Power Girl (Earth 2/New 52)

On the parallel world known as Earth 2, Power Girl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of Superman. Like him, she came to Earth from the dead planet Krypton. But though they were sent from that planet at the same time, she arrived decades after him. In that time, she'd aged only months, and arrived in perfect health. At this time, Superman kept his cousin Kara hidden, as his secret weapon in their war against Steppenwolf and Apokolips.

She met her best friend, Robin aka Helena Wayne, on the day that Helena's mother died. When Robin rushed into a burning building, furious with grief, Batman called to Superman for help. Superman sent Kara to rescue Robin from the building. (Worlds' Finest #0)

Batman eventually devised a virus to take down Apokolips' forces, but he, Wonder Woman, and Superman were killed in seeing it to fruition. Supergirl was unable to prevent her cousin's death, but after the plan succeeded, both she and Robin plunged into a portal in pursuit of a figure which they presumed was from Apokolips. Whoever it was, the person eluded them and they emerged on a parallel Earth with no way back. (Earth 2 #1)

Worse, they landed in the middle of an ocean but Helena managed to drag them both to safety on a nearby island. The girls took different attitudes towards their fate. Kara was determined to find a way home, but Helena somewhat resolved herself to the situation. In Rome, they made plans for survival in the new world. Karen began buying up technology and research companies, and Helena resumed crime fighting as the Huntress and began appropriated money from Wayne Enterprises. (Worlds' Finest #1, 4)

Karen (as Kara called herself on Earth) had also discovered that her costume wouldn't burn on this new Earth. Karen was unable to find the technology she needed so instead began trying to create it, hiring the world's best scientists. One such man was Michael Holt (Mister Terrific), a genius whose "quantum tunneler" was most promising. Karen applied her charms and became Holt's girlfriend, all the while poking around his facilities in Los Angeles. Her company, Starrware, was headquartered in California and on Starr Island in Micronesia, where Karen could mine rare earth metals from the ocean floor. She entrusted her assistant, Somya with all her secrets. (Worlds' Finest #2-3)

Eventually, the road home became too complicated and Kara was forced to adopt a new hero identity, becoming Power Girl. In Tokyo, she had bought a research facility working on a "quantum tunneler," which was attacked by a brute called Hakkou (apparently from Apokolips). Power Girl was uncharacteristically affected by Hakkou's radiation; when doused in it, it was Helena who had to rescue her friend. (Worlds' Finest #1-2) They eventually learned that Hakkou was trying to close portals to other worlds. He was defeated by feeding him a nuclear warhead. Hakkou targets a U.S. ship carrying a nuclear warhead. Hakkou hints at his mission: "other pathways to close." Power Girl managed to "feed" Hakkou a nuclear warhead, which overloaded him, and he disappeared. (#4)

After this incident, Power Girl tested her strength at the Atlas Experiment, a massive physics research facility under the Alps that also had a super-collider. (#5) Someone was watching her every move. When she hijacked a Galaxy Communications satellite to detect energy signatures from Apokolips, it was destroyed immediately by someone using their own Boom Tube to teleport. (#6) More mysteries came from Africa, where she found militants guarding a special satellite dish. These men had a weaponry that flattened her and again, a Boom Tube spirited the evidence away (though she managed to secure one of their weapons). Meanwhile, the Huntress met her "not brother," Robin and Karen helped them on a mission. (#7)

Unlike Helena, Karen took every precaution to avoid her "family" on Earth-0. She had passed that world's Supergirl once before. (Worlds' Finest #6) She soon found that she was connected somehow to her "not sister," when the Girl of Steel came under attack, Karen suffered. Power Girl rescued Supergirl. When the two touched (the first meeting of counterparts from parallel Earths), their memories intertwined. Karen took Supergirl back to her Kryptonian sanctuary where its servants created a new costume for her. Soon its sensors reported an error: Power Girl's duplicate DNA was perceived as a clone's. (Supergirl #18-20)

Karen drifted away from Michael Holt—who as it happens, had found the way to Earth 2! Before he disappeared, he had discovered Karen's security breaches. (Mister Terrific #7-8) Later, her own companies came under siege and the trail traced back to Holt Industries. The operation had been taken over by another Apokoliptian, Desaad. (Worlds' Finest #10-11)

Notes

When they arrived on Earth-0, Supergirl's costume was found to be indestructible, but it was apparently not used in making her Power Girl costume, because that one was rather easily destroyed. (Supergirl #19)

Karen Starr was first seen using her powers in Mister Terrific #7.

Powers

Power Girl possesses the powers of a normal Kryptonian under a yellow sun. These include flight, super-strength, speed, and invulnerability. She also possesses x-ray and heat visions, and super-senses.

Her weaknesses include kryptonite and (outside her home planet) certain kinds of extra-dimensional radiation.

Appearances + References

» FEATURED APPEARANCES:  

• Earth 2 #0, 1
• Huntress vol. 3 #6
• Mister Terrific #1–2, 7, 8
• Supergirl #18–19

» SERIES:

• Worlds' Finest, 26 issues (2012–2014)
• Earth 2: World's End, 26 issues (2014–2015)
• Earth 2: Society, 22 issues (2015–2017)

» SEE ALSO:

• Power Girl (original)
• Power Girl (post-Crisis)