Seven Days Of Supergirl

She was faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Yet, when all was said and done, Kara Zor-El of Argo City never received an ounce of respect. When chroniclers look back at her 30-year existence, words such as “bland,” “passive,” and “second-string” invariably appear.

At the time of her demise, many fans said her fatal battle against the Anti-Monitor was the best story of her career. Although undeniably a heroic death, it lost all significance after the Powers That Be erased all memory of Kara’s sacrifice - and very existence - from the DC Universe.

It didn’t help that her eventual replacement was a shapeshifting blob with a mad crush on Lex Luthor.

Your friendly, neighborhood Fortress Keeper understands the disdain. Encountering Supergirl for the first time during the ’70s, the Keeper saw a character who lacked a discernible personality or direction. Her alter-ego fell into careers in counseling, journalism and acting with little rhyme or reason. Her power level fluctuated, and at the time of her passing sported an Olivia Newton John-styled head band.

When the original Crisis rolled around, the Fortress Keeper didn’t consider her death a great loss. With the way-cooler Power Girl waiting in the wings, the DC Universe would get along fine without Kara Zor-El.

Except, as is often the case, DC fans and creators didn’t realize what they truly had until the Silver Age Supergirl was dead and buried. Admittedly, Kara never aggressively challenged the status quo like the Golden Age Wonder Woman, Bronze Age Power Girl or even Marvel Comic’s Storm.

However, her role was equally important- if far more subtle - in the Keeper’s opinion.

For all her cosmos-rattling power, Kara Zor-El - at least in her earliest, teenage adventures - was the feminine equivalent of Peter Parker: The hero who could be you.

The Silver Age Supergirl, thrown into a strange new world after witnessing the deaths of everyone and everything she ever loved, was uncertain of herself. Her awesome powers were new and untested. She worried about fitting in with others her own age.

And her older, world-famous cousin was often - to put it kindly - a patronizing jerk.

Minus the super powers, many of those situations had been chronicled in the romance comics of the era. But Mort Weisinger and his writers brilliantly transported those conventions to the super-hero genre, giving - perhaps unintentionally - Supergirl a humanity lacking from nearly every other DC character until the dawn of the 1970s.

Granted, most teenage girls don’t encounter mer-men or flying horses, but the angst and uncertainty felt by Kara/Linda Lee is familiar to girls and boys alike. They certainly weren’t too far afield from the subsequent trials and tribulations of the early Peter Parker, who broke down in tears more than once in his earliest adventures.

Kara’s humanity was best exemplified in the compassion she demonstrated to her fellow orphans, who were frequently the beneficiaries of her secret good deeds. When the chips were down, she was also an effective crime fighter who bested Lex Luthor, Brainiac and a giant foot from some bizarre, Silver-Age alien dimension.

Confronted with such heroic attributes, the Fortress Keeper couldn’t help but mend his ways. Kara of Argo City is easily one of his favorite DC characters, one who deserves much greater standing in the comic-book scheme of things.

It is hoped that the new, post-Crisis Crisis version of Kara Zor-El will adequately fill her predecessor’s shoes. In the meantime, the Fortress of Fortitude will devote several posts to the original Maid of Might for the next week or so.

It’s the least we can do to make amends.