The Power Girl Universe: The Justice Society, Karen Starr

Most of the characters have an entourage inherited: a city, a family, adversaries attached to their name. Power Girl has none of that, and for a structural reason.

His original world was erased. What she has today, she must have constitute: and that’s what makes his world different.

The Justice Society: a substitute family

The character joined the publisher's historical team from its first issue, in 1976, and never really left.

This affiliation fulfills a specific function, and it explains the longevity of the character. A heroine without a world of origin, without an assigned city and without a gallery of adversaries should have disappeared; the team provides him with permanent frame that nothing else offered him.

It is important to note the particularity of this team: it brings together characters from the very first years of the medium, often elderly in the fiction. Power Girl therefore occupies the position of heiress rather than peer: which is appropriate for someone whose past has been erased.

Superman: a cousin from another continuity

She was introduced in 1976 as Superman's cousin: the one from a parallel Earth.

When this Earth disappears, this link becomes problematic: the Superman of the remaining continuity is not the one she knew, and she is not exactly his cousin.

This corpus considers that this is the real subject of the character, and it is more subtle than it seems. She has not lost her family: her family still exists, in a slightly different form, and does not recognize her as she expected.

Few narrative situations are so precisely designed to produce discomfort, and so rarely exploited to their full extent.

Karen Starr: the identity she constructs for herself

The character takes on a civilian identity and runs a technology company.

This choice is worth noting, because it is rare among heroes with great powers. A civil identity is usually used to hide ; here it is used to exist: to occupy a place in a world where the character has no roots.

The solo series from the end of the 2000s largely exploits this dimension, and this is what gives it its particular tone: a heroine who manages office problems between two confrontations.

The exiled partner

Stories from the 2010s permanently associate her with another heroine from the same vanished world.

The device is effective because it solves a real problem: two characters without valid origins mutually validate each other. Each is, for the other, the evidence that the erased world existed.

This is probably the best response found by the authors to the situation created in 1985.

Collection strategy

This universe calls for recommendations different from most files.

Don't expect entourage keys. The character has no personal adversary or supporting roles with sought-after first appearances. This is a direct consequence of its lack of its own world.

Aim for team numbers. This is where most of her presence is, and they're never sold as Power Girl issues. A coherent whole is formed there at the cost of everything.

Don't neglect short modern series. That of 2009 and that of the 2010s complete each other completely for a paltry budget, and contain the character as he is written today.

As always, condition and gradation determine value; relying on real recent sales is strongly recommended.

For the complete selection, see our Power Girl key issues and our collection guide.

Chronological landmarks and reading order

To find your way around a character whose world has vanished, it helps to follow her path in four stages. Each one corresponds to a different way of building her a circle of her own.

• 1976: the arrival. Power Girl joins the Justice Society in her very first issue and is presented as the cousin of the Superman of a parallel Earth.
• 1985: the erasure. The editorial overhaul removes her home world. The link with Superman, the heroine's past and her status all have to be rebuilt.
• Late 2000s: the civilian identity. The solo series sets Karen Starr at the head of a technology company and gives the character a singular tone, between office problems and fights.
• 2010s: the partner. The stories durably pair Power Girl with another heroine from the same vanished world.

In what order should you read her?

The simplest order follows publication chronology. Start with her appearances within the Justice Society, since that is where the character has held her place from the beginning. Continue with the 2009 solo series to discover Karen Starr and the humor of everyday life, then move to the 2010s series, which presents the character as she is written today and her duo with the other exile.

What this path changes for the collector

Since most of the character's presence lies in team series, searching by the heroine's name is misleading. A few useful habits:

• Look for appearances in the Justice Society series, not only in series titled after the character.
• Read before buying: the two modern series are short and complement each other, a good test of whether the character speaks to you.
• Keep in mind that the narrative interest of an issue (a blurred family tie, an identity to build) does not always translate into collector demand.
• As always, condition and grading determine value: rely on real recent sales.

If you simply want a taste of the character, the 2009 solo series is the most natural entry point: its everyday tone shows in a few issues why this heroine without a world remains endearing, and it makes you want to work back to the team appearances afterward.

This character is therefore collected mostly as a path to read, more than as a hunt for keys.

Frequently asked questions