Supergirl has had something of a rocky television experience. Her show initially began on CBS not long after Flash came out, but after having some trouble there, they eventually moved it to the CW, where fans had wanted it all along. On the CW, the series was free to take a more action-packed angle while simultaneously exploring Kara's personal life, amping up the relationship drama.
But after six years, the series has come to an end, a full two seasons short of how far Arrow made it. Still, there's still one season left, and the fans are excited to see how it turns out. While Kara Danvers isn't the same as Kara Zor-El from the comics, she's been an excellent role model and one of the most likable members of the Arrowverse heroes.
11 Alex Danvers Is A Character Who Didn't Exist Until The Series Started
Perhaps one of the most beloved members of the main cast of Supergirl is her sister, Alex Danvers. Alex takes on the role of the hero for much of their lives before Kara puts on the costume, working as a member of the DEO. In the comics though, Alex Danvers didn’t exist. Kara was adopted during the Pre-Crisis comics, but when the character returned in Post-Crisis she had no connection to humanity at all until she eventually made a connection with Lana Lang. Alex Danvers has been a great addition to the CW series both as queer representation and showing Kara closer to the people.
10 Supergirl Didn’t Use Her Powers Until She Was An Adult
In the comics, Supergirl came to Earth with her powers and was trained by Clark Kent. She was actually “Superman’s secret weapon,” as she was kept a secret for several years before eventually making her debut. When the series began on CBS, Kara had only learned to use her powers, but she never actually did much in the vein of being a superhero. She only made her first appearance after a plane nearly crashed.
9 Kara's Civilian Name In The Comics Is Usually Linda
It’s rough balancing three different names, but it helps when one's alien name and human name are both the same. Supergirl has always been Kara Zor-El, but her human name varies depending on the time period and whether it’s the comics or the show.
In the comics, she was originally Linda Lee but would become adopted by the Danvers family and take on the name Linda Lee Danvers. The Post-Crisis version would get the name Linda Lang, using Lana Lang’s last name for her civilian identity. Of course, the television series would have her be adopted by the Danvers family as usual but take on her alien name Kara as her first name.
8 One Of Supergirl's Love Interests On The Show Is James Olson
The CW decided to incorporate a few elements of Superman into Supergirl since they were only doing a show about one of the two. With that in mind, Jimmy Olsen (referred to as James on the show) would be added to the Supergirl roster, with the character moving to National City and becoming CatCo’s art director under the request of Superman himself. Of course, the comic version of Jimmy Olsen has very little to do with Supergirl from the Post-Crisis era, but that didn’t stop the CW series from eventually having Kara and James date briefly.
7 The Comic Supergirl Never Worked With The DEO
In the television series, Supergirl is paired with the DEO very quickly. Hank Henshaw brings her in forcibly at first, even having her knocked out with kryptonite-tipped darts. Over time, Supergirl becomes an integral part of working with the DEO, even working alongside her sister Alex once she takes over as leader of the organization. The comics typically don’t have her working nearly as closely with any organization, or at least they didn’t until after the CW series started airing.
6 Supergirl Starts Dating Mon-El Of The Legion Of Super-Heroes
Like most superheroes, Supergirl has had a lot of romantic interests over the years (even if they’ve never let her date her one true partner Lena). During the second season, Mon-El came to Earth and initially gave Kara all types of problems thanks to them coming from different planets with poor interplanetary relations.
But over time, the opposites attracted and the two began dating, at least until Mon-El was forced to leave Earth because the planet was covered in lead particles that were dangerous to his people. In the comics, Supergirl dated a different Legionnaire in Brainiac 5, which is a considerably weirder pairing for the show.
5 Kara Danvers Begins Working At CatCo As Cat Grant's Assistant
Part of Kara’s life when she’s not a superhero is that she needs a regular job. She started working at National City’s CatCo, where she worked under Cat Grant as an assistant and eventually as a reporter. This allows Kara to learn about stories as they happen, and report on stories other reporters wouldn’t stand a chance of getting deep on. In the comics, Kara has had a contentious relationship with Cat Grant, who sees her as an irresponsible superhero. During Pre-Crisis, Supergirl was actually a student advisor after graduating in drama.
4 Against All Fan Expectation, This Version Of Supergirl Is Stronger Than Superman
A subject of much discussion early on is how Kara is actually stronger than Superman. During one of Superman’s guest appearances, he’s under the influence of Silver Kryptonite. Believing her to be General Zod, Kara just barely managed to defeat Clark and get him free of the influence of the Silver Kryptonite. Though Kara insisted he was mind-controlled, the writers (and Clark) made extra sure everyone was aware that Supergirl is in fact more powerful than Superman. Which makes perfect sense—it’s her show, after all.
3 Kara & Alex's Father Works For Project Cadmus, A Program Fighting Against Aliens
In a “surprise reveal,” Alex and Kara learned during season two that their father was not only alive—though they’d believed otherwise for over a decade—but that he was working for Project Cadmus. Project Cadmus of course would later be working on projects to ship all the aliens on Earth off-world against their will. The Danvers family never quite got this much development until the television series.
2 Cyborg Superman Has A Closer Connection To Supergirl, As He Initially Tried To Capture Her
The origin of Cyborg Superman is vastly different in the comics compared to the television series, where he has a much stronger tie to Kara. Hank Henshaw in the series was originally a member of the DEO, who was convinced not to capture Supergirl but couldn’t be convinced not to go after J’onn J’onzz. Chasing J’onn led to Henshaw nearly being killed, only to be found by Project Cadmus and enhanced into a being known as “Cyborg Superman,” who hated both J’onn and Supergirl. This is a massive change from the comics, where Henshaw was basically DC’s version of Reed Richards—an astronaut scientist who hated Superman because he wasn’t around to save his family when his ship crashed.
1 The Show Finally Allowed A Version Of The Character To Wear Pants
Supergirl’s outfits have been different from incarnation to incarnation. But one thing seems to remain constant about her main universe versions: she’s always had some kind of skirt. That goes for in the comics as well as the main television series. But after several seasons of the character donning a skirt, the creators finally gave her a suit that came with pants, something Kara was apparently quite excited to have.
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