Kara Zor-L

From Gotham: Year One Wiki

Name: Kara Zor-L aka Power Girl aka Karen Starr
Portrayed By: Eva Habermann
Journal:Power Girl
Canon: Justice Society of America comics
Player: Elyssa

Stats

• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: 205
• Eyes: Blue
• Hair: Blonde
• Build: Muscular
• Abilities: Solar enhanced Kryptonian possessing super-strength, speed, agility, stamina, invulnerability, super-sonic flight, laser vision, x-ray vision, macroscopic and microscopic vision, acute senses, hurricane force and super-cooled breath, ability to live without nutrition, liquid, air or rest for long periods of time and an extremely long life expectancy.
• Weaknesses: Vulnerable to Kryptonite and magic.

Background

Kara Zor-L was the only daughter of mother Allura, and father Zor-L, a Kryptonian expert in sciences of the mind. Heeding his brother Jor-L's prediction of the impending destruction of Krypton, Zor-L and Allura hastily constructed a spaceship to carry their daughter to Earth. While Jor-L's son, Kal-L was rocketed directly to Earth, Kara's ship took a less direct route. Conserving fuel and concentrating on the mental development of Kara, the so-called "symbioship" kept her alive in suspended animation and crafted an artificial reality around her. Arriving on Earth, Kara's ship was discovered by a then middle-aged Superman. Along with his wife Lois, Superman helped his new-found cousin adjust to human society and the two raised Kara as something of an adopted daughter. Taking the name Power Girl, Kara thereafter joined the Justice Society of America to follow in the heroic footsteps of her cousin.

Only that's just the beginning of the story, because the Earth that Kara Zor-L landed on was Earth 2, one of an infinite number of alternative Earths. And as the result of an epic disaster that affected the entire multi-verse, Kara's home was destroyed. Again. Kara was one of the only survivors of that alternate reality, inexplicably surviving a merging of parallel worlds. But she found herself alone once again, with a Superman who didn't know her and replaced in his affections by Supergirl, Kara's Earth 1 counterpart. The worst of it all, though, was that none of the other heroes, not a single other person on this entire new world even remembered it happened. To all of them she was simply Power Girl, a core member of the Justice Society. Just as if she'd always been a part of their reality.

Despite several attempts to mess with her mind by some very evil villains, Kara was eventually able to reconcile the Earth she remembered with the Earth she found herself on. Eventually finding a peace of sorts with the younger, Earth 1 Superman, she became a member of the Justice League International. She even held the position of Chairwoman for a time. But things never seem to stay safe for long for a superwoman in a cape, and after several tragedies, including a near fatal injury and an ill-fated mission under the direction of Oracle, Kara decided to leave the Justice Society and go it alone.

Moving to New York, she took on the alias Karen Starr, and opened Starrware Labs, a company dedicated to applying advanced technologies for the benefit of humanity and the environment. She and her cat, Stinky, eventually rented an apartment of their own in Brooklyn and Kara soon befriended a young and naive hero named Atlee. Kara knew she owed most of who she is to her former Earth's Superman and Lois Lane. They guided her, showed her what it meant to be a hero, what it meant to be a part of the world and how to embrace her new home and pledge herself to its safety. With Atlee, she'd found a chance to pass that on and to introduce her friend to the wider world and show her what it means to be a part of life among humans. She introduced the food, the pop-culture, the shopping, the little every day things that make up a civilian life. With her best friend at her side, Power Girl continued her role as a protector of her new, adopted Earth.

Personality

Power Girl is a superhero. Sure, you could say the same for anyone who puts on a uniform and fights crime, but for Kara it's truly the essence of who she is a person. To the point where it's impossible to separate Power Girl from Karen Starr and even her non-cape activities are dedicated to the betterment of humanity. She’s the type to pour all of her time and money into her company, sleeping on the couch in her office and taking showers in the decontamination room because she'd rather use her money to fund research than pay rent. For Kara, her civilian identity is little more than a tool. Something she uses to try and build some semblance of a life for those moments in-between saving lives, but she's careless about it, even when she knows that being careless can put the people around her at risk. The problem is, she doesn't really feel the need to be anyone but Power Girl, even while she longs for connections outside of the uniform. And although she made the choice to take a leave of absence from the JSA, she wasn't leaving her days of hero-ing behind. That would never even occur to her as a possibility. No, it was instead a chance to see what else there is to her life besides working with a team. To be her own person and find out who she really is when she doesn't need to function within the group.

But what kind of superhero is she? Well, Kara's not really a plan kind of girl. She considers herself to be all about action and smashing things. She generally believes that everyone, other heroes included, think she's all brawn and no brains and although being underestimated hurts her sometimes, she also uses it to her advantage whenever possible. Letting her enemies believe they've outsmarted her before she shows them the error of their ways. This insecurity isn't entirely accurate, though, because her teammates think highly enough of her tactical skills to have made her the head of the JSA on more than one occasion. But a girl can only be ogled and harassed so many times before that starts to take a toll on her self-esteem. Still, despite all that, Kara has a pretty damn good sense of humor about her image and her place in the larger cape community. She doesn't ever apologize for being who and what she is, boob-window uniform included. Oddly enough, for an alien orphan living on an adopted world, Kara is incredibly attached to the trivia of everyday life. She loves clothes, junk food, television, movies, and everything else that screams "modern, single city girl". She's always ready with a reference to pop-culture and that's part of what makes her so damn fun. People like Power Girl. Heroes respect her and the public adores her, though she'll always suspect that's as much for her physical attributes as her prowess at fighting evil.

Beyond simply being a hero, though, Kara Zor-L is the ultimate survivor. She's lost her family and her entire world. Twice. She's watched teammates and loved ones suffer and die. She's lost her powers, failed in missions and failed to save innocent lives. But through all that, she's never stopped, never slowed down or given up. She survived the destruction of the multiverse through sheer force of will to live. Kara can lose her way sometimes just like anyone else. Desperate for a family and people to love and support her, she still misses her Earth's version of Superman every day. And sure, she might long for a day off sometimes to catch her breath and watch tv, but when it comes down to it, Kara doesn't dwell on the negative. She's not one to waste time angsting when there's work to be done.