Alternative Versions of Supergirl - Elseworlds

Between 1989 and 2004, DC's Elseworlds imprint was used to showcase unofficial alternate universe stories; before 1989, "imaginary stories" served the same purpose. Since 2004, stories outside of the main DC continuity have carried no particular name or imprint. The examples listed below are just a few of the many alternate versions of Superman depicted in these stories. A number of the most popular Elseworlds were later integrated into the DC Comics Multiverse in 2007.

• In Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Superman and Wonder Woman hide their daughter Lara from the world her entire life, but she later becomes important to the defeat of Lex Luthor and Brainiac, the story's antagonists. Lara possesses some of Wonder Woman's powers, benefiting from both Kryptonian and Amazonian heritage.
• In Kurt Busiek's Superman: Secret Identity miniseries, which depicts a Clark Kent who lives in the real world, Lois gives birth to two girls who grow up to manifest their father's powers and adopt variations on his costume.
• Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl depicts a Barbara Gordon/Kara Zor-El team in a world without their male counterparts. In another story that took place in this reality as seen in Superboy (vol. 3) #61, there is a female equivalent to the Conner Kent Superboy named Supergrrl. This Supergrrl is a clone of Supergirl, only aged at sixteen or so, who was created by that world's Lex Luthor.
• Supergirl: Wings reworks the Earth-born angel storyline; in it, Linda's guardian angel is Matrix, whose cynical view of her charge may lead to her fall.
• In the Superman/Aliens crossover limited series, published in 1995 by DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics, Superman discovers a domed city on an asteroid, not unlike the Argo City of pre-Crisis Supergirl's origins, that is infested with the xenomorphs. Superman befriends the sole survivor, a plucky 16-year-old girl named Kara. The story reveals that Kara is not Superman's cousin, and that the colony is not Kryptonian, but is instead part of a world whose culture and religion were strongly influenced by Krypton.
• In Superman & Batman: Generations, Superman's young daughter, Kara Kent, takes up the identity of Supergirl and forms a new Justice League with Bruce Wayne Jr., Wally West, and Stephanie Prince. As they grow up, Kara and Bruce Jr. fall in love, becoming a couple in "civilian" life and a crime-fighting duo as Superwoman and Batman. The two eventually marry, but their happiness barely lasts beyond the ceremony when Kara's elder brother Joel attacks the wedding reception. The jealous Joel, who grew up without superpowers due to exposure to gold kryptonite as a fetus, was manipulated by Lex Luthor into striking against his family with artificial superpowers bestowed by a formula Luthor created; he leads Kara away from the reception and kills her in a rage, but dies himself from the deliberately imperfect serum Luthor gave him.

In Superman & Batman: Generations 3, Knightwing (Joel's son Clark, whose Kryptonian genes were activated by a perfected version of Luthor's serum) and his wife have twin daughters, Lois and Lara, who take the heroic identities of Supergirl Red and Supergirl Blue. Supergirl Blue gives up her powers in the 25th century so she can age normally, but uses Luthor's serum in the 26th century to restore them. Supergirl Red is killed the same century, leaving her sister as the last Supergirl. Supergirl Blue dies in the 30th century. When Darkseid is destroyed, she is erased from the timeline.

• In JLA: Created Equal, Linda Danvers, fifteen years after the Fall, changes her name to Superwoman.
• In JLA: Act of God, Linda Danvers is one of many metahumans who loses her powers due to the Black Light event that strips the entire metahuman community powerless. However, she, along with Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, the Flash, train with Batman and his associates so they may still be heroes. Changing her name to Justice, Linda and the others form the Phoenix Group.
• In Superman/Gen¹³, Caitlin Fairchild of the Gen¹³ had received a bump on the head and suffered amnesia. When she awoke, she found Superman's cape draped over her and assumed that, with her super powers, she was Supergirl. She believed that she couldn't fly due to exposure to red kryptonite which, at the time, was only considered an urban legend. After going through multiple Supergirl outfits and generally causing more havoc than good, she was found by the other Gen¹³s and Superman, when the real Supergirl knocked her out. When Caitlin awoke, she regained her memory.
• Supergirl is shown in Justice with other heroes helping the Justice League in their confrontation against the Legion of Doom. Since the continuity resembles the Silver Age and she is wearing a variation of her 70s era costume, this Supergirl is most likely Kara Zor-El.
• Supergirl made a brief appearance in JLA: Another Nail when all time periods meld together. She is presumably Kara Zor-El, since she is wearing a costume identical to her first appearance in Action Comics #252.