Supergirl suits

The Supergirl suits are a series of protective suits worn by Kara Danvers wears as the superheroine, Supergirl.

Overview

First suit

The first in Winn Schott's line of suits for Kara Danvers included a blue tank top with splits at the hips, red shorts with a golden strap around them, and a red headband. The suit was immediately discarded by Kara, who proclaimed that she "wouldn't even wear it to the beach", never mind "flying around, saving people" in it.^[1]

Second suit

Winn designed a second suit for Kara after she refused to wear her first one. This suit was less revealing and a lot more appropriate for her to wear in public. It consisted of a blue shirt with red stitching, a red skirt with a golden strap, and red Dr. Martens and socks. A cape was later added to the suit, as they realized it aided with aerodynamics after Kara kept on crashing into nearby objects while trying to make sharp turns mid-air.^[1]

Third suit

The third suit that is used by Kara, is based on the same design as the second suit, but it includes the House of El's coat of arms emblazoned on her chest, similar to Superman's suit, moreover, tights and over-the-knee red boots have been added, however, the cape always ended up getting damaged after Kara's heroic excursions, no matter what materials Winn used to make it. Ultimately though, James Olsen presented to Kara a present; Kal-El's blanket from when he arrived on Earth to use as a cape, as it wouldn't fray.^[1]

The third suit was heavily damaged during Kara's first battle against Reign.^[2] However, Winn presumably repaired it/designed a new copy for Kara as she recovered.^[3]

Upgrades

Supergirl and Superman's suits were briefly upgraded when Winn built shields to protect them from Metallo's Kryptonite blasts. The shields would be worn on the chest area.^[4]

Fourth suit

"Pants!"

—Kara Danvers on her first skirtless suit^[src]

Querl Dox had later designed Kara's new suit after her cape was damaged by Midnight and needed repairs, using this opportunity to make a new suit that was at microscopic size, however, when activated, the suit is an all-covering blue suit with a similar cape to the Superman suit complete with the same golden clasps, it comes with a darker red symbol of the "House of El" on the front without the gold outline of the third suit. The boots are similar to the second and third suits respectively, and there is an added gold belt to replace the skirt from the second and third suits.

History

This section is a stub. You can help expand this section by adding some information.

After saving a plane from crashing, Kara decided that she wished to become a superhero like her cousin. She later revealed her identity to Winn Schott and he helped make a suit for her. Winn had a number of versions made for Kara before she finally settled down on her current one.

Capabilities

Functions

Cape: When the suit was first made, the suit did not include the cape, as Winn claimed capes were lame. However, a short time later when Kara went flying and ended up crashing, Winn realized that capes aid in aerodynamics.
Advanced durability: It is unknown what materials the suit is comprised of, however, the suit is just as durable as Kara; as bullets cannot penetrate it, even explosives from missiles, and highly concentrated bursts of energy from Reactron and Metallo respectively could not damage it.
Suit release: The suit now is able to release Kara's protective suit just by pressing the emblem on the suit.

"Now please, take care when removing your glasses in public, for the next time you whip those off, your new suit will materialize...or dematerialize as needed."

—Brainy to Kara^[src]

Suit materialization: After Querl Dox designed a new suit for Kara and attached it to her glasses, which is at microscopic size; the suit will now manifest itself whenever Kara removes her glasses; without the need to wear that said suit underneath her civilian clothing.

Known users

Kara Danvers/Supergirl

Former users

Red Daughter (merged back with Kara Danvers)
Laura (costume; briefly)
Sara Lance (costume; briefly)

Appearances

Supergirl

Season 1

"Pilot" (first, second and third suit)
"Stronger Together" (third suit)
"Fight or Flight" (third suit)
"Livewire" (third suit)
"How Does She Do It?" (third suit)
"Red Faced" (third suit)
"Human For a Day" (third suit)
"Hostile Takeover" (third suit)
"Blood Bonds" (third suit)
"Childish Things" (third suit)
"Strange Visitor From Another Planet" (third suit)
"Bizarro" (third suit)
"For the Girl Who Has Everything" (third suit)
"Truth, Justice and the American Way" (third suit)
"Solitude" (third suit)
"Falling" (third suit)
"Manhunter" (third suit)
"Worlds Finest" (third suit)
"Myriad" (third suit)
"Better Angels" (third suit)

Season 2

"The Adventures of Supergirl" (third suit)
"The Last Children of Krypton" (third suit)
"Welcome to Earth" (third suit)
"Survivors" (third suit)
"Crossfire" (third suit)
"Changing" (third suit)
"The Darkest Place" (third suit)
"Medusa" (third suit)
"Supergirl Lives" (third suit)
"We Can Be Heroes" (third suit)
"The Martian Chronicles" (third suit)
"Luthors" (third suit)
"Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk" (third suit)
"Homecoming" (third suit)
"Exodus" (third suit)
"Star-Crossed" (third suit)
"Distant Sun" (third suit)
"Ace Reporter" (third suit)
"Alex" (third suit)
"City of Lost Children" (third suit)
"Resist" (third suit)
"Nevertheless, She Persisted" (third suit)

Season 3

"Girl of Steel" (third suit)
"Triggers" (third suit)
"Far From the Tree" (third suit)
"The Faithful" (third suit)
"Damage" (third suit)
"Wake Up" (third suit)
"Crisis on Earth-X, Part 1" (third suit)
"Reign" (third suit)
"Legion of Super-Heroes" (third suit)
"Fort Rozz" (third suit)
"For Good" (third suit)
"Both Sides Now" (third suit)
"Schott Through the Heart" (third suit)
"In Search of Lost Time" (third suit)
"Of Two Minds" (third suit)
"Trinity" (third suit)
"Shelter from the Storm" (third suit)
"The Fanatical" (third suit)
"Dark Side of the Moon" (third suit)
"Not Kansas" (third suit)
"Make it Reign" (third suit)
"Battles Lost and Won" (third suit)

Season 4

"American Alien" (third suit)
"Fallout" (third suit)
"Man of Steel" (third suit)
"Ahimsa" (third suit)
"Parasite Lost" (third suit)
"Call to Action" (third suit)
"Rather the Fallen Angel" (third suit)
"Bunker Hill" (third suit)
"Elseworlds, Part 3" (third suit)
"Suspicious Minds" (third suit)
"Blood Memory" (third suit)
"Menagerie" (third suit)
"What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?" (third suit)
"Stand and Deliver" (third suit)
"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (third suit)
"The House of L" (third suit)
"All About Eve" (third suit)
"Crime and Punishment" (third suit)
"Will The Real Miss Tessmacher Please Stand Up?" (third suit)
"Red Dawn" (third suit)
"The Quest for Peace"

Season 5

"Event Horizon" (third and fourth suit)
"Stranger Beside Me" (fourth suit)
"Blurred Lines" (fourth suit)

The Flash

Season 2

"Welcome to Earth-2" (third suit; vision)

Season 3

"Invasion!" (third suit)
"Duet"

Season 5

"Elseworlds, Part 1" (third suit)

Arrow

Season 5

"Invasion!" (third suit)

Season 6

"Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2" (third suit)

Season 7

"Elseworlds, Part 2" (third suit)

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Season 2

"Invasion!" (third suit)

Season 3

"Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4" (third suit)

Season 4

"Hey, World!" (third suit; costume)

Comics

Adventures of Supergirl

"This Is My Life"
"Sistery Mystery"
"Wake Up Calls"
"The Strange Case of the Smiling Computer"
"Attack Edge!"
"Nightmares on El Street"
"The Next Dream"
"Sistery Mystery (Reprise)"
"Our Backs to the Wall"
"Who is Facet?"
"Pieces"
"End Games"
"Breaking Point"

Behind the scenes

Supergirl's costume is the only Colleen Atwood design among the main line of DCTV heroes who have not changed as of Season 4. Both The Flash and Arrow original costumes had been changed by the time of their respective fourth seasons.
The original version of what would be the archetype for Supergirl's costume (albeit not Kara Zor-El's) was first featured in Superman vol. 1, #123 (1958) and was created by artist Dick Sprang. When Kara Zor-El debuted as Supergirl in Action Comics #252 (May, 1959), the outfit was slightly modified by artist Al Plastino, by changing the color of the skirt from red to blue. Although she has had several different costumes in the comics through the years, the original look has been the basis for most of them. Kara's costume on the show is also considered to be based on the original one.
Designer Colleen Atwood "urbanized" the classic Supergirl look as a reference to the "street-style action hero of today".^[5]
When Kara walks against the bullets in the pilot episode, she is seen using red Dr. Martens and socks, resembling the red shoelace boots used by Linda Danvers/Supergirl.
Kara's first failed costume attempt combines elements from several costumes, worn previously by the character in her appearances in the comics and other media. The red "hot-pants"/shorts were part of her outfit, that debuted in Adventure Comics vol. 1, #410 (1971), while her red headband was first seen in screen tests of the live-action Supergirl film (1984), that were not part of the final production version, before being included to her comic book costume in Supergirl vol. 2, #17 (1984). The first of Supergirl's costumes to include a bare midriff look was first seen in Superman: The Animated Series' episode, "Little Girl Lost" (1998), later being incorporated into the comic books in Supergirl vol. 4, #51 (2000) and in a newer version in Superman/Batman vol. 1, #13 (2004).
Along with many other elements from the TV series, the suit was incorporated into the 2016 comic book title Supergirl, as suggested by artist Cameron Stewart.^[6]