The CW’s Supergirl show certainly seems to make a habit of dividing fans with many of its choices – nobody could ever accuse the series of leaving viewers with nothing to argue about. Perhaps the most vociferous and long running of the partisan commentaries the show engenders has revolved around the romance storylines served up for the titular heroine. It seems that many fans love to hate the ‘love’.

With the controversy around the show’s current on/off romance featuring Mon-El (aka Karamel in shipping parlance) firmly in mind, I thought it might be nice to journey back in time to a chapter in Kara Zor-El’s printed adventures that demonstrated how superhero romance could be handled differently.

This is the story of how Supergirl became Hot Dog…

The year: 1983, the place: Chicago. Skirts were long, computers were 8 bit, pop singers caked themselves in garish makeup (that was just the men!!), and Return of the Jedi was the Summer’s must-see blockbuster (ahhh… Ewoks!) Meanwhile – over at Lake Shore University in Chicago – Kara Zor-El had enrolled as a mature twenty-something student in a bid to better balance her life as Linda Danvers and Supergirl.

After her success in the Superman Family anthology title, Supergirl had been soft-rebooted into a brand new series of her own, flying under the auspicious banner of The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl (hereafter, DNAOS.) The first issue had appeared in November 1982, but it wasn’t until issue 8 (June 1983) that writer Paul Kupperberg introduced a love interest for Supergirl’s alter ego.

At Lake Shore University, Linda had quickly gathered around her a diverse supporting cast of friends – one such companion being Linda’s straight-talking girlfriend, Joan Raymond. Joan had been hoping to snag a date with a guest lecturer in the Music Department named Philip Decker. Outside of the university, Philip was a world renowned composer and conductor who had recently taken up a post with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Despite Linda’s musical preferences favouring Jazz and Rock, she and Philip hit it off straight away – much to the annoyance of Joan.

Physically, Philip was the typical square jawed athletic type, as is synonymous with the pencil stylings of legendary artist Carmine Infantino who worked on the strip, but his character was far from a typical jock. His personality could best be defined as confident but also considerate, mixed with a healthy dash of dry intellectual humour. In many ways Philip mirrored the sassy and self-assured Kara Zor-El presented in the DNAOS series – the couple were equally matched in terms of their ability to throw witticisms at each other, and clearly shared common values and interests. So it was no surprise when they quickly started spending their free time together.

And that’s how the Girl of Steel – Earth’s mightiest woman – acquired the nickname Hot Dog..! (Yup, that actually happened!)

Before going any further, a bit of Cupid constrained backtracking through the Silver Age is required for context: Supergirl’s previous love interests had typically been of the teenage true romance variety. Her relationship with Dick Malverne had taken an age just to get to first base – and steadfastly refused to go any further once it arrived. She held puppy love crushes on Jerro the Merman and Comet the Super Horse (in his human guise), but never did anything about it except blush and scribble sweet nothings in her diary. In her heart, a torch burnt long and bright for Brainiac 5, but petty little things like time-zone differences meant they had difficulties hooking up (they lived in different centuries!)

So, by the time of the DNAOS book, Kara had been on Earth for over twenty years with just a handful of kisses and a hug or two to show for it. And most of them were from her adopted parents..!

In contrast to what had gone before, DNAOS writer Paul Kupperberg was keen to cast Kara’s new romantic relationship as befitting a confident twenty-something woman rather than a blushing teenage girl. Gone was the gooey-eyed puppy love of the past, to be replaced by a mature and fully-carnal coupling. Readers were treated to the pair snuggling up tightly on Linda’s sofa, and there were firm suggestions that Philip and his little Hot Dog had a passionate relationship that extended right the way into the bedroom.

But the course of true love never runs straight. Particularly for the Girl of Steel..!

The problems began in the pages of issue 18 (Apr 1984), when Linda dropped in unexpectedly on one of Philip’s Wednesday rehearsal sessions. Shock horror – Philip is nowhere to be seen, and Linda learns that the orchestra never rehearses on a Wednesday(!) Her beau has been lying. Linda tries to confront Philip with the mystery (issue 20, June 1984), but he brushes it off as a mere misunderstanding.

The unexplained absences play on Linda’s mind, and steadily Linda’s mistrust of Philip grows. Finally, in issue 22 (Aug 1984), she confronts him in an angry telephone call, accusing him of being secretive. But after she slams the phone down (shattering it in the process), a remorseful Kara realises the irony of the situation – she accuses him of secrecy, but he never questions her sudden unexplained absences whenever she needs some cape time.

In a final emotional showdown Linda once again tackles Philip over his unexplained disappearances, and this time he retaliates by pointing out the hypocrisy of her claim. Unwilling to tell him about her Supergirl identity, a tearful Linda breaks the relationship off.



And that was that – the relationship never recovered from Kara’s mistrust. And readers never found out were Philip Decker went on Wednesdays!

In the next issue (number 23, Sept 1984) Dick Malverne returned for a bungled second stab at a relationship with Linda, but the clock was already ticking and time was against the Girl of Steel. Her fate was not to find true love, but to die and be wiped from the DC canon just twelve months later in Crisis on infinite Earths.

Reflecting back on this story arc, it is noticeable how much it is in stark contrast to the James/Kara and Mon-El/Kara romances of the CW tv show. The tv writers play the romance storylines closer to the teenage crushes of the Silver Age – a doe-eyed Kara swoons over James, and then gets blocked in a classic love triangle with Lucy. Then Kara plunges helpless and giddy in love again, smitten by Mon-El, only to have to sacrifice her relationship to save the planet (resulting in her being blocked by a rival for a second time when Mon-El returns.) It’s all very melodramatic and heart-on-sleeve stuff – the familiar fare of romance novels and teen magazines.

The DNAOS romance, by comparison, is a story of mature love, skilfully crafted by Paul Kupperberg. There’s no giddiness or swooning here, just a pair of adults trying to find a soulmate in each other. The bitter-sweet irony is that their downfall is not due to their incompatibility, but the hypocrisy that underlies all of Kara’s relationships with her friends – she wants someone she can trust, but at the same time she is one of the biggest secret-keepers on the face of the planet.