We all know the story: a planet going nuclear, an alien baby sent to earth, alien baby gets adopted and turns out to be the savior of mankind. There's hardly a place one can go without recognizing the name and backstory of Clark Kent, better known as Superman. Lately, though, another superstar has been taking the Man of Steel's thunder, and it's none other than his cousin, Kara Zor-El, also known as Supergirl. She is power, she is grace, she'll punch bad guys in the face, but which of her abilities is the coolest? Let's find out!
10 Super Breath
Okay, let's be honest here: as far as superpowers go, this isn't one that anyone would desire. Who wants to just blow stuff away with their hot breath? Yet it has to be considered, given the many times it has come in handy during Supergirl's career. It isn't all that cool to see your favorite hero puffing out their cheeks to blow bad guys away, but there are plenty of other creative ways she's put it to use, like cooling her breath to freeze bad guys, creating tornadoes, or even reversing it and sucking the air out of a room!
9 Heat Vision
Even though this power is really cool, it's hard to see any kind of application outside of gritty superhero work. It takes down the bad guys for sure and is vital when trying to free civilians from a cage about to drop into a tank of sharks or to weld a falling building's beams back together before it crumbles to the ground. All life-saving stuff. However, it seems like a liability. After all, if she isn't careful, that raw energy can take aim in the wrong direction and do some irrevocable damage. With great power comes great responsibility, after all.
8 Voice Mimic
A lesser-known fact: Supergirl is a proficient learner of languages. Along with that innate ability (which has some root in her genius intellect) she can also mimic sounds and the voices of others perfectly. If a villain's secret lair needs voice recognition to get inside, Supergirl is the hero to call. Perhaps it has more to do with her Kryptonian physiology than her brain, like most of her powers do, or maybe she's really just that talented. Whatever the case, this superpower is beyond handy when it comes to cases that require espionage and sneaky attacks.
7 Super Hearing
Super hearing is definitely a must-have if one wants to be a true superhero. How else can Supergirl hear the cry of innocent civilians from miles away, or even a planet away? There's also the added bonus of being able to snoop on the bad guys as they cook up their evil plots and plans. Supergirl's hearing also extends to frequencies, and super-sonic and subsonic sounds. Thankfully she has the ability to focus on specific sounds and drown out the rest. Otherwise, all the noise would have driven her super crazy by now.
6 X-Ray Vision
Supergirl can see through just about anything except lead. How amazing is that? Fun fact: Being able to look through walls isn't the only thing that falls under the umbrella of Supergirl's enhanced vision. She also has telescopic and microscopic vision, meaning the ability to zoom in on things far away or down to the atomic level. She also has electromagnetic spectrum vision, which includes radio transmissions, satellite waves and even the energy of living things. Last but not least, infrared vision, meaning she can see in the dark. There's nothing that gets past Supergirl's sight, so don't even try.
5 Super Speed
Who wouldn't want to be able to get where they need to go in a millisecond? Supergirl can outpace a bullet, the sound barrier, and whatever energy is holding the dimensions together. Although she uses it mostly when flying, her speed translates to other things like reading, giving her the ability to finish off an entire set of encyclopedias in seconds. However, if she uses her speed too much she can become drained, and her reflexes are dulled (by Kryptonian standards). At lightspeed, she isn't nearly as fast as The Flash, but can certainly hold her own in a race.
4 Flight
Best. Super. Power. Ever. The only reason it isn’t at #1 is because practically, as a superhero, it can be lived without. Still, the ability to soar in the sky just through sheer force of will is a fantasy most people share. There’s certain independence that comes with the idea of flight. The sky is no longer the limit when you can use it as part of your daily commute. For sure a staple in the superpower utility belt, Supergirl jetting off to save the day with her cape billowing behind her won’t ever get old.
3 Super Strength
Super strength is a major plus when it comes to being a hero. Without it, Supergirl would be at best an annoying thorn in the side of evildoers everywhere, but with it she’s a bonafide force to be reckoned with. It’s not a lie to say that having super strength bundled up in the muscles of a tiny girl makes it that much cooler; bad guys always underestimate the ladies, and it’s so satisfying when Supergirl shows them what she’s made of. Of course, super strength would be pretty useless without the next superpower coming up on the list.
2 Invulnerability
All that strength means nothing if you can’t take a punch. In a hero's line of work, you’re bound to take as many bruises as you dish out, oftentimes from people as strong or even stronger. Supergirl is no exception. She’s faced down bad guys like Linda Lee and The Worldkillers, all exceptionally strong rivals in strength and ability. Without her invulnerability to back her up, Supergirl could have been done-for many times over. True, heroes like Batman and The Green Arrow somehow get by without this power, but it’s best not to push one’s luck.
1 Stamina (Solar Energy Absorption)
Without the ability to absorb solar energy, none of Supergirl’s abilities would be possible. In fact, there would be no Supergirl (or Superman for that matter). Everyone knows that Kryptonians get their remarkable superhuman abilities from Yellow Suns; they absorb its energy and synthesize it into all of their trademark superpowers, kind of like big alien plants. If ever she were removed from the light of the sun, Supergirl could be killed. Thankfully, blotting out the sun is not an easy endeavor, and Earth’s sun isn’t the only yellow sun in the universe.