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126-755: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster saw their creation, Superman (also known as Kal-El, originally Kal-L), launched in Action Comics #1 on April 18, 1938 ( cover dated June), an event which began the Golden Age of Comic Books . Siegel and Shuster had tried for years to find a publisher for their Superman character—conceived initially as a newspaper strip . Superman was originally a bald madman created by Siegel and Shuster who used his telepathic abilities to wreak havoc on humanity. He appeared in Siegel and Shuster's fanzine Science Fiction . Siegel then commented, "What if this Superman

252-506: A heart attack . He had been suffering from cardiac disease for years, and had a bypass operation . Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) Adopted names : Kara Zor-El ( Supergirl ) also known by her adoptive names of Linda Lee , Kara Kent , Linda Lang , and Kara Danvers , is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . She was created by Otto Binder and designed by Al Plastino . Danvers first appeared in

378-541: A British comic book supervillain / superhero that appeared in anthology book Lion between 26 June 1965 and 26 April 1969 and was reprinted in Vulcan . Siegel took over the writing of the character with his third adventure, and would write the bulk of his adventures. His first work on the character was published in the 8 January 1966 issue, the start of the serial "The Spider v Doctor Mysterioso". He also created and wrote Gadgetman and Gimmick-Kid . When Siegel served in

504-403: A Kara-related storyline might be fun, the impetus at this point was, frankly, sales… I was trying to figure out who currently wasn't reading the series, and came up with two groups that we'd have a shot at getting: Those who'd become bored with the current storyline, and those who didn't accept any Supergirl save Kara. By doing 'Many Happy Returns,' I sought to pull in both potential audiences. In

630-680: A baby. DC Comics relaunched the Supergirl , the first story arc of which was written by Loeb. showcases Supergirl on a journey of self-discovery. Along her journey, she encounters Power Girl (Kara Zor-El's counterpart from another universe), the Teen Titans , the Outsiders , the Justice League of America, and arch-villain Lex Luthor . During the company-wide crossover series Infinite Crisis (2005),

756-573: A big-budget Hollywood film starring Helen Slater. In the Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985), numerous heroes from across the multiverse join forces to defeat the Anti-Monitor . When Superman comes face to face with the Anti-Monitor and is knocked unconscious, Supergirl rushes to save him before he is killed. She is able to fight him off long enough for Dr. Light to carry her cousin to a safe distance, but

882-701: A brief run as the backup in World's Finest Comics . Julius Schwartz became the editor of the series with issue #419 (December 1972) which also introduced the Human Target by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino in the backup feature. The Green Arrow and the Black Canary became a backup feature in #421 and ran through #458, initially rotating with the Human Target and the Atom . Between issues #423 (April 1973) and #424 (June 1973),

1008-510: A copy of Action Comics #1 (June 1938) sold at auction for $ 3 million, besting the $ 317,000 record for a comic book set by a different copy, in lesser condition, the previous year. The sale, by an anonymous seller to an anonymous buyer, was through the Manhattan-based auction company ComicConnect.com. Although DC had initially announced Marc Guggenheim as writer of the title following the War of

1134-483: A crossover arc with the Superman series, entitled " Up, Up and Away! " which told of Clark Kent attempting to protect Metropolis without his powers until eventually regaining them. The " Last Son " storyline was written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner , the director of the 1978 film Superman: The Movie , and was pencilled by Adam Kubert . This story introduces the original character, Christopher Kent , and adapts

1260-402: A defeated and imprisoned then-Supergirl, Linda Danvers from Earth, and comforts her. Linda acknowledges she has been helped three times by her phantom-friend, and when she asks her name she is told by the smiling figure: "I have gone by many names, but the one I am most fond of is: Kara!" In 2004, Jeph Loeb reintroduced Kara Zor-El into post- Zero Hour (Birthright timeline) continuity during

1386-545: A fatal heart attack, while Sarah died of a heart attack on August 17, 1941. Siegel's family moved to the Jewish neighborhood of Glenville in 1928. He attended Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio . At about age 16, while at Glenville, he befriended Joe Shuster . Siegel described his friendship with the similarly shy and bespectacled Shuster: "When Joe and I first met, it was like the right chemicals coming together." They shared

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1512-525: A female counterpart to Superman was " Lois Lane – Superwoman ", which was published in Action Comics #60 (May 1943). In the story, a hospitalized Lois Lane dreams she has gained superpowers following a blood transfusion from Superman. She begins her own career as "Superwoman", complete with a version of Superman's costume. In the Superboy #78 story entitled "Claire Kent, Alias Super-Sister", Superboy saves

1638-425: A gorilla and his strip was renamed Congorilla . The introduction of Supergirl by Otto Binder and Al Plastino occurred in issue #252 (May 1959). Following this debut appearance, Supergirl adopted the secret identity of an orphan "Linda Lee" and made Midvale Orphanage her base of operations. In Action Comics #261 (February 1960), her pet cat Streaky was introduced by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney . Supergirl joined

1764-582: A love of science fiction, adventure fiction, and movies. Siegel graduated from high school in June 1934. Unable to afford college, he worked various delivery jobs, all the while courting publishers. In the summer of 1935, still living in Cleveland, he and Shuster began selling comic-book stories to National Allied Publications , the primary precursor of DC Comics , in New York. Siegel and Shuster had been developing

1890-580: A machine aided by her engineer father's talent, and brings them both back alive from the "Survival Zone" where they had both teleported during Argo City's final moments. Zor-El and Allura eventually end up living in Kandor, and when the city in the bottle is enlarged, they both go on to live in Rokyn/New Krypton, where they have the sad duty of receiving her mortal remains after "Crisis" for burial. Graduating from high school in 1965, Linda Lee goes to college on

2016-604: A major artist on Superman. Under editor Mort Weisinger , the Action Comics title saw a further expansion of the Superman mythology. Writer Jerry Coleman and Wayne Boring created the Fortress of Solitude in issue #241 (June 1958) and Otto Binder and Al Plastino debuted the villain Brainiac and the Bottle City of Kandor in the next issue the following month. Gradually, the size of

2142-551: A new creative team, with new writer Marc Andreyko and artist Kevin Maguire. The series ended with its 42nd issue. The Future State comics propose a possible future for Kara Zor-El, now an adult and having taken the alias of Superwoman. She leaves Earth to become a guardian of the Moon, which has become a refugee colony for aliens from the entire universe. The series was written by Marguerite Bennet and penciled by Marguerite Sauvage. Under

2268-403: A new title: then-highest DC selling series called The Superman Family , where she eventually became the steady lead story. Linda worked as a student advisor at New Athens Experimental School, before leaving for New York to follow a career in acting with daytime soap Secret Hearts. In 1982 Supergirl received a second monthly solo series titled The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl , relocating

2394-494: A policeman who talked in rhyme. The series saw the introduction of several characters and themes that would become longstanding elements of the Superman mythos. Lois Lane made her debut in the first issue with Superman. An unnamed "office boy" with a bow tie makes a brief appearance in the story "Superman's Phony Manager" published in Action Comics #6 (November 1938), which is claimed to be Jimmy Olsen 's first appearance by several reference sources. New superpowers depicted for

2520-594: A scholarship and stays in Stanhope College until she graduates in 1971. During this era, she is helped by her pet cat Streaky , her Super-Horse pet Comet , and befriends Lena Thorul , who had first appeared in the Lois Lane series. Kara is also a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes , where she becomes close to Brainiac 5 . In addition, Linda has boyfriends from the orphanage (Richard "Dick" Malverne) and from Atlantis (Jerro

2646-505: A self-sustaining environment, the soil of the colony eventually turned into Kryptonite ; and though Kara's father Zor-El placed lead sheeting above the ground to protect the citizens from radiation, meteorites pierced the sheeting, and the Kryptonians died of radiation poisoning instead of replacing the metal. In Supergirl's subsequent backup feature in Action Comics drawn by artist Jim Mooney for ten years until 1968, Supergirl adopts

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2772-448: A sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths , Supergirl is transported to the 31st century, where she is revered as a member of the Superman family and joins the Legion of Super-Heroes. DC Comics renamed the monthly series Legion of Super-Heroes to Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes . Beginning with issue #16. In the limited series 52 , which chronicles the events that took place during

2898-402: A similar whimsical camaraderie between its female leads. Linda's inability to ultimately save Kara, coupled with the loss of her daughter, is so devastating that it ends her own career as Supergirl, Linda leaving a note for Superman where she explains that she feels that she has failed to live up to the standards of a true Supergirl and choosing to go somewhere she cannot be found. This story arc

3024-414: A single anthology title named The Superman Family . In 1982 Supergirl was relaunched into her own magazine. In 1985, the maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths was conceived as a way to reduce DC continuity to a single universe in which all characters maintained a single history. Despite Supergirl's continued popularity and status as a central member of the "Superman Family", the editors at DC Comics and

3150-555: A sizeable and mostly positive reaction. Supergirl, from her debut onwards, became a regular backup strip in Action Comics . She joined the Legion of Super-Heroes , like her cousin had done as a teenager, and in Action Comics #279 (July 1961) she was adopted by Fred and Edna Danvers, becoming "Linda Lee Danvers". Supergirl acted for three years as Superman's secret weapon, and her adventures during that time have been compared to contemporary developments in feminist thinking in work such as Betty Friedan 's The Feminine Mystique . She

3276-619: A son named Michael (January 27, 1944 – January 17, 2006). The couple divorced in 1948. In November 1948, Siegel married Joanne Carter . She and Siegel first met in January 1935, when she worked with his colleague Joe Shuster as the model for Lois Lane . They reacquainted at a costume ball in New York on April 1, 1948. On March 1, 1951, Joanne gave birth to their daughter, Laura. The couple settled on Long Island , before moving to California in 1968. Siegel and Joanne remained married until his death in 1996. Siegel died on January 28, 1996, of

3402-640: A story written by Byrne and drawn by Arthur Adams . A DC Comics Bonus Book was included in issue #599 (April 1988). From May 24, 1988 – March 14, 1989, the publication frequency was changed to weekly, the title changed to Action Comics Weekly , and the series became an anthology. Prior to its launch, DC cancelled its ongoing Green Lantern Corps title and made Green Lantern and his adventures exclusive to Action Comics Weekly . The rest of these issues featured rotating serialized stories of other DC heroes, sometimes as try-outs that led to their own limited or ongoing series. Characters with featured stories in

3528-433: A storyline in the series Superman/Batman . She is the biological cousin of Superman, and although chronologically older than him, the ship in which she traveled to Earth was caught in a large green Kryptonite meteorite which held her in a state of suspended animation for much of the journey, making her have the appearance of a 16-year-old girl. Still, Supergirl sometimes saw Superman as a child, due to last carrying him as

3654-438: A three-month hiatus on two separate occasions. The first of these occurred during the summer of 1986, with issue #583 bearing a cover date of September, and issue #584 listing January 1987. The regular Superman titles were suspended during this period to allow for the publication of John Byrne's six-issue The Man of Steel limited series. Publication was again suspended between issues #686 and #687 (February and June 1993) following

3780-448: A variety of jobs including graduate student in acting, television camera operator, and student counselor, and finally became an actress on the TV soap Secret Hearts . After long-time Superman family editor Mort Weisinger retired in 1971, the character underwent revitalization under editor Joe Orlando and artist Mike Sekowsky. Wearing a series of new outfits, leaving her adopted foster home with

3906-463: Is about a vagrant named Bill Dunn who gains vast psychic powers after taking an experimental drug. Dunn then calls himself "the Superman" and proceeds to use his powers maliciously. In 1933, Siegel and Shuster began making amateur comic strips together. They self-published their work in a fanzine titled Popular Comics . Siegel and Shuster began working for DC Comics (then known as National Allied Publications ) in 1935. Siegel's writing career there

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4032-515: Is dead, he is still human, and he should rejoice because it means his spirit is still alive. As the woman leaves, Brand asks her who she is, to which she replies, "My name is Kara. Though I doubt that will mean anything to you." The story, written by Alan Brennert and penciled by Dick Giordano , is dedicated to Otto Binder and Jim Mooney , adding: "We still remember." Finally, the soul of Kara Zor-El appeared twice during Peter David 's run, specifically in issues #49 and #50 when she appears before

4158-498: Is killed by the Anti-Monitor. A public memorial service for Supergirl takes place in Chicago, where Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) delivers the eulogy. In her remarks, she states "Kara is a hero. She will not be forgotten." Superman then gives his late cousin burial by taking her corpse to Rokyn/New Krypton to Zor-El and Allura. A Superman issue the next month reveals that Kara had experienced a premonition about her own passing. However, when

4284-529: Is not yet trusted by Metropolis citizens and wears a basic costume consisting of a caped T-shirt, jeans and work boots. The first issue has had five printings as of March 2012. The first story arc of the relaunched series, entitled Superman and the Men of Steel for the collected edition, begins very early in Superman's career as he starts making a name for himself as a champion of the oppressed in Metropolis. He captures

4410-620: Is sent to Earth by her parents, Zor-El and Alura In-Ze (the latter unnamed until later issues), to be raised by her cousin Kal-El, known as Superman. Supergirl adopted the secret identity of an orphan "Linda Lee", and made Midvale Orphanage her home. Supergirl promised Superman that she would keep her existence on Earth a secret, so that he may use her as a "secret weapon", but that didn't stop Supergirl from exploring her new powers covertly. Action Comics #255 published reader's letters-of-comment to Supergirl's first appearance; she had allegedly generated

4536-536: Is usually cited as one of the best Supergirl stories ever written. The series ended with issue 80. After the launch of the Superman/Batman comic book series, executive editor Dan DiDio had been looking for a way to simplify the Supergirl character from her convoluted post- Crisis history; the simplest version, of course, was Superman's cousin. Jeph Loeb and editor Eddie Berganza found an opening to reintroduce

4662-557: The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film The Flash (2023). The character will appear in the DC Universe (DCU) franchise portrayed by Milly Alcock , in the upcoming films Superman (2025) and the self-titled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2026). Although Kara Zor-El was the first character to use the name "Supergirl", DC Comics tested three different female versions of Superman prior to her debut. The first story to feature

4788-490: The Infinite Frontier brand, Kara's next series Woman of Tomorrow debuted in June 2021, written by Tom King and penciled by Brazilian artists Bilquis Evely and Mat Lopes. The arc introduces Supergirl to new character grounds as she begins the story as a young woman, celebrating her 21st birthday and helping a young alien in her quest for revenge. The "mentor-mentee journey on revenge" plot is, according to King, inspired by

4914-406: The Legion of Super-Heroes in issue #276. She acted for three years as Superman's "secret weapon", until her existence was revealed in Action Comics #285 (January 1962). In the view of comics historian Les Daniels , artist Curt Swan became the definitive artist of Superman in the early 1960s with a "new look" to the character that replaced Wayne Boring's version. Bizarro World first appeared in

5040-524: The Legion of Super-Villains . During his second tenure as writer at DC Comics, Siegel did not receive any byline for his stories, which was the normal policy of DC Comics at the time. Siegel and Shuster conceived Funnyman , a clownish superhero, while they were still working for DC Comics. They anticipated a decline in the popularity of conventional superheroes, and thought a comedy hybrid character would have sustainable appeal. Unlike other characters they created, Siegel and Shuster were determined to retain

5166-946: The New Teen Titans . Other costars during this period included the Phantom Stranger , the New Gods , the Demon , Hawkman and Hawkwoman , the Green Lantern Corps , the Metal Men , Superboy , Big Barda , Mister Miracle , Booster Gold , the Martian Manhunter , the Spectre , Lois Lane and Lana Lang , Checkmate , Wonder Woman , and the Man-Bat . The first Action Comics Annual was published in 1987 and featured Superman teaming with Batman in

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5292-505: The Russian Empire . His father was born Mikhel Iankel Segalovich and his mother was born Sora Meita Khaikels, but they changed their names to Michael and Sarah Siegel after moving to the US. Jerry was the last of six children (Isabel, Leo, Minerva, Roslyn, and Harry). His father was a tailor and owned a clothing store. On June 2, 1932, Michael was assaulted in his store by a shoplifter and suffered

5418-548: The United States Army on June 28, 1943. His service number was 35067731. He was trained at Fort George G. Meade, where he was trained as an "Airplane Engine Mechanic, a Film Editor, Motion Picture Cutter, Public Relations Man or Playwright (Motion Picture Writer) or Reporter". He was posted in Honolulu, where he was assigned a writing job at the military newspaper Stars and Stripes . He focused mainly on comedy columns. Siegel

5544-430: The original novel and both versions of True Grit . In this series, the creators paid homage to Linda Danvers , as Kara manifests flame wings and powers after taking a red kryptonite drug to save her space bus crew from a Karpane dragon. In her debut story, Kara Zor-El is the last survivor of Argo City of the planet Krypton . Although Argo, which had survived the explosion of the planet, drifted through space as

5670-404: The " Reign of Doomsday " storyline. The final issue of the original series was Action Comics #904. The title was relaunched from issue #1, as part of 2011's The New 52 by the creative team of writer Grant Morrison and artist Rags Morales . As with all of the books associated with the relaunch, Clark Kent appears younger than the previous incarnation of the character. Action Comics focus on

5796-572: The "Death of Superman" and "Funeral for a Friend" storylines, before Action Comics returned in June 1993 with the "Reign of the Supermen" arc. The series was published weekly from May 24, 1988, to March 14, 1989. (See detail in The Modern Age section above.) The temporarily increased frequency of issues allowed Action Comics to further surpass the older Detective Comics in the number of individual issues published. It surpassed Detective Comics in

5922-517: The 1970s when that series was bimonthly for a number of years. This change lasted from issue #601 to issue #642. During this time, Superman appeared only in a two-page story per issue; he was still the only character to appear in every issue of the series. An issue #0 (October 1994) was published between issues #703 and #704 as part of the Zero Month after the "Zero Hour: Crisis in Time" crossover event. There

6048-423: The 1980s, Siegel wrote for the comics publisher Aardvark-Vanaheim . Siegel remained somewhat active in science fiction fandom after starting work for DC. He attended Chicon , the 1940 2nd World Science Fiction Convention , and appeared in the convention's masquerade as Clark Kent . Siegel married Bella Lifshitz on June 10, 1939. She was a Jewish woman from his neighborhood of Glenville. With Bella, he had

6174-422: The 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and retconning her out of existence. DC Comics Senior Vice President Dan DiDio re-introduced the character in 2004 along with editor Eddie Berganza and writer Jeph Loeb , with the Superman/Batman storyline "The Supergirl from Krypton". As the current Supergirl, Kara stars in her own monthly comic book series . With DC's The New 52 relaunch, Kara, like most of

6300-514: The 1989 tale "Christmas with the Super-Heroes" the soul of Kara appears to Boston Brand / Deadman , cheers him up, and then disappears from continuity until 2001 (see below). Several characters unrelated to Superman soon took on the Supergirl persona, including the Matrix (a shapeshifting genetically engineered life-form that 'defaulted' as Supergirl), Linda Danvers (the result of Matrix merging with

6426-466: The 1991 story wherein Clark Kent finally revealed his identity as Superman to Lois Lane . Several major Superman storylines crossed over with Action Comics including "Emperor Joker" in 2000 and " Our Worlds at War " in 2001. John Byrne returned to Action Comics for issues #827–835 working with writer Gail Simone in 2005–2006. After the " One Year Later " company-wide storyline, Action Comics had

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6552-539: The Army (1943–1946), he was posted in Honolulu, Hawaii and wrote for Stars and Stripes , Midpacifican , and Yank, the Army Weekly , all military publications written by soldiers. In Stars and Stripes , he had a small humor column titled "Take a Break wit T/5 Jerry Siegel". In Midpacifican , he wrote the comic strip Super Sam , in which an Army private gains superpowers after receiving a blood transfusion from Superman. This

6678-597: The Blackhawks (in flashback), Deadman, and the Phantom Stranger. The story ran counter to DC editorial policy at the time as it portrayed Hal Jordan and Clark Kent as old friends who knew each other's secret identities. This was not considered canon in 1989 and Gaiman was unwilling to change this aspect of the story (as each serial in ACW was edited by different editors, continuity was not being maintained by DC editorial). The story

6804-646: The DC Universe, was revamped. DC relaunched the Supergirl comic in August 2016 as part of their DC Rebirth initiative. In live-action, Supergirl first appeared in the film Supergirl (1984), played by Helen Slater . She later appeared in the television series Smallville , played by Laura Vandervoort , and the Arrowverse series Supergirl , played by Melissa Benoist on the show and also appearing on other Arrowverse series . Sasha Calle appeared as Supergirl in

6930-522: The DCU," said Loeb. "It's one thing to try that with Manhunter (which is terrific), but when you have an icon like Supergirl trying to find her way and, at the same time, at a power level that we haven't even begun to explore ... it should make for a bitchin' good time. As the character continued to be reinvented, steps towards regarding the iconic character were some of the most prominent changes. Artist Jamal Igle and editor Matt Idleson moved to transition

7056-691: The Danvers family, Linda goes on to San Francisco where she works for KSF-TV as a camera operator and develops a crush on her boss, Geoffrey Anderson. These stories introduced Supergirl's most memorable villain from this period: Lex Luthor's niece Nasthalthia, or Nasty. Nasty had made two appearances towards the end of Linda's college years, then pursued her to KSF-TV, trying to secure proof of her dual identity. Supergirl starred in her first solo eponymous monthly series beginning in 1972 until October 1974, when her monthly title merged with Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane , and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen to produce

7182-523: The Linda Danvers' Supergirl series issues 49 and 50 (October and November 2000), the original dead Kara appears as Linda's "guardian angel". Then in issues 75 to 80, "Many Happy Returns", a young Kara appears from an earlier time long before the Crisis. The paradox becomes a moral crisis for Linda who tries to take her place as the Crisis sacrifice, living for years in a Silver Age universe where "no one swears,

7308-480: The New 52's modern recreations, bringing DC's heroes back to their more classic iterations. Supergirl's new series (Volume 7) was titled Supergirl: Rebirth , written by Steven Orlando. The first arc was penciled by Brian Ching, who also redesigned Supergirl's costume in reference to a more classic look. In April 2018, it was announced that the title would be canceled after issue #20, only to be revived in August that year under

7434-494: The Superman stories from the given issues. Action Comics #684 was part of " The Death of Superman " storyline which won the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for "Favorite Comic Book Story" for 1992. Action Comics #687–691 were part of "The Reign of the Supermen" storyline, which won the same award for 1993. Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( / ˈ s iː ɡ əl / SEE -gəl ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996)

7560-526: The Superman story and character since 1933, hoping to sell it as a syndicated newspaper comic-strip. But after years of fruitless soliciting to the syndicates, Siegel and Shuster agreed to publish Superman in a comic book. In March 1938, they sold all rights to Superman to the comic-book publisher Detective Comics, Inc., another forerunner of DC, for $ 130 ($ 2,814 when adjusted for inflation). Siegel and Shuster later regretted their decision to sell Superman after he became an astonishing success. DC Comics now owned

7686-406: The Supermen limited series, he was replaced by Paul Cornell . Cornell featured Lex Luthor as the main character in Action Comics from issues #890–900 and Death appeared in issue #894, with the agreement of the character's creator, Neil Gaiman . In April 2011, the 900th issue of Action Comics was released. It served as a conclusion for Luthor's "Black Ring" storyline and a continuation for

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7812-416: The attention of the military and scientist Lex Luthor, who are both interested in testing his capabilities as well as discovering what kind of threat he represents. Following the completion of Morrison's storyline, writer Andy Diggle and artist Tony Daniel became the new creative team on the title with issue #19. Unlike the previous issues, the setting for the Action Comics series would now take place in

7938-462: The character and reaped the royalties. Nevertheless, DC Comics retained Siegel and Shuster as the principal writer and artist for the Superman comics, and they were well-paid because they were popular with the readers. For instance, in 1942 they together earned $ 63,776.46 (equivalent to $ 1,200,000 in 2023). Siegel bought a house in University Heights and a car. Siegel was conscripted into

8064-399: The character away from red panties under her skirt to biker shorts, feeling such a change was a logical progression and "more respectable". In September 2011, DC Comics began The New 52 , a continuity reboot in which it canceled all of its monthly superhero titles and relaunched 52 new ones. One of the new titles was a new Supergirl series (Volume 6) that featured a new origin for Kara and

8190-423: The character following the conclusion of the first story arc of Superman/Batman . Loeb states: It was the convergence of two trains heading on toward each other. I was working on the Superman monthly when Superman Group Editor Eddie "Extravaganza" Berganza and I were kicking around an Armageddon-type story where this giant asteroid from Krypton was making its way toward Earth, and somewhere out past Neptune Superman

8316-417: The character to Chicago as Linda became a mature student of Psychology. Industry legend, and former DC Publisher, Carmine Infantino provided the penciled art ( Bob Oksner inked). With issue 13 the title was revamped, with a new costume design (sporting a red headband) and the title shortened to just Supergirl . The series ran until sudden cancellation in 1984, only two months before the character's debut in

8442-534: The classic Superman film villains, General Zod , Ursa and Non into the regular DC Universe continuity. Issue #851 (August 2007) was presented in 3-D . Starting with issue #875 (May 2009), written by Greg Rucka and drawn by Eddy Barrows , Thara Ak-Var and Chris Kent, took Superman's place as the main protagonists of the comic, while Superman left Earth to live on New Krypton. A Captain Atom backup feature began in issue #879 (September 2009). On February 22, 2010,

8568-464: The concept of a completely new super-powered female counterpart to Superman. The Kara Zor-El version of Supergirl finally appeared in Action Comics #252 (May 1959). Otto Binder wrote and Al Plastino illustrated her début story, in which Kara was born and raised in Argo City (unnamed until later issues), a fragment of Krypton that survived destruction. When the city is doomed by a meteor shower, Kara

8694-507: The copyright to Funnyman. This was unacceptable to DC Comics, so they instead made a deal with Magazine Enterprises , a comic-book publishing company owned by Vin Sullivan . The series Funnyman lasted six issues, and a subsequent newspaper strip also was unsuccessful. It was the last collaboration of Siegel and Shuster. By this time, Shuster's vision had deteriorated to the point he could not work. Siegel first worked for Marvel in 1963, under

8820-463: The copyright to Superman. During his first tenure at DC Comics (1935–1943), Siegel created the following characters: During his second tenure at DC Comics (1959–1966), Siegel created several characters relating to the Legion of Super-Heroes, including members Bouncing Boy , Brainiac 5 , Triplicate Girl , Invisible Kid , Matter-Eater Lad , Phantom Girl , and Chameleon Boy ; and enemies Cosmic King, Lightning Lord, and Saturn Queen, who are part of

8946-449: The cover feature of their new magazine. After seeing the published first issue, publisher Harry Donenfeld dismissed the featured strip as ridiculous. He ordered it never to be on the cover of the series. Subsequent reports of the first issue's strong sales and follow up investigations revealed that Superman was the reason. Thus, the character returned to the covers, becoming a permanent presence in issue 19 onward. Initially, Action Comics

9072-520: The creators of the maxi-series decided to kill Supergirl off during the Crisis . According to Marv Wolfman , writer of Crisis on Infinite Earths : Before Crisis it seemed that half of Krypton had survived the explosion. We had Superman, Supergirl, Krypto, the Phantom Zone criminals, the bottled city of Kandor, and many others. Our goal was to make Superman unique. We went back to his origin and made Kal-El

9198-567: The dying Linda Danvers and becoming an Earth-bound angel of fire), and Cir-El (Superman's apparent daughter from a possible future). A heroine resembling the pre- Crisis Kara would later appear in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #5, along with an entire army of Legionnaires gathered from alternate worlds, times, and realities, to battle the Time Trapper . Prior to the post-Crisis introduction of Kara Zor-El into mainstream continuity,

9324-463: The early days of Superman's career, while the Superman series focus on Superman's present. Superheroes at large have appeared only in the past five years, and are viewed with at best, suspicion, and at worst, outright hostility. The storyline in Action Comics takes place about a year before the events of Justice League #1, and was referred to by DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio as "DC Universe Year Zero" while JL operates as "Year One." The Man of Steel

9450-514: The end of its initial run, Action Comics was no exception, and the first issue of the new series was released on September 7, 2011. In February 2016, it was announced that as part of the DC Rebirth relaunch, Action Comics would resume its original numbering system, starting with issue #957 (Aug. 2016) and ship on a twice-monthly schedule. The Action Comics series is included in many trade paperbacks and hardcovers. These generally reprint only

9576-439: The episode to be a dream which she projected into Superboy's mind. In Superman #123 (August 1958), Jimmy Olsen uses a magic totem to create a "Super-Girl" as a companion and aid to Superman; however, the two frequently get in each other's way until she is fatally injured protecting Superman from a Kryptonite meteor. At her insistence, Jimmy wishes the dying girl out of existence. DC used this story to gauge public response to

9702-424: The familiar green-skinned android to the metal skeletal-like robot in the story "Rebirth!". Keith Giffen 's Ambush Bug character made appearances in issues #560, #563, and #565. Action Comics #579, written by Jean-Marc Lofficier and drawn by Giffen, featured an homage to Asterix where Superman and Jimmy Olsen are drawn back in time to a small village of indomitable Gauls. Schwartz ended his run as editor of

9828-488: The first time for the character included X-ray vision and super-hearing in issue #11 (April 1939) and telescopic vision and super-breath in issue #20 (January 1940). Luthor , a villain who would later become Superman's arch-enemy , was introduced in issue #23 (April 1940). The original Toyman was created by writer Don Cameron and artist Ed Dobrotka in issue #64 (September 1943). By 1942, artist Wayne Boring , who had previously been one of Shuster's assistants, had become

9954-498: The identity of Linda Lee, an orphan at Midvale Orphanage presided over by headmistress Miss Hart. She disguises herself by hiding her blond hair beneath a brunette wig; Supergirl interacts with humans on a person-to-person basis performing good deeds and saving the world by helping one person at a time, and she also devises clever schemes as "Superman's Secret Weapon", saving him many times and avoiding adoption before Superman can introduce her publicly. While temporarily powerless due to

10080-428: The issues was decreased. The publisher was reluctant to raise the cover price from the original 10 cents and reduced the number of stories. For a while, Congo Bill and Tommy Tomorrow were the two features in addition to Superman. Writer Robert Bernstein and artist Howard Sherman revamped the "Congo Bill" backup feature in issue #248 (January 1959) in a story wherein the character gained the ability to swap bodies with

10206-482: The lead writer on the series, as well as its companion series Superman . Action Comics is the longest-running DC Comics series by number of issues, followed by Detective Comics . A departure from a strict monthly schedule was four giant-size Supergirl reprint issues published as a 13th issue annually: issues #334 (March 1966), #347 (March–April 1967), #360 (March–April 1968), and #373 (March–April 1969). Action Comics has not had an uninterrupted run, having been on

10332-521: The life of an alien woman named Shar-La, who turns Superboy into a girl in retaliation for his disparaging thoughts about women drivers which she picked up telepathically. In Smallville , Clark claims to be Claire Kent, an out-of-town relative who is staying with the Kents. When in costume, he appears as Superboy's sister, Super-Sister, and claims the two have exchanged places. Once Superboy has learned his lesson about feeling more respect for women, Shar-La reveals

10458-496: The long-running DC character The Spectre . Siegel created ten of the earliest members of the Legion of Super-Heroes , one of DC's most popular team books, which is set in the 30th Century. Siegel also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter and Jerry Ess . Jerry Siegel was born on October 17, 1914, in Cleveland , Ohio , to a Jewish family. His parents were both Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York in 1900, having fled antisemitism in their native Lithuania , then part of

10584-411: The mantle of Supergirl at the conclusion of the storyline. The Supergirl comic book series would later be relaunched, now starring Kara Zor-El as "The Girl of Steel". The first arc of the new series was written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Ian Churchill . Loeb would later describe the appeal of writing for Supergirl: I love that she has all this power and has to learn what it is to be a superhero in

10710-639: The merboy). In 1967, Supergirl meets Batgirl for the first time in World's Finest Comics . Developing a strong friendship, the two characters teamed up many times again, as in Superman Family #171, or Adventure #381. In 1969, Supergirl left Action Comics and became a featured character in Adventure Comics beginning with issue #381 (June 1969). During the 1970s, Supergirl's costume changed frequently, as did her career in her civilian life. In her secret identity as Linda Lee Danvers, Kara Zor-El took

10836-538: The missing year after the end of Infinite Crisis , Donna Troy recalls the original Kara Zor-El and her sacrifice to save the universe. Supergirl returns to the 21st century during the course of 52 . After briefly filling in for a temporarily depowered Superman as guardian of Metropolis, she assumes the identity of Flamebird to fight crime in the bottle city of Kandor with Power Girl as Nightwing in Greg Rucka 's arc Supergirl: Candor . In 2007, Supergirl appeared in

10962-406: The new creative team on the series with issue #25 (Jan. 2014). This series concluded with issue #52 (July 2016), which was part of the "Final Days of Superman" storyline which depicted the death of the "New 52" version of Superman. As part of DC Comics' DC Rebirth relaunch in June 2016, Action Comics reverted to its original numbering beginning with Action Comics #957. Written by Dan Jurgens ,

11088-487: The only survivor of Krypton. That, sadly, was why Supergirl had to die. However, we were thrilled by all the letters we received saying Supergirl's death in Crisis was the best Supergirl story they ever read. Thank you. By the way, I miss Kara, too. The idea of killing Supergirl was first conceived by DC's vice president/executive editor Dick Giordano , who lobbied for the death to DC's publishers. He later said he has never had any regrets about this, explaining, "Supergirl

11214-478: The pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El made an appearance in Peter David 's Supergirl: Many Happy Returns . The then-current Supergirl series, at the time starring Linda Danvers , was in danger of being cancelled, and David thought a story arc involving Kara Zor-El would be enough to revitalize the series. In an interview with Cliff Biggers of Newsarama, David states: Although it had always been in the back of my mind that doing

11340-473: The present. Diggle announced his resignation as the writer of the series shortly before his first issue went on sale. Diggle left the title with only one issue completed (he would be co-writer for #20 and co-plot issue #21), with Daniel taking on full scripting and art duties for the two following issues completing the three-part story arc "Hybrid". Scott Lobdell wrote the series after Diggle and Daniel's departure. Writer Greg Pak and artist Aaron Kuder became

11466-446: The prompting of his second wife. Although he did write some Superman stories, he no longer had any creative control, but instead answered to the direction of his editor. During this time, he wrote extensively about the team the Legion of Super-Heroes , adding many enduring characters to its cast. Siegel's contributions during this time are difficult to determine because DC Comics did not generally give creator bylines. His last work for DC

11592-701: The pseudonym "Joe Carter". With Stan Lee, he co-created the villain Plantman ( Strange Tales #113). He also scripted the " Human Torch " feature in Strange Tales #112–113 (Sept.–Oct. 1963), introducing the teenaged Torch's high school girlfriend, Doris Evans; and, under his own name, a backup feature starring the X-Men member Angel , which ran in Marvel Tales and Ka-Zar . According to then-Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee , Siegel "was down on his luck" and in ill health at

11718-623: The realization that he has been stealing others' Christmases, he flies off feeling sorry for himself for being denied a reward after a year of helping people. A warmly dressed blonde woman approaches Brand, startling him. Somehow seeing the normally invisible Brand, she converses with him, reminding him, We don't do it for the glory. We don't do it for the recognition ... We do it because it needs to be done. Because if we don't, no one else will. And we do it even if no one knows what we've done. Even if no one knows we exist. Even if no one remembers we ever existed. She reminds Brand that even though he

11844-507: The regular cover, blank variant cover, eight covers spanning eight decades from the 1930s-2000s, nineteen other variant covers from variant artists, and a hardcover Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman Deluxe Edition . Brian Michael Bendis became the new writer for the Action Comics series starting with issue #1001. Starting with issue #1029, the title became a part of the Infinite Frontier relaunch in March 2021. Phillip Kennedy Johnson became

11970-453: The rights. A second claim they had was that DC had cheated them out of royalties from the Superman radio show and the merchandise. Siegel and Shuster simultaneously sued for the rights to Superman as well. At the conclusion of the trial, Siegel and Shuster agreed to relinquish the copyrights of both Superman and Superboy in exchange for a settlement of just over $ 94,000 (equivalent to $ 1,200,000 in 2023). Siegel's 1948 divorce papers suggest he

12096-637: The run included the Black Canary , Blackhawk , Captain Marvel , Catwoman , Deadman , Nightwing , the Phantom Lady , the Phantom Stranger , the Secret Six , Speedy , and Wild Dog . Titles spun off from Action Comics at this time included a Catwoman miniseries and a Blackhawk ongoing, in both cases by the same creative teams that worked on the weekly serials. During and after Action Comics Weekly' s run, two Green Lantern Special s were published in late 1988 and

12222-526: The scheming of Kandorian scientist Lesla-Lar, who is out to supplant her on Earth, Linda allows herself to be adopted by engineer and rocket scientist Fred Danvers and his wife, Edna. In time, she reveals her secret identity to her adoptive parents on the same day her cousin Superman finally introduces her to the world in the finale of then-DC's longest playing series ever (eight chapters) aptly called "The World's Greatest Heroine". When frequent dreams about her parents being alive turn out to be real, she builds

12348-732: The second in spring 1989, the latter special wrapping up the storylines from the Green Lantern serials in Action Comics Weekly . Each issue featured a two-page Superman serial, a feature that, according to an editorial in the first weekly issue, was intended as a homage to the Superman newspaper strips of the past. The final issue of the weekly was originally intended to feature a book-length encounter between Clark Kent and Hal Jordan by writer Neil Gaiman . While Gaiman's story primarily teamed up Green Lantern and Superman, it also featured other characters from Action Comics Weekly , including

12474-528: The series jumped ahead by one month due to DC's decision to change the cover dates of its publishing line. A new version of the Toyman was created by Cary Bates and Curt Swan in issue #432 (February 1974). Issues #437 (July 1974) and #443 (Jan. 1975) of the series were in the 100 Page Super Spectacular format. Martin Pasko wrote issue #500 (October 1979) which featured a history of the Superman canon as it existed at

12600-437: The series ships twice-monthly and serves as a continuation of the comic book series Superman: Lois and Clark , which featured the pre- Flashpoint Superman alongside his wife, Lois Lane, and their son, Jon Kent . For the series' 1000th issue —released on April 18, 2018, the 80th anniversary of the premiere issue—DC returned Superman to his traditional costume with the red trunks and yellow belt. Action Comics #1000 collects

12726-520: The series with issue #583 (September 1986) which featured the second part of the " Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? " story by Alan Moore and Curt Swan. Following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths , writer/artist John Byrne relaunched the Superman franchise in The Man of Steel limited series in 1986. Action Comics became a team-up title with issue #584 (January 1987) featuring Superman and

12852-497: The story "The Supergirl from Krypton" in Action Comics #252 (May 1959). Kara is the biological cousin of Kal-El, who went on to adopt the name of Clark Kent and the superhero identity Superman . Her father, Zor-El , is the brother of Superman's father, Jor-El . During the 1980s and the revolution of the Modern Age of Comics , Superman editors believed the character's history had become too convoluted, thus killing Supergirl during

12978-466: The story "The World of Bizarros!" in issue #262 (April 1960). Writer Jim Shooter created the villain the Parasite in Action Comics #340 (Aug. 1966). Mort Weisinger retired from DC in 1970 and his final issue of Action Comics was issue #392 (September 1970). Murray Boltinoff became the title's editor until issue #418. Metamorpho was the backup feature in issues #413–418 after which the character had

13104-459: The time and was published in the Dollar Comics format. The superheroine Vixen made her first appearance in Action Comics #521 (July 1981). To mark the 45th anniversary of the series, Lex Luthor and Brainiac were both given an updated appearance in issue #544 (June 1983). Lex Luthor dons his war suit for the first time in the story "Luthor Unleashed!" and Brainiac's appearance changes from

13230-457: The time, so he gave him a job at Marvel as a proofreader, during which time Siegel wrote the Angel story. Siegel worked for Archie Comics in 1966, on series including The Fly , The Mighty Crusaders , The Web , and Steel Sterling , all starring characters revived from the 1940s. Archie canceled its superhero line later that year, and Siegel was let go. Siegel became the main writer on The Spider

13356-756: The title and was joined by scripter Roger Stern the following month. As writer of the series, Stern contributed to such storylines as "Panic in the Sky" and " The Death of Superman ". He created the Eradicator in Action Comics Annual #2 and later incorporated the character into the "Reign of the Supermen" story arc beginning in The Adventures of Superman #500. The Eradicator then took over Action Comics as "the Last Son of Krypton" in issue #687 (June 1993). Stern wrote

13482-486: The universe is rebooted , the timeline is altered. Kara Zor-El and all memory of her is erased from existence. After these events, the soul of Kara Zor-El made another appearance in continuity three years later in a story titled "Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot" in Christmas with the Super-Heroes #2 (1989). Within the story, Deadman tries to feel the warmth of Christmas by possessing revelers' bodies. Feeling guilty upon

13608-516: The villains are always easy to defeat, and everything's very, very clean", eventually marrying the Silver Age Superman and having a daughter with him, before she is forced to return to her universe by the Spectre when he reveals that her efforts to replace Kara as the sacrifice will not succeed. This run was illustrated by Ed Benes who had also illustrated Gail Simone's Birds of Prey which had

13734-488: Was Goober the Mighty , a parody of Tarzan. Joseph Shuster provided illustrations for some of Siegel's Goober stories. This was their first known collaboration as writer and artist. Siegel also self-published a fanzine called Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization . In the third issue of this fanzine, he published a short story titled " The Reign of the Superman " under the pseudonym "Herbert S. Fine". The story

13860-487: Was a force for good instead of evil?" The writer and artist had worked on several features for National Allied Publications' other titles such as Slam Bradley in Detective Comics . They were asked to contribute a feature for National's newest publication. They submitted Superman for consideration. After re-pasting the sample newspaper strips they had prepared into comic book page format, National decided to make Superman

13986-484: Was an anthology title featuring several other stories in addition to the Superman story. Zatara , a magician, was one of the other characters who had his own stories in early issues. There was the hero Tex Thompson , who eventually became Mr. America and later the Americommando . Vigilante enjoyed a lengthy run in this series. Sometimes stories of a more humorous nature were included, such as those of Hayfoot Henry ,

14112-536: Was an American comic book writer . He is the co-creator of Superman , in collaboration with his friend Joe Shuster , published by DC Comics . They also created Doctor Occult , who was later featured in The Books of Magic . Siegel and Shuster were inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993. With Bernard Baily , Siegel also co-created

14238-537: Was an issue #1,000,000 (November 1998) during the " DC One Million " crossover event in October 1998 between issues #748 and #749. On June 1, 2011, it was announced that all series taking place within the shared DC Universe would be either canceled or relaunched with new #1 issues, after a new continuity was created in the wake of the Flashpoint event. Although being DC's longest running series, having reached issue #904 at

14364-594: Was at last introduced by her super-powered cousin to an unsuspecting world in Action Comics #285 (February 1962). During her first quarter of a century, Linda Danvers would have many professions, from student to student advisor, to actor, and even TV camera operator. She shared Action Comics with Superman until transferring to the lead in Adventure Comics at the end of the 1960s. In 1972 she finally moved to her own short-lived eponymous magazine, before DC merged its Supergirl, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen titles into

14490-539: Was beginning to feel it. We figured we could tie it into "The Fall of Luthor" since DC was very kind to let me both put Lex in the White House and figure out how to get him out. Eddie and I started giggling over the possibilities of there being "something" in the asteroid. Or "someone" in the asteroid—neither of us daring to speak her name, but we both knew who [we] were talking about. The modern version of Kara Zor-El made her debut in Superman/Batman #8 (2004). Kara takes

14616-407: Was created initially to take advantage of the high Superman sales and not much thought was put into her creation. She was created essentially as a female Superman. With time, writers and artists improved upon her execution, but she never did really add anything to the Superman mythos—at least not for me." The poor initial reception of the 1984 film Supergirl was also blamed by some sources. In

14742-496: Was discharged on January 21, 1946, at the rank of Technician 4th Grade. During his military service in Hawaii , Siegel learned from his friend Shuster that DC Comics had published a story featuring a child version of Superman called "Superboy", which was based on a story that Siegel had submitted to DC Comics, but which DC Comics had not bought. Because DC Comics never bought the copyright to Superboy from Siegel, Siegel sued DC Comics for

14868-401: Was interrupted in June 1943 when he was conscripted into the Army, though he continued to receive credit for stories written by ghostwriters. After his discharge, he sued DC Comics for the rights to Superman and Superboy, and was consequently given no more freelance work from the publisher. In 1959, he returned to DC as a writer, and was dropped again in 1967 when he again attempted to take back

14994-464: Was left with $ 29,000 after paying his court fees but prior to settling his divorce. After the war, Siegel moved to New York. Between 1937 and 1947 (i.e., during the span of their contract), Siegel and Shuster had together earned more than $ 400,000 (roughly equivalent to $ 7,500,000 in 2023) while working at DC Comics. After leaving DC Comics in late 1947, Siegel and Shuster created the comedic superhero Funnyman , which proved unsuccessful. This

15120-429: Was listed in the mastheads of the period as a scriptwriter ("soggettista e sceneggiatore"). In the 1980s, he worked with Val Mayerik on the feature "The Starling", which appeared in the comic book Destroyer Duck . A projected series, The Starling , about a woman struggling to raise her half-alien, shapeshifting son after his deadbeat alien father abandoned them, went unfinished due to Siegel's death in 1996. Also in

15246-658: Was not authorized by DC Comics. In 1956, Siegel created two superheroes for Charlton Comics : Mr. Muscles and Nature Boy . The series Mr. Muscles ran two issues, and Nature Boy three. In 1968, he worked for Western Publishing , for which he wrote (along with Carl Barks ) stories in the Junior Woodchucks comic book. He subsequently worked for the Italian comic Topolino published by Mondadori Editore (the Italian Disney comics licensee) from 1972 to 1979. He

15372-626: Was producing a Superman film, Siegel alerted the press to his condition. In response, Warner Bros, agreed to give Siegel and Shuster a lifetime stipend of $ 20,000 a year (later increased to $ 30,000) in exchange for not contesting ownership of the copyright to Superman. After leaving DC Comics, Siegel wrote The Spider for the British comic Lion , published by Fleetway Publications . His episodes were published from January 1966 to February 1969. Siegel wrote for his school's weekly newspaper, The Glenville Torch . One of his known works for that newspaper

15498-480: Was published between 2011 and 2015. Artist Mahmud Asrar designed a new costume for the character which strongly deviated from her classic, "cheerleader" suit, a change which generated criticism from some readers. The 2016 DC Comics title relaunch Rebirth incorporates several elements (such as the costume, the name, the setting, and some characters) from the Supergirl television series . The DC Rebirth initiative undid

15624-597: Was pulled and a different story, written by Elliot S. Maggin , was run. Gaiman's story was finally published as a one-shot in Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame in November 2000. The Action Comics Weekly experiment lasted only until the beginning of March 1989 and after a short break, issue #643 (July 1989) brought the title back onto a monthly schedule. Writer/artist George Pérez took over

15750-407: Was the lead story in Adventure Comics #341 (February 1966). DC Comics ceased giving him work in 1966, when the company learned Siegel and Shuster were planning a second lawsuit to reclaim the copyright to Superman. He lost that lawsuit. Siegel again fell into hard financial times after this second dismissal, as he was unable to find regular writing work. In 1975, upon hearing that Warner Bros.

15876-578: Was their last collaboration. Siegel then took freelance writing jobs. Some of them include the newspaper strip Tallulah , Lars of Mars , and G.I. Joe . The publisher Ziff-Davis hired him as a comic-book editor in 1951, but its comics division closed after less than a year in business. Siegel never found steady work, and fell upon hard times. By 1959, he and his family were living in a one-bedroom apartment in Great Neck, Long Island , and struggling to pay their bills. Siegel returned to DC Comics in 1959 at

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