science

Kara Danvers

Kara Danvers is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kara Danvers rather than just read about it. In short: Kara Danvers, also known as Kara Zor-El on her homeworld, is a fictional character in the Arrowverse franchise, mainly the television series Supergirl. Adapted for television by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler and Andrew Kreisberg, the character is based on the DC Comics character Kara Zor-El (Supergirl), created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.

Key takeaways

Kara Danvers belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kara Danvers to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kara Danvers from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kara Danvers, also known as Kara Zor-El on her homeworld, is a fictional character in the Arrowverse franchise, mainly the television series Supergirl. Adapted for television by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler and Andrew Kreisberg, the character is based on the DC Comics character Kara Zor-El (Supergirl), created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino. Kara is introduced in the pilot episode as the adopted younger sister of Alex Danvers. Kara Danvers is portrayed by Melissa Benoist as an adult, and Malina Weissman and Izabela Vidovic as a teenager. After her planet, Krypton, was destroyed, Kara and her cousin Superman came to Earth. There she became the adopted sister of Alex Danvers and, later, after deciding to use her powers (equal to Superman's) to help others under the persona of Supergirl, she discovers that her sister is part of the Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO), a massive underground anti-alien organization secretly under the control of the Martian Manhunter. She is a friend and frequent ally of the superhero speedster the Flash and vigilante archer Green Arrow. Kara's powers and abilities include super strength, superspeed, heat vision, freeze breath, flight and many other powers also achievable by the superhero Superman, who is Kara's cousin; however, like her cousin, she is weakened when she comes into contact with Kryptonite, fragments of her home planet Krypton that came to Earth after its destruction. Benoist has reprised her role in other series that take place in the same franchise, including The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman, via the crossover events "Invasion!", "Crisis on Earth-X", "Elseworlds" and "Crisis on Infinite Earths". The character's civilian identity, Kara Danvers, is an original creation for the series, and was later integrated into the mainstream DC Comics Supergirl comic book series to tie-in with the series in 2016's DC Rebirth.

Creation and casting For the role of Kara Zor-El / Supergirl, the producers wanted a Caucasian actress aged between 22 and 26 years. In January 2015, it was announced by The Hollywood Reporter that Melissa Benoist would star as the character. Benoist later revealed that auditioning for the part "was a long, drawn-out, three-month process"; she was the first actress looked at for the role, although Claire Holt and Gemma Atkinson were also considered. Holt and Benoist were final contenders for the part. Actress Elizabeth Lail also auditioned for the role. Other performers include her stunt double Jennifer Clarke, who performed stunts for the Supergirl character throughout the entire show. In flashbacks, Malina Weissman and Izabela Vidovic portray Kara as a teenager and child, respectively. The series reimagines Kara Zor-El as a young adult when becoming a superhero (more similar to Linda Danvers), deviating from her comic book counterpart, more usually depicted as a teenager. Benoist expressed her excitement over portraying the character, and being able to "[tell] a story about a human being really realizing their potential and their strength". Benoist portrays present-day Kara for all six seasons of Supergirl. In addition in the third season, she portrays Earth-X doppelganger Overgirl, and in the fourth season, a clone of Kara called Red Daughter.

Characterization For the second season, regarding the end of Kara and James Olsen's relationship, Andrew Kreisberg said "We realized that the best scenes between [Kara and James] were just the nice, sweet scenes where they were being friends." He also said that while the theme of the first season was "how does Kara become Supergirl?", the theme of the second would be "how does Supergirl become Kara?". Speaking to the ending of Mon-El and Kara's relationship in season four, Jessica Queller compared this separation to that of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman's characters in the ending of Casablanca (1942), saying, "They both have destinies in different times as heroes. What they did was the sort-of Casablanca decision of putting what's most important to them – which is saving the world – first." For season four, Melissa Benoist joined filming following the conclusion of her run on Broadway as the star of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on August 4, 2018. Also for that season, Melissa Benoist commented that, "I think their main premise is that fear itself is a villain, and can hope conquer it? Supergirl stands for hope, so we'll see." Queller concurred, adding that the season would investigate, "How can [Supergirl] be a beacon of hope when she represents what people are afraid of?" In season five, the series introduces a new Supergirl suit which eschews the red skirt and sheer black pantyhose seen in the older suit in favor of a bodysuit with trousers. Benoist and the showrunners said giving Supergirl pants was something they discussed since the first season. Querl Dox is credited with creating a new microscopic motion-activator for the new suit that attaches to Kara's glasses and unleashes the suit when she whips off the glasses, resulting in Supergirl being fully dressed in her costume. The seventeenth episode of the fifth season marks Benoist's directorial debut. Benoist said the sixth season serves as a "self-exploration" for her character, "looking in the mirror and [contemplating] what her power means because it's almost limitless and it makes her so strong on Earth".

Storylines

Supergirl

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Crossovers As of 2021, Benoist has appeared as Kara Danvers in five Arrowverse shows: Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman.

In the 2015-16 television season, The Flash accidentally travels into an alternate Earth while testing a new tachyon enhancement device that was meant to power up his speed. He saves Kara from falling from a building. The Flash introduces himself as Barry Allen and explains about the multiverse to Kara and her friends. Before returning home, Barry helps Kara defeat Silver Banshee and Livewire.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kara Danvers

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kara Danvers claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kara Danvers before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kara Danvers ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kara Danvers

In research: Kara Danvers appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kara Danvers in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kara Danvers is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American female characters in television, Arrow (TV series) characters, DC Comics characters with accelerated healing, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kara Danvers outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Kara Danvers” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Kara Danvers in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kara Danvers means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kara Danvers out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kara Danvers in simple terms?

Why does Kara Danvers matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kara Danvers?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kara Danvers.