Powergirl shouldn’t have been made a kryptonian again.

[achilles]

Her Earth name, yes. Her Kryptonian name is Kara Zor-L. The only difference between her and Supergirl's name is the surname Pre/Post crisis distinction of L/El.

Fans just call them Kara/Karen to make it easier to differentiate the two, but bretmaverick2 isn't wrong to call PG Kara.

I would imagine that in-universe, some of her friends call her Karen, and some call her Kara, depending on when they got to know her and the situation. And that one of the two Supergirls is called "Car-uh" and the other is called "Care-uh". Supergirl for example has been called bother versions of the name in animation and live action. What's Supergirl going by as her civilian name these days?

[Ascended]

Sort of like how some people call Superman "Kal" while others call him "Clark?" Yeah, I agree that would make sense.

And PG and Supergirl likely pronounce their given names differently, though I don't know which would be "Car-ah" and who would be "Care-uh."

No idea what civilian name Supergirl is using now. I *think* it's just Kara but she might be back to going by Linda or who knows what. I haven't read her book in years and just pick up on what's happening with her in guest appearances or the forums here.

[OBrianTallent]

Not reading all these pages, but.....

There's nothing wrong with Karen being a Crisis refugee and/or survivor of a dead reality. That's a pretty damn unique origin, and it's full of potential.

I also don't buy for one second the argument that she's too much like Supergirl. Different ages, different body types, different personalities.....they don't even go by the same names (Karen and Kara). The only thing they have in common is a powerset that is shared by tons of characters (most non-Kryptonian), and part of an origin. That's it. There's no real "redundancy barrier" preventing Power Girl from being a major player.

PG's origin has nothing to do with how DC treats her. In fact, when she was at the height of her popularity with a solo book, a leading role in All-Stars, and a position in JSA, she had her "multiversal survivor" origin.

The reason PG gets crapped on is because DC doesn't get her or see a reason to use her, despite the fact that Supergirl struggles to stay afloat no matter what they do with her book and PG was part of a relatively successful "new faces of DC" push just before the reboot. I mean, let's be real, outside of Batman, DC doesn't really get any of their characters or know what to do with them.

This. Power Girl is at her least successful when DC deviates from this.
It should also be noted that DC keeps trying to reboot Supergirls personality to one more like PGs....which never works for her character either.
She doesn't need to be a grown up version of Supergirl (new 52 version), she doesn't need to be a clone (DCAU version) and she sure doesn't need to be an Atlantean decendant.
DC could really lean into her being a universal refugee/survivor and make her a very unique character without really changing anything about her and diluting her character.

[achilles]

This. Power Girl is at her least successful when DC deviates from this.
It should also be noted that DC keeps trying to reboot Supergirls personality to one more like PGs....which never works for her character either.
She doesn't need to be a grown up version of Supergirl (new 52 version), she doesn't need to be a clone (DCAU version) and she sure doesn't need to be an Atlantean decendant.
DC could really lean into her being a universal refugee/survivor and make her a very unique character without really changing anything about her and diluting her character.

Agreed, DC should stop trying to "fix" either character and just get to the core of their appeal. Supergirl just needs to be Supergirl, not Power Girl, and PG just needs someone at DC to care enough to write good stories for her.

[The_Lurk]

Not reading all these pages, but.....

There's nothing wrong with Karen being a Crisis refugee and/or survivor of a dead reality. That's a pretty damn unique origin, and it's full of potential.

I also don't buy for one second the argument that she's too much like Supergirl. Different ages, different body types, different personalities.....they don't even go by the same names (Karen and Kara). The only thing they have in common is a powerset that is shared by tons of characters (most non-Kryptonian), and part of an origin. That's it. There's no real "redundancy barrier" preventing Power Girl from being a major player.

PG's origin has nothing to do with how DC treats her. In fact, when she was at the height of her popularity with a solo book, a leading role in All-Stars, and a position in JSA, she had her "multiversal survivor" origin.

The reason PG gets crapped on is because DC doesn't get her or see a reason to use her, despite the fact that Supergirl struggles to stay afloat no matter what they do with her book and PG was part of a relatively successful "new faces of DC" push just before the reboot. I mean, let's be real, outside of Batman, DC doesn't really get any of their characters or know what to do with them.

This. She could be the to go character for some really outlandish multiversal and/or cosmic adventures and has the by comic history actually evolved background to support this.

[Robanker]

I would imagine that in-universe, some of her friends call her Karen, and some call her Kara, depending on when they got to know her and the situation. And that one of the two Supergirls is called "Car-uh" and the other is called "Care-uh". Supergirl for example has been called bother versions of the name in animation and live action. What's Supergirl going by as her civilian name these days?

They did. It was interchangeable for her. Both are correct. Insisting on Karen is just for clarity in discussion.

[Sacred Knight]

Not only do I not have a problem with Karen still be a refugee from another world's Krypton, they should have kept Earth 2 Helena Wayne as her travel-mate and partner.

[warzon]

Actually I like Power Girl better than Supergirl they should've left her dead after the Crisis the Supergirl Matrix was a great addition to the DC Universe and had way more potential in my eye's plus Kara Power Girl costume better as well.

[achilles]

Actually I like Power Girl better than Supergirl they should've left her dead after the Crisis the Supergirl Matrix was a great addition to the DC Universe and had way more potential in my eye's plus Kara Power Girl costume better as well.

I kind of wish they'd bring back Matrix.

[CaptCleghorn]

Without even reading the previous pages, I will vehemently disagree. Power Girl as a Kryptonian from Earth Two set her as a dramatically different character than the Supergirl of earth One she was designed to be a counterpart to. Where the Trinity wasn't really that different and neither were the other characters who weren't different people (like Jay and Barry), the two Karas differed. That was a big step for DC and their alternate Earths. Previously, there were differences, but the entire planet was reversed good/bad or something. Sure DC made a mess of multiple characters as a result of both COIUE and "fixing" COIE. Basic Power il is she's Superman's Earth-Two cousin who is unlike the Earth-One character in personality and body type. It's a superhero comic-book company which destroys and replaces multiverses with amazing frequency. Fix it and make the basics work.

[Montressor]

I always wanted to see a flashback story detailing the post-Crisis concept of Superman initially believing her false Kryptonian memories and mistakenly accepting her as another survivor, until the Arion stuff came to light. As far as I know that stuff was only referenced and not fully shown.

[John Venus]

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.

[Doctor Bifrost]

I always wanted to see a flashback story detailing the post-Crisis concept of Superman initially believing her false Kryptonian memories and mistakenly accepting her as another survivor, until the Arion stuff came to light. As far as I know that stuff was only referenced and not fully shown.

There were a number of post-CoIE "origins" that skipped over the middle part. We didn't have any information on Donna Troy's backstory until it was REVEALED that, even though she had fake memories that she was brought up on Earth, went to a normal school, etc., in reality she was brought up on New Cronos, and the Titans of Myth gave her her powers and fake memories and dropped her on Earth. And I remember wondering, "Wait, what did she think her origin was? Where did she believe her powers, and her bracelets, and her lasso came from, before she got her real memories back? What did she tell Dick Grayson about her background? Did he and Bruce check it out, as they are wont to do?" And about a dozen other related questions that would have influenced her life and never got covered.

Similarly with Power Girl thinking she was a Kryptonian, when actually she was the granddaughter of an ancient wizard. Hard to imagine that story holding up for years, although apparently Arion was pulling the strings to make it work. For some reason that doesn't come to mind. And then he stopped.

[Montressor]

I remember an early John Byrne issue of Action where Superman teamed up with the Titans but Byrne had to play it vague with Donna, as the full effects of the Crisis hadn't settled in and I dont think Perez's Wonder Woman #1 had even dropped yet (her lasso was simply some sort of super-polymer thing and not at all magic, if my memory serves me correctly).

[achilles]

I always wanted to see a flashback story detailing the post-Crisis concept of Superman initially believing her false Kryptonian memories and mistakenly accepting her as another survivor, until the Arion stuff came to light. As far as I know that stuff was only referenced and not fully shown.

It was shown. IIRC in the Johns mini. Only a few panels with PG narrating what happened, but she looked crushed when rejected by Ma Kent, though in a kind enough way. Connor's art IIRC.