Supergirl & Superman Are Related, Here’s How

Both Supergirl and Superman are among the most iconic superheroes in DC comics and in general. They are both Kryptonians and among the only survivors of their race, who, exposed to the yellow solar radiation, gain incredible godlike powers. Often regarded as the female equivalent of Superman, Supergirl is a far younger character still, their stories are connected, and they share far more than race, power set, and similar suits. Supergirl and Superman are also biologically related, and Superman is often referred to as her more famous cousin. In today’s post, we’re going to explore Supergirl’s origin story and her familial connection with Superman.

Supergirl and Superman are biological first cousins because Supergirl’s father Zor-El, was an older brother of Jor-El, Superman’s father. Both Supergirl and Superman were sent to Earth following the destruction of Krypton, but Superman made it to Earth on time, while Supergirl was stuck orbiting the sun for several decades before she ultimately found her way to Earth and crashed in Siberia. Even though Supergirl’s origin story was revised several times, she was always Superman’s biological cousin.

Now that we’ve covered the connection between Supergirl and Superman, it’s time to analyze it in more detail. If you’re interested in Supergirl’s latest origin story and how it’s connected to Man of Steel, stay with us and keep reading!

Both Superman and Supergirl were sent to Earth, but Superman arrived first

Supergirl had several origin stories over the years, but they are all more or less similar and end with Supergirl being sent to Earth. Her newest story began with ‘ The New 52‘ in 2011 when ‘The Last Daughter of Krypton’ was released in 2011.

We decided to focus on this origin since it’s the latest one, and we also covered other origins in similar posts to this one in our posts related to Superman and Supergirl.

Now, Supergirl was born on Krypton under the name Kara Zor-El to a pair of Kryptonians Zor-El and Alura In-Ze. Zor-El was an older brother of Jor-El, otherwise known as Superman’s father, as you are all aware.

Zor-El was always jealous of his younger brother, and despite both being brilliant men, they disagreed on many issues, which ultimately ended up in the two of them never talking again. Despite this, Kara spent a lot of time with Kal-El, often babysitting him.

Despite their disagreements, Zor-El listened to Jor-El’s warnings that Krypton was doomed and quickly devised a plan on how to solve the issue.

Zor-El managed to save Argo City, but a new problem presented itself; following the destruction of Krypton, the surface beneath Argo City started turning to Kryptonite, becoming highly radioactive and lethal to Kryptonians. Kara took part in the organized action of covering the surface of the city with lead shields, the shields her father designed.

Even though 18 thousand Argonians survived the original destruction, radiation brought those numbers down to 5 000 thousand. When Zor-El noticed that Argo’s oxygen shields were about to be penetrated by an asteroid attack, he quickly created a rocket via which he would send Kara to Earth. Jor-El did the same for Kal-El.

That day, before she was about to be shipped to Earth, Kara was supposed to babysit her baby cousin Superman. She was not aware of what was taking place. Zor-El simply put her to sleep and packed her into a rocket.

Supergirl arrived on Earth many decades later

Even though Superman and Supergirl were shipped off to Earth on the same day, Supergirl experienced some complications. Superman arrived in Kansas as a baby. He was taken in by Kents, who raised him as their own, giving him the name Clark Kent.

Supergirl’s rocket was eventually pulled off trajectory, which caused it to circle the sun for several decades. When she finally made her way to Earth, nearly 30 years passed. Despite this, since she was practically in cryostasis, she remained the same age as she was when she left Krypton as a child.

Kara landed in Siberia, the crash woke her up, and at first, she was convinced that she was dreaming.

Only after she saw the sun and realized that her body was changing did she become aware of what had taken place and that she was not on Krypton anymore. She was quickly apprehended, but she managed to fight off her would-be captors due to her newly discovered powers.

Superman appeared soon after that, and the revelation that her cousin was decades older than her shocked her, and she refused to believe it. Her last memory was of baby Kal-El, whom she was supposed to babysit on that fateful day when she was sent to Earth.

Even though technically older than Superman, Supergirl was much younger than him after her difficulties with the escape pod as time was frozen for her. Both Superman and Supergirl had trouble dealing with that past.

Supergirl had trouble adjusting to Earth’s society

Supergirl’s origin story is much more traumatic than Superman’s. She remembered the hardships that she endured on Krypton following its destruction and what it was like while the ground itself was poisoning her people. She practically witnessed most of the people she cared about dying.

Supergirl had one purpose on Earth, to watch over her baby cousin, and when she finally arrived, he was already a man grown and didn’t need her. Additionally, due to being raised on Krypton, Kara had a much harder time adjusting to human society and fitting in. There was a lot of pent-up anger inside her, and pain, trauma, also, most of all.

This will eventually lead Kara to unleash her rage and bind to Red Lantern Ring, turning her into a member of the Red Lantern Corps.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!

Liked this article? Join the community on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!