In celebration of the Summer of Supergirl, I wanted to revisit a 2014 classic that, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated Supergirl stories out there: Supergirl: Red Daughter of Krypton by Tony Bedard, Yildiray Cinar and Emanuela Lupacchino. Supergirl is a deeply personal character to me as 2005’s Supergirl: The Girl of Steel was the first solo character comic book I ever read. Kara Zor-El solidified my love for DC and helped kickstart my comic reading journey over a decade ago!
Angry little teenage me saw a lot of herself in Supergirl: the struggle to fit in, the loneliness and being different from people’s expectations of you. I think it's safe to say we were all angry and lost in our own ways at that age, and many Supergirl stories represent the teenage or young adult experience. Then you add in the gut-wrenching grief and trauma of losing one’s entire world, coupled with coming into some dangerously powerful abilities and you get one of the most captivating origin stories out there. And because she’s an alien who grew up on another planet, many Supergirl stories tend to lean into the sci-fi of it all. There’s an undeniably cool, adventurous factor to Kara Zor-El’s bibliography, and the story of her getting a Red Lantern ring exemplifies her grandiose life perfectly.
I read 2015’s Supergirl: Red Daughter of Krypton about a decade ago. When I read it then, I was that lost teenager looking for herself in Kara Zor-EL. Now in my late 20s, with my life significantly more figured out with a good job, wonderful friends and a long-term relationship, I was eager to revisit this chapter of Supergirl through a different lens. I also went into Supergirl: Red Daughter of Krypton with the goal to compare it to my favorite Supergirl story, which has become the definitive Supergirl series, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
Supergirl: Red Daughter of Krypton is the fifth volume in the New 52 Supergirl series, which launched in 2011 and retold Supergirl’s origin story from the first issue. The series captures Supergirl’s grief and anger well, while leaning a bit more into the fact she is an alien who doesn't yet know how to fit in with humanity. On top of that, the series explores Kara’s feelings of living in the shadow of her now-older cousin who is regarded as the gold standard for Kryptonians and heroes alike. You can pick this volume up without reading the entire run, but I highly recommend starting with Supergirl Vol.1: Last Daughter of Krypton—it’s a must-read Supergirl series!
The premise for Red Daughter of Krypton is this: The Red Lanterns are split. Guy Gardner—who was a Red during this era of the DC Universe—and the Red Lanterns who follow him are driven to prove to the world they can be heroes just like the Green Lanterns. On the other side is Atrocitus, the powerful founder of the Red Lantern Corps and the antagonist of a brewing Red Lantern civil war. After Atrocitus sends out nine new rings to recruit the angriest beings in the universe, Supergirl becomes the latest member of the Corps.
For those who aren’t up on Lantern lore, becoming a Red Lantern is destructive. You lose your mind to the anger and go berserk until you are bathed in a magical blood river. So, when Kara’s Red Lantern journey begins, she is completely out of control. Red Lanterns are already incredibly dangerous and powerful, as are Kryptonians. As a Kryptonian Red Lantern, Kara is now one of deadliest beings in the universe. That is a lot of pressure and a lot of eyes on our Girl of Steel…
There’s a brief recap that goes over why Kara is especially angry at the start of this run which includes finding out her first love was a monster and having to kill him, suffering from Kryptonite poisoning as a result, meeting a better version of herself (Power Girl) and feeling like a failure in comparison, and going back in time and to make sure her home world of Krypton blew up. It’s a lot! Revisiting this story a decade later, I never absorbed how devastating Kara’s backstory truly is. As teenagers, life is already complicated. I can’t imagine being the sole survivor of Earth at the age of 16 and waking up on an alien planet with no idea what is going on and without knowing the culture or language. Life hasn’t stopped throwing her curveballs since then, and there’s only so much loss and trauma a kid can take till they snap. Toss in a super-powered ring that is fueled by anger, and you have a nightmare situation for everyone involved.
On paper, becoming a Red Lantern also sounds like something of a prison sentence. It’s permanent, you're viewed as a villain and your anger is amplified by your Red Lantern ring. But that’s not really how it goes with Supergirl. As a Red Lantern, she has a new team, a new purpose and new responsibilities, and she ends up doing well! She, maybe for the first time post-Krypton, fits in. One of my favorite aspects of Red Daughter of Krypton is how we see Supergirl interacting with her fellow Red Lanterns and utilizing her anger, in a literal sense, to become her own hero—one who looks very different from her cousin, Superman. It makes sense she would find some comfort with her fellow outcasts and do well in an intergalactic setting. She is an intergalactic girl, after all!
The New 52 was peak angry teenage Supergirl. While this is a different characterization of Kara Zor-El than what currently exists in the DCU, both versions are misunderstood young heroes who don’t want to be defined by their past. Both are looking for a way to connect and fit in with those around them. Both carry the history and culture of their entire world all on their own.
The reason I remember connecting so deeply to Supergirl: Red Daughter of Krypton was because of the public’s perception of Supergirl. She isn’t a mild-mannered girl next door, she isn’t a put together heroine like Wonder Woman and she especially isn’t a gender-bent Clark Kent. Finally, I felt like readers could see the dark and edgy side of Supergirl that I had seen since Supergirl: The Girl of Steel. She’s a character I saw myself in then, and I still do to this day. To be clear, I no longer see myself in New 52 Supergirl. I’m not the same person I was back then. But I definitely see myself in Woman of Tomorrow’s Supergirl. What can I say, we grew up together!
Overall, there is a lot I did not remember from Supergirl: Red Daughter of Krypton. I forgot how many moving parts and storylines added to this unique era of Kara Zor-El’s history. Supergirl as a Red Lantern was one of the most bold and badass things anyone has ever done with her character, to this day. With the high stakes and intergalactic plot points driving the storyline, I remember being so blown away by the ambition and fast-paced nature of Supergirl: Red Daughter of Krypton. I still think it makes perfect sense that Kara was a Red Lantern, and I would love for that to be explored again at some point in Supergirl’s future!
Supergirl: Red Daughter of Krypton by Tony Bedard, Yildiray Cinar, Emanuela Lupacchino and Ray McCarthy is available as a softcover graphic novel in bookstores, comic shops, libraries and digital retailers. It can also be read in full on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.
Sami DeMonster writes about superheroes, horror and sci-fi for DC.com and reviews comics every week on social media. Follow her at @samidemonster on Instagram and Substack.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Sami DeMonster and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
