How Old is Supergirl Supposed To Be in DC Comics?

Much like her cousin Superman, Supergirl is blessed with Kryptonian genes that keep her forever young, but consequently make it hard for readers to pinpoint her age. Fortunately, the comics have the answer – it’s just a more complicated one than one might expect.

Supergirl’s first appearance was in 1959’s Action Comics #252 by Otto Binder. In this issue, it’s revealed that a portion of Krypton actually survived the cataclysmic event that destroyed most of the planet years ago. The remnant was called Argo City, and among the survivors was a scientist named Zor-El, the brother of Jor-El, Superman’s father. With an indefinite supply of air and food, the city stayed afloat for years – long enough for Zor-El to start a family. Unfortunately, disaster eventually struck in the form of a meteor shower, which caused the city to be flooded with Kryptonite radiation. Taking a page from his brother’s book, Zor-El builds a ship that can take his teenage daughter, Kara Zor-El, to safety. But where to send her?

Using an aptly named “super-space telescope,” Zor-El and his family are able to see all the way to Earth. They discover that not only is the world civilized, but another Kryptonian called Superman is the planet’s greatest hero. That settles it; Kara is shipped off to Earth, where she is found by Superman, and through talking, the two discover they are actually related. Superman is overjoyed to have a younger cousin, but the question remains, how much younger is she? Fortunately, DC provides a straight answer in Action Comics #270, where the heroes celebrate Supergirl’s 16th birthday, meaning she was 15 when she first arrived on Earth. Unfortunately, her age in more recent comics is a bit more complex.

In the Modern Age, Supergirl’s origin story was altered in Jeph Loeb’s Superman/Batman series. Kara was still Superman’s cousin, but she was now his older cousin – at least, in the beginning. The 16-year-old Kara would even help babysit little Kal-El back on Krypton. When the planet’s destruction became imminent, both Kara and Kal were placed on ships bound for Earth, but while Kal had a smooth journey, Kara’s ship got caught in a meteorite. This kept her in a state of suspended animation for years, so by the time her ship found its way to Earth, baby Kal-El had grown into Superman, while Kara was still a 16-year-old girl. Despite being biologically younger than her cousin, chronologically speaking, if Kal aged around 30 years since their departure from Krypton, Supergirl would technically be about 46 years old.

Technicalities aside, it’s safe to say Supergirl first arrives on Earth as a teenager in both the Silver and Modern ages of comics – 15-16 years old to be exact. The only thing that changes is her relationship to Superman as either his younger or younger-but-technically-older cousin.

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