It’s no accident that Kara Zor-El’s return to the DC Universe was shepherded by The Dark Knight, rather than the Last Son of Krypton.

Although the world wasn’t quite as lily-white as many believed when the original Kara debuted in 1959 (Castro took power in Cuba, heightening Cold War tensions while Buddy Holly’s death ended the first era of rock innocence), 21st century cynics prefer their heroes laced with darkness and - if at all possible - psychological “issues.”

What better way, then, to introduce DC’s new and decidedly different Supergirl than affiliating her with the very model of dark, brooding anti-heroes: the modern Batman.

Although the remainder of her debut wasn’t coherent enough to make a lasting impression (thanks a lot Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner), the game-plan was clear enough by Supergirl #5.

Following four issues of super-hero fights that recalled the ’70s iteration of Marvel Team-Up, readers learned that Kara 2.0 was not an innocent teen sent to Earth by a loving father. Rather, this Supergirl was sent - in her birthday suit no less - to kill a helpless infant named Kal-El.

Although the story concluded with the possibility that New-Kara suffered from post-traumatic stress, the rather disastrous Kandor arc did nothing to dispel the notions that the 21st century Supergirl is pretty messed up.

In Supergirl #9, Joe Kelly painted what is in all likelihood the definitive portrait of the modern Kara - a rebellious, self-absorbed teen with a hidden, dark past who isn’t sure how she fits into Superman’s heroic legacy.

(A development summed up much more eloquently at the Fortress of Soliloquy.)

That’s hardly the selfless Kara Zor-El who desired nothing more than a chance to prove herself as a heroine and a grown woman, but to be fair DC never pretended the new Supergirl would be anything like the original model.

In an interview that coincided with Supergirl #0 (curse you, modern comics numbering system!), writer Jeph Loeb took great pains to note …

This young lady, however, is NOT the girl who died in Crisis. This is not your grandfather’s Supergirl … Everyone who is a Supergirl fan has their own notions of who she SHOULD be … Some of those folks I can’t ever please because they want what they want and that’s okay with me. They have their back issues and their trades and I’m not doing anything to have those taken away. But, this is the next generation’s Supergirl.

Adding fuel to DC’s fire, this Supergirl has experienced a level of success her predecessor only knew during the halcyon days of the Weisinger era - when Superman comics routinely sold more copies than 100 current X-titles.

So what is the Keeper to make of this? That the Pre-Crisis Supergirl remains dead and buried, replaced by an edgier version tailor-made for the times.

(We won’t get into Future-Kara. As cool as her appearances have been in the Legion comic, everyone knows that something is seriously wrong with that girl …)

So is the cigarette-smoking, pool-playing, sexualized Kara 2.0 the Keeper’s idea of Supergirl? Certainly not, and we would hazard a guess that many non-comic fans would be equally surprised (if not appalled) by the current comic.

Like it or not, the Supergirl currently residing in DC is the Kara Zor-El the company wants to publish. So, if the Keeper is going to purchase the Supergirl title, it’s only fair we judge the character by her own, unique merits rather than by past standards.

In the meantime, the Silver-Age Kara will remain in the same Limbo inhabited by the Fawcett Captain Marvel and the Quality Comics Plastic Man - characters who are too good-hearted for these harsh times.