The Super-Women of the Silver Age

Queen Lucy

Created by John Sikela and Ed Dobrotka

In Borgonia, in Latin America the people were celebrating the birthday of their Queen Lucy. But she was a queen in name only. Her parents had died ten years before, and her guardian/uncle, the Duke Norvello, assumed power and became Borgonia's dictator.

Lucy hated her isolated life, but used the solitude to develop great athletic prowess. She excelled at aerial feats, discus throwing and running. Her handmaiden helped Lucy escape from Norvello, and they made their way to Smallville, in the United States.

She enrolled in Smallville High as “Lucy Regent,” and Clark Kent was impressed by her intelligence and athleticism. When Superboy was needed to stop some crooks, Lucy did not hesitate, and punched them out all by herself! She and Superboy shared a mutual admiration, and the newspapers dubbed her a “Supergirl.”

The mayor asked them to appear in costume at a benefit show, and Lucy made a variation of Superboy's costume, colored orange and trimmed with fur (as befitted royalty). During the benefit, Superboy made it appear as though Lucy could accomplish super-feats.

When Norvello sent men to take bring Lucy home, Superboy defeated them. He and Lucy returned to Borgonia, where Norvello had turned the public against their "queen." But Superboy had installed a microphone that broadcast the Duke's nefarious plans to the public. Lucy's subjects realized their error; she was freed Lucy and assumed her duties as queen. (Superboy #5)

The "Girl of Tomorrow"

Created by Wayne Boring

The Daily Planet's switchboard operator, Susan Semple, was smitten by the Man of Steel. One night after hours, she snooped in Lois Lanes' notes and found a reference to a Professor Weirton. He claimed to have a machine that would give a person super-powers for 24 hours. Lois hadn't found him credible, but Susan followed up and volunteered to be his test subject.

It worked! And Susan set out to use her powers for the good — of herself. She was determined to get Superman to marry her.

She got his attention by demonstrating the abilities of telepathy, and moving objects with her mind. Lois was there too, and clocked this "Girl of Tomorrow" as Miss Semple. Susan made quick work of her rival by "wishing" her away to the other side of the world.

She turned into a menace, reading Superman's mind and blackmailing him into marrying her by threatening to reveal his secret identity. He managed to trick her and when her powers faded, so did her memories of her time with super-powers. (The Professor destroyed his machine so that no one could abuse powers in this way again.) (Action Comics #163)

Superwoman III: Thraka of Zor

Created by Al Plastino

On planet Zor, which was smaller than Earth, their greatest hero was Thraka, the Superwoman. She was a mutant who was "born ahead of her time" and had super-powers (just like Captain Comet, who debuted in Strange Adventures #9, June 1951). She invented a television that received broadcasts from Earth, and her people decided to send her there on a "good neighbor mission."

By the time that she announced her arrival on Earth, Superman was already investigating her. He set a course for Zor in order to validate her claims. She was a legitimate hero, but since Zor was smaller than Earth, she would not possess super-powers on his planet.

When he returned to Earth, he worked behind the scenes to spare Thraka from any embarrassment. He secretly moved at super-speed to make her seem to have the powers of flight, super-strength and speed, invulnerability. Lois Lane discovered Thraka's shortcomings and planned to expose her as a fake. Superman tainted Lois' film footage with his x-ray vision. (Superman #81)

This story mirrors that of Adventure Comics #167 (Aug. 1951), where Superboy made Lana Lang believe that she had super-powers.

Powers

The "Girl of Tomorrow" had a variety of super-powers, for 24 hours, including flight, invulnerability, telepathy, telekinesis and teleportation.

The Magical Super-Girl

After saving Lois Lane's life for the umpteenth time, she told him for the umpteenth time that she wished they were married. He was blunt with her: "only a super-girl could keep up with me!” Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen, overheard this.

As fate would have it, Jimmy and Superman then rescued an archaeologist who gave Jimmy a magic totem. Its jewel granted three wishes under a full moon. Jimmy didn't believe in its power. He made a selfless wish for Superman to have a super-companion who was his equal, then went to bed.

But the artifact glowed and issued forth just such woman! The Super-Girl was blond and wore a skirted costume much like Superman's. The next day she joined Superman on his patrol and introduced herself, Jimmy and Lois. She was transparent about her mystical origins but Lois was still jealous. She assumed that Superman would fall in love with Super-Girl and marry her. But Super-Girl’s inexperience was a detriment on their missions together and they only got in one others’ way.

She nearly exposed his secret identity too, when she called Clark Kent “Superman.”
When Superman was attacked with Kryptonite, Super-Girl jumped in front of it and said she was immune to it. That was a lie; her body was Kryptonian in every way, and she was mortally wounded. She barely made her way back to Jimmy and begged him to make her disappear. (Superman #123)

Notes

When this story was reprinted many years later (Superman Annual #6, Winter 1962/1963), the Super-Girl's uniform was colored so that she would not be confused with Superman's cousin, Kara, who was now a star in her own right. The new coloring used orange and green, the complementary to Superman's costume.

Sylvia Van-Zee, the "Super-Wife"

Sylvia DeWitt was an Earth woman who was the spitting image of Lois Lane. By fate, she married a man from Kandor who was also a ringer for Superman — his cousin, Van-Zee.

» SEE: Nightwing and Flamebird

Marvel Maid and Marvel Man

Created by Otto Binder & Jim Mooney

One day in science class, Linda Lee (aka Supergirl) got the idea into her head that somewhere in the universe there must be a "double" of herself. In Superman's Fortress of Solitude, she asked her cousin to use his Super-Univac computer to locate such a world. It located the planet Terra, a world in orbit around Star-Sun-X45-266. Superman agreed to send her into space as part of her ongoing training (in these early years, her existence was kept secret from the public until she could master her super-abilities). Note: Superman had also used his Univac to take a gander at Oceania, home of Hyper-Man, in Action Comics #265 (June 1960).

Terra was Earth's twin in most ways; in the city of Macropolis Supergirl indeed found a "second Supergirl"! As Linda Lee, she explored the city and noticed its differences. At the zoo, a "tigerrabbit" escaped but instead of a super-man coming to the rescue, it was Linda's duplicate, Marvel Maid. Her costume was identical to Supergirl's, except the emblem on her chest bore a double-M.

Marvel Maid took Supergirl to her Fortress of Marvels, which orbited the planet in space. There she learned her twin's origin: she was born in a secret city deep within the planet. When her scientist father, Jaal-Kor, discovered that the giant cavern would collapse, he built a rocket-borer that to save his infant daughter. His daughter emerged 4,000 miles overhead, where she was found by a passing couple on the surface. They discovered that cosmic rays in the atmosphere gave her super-powers, and she became Terra's first super-heroine, Marvel Maid.

When Marvel Maid was called to handle a crisis off-planet, she agreed to have Supergirl step in for her as Lea Lindy, cub reporter for editor Perry Waite. To her surprise, she learned that Marvel Maid also had a super-cousin: Marvel Man. Like Supergirl on Earth, he was also rocketed away from the buried city, but his vehicle was delayed and he arrived on the surface much later than his cousin. But on Terra, all people must have proper documentation. Without this, he was imprisoned. From prison, Marvel Man (aka Ken Clark) occasionally "escaped" to help Marvel Maid. She kept his existence a secret until the time that he could master his powers and prove his competence as a super-hero.

Supergirl and Marvel Man bonded over their shared situation, and they helped each other to do well when jumping in to save the day. But being unfamiliar with Terra's unique physics, she fashioned a diamond during one of her missions and learned that they were prohibited — because they were Marvel Maid's kryptonite. The blunder made her worry that she was failing to keep Terra properly protected. (Action Comics #272)

When Marvel Maid returned, she advocated for Marvel Man's introduction to society. Marvel Maid decided to let Supergirl continue to serve as her. She went to Earth to show Superman how well she was doing and to recommended that he introduce her to the public.

When she returned to Terra, Marvel Maid agreed to introduce Marvel Man to the public. Supergirl returned home, fully expecting that Superman will deliver similar good news. Instead, he decided that her training must continue. In his estimation, she could have avoided her mistakes on Terra if she'd simply studied the differences between their two worlds ahead of time. (#273)

The Green Lantern

In DC's Rebirth continuity, Marvel Maid is a known member of the the United Planets Superwatch. (The Green Lantern #9)

The Legacy of Lesla-Lar

Created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney

The young Kandorian scientist Lesla-Lar lived a life that paralleled Supergirl's. She bore a strong resemblance to Kara Zor-El, and was also an orphan. Lesla took her surname from the family of her best friend, Zora Vi-Lar. (Krypton Chronicles #1) She was so gifted that she created her own version of Superman's "exchange ray," a ray that would swap a person between Earth and the tiny confines of the bottled city of Kandor.

Unlike her contemporary, Van-Zee, Lar was a scientist with criminal inclinations — she was obsessed by hatred and jealousy toward Supergirl. First, Lesla-Lar used a different invention, a "Kryptonite-tinged" beam that sapped Supergirl of her powers. This came just as Linda Lee had finally been adopted by the Danvers family. It was the perfect time for Lesla-Lar to swap places with the Girl of Steel. When Linda went to sleep, Lar shrunk and teleported her into Kandor, then brainwashed her to think she was Lar.

Meanwhile on Earth, Lesla had a bracelet that could reverse the process. She delighted in her newfound super-powers and, dressed as Supergirl, broke Lex Luthor out of prison. She admired him greatly and asked to be "his secret weapon." But back in Kandor, the real Supergirl watched as Lesla helped Luthor commit crimes, and alerted the authorities. Lesla-Lar quickly switched herself back to Kandor. (Action Comics #279)

The next time Lesla-Lar exchanged places with Supergirl, she asked Luthor to create a new Kryptonite ray. Then she met Superman, who was so impressed with her that he renewed his promise to introduce her/Supergirl to the world. It was a perfect plan: Luthor kills Superman, then Lar kills Luthor to become the supreme being! (#280)

But Krypto the super-dog sniffed out something strange about "Supergirl," and activated Superman's exchange ray to swap the two back to their rightful places. (#281) Superman discovered that his cousin's powers would return if she traveled in time, so he sent her (via imitation Legion time bubble) to the future. Lesla-Lar was arrested by the Kandorian authorities for using forbidden technology. Without her help, Luthor was unable to complete his Kryptonite ray. (#282)

Lesla-Lar escaped from custody and returned to Earth again using a ray in her secret laboratory. This time she switched places with Lena Thorul (Lex Luthor's sister) and created her own Phantom Zone projector to release several criminals: Zod, Jax-Ur and Kru-El. They turned on her and used Kru-El's raygun to disintegrate the villainess! Supergirl was forced to ask for help from Luthor. (#297) In exchange for Luthor's help, Superman released Lena from Kandor. (#298)

After her death, her close friend, Zora Vi-Lar, became the Black Flame and took up a campaign of vengeance in Lesla's memory. (Action Comics #304)

Lesla-Lar was disembodied but that was not the end of her story. She became a being of pure energy that returned years later to plague Supergirl by proxy. In this form, she mentally controlled other villains, including: Shyla of Kandor (Superman Family #183, 188–189); "the Visitors" aka Invisible Rogue, Elastic Crook and Electric Man (#184–186); Kryptonian survivor Klax-Ar (#187); the Graviton Man (#191–193); and a Superboy robot (#194–195). Note: Electric Man first appeared in Action Comics #280 (Sept. 1961); Klax-Ar in Superboy #67 (Sept. 1958).

Lesla-Lar became trapped inside the body of the Superboy robot but managed to make a jump into Supergirl herself. They fought on the astral plane, where Lar made the claim that she and Kara were twin sisters! Lesla took control over Supergirl's body, but back on Earth, her parents Allura and Zor-El instantly realized that they were speaking with an impostor. When Supergirl regained control, she dispersed Lesla-Lar's energies once again. (Superman Family #206)

» FEATURED APPEARANCES:  

• Action Comics #279–282, 297, 298, 304
• Superman Family #183, 186–189, 191–195, 206

The Black Flame

Lesla-Lar was gone but her mission was carried on by her friend and fellow scientist, Zora Vi-Lar. Vi-Lar took up her mission to replace Supergirl, escaping from Kandor's bottle and enlarged herself by flying through a cloud of Red Kryptonite.

Linda (Supergirl) was enjoying a day at the beach when Zora announced herself as the Black Flame —  alleging that she came from the year 4,000. This evil super-girl helped a ship of racketeers escape the authorities, then "retreated into the timestream." When she returned for more treachery, Supergirl searched her bubble-shaped time capsule and learned that her challenger was a pirate queen from the future. Further, she was supposedly a descendant of Supergirl's — "Supergirl XXV"!

Supergirl visited the year 4,000 and found no trace of the Black Flame. Comet the super-horse helped her uncover an impression of Kandor, where sure enough: Supergirl identified her as Zora Vi-Lar.

Supergirl tricked the Black Flame, returning her to small Kandorian size, and then subjected her to granules of Gold Kryptonite. This permanently removed Zora's super-powers under a yellow sun. She was sentenced to prison. (Action Comics #304)

In time, Zora executed an escape plan and returned as the Black Flame. Her first stop was the Phantom Zone, where she released three new allies: the Inventor, L. Finn and the Toymaster. They felled Supergirl with Kryptonite and set her up as a pin in a giant bowling game. The Black Flame was poised to deliver her final blow — a revenge dose of Gold Kryptonite — but Supergirl used the Toymaster's creations to free herself. (Adventure Comics #400)

Kandor was eventually enlarged on its own planet, named Rokyn. (Superman #338) At their first opportunity to visit, Superman and Supergirl found an astounding new Kandor. Faced with a considerable reconstruction project, Van-Zee and other scientists welcomed the help from even convicted criminals such as Zora Vi-Lar. But Zora still harbored ill will towards Supergirl. She donned her Black Flame costume and repeatedly tried to kill the super-cousins during their visit there. (Krypton Chronicles #1) She was quickly discovered, confessing that she had hoped to trap Supergirl on Kandor by making her miss the deadline for returning to Earth's space. (#2)

» FEATURED APPEARANCES:  

• Action Comics #304
• Adventure Comics #400
• Krypton Chronicles #1–2

Shyla

Created by Jack C. Harris and Bob Brown

After the arrival of "Sylvia Shadow," a sleep scientist, at the college where Linda Danvers worked, Supergirl began noticing strange things. She found that Sylvia was stealing vital energy from her subjects to empower herself! She revealed that she was actually Shyla Kor-Onn, a native of Krypton whose experiments resulted in manslaughter. Jor-El sentenced her to the Phantom Zone — where she was when the planet exploded.

Shyla was thus trapped there for years beyond her intended sentence, and she followed the El family cousins to Earth. There she was able to use the vibrations of a jet plane to free herself. Inside Superman's Fortress of Solitude, Supergirl managed to maneuver Shyla into the path of a Phantom Zone projector, locking her away again. (Superman Family #183)

Secretly, Shyla was working with the disembodied consciousness of Lesla-Lar. Together they framed Supergirl of a crime. Supergirl was taken into custody on Kandor. At trial, Shyla produced a "mento-tape" that recorded the memories of Lex Luthor. He told of his original meeting with Supergirl (who was Lesla-Lar in disguise), and how she helped him commit heinous crimes. She plead "no contest" and was remanded to the Phantom Zone. (#188)

Getting into the Zone was actually Supergirl's plan. She located her ally, Mon-El, who and recorded another mento-tape with his own observations. His testimony revealed that Lesla-Lar was behind it all. This evidence cleared Supergirl. (#189)

Not long after this, Kandor was finally enlarged, on its own planet named Rokyn. (Superman #338) At their first opportunity to visit again, Superman and Supergirl learned that the Kandorians had needed to recruit any talented scientist available to help with reconstruction. Shyla had repented; she confessed her shame at trying to frame Supergirl. But her contemporary, Zora Vi-Lar, still hated Supergirl and attacked her then. (Krypton Chronicles #1)

» FEATURED APPEARANCES:  

• Krypton Chronicles #1
• The Phantom Zone #1
• Supergirl #9 (Rebirth)
• Superman Family #183, 188, 189

Superwoman IV

Created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney

Inspired by a television romance, Supergirl became preoccupied with finding a match for her cousin, Superman. After failing to find a bride in the distant past (Helen of Troy) and the distant future (Saturn Woman), she asked for his help.

They used his Super-Univac computer to locate an Earth-like planet with a woman not unlike the Man of Steel. It found Superwoman, aka Luma Lynai, on the planet Staryl. Superman traveled to Staryl, which orbited an orange sun and fell instantly in love with Superwoman.

As predicted, she was the adult spitting image of Supergirl, but wore a white-and-green costume. Superman proposed to her there, and invited Luma back to Earth. But as they entered Earth's solar system, she was wracked with pain and her strength faded away. It was because of the yellow sun. Just as Superman lost his powers under a red star, Superwoman was powerless under a yellow sun.

Superman offered to live on Staryl, but she wouldn't have him abandoning his public. Choking through tears, Luma gave up her chance at happiness. (Action Comics #289)

Notes

This story is rather notorious for its suggestion that Superman might never find a love as wonderful as his cousin! Superwoman was purportedly a ringer for Supergirl:

"If I ever did marry, it would be to someone super and lovable like … you! We can't marry because we're cousins! Though cousins can marry in certain countries on Earth… we're both from the planet Krypton, where the marriage of cousins is unlawful!"

Superman previously used the Super-Univac to locate his double, Hyper-Man, in Action Comics #265 (June 1960) and another Supergirl doppelganger, Marvel Maid in Action Comics #272 (Jan. 1961).

Luma Lynai made a cameos in Superman #157 (Nov. 1962) Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #97 (Nov. 1969) and The Kingdom: Planet Krypton (Feb . 1999).

United Planets Superwatch

In DC's Rebirth continuity, Superwoman is a member of the the United Planets Superwatch. (The Green Lantern #9)