Do you consider Power Girl a Superman, JSA or independent character first?

[CaptCleghorn]

IIRC, wasn't Super Squad just a very short-lived attempt at reinventing the JSA? And not really anything to do with Superman in particular?

Yeah, Super Squad was probably the first sign DC wasn't overly confident a series with older heroes could sell and they put the younger heroes out in front.

[Dr. Poison]

She SHOULD be a Superman character but with how seldom she appears in the Super Family books, she comes across as a JSA character. I love her either way and am happy she's started appearing again in more than cameos(her role in Dark Crisis: Dark Army was great!).

[Jim Kelly]

IIRC, wasn't Super Squad just a very short-lived attempt at reinventing the JSA? And not really anything to do with Superman in particular?

The thing is when I was composing my previous post, I was going to say she appeared first in the J.S.A., but my dedication to the truth wouldn't let me say that. I know I should just gloss over the facts, because eventually she was a J.S.A. member--but she starts out being not a J.S.A. member and pushing her agenda for a new team called the Super Squad. She and Sylvester Pemberton didn't have membership in the Justice Society (at that time) and I guess Richard Grayson decided to throw in with them for the S.S.--they later called it the All Star Super Squad or A.S.S.S--I guess it's better to be an A.S.S.S than an S.S.

It's like when Silver Scarab first appeared was he a member of the Justice Society or Infinity, Inc.? Well, eventually, Hector Hall did become a member of the J.S.A. but he was an Infinitor first. He's Hawkman's son, so I consider him a Hawk family member first, an Infinitor second, a Sandman character third and a Justice Society member fourth.

It seems to me with the Crisis and everyone being on one Earth this took away both her standing in the Superman family and her position in the Justice Society. When they were on Earth-Two there was no problem, but when Earth-Two was never supposed to exist it got difficult to explain how she could be related to Superman or got entry into the J.S.A. Then she had to make it on her own--and she joined the Justice League.

But really, she's a character that needs her origin back--and she should be a Superman family member from Earth-Two.

[SiegePerilous02]

I voted JSA character, but really she should be both. She was created to be an alternate universe version of Kara who acted as a legacy representative of Earth-2 Superman in the JSA.

[MajorHoy]

I voted JSA character, but really she should be both. She was created to be an alternate universe version of Kara who acted as a legacy representative of Earth-2 Superman in the JSA.

But the pre-CoIE version specifically chose to not call herself "Supergirl" / specifically chose not to wear any "Super" emblem. She wanted to be her own person.

[DABellWrites]

Superman character in creation only. PG is like Donna, both characters are technically apart of a different franchise, but most of their time is spent elsewhere.

What do you mean by independent DC character?

[bat39]

She was created for the JSA, she's maintained her ties to them over the years for the most part. Yeah, I see her as a JSA character first and foremost. Superman second.

That's where I come down on it.

The thing is when I was composing my previous post, I was going to say she appeared first in the J.S.A., but my dedication to the truth wouldn't let me say that. I know I should just gloss over the facts, because eventually she was a J.S.A. member--but she starts out being not a J.S.A. member and pushing her agenda for a new team called the Super Squad. She and Sylvester Pemberton didn't have membership in the Justice Society (at that time) and I guess Richard Grayson decided to throw in with them for the S.S.--they later called it the All Star Super Squad or A.S.S.S--I guess it's better to be an A.S.S.S than an S.S.

It's like when Silver Scarab first appeared was he a member of the Justice Society or Infinity, Inc.? Well, eventually, Hector Hall did become a member of the J.S.A. but he was an Infinitor first. He's Hawkman's son, so I consider him a Hawk family member first, an Infinitor second, a Sandman character third and a Justice Society member fourth.

It seems to me with the Crisis and everyone being on one Earth this took away both her standing in the Superman family and her position in the Justice Society. When they were on Earth-Two there was no problem, but when Earth-Two was never supposed to exist it got difficult to explain how she could be related to Superman or got entry into the J.S.A. Then she had to make it on her own--and she joined the Justice League.

But really, she's a character that needs her origin back--and she should be a Superman family member from Earth-Two.

Yeah, COIE stripped Power Girl of her associations with Superman and the JSA and left her at a loose end. She eventually did regain her JSA affiliation though. And her original origin in the lead-up to IC.

I think the idea that she's Superman's cousin from another universe works. It doesn't mean she's explicitly tied to this version of Superman moreso than she is to the JSA.

But the pre-CoIE version specifically chose to not call herself "Supergirl" / specifically chose not to wear any "Super" emblem. She wanted to be her own person.

Precisely.

Huntress as a character, in stark contrast, has always been tied to Batman and Gotham, even when she was completely rebooted into a different person.

Superman character in creation only. PG is like Donna, both characters are technically apart of a different franchise, but most of their time is spent elsewhere.

What do you mean by independent DC character?

Yeah, I think Donna's a good comparison, since she was effectively created for the Teen Titans.

The one difference is that Donna was Wonder Girl...well, at least when she doesn't precede Wonder Woman.

[Captain Nostalgia]

Even though she's strongly rooted in both the JSA & Superman, I put down independent because she's been in a lot of stuff over the decades including her own minis.

For me personally, she was in a lot of JLA stuff back in the day, and I also associate her with Birds of Prey.

[Jon Clark]

But the pre-CoIE version specifically chose to not call herself "Supergirl" / specifically chose not to wear any "Super" emblem. She wanted to be her own person.

I see her as a Superman character first for that very reason. Her whole initial character arc was trying to honor her cousin but not be him. Her JSA ties just don't seem as strong if she has no reason to join the team (once her cousin's role in the JSA vanished).

[Jim Kelly]

I see her as a Superman character first for that very reason. Her whole initial character arc was trying to honor her cousin but not be him. Her JSA ties just don't seem as strong if she has no reason to join the team (once her cousin's role in the JSA vanished).

I still can recall how I felt the first time I read ALL-STAR COMICS 58 and discovered this new/old character called Power Girl. I thought it was pretty darn clever that, of course, Earth-Two had its own Supergirl but she wasn't the same as the Earth-One. The similarities and differences were what fascinated me. I wouldn't have been as interested if she was just some super-hero from Podunk, Michigan. It was the clever bit that got me. Same with Huntress being the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. This is what you call high concept in the biz.

[CaptCleghorn]

I still can recall how I felt the first time I read ALL-STAR COMICS 58 and discovered this new/old character called Power Girl. I thought it was pretty darn clever that, of course, Earth-Two had its own Supergirl but she wasn't the same as the Earth-One. The similarities and differences were what fascinated me. I wouldn't have been as interested if she was just some super-hero from Podunk, Michigan. It was the clever bit that got me. Same with Huntress being the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. This is what you call high concept in the biz.

I wonder how much of a hard sell an "Earth-Two Supergirl" was back in the seventies. I wouldn't be surprised if she was editorially mandated, or if writers had to fight to get her created. She was, IIRC, the first non-Golden Age Earth Two character created by DC. I am positive someone will correct me if I am mistaken.

[bat39]

I wonder how much of a hard sell an "Earth-Two Supergirl" was back in the seventies. I wouldn't be surprised if she was editorially mandated, or if writers had to fight to get her created. She was, IIRC, the first non-Golden Age Earth Two character created by DC. I am positive someone will correct me if I am mistaken.

Well, almost certainly the first superhero (dunno about supporting cast, villains or love interests).

I dunno much about Power Girl's creation. It'd be interesting to learn more about that. Its particularly interesting that they went down the route of making her an "Earth Two Supergirl", when I suppose there was also the option of making her Superman and Lois' daughter.

But that's the thing - apart from the fact of her being Kara's E2 doppelganger, the character doesn't exactly scream ''Superman legacy''. She took Superman's spot on the JSA (not that he had much of a spot thre, honestly) but was pretty much her own woman. And after COIE, they stripped her of her Superman connection, but she still persisted as a character and eventually regained her JSA ties.

Contrast this with Huntress whose whole deal is being the daughter of Batman (and Catwoman). Even when Huntress got totally rebooted to remove her familial connection with Batman, the new version became a Batman supporting character and ally and has firmly been part of the Gotham side of the DCU.

I wonder if that's why there have been more adaptations of Huntress as compared to Power Girl. It's easy to position her as Batman or Batman-adjacent character. With Power Girl, it's hard to know what to position her as. I think her strongest point, and best chance of making it to a high-profile adaptation, is honestly the JSA.

[MajorHoy]

I wonder how much of a hard sell an "Earth-Two Supergirl" was back in the seventies. I wouldn't be surprised if she was editorially mandated, or if writers had to fight to get her created. She was, IIRC, the first non-Golden Age Earth Two character created by DC. I am positive someone will correct me if I am mistaken.

But what about

[CaptCleghorn]

But what about

There is that.

[DABellWrites]

I wonder how much of a hard sell an "Earth-Two Supergirl" was back in the seventies. I wouldn't be surprised if she was editorially mandated, or if writers had to fight to get her created. She was, IIRC, the first non-Golden Age Earth Two character created by DC. I am positive someone will correct me if I am mistaken.

I think the pitch went like this: "She's Kara. She wears a white leotard and has her cleavage showing. Let's throw in some women's lib to show she's not just something for the boys to lust over."