The DC Comics History of Supergirl’s Home, Argo City

The first glimpse of the upcoming Supergirl movie showed us a quick look at Kara Zor-El’s home planet, brought to life by actress Milly Alcock. The scene depicts a protective energy shield surrounding a city called Argo City, while the rest of the planet falls apart. This city survived the destruction of Krypton and became a world of its own. The trailer suggests we’ll see flashbacks to Kara’s difficult childhood there. Over the years, the story of Argo City has changed in comics and other adaptations. Here’s a look at the most significant versions of the city, from both DC Comics and other sources, as we head towards the Supergirl film in 2026.

Action Comics #252/Silver Age (1959)

The story behind Supergirl’s home city, Argo City, is a bit silly, even for a comic book. Originally, Argo was a city on Krypton covered by a protective dome created by Zor-El, Superman’s uncle. This dome was meant to provide clean air for its citizens. But the really strange part is what happened when Krypton exploded. Instead of being destroyed, the section of the planet containing Argo City simply floated away into space with thousands of survivors inside! It was like a bubble of Krypton drifting through the cosmos – something kids reading the comic probably accepted without question.

Zor-El and his wife, Alura, learned that the ground beneath their city, Argo City, was turning into Kryptonite, slowly poisoning everyone. As one of the last Kryptonians remaining, they sent their fifteen-year-old daughter, Kara, to Earth to save her from this disaster. On Earth, Kara was greeted by her superpowered cousin, Kal-El, and became known as Supergirl. Later, she learned that her father had found a place called the Survival Zone, located near the Phantom Zone discovered by his brother, Jor-El. After a meteor shower destroyed Argo City, Zor-El, Alura, and other survivors transferred themselves into the Survival Zone. Eventually, they left the Zone and joined the Kryptonian city of Kandor, which now resides within Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.

Supergirl Feature Film (1984)

The first time Argo City was shown on screen in live-action was in the 1984 film Supergirl. In the movie, Argo City isn’t protected by a dome, but rather the entire city was moved into a separate dimension called “Innerspace” to survive Krypton’s destruction. The city’s power source, a device named the Omegahedron, is accidentally sent to Earth, and Kara (Helen Slater) must retrieve it to save Argo City. The idea of this hidden dimension seems inspired by the “Survival Zone” from the comic books. However, the way it looks – encased in crystals – is more similar to the visual style of Richard Donner’s Superman movie than anything seen in the comics.

Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000)

After the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” event, DC Comics removed the original Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) from its main storyline. She was replaced by a new Supergirl named Matrix, an artificial intelligence with shapeshifting abilities. However, when “Superman: The Animated Series” premiered in 1998, its creators wanted a more traditional Supergirl character. DC Comics had strict rules at the time about multiple Kryptonian survivors, so producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini came up with a clever solution: they reimagined Kara as the last survivor of Argo, a planet separate from Krypton, instead of Superman’s cousin.

In the DC Animated Universe, Argo was a planet originally settled by Kryptonians. When Krypton was destroyed, Argo’s orbit changed, causing it to become a frozen wasteland. Alura In-Ze, a scientist, and her teenage daughter, Kara, were among the few who survived. They entered a frozen sleep, hoping to be rescued one day. Eventually, Superman discovered what remained of Argo and saved Kara, bringing her to Earth. There, she developed the same superpowers as him and was raised by Ma and Pa Kent as his cousin, Kara, eventually becoming known as Supergirl. This version of Argo differs from some others, as it was a whole planet, not just a city protected by a dome.

Action Comics’ “Brainiac” (2008)

The Supergirl character was reintroduced into DC Comics in 2008, but with a slightly different backstory. This new version, created by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, tells of Kara being a teenager in Argo City when Brainiac attacked Krypton. She watched as Brainiac shrank and stole the city of Kandor. Kara’s father, Zor-El, then used technology inspired by Brainiac to create a similar energy shield, protecting Argo City.

As Krypton was being destroyed, Zor-El used advanced technology to shield the city of Argo and escape into space. Later, Brainiac found Argo City and killed almost everyone there. To save his daughter Kara, Zor-El sent her to Earth in a rocket, where she became Supergirl. Brainiac then captured the remaining citizens of Argo and trapped them inside a miniature city called Kandor. This story marked the first time DC Comics linked Brainiac’s ability to shrink things to the protective dome that saved Argo City.

Supergirl Arrowverse TV Series (2015-2021)

The CW’s 2015 series Supergirl, featuring Melissa Benoist, also included a version of Argo City. In the show, when the planet Krypton was destroyed, Zor-El created a protective dome around the city of Argo, hoping to save it. He and Alura sent their daughter, Kara, to Earth to live with her cousin Superman, unsure if the dome would actually work. Surprisingly, it did, and Argo City survived as the last Kryptonian city. Unfortunately, Zor-El died due to the air quality inside the dome. The dome also prevented any communication with the outside world, leading Kara’s mother to believe she had lost her daughter, and Kara herself didn’t discover Argo’s survival until she was grown. Eventually, Supergirl revisited her birthplace, but Argo City was ultimately destroyed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths event.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2021)

This history leads us to the Argo City we see in flashbacks during Tom King’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Surprisingly, this version is actually rooted in the original, older concept of Argo City from the Silver Age of comics, but it’s much more grounded and realistic. The flashbacks show Argo City creating an energy shield as Krypton is destroyed – a scene also featured in the Supergirl trailer. Over time, the people of Argo City, including Kara’s mother Alura, all die from Kryptonite poisoning. On her deathbed, Alura asks Kara to promise to live a good life. Like in the original stories, Zor-El sends Kara to Earth in a prototype spaceship, where she becomes Supergirl. This demonstrates that the initial origin story is still strong; it simply needed a contemporary update to feel less outlandish.

Will the new Supergirl movie primarily draw inspiration for its story about Argo from the Woman of Tomorrow comic, or will it explore the broader history of Supergirl within the DC Comics universe? We’ll find out when the film, directed by Craig Gillespie, is released in theaters on June 26, 2026.

2025-12-19 03:34