Kara Klones Kause Krisis

Linda Danvers II was the product of a genetic experiment, spawned by an adversary of the Earth-One Supergirl in order to make six miniaturized clones of the heroine. After battling them, Supergirl used Gold Kryptonite to drain them of their superhuman abilities, and kept them in stasis. However, the mental bond that existed between them allowed them to merge into one unified individual.

Karen Starr II was in actuality the original Kara Zor-L, who rather than being cloned into a new life form from cells of the original, was kept alive and youthful as her cells replicated continually for decades. During these forty years in outerspace, another Kara was spawned within the Symbioship's fabricated artificial reality which replicated Krypton-Two's Kandor-Two including her parents. Once Kara arrived on Earth-Two, she reunited with her cousin Kal-L aka Superman. As this happened, the duplicate Kandor Kara within her mind was erased from existence, while her body began to age normally.

For a brief period of time, “Linda Danvers” used her mental abilities to cloud the memories of Supergirl, causing the Girl of Steel to forget her alter ego as Linda Lee Danvers. This was with the intent that the clone could live out Linda’s life in peace, while Supergurl carried on her costumed career full time. However, Kara Zor-El regained her senses and pieced together fragments of memories until she deduced who was the culprit behind her temporary amnesia. Once she confronted her with the truth, Supergirl proposed to “Linda” that both women could live out their lives independent of one another.

Due to the protective radiation generated by her three comrades when traveling back to Earth-Two from Earth-Prime, they along with Power Girl became temporal clones of earlier versions themselves. Younger versions of Green Lantern, Doctor Fate and Starman* were operating as costumed crusaders in 1942. Meanwhile, Power Girl’s earlier version of herself was rocketing through space while residing for decades within the life-sustaining vessel known as the Symbioship.

Of course, there were other versions of Kara Zor-El and Kara Zor-L. Their counterpart of Earth-Three, raised in the Kandor of Krypton-One, became Supergirl's arch-enemy Lesla Lar. The Kara Zor-L of post-Crisis Earth-0 merged her mind with a warrior princess in the notional reality version of Asgard, located high above Earth-Two. 

Then, there were the Kara’s’ dream doppelgängers:  Satan Girl aka Nightflame of the Innerverse dream reality within Supergirl’s mind, and the Power Girl from Earth-Two's future was journeyed to 1942 as well as the Power Girl who split from her during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

* The Earth-One versions of the Earth-Two's Green Lantern, Starman and Doctor Fate’s-temporal clones were two ofT.O. Morrow'sGreen Lantern temporal clones (his third Green Lantern mirrored the Earth-Two Conqueror’s Green Lantern clone) and his T.O. Morrow clone. As for the Huntress, Justice Leaguers and Crime Syndicators…  they were not alive in 1942, and would not have had temporal clones.

Dual Dream Dimensions Disorient Dogooders

The Dream Dimension was first discovered by the Flash when he perceived of its existence as a band within the velocity spectrum, which he physically entered while approaching and surpassing the speed of light. This reality had previously been accessed mentally through the Amazonian Memory Chair, a devise developed on the Paradise Island of Earths One and Two, as well as the Kryptonian Symbioship which Zor-L of Krypton-Two designed.

Sometime after the Earth-One Flash ventured there, scientist named Doctor Sanford Garrett developed equipment in conjunction with the United States government allowing him to physically travel within that dimension. Offering to test this himself in order to save a high ranking official trapped within through his dreams, Sanford adopted the alter ego of Sandman, with the mission of protecting humanity from nightmares manifested therein. Sandman could only return to his home world of Earth-One one hour each day. 

Sandman eventually met the Flash and his teammates in the Justice League of America, while battling the dream-themed villain Doctor Destiny (a similar tale  involved the Justice Society vs Brain Wave). Among those present on that case was Wonder Woman, whom Sandman had previously observed from his Dream Dome and cultivated romantic feelings for... which were not reciprocated.

Interestingly, both the Wonder Woman of Earth-One and Power Girl of Earth-Two had partial existences within the Dream Dimension while mentally linked to the Memory Chair and Symbioship, wherein they had fabricated lives and adventures.  As virtual representations of themselves, these women experienced stories within the Dream Dimension that mirrored the real life tales of their cosmic twins, Supergirl of Earth-One and Wonder Woman of Earth-Two.

While the Earth-Two Sandman, Wesley Dodds, did not have direct access to the Dream Dimension as had his Earth-One doppelgänger Garrett Sanford, he did have a strong connection to dreams which he relied upon in his various adventures as a costumed crusader. Unlike Sanford, Dodds kept his relationship professional with his Justice Society teammate Wonder Woman. No doubt, his having a true love in his own dream-girl, Dian Belmont, helped him avoid looking at other women. Dian's own cosmic twin, Beautiful Dreamer of Earth-Two, also had a connection with the Dream Dimension from which she derived her powers.

Charlton Comics’ Other Action Heroes

On the parallel planet of Earth-Four, a terrific trio of troubleshooters appeared on occasion alongside Blue Beetle and Peacemaker. While this quintet never had a name, they may have been a precursor for the future Sentinels of Justice, of which Blue Beetle would be a future member. The original Sentinels consisted of another tremendous trio bequeathed with specialized garments which granted them amazing abilities. As to the origin of the superpowers on display by today's trio, whether these traits were inherent or augmented by sophisticated devices, is unknown.

When the aspiring young  inventor Jack Biceps adopted to alter ego of a supervillain named  Sinestro the Boy Fiend, he attempted to make a name for himself as protector for all criminals. Biceps was opposed by the two established action heroes, as well as newcomers Captain USA, Green Spider and Superguy. While never having appeared before, these three were apparently well known by their adversary, thus establishing their notoriety among the more publishized contemporareous costumed crusaders.

Captain USA had cosmic twins on Earth-One/Earth-Two who were  geologists/oil magnates Pete Ross and Tex Thomson. This pair were amateur adventurers, inspired by  Superboy and Superman, and for a time wore caped costumes as superheroes.

Pete of Earth-One and Tex of Earth-Two assumed the alter egos of the second Superboy and Mister America, respectively. While Captain USA seemingly had natural superhuman strength and the power of flight, Pete and Tex used their technological prowess to artificially replicate the abilities of the Supermen.

Superguy’s Earth-One/Earth-Two doppelgängers were Kara Zor-El/Linda Lee Danvers and Kara Zor-L/Karen Starr. These two heroines also known as Supergirl and Power Girl were the first cousins and secret weapons of their Earths’ Supermen during the same period of time, until they latter gained public notoriety. Superguy likewise was less well known than the Superman of Earth-Four, Captain Atom, of whom there was no known familial connection. 

Green Spider’s counterparts were the rogue vigilantes Black Spider and the Spider, dark reflections of the more noble Batmen. While those heroes operated in the Gotham Cities of Earth-One and Two, Green Spider’s base of operations was in Earth-Four’s Gothamville.

Although nothing is known as to their personal origins nor their civlian identities, each man possessed superpowers. Whether they had innate abilities or were technically enhanced, they appeared to be barely sufficient at holding this own versus an amateur antagonistic, his world's version of the twin Earth Flash’s’ foes Trickster and Gadgeteer.

The Boy Fiend was able to evade this quintet, a loss which Peacemaker and Blue Beetle recovered from but which this trio of amateur costumed crusaders apparently did not.  This is evident in the short term nature of Green Spider, Captain USA and Superguy's heroic histories.

Mighty Maidens’ Mystery Missions

In April 1985, while her older colleagues in the Justice Society of America were defending themselves in front of a Congressional trial relating to the so-called “Batman Diary” incriminating them, Power Girl was away on a mystery mission. She mentioned this took her out of the country for a couple of weeks, but where was she and what did it involve. This has never been answered.

However, an image of Power Girl battling a few armed men on battle combat gear provides a hint at whom she faced, and why, in London England. We can deduce this by noting a case involving her Earth-One counterpart, Supergirl, which occurred across the world.

This concurrent adventure involved Supergirl confronting her former Stanhope College alum and friend, Rudi Clement, and his estranged cousin Martin Tane. While Rudi’s family migrated to the United States and became wealthy, Martin’s family remained in England to live on poverty. When the two long-lost relatives reunited and discovered each had developed similar anti-gravitational technology, their family’s centuries old feud reignited.

After initially battling Rudi aka Gravitron Man over the skies of Florida, she followed him across the Atlantic Ocean, where he was pursuing his rival. Meanwhile, that rival Martin aka Lord Gravity was facing the visiting members of the Doom Patrol, visiting London on vacation.

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Although both the Patrol and Supergirl were initially unsuccessful against the problematic pair, together the heroes were able to defeat the cousins. The Maid of Might and her new-found allies eventually reunited to combat the Doom Patrol member Tempest’s former fellow soldier and old adversary, Sgt. Benjamin Krullen aka Reactron. As for Rudi and Martin, they never resumed their criminal careers.

Apparently, the armed soldiers whom whom Power Girl quarreled with “outside the country” may have been the Earth-Two versions of Gravitron Man and Lord Gravity, although they appear to have had a more “cordial” relationship with one another. Perhaps on this world, the Clement side of the family remained in England, and together with the Tane clan remained united.

The Secret to the Supermen's Super-Secret Identity

One of the oddest concessions in the mythos of the Supermen is how they disguised themselves by wearing a simple pair of glasses and a displaying a mild-tempered alter ego. It turns out, more was involved.

For the Earth-One Superman Kal-El, it involved his use of eye lenses for his glasses, made of Kryptonian glass remnants* from the space craft that brought him to his adopted world. Through these glasses, his super-will power mesmerized those who saw him, making them perceive him as he wished them to... as meek reporter Clark Kent!

For the Earth-Two Superman Kal-L, it involved an ability only he possessed, whereby he was able to mold his facial features** in any shape he desired. This allowed him to transform his gallant face into that of meek reporter's. How Kal-L could mold his invulnerable face in such a manner is unknown, but is perhaps a native born Kryptonian ability as many of his superpowers were those common on his homeworld.

Of course, Kal-El didn't realize his glasses produced this effect until years after he first adopted his Superboy alias. While his adopted parents Jonathan and Martha Kent, and his close friends such as Batman and his fellow Justice Leaguers, saw him as both Clark and Superman... none of them revealed that his appearance changed when donning his glasses. Apparently this was a subconscious effect, which even fooled telepathic fellow Leaguers Aquaman and J'onn J'onzz.

As for Kal-L, since he began his costumed career as an adult having thoroughly trained with his growing abilities, he would have knonwn that his malleable face was sufficient to protect his double identity. And apparently, this is the same technique used by his cousin Kara aka Power Girl, while using her Karen Starr alter ego. As to how Power Girl's counterpart and Kal-El's cousin Supergirl was able to disguise her connection to Linda Lee Danvers, with only a brunette wig, is unknown.

* Detailed in Superman #330 - during this tale, while battling Batman foe the Spellbinder, Superman learned of his glasses' unique attribute

** Detailed in Superman #253 - which also explained in 1972 (for the first time) that Clark and Lois were married, six years before the story of their marriage was told in Action Comics #484

Other Amoral Androids Afflicting Kal and Kara of Krypton

An android of alien origin known as the Chief, created by Vandal Savage, was first utilized as a henchmen when his master joined the Injustice Society and they both battled Hawkman. Following a swift defeat by the Winged Warrior, the Chief was retrieved by his master to be used for another scheme decades later, which involved Kal-L. 

Power Girl also became the prey of the Chief on a robotic world designed by his creator, luring her into a trap whereby Savage leached Kara's superhuman abilities to use against Kal-L in battle. With the aid of their Justice Society comrades, however, Superman and Power Girl defeated both Vandal and the Chief, with the latter left behind on his ravaged world.

Might this Chief android have gained his mental engrams from the displaced mind of the Ultra-Humanite, foe to all Kryptonians in his universe? His first appearance in 1947 (when it assisted Vandal Savage in his bid for conquest as a member of the Injustice Society versus Hawkman) was during the period when Ultra was in seclusion following an earlier defeat in the spring of 1942, when he battled Superman and the All-Star Squadron. 

Later tales elude to a relationship between Savage and Ultra as confederates of crime, and Ultra was the sole known possessor of Brain emulation technology. Additionally, Vandal needed a high-level genius to assist him in designing Colu-Two and its artificial suns, which the Humanite would eagerly assist to satisfy his thirst for revenge against his arch-enemy.

Another android who plagued Superman and Supergirl was Pulsar Stargrave, a synthetic being thought to have been the 30th century version of the android Brainiac of Colu-One. Possessing the ability to project massive amounts of light, heat and immense energy, Stargrave proved a formidable foe to all he opposed.

Pulsar grew his reputation by defeating both the Time Trapper and Mordru, thought to be the most powerful entities of their era. Presenting himself as the long-lost  father of Querl Dox aka Brainiac Five into recruiting his fellow Legionnaires into joining him on battling a galactic threat. Eventually, Stargrave’s true scheme was revealed, as he sought to be unchallenged in his galactic supremacy. While battling Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, the teen team were able to overpower him and throw him into Colu's sun. 

Pulsar would return and would attempt to sway Querl into joining him, claiming to be the adopted great-great-great-grandfather to the boy genius, as Brainiac raised Querl's ancestor Vril in the 20th century. Once more, he was outwitted and was thought to be destroyed, although this would not be the case.

Stargrave returned one final time, when he employed Computo drones into attempting to annex planet Bismoll into his rule. On that occasion, Bismoll’s Legion member Matter-Eater Lad along with the Legion of Substitute-Heroes defeated Stargrave and his minions.

Legendary Legacy Lads and Lasses of the Justice Society

The year 1940 saw the dawn of superhero teams, with the debut of the Justice Society of America. For the next decade, they would be the standard bearers that would imspire other such teams. On their Earth-Two these included Law's Legionnaires or Seven Soldiers of Victory, the Blue Boys, All-Star Squadron, Freedom Fighters, among others.

Their stories would be relayed on other Earths in the form of comicbooks, with writers of those worlds having their minds "attuned" to the frequencies of the Multiverse which provided them the material to chronicle these adventures. On Earth-One especially, several heroes debuted there having adopted alter egos of Justice Society members. Perhaps most notable was police scientist Barry Allen, who after gaining the power of superspeed, decided to live out his boyhood dream and imitate the JSA member known as the Flash, aka police scientist Jay Garrick. Just prior to their historic meeting, Barry-Flash joined other heroes to form the Justice League of America.

And so, various other masked men also appeared to be the next generation of superheroes, carrying on the traditions of the originals. Such ones as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl... each new version mirrored the first version years earlier.

However, on Earth-Two, a new generation of heroes was already appearing in the mid-1950s. The first to appear was Tornado Tot, secretly the infant pair of aspiring heroes known as Sugar Plumm and Cecil "Spike" Wilson, who borrowed a flying costume created by a neighborhood kid. They were of course inspired by the wanna-be Justice Society member, Ma Hunkle aka Red Tornado. Within a year after the Tot had their first, and last, case... yet another Red Tornado appeared. This one, however, was an android created by criminal mastermind T.O. Morrow with the intent of sabotaging the Justice Society from within. Thankfully, this android Tornado proved honorable, and helped them defeat his creator and join their ranks. After a few years, Tornado moved to Earth-One to join the Justice League.

The next legacy hero to appear did so secretly at first. This occured in 1969 after a tragic tale involving the death of Dinah and Larry Lance, as they alongside the Justice Society and Justice League defeated the cosmic being known as Aquarius. As Dinah, also known as Black Canary, was dying from extensive radiation exposure, she recalled a daughter kept in suspended animation within the Thunderbolt Dimension for decades. This child had been given a dangerous sonic power, which unlike the girl's counterpart Silver Swan who gained this ability as an adult, was unable to master as such as young age. With Johnny Thunder and Superman's help, the mother's memories were implanted into those of her sleeping daughter, now an adult... and this younger Dinah became the new Black Canary. Joining the Justice League's membership on Earth-One, she honored her mother's legacy.

Soon after this, another blonde bombshell arrived on Earth-Two after the previous one had departed. This lass was Kara Zor-L, the long-lost cousin of Kal-L aka Superman, who had been traveling through space for several decades while slumbering within her Symbioship as she experience a virtual reality Kryptonian existence. She would be welcomed into her cousin Kal/Clark Kent's home, and would form a strong bond with Clark's wife Lois Lane Kent. However, unlike her counterpart of Earth-One Kara Zor-El, she did not adopt a legacy alias of Supergirl. Instead, she broke the mold and named herself Power Girl, years later joining the Justice Society and becoming a key member.

In the late 1970s and early 1970s, several more legacy heroes appeared as the children and protégées of the Justice Society approached adulthood. First among them was Helena "Huntress" Wayne, daughter of Batman and Catwoman. She like Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon of Earth-One, proved every bit as adept as her male mentor.

Others included: Hawkman and Hawkgirl's son Hector "Silver Scarab" Hall, Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor's daughter Lyta "Fury" Trevor, Green Lantern's children Jennie Lynn "Jade" Hayden and Todd "Obsidian" Rice, and the godsons of Atom and Hawkman in Albert "Nuklon" Rothstein" and Norda "Northwind" Cantrell, as well as Hourman’s son Rick Tyler.

Alongside these original members of Infinity, Inc., additional members such as Hourman's son Rick Tyler, Wildcat's goddaughter Yolanda Montez, and Doctor Mid-Nite's protegee Beth Chapel each adopted the alter egos of their mentors somewhat later. They would mirror the New Teen Titans, led by Dick "Robin" Grayson who like his Earth-Two counterpart was the first such legacy hero. 

However, the Titans were composed more of sidekicks such as Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Speedy... which were also present on Infinity Inc.'s world and were their own distinct type of legacy hero. While the golden age Holliday Girl Donna Troy, Johnny "Johnny Quick" Chambers and Neptune Perkins were less connected to their world's Wonder Woman, Flash, and Aquaman, they were still carrying on the torch of these legends with their own heroic spirit in the face of danger.

Jasma and Jinal: Sole Surviving Sisters

Jasma was a mystery woman left adrift in space, suffering amnesia after being exposed to Kryptonite. Taken back to the world known as Makkor by their champion Salkor who found her, he nurtured her back to health during which they fell in love. Eventually, the pair married, although their union was sadly shortlived as Jasma recovered her memories of her previous life on Earth-One. No longer recalling her life on Makkor, she left Salkor behind.

Jinal Ne' Comarr was an adventurous woman arriving from space, finding all her crew mates dead from exposure to a barren Earth-Two. On this ravaged world, now under a red sun, Jasma eventually was forced into marrying Zhengla Koraz, the ruler of his alien people. Eventually, the union between he and Jinal was severed after they succeeded in conquering all other inhabitants of this world, including the ancient ones was genetically engineered them. As Zhengla lay dying, he proclaimed Jinal the new conqueror of this barren earth.

While Janal’s 27 chronicled adventures occurred over a period of 3 years, the woman who would become Jasma herself had 27 known tales… between the time when she first appeared using this alias… until the time she recovered memories of her brief life as Jasma. While Jinal’s ancestor envisioned her life thousands of years before her descendant was born, Jasma’s descendant would be drawn into meeting her ancestor thousands of years in the past. Confused?

Indeed. who really were these two women? Jasma discovered that she was actually Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl, and would only remember Salkor years after she left Makkor... just prior to her dying in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Her husband would meet Kara's cousin Kal-El aka Superman, and the two would mourn her loss.

Jinal was said to have lived thousands of years in the future, with certain aspects of her story harmonizing with that of another blonde bombshell known as Kara Zor-L. This Kara, Power Girl, had been mentally assimilated into the Symbioship that brought her to Earth-Two... attempting to ensnare her within its virtual reality world. During a two year simulated period, Kara rejected life under the red sun planet, feeling she was alone on that doomed world. She was seemingly dreaming such a life foreshadowing Jinal's own in a future era. This mirrored Kara Zor-El’s dreams inspired by her foes Lesla-Lar and Universo, and her later amensiac life as Jasma***.

Interestingly, the tales of Jinal and Jasma were told at approximately the same time on parallel planets, with Jinal and Power Girl looking identical to one another. And Jinal of the far future of Earth-Two mirrors the descendant of Supergirl on Earth-One in 500000 C.E.

This future Maid of Might Louise-L traveled back to the 20th century to track down her foe Tal Belok’s confederate in that era, known as Toxus, whom he supplied weaponry from his future. Together with Superman, she and he defeated both these threats, although the villains later returned. 

The next time, Louise-L and Kara Zor-El swapped time periods, as the two Supergirls disguised themselves as each other and captured Belok and Toxus. In that far future, the woman who would adopt the alias of Jasma first assumed the identity of her descendant Louise-L. And in turn, Louise-L adopted the alter ego of Linda Danvers during her brief stay in Kara’s native era.

Jasma and Jinal, each were blonde women from the stars, tied to worlds orbiting red suns, marrying alien supermen during moments of weakness, finding their fortitude to endure, persevere and become legends. 

***In addition, the virtual reality adventures in the Kryptonian Symbioship that Kara Zor-L of Earth-Two experienced were as real and tangible to her as were those of Diana aka Wonder Woman of Earth-One while in the Amazonian Memory Chair. Real versions of these tales took place in the lives of the Earth-One Kara Zor-El and the Earth-Two Diana. 

Interestingly, Kara Zor-L had spent a week in an Amazonian Memory Chair on the Earth-Two Paradise Island, in order to acclimated training as a software engineer. This may well have also played a part in her future insights into Jasma’s life, envisioning those experiences implanted by the Symbioship as those of her own!

Kal Versus Kara: The Men of Steel Versus the Maidens of Might

As far as the strongest superheroes, but physically and at their core, the Supermen are thought to be unbeatable. That is, until they learned that they had long lost relatives with not only the same Kryptonian physiology, but also the same level of mental fortitude. In the latter months of 1984, the two sets of two cousins finally fought one another, thanks to the mental manipulations of foes digging up long buried feelings in the males, that their female relatives now had to deal with in order to save humanity!

In the months of November and December, a remarkably similar situation played out twice on Earth-Two. First, a visiting Justice League traveled to that world, in order to help the Justice Society in their battle with the enigmatic Commander who invaded their universe. Seeking to find the source of an invading armada of aliens, a handful of League and Society members traveled to Commander's dimension, and fell prey to his mental domination. Returning to Earth-Two, these heroes... including Kal-El aka Superman... were not envisioning perfect worlds that they would fight to realize. Kal-El's dream of peace let to his attacking those he perceived threatened this peace... his teammates and friend, including his cousin Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl. She was able to gain the upper hand, until her allies and she combined forces to overpower the brainwashed heroes. Following restoring Kal-El and the other heroes' sanity, then their defeat of the Commander over the skies of Washington D.C., Supergirl and the League returned to Earth-One.

Shortly after this, another brainwashed Superman, this time Earth-Two's Kal-L, also caused a handful of Justice Society teammates to likewise me mesmerized by the intoxicating Stream of Ruthlessness, which deadened their consciences and awakened long buried dreams. Kal-L's was a restoration of long dead Krypton-Two, by fashioning Metropolis into its image. His cousin Kara Zor-L aka Power Girl courageously battled Kal-L, although he overpowered her initially. 

Following a rematch of she and her Infinity Inc allies versus the fanatical Justice Society members, Kara was able to defeat Kal-L and restore their sanity, defeating their master Ultra-Humanite. However, Power Girl never displayed that her powers exceeded those of her cousin, which differed at times from her cosmic twin.

During a battle with her old foe Blackstarr, Supergirl restrains her cousin from attacking that enemy in order to save the cosmos. Shortly thereafter, during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, it is Kara rather than Kal-L who stands toe-to-toe with Anti-Monitor in his Anti-Matter Universe, leading to Supergirl's death in front of both Supermen.

Daring Damsels' Dream Detours: Kara from Krypton vs Herself!

Supergirl and Power Girl were vulernable to such things as Green Kryptonite. However, they were also prone to be attacked from within, from their dreams.  Each Maiden of Might had scores of adversaries to face, such as the mental madmen known as Universo and Brain Wave, who attempted to distort their reality. Yet their most insidious enemies were their own mirror images! 

Throughout Supergirl's history, she faced darker versions of herself created through various means such as Red Kryptonite.. while for years aboard her ship, Power Girl faced a lighter, unrealistic version of herself.

Power Girl had a copy of herself exist while she was aboard her Symbioship, in the form of a warrior maiden of the city of Asgard high above Earth-Two. This blonde Asgardian mind-melded with the Power Girl of post-Crisis Earth in 1945. Each of these women, seeing their lives as pale shadows of their respective Kara, sought to create their own legends as the next Supergirl and Power Girl.

Lesla-Lar utilized a brain-wash helmet in order to distort Kara Zor-El's memories of her life as Linda Lee. Trading places with Kara, Lesla assumed the identity of Supergirl and fooled both her cousin Superman and his arch-foe, Lex Luthor. It was Luthor whom she conspired with, then turning her attention to a few Kryptonian criminals. After freeing them from the Phantom Zone, they betrayed her, by using one of their weapons to atomize her body. Lesla's psyche remained alive, however.

Years later, Lesla as an energy construct tried to defeat Supergirl by manipulating minions, including another Phantom Zone prisioner named Shyla Kor-Onn. When these schemes failed, Lesla then tried to attack Supergirl from within her own body, using dreams to project realistic illusions. Supergirl fought back, exercising her superior will power to rid herself of Lesla's mental influence for good.

Kara Zor-L fought a similiar mental influence for several decades aboard the Symbioship. This ship's devices crafted a future Kandor envisioned by her parents of a Krypton-Two that had not exploded. This mental conditioning made Power Girl  prone towards its influence, when it attempted to replace her with another Kara. At this time, the Asgardian Kara Zor-L had departed back to her post-Crisis Earth.

Power Girl's superior will power fought back, ridding herself of the Symbioship, and later provided her the means to track down and out-think the dream-manipulating criminal Brain Wave.

Twice-Told-Tales: Maidens of Might - Trials in Kandor & Dimensional Exile

In the months of March and April of 1978, counterparts Supergirl and Power Girl faced similiar challenges, from their heritage to their realities from outside and from within.

Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl was raised on Earth-One, following the destruction of her hometown of Argo City, by her cousin Kal-El and adopted parents. In the interim, she discovered one surviving city from Krypton-One... Kandor... in shrunken form kept in Superman's Fortress of Solitude. There was also other survivors, like her parents within the Survival Zone until she freed them, and the Phantom Zone where Krypton's criminals were imprisoned for decades. Among these was Shyla Kor-Onn.

Shyla was an aspiring pilot whose application to Krypton's space program was rejected, Using a device of her creation to siphon of the strength of others in order to attain her goals, she accidentally killed an innocent individual. This led to her being exiled into the Phantom Zone for decades. Once finding the means to free herself, she sought out Supergirl in order to steal the Maid of Might's strength. When this scheme failed, Kara projected Shyla back into the Phantom Zone, although Shyla was released and then accused Supergirl in Kandor's court of illegally sending her there. The court sent Kara there until the case was resolved, proving Supergirl's innocence.

This was all an elaborate scheme was Lesla-Lar, a Kandorian for of Supergirl that was now an energy being after being betrayed by some of Shyla's fellow prisoners. Lesla and Kara later battled within Supergirl's mind for control of her body... which Kara soon won.

Simultaneous to this struggle, was a similar one which Kara Zor-L aka Power Girl was facing on Earth-Two. Having been raised there by her cousin Kal-L and his wife Lois, she was attempting to put behind her an artificially created existence within a virtual reality version of Kandor created by her father while aboard her spaceship. Still, within that vessel known as the Symbioship's databanks were virtual copies of both her parents and numerous other established Kryptonians.

During a moment of weakness, following her various  confrontations with the mental madman known as Brain Wave, the Symbioship reasserted itself upon the psyche of Kara... pulling her into a dreamworld once more. Returning to its version of Kandor, Kara's artificial duplicate surplanted her and lived out  various experiences within her body into this Kryptonian based society. Power Girl was now expected to now accept her new life back within the vessel. However, she would ultimately fight back, freeing herself from the Symbioship and seemingly irreparably destroying it. As for the other Kara crafted by the spaceship, she like Lesla ceased to exist, leaving Power Girl in peace.

However, while this was transpiring, Brain Wave was implementing a plan whereby he would teleport the cities of various members of the Justice Society... his old foes.. into the Limbo dimension between worlds. After sending the Flash's Keystone City into Limbo, Brain Wave forced Power Girl to herself be placed there. Within this realm, she fought and defeated Brain Wave and his henchmen, and returned the city and its heroes to their native dimension.

Maidens of Might vs Darkseid: Rounds 1 and 2

Perhaps no single evil entity was as great a threat as was Darkseid. Both in the 20th century and a thousand years in the future, during periods when this vile villian attempted to conquer both his universe of Earth-One and that of Earth-Two, Darkseid met twin Karas.

Darkseid sought to move his planet Apokolips to  the physical space where Earth-Two resided. Now restored on his home planet of Apokolips, Darkseid and his various minions faced the combined might of the Justice League and Justice Society. This included the trio of Orion, Firestorm of the League, and Kara Zor-L aka Power Girl of the Society.  However, it was Firestorm who overpowered Darkseid, reflecting his own Omega Force back at him.

Thought destroyed when bathed in the energy of his recreation machine, Darkseid returned a thousand years later. Defeating numerous beings with greater power than he possessed, Darkseid eventually battled the Legion of Super-Heroes and their various allies. Among these was Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl, who physically matched Darkseid as to raw power, until the villian used his boom tube and pain enducing devices to stun her. But she provided the time necessary for her comrades to arrive, causing Darkseid to retreat.

Power Girl eventually had the opportunity to prove her own durability, although this was against Darkseid’s counterpart in her universe, Sulthur of Ragnarok. Although it was thanks to the entire Justice Society that this beast was defeated, her contribution was essential. Regardless of the inconclusive nature of their one-on-one confrontations, each Kara demonstrated not only her superhuman qualities as on par with the Lord of Apokolips, but more importantly the great courage they had in the face of danger.

Koncurrent Krypton Kara Khronicles: Menacing Mental Mutants

Following their assistance combatting a pair of supervillains who unleashed plagues upon their parallel planets, the Girls of Steel were next tasked aboard satellites with tracking down menacing mental mutants. Each Kara was a bit headstrong, although both were courageous and led their Worlds' Greatest Heroes into outerspace to combat these old adversaries.

Despero originated from Kalanor-One before arriving on Earth-One, while Brain Wave was a natural born resident of Earth-Two. Each possessed vast powers over the mind, and were among the fiercest and most recurring of foes of the League and Society.

Both Superman and Despero were brought to the planet of Sirkus in order to amuse themselves with a battle between the two foes, along with synthetic replicas of Superman's Justice League allies. After defeating these, the real Justice League along with Supergirl will pulled to that world where they battled and defeated Despero. In this contest, despite his strong alien physique, Despero proved no match versus Kara Zor-El, the Supergirl!

Simultaneous to these events occuring, more or less, Power Girl alongside both the Justice Society and her newly formed team known as the Super Squad boarded the JSA Sky Rocket and intercepted Brain Wave's satellite headquarters. Initially, the heroes were overpowered by the barrage of Brain Wave's tremendous mental attacks as well as his ally Per Degaton's weaponry. In the end, the villains were weakened when Kara Zor-L, aka Power Girl, used her might to push Brain Wave's vessel close to the sun and outside of Earth orbit. This reversed the process of the two criminals' artificially created bodies, and restored Earth to its previously normal condition.

Just as they had done with Sonar and Queen Bee, Degaton and Brain Wave, just as had been done with a couple of mental mutants, so too each Kara would prove equal to the members of these twin teams. Soon after this, Power Girl was invited in place of her cousin Kal-L, Superman, to join the Justice Society. As for Supergirl, since her cousin Kal-El was younger and active with the Justice League, she remained a solo adventurers. Both gals would join as honorary members of the Legion of Super-Heroes and Infinity, Inc. However, the majority of Supergirl's tales were left as a member of Superman's Family, and those of Power Girl as a member of the JSA.

Koncurrent Kryptonian Kara Khronicles: Joining Justice Teams

For the first episode of the Koncurrent Kryptonian Kara Khronicles (forgive the "K's" in place of the "C's"), we being with the debut of Power Girl. While her counterpart Supergirl was operating for a few years, in Earth-One time, she was kept hidden for a longer period. Both had been trained by their cousins, who had more life experience as well as superheroic expertise. However, Power Girl needed a bit longer to assimiliate to actual human interaction, given that the majority of her life was within the virtual reality of her Symbioship, transporting her from Krypton-Two to her new adopted world. While both Karas interacted with fellow Kryptonians, Supergirl's interactions with fellow residents of the surviving Argo City of Krypton-One helped her to relate better to flesh-and-blood persons.

As our tales begin in the year 1976, both Girls of Steel have sought to uncover two disasters afflicting their parallel planets. Each was orchestrated by a pair of colorful criminals with advanced technology. And it was each Kara who played a pivotal role in assisting the Worlds' Greatest Heroes to save their twin Earths.

On Earth-One, a monetary plague afflicted residents of Central City and quickly spread nationwide, wherein money caused those possessing currency to turn psychotically strong. Meanwhile, animals around the world are gaining human intelligence, causing an increasing menace to mankind. The source of this is Sonar, who sought to reclaim his political goals of global conquest, but whose own technology was manipulated by the alien Queen Bee. With Supergirl's aid, the Leaguers defeated the villains.

On Earth-Two, various natural disasters afflicted Seattle in America, Peking in China, and Cape Town in South America. The cause for these are due to devices aboard the satellite of Brain Wave, who alongside his old Injustice Society colleague Per Degaton was attempting to extract "will energy" from their heroic foes with real disasters interspersed with illusions. With this energy, the pair hoped to gain more youthful bodies once more. Somehow through as yet undisclosed means, Power Girl was able to ascertain the culprit behind this as being Brain Wave. With this knowledge, she recruited the Justice Society and aided them in tracking down Degaton and Brain Wave.

Supergirl's ultimate goal was to locate her missing cousin Kal-El, as Superman had disappeared. Power Girl's strong desire was to break free of the shadow cast by her cousin Kal-L, as Superman seemed to be smothering her. Both women, alongside the League and Society, would accompany them in battled with mental mutants who were among their oldest adversaries. Stay tuned for more to come...

What If: There Was an Earth-One Infinity Inc.

Earths One and Two have teams that are quite alike, such as the Justice League and Justice Society, the Injustice Gang and the Injustice Society, not to member a Secret Society of Super-Villains. Each world has a Dynamic Duo, a World's Finest Team, Ace Archers and the like.

Yet there are also distinct groups on each parallel planet, such as the Teen Titans and the Blue Boys, each unique. But imagine if Infinity, Inc. had a team like the Forever People, but composed of the next (and a couple previous) generation of superhumans:

Instead of Wonder Woman's daughter Lyta aka Fury, it was Wonder Woman's twin sister Nubia. Tempest replaced Northwind. Swap out one tall redhead in Nuklon for another in Big Bear, and one stellar stud in Star-Spangled Kid for Snapper Carr's Star-Tsar. An inventive adventurer in Daniel Patrick Cassidy aka Blue Devil who replaced Hector Sanders Hall aka Silver Scarab. A pair of Green Lanterns in Arisia and John Stewart were inserted where Jade and Obsidian would have been. Brain Wave Junior's mental equal in the Omega Men’s Primus could fill in for him. And then, of course, the World's Finest Females, Batgirl and Supergirl, would be the team's dynamic duo in place of Huntress and Power Girl!

Imagine the team dynamics of this version of Infinity, Inc. on Forever People's Earth!

Uncanny Uncles of Superman: Zor-El and Zor-L

An excellent case study in how near exact counterparts can diverge in key areas can be seen in the example of the younger uncles of the Supermen, Zor-El and Zor-L While each was a brilliant scientist, the areas of science they pursued resulted in radically different results when raising their respective daughters following the destruction of their home worlds.

Both men possessed mechanical aptitude to replicate the rocketship engineering of their older brothers Jor-El and Jor-L, resulting in their designing interstellar vessels that would safely sent their offspring to Earths One and Two following the devastation of their cities.

Zor-El specialized in the physical sciences, allowing him to develop a protective dome, which ended up perserving Argo City alive when it was jettisoned from Krypton-One as that world exploded. At that time, the city of Kandor had been shrunk and placed in a bottle, held captive on the space craft of the android Braniac. However, the Kandor of Zor-L's world remained on Krypton-Two, and as such he and his family moved from his world's Argo City to Kandor prior to the world's end.

Zor-L specialized in the sciences of the mind, allowing him to develop an elaborate artificial reality based upon the inhabitants of Kandor contained within the self-sentinent rocket known as the Symbioship. He also was a master at slowing the aging process, which he equipped the ship to do for Kara. On this vessel, Zor-L sent his daughter to Earth-Two... just as Zor-El would also send his daughter to Earth-One when the Argo City eventually succumbed to Kryptonite radiation poisoning. 

Zor-El and Allura stayed alive by projecting themselves into the Survival Zones where they were phantoms watching over their daughter Kara aka Supergirl during her teen years on Earth-One. Zor-L and Allura continued the raised their daughter Kara aka Power Girl as artificial non-corporeal being in an interstellar dreamworld.

Eventually, both Karas were confronted with their parents... Supergirl found hers as phantoms that became real... Power Girl learned hers that seemed real were actual phantoms! And while Supergirl's parents moved to Kandor, and later to the planet Rokyn to be with fellow Kryptonians... the remnants of Power Girl's parents along with their Kandor seemed to cease to exist. However, it wasn't just Power Girl who was traumatized by the mental illusion of parents... Supergirl likewise was once tormented by her arch-enemy Lesla Lar into seeing her birth parents seemingly appear then disappear. Nevertheless, the Girls of Steel persevered and withstood any mental torment, living up to their potential as superheroines thanks to the training of their mothers Allura, and their fathers Zor-El and Zor-L!

Rokyn: The Last Homeworld of Krypton in Two Universes

The different cities of Kandor are famous for their long and rich histories. On Krypton,-Two, while the physical metropolis and most of its residents were destroyed, a digital replica of both the people and the structures which composed it remained within the databank containment vessel of Zor-L's Symbioship. This ship preserved alive his and his wife Allura's daughter, Kara, through her decades long journey across the stars. Upon arriving on Earth-Two, where she finally met her cousin Kal-L, the woman who became known as Power Girl had already experienced life within the Kryptonian society. From this experience, she joined the Justice Society alongside Kal aka Superman, and this helped pull her away from the mental grasp of Symbioship which she destroyed. Effectively, that Kandor was no more.

About a year later, on Earth-One, Superman and Supergirl likewise destroyed the containment vessel that housed a minaturized version of another Kandor. This bottled city was originally a normal metropolis on Krypton-One, until the evil android known as Brainiac used his shrinking ray to steal Kandor from its homeworld... just as he had done with scores of other cities across the universe. When Brainiac later encountered Kal-El, aka Superman, his loss meant that all of Brainiac's hijacked cities could be restored to their original worlds. However, Kandor remained on Earth-One within Kal-El's Fortress of Solitude, as he was unable to restore it to normal size and it no longer had a homeworld to call its own.

Throughout the three decades of its diminutive existence, Kandor-One continued to prosper to the best of its ability.  It would grow to between seven to ten million inhabitants, with many having been born during its captive state. It also had resident superheroes, in Van-Zee and Ak-Var as Nightwing and Flamebird... who were inspired by the exploits of Kal-El and Jimmy Olsen when they created these alter egos while briefly living in Kandor. Kara's parents Zor-El and Allura, who had survived the destruction of Argo City in a Survival Zone, moved there.

As for the electronic copy of Kandor-Two, it likewise had replicas of the existing Kandorians alive during its Krypton's destruction, including Zor-L and Allura, who raised their Kara into her teens. And Kara formed relationships with the "offspring" of these faux-adults, each given synthetic life by Zor-L's elaboriate dreamworld program. However, given the constraints of this artificial reality, Power Girl would initially struggle to form stable relationships with actual humans who displayed emotions she had not grown accustomed to within the Symbioship. This meant that her cousin Kal-L and his wife Lois became surrogate parents to her, assisting in this transition.

Years after, Kal-El and Kara Zor-El found the means to restore Kandor along with its people to its original size. The inhabitants of the city choice a world they named Rokyn. However, the device Superman used caused half of Kandor's buildings to disintegrate. Nevertheless, the Kandorians were able to rebuild their city on this new world, one they picked as it would distnace them from the El cousins. The residents of Rokyn wanted to no longer be dependent on the super-cousins, and so choose a world that shifts due to its cosmic axis between Earth-One's universe and that of another. But which universe?

On previous occasions, Kal-El and Kal-L, along with their teammates in the Justice League and Justice Society, discovered that the universes of Earths One and Two are intrinsically tied together. And during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, only five universes remained... these two along with Earths Four, X and S.  Superman brought his cousin Supergirl’s lifeless body back to Rokyn during this period of time, following her fatal encounter with the evil Anti-Monitor. So this trans-universal world still existed when only five positive matter universes remained.

Thus, the likelihood as to which other universe Rokyn, and its millions of surviving Kandorians, reside at least part of the time is in the universe of Earth-Two. Poetic then, that the flesh and blood versions of the Kandorians... whose digital counterparts were lost with the Symbioship's destruction... now existed in both dimensional planes of existence. Perhaps one day, Power Girl and Kal-L might journey to Rokyn and experience life in Kandor, as had Supergirl and Kal-El.

Last Daughters of Krypton and Brainy Boys

Well established is the romance between Supergirl and Brainiac Five, the surrogate descendant of her and Superman's adversary, the android Brainiac. On occasion, she and the original actually battled, such as on the occasion when her cousin Superman finally enlarged the last surviving city, Kandor. While doing this, Supergirl used Brainiac's shrinking ray against him, seemingly eliminating him. 

Power Girl, like her doppleganger, had dealings with the fifth Brainiac's own cosmic twin, which didn't go so well. And later on, she would also have an encounter with Ultra-Humanite... his world's version of Brainiac...when she joined Infinity, Inc.

However, a persistent mystery involved what Power Girl's connection with another "brain baddie" was... namely Brain Wave. This villain, born Henry King, had been a psychologist with the mutant mental ability to project realistic images. From this, he built devices that pulled his victims into virtual dreamworlds, as he had with the Justice Society both when he first battled them, and then later with his "Dreams of Madness" as Dr. Forest Malone. 

This occured during the early to mid 1940s, during the time period when Power Girl as Kara Zor-L was travelling through interstellar space from her doomed homeworld to the same destination her cousin Kal-L had already reached of Earth-Two. And during the same time period that a young Henry King discovered his dreaming abilities, a scientist on Krypton-Two named Zor-L had himself invented dreaming technology for his daughter's Symbioship.

It would seem that during the decades of floating through the void, in a virtual Kandor modeled after the city she and her parents had resided in before the planet's destruction, her mind at some point connected with that of Henry. While he was unaware of this, she was aware of his existence, so much so that decades later when appearing for the first time as Power Girl on her adopted world, she was already aware of Brain Wave's plans.

Perhaps Henry was a virtual resident of Kara's Dreamworld Kandor, without even being aware of it. This city was so real, that an Earth-One Kal-El... Superman... could relate to Power Girl the experience of living amongst fellow Kandorians, knowing she had done so as well.

Simultaneous Sagas of Surviving Sons from Space: the Supermen

Last Sons of Krypton had similar origins and settings, though divergent histories and circumstances which made them the ideal character studies for a pair of dopplegangers exisiting within the Multiverse. Of course, both Kal-El and Kal-L were initially thought to be the sole survivors of their respective Kryptons, though later tales revealed other survivors.

After being raised in Smallville by their adopted parents the Kent, each of them in their civilian identities of Clark Kent began their journalistic careers as reporters for the Daily Planet and Daily Star in the parallel cities of Metropolis. There they worked with George Taylor, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, Steve Lombard/Bard, Lana Lang, and with the love of their lives, Lois Lane. Although they would primarily protect this city, they would be guardians of Earths One and Two, and inspire a generation of spandex superheroes.

Each of them faced various villains through their storied careers, though none were as persistent at plaguing them as were Lex Luthor and Alexie Luthor. Lex grew up in Smallville with Clark, and turned to villany out of a sense of revenge. Alexie originated in Europe, a young tyrant whose dreams his foe crushed.

However, there were other malevolent masterminds whose intellect rivaled that of the Luthors. Lex discovered the origins of the second greatest adversary of his arch-enemy Brainiac, an android on the planet Colu-One whom the robot overlords built based on the mental template of a dying human scientist. Sent into space to acquire information of other civilizations that his robot masters could then conquer, Brainiac journeyed to various planets whereby he shrunk each one of their cities then placing them in bottles to later study. One of these cities was that of Kandor, just prior to its world Krypton-One detonating, thus preserving it aboard its captors spaceship until Kal-El first met Brainiac and liberated it.

The first foe of Kal-L was another sinister scientist with a desire to implant his brain into a robotic body, that of the Ultra-Humanite. Born a genetic mutant with an immense intellect, Ultra sought to dominate all he desired, which brought him into immediate conflict with Superman. After several encounters, the Humanite had his mind transplanted into the body of an actress, but only temporarily while he sought to permanently secure it within the metallic frame of Robotman. When this plan failed, Ultra used a series of bodies throughout the decades, whereby he would continue to torment his enemy. Although a human unlike the synthetic Brainiac, Ultra-Humanite was every bit the threat to Superman as was his green-skinned automaton.

Both Supermen encountered Kryptonians, such as the Phantom Zone exiles of Krypton-One and the Evil Three of Earth-Two, preserved alive as part of their punishment. The would later learn that relatives of theirs survived, primarily their cousins Kara Zor-El and Kara Zor-L, who upon arrival to their respective Earths adopted the aliases of Supergirl and Power Girl. While Kal-El also had the bottled city of Kandor, providing him a sliver of his homeworld he could visit, a virtual duplicate of Kal-L's Kandor resided within Kara's rocketship, which apparently only she could access later when revisiting that city.

Among their closest friends were the heroes and heroines whom they teamed up. While Kal-El was initially a member of the large 30th century team team known as the Legion of Super-Heroes, and Kal-L frequently fought alongside a group just as large in the All-Star Squadron, the teams they are best known for being a part of were the Justice League of America and Justice Society of America. As founding members, they each at joined occasionally in adventures alongside these groups at first. Kal-El soon became a regular member, while Kal-L remained an honorary member for decades, later joining full time.

Ace reporter Lois Lane had initially been a foil and rival reporter for Clark Kent, although over time their relationship warmed up. She was always in love with Superman, on both worlds, and their romance would have its ups and downs due to each Man of Steel's commitment to his costumed career. On one occasion, Kal-El lost his super powers when he was dressed as Clark Kent, due to an alien's influence. During this period, a more assertive Clark Kent captured the interest of Lois, with the two beginning to date. Kal-L lost all memory of his alter ego and as Clark Kent gained a more assertive demeanor that captivated his Lois. While the effects were temporary with Kal-El, dooming his relationship with Lois, by the time Kal-L recalled his past, he and Lois were married.

Both Clarks would over time become more than simply star reporters for the Planet and the Star papers.

Morgan Edge, who purchased the Daily Planet and merged it with his Galaxy Broadcasting media empire enlisted Kent into becoming the evening anchorman for WGBS-TV. Given the expierence he gained under the tutelage of his first editor-in-chief George Taylor, and that man's successor Perry White, Clark blossomed in his journalistic skills which motivated Edge's decision. At first a challenge, Kal-El was able to juggle his duties as reporter, anchorman and superhero.

Another, older George Taylor, who had been editor-in-chief of the Daily Star, stepped down from his career shortly after Clark and Lois married. Seeking a successor, Taylor intiated a competion between Kent and the man whom Taylor sometimes used a backup when he was away... Perry White! Winning the contest by losing out on a news worthy scoop, as Clark had planned he became the editor-in-chief, and balanced this out with his caped career as well as marriage.

Despite these divergences in their personal stories, the Supermen each were the pinnacle of powerhouse protection on their parallel planets, and models for other such ones to follow.