Powergirl shouldn’t have been made a kryptonian again.

[achilles]

Power Girl isn't confusing at all nor is she made redundant by Supergirl at all. That's like trying to argue Superman is redundant because of Superboy when they both serve different stories and have different conflicts.

Supergirl is a teenager, left Krypton at a teen age, remembers her home world and while she is at times distraught over it's destrurction, she still has a fresh start on earth alongside her cousin and his adopted family. Supergirl largely appeals to tweens and in inherently a much lighter, fun character. Her appeal is in her wholesomeness.

Power Girl is a refugee from an alternate universe. Her trauma is of a different magnitude than Kara's. She escaped Krypton once, grew up on earth and that earth along with everything else was destroyed and now she is on another earth where everything is familiar to her but so different at the same time. She meets Huntress but this new Huntress is Helena Bertinelli, not Helena Wayne and they don't have a relationship so she can't just go and talk to her like she did on Earth 2. Neither does she have the same relationship with her cousin Kal. Everything is familiar but so different. That's screwed up. Power Girl's appeal is in the fact that she is a grown up Supergirl; she is head strong, smart, takes on more of a leadership role, owns her own company and is incredibly powerful as well. She has a more assertive personality than Supergirl. She is also a mentor to heroes like Atlee, Stargirl and Cyclone. There is an entirely different stories to be told with her but she is often relegated to boob jokes or stories centered around her costume.

Yeah, PG's only real problem is that no one at DC has even begun to reach for her potential. It's execution, or rather the lack of it, that's DC's problem with PG.

[ironman2978]

Yeah, PG's only real problem is that no one at DC has even begun to reach for her potential. It's execution, or rather the lack of it, that's DC's problem with PG.

Honestly with a lot of characters unfortunately.

[HsssH]

To be honest I find it rather telling that lots of "Power Girl is fine" posts here boil down to "she has bigger trauma than other characters in the same franchise with similar traumas". DC might as well release new monthly where each issue different Superman character cries about his doomed city/planet/universe/whatever, we'd have material for years. We could even have crossover with some other DC characters to compare who has bigger trauma.

But maybe we have enough characters with traumas already? Sure, technically losing entire universe is bigger deal than losing a planet, but in practice it doesn't really matter. Batman lost only his parents yet I'd argue that he is more traumatized than Superman characters. Why? Because everyone, more or less, can relate to losing their parents, while stuff like "she lost her entire universe" is so out there that it might as well not exist.

I think what we need is Earth-2 where characters like Power Girl can actually do their own thing and not get bogged down with all this trauma stuff.

[Agent Z]

To be honest I find it rather telling that lots of "Power Girl is fine" posts here boil down to "she has bigger trauma than other characters in the same franchise with similar traumas". DC might as well release new monthly where each issue different Superman character cries about his doomed city/planet/universe/whatever, we'd have material for years. We could even have crossover with some other DC characters to compare who has bigger trauma.

But maybe we have enough characters with traumas already? Sure, technically losing entire universe is bigger deal than losing a planet, but in practice it doesn't really matter. Batman lost only his parents yet I'd argue that he is more traumatized than Superman characters. Why? Because everyone, more or less, can relate to losing their parents, while stuff like "she lost her entire universe" is so out there that it might as well not exist.

I think what we need is Earth-2 where characters like Power Girl can actually do their own thing and not get bogged down with all this trauma stuff.

No one is saying that Karen losing an entire universe is all there is to her or should define her. They're only bringing it up as one of the ways she differs from Supergirl and people have even stated they don't want her to be an angsty character.

[achilles]

No one is saying that Karen losing an entire universe is all there is to her or should define her. They're only bringing it up as one of the ways she differs from Supergirl and people have even stated they don't want her to be an angsty character.

Yes, to be sure Kara is the exact opposite of angst ridden. She's not the sort to dwell on past tragedies, though she'd certainly keep it in mind. She's very much an in the moment character, which is part of her charm. She's not Batman by any stretch of the imagination.

[king81992]

No one is saying that Karen losing an entire universe is all there is to her or should define her. They're only bringing it up as one of the ways she differs from Supergirl and people have even stated they don't want her to be an angsty character.

I appreciate that writers rarely have Power Girl angst over her lost universe.

[king81992]

Yes, to be sure Kara is the exact opposite of angst ridden. She's not the sort to dwell on past tragedies, though she'd certainly keep it in mind. She's very much an in the moment character, which is part of her charm. She's not Batman by any stretch of the imagination.

I think you mean Karen. Kara has been angst ridden way too many times, it's like her alternate characterization.

[HsssH]

No one is saying that Karen losing an entire universe is all there is to her or should define her. They're only bringing it up as one of the ways she differs from Supergirl and people have even stated they don't want her to be an angsty character.

If it is something that is never used then in practice it also does not make her any different to Supergirl. It entirely becomes "meta" plot point.

[Agent Z]

If it is something that is never used then in practice it also does not make her any different to Supergirl. It entirely becomes "meta" plot point.

Who said it is never used? I said it doesn't define her. That's two different things.

[achilles]

I think you mean Karen. Kara has been angst ridden way too many times, it's like her alternate characterization.

No, I mean Kara. As in this thread, the resident Kara. Context, in a Supergirl thread, I would have called her either PG or Karen, but in a PG thread, I just settle for her "real" first name, Kara. I agree modern SG is the personification of angst.

[king81992]

If it is something that is never used then in practice it also does not make her any different to Supergirl. It entirely becomes "meta" plot point.

For better or for worse, not bringing up Power Girl's lost universe actually helped her character. Kept her from being forced into the role of 'angsty character who mourns what they lost, can't get it back and harbor deep resentment because of their loss'.

[Robanker]

If it is something that is never used then in practice it also does not make her any different to Supergirl. It entirely becomes "meta" plot point.

The thing is that her not bringing it up all the time DOES define her... But it did come up. Especially during Justice Society of America post Infinite Crisis. The first twenty-some issues deal with her coming to terms with being the last daughter of an extinct universe. She gets over it, launches her own series and moves on. She overcame trauma, which people loved seeing with Jessica Cruz but have forgotten about with PG. Moreover, let's not cry afoul about any character making everything about their loss while Bruce Wayne appears in or influences 1/3 of DC's published books.

Power Girl IS fine. She has a traumatic backstory and has moved beyond it. Her trauma can be referenced if needed but it doesn't define the character the same way Uncle Ben dying does Peter Parker. It's more like Clark's trauma in that it can be brought up when relevant, but that's it.

[SpideyCeo]

Karen is always distinct from Kara. Her personality is more consistent. Kara is either really nice or extremely obnoxious, angsty, mean or bratty while Karen is usually depicted as a fun loving mature woman who's trying to find her place in the world.

The fuxk..kara was near narutoish or luffyish as pre crisis supergirl or DCAU Supergirl. Supergirl was a brash yet fun rebel before power girl was created.

[Agent Z]

The fuxk..kara was near narutoish or luffyish as pre crisis supergirl or DCAU Supergirl. Supergirl was a brash yet fun rebel before power girl was created.

Yeah, I don't think you know anything about any of those characters. And DCAU Supergirl came after Power Girl was created.

[SpideyCeo]

Yes, to be sure Kara is the exact opposite of angst ridden. She's not the sort to dwell on past tragedies, though she'd certainly keep it in mind. She's very much an in the moment character, which is part of her charm. She's not Batman by any stretch of the imagination.

Sounds like some versions of OG Kara. You know PG is kinda irrelevant except for fanservice cues, feel like shes a subversion of superheroine sexiness and exploitation in superheroines at its most shallow level and meant to be played for laughs, i mean she had a run with another subversive villain turned anti heroine that was all about her obvious sex joke of a rack and herself as a porn supergirl, hell her villain is a 80s porn star pastchie who had been promoted feeling her up in her and harleys covers, theirs no way pg can be taken seriously anymore these days, supergirl is a well intentioned concept of the superman parody as a hero that doesnt flaunt her body or overt personality to get attention, shes actually a well developed and dynamic character thats like spiderman meant to grow and learn while keeping the same ideals as her cousin and being like superman in a sense.