Poll 4: Who Is Superwoman?

We have only seen here in a handful of panels. We have been told she is a 'friend of the House of El'. We know she is featured on a 'Faces of Evil' cover in January. We have discussed her hair color (brown? or blond in shadows?). We have discussed her eye color.

Who is she? Who is Superwoman?

I thought a blog poll might give some inclination where the Kara audience is leaning. Here are the usual suspects.

Alura - She certainly is a friend of the House of El; heck she's a member.

So far, she has acted in a nationalistic and belligerent manner befit of someone from a 'Faces of Evil' cover. Look at her calm face as she brutally beats Doomsday to death.

She has a decent reason to become Superwoman - a means to convince Supergirl that she is 'not needed' as a member of the human race, that she has no necessary role as a super-hero, and instead can go live with her family as a Kryptonian in Kandor.

And she even has a convenient excuse for her actions; she is pumped full of the mind-altering K-poisoning which was drained from Kara. But do we want Supergirl's mother to be a villain? Didn't we all just lament Zor-El's time as the bad guy?

Alura seems to be the favorite.

Karsta Wor-Ul - She is the 'Third Kryptonian' from Superman issues 668-670. In that storyline, she befriended Kal thus making her a friend of the House of El.

She is an ex-Kryptonian Navy officer who left as a rogue when the fleet was decommisioned. She was a space pirate on the run from some rivals. In her life as a pirate, she did questionable things including murder law officers who tried to apprehend her. She seemed nice, but those qualifications make a 'Faces of Evil' cover a clear possibility.

She has a decent reason to don the cowl and hood. She might want to rejoin a Kryptonian society after being on the run for so long. But techinically she's a deserter. She might want her identity to remain a secret.

When living on Earth, she took the name of Kristen Wells, the Silver Age woman who was Superwoman. That is too big a clue to ignore.

Karsta is an intriguing and valid pick.

Linda Danvers - I don't want it to be Linda, but she did already live as a Superwoman in the 'Many Happy Returns' Silver Age DC Universe. She is a 'Friend to the house of El'.

Linda shouldn't be on a 'Faces of Evil' cover.

Linda shouldn't be in Kandor or understand Kryptonian language.

More than anything Linda wanted to be left alone, so she has no good reason to put on a costume.

That said, she has only made a cameo in Reign in Hell. Maybe the powers that be told Giffen that Johns was going to use her and so Giffen just hasn't mentioned her again. I care for Linda too much. I am worried; I don't want her to be a villain. But no mystery in Supergirl can occur without Linda being named.

Evil clone - This is my awful guess.

Maybe Zor-El and Alura missed their daughter so much while in the bottle of Kandor that they cloned their own copy to love and raise. And maybe that Kara aged a little faster because she was a clone. And maybe she wants to be part of the fun of the Superman family but she is a little insane.

She would be a 'friend of the House of El'. She might want to take Kara's place making her a 'Face of Evil'. She would be in Kandor and feel she has a right to wear the emblem.

But really ... an evil clone? Pretty lame. And didn't we already see something like that early in the Loeb issues?

Thara Ak-Var - She is Kara's friend who was marooned in the city of Kandor and became the city's head of security.

She would be a 'friend of the House of El'. She has seemed a bit off since we met her including this weird exchange. She could be evil.

Maybe she wants to 'play super-hero' like her friend Kara but does not want anyone to know. It might be frowned upon by the Kandorian council.

Thara seems too regimented in her militaristic role to become a vigilante. I don't think it is her.

Lesla Lar - Could Superwoman be the re-imagination of old Silver Age Supergirl villain Lesla Lar?

Lesla Lar lived in Kandor in the old issues and was envious of Supergirl's role on Earth. She would have a reason to try to 'replace' Supergirl; that was her goal back then. She was outright evil thus makes the cut for the 'Faces of Evil' cover. She may have befriended the Els during their stay in Kandor.That said, we haven't heard her name mentioned at all in the arc. Only old timers like me would remember her. It is hard to have a mystery where the answer is someone unknown to most readers.

Still, the long-time Kara fan might like this villainous Superwoman to be Lesla.

The Split Kara - Well, at one point Kara was purportedly split in two (as seen in this panel from World War III). One was thrown into the future to serve in the Legion. We assume that at some point the Supergirls simply merged (the current Kara remembered her Legion time in the Countdown crossover issues). But what if she still existed and is out there? And what if she wants to reclaim her life?

Well, she would be a friend of El and may have evil intents.

Still why open that can of worms again?

Other - Maybe you think she'll be the Silver Age Kristin Wells, updated for current time. Or maybe Cat Grant? Lana Lang? Luma Lynai?

If you vote 'other', I would love to hear who you think it is so please post.

In fact, no matter who you think she is, I would love to hear 'why' you think that.

And, as always, vote early! Thanks!