Alura In-Ze is a character appearing in media published by DC Comics, usually those involving Superman. Alura is the Kryptonian daughter of In-Zee, wife of Zor-El, mother of Supergirl, and paternal aunt (by marriage) of Superman. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the character first appeared in Action Comics #252 (May 1959).
The character has appeared in media adaptations of the Superman and Supergirl comics, including live-action films, television programs and video games.
Alura was portrayed by Mia Farrow in the 1984 film Supergirl. In the first two seasons of the Arrowverse series Supergirl, Laura Benanti portrayed Alura until Erica Durance took over the role.
Publication history
The character Alura appeared unnamed in Action Comics #252 (May 1959) as part of the origin of Supergirl (Kara Zor-El). She was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino. Her role was similar to that of what Lara was to Superman. She and her husband, Zor-El, send her to a spaceship from Argo City to Earth to survive.
Fictional character biography
Pre-Crisis
Earth-One
In pre-Crisis continuity, Alura supported her husband Zor-El, one of the only scientists to believe his older brother Jor-El's predictions about the impending destruction of Krypton. When the planet exploded, Argo City was somehow blown safely into space with a life-giving bubble of air around it (a later version of the story in Action Comics #316 (September 1964) has the city saved by a weather dome that Zor-El had constructed). The explosion had turned the ground beneath Argo City into Kryptonite, but Alura, Zor-El and the other survivors covered the surface with sheets of lead. The Kryptonians managed to keep alive for many years, and Kara was born a number of years after the destruction of Krypton. The end for Argo City came during Kara's teens when a meteor storm punched holes into the lead sheeting, exposing the survivors to the deadly kryptonite radiation. Zor-El had managed to build a rocket and now used it to send his daughter to Earth. Alura provided Kara a costume based closely on Superman's own. It was later revealed to Supergirl through Zor-El induced dreams that he and Alura had teleported away into the Survival Zone (similar to the Phantom Zone) during Argo's final moments. Supergirl was able to rescue them in Action Comics #310 (March 1964), and Zor-El and Alura went on to live in Kandor. When the bottle city was enlarged, Zor-El and Alura resettled on New Krypton/Rokyn.
Earth-Two
In the alternate universe of Earth-Two, Allura In-Z (note different spelling) is married to Zor-L, and they send their daughter Kara Zor-L to Earth Two where she becomes Power Girl. This Zor-L was an expert in psychology, and created a virtual reality chamber for Kara inside her spacecraft. As she aged inside the rocket on her way to Earth-Two, she experienced the type of life she would have had on Krypton with Allura and Zor-L. Zor-L and Allura were killed when Krypton exploded. This version of Allura lived in Kandor and not Argo City. Allura only made one appearance, in Showcase #98 (March 1978).
Post-Crisis
In "The Supergirl from Krypton" story-arc in Superman/Batman #8-13 (May–October 2004), Alura and Zor-El rocketed their daughter away from Krypton before Kal-El left. It was expected that she would reach Earth first and could help raise Kal from his infancy. However, she stayed in stasis and her ship did not reach Earth until years later, so the infant she expected to help raise was a grown man when she arrived still in her teens.