Character Profile: Supergirl

Bio:
Kara Zor-El is the daughter of Superman's uncle Zor-El and his wife Alura. Kara is actually older than Kal-El (Superman); she was a teenager when he was a baby. When Krypton was attacked by Brainiac, he took Kandor with him, while Kara and her parents remained in Argo. After Brainiac's attack, her father created a force-field around Argo using a Brainiac Probe. When Brainiac came to consume Argo City, her parents had no choice but to send her in a rocket headed for Earth. However, her rocket was caught in a large kryptonite-encrusted meteor and she arrived on Earth years after her cousin did.

After some initial confusion, Kara was found by Superman and trained by Wonder Woman. She was captured by Darkseid, and after being brainwashed, attacked her own cousin. Superman defeated her and returned her to Earth, where he faked her death so Darkseid would not come looking for her.

She then assumed the role of Supergirl. However, she felt out of place, not sure where she really belonged. Kara was uncomfortable with her cousin's overprotectiveness, and she could not hang out with her Earth-Two counterpart Power Girl since their powers went haywire whenever they touched. She found kindred spirits in her other "cousin" Superboy and fellow alien Starfire.

Kara's self-discovery was interrupted when Lex Luthor used Black Kryptonite to split her into a good Kara and an evil Kara. The evil Kara stated that she was sent to Earth by Zor-El for the sole purpose of killing the infant Kal-El. Zor-El had devised a special crystal that would influence her personality as she traveled to Earth, making her "innocent", thus creating the good side of Kara's personality. However, the good side became dominant.

Powers:
1. Super Strength
2. Flying Ability
3. Heat Ray Vision
4. Super Hearing
5. X-ray Vision

Weaknesses:
1. Kryptonite: The fatal flaw in Kryptonian cellular physiology is the unique radiation given off by kryptonite. In the most minute amounts, the radiation waveforms and high-energy particles emitted by kryptonite can react catastrophically with the very ribosomal chemical that grant a Kryptonian powers. The briefest contact can strip these powers, and further begin a fatal poisoning that totally shuts down cellular activity in the affected areas. As kryptonite radiation makes its way through the bloodstream, a Kryptonian becomes instantly weak and ill in its unshielded presence, and prolonged exposure will render her unconscious (after 30 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the sample, and the current state of her solar reserves), and will eventually (after two to four hours) reach all parts of his body and bring death, usually as the body's immune system attempts to expel the deadly toxin. However, the rate of recovery once removed from the emissions is as rapid as the rate of damage, and the Kryptonian will be back to normal in under an hour after exposure in optimal conditions. Kryptonite emissions can be blocked by lead and other super-dense materials.

2. Solar Energy: Supergirl requires solar energy to function at peak capacity, or her powers fade to greatly reduced levels, some disappearing entirely if her solar reserves are empty. Supergirl cannot absorb energy from the lower frequency orange O-class stars and cannot process the higher-frequency White K or blue F classes. Blue B and yellow G type stars are ideal. Supergirl can easily survive conditions in deep space, but she does need to breathe, eat, sleep, and excrete. Supergirl requires 2 hours of sleep a night to function at peak mental efficiency, as well needing to dream at least half an hour a night, or experience the psychological effects of sleep deprivation as would any other person who missed a night of sleep. When her solar energy is depleted, her resistance to physical punishment drops to approximately one-quarter the normal amount. Withstanding large amounts of damage continuously over time will rapidly deplete his solar reserves. Further, the radiation signature of the red sun of the Krypton system (and similar M-class stars) instantly causes the ribosomal structures to lose their stored energy, reducing a Kryptonian to normal humanoid levels.