The Batman Who Laughs has had an inarguable impact on the DC Universe, and his ability to infect others has led to various heroes embracing their dark side has been a big part of DC's ongoing Year of the Villain event. This has seen heroes such as Hawkman and Blue Beetle twisted into the maniacal and monstrous Sky Tyrant and Scarab.
Supergirl is the latest victim of the villain, and the result is overly edgy, and straight out of comic books from the '90s. In honor of this new look, we're taking a quick look at all of the various costumes that Supergirl has worn throughout the years, namely the times in which the Maid of Might has embraced the dark side of the DC Universe.
Supergirl's Heroic Costumes
Supergirl's very first Silver Age costume, a blue caped dress version of Superman's, would be the basis for most of her costumes thereafter. The more popular version, however, would change the all-blue dress to having a red skirt.
During the early Bronze Age, she also wore a litany of strange costumes with each new appearance. One of these was the "hot pants" costume of the 1970s, in which the skirt was replaced with shorts, and the top of the costume was now a low-hanging V-neck, with the Superman S-symbol now adorning the upper left of Kara Zor-El's chest.
Kara's last new costume before Crisis on Infinite Earths came in the 1980s. This suit returned to the red skirt design, but the skirt was notably shorter, and the top now rested lower on her shoulders.
This costume would later infamously add a red, Rambo-esque headband, which was added to the comics at the behest of the producers of the then-upcoming Supergirl movie.
When Supergirl Breaks Bad
The Post-Crisis era had various Supergirls that were not Kara Zor-El, part of a mandate to make Superman the true last son of Krypton. The first Supergirl was Matrix, a protoplasmic creature from an alternate dimension who copied Superman's powers and had shape-shifting abilities. Despite not being Kara, her design was the classic Supergirl look. In her first miniseries, a twisted Matrix got an evil new look.
This over-the-top turn to villainy saw Supergirl abandon the skirt in favor of a leotard, as well as "evil" thigh highs, spikes, and equally as spiky hair. Though the look didn't last, it fit in well with the aesthetic of the era, giving readers a look at a more extreme redesign of Supergirl might look like.
A new version of Kara Zor-El hit comics in the '00s, and she had a black costume that essentially gave her dark one a shorter skirt and a bare midriff like her DCAU counterpart.
During her introductory storyline, she was brainwashed by Darkseid, and subsequently wore a new costume consisting of a black bra, a spiked red coat cape, and red and black pants with bone-like protrusions. This modern Kara would also face an evil twin when she was exposed to black Kryptonite, with her costume warping into a black and white version of its usual look. This evil Kara's eyes were also completely white, giving her a soulless appearance.
Kara's New 52 look was also radically different. With shorter hair, alien boots, and replacing the dress/skirt design with a Kryptonian leotard, the New 52 Kara eventually gave way to her anger and rage, becoming a Red Lantern. This costume was essentially a Red Lantern themed version of the one that she already wore, with a Red Lantern symbol replacing the S symbol. Given the Red Lantern theme, it was not uncommon for issues and covers to feature her bathed in blood.
While she has recently returned a costume more inspired by her classic, pre-Crisis look. As mentioned, however, she's recently turned over a more evil leaf, courtesy of the Batman Who Laughs. This look dulls the color of her hair and skin, giving her Harley Quinn like black patterns on her face, and leather, medieval texture in her costume. The cover picture of the costume is also black, making the costume mirror both evil Kara and evil Matrix Supergirl from the past.