Overview
Linda Danvers, also known as Supergirl, is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Peter David and artist Gary Frank, she debuted in Supergirl (vol. 4) #1 (September 1996). She is not to be confused with Linda Lee Danvers, the secret identity used by the Kara Zor-El incarnation of Supergirl prior to the events of 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Publication history
Peter David adapted Linda Danvers as a separate character based on that of Kara Zor-El, who had been wiped out of continuity by DC Comics to enhance Superman's status as the sole survivor of Krypton.
According to David himself, he was aware that many readers would still want Kara Zor-El back as Supergirl, so Linda was created for the fans to feel "more at home. So I gave her as many of the exterior accoutrements of Kara's former life as I possibly could. I gave her parents, and a secret identity of Linda Danvers, in a small town (called “Leesburg”, in deference to Linda Lee), and a boyfriend named Dick Malverne, and put Stanhope College nearby. Some fans thought I was being 'in-jokey.' Nah. I just wanted to make the old readers feel at home as best I could."
Linda's Supergirl title (vol. 4) ran between 1997 and 2003, when DC decided to bring Kara Zor-El back as Supergirl. Starting from issue #51, Linda changes her traditional Supergirl constume to the one conceived for the DC Animated Universe, donned by Kara In-Ze.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).