Supergirl #1

History

DC Comics had been publishing Matrix as a supporting-cast shapeshifter in the Superman titles for nearly a decade without giving the character a definitive solo identity; the 1996 relaunch tasked Peter David — then known primarily for his extended run on The Incredible Hulk — with solving that problem. David's solution, confirmed in his own interviews, was to give the new Supergirl as many deliberate callbacks to the Silver Age Kara Zor-El as possible — the name Linda Danvers, an adoptive family named Danvers, a fictional small town called Leesburg (referencing Kara's pre-Crisis surname, 'Linda Lee') — so that long-time readers would feel anchored even as the mythology shifted toward horror and theology. The creative team of David and Frank had previously collaborated on Incredible Hulk at Marvel, and their reunion here produced a debut issue titled 'Body & Soul,' edited by Chris Duffy, with inks by Cam Smith and colors by Gene D'Angelo.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Linda Danvers as Supergirl: created by writer Peter David and penciller Gary Frank, debuting in Supergirl vol. 4 #1 (cover-dated September 1996, released July 10, 1996).
• First appearance of Buzz (Gaius Marcus), the demonic antagonist whose cult sacrifice of Linda Danvers sets the entire series in motion; he also appears in issue #1 in flashback, establishing him as the series' primary early villain.
• First appearance of Cutter Sharp, Leesburg reporter introduced in this issue who later becomes Supergirl's self-appointed publicist and agent, and of Mattie Harcourt, Linda's longtime friend and a medical resident; both are present from the opening chapter.
• The issue establishes the core premise: Matrix, the protoplasmic Supergirl created by an alternate-universe Lex Luthor, fuses with the mortally wounded Linda Danvers, producing a new merged being who retains the ability to shift between two physically distinct forms.
• Fred Danvers (Linda's father, a Leesburg police officer) and Sylvia Danvers (her mother) appear as supporting characters; Peter David deliberately named them after the adoptive parents of the pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El as a conscious homage to Silver Age continuity.
• Ma and Pa Kent appear in the series from this era, having previously cared for Matrix when she first arrived in the post-Crisis DC Universe; they are among the first people the new Supergirl confides in about her merged identity.
• The story is titled 'Body & Soul' and uses a fragmented, flashback-heavy structure to reveal Linda's dark recent past incrementally — an unusual narrative choice for a superhero debut issue of the period.
• The collected edition Supergirl by Peter David Book One (DC, 2016) reprints issues #1–9, the Supergirl Annual #1, Supergirl Plus #1, and a story from Showcase '96 #8, making this debut widely available in trade format.

Cast · 9 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Supergirl

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Variants (3)