Supergirl, much like every long-running superhero, has some pretty weird villains. From ancient classics like Reactron to new classics like Princess Shark, the Girl of Steel has faced down her fair share of foul felons. Yet even compared to her wildest foes, the mischievous Satan Girl stands as one of the strangest and strongest villains Supergirl has ever faced. There are several people who have claimed the Satan Girl title over the years, from Puritan witch Dolores Pratchet to the alien goddess S’tanicule Gyrstress, but the original Satan Girl has finally returned to comics after an over sixty year absence. Supergirl (2025) #3 just reintroduced Satan Girl with the use of Black Kryptonite, which not only brings her back into continuity, but makes her one of Supergirl’s most dangerous villains. Mostly because Satan Girl is Supergirl, and fighting your own dark thoughts is very difficult.
The Original Satan Girl
The first incarnation of Satan Girl made her one and only appearance in Adventure Comics #313. Supergirl was in the 30th century with the Legion of Super-Heroes when she was exposed to Red Kryptonite. Red K’s effects on Kryptonians have always been completely random, and this was especially true back in the Silver Age. In this instance, Supergirl was knocked unconscious and an evil duplicate of her rose up, dubbing herself Satan Girl. Satan Girl inherited all of Supergirl’s memories and powers, and knew that she only had forty-eight hours until the Red Kryptonite wore off and she ceased to exist. To ensure her continued survival, she developed special bracelets that would let her transfer some of her own Red K radiation to others. She used these to infect the lady members of the Legion, giving them a disease known as the Crimson Plague. Satan Girl used this mysterious disease to threaten the Legion, saying that she would kill everyone she infected unless they let her join the Legion and assist her in surviving.
The Legionnaires tried to face her, but were totally outmatched by her scientific knowledge and raw power. They called in the artillery by bringing back Supergirl, but even the Maiden of Might was unable to stop her evil self. Just when it seemed like Satan Girl won, the Legion of Super-Pets arrived to pin her, and were able to hold her down until the effect of the Red Kryptonite wore off. She merged back with Supergirl, and was never seen again in that continuity.
Satan Girl Returns
Lesla-Lar, a Kryptonian from the Bottled City of Kandor who was equally obsessed with and jealous of Supergirl, inadvertently brought back Satan Girl in her battle with Supergirl. After her plan of impersonating the Girl of Steel fell apart, Lesla exposed Kara to Black Kryptonite, which brings out the victim’s deepest, darkest emotions. Kara was forcibly transformed into Satan Girl, and set about wrecking mayhem across Midvale, alongside her new evil friend, Krypto the Satan Dog. Satan Girl flew around, pantsing citizens and dumping trash in the streets, laughing about how she was finally free from all the expectations and Superman’s shadow. Lesla hoped that bringing out Supergirl’s darkness would make the people of Midvale love her more, but they just blamed Lesla for everything she’s done wrong. She eventually decided to stand up to Satan Girl, but was overpowered as the Black K started destabilizing Supergirl’s body. Thankfully, Lena Luthor arrived and used a miniaturized Titano, Tinitano, to purge the Black Kryptonite from her system.
This incarnation of Satan Girl is very similar to the original, but also plenty different. For one, the new one was created with Black K instead of Red, and the newest Satan Girl seemed far more interested in general mayhem than outright villainy. She did try to kill Kara’s parents, but for the most part Satan Girl was more of a superpowered nuisance than an actual monster, unlike the unrepentantly evil original. Where it can be argued that the Red K version was created out of an exaggeration of Kara’s deepest dark thoughts thanks to the volatile nature of Red Kryptonie, the new Satan Girl is one hundred percent directly formed from her worst feelings. Yet even then, those feelings weren’t anywhere near the monstrous level they were before. Regardless, neither Satan Girl was long for this world, given that they both had time limits from their first moment of existence. The new one feels like a much more lighthearted, almost more Silver Age take on the character, and I for one hope we can see more of her in the future. Satan Girl rules!
Supergirl #3 is on sale now!
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