the rest of the DC Universe.

  • Justice League 3001 – this book exists apart from the main DC Universe and features its own version of Kara Zor-El from a different timeline.
  • DC Bombshells – this digital-first series features a Soviet-raised Supergirl set in the series’ alternate timeline of WWII. The book is awesome and feminist and you should buy it from Comixology or DC Entertainment RIGHT NOW.
  • Adventures of Supergirl – this digital-only series based on the TV series releases its first chapter on Jan 25. The creative team is awesome, and you can preorder the first issue at Comixology or DC Entertainment RIGHT NOW.