Supergirl Logo PNG
The Supergirl logo looks similar to that of Superman: it contains a red heraldic shield with a symbol similar to the letter “S.” But not many people know that it’s actually not “S” but the insignia of the House of El, worn by all Kryptonian representatives of the great civilization from the planet Krypton.
Supergirl began as a DC Comics editorial test. In August 1958, Superman #123 introduced a temporary “Supergirl,” created when Jimmy Olsen used a magic talisman. She helped Superman and disappeared, giving editors a way to test reader interest in a female counterpart.
The lasting version arrived in May 1959 in Action Comics #252. Writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino created Kara Zor-El as Superman’s cousin from Argo City, a surviving Kryptonian settlement. Sent to Earth at age fifteen, she became Linda Lee and lived in the Midvale orphanage. Binder had already created Mary Marvel for Fawcett Comics in 1942, and Kara was written as younger, more impulsive, and closer to an immigrant experience than Clark Kent.
The character gained a solo comic in 1969. In 1982, The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl moved Kara to Chicago as a psychology student, with Carmine Infantino on art. The series was renamed Supergirl starting with issue 13, then canceled in late 1984, shortly before the film Supergirl starring Helen Slater. The movie, released in July 1984, cost $35 million and earned $14.3 million.
In 1985, Crisis on Infinite Earths killed Kara while reshaping the DC universe. Later versions used the name, including Matrix, Linda Danvers, and Cir-El. Kara Zor-El returned in 2004 in Superman/Batman, followed by a new solo comic in 2005 and a New 52 reset in 2011. On screen, Melissa Benoist led the CBS and CW series from 2015 to 2021. Sasha Calle played Kara in The Flash in 2023, and Milly Alcock took the role in the DCU film in 2025.
Meaning and History
Since Supergirl was related to Superman in the original story, she was also a Kryptonian. Therefore, her costume featured the so-called S-Shield, a pentagonal asymmetrical figure with a red “S” in the middle. According to the story, this symbol was worn by all humanoid aliens from the planet Krypton who belonged to the famous House of El. The sign’s resemblance to an “S” was a coincidence.
What is Supergirl?
Supergirl is a superhero pseudonym first used by Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El. This was followed by other fictional characters of a similar name: the protoplasmic Matrix (who debuted in 1988), the near-deadly demon cultist Linda Danvers (who was Supergirl in six episodes of the 1996 series), her daughter Ariella Kent (who first appeared in 1998), and Superman’s “daughter” Cir-El (her adventures began in 2003). At the same time, the main and most famous of them is Kara Zor-El.
1959 – 1985
This logo first appeared in 1955 on the Superman costume, and then the comic book creators “gave” it to Supergirl, the alter ego of Kara Zor-El. In Action Comics #252 (1959), Supergirl wore a yellow heraldic shield with a red border and a stylized “S” (not actually a letter) on her chest. The emblem looked like a diamond-shaped rhombus with a cropped top and was used until 1985.
1984
In 1984, the British film Supergirl was released, a spin-off of the Superman series. There, Supergirl’s logo looked almost identical to the original and differed from the original version only in a few details:
- It was brighter and lighter, though the color combination didn’t change: yellow remained the base, and red remained the outlines and lettering.
- The designers made the “diamante” edges more even, removing the slight convexity.
- The “S” was balanced and took on a new shape: its lower part lacked a fat dot at the end, and the upper ledge was deflected to the right at about a 45-degree angle.
1998 – 2006
In one episode of The New Batman Adventures, in Justice League Unlimited, and in Superman, the Supergirl logo took on a new color scheme. Dark maroon replaced the bright red, and the always-rich yellow became dull. At the same time, the designers narrowed the shield’s contours to expand the interior space. The “S” also changed: the bottom of the letter thickened, and the top serif’s angle was reduced.
2015 – today
In 2015, the American television series Supergirl premiered and ran for six seasons, ending in 2021. Its creators modernized the superheroine symbol with updated graphics. As a result, the S-Shield cast shadows and used a gradient to appear three-dimensional. The shield’s frame widened, with gold and beige outlines inside. The same trim appeared on the “S.” After the redesign, the letter took on a flowing shape, and the bottom circle became a large rectangular serif. The background behind the “S” is now blue.
Font and Colors
In the comics, movies, and cartoons, Supergirl wears the S-Shield on her chest, a representative symbol in the form of a heraldic shield with the letter “S.” But it’s not really a letter, but the family crest of the House of El to which the superheroine belongs (if we’re talking about Kara Zor-El, sister of Superman). For Kryptonians, this sign means hope for a better future.
The glyph on the Supergirl emblem changed frequently but always remained bold and featured an upward-pointing serif. The artists obviously drew it by hand. The logo’s classic colors are red and yellow. They were quite bright in the original, but the hues have changed over time. For example, in Superman: The Animated Series, the red became a dark maroon, and the yellow lost its richness and warmth. The 2015 Supergirl series began using a gradient that shifts from yellow to navy blue.