Welcome to another “In Theory” where I look at characters that I’d either love to see in a superhero adaptation, or characters that I’d include if I were writing the comic book of that character.
I’ve chosen to take a look at Supergirl, which is now in its final season on the CW. These are the characters which I hope make it in before the show ends.
Many characters have gone by the name Supergirl, but the show stars Superman’s cousin; Kara Zor-El, so she will be the focus here.
You can find previous “In Theory” blog posts here In Theory: Arrow and here In Theory: The Flash.
10. Simon Tycho
A modern villain of Supergirl, the character Simon Tycho first appeared in Supergirl #1 in 2011.
A businessman, the head of Tycho Industries, Simon Tycho had a deal with both the United States and Russia to get access to extra-terrestrial technology. When Supergirl’s pod crash landed on Earth, Tycho acquired it, and lured Supergirl to his space station.
Tycho tried to imprison Supergirl, utilizing Kryptonite, but one of his guards set Supergirl free. In the resulting fight, Tycho was severely injured, and his employee Ms. Thorn combined what remained of him with an experimental weapon called the Brain.
Simon Tycho would be a good addition to the television series, as a possible enemy not only to Supergirl, but a rival to the Luthors as well.
Supergirl has a smaller rogues gallery, as she usually borrows Superman’s villains instead. It’s important that new villains continue to be introduced for her to face, and reused by later writers of the comic books over time. Hopefully Simon Tycho will continue to appear in the comics.
9. Streaky the Super-Cat
A bit of a goofy pick here, but Streaky is to Supergirl, what Krypto the Superdog is to Superman.
Streaky first appeared in Action Comics #261, in February 1960. Unlike Krypto, who comes from Krypton, Streaky was a normal cat from Earth.
When Supergirl experimented on a piece of Green Kryptonite, in an effort to neutralize its effects, she accidentally turned it into X-Kryptonite.
Still living at the Midvale Orphanage, Supergirl found a stray cat and adopted it. She named the cat Streaky because it had two unusual yellow stripes along its sides.
After the chunk of X-Kryptonite was discarded, Streaky came across it, and exposure to the X-Kryptonite granted the cat temporary superpowers, similar to those of Kryptonians. Streaky became Supergirl’s sidekick and even joined the Legion of Super-Pets.
Various versions of Streaky have appeared over the years. The original was male, the current version is female.
Streaky would be a fun addition to the tv show should a stray cat gain superpowers for a single episode. Whether on television or in the comics, Streaky is a character who purely exists for the sake of fun, and it’s good to take a break from more serious storylines from time to time.
8. Nightflame
Making a single appearance in Adventure Comics #421, in 1972, here we have Nightflame. Nightflame is a warrior sorceress from the Innerverse. She is in fact the dark side of Supergirl, brought to life.
When the Innerverse began to collapse, the manifestation known as Nightflame ripped a hole to our reality, and fought Supergirl, and pulled her through to her nightmare realm of existence.
She wished to take over Supergirl body, but Kara managed to disrupt her magic ritual and discorporate her.
Magic is a major weakness of the Superman Family, and Supergirl even fought a witch in her 1984 movie. A nightmare realm and a twisted mirror of Supergirl herself would be an interesting villain deserving to be reintroduced to the Supergirl mythos.
Other evil doppelgangers have fought both Supergirl and Superman, both in the comics and on television, but I think that there is enough that makes Nightflame unique to set her apart from the others. And her green costume and flaming green sword make her visually compelling as well.
7. Kristin Wells/Superwoman
There have been many different versions of Superwoman over the years. Sometimes they were dream versions of Lois Lane, or the evil Super-Woman from Earth-3, or even the alien Luma Lynai from Staryl. However, one of the most prominent versions of the character was Kristin Wells of the 29th century.
Kristin Wells was introduced in a novel called Miracle Monday, which was released as a tie in to the Superman 2 movie in 1981. Kristin, a historian from the future travels back in time to find out the origin of the holiday Miracle Monday. A villain called C. W. Saturn is sent to Earth from Hell by the demon Samael. Saturn possesses Kristin, but Superman refuses to kill her, instead choosing to battle Saturn for all time. Because of this act of self sacrifice, he is granted a wish, which he uses to turn back time to before Saturn escaped Hell, thus erasing the events that have transpired since. Yet, a memory of the event remains, which is celebrated as the holiday Miracle Monday.
Kristin would return in DC Comics Presents Annual #2 in 1982, where it would be revealed that she is a descendant of Jimmy Olsen. She travels back in time to learn the identity of the superhero Superwoman, but no one has ever heard of the hero. When Superman, Supergirl and the Justice League are defeated by the time travelling villain King Kosmos, Kristin realizes that her future technology protects her, and she uses her future tech to become Superwoman, helping Superman to defeat the villain.
Superwoman is an interesting, if odd character, who tends to create the events which she travels back in time to learn about. With the Supergirl show utilizing both Jimmy Olsen and time travel, she’d be a perfect addition for the final season. Using the character would also allow the show to examine the idea of Supergirl’s legacy, an important idea for the final season. Kristin Wells is well deserving of a return to the comics too. Kristin Wells hasn’t appeared since 1985, although her costume inspired the look for the Lucy Lane Superwoman in 2009.
6. Biron/Comet the Super-Horse
The next character, in addition to being a sidekick to Supergirl, is also a member of the Legion of Super-Pets, and yet he has a notably odder origin that the other characters in that group.
Biron was once a centaur in ancient Greece, who was in love with the sorceress Circe. The centaur even saved Circe from the wizard Maldor.
Circe agreed to transform Biron into a human, but Maldlor switched her vials, and Biron was permanently transformed into a horse. To make up for this, Circe gifted him with immortality and superpowers.
Enraged, Maldor imprisoned Biron is an asteroid, which he was freed from centuries later when Supergirl’s rocket impacted the meteor and freed him. He followed Supergirl back to Earth and was able to warn her about an alien invasion.
Unaware of his true origin, Supergirl named him Comet, and he assisted both Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Pets on a number of adventures.
When Comet visited the planet Zerox and helped overthrow its villainous ruler; the wizard Prince Endor, he was gifted with the ability to transform into a powerless human every time a comet passes Earth. He got a job at a rodeo and took the name “Bronco” Bill Starr. Secretly having feelings for Supergirl, Comet chose not to reveal his true identity to her, and instead attempted to romance her.
The story of Supergirl’s horse, who is really a magically transformed centaur, who is secretly in love with her, is an odd one. By playing up its bizarre elements, it would have comedic value either as an episode in the television series or in the modern comic books.
Comet the Super-Horse first appeared in Adventure Comics #293 in 1962, and last made an appearance in Supergirl #79 in 2003. There was also an angelic superhero who used the name Comet in the Supergirl comics during the 90’s, but they were mostly unrelated.
5. Matrix/Supergirl
There was a time, after the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline, when Kal-El/Superman was the only survivor of Krypton. It was thought this needed to be done to make the character more unique. Thus, Kara-Zor-El aka Supegirl, no longer existed in continuity. But, the idea of Supergirl was still popular, and so DC tried to create new versions of the character unrelated to Kara Zor-El.
Created in a Pocket Universe, this Supergirl was an artificial being known as a protoplasmic matrix, designed to have Superboy’s powers (that reality’s Superboy being deceased) and the brain patterns of the deceased Lana Lang. She was created by a heroic version of Lex Luthor, to combat Kyptonian criminals which had escaped from the Phantom Zone.
However, unable to defeat them herself, she recruited the main timeline’s Superman, and after triumphing, returned to his reality with him. There she was adopted by Ma and Pa Kent, and was given the name Mae.
She fells in love with the Lex Luthor of the prime reality, which caused strife between her and the Kent family, and even damaged her reputation as a superhero. This relationship ended when she discovered Lex had created duplicates of her, and she went berserk, almost killing Lex.
Mae later partially merged with the dying Linda Danvers, becoming a new Supergirl, and the Earth Angel of Fire, but would be forced to fight a remnant of herself. Matrix was later separated from Linda and bonded to Twilight (a superhuman from Apokolips), to become the new Angel of Fire, while Linda continued on as Supergirl.
First appearing in Superman #16 in 1988, this version of Supergirl is the result of some odd continuity. However, a modern version, with a simplified origin story maintaining her artificial nature (but perhaps removing her alternate reality origin), would be an interesting character in either the modern Supergirl comics or the television show.
4. Jeff Colby
Making a single appearance in Action Comics #317, in 1964, Jeffrey Colby was Lena Thorul’s boyfriend. Lena was of course really Lena Luthor, their family having changed their name to distance themselves from Lex.
Supergirl, suspicious of Jeff, followed him and discovered that he was working with organized crime.
Lex Luthor, spying on his sister from prison, is also disturbed when he sees an image of Jeffrey Colby.
Supergirl tries to break Lena and Jeff up, only to later discover that Jeff is an undercover FBI agent. He also is the agent who arrested Lex.
Lena and Jeff marry, and Lena doesn’t reappear in comics until 1981 in Superman Family #211 where it is revealed that Jeff is deceased and Lena is now a single mother.
With Lena Luthor playing such a big role in the Supergirl television series, it is a shame that a romantic interest hasn’t been introduced for her. And an undercover FBI agent would introduce some additional conflict for the characters.
3. Lyrl Dox/Brainiac 3
The first Brainiac is a major Superman foe. The later Brainiac 5 was a time travelling member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and an ally to Supergirl in both the comics and television series. A romantic connection is sometime shown between Brainiac 5 and Supergirl as well.
The Coluans were an alien race which created a supercomputer, which soon took control, creating humanoid computer beings resembling the alien Coluans which used to control their world.
Brainiac 1 attacked alien worlds, shrinking cities and keeping them in bottles. This included the Kryptonian city of Kandor. Brainiac 5 served as a hero in the 30th century.
But what comes in-between? Brainiac 4, a minor character, was the father of Brainiac 5. Brainiac 2, heir to Brainiac, originally assisted his progenitor, but turned against him, and that is where the story of Brainiac 3 begins.
Although Vril Dox II aka Brainiac 2, was cold and logical, like his father, he wanted to make the universe a safer place. To do this, he formed L.E.G.I.O.N., an interstellar organisation comprised of heroes which would defend the universe against threats.
However, one of Brainiac 2’s teammates; a Gryxian mutant named Stealth, forced herself on Brainiac 2 and gave birth to a son.
Lyrl Dox, even as a child, was highly intelligent. He took over L.E.G.I.O.N., forcing his father and a few others to form R.E.B.E.L.S. is order to oppose Lyrl.
Brainiac 2 eventually regained control of L.E.G.I.O.N. and Lyrl’s mother; Stealth, was killed. While Lyrl originally believed his father was responsible for his mother’s death, the alien entity Starro was in fact behind it.
Although not strictly a Supergirl character, Lyrl Dox aka Brainiac 3, would make an interesting foe for her to face off against in either the comics or on television. He has both elements of his grandfather Brainiac 1 and his grandson Brainiac 5. Lyrl is neither hero, nor a villain. It’s always interesting to have a character who cannot be clearly defined.
Lyrl Dox first appeared in L.E.G.I.O.N. #28, which was published in 1991, although other interpretations of the character have appeared, including a female version.
2. Nasthalthia “Nasty” Luthor
First appearing in Adventure Comics #397, Nasthalthia was the niece of Lex Luthor. Unlike most of her family, she supported her uncle. While her mother has never been identified in the comics, it should be noted that she is not the daughter of Lena Luthor, but of an unidentified older sister.
Working with her uncle, Nasthalthia enrolled at Stanhope College, in hopes of discovering Supergirl’s secret identity, by forcing her to expose herself to stop Nasthalthia’s campaign of bullying. However, Supergirl thwarted Nasthalthia in her civilian identity of Linda Danvers.
Nasthalthia “Nasty” Luthor suspected that Linda Danvers was Supergirl, but despite repeated attempts to prove it, she always failed.
Nasthalthia makes an interesting henchman for Lex, given that she is a relative, he has a relationship with her unlike that of his other underlings.
Although she has only appeared in a few stories in mainstream continuity since her introduction in 1970, she has more recently made appearances in the out of continuity All-Star Superman and Scooby-Doo! Team-Up #37.
1. Zor-El/Cyborg Superman
Zor-El first appeared in Action Comics #252, in 1959. He was the brother of Jor-El, uncle of Superman and father to Kara Zor-El.
Debuting in 1990, in Adventures of Superman #465, Hank Henshaw was exposed to cosmic radiation and gained superpowers. Later he cloned Superman’s body, combining it with cyborg technology, and uploaded himself to it, to become the Cyborg Superman.
The Supergirl television series has featured both Zor-El and Hank Henshaw, although Hank Henshaw’s transformation into “Cyborg Superman” was somewhat lacklustre. In the show, Henshaw became a cyborg but retained his original body and didn’t gain any Kryptonian powers, as he did when he cloned Kal-El’s body in the comics.
However, in 2012, in the pages of Supergirl #5, we were introduced to a new interpretation of the Cyborg Superman which could be effectively used on the Supergirl television show.
Zor-El tried to save the Kryptonian city of Argo, by blasting it free from Krypton, but as it drifted through space, the Kryptonian survivors died out until only Zor-El was left. He was found by Brainiac, who converted him into a cyborg, erased his memories and forced him to do his bidding.
In this form, Zor-El fought his own daughter, until a reboot restored his memories. He tried to restore Krypton, but his method would have involved sacrificing the people of Earth, and so Supergirl stopped him.
Zor-El was brought to the D.E.O., where he was visited by Mister Oz (really his brother; Jor-El) who removed his powers and then executed him.
By transforming Zor-El into Cyborg Superman on television, the show would have the chance to do a version of Cyborg Superman who is a genuine threat to Supergirl, and who has an emotional connection to the hero.
Paul Penna Writes 