After the success of Superman, another Kryptonian is all set to arrive in the world of DCU, and it’s none other than Clark’s cousin, Kara Zor-El, AKA Supergirl. Now, for those who are not aware of her exploits, Kara is way more than just a female version of Superman. Her character is somewhat darker than the Man of Steel, and canonically, she is more powerful than him as well. I know some won’t believe that she is, so, to back it up with evidence, here are 10 events in DC comics that prove Supergirl is stronger than Superman.
1. Supergirl Fights to Kill, Not Neutralize
When we compare powers between Superman and Supergirl, one factor that gives Supergirl an advantage is the lack of the same moral compass as that of Superman. Since the Man of Steel began his Superhero endeavors, he has been known for always holding back and ensuring the damage he causes is minimal.
However, when it comes to Supergirl, she has no such thing holding her back. Kara never fights just to neutralize the threat; she fights to kill, at least initially did before Superman stepped in as her mentor. However, Kara’s distaste towards holding back makes her way stronger in combat than Superman.
2. Kara Was Combat-trained by Wonder Woman
Another event in DC Comics that makes Supergirl stronger in combat, as compared to Superman, is her combat training. In the comic run of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, we see that Kara was trained in combat by none other than Wonder Woman herself. In DC, Wonder Woman is regarded as one of the most skilled combatants due to her training as an Amazon, and she passed it on to Supergirl.
Now, Superman never really got combat training, and his fighting style is based solely on his super strength. So, in an event where Superman and Supergirl have to go against each other, Kara’s Superior combat training gives her an upper hand.
3. Supergirl Joined the Red Lantern Corps
In the crossover comic arc titled Red Daughter of Krypton, we see that Kara was filled with rage and anger over the death of Krypton and everyone she loved and cared about. This uncontrollable rage drew the Red Lantern ring to her, and she turned into a berserk Red Lantern. Her power was so strong that it took almost the entire Green Lantern Corps to stop her and separate her from the ring.
4. Supergirl Took Down Lobo Singlehandedly
One might think What’s the big deal about taking down Lobo, right? Well, if you do think that, you would be very wrong. Lobo is often called “Unkillable” for how strong and durable he is; even Superman has struggled to take him down, but Kara was pitted against Lobo when she was already in a bad place.
This was the point where she punched Lobo once, with all her might, and that was it, Lobo was down. A villain whom Superman struggled to take down, Supergirl did with just one punch, and that speaks volumes when we compare who’s stronger.
5. The Worldkillers are Afraid of Kara
Superman is often regarded as the strongest hero on Earth, but when it comes to other planets, that image is not the same. In the New 52 continuity, we are introduced to the Worldkillers, who were essentially genetically mutated Kryptonians.
According to them, instead of Superman, Kara was the one who could stop them. This was because they learnt of Supergirl beating Superman in combat, and hence they deemed her to be the strongest.
6. Kara Absorbed Way More Raw Solar Radiation than Superman
As we all know, Kryptonians get their powers from absorbing solar radiation from a yellow sun. When Superman came to Earth as an infant, he kept absorbing solar energy unless his powers manifested one day.
However, most of the solar radiation he absorbs goes through Earth’s atmosphere first and hence, is not as pure. In the case of Kara, her origin tells us that she was lost in space for quite some time and was exposed to unfiltered solar radiation, making her powers more potent than Superman.
7. Supergirl Is Simply More Jacked, Technically
While Clark was sent to Earth as an Infant, Kara stayed on Krypton for a significant amount of time. The stronger gravity of Krypton made her muscles denser and stronger as compared to those of Superman.
This factor made her adapt to moving her muscles in a higher gravitation pull, which would be normal on Krypton, but on Earth, it would give her insane strength even without the yellow sun. So, when she got exposed to solar radiation, it naturally made her stronger than the Man of Steel, simply because of Earth’s natural conditions.
8. Kara Is Trained in Kryptonian Combat Tactics
While Superman grew up on a Kansas farm with loving parents, Kara was on a planet going through inevitable destruction. Because of this, even as a teenager, her parents trained her in the ways of Kryptonian warfare.
Be it tactics or martial arts. On the other hand, if you ever look at how Superman fights, his style is more like what you would see on someone getting into a street fight, including a lot of punches mixed with what he can pull with his powers. However, brute force cannot always prove to be fruitful, and this is another point where Kara has an advantage over Superman.
9. Supergirl Managed to Hold Off The Anti-Monitor
One of the greatest feats of strength shown by Supergirl in DC Comics was when she took a stand against The Anti-Monitor. In Crisis on Infinite Earths#7, we see that while all the other heroes resorted to fleeing, including Superman, Kara was the only one who went against her cousin and charged towards Anti-Monitor.
A being, against whom even Superman fell short, Supergirl charged at him and even managed to deal serious damage before she was apparently killed by a blast of antimatter energy. She did it simply to make sure her cousin and the other heroes could escape safely as she held back Anti-Monitor. Now, the thing to remember here is that she was not only killed, but got erased from all existence in the DC universe.
10. Kara Survived Being Wiped From All Existence
After the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, readers were under the impression that Kara had been erased from all existence, but to everyone’s surprise, she came back in Christmas With The Super-Heroes #2. Now canonically, we never really got an explanation for how she came back, but her reappearance tells us that she somehow survived, which in itself is an incredible feat.
Now that you know that Supergirl is stronger than Superman in DC Comics, it could change your perspective as you watch Supergirl (2026) in theatres next year.
