The multiverse has given birth to DC’s most viciousSupergirlvariants. At her core, Supergirl lives up to her moniker as the Woman of Tomorrow, proving to be justas inspirational as her cousin Superman, if not more so. However, this speaks to who Kara Zor-El is on Prime Earth, the main DC Comics continuity.
DC’s multiverse has showcased a different Supergirl from multiple universes, all darker than the last. Not every Supergirl is a beacon of hope as she is in the main canon. Some versions of Supergirl have been seen to be cold, cruel, andmore brutal than Superman could ever be. Delving into some of the meanest and nastiest versions of Supergirl make fans have a deeper appreciation that the main DC Universe doesn’t have to deal with her unrelenting wrath. Other universes, however, aren’t as fortunate.
The New 52 Supergirl Gets a Crimson Makeover
By Volume 6’sSupergirl#28, Kara is tired of experiencing loss and even sicker of people acting like they know her and what’s best for her. In all of her anger and frustrations over recent experiences, she’s a prime candidate for the Red Lantern ring to call upon her. Within seconds, Supergirl becomes one ofthe most powerful Red Lanterns.
Clickhereto learn more as to why this may very well be Supergirl’s darkest transformation.
In her darkest iterations, Supergirl shows what happens when an often peaceful, optimistic heroine has reached her breaking point. She stops holding back her true power. A Supergirl off the leash is like a rottweiler who’s been given free rein to go maim everything in sight, or like a passive bullying victim who suddenly wails down fists against their tormenters. That describes Supergirl with a Red Lantern ring to a tee.
9Supergirl Becomes a Hardcore Rebel Leader in The Dark Knight Strikes Again
Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s Supergirl is a Stark Contrast to DC’s Main Canon
This Supergirl isn’t Superman’s cousin, but a daughter named Lara Kent that he conceived with Wonder Woman. She’s an Amazon/Kryptonian hyprid who takes after her mother more than anything. She’s cold to the bone, viewing herself and the nation at large as beneath her, growing to hate humans after being raised on Themyscira.
This Supergirl has the same powers as her old man, but as the first Amazon/Kryptonian, she might be stronger than either he or Diana.
Lara fails to understand her father’s love for the human race, but nonetheless teams with him, Batman, and the other heroes to combat Lex Luthor and Brainiac. It’s certainly one of theweirder arcs to feature Wonder Woman, but Lana Kent’s presence adds one of the more interesting elements to Frank Miller’s sequel. This Supergirl has the same powers as her old man, but as the first Amazon/Kryptonian, she might be stronger than either he or Diana.
8The Injustice Version of Superman’s Daughter Who Never Got to Be Born
This Supergirl is a Major “What If?” Scenario
Anyone remotely familiar with the Injustice franchise knows that his daughter’s death is integral to Superman’s turn to the dark side. However,Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Three#14 delves into “For the Man Who Lost Everything,” a hypothetical glimpse into a world where Lois Lane did not die with her and Superman’s daughter in her stomach.
“For the Man Who Lost Everything” is a twist on “For the Man Who Has Everything,” a classic Alan Moore story focusing on Superman under the influence of the Black Mercy parasite, imagining a world where Krypton never self-destructed and, instead, he raised a family there.
In this world, Batman kills The Joker before the latter has a chance to ruin Superman’s life, requesting one thing out of Clark after turning himself in:“live your lives.“And so they do. Thus,Superman’s forgotten daughter lives againand grows up to become Supergirl. He not only trains her to become the hero she is, but her voice of reason keeps Clark in line whenever he starts sounding like a"B-grade supervillain.”
7Supergirl Goes Dark in Supergirl Vol 5 #3
Black Kryptonite Helps Supergirl Tap Into True Darkness
An encounter with Lex Luthor turns deadly when he introduces Black Kryptonite into the mix. Darkseid tells Lex that Black Kryptonite would help Supergirl tap into her true self. Lex overexposes Kara to the substance, thinking she’d see him as a friend instead of an enemy once her mind is taken to a dark place, but instead, she splits into an even stronger, deadlier version of herself.
Worse than just beating Lex to a pulp, she does the same to John Stewart’s Green Lantern, taking his ring from him to boot. She even dishes out punishment to Hawkman, The Flash, the Martian Manhunter, and Black Canary,showing how devastating a Supergirl who doesn’t hold back can be. She even survives a skirmish with Wonder Woman, who’s Lasso of Truth proves the deciding factor in bringing the two halves of Supergirl back together.
6Supergirl Infected by the Batman Who Laughs
She Forms a New Supervillain Super-Team, The Secret Six
Supergirl (2016)#36 by Marc Andreyko and Eduardo Pansica sees the title character’s day go from bad to worse when she goes from fending off Brainiac’s army to getting a distress signal from the Fortress of Solitude.The Batman Who Laughs, a Darkseid-level threatwho happens to be The Dark Knight’s darkest variant, has infected the Justice League to become his maniacal minions.
Supergirl joins the heroes in the fight, but one Joker-toxin-infused Batarang strike is enough to change her biology. Suddenly,Supergirl transforms into a twisted member of the Secret Six, comprising of herself, “Scarab” Blue Beetle, “Deathbringer” Donna Troy, “The Commissioner” Jim Gordon, King Shazam, and the “Sky Tyrant” Hawkman. Alone, her power is fully realized, but in this super-team, she’s virtually unstoppable.
5Bizarro-Supergirl is a Recurring Antagonist
From the Golden Age to the Present
There have been multiple Bizarro Supergirl’s in DC lore, starting with the Golden Age. First, at the Fourtriss Uv Bizarro, Bizarro Lois Lane gives birth to a baby who, miraculously, looks more human than bizarre. When Bizarro Superman is peer-pressured to dispose of the baby, Bizarro Jr. (or Buster) crashlands on Earth, where he activates the same duplicator ray that first created Bizarro, this time targeting Supergirl and creating a Bizarro version of her.
This wouldn’t be Bizarro Supergirl’s last appearance, as the early 2000s would introduce a Bizarro Supergirl clone created by Two-Face, starting inSupergirl#62. She’s stopped duringSupergirl’s team-up with Cassandra Cain’s Batgirl. Finally and more recently, Volume 5’sSupergirl#53 introduces Bizarro-Girl, who originates from the Bizarro World (a.k.a. the planet Htrae, a reverse Earth).
4Dark Knights of Steel Delivers a Hardcore Supergirl
Arguably the Most Ruthless Supergirl
Beyond just givingSupergirl one of her best costumes,Dark Knights of Steelgives readers the most hardcore Supergirl ever put onto the page. The series and its encompassing universe provides a medieval twist on the DC Universe. As such is the way of the land, this offers a more brutish Supergirl with a killer instinct.
Princess Zala Jor-El of House of El is more warrior than princess. She’s far more ruthless than ever seen before in the DC Universe from Supergirl, particularly following the death of her mother. Once the gloves are off, Supergirl wears her emotions on her sleeve at every turn and, more often than not, expresses those emotions through violence. It’s also worth noting that Zala is embroiled in a romance with the Wonder Woman of this universe, compiling a close kinship between this world’s most skilled warriors.
3Ultragirl from Earth-3 is Ruthless
Even More Powerful Than Overman
Crime Syndicate#5 by Andy Schmidt and Kieran McKeown introduces Ultragirl when she blocks a punch from Ultraman meant for Alexander Luthor at the last possible second at the speed of light.The fact that she’s able to overpower the Superman of Earth-3 suggests that she’s even more powerful than her cousin.
The following issue then sees Ultragirl take on all challengers, and even manage to defeat Ultraman in a fist fight. Keep in mind that Ultraman is one of the first and mostdevastating evil opposites of Superman, one who still torments him and his son, Jon Kent, to this day. And yet, in thisCrime Syndicateminiseries, he can barely brush past his cousin through the skin of his teeth, not even with his comrades by his side.
2The Nazi Overgirl
A Fallen Clone of the Nazi Superman
Earth-10 may very well be Superman’s worst nightmare. Preceding Captain America,Superman was the first to beat up Hitler, so he’s obviously no fan of the Nazi Party. Earth-10, though, depicts a world where World War II is won by the Nazis, giving birth to a world under its control.
Under this world, Superman is Overman, after his ship crashlands in Sudetenland as a baby. Not only does Karl Kant prove instrumental to the Fourth Reich, but his Kryptonian technology helps Adolf Hitler win WWII. From there,Overgirl is conceived as a clone of Overman, who he views as a cousin. In the comics, readers don’t see much of Overgirl before she’s slain, and as the main antagonist for the animated web series Freedom Fighters: The Ray. Both versions are played by Melissa Benoist.
1Brainwashed into Working for Darkseid
The “Supergirl from Krypton” Arc of Superman/Batman #8-12
Soon after Supergirl crashlands on Earth for the first time and is discovered by Batman and Superman, she is sent to Themyscira so that Wonder Woman and the Amazons can train her. When this new Kryptonian is brought to Darkseid’s attention, she’s kidnapped and brought to Apokolips. He manages to mind-control her, compelling her to viciously attack Superman.
During the fight, Superman refuses to fight his cousin, but even then, he can feel how strong she is. Superman admits that “she may even be more powerful than me.“Either Darkseid’s influence gives Supergirl a power boost, or she just stops holding back when she’s evil. It takes a knockout shot from Superman with a Kryptonite ring lined with lead in the compartment of his belt buckle to finally snap Kara out of it.Supergirlhas many evil forms, but she’s most violent under Darkseid’s watch.
