First Appearance of Supergirl: Action Comics #252 Value

The first appearance of Supergirl is Action Comics #252, cover-dated May 1959, created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino (Wikipedia). In the story, titled "The Supergirl from Krypton!", a teenage Kara Zor-El climbs out of a crashed rocket and explains that she comes from Argo City, a Kryptonian colony that survived the planet's destruction; her parents sent her to Earth in a costume like Superman's (DC.com, June 17, 2026). GoCollect notes the issue also introduces Metallo and her Earth identity, Linda Lee.

GoCollect's 2018 article sorts out the candidates:

• Superboy #5 (November 1949): Queen Lucy of Borgonia, an acrobat in a purple and gold costume. Not Kryptonian and not Supergirl; at most a prototype.
• Superman #123 (August 1958): Jimmy Olsen uses a magic totem to wish a "Super-Girl" into existence (Wikipedia). Written by Otto Binder, it is a tryout for the idea.
• Action Comics #252 (May 1959): Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin. This is the issue the Overstreet guide recognizes as her first official appearance, according to GoCollect.

If a listing says "1st Supergirl" for Superman #123, it means the tryout, and it should be priced that way.

PriceCharting values by grade, retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Ungraded: $706.50
• 4.0: $2,250.00
• 6.0: $4,454.37
• 8.0: $18,910.00
• 9.2: $47,905.00

For comparison, GoCollect reported a CGC 8.5 selling for $20,315 in February 2018 and a 9.2 for $45,410 about three years earlier, and counted 820 copies on the CGC census at the time. Between 8.0 and 9.2 the value more than doubles, so the grade decides most of the price.

PriceCharting values for Superman #123 (1958), retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Ungraded: $179.07
• 4.0: $309.89
• 6.0: $610.00
• 8.0: $2,400.00
• 9.2: $4,438.96
• 9.8: $32,776.37

GoCollect counted 199 graded copies in 2018, far fewer than Action Comics #252's 820.

Kara died saving her cousin and the multiverse in Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 (October 1985); later versions, such as Matrix and Linda Danvers, were not Kryptonian (Wikipedia). DC.com's 2026 overview lists the retellings since:

• 1984 film: Argo City survives in another dimension, powered by the Omegahedron
• Superman/Batman #8-13 (2004): Kara was sent to protect baby Kal-El but was delayed in suspended animation
• 2015 TV series: she was 13 when Krypton exploded and arrived after Superman had grown up
• Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2021): the Silver Age origin retold with a darker tone
• The New History of the DC Universe (2025): a mix of Silver Age and modern elements

• Supergirl (1984): Helen Slater as Kara Zor-El / Linda Lee.
• Supergirl (TV, from 2015): Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers, first on CBS, then The CW. The pilot aired October 26, 2015. Her pod stayed frozen for 24 years in the Phantom Zone, which does not age her, and the pilot is set twelve years after she lands (Wikipedia). With DC.com's detail that she left Krypton at 13, that makes her about 25 in season 1.
• Season 6 (2021): Kara is not pregnant in the show. Benoist's own pregnancy, announced in March 2020, is why the season opens with Kara trapped in the Phantom Zone; the premiere aired March 30, 2021 (Screen Rant).
• DC Studios: Milly Alcock appeared as Supergirl in Superman (2025) before her own 2026 film, directed by Craig Gillespie (Wikipedia, DC.com).

Wikipedia's Supergirl article notes one comics version with a same-sex relationship: in the 2015 alternate-history series DC Bombshells, Kara becomes romantically involved with Lois Lane. The main-continuity Kara is not described as LGBTQ. The LGBTQ character most tied to her is Nia Nal, or Dreamer, played by Nicole Maines on the Supergirl TV series from October 14, 2018; Wikipedia calls her the first transgender superhero on television. Nia reached the comics in DC Pride #1 (June 2021). DC's first openly gay superhero was Extraño, introduced in the 1988 Millennium event (DC.com).

• Indicia: the small print on the first page or inside cover gives the title, issue number, date and publisher; reprints and facsimiles say so there.
• Cover price and barcode: a price or barcode that did not exist in the cover year means a later edition.
• Paper: decades-old newsprint tans at the edges; bright white pages on an old date are a warning sign.
• Restoration: color touch, trimmed edges and replaced covers are common on expensive keys; a grading service such as CGC can detect them.

Shoot the front cover flat and straight on in even light, then the indicia and the back cover. Keep the title and issue number sharp: Action Comics ran for decades, and #252 is worth hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars while neighboring issues are not. ComicLens reads the title, issue number and cover art from the photo, and there are free scans every day.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page. Prices are the figures shown by the named source on the date given; they change with the market.