Supergirl #3 Just Unleashed the Most Lethal Kryptonite Yet
In Supergirl #3 (2025), writer Marc Andreyko and artist Sophie Campbell give the “Girl of
Steel” her most harrowing challenge yet: reintroducing Black Kryptonite, a variant that doesn’t
merely weaken Kryptonians, it destroys their core.
With emotional resonance and radioactive terror, this issue introduces us to Satan Girl, a
terrifying inversion of Kara Zor-El herself. Here’s why this chapter is a game-changer for
Supergirl and the entire Superman family.
Black Kryptonite: The Mind-Warping Threat
Kryptonite has always evolved. Green drains strength, gold strips powers, red triggers mutations.
But Black Kryptonite pushes further: it exposes the darkness lurking inside, flipping morality
completely. First seen in Smallville, the Green Hornet of Kryptonian kryptonite debuted in
comics in Supergirl (2005) #2. Post-New 52, its use became darker and more focused, warping
identities by “inverting” morality.
In Supergirl #3, Black Kryptonite returns with a vengeance. Its introduction is chilling: Kara,
already battling an impostor in Midvale, gets tricked into exposure. She becomes the threat and
transforms into Satan Girl, a wild, ruthless force hell-bent on chaos.
Satan Girl
The concept of Satan Girl isn’t new, she debuted in Adventure Comics #313 during the Silver
Age. But Kara’s modern incarnation is a souped-up horror version: a moral inversion, not a Red-
K clone.
This isn’t a mirror image. Black K literally fractures Kara’s moral compass. Soaring through
Midvale, she desecrates public spaces, humiliates citizens, and even terrorizes the Danvers
family. Superman’s pup, not as Krypto but the Satan Dog, whose heat vision and urine melts cars
in the most grotesque touch imaginable joined her as a canine partner.
The Heart Amid the Horror
What makes this issue stand out is how it weaves genuine emotional conflict into horror. Lesla-
Lar, a Kryptonian from Kandor sets the trap. Jealous and desperate, she hopes Kara’s twisted
persona will reveal hypocrisy or weakness in Midvale. Instead, Lesla’s own popularity takes a
hit. Witnessing the terror of Satan Girl, she tries to intervene but fails, and the exposure drags
Kara into moral disintegration.
The emotional apex comes with a twist: instead of destroying Lesla, Kara hugs her in full
awareness of her crimes, acknowledging her loneliness and inner conflict. It’s a moment of true
empathy before Lena Luthor’s deus-ex-machina Krypto-Titano intervention purges her of the
Black file. Still, the emotional fallout is just beginning.
Art That Balances Carnage and Compassion
Artist Sophie Campbell nails a terrifying tone. Panels shift from chaotic destruction with Satan
Girl ripping down signs and uprooting street lamps to intimate close-ups of Kara’s haunted
expression. The visual pacing enhances the shift from heroism to horror, and back.
But Campbell doesn’t shy away from compassion either: minor characters like Streaky the
Super-Cat and a tired Lena Luthor help ground the carnage. Their presence keeps the issue from
slipping into pure shock value. This is still about Kara’s emotional journey, not just murder-
horror spectacle.
Final Verdict
Supergirl #3 is a master class in emotional horror storytelling. By using Black Kryptonite to
unleash Satan Girl, Andreyko and Campbell tap into deep anxieties about identity, power, and
trauma. And with DC priming Black Kryptonite as a recurring threat, this feels like the
beginning of a new era in Kryptonian storytelling.
If you’re looking for a super-powered psychological thriller this summer, Supergirl #3 should be
at the top of your pull list.
