๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. an independent, private, & cherry-picked canon portrayal of kara zor-el / supergirl from detective comics. references woman of tomorrow (2021-2022,) world's finest (2022-), supergirl: universe end (2025), and supergirl the film (2026).
I, dossier & verses. II, prompts. III, pin board. RULES BELOW THE CUT.
DISCLAIMER: i am not very comic savvy and while i'm working on building my knowledge, i've only so far kept up with the absolute lines and a few other, more current lines or one-offs. i acknowledge this may make my kara portrayal different, maybe even on a fundamental level, than what most people are familiar with, and that's fine if that's not your thing! i however do not have a preference per which "canon" / continuity people follow, etc. i am very comic - verse friendly ! i am also very open to reading recs from mutuals, please tell me your fav comics that inspire your portrayal <33
I. INDEPENDENT, PRIVATE, AND MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE BLOG -- meaning i will only write with mutuals, and only follow those i am genuinely interested in building storylines with. multiverse and very au flexible + friendly, oc friendly, etc.
II. ACTIVITY WILL FLUCTUATE SPORADICALLY DUE TO WORK SCHEDULE. response time does not equal my interest in threads, and responses to ims / discord does not equal time to write.
III. I PREFER PLOTTED INTERACTIONS, it doesn't need to be a full storyline or mountain of how our characters develop together --- it is just far easier for me to write threads if we've had some dialogue regarding how our muses may interact. nonetheless, my inbox is always open and memes are always welcome. i will message you if i'd like some groundwork prior to answering a prompt.
IV. I USE FAIRLY BASIC FORMATTING with some double / triple + spaces, tumblr's built-in fonts, and some colored text. sometimes i will match my partner on regular or small text, it depends. but please let me know if my writing is ever an issue for you to read and i will happily adjust accordingly !
V. MATURE AND POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING CONTENT WILL BE FEATURED ON THIS BLOG. i will do my best to tag but please let me know if there's something you'd like me to tag for you ! i do not write smut, though mild nsfw content or a fade to black may be featured from time to time.
VI. MULTISHIP AND VERY SHIP FRIENDLY -- however, chemistry, comfort, and plotting between muns is CRUCIAL. i do not prioritize romance over other dynamics, but i do love shipping! kara is pansexual. i will not have a romantic dynamic with more than one portrayal of the same muse.
VII. I DO PRACTICE MAINS & AFFILIATES, and am in fact very fond of affiliated verses, but it is mostly reserved for friends and requires a good amount of plotting. i rarely do exclusivity except for ships.
VIII. BASIC RP ETIQUETTE APPLIES, please do not attempt to interact if you are a bigot of any kind. do not follow if you do not support a free palestine. do not interact if you are a lewd blog or primarily indulge in lewd content. minors, do not interact! i do not participate in dash drama or callout culture unless the person is genuinely, widely harmful: if i am interacting with someone you believe is problematic, please contact me and let me know. FURTHERMORE, while i have cited woman of tomorrow as inspiration in my portrayal, i am not a t0m k1ng apologist. i read the comic before i knew who he was, and have not purchased or supported any of his other works, nor do i particularly care to.
IX. NOT DUPLICATE FRIENDLY -- unless you are a close friend. this is not at all personal. i love seeing supergirl blogs!! i want to see more, frankly!!! however, for my own comfort while i continue to build my kara's lore, i do not see myself following or writing with other kara blogs. much love to you if you do write her. on the same note, it does not bother me if you as my writing partner interact with other kara / supergirl blogs. such is the beauty of multiverse.
PORTRAYAL NOTES: ย inspoย &ย characterization taken from various sources i've read but overall my own interpretation. ย this is my primary verse and is absolutely flexible to fit with comic-based muses,ย but i do have alt,ย more comic-based verses if that is your preference. ย please note that some things are also prone to adjustment as i delve further into comics and the dcu expands.
ON KRYPTON.
KARA ZOR-EL WAS FOURTEEN YEARS OLD WHEN KRYPTON'S CORE COLLAPSED FROM WITHIN ITSELF. ย while her baby cousin was rocketed off to earth,ย her father zor-el managed to bubble enough atmosphere to save the chunk of argo city that had broken off the planet. ย eighteen thousand citizens survived on that asteroid,ย but within a couple years,ย thirteen thousand died of the eventual radiation poisoning that took hold of the ground under their feet due to approaching yellow sunsย --ย including karaโs mother.ย kara helped build the lead shield her father came up with to block the radiation,ย and finished it alone when many of her fellow survivors fell into sorrow. ย it worked for a time,ย but it was not made to withstand the elements of space,ย and eventually a meteor shower penetrated the shield and people grew sick again. ย desperate to save his daughter,ย zor-el found his brother's blueprints for kal-el's escape pod and spent months recreating it to carry kara before the cancer took him as well. ย KARA DID NOT WANT TO GO. ย this was her home,ย what was left of it ย -- ย she wanted to be buried in that toxic dirt next to her parents when the time came. ย but her father begged her,ย because she was his life and her mother's and he could not bear to let her die this way,ย and so she went. ย rocketed off like her baby cousin all those years ago,ย nothing but a small dog cradled in her arms.
ON EARTH,ย THE DANVERSโย &ย MIDVALE.
BE GOOD,ย HER MOTHER HAD SAID. ย THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE,ย HER FATHER HAD SAID. ย ย kara's shuttle was knocked off course and ended up trapped in the phantom zone for over two decades until something shook her loose. ย she was nearly eighteen when she landed on earth,ย just a couple years before her younger cousin announced himself to the world as superman. ย they could not understand one another when he found her and the fortress of solitude,ย though bearing pieces of familiarity,ย was no place to live. ย clark took her to his apartment in metropolis at first where he gave up his bedroom and took the couch for a few weeks,ย but the sounds of the city were overwhelming and the apartment was lonely ย --ย and no place to raise a superdog. ย the kents were kind enough but still strangeย ( everything on this planet was strange ),ย and they were clark kent's parents,ย not kara zor-el's. ย eventually,ย family friends of the kentsย ( jeremiah and eliza danvers )ย from the next town over offered to take her in on account of her foreign exchange student program,ย and their empty nesting syndrome after their own daughter had left for her junior year of college. ย the danversโ seemed kind and welcoming,ย but a little too obliviousย --ย or too willing to turn a blind eye. ย it was revealed a few months down the line that they were retired agents of the D.E.O. and that despite their sincere wish to caretake for her,ย they had also been trying to study karaโs kryptonian physiology. ย soon after, the D.E.O. tried to capture karaย ( mostly unrelated to the danversโ samples,ย as she had gone for a night flight or two when she felt overwhelmingly lonely and accidentally got tagged by the agencyโs cameras ) but she escaped,ย and in a guilt - ridden extension of an olive branch,ย the danversโ destroyed all data they had collected of her so that the D.E.O. couldnโt find her or others through her,ย and swore theyโd protect her if she chose to stay. ย kara felt at odds and their relationship is a little rocky to this day,ย though she did end up donning the family name danvers as her human alias and tried to forge a life in midvale,ย or something that looked like one. ย a small part of her also cringed from the idea of placing herself at clarkโs feet as a burden yet again,ย and did not want to reveal to him what had occurred. ย she needed to find her own way.
ON THE CREST OF ELย &ย SPACE TRAVEL.
BE TOUGH. ย BE GOOD. ย ย kara was twenty when clark publicly bore the mantle of superman,ย and still sought her own purpose and place on earth. ย at some point,ย her cousin came into possession of a spaceship through one of his adventures and she jumped at the opportunity for a test flight. ย departing from earth felt like a chance to finally break free from the heaviness that weighed her down,ย but it never seemed to let up no matter how far she traveled. ย no matter how long she searched. ย another thing that remained consistent was no matter where kara went,ย she always found a way to help: ย a natural disaster here,ย a parent missing their fleet-footed child there,ย an elderly person no longer able to care for their property ย -- ย kara could not help but to lend a hand. ย on one of her trips back to midvale,ย there was an explosion at a local factory and she was there,ย working alongside the emergency personnel to care for those pulled out of the rubble even before superman rushed in to save the others. ย afterwards,ย clark gifted kara a suit of a similar make to his own,ย offering her a purpose to put her powers to if she accepted. ย while it felt good to help people,ย she hesitated to operate in her cousinโs shadow. ย another thing that did not feel entirely her own. ย but when she accepted the suit, the house of el's crest emblazoned on it,ย it did feel right. ย one of the few things in her life that did. ย her career as supergirl has had a somewhat clumsy beginning while she balanced it and tried to discover who kara danvers was at the same time,ย and she still traveled off planet somewhat often to explore. ย she eventually sought systems with red suns,ย because there she felt like just a girl again. ย the weight of the world on her shoulders,ย but not a superpowered alien who could carry it in one hand. ย her most recent exploration was an intended week-long trip to celebrate her twenty-third birthday with krypto,ย where she unintentionally ran into some trouble with the brigands and embarked on a several weeks-long trip to recover the cure for kryptoโs poison,ย as well as accompany the young girl who sought revenge on krem of the yellow hills for killing her father in cold blood. ย where kara found ruin and disaster on every trail they followed,ย reminders of krypton and argo city that made her blood still in her veins,ย she tried to aid in what ways she could. ย digging mass burial graves was nothing new to her. ย finally,ย kara and ruthye pinned down the brigand and put an end to his raze of terrorย -- ย as well as his entire ship and crewmates. ย when kara returned to earth,ย it was with the steady-beating reminder that she could not run from her pain but only try to help others from experiencing the same. ย nothing quite feels like home just yet,ย but she wants to believe that earth can be, some day. she'd also like to get to know her cousin more.
ON SUPERGIRL (2026): ย heavy spoilers for the movie below,ย avoid reading if you do not wish to see them!
while i overall greatly enjoyed the film and thought it was fun,ย i did unfortunately think it suffered from not fully committing to anything,ย let alone being somewhat of a parody of the beautiful story weโve come to know from the comic it was supposedly based on.ย ย (i will still continue watching and supporting it though because i need more milly as supergirl in my life and i will not let the incels win,ย tysm.) ย NONETHELESS!ย this isnโt supposed to be a review,ย but a list of what i keep and what i divert from in my portrayal.
KEEPING.
i really enjoyed the flashback scenes to argo,ย and how warm karaโs parents were. ย i especially loved the scene between kara and her father when he was convincing her to flee their inevitable doom. ย what a heartwrencher!
on that topic,ย iโve seen some people saying the message from karaโs parents felt redundant and a purposeful difference from the controversial decision of what the films decided with kal-elโs parents,ย which is fair. ย it was pushed a little hard,ย especially with the โprotect those who cannot protect themselvesโ line. ย but,ย overall,ย i feel like it was her parents reminding kara of who she already was through the pain of her grief. ย itโs the words that come back to her when she feels the most lost. ย not because it was a command or a duty,ย but because itโs who she is. ย who the house of el is at its core. ย stronger together.
this is a much smaller aspect,ย but i really liked the little nod to the bowbuck tree the comic mentioned ย -- ย aluraโs funeral dress being those autumn-red leaves. ย love bringing more pain to karaโs bittersweet memories hahaaaa.
krypto,ย obviously. ย he is her dog in this verse,ย a scrappy puppy she found eating waste during her motherโs funeral recession. ย heโs the last living memory she has of home.
LEAVING.
while the movie ended up going with her silver age origin (being born on argo after krypton's destruction and being younger than clark), i prefer and follow the origin where she was born on krypton and then lived on argo city after, making her older than clark but also ... younger because of weird space stuff. i prolonged the timeline before she was rocketed to earth to hopefully balance it out and make it a little more fun!
i do not care for lobo. ย i thought he was fun and jason obviously did fantastic,ย but his role wasnโt necessary for the movie or the story,ย and i donโt acknowledge his part in it. ย i am not anti-lobo blogs or against writing with them,ย but just beware itโs not much of an interest to me either.
while i acknowledge itโs a common character flaw and can be interesting to explore,ย i do not see kara as having substance abuse issues. ย i donโt think this is really something the comic nor the film pushed,ย but an unfortunate assumption a lot of the general audience took from the filmโs promo. ย kara doesnโt travel to red-sun planets just to get drunkย --- ย she does it to feel human. ย god forbid a girl goes on a bender or two for her birthday,ย sheesh!!
the ending choice to kill krem was understandably very controversial,ย and after going back and forth with myself a lot,ย iโve decided not to follow it. ย i believe kara struggled with the decision not because she had a thirst for revenge or believed he deserved it,ย but in a tense,ย split-second moment,ย was trying to decide how best to protect ruthye and anyone else that would undoubtedly fall victim to his villainy if he was allowed to recover and roam free yet again. but given his injuries and the ruin of the rest of his brigands, kara deemed flying him to a high-security holding facility ( some kind of space prison, i dunno, i will find one in the comics eventually or maybe the dcu will officially establish the phantom zone ! ) would suffice him to live out his days in isolation, unable to bring anyone harm.
there were a lot of scenes where kara left ruthye on her own,ย most notably on a planet known to traffic young girls,ย and i simply donโt believe sheโd do that even if the brigands had departed. ย if she ever left ruthye alone,ย it was in a secure spot to keep her out of dangerย --ย whether or not ruthye listened.
the film was on a much shorter in-universe timeframe,ย understandably,ย though i prefer the journey taking as long as it did in the comic,ย with as many planets. ย following the brigandsโ path of destruction truly lent itself to shining light on karaโs character in an outsiderโs perspective,ย as well as highlighting her and ruthyeโs bond. ย i see it both as needing the cure for krypto,ย who could endure for several weeks but was still in great pain,ย and choosing to have ruthye accompany her because the girl would have chased her revenge either way and at least this way,ย she could perhaps keep her safe. ย they both learn in different ways at the end,ย that chasing an end is fruitless.
INDIFFERENT.
as for the other changes in the film,ย i could truly go either way!ย i mourn the loss of the color and heroโs journey of woman of tomorrow,ย but there were some routes that i feel wouldnโt particularly change the outcome or the message. ย itโs not that much of a stretch to believe the brigands,ย on top of being genocidal pirates,ย are also traffickers who use young girls to โcontinue their all-male lineโ. their brutality may have been unnecessary on screen but it wasn't much of a shock. ย i also honestly thought the tech-pirate fight was as fun as the space dragon & red kryptonite scene,ย though obviously not as visually stunning. ย the decision to kill off not only ruthyeโs entire family but also the family on bilquis felt very jarring,ย and while i will not follow that on default,ย i feel itโs not my plot to choose as i do not write ruthye.
while i think it's very cute that kara stays with clark while finding her own pace in the city, i'm also very happy to have her stay in her own apartment as well! just lmk your preference.
don't take my head for this but (despite trying to wiki him as well) i really don't know much about comet the superhorse and i do not know what to do with him yet, if i will. obviously prone to adjustment and especially if anyone writes him!
FULL NAME: kara zor-el.
ALIAS: supergirl, maiden of might, girl of steel, kara danvers.
DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH: argo city, krypton, 198X.
FACECLAIM: milly alcock, various comic art.
PRONOUNS: she/her/hers.
ORIENTATION: demisexual & panromantic.
EYES: plasma blue.
HAIR: yellow as the sun.
HEIGHT: 5'8", 5'10" in her classic red - and - gold boots.
BUILD: softer 'round the edges but athletic. in civilian clothing, looks can prove deceiving when it comes to the strength she bears -- but as supergirl, her stance is tall and unfaltering.
POWERS: kryptonian physiology fueled by the yellow sun turns her cells into living solar batteries, granting her a myriad of powerful abilities. superhuman strength, speed, stamina, & agility, nigh invulnerability, accelerated healing, flight, super-hearing, heat vision, xray vision, super-breath, longevity ... etc.
OCCUPATION: survivor of krypton, last daughter of the house of el, SUPERGIRL, the caped heroine. still looking for her thing, job-wise.
RESIDENCE: metropolis, clark's apartment. midvale. verse dependent.
SPECIES: kryptonian.
PARENTS: zor-el and alura in-ze.
OTHER FAMILY: kal-el / clark kent, cousin.
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: verse dependent.
ABILITIES: kara trained in some martial arts forms on krypton, as well as swordsmanship, different sports, and has continued some combat training on earth as well. multilingual, including bits and pieces of several alien languages. genius level intellect. WEAKNESSES: kryptonite ( particularly of the green variety ), sensory overload, vulnerability to magic.
VERSES.
YOU RUN TO CATCH UP WITH THE SUN. main verse, crafted to follow the dcu films & other on - screen adaptations. follows a somewhat older kara that arrived on earth in a very new generation of heroes ( clark hadn't yet declared himself as superman ) and is still a bit lost while searching for her place on earth, as well as balancing her newfound role as supergirl. 23+. PLEASE READ THE LORE I HAVE REWRITTEN FOR THIS VERSE HERE.
GIRL OF STEEL. an alt verse crafted to be friendlier to non-dcu based blogs and act as a sort of catch-all for comic verses. kara arrived on earth a decade or more after her cousin donned the cape, and has herself been an established hero since her late teens. 25+. ( same age as dick grayson and co. ) still takes the WoT comic into account as canon.
WOMAN OF TOMORROW. alt verse featuring an older kara, who has claimed the mantle of superwoman after superheroing for upwards of a decade, known as a champion of earth and defender of many stars beyond. 30+, flexible with comic verses or on - screen adaptations.
a heart in a cynical sense feels nothing, it simply carries through all the blood, all the oxygen, all the components the other parts that do feel need. an ugly organ, misshapen and strange when held in the palm of your hand. yet, it is the center of your being. it is the core. even when you try to act unaffacted, it is your heart that gives you away, skipping a beat, fluttering in excitement, halting dead in terror. you have so much of it to give, you just haven't learned to discern who is and isn't worthy of it yet. hold onto it. do not whittle it down, carve names into the flesh that you cannot erase. remain patient, remain astute, and remain loving.
tagged by: @gntlets !
tagging: @sm4llville, @stickytm, @hawkgyrl, @thesntry, @lvebug, and whoever else wants to steal it !
the patron saint of those who died to be like you. maybe you died to be like them too: but at the end of it, you weren't like them. patron saint of tragedy. saint of saints. it's you who holds the hands of the holy dead, and you who has to answer: what do they do if they regretted it?
tagged by @mademartyr <3
tagging: @kavanschosen, @thesntry, @lvebug, @mcmorare, @codepulse, @aliasinvestigate, @murdocktm, @rekoning (cinta !), @tribitten, and whoever else is interested !
the internet connection and cell service in gaza has been completely cut off today (17/09). if you are able to, please donate esims, you can do so via connecting humanity, crips for esims for gaza, or you can donate one directly to a palestinian in need by following this guide. thousands of families are being displaced right now due to the onslaught on gaza city and risk being separated from their families due to lack of ability to communicate with one another. thats not to mention that disabling communications is a tactical maneuver to enable israel to commit a massacre without coverage. without communications some families are not even aware of evacuation orders for their areas. do not let them seperate families and annihilate innocent, unsuspecting people in the dark. please give whatever you can and spread the word
DCU Supergirl holding krypto like a baby close to her chest: AFTER ALL HE HAS BEEN THROUGH!!!! HE SURVIVED THE APOCALYPSE KAL. HE GETS TO DO WHATEVER HE WANTS. HEโS EARNED IT.
all icons are free to use with credit to @argentangelhelps !
you may edit to your liking (add borders, psds, textures ect)
do not use for : celebrity/real person rps or paid commissions, everything else is up to user discretion. (donโt make me change this rule)
they are edited (sharpened) in ps, however they are meant to be used under the psd of your choice! if you choose to use them as they are they should work just fine! they are 100px & 75px square and do not come with any borders.
screencaps used are my own, and they are available for download HERE!
FACECLAIM INFO : milly is white (australian)
TRIGGER WARNINGS : kissing/implied intimacy
the zip file is free to download on my PAYHIP
GIVE CREDIT SOMEWHERE ON YOUR BLOG OR REBLOG IF YOU SAVE OR USE!
how does it feel to be a forgotten daughter who has to remember? do you still count even if thereโs nobody left to call your name? nobody to worry? a lost daughter is just called lost, isnโt she?
can you even remember everyone? do you remember their voices? their faces? you donโt, do you? of course not. you were left behind. you got lucky.
the patron saint of those who died to be like you. maybe you died to be like them too: but at the end of it, you weren't like them. patron saint of tragedy. saint of saints. it's you who holds the hands of the holy dead, and you who has to answer: what do they do if they regretted it?
tagged by @mademartyr <3
tagging: @kavanschosen, @thesntry, @lvebug, @mcmorare, @codepulse, @aliasinvestigate, @murdocktm, @rekoning (cinta !), @tribitten, and whoever else is interested !
