Spice Girls Girl power When did the Spice Girls become popular? the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with "Wannabe", that the concept of "girl power" exploded onto the common consciousness.
What is girl power?
What is girl power in relation to the Spice Girls?
The phrase "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, but the slogan was met with mixed reactions. The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band: that a sensual, feminine appearance and equality between the sexes need not be mutually exclusive. This concept was by no means original in the pop world: both Madonna and Bananarama had employed similar outlooks. The phrase itself had also appeared in a few songs by British girl groups and bands since at least 1987; most notably, it was the name of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single and album, later credited by Halliwell as the inspiration for the Spice Girls' mantra.  However, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with "Wannabe", that the concept of "girl power" exploded onto the common consciousness. The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members--although most closely associated with Halliwell--and was often delivered with a peace sign. The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore. The Spice Girls' version was distinctive. Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women, and it emphasised the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females.  In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism--popularized as "girl power"--in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. On the other hand, some critics dismissed it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic, while others took issue with the emphasis on physical appearance, concerned about the potential impact on self-conscious and/or impressionable youngsters. Regardless, the phrase became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."  The Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations' Global Goals "#WhatIReallyReallyWant" campaign filmed a global remake of the original music video for "Wannabe" to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which was launched on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?"  At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in January 2017, American actress Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech, and credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." CANNOTANSWER
The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band:
The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade. 

The group formed through auditions held by managers Bob and Chris Herbert, who wanted to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. They signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. The follow-up, Spiceworld (1997) sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members. In 1997, a film starring the Spice Girls, Spice World, was released; it was a commercial success but received poor reviews. 

In May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls, citing exhaustion and creative differences. Forever (2000), the only Spice Girls album without Halliwell, achieved weaker sales. At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. They reunited for two concert tours, the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019), both of which won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements. Viva Forever!, a musical based on the Spice Girls' music, opened in 2012; it was a critical and commercial failure and closed in 2013.

Measures of the Spice Girls' success include international record sales, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress, a major motion picture, Spice World (1997), and the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group from 2000 to 2020. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, their endorsement deals and merchandise made them one of most successful marketing engines ever, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. Their media exposure, according to Music Week writer Paul Gorman, helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.

The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide, making them the bestselling girl group of all time, one of the bestselling artists, and the most successful British pop act since the Beatles. They received five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, they were the most widely recognised group since the Beatles.

Band history

1994–1996: Formation and early years

In the early 1990s, Bob and Chris Herbert, the father-and-son duo of Heart Management, decided to create a girl group to compete with the boy bands who dominated UK pop music at the time. Together with financier Chic Murphy, they envisioned an act comprising "five strikingly different girls" who would each appeal to a different audience. In February 1994, Heart Management placed an advertisement in the trade paper The Stage asking for singers to audition for an all-female pop band at London's Danceworks studios. Approximately 400 women attended the audition on 4 March 1994. They were placed in groups of 10 and danced a routine to "Stay" by Eternal, followed by solo auditions in which they performed songs of their choice.

After several weeks of deliberation, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were among a dozen or so women who advanced to a second round of auditions in April. Chisholm missed the second audition after coming down with tonsillitis. Despite missing the first round of auditions, Geri Halliwell persuaded the Herberts to let her attend the second. A week after the second audition, Adams, Brown, Halliwell and Stephenson were asked to attend a recall at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, performing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" on their own and as a group. Chisholm was also invited as a last-minute replacement for another finalist. The five women were selected for a band initially named "Touch".

The group moved into a three-bedroom house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and spent most of 1994 practising songs written for them by Bob Herbert's long-time associates John Thirkell and Erwin Keiles. According to Stephenson, the material they were given was "very, very young pop", and none were later used by the Spice Girls. During these first months, the group worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell with producer and studio owner Michael Sparkes and songwriter and arranger Tim Hawes. They were also tasked with choreographing their own dance routines, which they worked on at Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, Surrey. A few months into the training, Stephenson was fired for a perceived lack of commitment. Heart Management turned to the group's vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, to find a replacement. After Lemer's first recommendation declined the offer, Lemer recommended her former pupil, Emma Bunton, who auditioned for the Herberts and joined as the fifth member.

As their training continued, the group performed small showcases for a few of Heart Management's associates. On one such performance, the group added a rap section they had written to one of Thirkell and Keiles' songs. Keiles was furious with the changes and insisted they learn to write songs properly. The group began professional songwriting lessons; during one session, they wrote a song called "Sugar and Spice" with Hawes, which inspired them to change their band name to "Spice". 

By late 1994, the group felt insecure as they still did not have an official contract with Heart Management, and were frustrated with the management team's direction. They persuaded Herbert to set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios, where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction. The Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for them. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members refused to sign the contracts on legal advice from, among others, Adams's father. The following month, in January, the group began songwriting sessions with Richard Stannard, whom they had impressed at the showcase, and his partner Matt Rowe. It was during these sessions that the songs "Wannabe" and "2 Become 1" were written.

In March 1995, the group parted from Heart Management due to their frustration with the company's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas. To ensure they kept control of their own work, they allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices. The next day, the group tracked down Sheffield-based songwriter Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the Nomis showcase, and persuaded him to work with them. Through contacts they had made at the showcase, they were also introduced to record producers Absolute. With Kennedy and Absolute's help, the group spent the next several weeks writing and recording demos for the majority of the songs that would be released on their debut album, including "Say You'll Be There" and "Who Do You Think You Are". Their demos caught the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, who signed them to his management company in May 1995.

By this point, industry buzz around the Spice Girls had grown significantly and the major record labels in London and Los Angeles were keen to sign them. After a bidding war, they signed a five-album deal with Virgin Records in July 1995. Fuller took them on an extensive promotional tour in Los Angeles, where they met with studio executives in the hopes of securing film and television opportunities. Their name was also changed to "Spice Girls" as a rapper was already using the name "Spice". The new name was chosen because the group noticed industry people often referred to them derisively as "the 'Spice' girls". The group continued to write and record tracks for their debut album.

1996–1997: Spice and breakthrough

On 7 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks before the release, the music video for "Wannabe" received a trial airing on music channel The Box. The video was an instant hit, and was aired up to seventy times a week at its peak. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live broadcast TV slot on LWT's Surprise Surprise. Earlier in May, the group had conducted their first music press interview with Paul Gorman, the contributing editor of trade paper Music Week, at Virgin Records' Paris headquarters. His piece recognised that the Spice Girls were about to institute a change in the charts away from Britpop and towards out-and-out pop. He wrote: "JUST WHEN BOYS with guitars threaten to rule pop life—Damon's all over Smash Hits, Ash are big in Big! and Liam can't move for tabloid frenzy—an all-girl, in-yer-face pop group have arrived with enough sass to burst that rockist bubble." "Wannabe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three before moving up to number one the following week and staying there for seven weeks. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number one in 37 countries, including four consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and becoming not only the biggest-selling debut single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.

Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles in the UK and Europe; in October "Say You'll Be There" was released topping the charts at number one for two weeks. "2 Become 1" was released in December, becoming their first Christmas number one and selling 462,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling single of the year. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales, giving them three of the top five biggest-selling songs of 1996 in the UK. In November 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut album Spice in Europe. The success was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania, leading the press to dub it "Spicemania" and the group the "Fab Five". In seven weeks Spice had sold 1.8 million copies in Britain alone, making the Spice Girls the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles. In total, the album sold over 3 million copies in Britain, the biggest-selling album of all time in the UK by a female group, certified 10× Platinum, and peaked at number one for fifteen non-consecutive weeks. In Europe the album became the biggest-selling album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies.

That same month, the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury and Polaroid. The group ended 1996 winning three trophies at the Smash Hits awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There". In January 1997, "Wannabe" was released in the United States. The single proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the notoriously difficult US market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number eleven. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a non-American act, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and the joint highest entry for a debut act alongside Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks. In February, Spice was released in the US, and became the biggest-selling album of 1997 in the US, peaking at number one, and was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 7.4 million copies. The album was also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. In total, the album sold over 23 million copies worldwide becoming the biggest-selling album in pop music history by an all-female group.

Later that month, the Spice Girls performed "Who Do You Think You Are" to open the 1997 Brit Awards, with Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress that became one of pop history's most famed outfits. At the ceremony, the group won two Brit Awards; Best British Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best British Single for "Wannabe". In March 1997, a double A-side of "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" was released in Europe, the last from Spice, which once again saw them at number one, making the Spice Girls the first group since the Jackson 5 to have four consecutive number one hits.

Girl Power!, the Spice Girls' first book and manifesto was launched later that month at the Virgin Megastore. It sold out its initial print run of 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. In April, One Hour of Girl Power was released; it sold 500,000 copies in the UK between April and June to become the best-selling pop video ever, and was eventually certified 13x Platinum. In May, Spice World, a film starring the group, was announced by the Spice Girls at the Cannes Film Festival. The group also performed their first live UK show for the Prince's Trust benefit concert. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Brown and then Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles' cheeks and pinched his bottom, causing controversy. That same month, Virgin released Spice Girls Present... The Best Girl Power Album... Ever!, a multi-artist compilation album compiled by the group. The album peaked at number two on the UK Compilation Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. At the Ivor Novello Awards, the group won International Hit of the Year and Best-Selling British Single awards for "Wannabe".

Spice World began filming in June and wrapped in August. The film was to be set to the songs from the group's second studio album, but no songs had been written when filming began. The group thus had to do all the songwriting and recording at the same time as they were filming Spice World, resulting in a grueling schedule that left them exhausted. Among the songs that were written during this period was "Stop", the lyrics for which cover the group's frustrations with being overworked by their management. In September, the Spice Girls performed "Say You'll Be There" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and won Best Dance Video for "Wannabe". The MTV Awards came five days after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, with tributes paid to her throughout the ceremony. Chisholm stated, "We'd like to dedicate this award to Princess Diana, who is a great loss to our country." At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the group won four awards for New Artist of the Year, Billboard Hot 100 Singles Group of the Year, Billboard 200 Group of the Year and Billboard 200 Album of the Year for Spice.

1997–1998: Groundbreaking success, Spiceworld and Halliwell's departure

In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from Spiceworld, "Spice Up Your Life". It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, making it the group's fifth consecutive number-one single. That same month, the group performed their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, they launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, then travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, "These are my heroes." In November, the Spice Girls released their second album, Spiceworld. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews, the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe, Canada, and the United States combined, and 14 million copies worldwide. Criticised in the United States for releasing the album just nine months after their debut there, which gave the group two simultaneous Top 10 albums in the Billboard album charts, and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. The group was criticised for the number of sponsorship deals signed—over twenty in total—and they began to witness diminishing international chart positions. Nevertheless, the Spice Girls remained the biggest-selling pop group of both 1997 and 1998.

On 7 November 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and won the Best Group award. The morning of the performance, the Spice Girls had also fired their manager Simon Fuller and took over the running of the group themselves. To ensure a smooth transition, Halliwell allegedly stole a mobile phone from Fuller's assistant that contained the group's upcoming schedule and Fuller's business contacts. The firing was front-page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the true mastermind behind the group, and that this was the moment when the band lost their impetus and direction. Later that month, the Spice Girls became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. In December 1997, the second single from Spiceworld, "Too Much", was released, becoming the group's second Christmas number one and their sixth consecutive number-one single in the UK. December also saw the group launch their film Spice World. The world premiere at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square was attended by celebrities including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. The film was a commercial success but received poor reviews. The group ended 1997 as the year's most played artist on American radio.

In January 1998, the Spice Girls attended the US premiere of Spice World at the Mann's Chinese Theatre. At the 1998 American Music Awards a few days later, the group won the awards for Favorite Album, Favorite New Artist and Favorite Group in the pop/rock category. In February, they won a special award for overseas success at the 1998 Brit Awards, with combined sales of over 45 million albums and singles worldwide. That night, the group performed their next single, "Stop", their first not to reach number one in United Kingdom, entering at number two. In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, starting in Dublin, Ireland, on 24 February 1998 before moving to mainland Europe and North America, and then returning to the United Kingdom for two gigs at Wembley Stadium. Later that year, the Spice Girls were invited to sing on the official England World Cup song "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World", the last song recorded with Halliwell until 2007.

On 31 May 1998, Halliwell announced her departure from the Spice Girls through her solicitor. The announcement was preceded by days of frenzied press speculation after Halliwell missed two concerts in Norway and was absent from the group's performance on The National Lottery Draws. Halliwell first cited creative differences, then later said that she was suffering from exhaustion and disillusionment, although rumours of a power struggle with Brown as the reason for her departure were circulated by the press. Halliwell's departure from the group shocked fans and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year, making news headlines the world over. The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on. The North American leg of the Spiceworld Tour went on as planned, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 15 June, and grossing $60 million over 40 sold-out performances. The tour was accompanied by a documentary film titled Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story. "Viva Forever" was the last single released from Spiceworld and gave the group their seventh number one in the United Kingdom. The video for the single was made before Halliwell's departure and features all five members in stop-motion animated form.

1998–2000: Forever and hiatus

While on tour in the United States, the group continued to write and record new material, releasing a new song, "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998. The song was seen as a tribute to Geri Halliwell, although parts of it had originally been written when Halliwell was still a part of the group, and when it topped the UK Singles Chart it became their third consecutive Christmas number one—equalling the record previously set by the Beatles. In November, Bunton and Chisholm appeared at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards without their other bandmates, accepting two awards on behalf of the Spice Girls for Best Pop Act and Best Group. That same year, Brown and Adams announced they were both pregnant. Brown was married to dancer Jimmy Gulzer and became known as Mel G for a brief period; she gave birth to daughter Phoenix Chi in February 1999. Adams gave birth a month after to son Brooklyn, whose father was then Manchester United footballer David Beckham; later that year, she married Beckham in a highly publicised wedding in Ireland.

From 1998 onwards, the Spice Girls began to pursue solo careers and by the following year, Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, and former member Halliwell, had all released music as solo artists. The group returned to the studio in August 1999 after an eight-month recording break to start work on their third and last studio album. The album's sound was initially more pop-influenced, similar to their first two albums, and included production from Eliot Kennedy. The album's sound took a mature direction when American producers like Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis came on board to collaborate with the group. In December 1999, the Spice Girls embarked on a UK-only tour, Christmas in Spiceworld, in London and Manchester, during which they showcased new songs from the third album. Earlier in the year, the group also recorded the song "My Strongest Suit" for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, a concept album which would later go on to become the musical Aida. The group performed again at the 2000 Brit Awards in March, where they received the Lifetime Achievement award. Despite being at the event, Halliwell did not join her former bandmates on stage.

In November 2000, the group released Forever; sporting a new edgier R&B sound, the album received a lukewarm response from critics. In the US, the album peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In the UK, the album was released the same week as Westlife's Coast to Coast album and the chart battle was widely reported by the media, with Westlife winning the battle and reaching number one, leaving the Spice Girls at number two. The lead single from Forever, the double A-side "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", became the group's ninth number one single in the UK. However, the song failed to break onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart stateside, instead peaking at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, and at number thirty-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The only major performance of the lead single by the group came at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in November. In total, Forever achieved only a fraction of the success of its two best-selling predecessors, selling four million copies. The Spice Girls ceased all promotional activities for the album in December 2000, as they began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Publicly, they insisted that the group was not splitting.

2007–2008: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits

On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls, including Halliwell, held a press conference at the O2 Arena revealing their intention to reunite for a worldwide concert tour titled the Return of the Spice Girls. The plan to re-form had long been speculated by the media, with previous attempts by the organisers of Live 8 and Concert for Diana to reunite the group as a five-piece falling through. Each member of the group was reportedly paid £10 million ($20 million) to do the reunion tour. Giving You Everything, an official documentary film about the reunion, was directed by Bob Smeaton and first aired on Australia's Fox8 on 16 December 2007, followed by BBC One in the UK on 31 December.

Ticket sales for the first London date of the Return of the Spice Girls tour sold out in 38 seconds. It was reported that over one million people signed up in the UK alone and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band's official website. Sixteen additional dates in London were added, all selling out within one minute. In the United States, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Jose shows also sold out, prompting additional dates to be added. It was announced that the Spice Girls would be playing dates in Chicago and Detroit and Boston, as well as additional dates in New York to keep up with the demand. The tour opened in Vancouver on 2 December 2007, with group performing to an audience of 15,000 people, singing twenty songs and changing outfits a total of eight times. Along with the tour sellout, the Spice Girls licensed their name and image to Tesco's UK supermarket chain.

The group's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007 and was released 5 November. The first public appearance on stage by the Spice Girls occurred at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where they performed two songs, 1998 single "Stop" and the lead single from their greatest hits album, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". The show was filmed by CBS on 15 November 2007 for broadcast on 4 December 2007. They also performed both songs live for the BBC Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2007 from Los Angeles. The release of "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's lowest-charting British single to date. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 February 2008, it was announced that due to personal and family commitments their tour would come to an end in Toronto on 26 February 2008, meaning that tour dates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were cancelled.

Overall, the 47-date tour was the highest-grossing concert act of 2007–2008, measured as the twelve months ending in April 2008. It produced some $107.2 million in ticket sales and merchandising, with sponsorship and ad deals bringing the total to $200 million. The tour's 17-night sellout stand at the O2 Arena in London was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, netting £16.5 million (US$33 million) and drawing an audience of 256,647, winning the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore. The group's comeback also netted them several other awards, including the Capital Music Icon Award, the Glamour Award for Best Band, and the Vodafone Live Music Award for Best Live Return, the last of which saw them beat out acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.

2010–2012: Viva Forever! and London Olympics

At the 2010 Brit Awards, the Spice Girls received a special award for "Best Performance of the 30th Year". The award was for their 1997 Brit Awards performance of "Wannabe" and "Who Do You Think You Are", and was accepted by Halliwell and Brown on behalf of the group. 

That year, the group collaborated with Fuller, Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders to develop a Spice Girls stage musical, Viva Forever!. Similar to the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! used the group's music to create an original story. In June 2012, to promote the musical, the Spice Girls reunited for a press conference at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, where music video for "Wannabe" was filmed exactly sixteen years earlier. Viva Forever! premiered at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in December 2012, with all five Spice Girls in attendance. To promote the musical, the group appeared in the documentary Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever!, which aired on 24 December 2012 on ITV1. Viva Forever! was panned by critics and closed after seven months, with a loss of at least £5 million.

In August 2012, the Spice Girls reunited to perform a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Their performance received acclaim, and became the most tweeted moment of the Olympics with over 116,000 tweets per minute on Twitter.

2016–present: Spice World tour and Spice25

On 8 July 2016, Brown, Bunton and Halliwell released a video celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece. Beckham and Chisholm opted not to take part but gave the project their blessing. A new song from the three-piece, "Song for Her", was leaked online a few months later in November. The reunion project was cancelled due to Halliwell's pregnancy.

On 24 May 2019, the Spice Girls began the Spice World – 2019 Tour of the UK and Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Beckham declined to join due to commitments regarding her fashion business. Each of the four participating members was reportedly paid £12 million for the tour. The tour concluded with three concerts at London's Wembley Stadium, with the last taking place on 15 June 2019. Over 13 dates, the tour produced 700,000 spectators and earned $78.2 million in ticket sales. The three-night sellout stand at Wembley Stadium was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, drawing an audience of 221,971 and winning the 2019 Billboard Live Music Award for Top Boxscore. Despite sound problems in the early concerts, Anna Nicholson in The Guardian wrote, "As nostalgia tours go, this could hardly have been bettered."

Alongside the tour, the group teamed up with the children's book franchise Mr. Men to create derivative products such as books, cups, bags and coasters. On 13 June 2019, it was reported that Paramount Animation had greenlit an animated Spice Girls film with old and new songs. The project will be produced by Simon Fuller and written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. A director has not been announced.

To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos. On 29 October, the Spice Girls released Spice25, a deluxe reissue of Spice featuring previously unreleased demos and remixes. The deluxe release saw the album reenter the UK Albums Chart at number five, number three on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and number four on the UK Official Physical Albums Chart.

Artistry

Musical style
According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the Spice Girls "used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture." Their songs incorporated a variety of genres, which Halliwell described as a "melding" of the group members' eclectic musical tastes, but otherwise kept to mainstream pop conventions. Chisholm said: "We all had different artists that we loved. Madonna was a big influence and TLC; we watched a lot of their videos." A regular collaborator on the group's first two albums was the production duo known as Absolute, made up of Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. Absolute initially found it difficult to work with the group as the duo was heavily into R&B music at the time, while the Spice Girls according to Wilson were "always very poptastic". Wilson said of the group's musical output: "Their sound was actually not getting R&B quite right."

In his biography of the band, Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004), Rolling Stone journalist David Sinclair said that the "undeniable artistry" of the group's songs had been overlooked. He said the Spice Girls "instinctively had an ear for a catchy tune" without resorting to the "formula balladry and bland modulations" of 90s boy bands Westlife and Boyzone. He praised their "more sophisticated" second album, Spiceworld, saying: "Peppered with personality, and each conveying a distinctive musical flavour and lyrical theme, these are songs which couldn't sound less 'manufactured,' and which, in several cases, transcend the pop genre altogether."

Lyrical themes

The Spice Girls' lyrics promote female empowerment and solidarity. Given the young age of their target audience, Lucy Jones of The Independent said the Spice Girls' songs were subversive for their time: "The lyrics were active rather than passive: taking, grabbing, laying it down – all the things little girls were taught never to do. 'Stop right now, thank you very much'. 'Who do you think you are?' 'I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want'." Musicologist Nicola Dibben cited "Say You'll Be There" as an example of how the Spice Girls inverted traditional gender roles in their lyrics, depicting a man who has fallen in love and displays too much emotion and a woman who remains independent and in control. The Spice Girls emphasised the importance of sisterhood over romance songs such as "Wannabe", and embraced safe sex in "2 Become 1".

Lauren Bravo, author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up (2018), found that even when the Spice Girls sang about romance, the message was "cheerfully non-committal", in contrast to the songs about breakups and unrequited love other pop stars were singing at the time. Writing for Bustle, Taylor Ferber praised the female-driven lyrics as ahead of their time, citing the inclusivity and optimism of songs such as "Spice Up Your Life" and the sex-positivity of "Last Time Lover" and "Naked". Ferber concluded: "Between all of their songs about friendship, sex, romance, and living life, a central theme in almost all Spice Girls music was loving yourself first."

Vocal arrangements

Unlike prior pop vocal groups, the Spice Girls shared vocals, rather than having a lead vocalist supported by others. The group did not want any one member to be considered the lead singer, and so each song was divided into one or two lines each, before all five voices harmonised in the chorus. The group faced criticism as this meant that no one voice could stand out, but Sinclair concluded that it "was actually a clever device to ensure that they gained the maximum impact and mileage from their all-in-it-together girl-gang image".

The Spice Girls' former vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, described their individual voices as distinct and easy distinguish, citing the "lightness" of Bunton's voice and the "soulful sound" of Brown's and Chisholm's. Biographer Sean Smith cited Chisholm as the vocalist the group could not do without. Sinclair noted that while Chisholm's ad libs are a distinctive feature of certain Spice Girls songs, the difference in the amount of time her voice was featured over any other member was negligible.

While vocal time was distributed equally, musicologist Nicola Dibben found that there was an "interesting inequality" in the way that vocal styles were distributed within the group, which she felt conformed to certain stereotypes associated with race and socioeconomic background. According to Dibben, most of the declamatory style of singing in the group's singles were performed by Brown, the only black member, and Chisholm, whom Dibben classified as white working class; this was in contrast to the more lyrical sections allotted to Beckham, whom Dibben classified as white middle class.

Songwriting
The Spice Girls did not play instruments, but co-wrote all of their songs. According to their frequent collaborator Richard Stannard, they had two approaches to songwriting: ballads were written in a traditional way with the group sitting around a piano, while songs such as "Wannabe" were the result of tapping into their "mad" energy. Eliot Kennedy, another regular co-writer, said that songwriting sessions with the Spice Girls were "very quick and short". He described his experience working with them:
What I said to them was, "Look, I've got a chorus—check this out." And I'd sing them the chorus and the melody—no lyrics or anything—and straight away five pads and pencils came out and they were throwing lines at us. Ten minutes later, the song was written. Then you go through and refine it. Then later, as you were recording it you might change a few things here and there. But pretty much it was a real quick process. They were confident in what they were doing, throwing it out there.

Absolute's Paul Wilson recalled an experience whereby he and Watkins were responsible for writing the backing track and the group would then write the lyrics. Watkins added: "I wasn't an 18-year-old girl. They always had this weird ability to come up with phrases that you'd never heard of." He said the members would create dance routines at the same time as writing songs, and that they "They knew what they wanted to write about, right from day one. You couldn't force your musical ideas upon them."

From the onset, the Spice Girls established a strict 50–50 split of the publishing royalties between them and their songwriting collaborators. As with their vocal arrangements, they were also adamant on maintaining parity between themselves in the songwriting credits. Sinclair said:
The deal between themselves was a strict five-way split on their share of the songwriting royalties on all songs irrespective of what any one member of the group had (or had not) contributed to any particular song. Apart from ease of administration, this was also a symbolic expression of the unity which was so much part and parcel of the Spice philosophy.

Sinclair identified Halliwell as a major source of ideas for the Spice Girls' songs, including many of the concepts and starting points for the group's songs. Tim Hawes, who worked with the group when they were starting out, said Halliwell's strength was in writing lyrics and pop hooks, and estimated that she was responsible for 60–70% of the lyrics in the songs he worked on. The group's collaborators credit the other members of the group as being more active than Halliwell in constructing the melodies and harmonies of their songs. Matt Rowe, who wrote several songs with the Spice Girls, agreed that Halliwell was particularly good when it came to writing lyrics and credits the lyrics for "Viva Forever" to her. He felt that all five members had contributed equally to the songwriting.

Cultural impact and legacy

Pop music resurgence and girl group boom
The Spice Girls broke onto the music scene at a time when alternative rock, hip-hop and R&B dominated global music charts. In the group's first ever interview in May 1996, Halliwell told Music Week: "We want to bring some of the glamour back to pop, like Madonna had when we were growing up. Pop is about fantasy and escapism, but there's so much bullshit around at the moment." The modern pop phenomenon that the Spice Girls created by targeting early members of Generation Y was credited with changing the music landscape by reviving the pop music genre, bringing about the global wave of late-1990s and early-2000s teen pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC.

The Spice Girls have also been credited with paving the way for the girl groups and female pop singers that have come after them. Unlike previous girl groups such as the Andrews Sisters whose target market was male record buyers, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by going after a young female fanbase instead. In the UK, they are further credited for disrupting the then male-dominated pop music scene. Prior to the Spice Girls, girl groups such as Bananarama have had hit singles in the UK but their album sales were generally underwhelming. The accepted wisdom within the British music industry at the time was that an all-girl pop group would not work because both girls and boys would find the concept too threatening. Teen magazines such as Smash Hits and Top of the Pops initially refused to feature the Spice Girls on the assumption that a girl group would not appeal to their female readership. The massive commercial breakthrough of the Spice Girls turned the tide, leading to an unprecedented boom of new girl groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

As managers and record labels scrambled to find the next Spice Girls, around 20 new girl groups were launched in the UK in 1999, followed by another 35 the next year. Groups that emerged during this period include All Saints, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, Girl Thing, Girls@Play, Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, all hoping to emulate the Spice Girls' success. Outside of the UK and Ireland, girl groups such as New Zealand's TrueBliss, Australia's Bardot, Germany's No Angels, US's Cheetah Girls, as well as South Korea's Baby Vox and f(x) were also modelled after the Spice Girls.

Twenty-first-century girl groups continue to cite the Spice Girls as a major source of influence, including the Pussycat Dolls, 2NE1, Girls' Generation, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, and Haim. Solo female artists who have been similarly influenced by the group include Jess Glynne, Foxes, Alexandra Burke, Charli XCX, Rita Ora, Billie Eilish, and Beyoncé. During her 2005 "Reflections" concert series, Filipina superstar Regine Velasquez performed a medley of five Spice Girls songs as a tribute to the band she says were a major influence on her music. Danish singer-songwriter MØ decided to pursue music after watching the Spice Girls on TV as a child, saying in a 2014 interview: "I have them and only them to thank—or to blame—for becoming a singer." 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Adele credits the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today".

Girl power

"Girl power" was a label for the particular facet of feminist empowerment embraced by the band, emphasising female confidence, individuality and the value of female friendship. The Spice Girls' particular approach to "girl power" was seen as a boisterous, independent, and sex-positive response to "lad culture." The phrase was regularly espoused by all five members—although most closely associated with Halliwell—and was often delivered with a peace sign. The "girl power" slogan was originally coined by US punk band Bikini Kill in 1991 and subsequently appeared in a few songs in the early and mid-1990s; most notably, it was the title of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single which Halliwell later said was her introduction to the phrase. Although the term did not originate with them, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 that "girl power" exploded onto the mainstream consciousness. According to Chisholm, the band were inspired to champion this cause as a result of the sexism they encountered when they were first starting out in the music business. Industry insiders credit Halliwell as being the author of the group's "girl power" manifesto, while Halliwell herself once spoke of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as being "the pioneer of our ideology."

In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. The Spice Girls' brand of postfeminism was distinctive and its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women; by being politically neutral, it did not alienate consumers with different allegiances. Virgin's director of press Robert Sandall explained the novelty of the group: "There had never been a group of girls who were addressing themselves specifically to a female audience before." Similarly, John Harlow of The Sunday Times believed it was this "loyal[ty] to their sex" that set the Spice Girls apart from their predecessors, enabling them to win over young female fans where previous girl groups had struggled. While "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, it was met with mixed reactions. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism—popularised as "girl power"—in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. Conversely, critics dismiss it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic and accuse the group of commercialising the social movement. Regardless, "girl power" became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary.
In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."

In keeping with their "girl power" manifesto, the Spice Girls' songs have been praised for their "genuinely empowering messages about friendship and sisterhood," which set them apart from the typical love songs their pop contemporaries were singing. Billboard magazine said their lyrics "demonstrated real, noncompetitive female friendship," adding that the messages the Spice Girls imparted have held up well compared to the lyrics sung by later girl groups such as the Pussycat Dolls. The group's debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations launched their #WhatIReallyReallyWant Global Goals campaign by filming a remake of the "Wannabe" music video to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which premiered on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?"

At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in 2017, Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech; she credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." In 2018, Rolling Stone named the Spice Girls' "girl power" ethos on The Millennial 100, a list of 100 people, music, cultural touchstones and movements that have shaped the Millennial generation. Writing in 2019 about the group's influence on what she called the "Spice Girls Generation", Caity Weaver of The New York Times concluded, "Marketing ploy or not, 'Girl power' had become a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Cool Britannia

 
The term "Cool Britannia" became prominent in the media in the 1990s and represented the new political and social climate that was emerging with the advances made by New Labour and the new British prime minister Tony Blair. Coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and appealing, a driving force in giving Britain a feeling of euphoria and optimism.

Although by no means responsible for the onset of "Cool Britannia", the arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British, rather than American, pop music. This fact was underlined at the 1997 Brit Awards; the group won two awards but it was Halliwell's iconic red, white and blue Union Jack mini-dress that appeared in media coverage around the world, becoming an enduring image of "Cool Britannia". The Spice Girls were identified as part of another British Invasion of the US, and in 2016, Time acknowledged the Spice Girls as "arguably the most recognisable face" of "Cool Britannia".

Image, nicknames and fashion trends
The Spice Girls' image was deliberately aimed at young girls, an audience of formidable size and potential. Instrumental to their range of appeal within this demographic was their five distinct personalities and styles, which encouraged fans to identify with one member or another. This rejection of a homogeneous group identity was a stark departure from previous groups such as the Beatles and the Supremes, and the Spice Girls model has since been used to style other pop groups such as One Direction.

The band's image was inadvertently bolstered by the nicknames bestowed on them by the British press. After a lunch with the Spice Girls in the wake of "Wannabes release, Peter Loraine, the then-editor of Top of the Pops magazine, and his editorial staff decided to devise nicknames for each member of the group based on their personalities. Loraine explained, "In the magazine we used silly language and came up with nicknames all the time so it came naturally to give them names that would be used by the magazine and its readers; it was never meant to be adopted globally." Shortly after using the nicknames in a magazine feature on the group, Loraine received calls from other British media outlets requesting permission to use them, and before long the nicknames were synonymous with the Spice Girls. Jennifer Cawthron, one of the magazine's staff writers, explained how the nicknames were chosen:

Victoria was 'Posh Spice', because she was wearing a Gucci-style mini dress and seemed pouty and reserved. Emma wore pigtails and sucked a lollipop, so obviously she was 'Baby Spice'. Mel C spent the whole time leaping around in her tracksuit, so we called her 'Sporty Spice'. I named Mel B 'Scary Spice' because she was so shouty. And Geri was 'Ginger Spice', simply because of her hair. Not much thought went into that one.

In a 2020 interview, Chisholm explained that the Spice Girls' image came about unintentionally when, after initially trying to coordinate their outfits as was expected of girl groups at the time, the group decided to just dress in their own individual styles. According to Chisholm, they "never thought too much more of it" until after "Wannabe" was released and the press gave them their nicknames. The group embraced the nicknames and grew into caricatures of themselves, which Chisholm said was "like a protection mechanism because it was like putting on this armour of being this, this character, rather than it actually being you."

Each Spice Girl adopted a distinct, over-the-top trademark style that served as an extension of her public persona.

Victoria Beckham (née Adams): As Posh Spice, she was known for her choppy brunette bob cut, reserved attitude, signature pout and form-fitting designer outfits (often a little black dress).
Melanie Brown: As Scary Spice, she was known for her "in-your-face" attitude, "loud" Leeds accent, pierced tongue and bold manner of dress (which often consisted of leopard-print outfits).
Emma Bunton: As Baby Spice, she was the youngest member of the group, wore her long blonde hair in pigtails, wore pastel (particularly pink) babydoll dresses and platform sneakers, had an innocent smile and a girly girl personality.
Melanie Chisholm: As Sporty Spice, she usually wore a tracksuit paired with athletic shoes, wore her long dark hair in a high ponytail, and sported tattoos coupled with a tough-girl attitude. She also showcased her athletic abilities on stage, such as by performing back handsprings and high kicks.
Geri Halliwell: As Ginger Spice, she was known for her bright red hair, feistiness, "glammed-up sex appeal" and flamboyant stage outfits. She was also identified by the media and those who worked with the Spice Girls as the leader of the group.

The Spice Girls are considered style icons of the 1990s; their image and styles becoming inextricably tied to the band's identity. They are credited with setting 1990s fashion trends such as Buffalo platform shoes and double bun hairstyles. Their styles have inspired other celebrities including Katy Perry, Charli XCX, and Bollywood actress Anushka Ranjan. Lady Gaga performed as Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) in high school talent shows and Emma Stone chose "Emma" name inspired by Emma Bunton after she previously use name Riley Stone. The group have also been noted for the memorable outfits they have worn, the most iconic being Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress was sold at a charity auction to the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe for £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record at that time for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold.

Commercialisation and celebrity culture

At the height of Spicemania, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, they advertised for an unprecedented number of brands and became the most merchandised group in music history. The group were also a frequent feature of the global press. As a result, said biographer David Sinclair, "So great was the daily bombardment of Spice images and Spice product that it quickly became oppressive even to people who were well disposed towards the group." This was parodied in the video for their song "Spice Up Your Life", which depicts a futuristic dystopian city covered in billboards and adverts featuring the group. Similarly, the North American leg of their 1998 Spiceworld Tour introduced a whole new concert revenue stream when it became the first time advertising was used in a pop concert. Overall, the Spice Girls' earnings in the 1990s were on par with that of a medium-sized corporation thanks in large part to their marketing endeavours, with their global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.

In his analysis of the group's enduring influence on 21st-century popular culture, John Mckie of the BBC observed that while other stars had used brand endorsements in the past, "the Spice brand was the first to propel the success of the band". Christopher Barrett and Ben Cardew of Music Week credited Fuller's "ground-breaking" strategy of marketing the Spice Girls as a brand with revolutionising the pop music industry, "paving the way for everything from The White Stripes cameras to U2 iPods and Girls Aloud phones." Barrett further noted that pop music and brand synergy have become inextricably linked in the modern music industry, which he attributed to the "remarkable" impact of the Spice Girls. The Guardians Sylvia Patterson also wrote of what she called the group's true legacy: "[T]hey were the original pioneers of the band as brand, of pop as a ruthless marketing ruse, of the merchandising and sponsorship deals that have dominated commercial pop ever since."

The mainstream media embraced the Spice Girls at the peak of their success. The group received regular international press coverage and were constantly followed by paparazzi. Paul Gorman of Music Week said of the media interest in the Spice Girls in the late 1990s: "They inaugurated the era of cheesy celebrity obsession which pertains today. There is lineage from them to the Kardashianisation not only of the music industry, but the wider culture." The Irish Independent Tanya Sweeney agreed that "[t]he vapidity of paparazzi culture could probably be traced back to the Spice Girls' naked ambitions", while Mckie predicted that, "[f]or all that modern stars from Katy Perry to Lionel Messi exploit brand endorsements and attract tabloid coverage, the scale of the Spice Girls' breakthrough in 1996 is unlikely to be repeated—at least not by a music act."

1990s and gay icons

The Spice Girls have been labelled the biggest pop phenomenon of the 1990s due to the international record sales, iconic symbolism, global cultural influence and apparent omnipresence they held during the decade. The group appeared on the cover of the July 1997 edition of Rolling Stone accompanied with the headline, "Spice Girls Conquer the World". At the 2000 Brit Awards, the group received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award in honour of their success in the global music scene in the 1990s. The iconic symbolism of the Spice Girls in the 1990s is partly attributed to their era-defining outfits, the most notable being the Union Jack dress that Halliwell wore at the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress has achieved iconic status, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of 1990s pop culture. The status of the Spice Girls as 1990s pop culture icons is also attributed to their vast marketing efforts and willingness to be a part of a media-driven world. Their unprecedented appearances in adverts and the media solidified the group as a phenomenon—an icon of the decade and for British music.

A study conducted by the British Council in 2000 found that the Spice Girls were the second-best-known Britons internationally—only behind then-Prime Minister Tony Blair—and the best-known Britons in Asia. The group were featured in VH1's I Love the '90s and the sequel I Love the '90s: Part Deux; the series covered cultural moments from 1990s with the Spice Girls' rise to fame representing the year 1997, while Halliwell quitting the group represented 1998. In 2006, ten years after the release of their debut single, the Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s with 80 per cent of the votes in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game Trivial Pursuit, stating that "Girl Power" defined the decade. The Spice Girls also ranked number ten in the E! TV special, The 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled.

Some sources, especially those in the United Kingdom, regard the Spice Girls as gay icons. In a 2007 UK survey of more than 5,000 gay men and women, Beckham placed 12th and Halliwell placed 43rd in a ranking of the top 50 gay icons. Halliwell was the recipient of the Honorary Gay Award at the 2016 Attitude Awards and Chisholm was given the "Celebrity Ally" award at the 2021 British LGBT Awards, held in London in August. In a 2005 interview, Bunton attributed their large gay following to the group's fun-loving nature, open-mindedness and their love of fashion and dressing up. The LGBTQ magazine Gay Times credits the Spice Girls as having been "ferocious advocates of the community" throughout their whole career. According to Bunton, the LGBTQ community was a big influence on the group's music. A desire to be more inclusive also led the group to change the lyrics in "2 Become 1"; the lyric "Any deal that we endeavour/boys and girls feel good together" appears in their debut album but was changed to "Once again if we endeavour/love will bring us back together" for the single and music video release.

Portrayal in the media
The Spice Girls became media icons in Great Britain and a regular feature of the British press. During the peak of their worldwide fame in 1997, the paparazzi were constantly seen following them everywhere to obtain stories and gossip about the group, such as a supposed affair between Emma Bunton and manager Simon Fuller, or constant split rumours which became fodder for numerous tabloids. Rumours of in-fighting and conflicts within the group also made headlines, with the rumours suggesting that Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown in particular were fighting to be the leader of the group. Brown, who later admitted that she used to be a "bitch" to Halliwell, said the problems had stayed in the past. The rumours reached their height when the Spice Girls dismissed their manager Simon Fuller during the power struggles, with Fuller reportedly receiving a £10 million severance cheque to keep quiet about the details of his sacking. Months later, in May 1998, Halliwell would leave the band amid rumours of a falling out with Brown; the news of Halliwell's departure was covered as a major news story by media around the world, and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the decade.

In February 1997 at the Brit Awards, Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the Spice Girls' live performance made all the front pages the next day. During the ceremony, Halliwell's breasts were exposed twice, causing controversy. In the same year, nude glamour shots of Halliwell taken earlier in her career were released, causing some scandal.

The stories of their encounters with other celebrities also became fodder for the press; for example, in May 1997, at The Prince's Trust 21st-anniversary concert, Brown and Halliwell breached royal protocol when they planted kisses on Prince Charles's cheeks, leaving it covered with lipstick, and later, Halliwell told him "you're very sexy" and also pinched his bottom. In November, the British royal family were considered fans of the Spice Girls, including The Prince of Wales and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry. That month, South African President Nelson Mandela said: "These are my heroes. This is one of the greatest moments in my life" in an encounter organised by Prince Charles, who said, "It is the second greatest moment in my life, the first time I met them was the greatest". Prince Charles would later send Halliwell a personal letter "with lots of love" when he heard that she had quit the Spice Girls. In 1998 the video game magazine Nintendo Power created The More Annoying Than the Spice Girls Award, adding: "What could possibly have been more annoying in 1997 than the Spice Girls, you ask?".

Victoria Adams started dating football player David Beckham in late 1997 after they had met at a charity football match. The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right.

Other brand ventures

Film

The group made their film debut in Spice World with director Bob Spiers. Meant to accompany their sophomore album, the style and content of the movie was in the same vein as the Beatles' films in the 1960s such as A Hard Day's Night. The light-hearted comedy, intended to capture the spirit of the Spice Girls, featured a plethora of stars including Richard E. Grant, Alan Cumming, Roger Moore, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Elton John, Richard O'Brien, Bob Hoskins, Jennifer Saunders, Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf.

Spice World was released in December 1997 and proved to be a hit at the box office, taking in over $100 million worldwide. Despite being a commercial success, the film was widely panned by critics; the movie was nominated for seven awards at the 1999 Golden Raspberry Awards where the Spice Girls collectively won the award for "Worst Actress". Considered a cult classic, several critics have reevaluated the film more positively in the years following its initial release. Since 2014, the Spice Bus, which was driven by Meat Loaf in the film, has been on permanent display at the Island Harbour Marina on the Isle of Wight, England.

Television

The Spice Girls have hosted and starred in various television specials. In November 1997, they became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show featured an all-female audience and was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. The group hosted the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops on BBC One in 1996. The following year, a special Christmas Eve edition of the BBC series was dedicated to them, titled "Spice Girls on Top of the Pops". The group have also starred in numerous MTV television specials, including Spice Girls: Girl Power A–Z and MTV Ultrasound, Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice. Their concerts have also been broadcast in various countries: Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997) was broadcast on ITV, Showtime, and Fox Family Channel; Spiceworld Tour (1998) was broadcast on Sky Box Office; and Christmas in Spiceworld (1999) was broadcast on Sky One and Fox Kids, among others.

The group have starred in television commercials for brands such as Pepsi, Polaroid, Walkers, Impulse and Tesco. They have also released a few official documentary films, including Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story (1999) and Giving You Everything (2007). Making-of documentaries for their film Spice World were broadcast on Channel 5 and MTV. The Spice Girls have been the subject of numerous unofficial documentary films, commissioned and produced by individuals independent of the group, including Raw Spice (2001) and Seven Days That Shook the Spice Girls (2002). The group have had episodes dedicated to them in several music biography series, including VH1's Behind the Music, E! True Hollywood Story and MTV's BioRhythm.

Merchandise and sponsorship deals

In the late 1990s, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon that saw them become the most merchandised group in music history. They negotiated lucrative endorsement deals with numerous brands, including Pepsi, Asda, Cadbury and Target, which led to accusations of overexposure and "selling out". The group was estimated to have earned over £300 million ($500 million) from their marketing endeavours in 1997 alone. Their subsequent reunion concert tours saw the Spice Girls launch new sponsorship and advertising campaigns with the likes of Tesco and Victoria's Secret in 2007, and Walkers and Mr. Men in 2019.

Viva Forever!

Viva Forever! is a jukebox musical written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington. Based on the songs of the Spice Girls, the musical ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End from 11 December 2012 to 29 June 2013.

Career records and achievements

As a group, the Spice Girls have received a number of notable awards, including five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award and three World Music Awards. They have also been recognised for their songwriting achievements with two Ivor Novello Awards. In 2000, they received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, making them the youngest recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award whose previous winners include Elton John, the Beatles and Queen.

The Spice Girls are the biggest-selling British act of the 1990s, having comfortably outsold all of their peers including Oasis and the Prodigy. They are, by some estimates, the biggest-selling girl group of all time. They have sold 100 million records worldwide, achieving certified sales of 13 million albums in Europe, 14 million records in the US and 2.4 million in Canada. The group achieved the highest-charting debut for a UK group on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five with "Say You'll Be There". They are also the first British band since the Rolling Stones in 1975 to have two top-ten albums in the US Billboard 200 albums chart at the same time (Spice and Spiceworld). In addition to this, the Spice Girls also achieved the highest-ever annual earnings by an all-female group with an income of £29.6 million (approximately US$49 million) in 1998. In 1999, they ranked sixth in Forbes''' inaugural Celebrity 100 Power Ranking, which made them the highest-ranking musicians.

They produced a total of nine number one singles in the UK—tied with ABBA behind Take That (eleven), The Shadows (twelve), Madonna (thirteen), Westlife (fourteen), Cliff Richard (fourteen), the Beatles (seventeen) and Elvis Presley (twenty-one). The group had three consecutive Christmas number-one singles in the UK ("2 Become 1", 1996; "Too Much", 1997; "Goodbye", 1998); they only share this record with the Beatles and LadBaby. Their first single, "Wannabe", is the most successful song released by an all-female group. Debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eleven, it is also the highest-ever-charting debut by a British band in the US, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the joint highest entry for a debut act, tying with Alanis Morissette.Spice is the 18th-biggest-selling album of all time in the UK with over 3 million copies sold, and topped the charts for 15 non-consecutive weeks, the most by a female group in the UK. It is also the biggest-selling album of all time by a girl group, with sales of over 23 million copies worldwide. Spiceworld shipped 7 million copies in just two weeks, including 1.4 million in Britain alone—the largest-ever shipment of an album over 14 days. They are also the first act (and so far only female act) to have their first six singles ("Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are", "Spice Up Your Life" and "Too Much") make number one on the UK charts. Their run was broken by "Stop", which peaked at number two in March 1998.

The Spice Girls have the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group across two decades (2000–2020), grossing nearly $150 million in ticket sales across 58 shows. They are also the most-merchandised group in music history. Their Spice Girls dolls are the best-selling celebrity dolls of all time with sales of over 11 million; the dolls were the second-best-selling toy, behind the Teletubbies, of 1998 in the US according to the trade publication Playthings. Their film, Spice World, broke the record for the highest-ever weekend debut on Super Bowl weekend (25 January 1998) in the US, with box office sales of $10,527,222. Spice World topped the UK video charts on its first week of release, selling over 55,000 copies on its first day in stores and 270,000 copies in the first week."'Spiceworld' To Shake Up U.K. Vid Chart?". Billboard. 28 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2006. 

In popular culture

In February 1997, the "Sugar Lumps", a satirical version of the Spice Girls played by Kathy Burke, Dawn French, Llewella Gideon, Lulu and Jennifer Saunders, filmed a video for British charity Comic Relief. The video starts with the Sugar Lumps as schoolgirls who really want to become pop stars like the Spice Girls, and ends with them joining the group on stage, while dancing and lip-syncing the song "Who Do You Think You Are". The Sugar Lumps later joined the Spice Girls during their live performance of the song on Comic Relief's telethon Red Nose Day event in March 1997. In January 1998, a fight between animated versions of the Spice Girls and pop band Hanson was the headlining matchup in MTV's claymation parody Celebrity Deathmatch Deathbowl '98 special that aired during the Super Bowl XXXII halftime. The episode became the highest-rated special in the network's history and MTV turned the concept into a full-fledged television series soon after.

In March 2013, the Glee characters Brittany (Heather Morris), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Marley (Melissa Benoist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and Unique (Alex Newell) dressed up as the Spice Girls and performed the song "Wannabe" on the 17th episode of the fourth season of the show. In April 2016, the Italian variety show Laura & Paola on Rai 1 featured the hosts, Grammy Award-winning singer Laura Pausini and actress Paola Cortellesi, and their guests, Francesca Michielin, Margherita Buy and Claudia Gerini, dressed up as the Spice Girls to perform a medley of Spice Girls songs as part of a 20th-anniversary tribute to the band. In December 2016, the episode "Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?" of the musical comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend featured cast members Rachel Bloom, Gabrielle Ruiz and Vella Lovell performing an original song titled "Friendtopia", a parody of the Spice Girls' songs and "girl power" philosophy. Rapper Aminé's 2017 single "Spice Girl" is a reference to the group, and the song's music video includes an appearance by Brown. Other songs that reference the Spice Girls include "Grigio Girls" by Lady Gaga, "My Name Is" by Eminem, "Polka Power!" (a reference to "Girl Power") by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Playinwitme" by Kyle and Kehlani, "Kinky" by Kesha, and "Spicy" by Diplo, Herve Pagez and Charli XCX.

In the late 1990s, Spice Girls parodies appeared in various American sketch comedy shows including Saturday Night Live (SNL), Mad TV and All That. A January 1998 episode of SNL featured cast members, including guest host Sarah Michelle Gellar, impersonating the Spice Girls for two "An Important Message About ..." sketches. In September 1998, the show once again featured cast members, including guest host Cameron Diaz, impersonating the Spice Girls for a sketch titled "A Message from the Spice Girls". Nickelodeon's All That had recurring sketches with the fictional boy band "The Spice Boys", featuring cast members Nick Cannon as "Sweaty Spice", Kenan Thompson as "Spice Cube", Danny Tamberelli as "Hairy Spice", Josh Server as "Mumbly Spice", and a skeleton prop as "Dead Spice".

Parodies of the Spice Girls have also appeared in major advertising campaigns. In 1997, Jack in the Box, an American fast-food chain restaurant, sought to capitalise on "Spice mania" in America by launching a national television campaign using a fictional girl group called the Spicy Crispy Chicks (a take off of the Spice Girls) to promote the new Spicy Crispy Sandwich. The Spicy Crispy Chicks concept was used as a model for another successful advertising campaign called the 'Meaty Cheesy Boys'.* 
 
 
  At the 1998 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, one of the Spicy Crispy Chicks commercials won the top award for humour. In 2001, prints adverts featuring a parody of the Spice Girls, along with other British music icons consisting of the Beatles, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the Rolling Stones, were used in the Eurostar national advertising campaign in France. The campaign won the award for Best Outdoor Campaign at the French advertising CDA awards. In September 2016, an Apple Music advert premiered during the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards that featured comedian James Corden dressed up as various music icons including all five of the Spice Girls.

Other notable groups of people have been labelled as some variation of a play-on-words on the Spice Girls' name as an allusion to the band. In 1997, the term "Spice Boys" emerged in the British media as a term coined to characterise the "pop star" antics and lifestyles off the pitch of a group of Liverpool F.C. footballers that includes Jamie Redknapp, David James, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jason McAteer. The label has stuck with these footballers ever since, with John Scales, one of the so-called Spice Boys, admitting in 2015 that, "We're the Spice Boys and it's something we have to accept because it will never change." In the Philippines, the "Spice Boys" tag was given to a group of young Congressmen of the House of Representatives who initiated the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada in 2001. The Australian/British string quartet Bond were dubbed by the international press as the "Spice Girls of classical music" during their launch in 2000 due to their "sexy" image and classical crossover music that incorporated elements of pop and dance music. A spokeswoman for the quartet said in response to the comparisons, "In fact, they are much better looking than the Spice Girls. But we don't welcome comparisons. The Bond girls are proper musicians; they have paid their dues." The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles team of Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, two-time Grand Slam and two-time WTA Finals Doubles champions, dubbed themselves the "Spice Girls of tennis" in 1999. Hingis and Kournikova, along with fellow WTA players Venus and Serena Williams, were also labelled the "Spice Girls of tennis", then later the "Spite Girls", by the media in the late 1990s due to their youthfulness, popularity and brashness.

Wax sculptures of the Spice Girls are currently on display at the famed Madame Tussaud's New York wax museum. The sculptures of the Spice Girls (sans Halliwell) were first unveiled in December 1999, making them the first pop band to be modelled as a group since the Beatles in 1964 at the time. A sculpture of Halliwell was later made in 2002, and was eventually displayed with the other Spice Girls' sculptures after Halliwell reunited with the band in 2007. Since 2008, Spiceworld: The Exhibition, a travelling exhibition of around 5,000 Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise, has been shown in museums across the UK. The Spice Girls Exhibition, a collection of over 1,000 Spice Girls items owned by Alan Smith-Allison, was held at the Trakasol Cultural Centre in Limassol Marina, Cyprus in the summer of 2016. Wannabe 1996–2016: A Spice Girls Art Exhibition, an exhibition of Spice Girls-inspired art, was held at The Ballery in Berlin in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group's debut single, "Wannabe".

Discography

 Spice (1996)
 Spiceworld (1997)
 Forever'' (2000)

Concerts
 Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997)
 Spiceworld Tour (1998)
 Christmas in Spiceworld Tour (1999)
 The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–08)
 Spice World – 2019 Tour (2019)

Members
 Victoria Beckham (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012)
 Melanie Brown (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
 Emma Bunton (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
 Melanie Chisholm (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2018–present)
 Geri Halliwell (1994–1998, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)

Timeline

Publications

Books

Magazines

See also
 List of best-selling girl groups
 List of awards received by the Spice Girls

Notes

References

Citations

Book references

External links

 

 
1994 establishments in England
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom
Brit Award winners
MTV Europe Music Award winners
English pop girl groups
English dance music groups
Dance-pop groups
Teen pop groups
Feminist musicians
Ivor Novello Award winners
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 2000
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical groups disestablished in 2008
Musical groups reestablished in 2018
Musical groups from London
Virgin Records artists
World Music Awards winners
English pop music groups
Golden Raspberry Award winners
Power Girl, also known as  Kara Zor-L and Karen Starr, is a DC Comics superheroine, making her first appearance in All Star Comics #58 (January/February 1976). Power Girl is the cousin of DC's flagship hero Superman, but from an alternative universe in the fictional multiverse in which DC Comics stories are set. Originally hailing from the world of Earth-Two, first envisioned as the home of DC's wartime heroes as published in 1940s comic books, Power Girl becomes stranded in the main universe where DC stories are set, and becomes acquainted with that world's Superman and her own counterpart, Supergirl.

In common with Supergirl's origin story, she is the daughter of Superman's aunt and uncle and a native of the planet Krypton. The infant Power Girl's parents enabled her to escape the destruction of her home planet by placing her in a rocket ship. Although she left the planet at the same time that Superman did, her ship took much longer to reach Earth-Two. On Earth, as with other Kryptonians, Power Girl discovered she possessed abilities like super strength, flight, and heat vision, using which she became a protector of innocents and a hero for humanity. Though the specifics of how vary over subsequent retellings, Power Girl is later stranded on another Earth when a cosmic crisis affects her home of Earth-Two, and later carves out a separate identity for herself from her dimensional counterpart Supergirl once they are forced to coexist.

Though they are biologically the same person, Power Girl behaves as an older, more mature, and more level-headed version of Supergirl, with a more aggressive fighting style. She also adopts a different secret identity from her counterpart. These changes are reflected in their differing costumes and superhero names as well; Power Girl sports a bob of blond hair; wears a distinctive white, red, and blue costume with a cleavage-displaying cutout. The name Power Girl reflects that she chooses not to be seen as a derivative of Superman, but rather her own hero and this choice is reflected in the strong independent attitude of the character. Over various decades, Power Girl has been depicted as a member of superhero teams such as the Justice Society of America, Infinity, Inc., Justice League Europe, and the Birds of Prey.

Power Girl's origin has gone through revisions, but over time has reverted to her original conception as the Supergirl of Earth-Two. The 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths eliminated Earth-Two from history, causing her to be retconned as the granddaughter of an Atlantean sorcerer known as Arion. This was an unpopular change and writers depicted the revised Power Girl inconsistently. The 2005–2006 Infinite Crisis limited series then restored her status as a refugee from the Krypton of the destroyed Pre-Crisis Earth-Two universe. Following DC's 2011 "Flashpoint" storyline and New 52 reboot, Power Girl's origin was retold as the Supergirl of "Earth 2", cousin and adopted daughter of Superman, who during evil Fourth World New God Darkseid's invasion of Earth 2 becomes stranded in the main continuity of Earth 0, subsequently adopting the name Power Girl to hide her true identity. She returned to her source Earth in the story Earth 2: World's End (2014–2015).

Publication history
Power Girl was introduced in All Star Comics #58 in 1976, and was a member of the superhero team the Justice Society of America through the remainder of the 1970s and 1980s period known as the Bronze Age of Comics. Marvel Comics' then-publisher Stan Lee said in 1978 that when DC Comics created Power Girl after Marvel had introduced Power Man, "I'm pretty annoyed about that. ...I've got to ask the Marvel lawyer – she's supposed to be starting a lawsuit about that and I haven't heard anything. I don't like the idea. ... You know, years ago we brought out Wonder Man, and [DC Comics] sued us because they had Wonder Woman, and ... I said okay, I'll discontinue Wonder Man. And all of a sudden they've got Power Girl. Oh, boy. How unfair." Ironically, Marvel had previously published Thor #207, written by Power Girl co-creator Gerry Conway, in which Len Wein's character says, "Whoever heard of Powergirl, anyhow?"

After All Star Comics was canceled as a part of the DC Implosion, the character would continue to appear along with the rest of the JSA in Adventure Comics for a six-issue run. Due in part to her being one of the more popular characters in All Star Comics at the time, she was given a solo tryout in Showcase issues 97–99, which expanded on her pre-Crisis origin. During this time, she was a regularly featured character in the annual Justice Society crossovers in the original Justice League of America series. She was a founding member of Infinity Inc., appearing in each of the first 12 issues and making later guest appearances.

After DC's continuity-altering Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline, her origin was retconned in Secret Origins (vol. 2) #11 and she became a magic-based character with ties to ancient Atlantis, leading to appearances in The Warlord. The character did not receive her own self-titled series until the Power Girl miniseries of 1988. The character became a featured member of Justice League Europe (a spin off from Justice League International) for the run of the series. After the cancellation of JLI, the character joined Chris Claremont's creator-owned series Sovereign Seven and appeared in several issues of Birds of Prey. She eventually rejoined the Justice Society in JSA #31 and became a regular part of that series and its follow-up, Justice Society of America vol. 3.

Power Girl played a significant role in the continuity-changing events of Infinite Crisis (2005), which tied into her starring role in the first JSA Classified story arc "Power Trip" in 2005 (issues #1–4 of the series). These stories heavily featured the revelation that Power Girl was in fact the Earth-Two Power Girl and a Kryptonian, who survived Crisis, and that her Atlantean backstory had been a lie. Starting in July 2009, Power Girl received her first ongoing series, simply titled Power Girl (vol. 2), with the first twelve issues written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, drawn by Amanda Conner, and colored by Paul Mounts. According to Comic Book Resources, the series has been "wildly praised for its fresh and fun approach."

When Palmiotti, Grey and Conner left the series after issue #12, Palmiotti said, "Amanda always said she could just commit to the book for a year, and as we got into the series we realized that we just couldn't do the same type of book with another artist at this point and decided it was a good idea to leave with her and give another team a shot." Judd Winick took over as writer with artist Sami Basri beginning with issue #13. Winick stated that the tone of the book will continue, and the premise of the character in New York.

The trade paperback "Power Girl" () collects Showcase issues #97–99, Secret Origins (vol. 2) issue #11, JSA issues 32 and 39, and JSA Classified issues #1–4. "Power Girl: A New Beginning" () collects the first six issues of the 2009 series. "Power Girl: Aliens & Apes" () collects issues 7 through 12, and "Power Girl: Bomb Squad" () covers 13 to 18, and "Power Girl: Old Friends" collecting issues 19-27.

The entirety of the Palmiotti/Grey/Conner run is contained in "Power Girl: Power Trip" () which collects JSA Classified #1–4 and Power Girl #1–12.

Fictional character biography

Journey from Krypton-Two
Kara's father discovers that Krypton is about to explode, and places her in a spacecraft directed towards the Earth. Although this occurs at the same time that Kal-L's ship is launched, Kara's ship travels more slowly, and she arrives on Earth decades after her cousin has landed. Kara’s Symbioship is designed to keep her in stasis during the journey and provide her with life experiences and education in the form of virtual reality. The Symbioship allows her to interact with virtual copies of her parents and fellow Kryptonians. Originally, by the time she arrives on Earth, Kara is shown to be in her early twenties. However, as mentioned in JSA Classified #1, her age at arrival has now been retconned to about eighteen in post-Crisis continuity.

In Showcase #97, Kara is reclaimed by the sentient Symbioship and reimmersed into Kandorian society for a time. Several years of virtual time elapse, in which Kara is married and has a child. She is freed with the assistance of newspaper reporter Andrew Vinson, at which point she disables the ship.

Debut
Power Girl's existence is not revealed to the general public until much later; her cousin Clark and his wife Lois Lane provide her a family environment to assist her transition towards real life relationships. In her first recorded adventure, Kara assists Justice Society members Flash and Wildcat with containing an artificially induced volcanic eruption in China. She then joins Robin and Star-Spangled Kid to form a Super Squad to assist the Justice Society in defeating Brainwave and Per Degaton, who were causing disasters around the world. She pushes their base towards the Sun, the heat causing the villains to fall unconscious. Later, she becomes a full member of the Society when Superman retires from active membership.

Having been raised by the Symbioship with artificial Kryptonian life experiences, Power Girl finds it difficult to adapt to life on Earth. However, with the help of reporter Andrew Vinson, she adopts the secret identity of computer programmer Karen Starr (she obtains her knowledge in this field from exposure to Wonder Woman's Purple Ray on Paradise Island). On the pre-Crisis Earth-Two, Power Girl's closest friend is the Huntress, the daughter of the Earth-Two Batman and Catwoman.

The first contact between Power Girl and Earth-One's universe was on the crossover Justice League of America #147, written by Paul Levitz & Martin Pasko, where the character shows her attraction to that reality saying, "It has a much nicer brand of Superman, y'know?".

Atlantean
The 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series erased the existence of the Earth-Two Superman, and Power Girl's continuity was thus substantially disrupted. Initially she believed herself to be Superman's cousin, as she had been before the reboot. However, her background was retconned; she was told that she was the descendant of the Atlantean sorcerer Arion, and was frozen in suspended animation for millennia until the present day.

After the Justice Society disbands, Power Girl would join the Justice League. Later, while a member of Justice League Europe, she suffers a near fatal injury while battling a mystical being. Superman must assist in her medical treatment, using his heat-vision to perform surgery on her otherwise-invulnerable tissues. Although she recovers, Power Girl is significantly weaker, as she lost her vision powers and could not fly for a time. However, she regained them all as time went on. Power Girl adopts a one-eyed mangy cat, an animal which would affect much of the team. One aspect of this is her beloved cat is used to spy on the group by intelligence gathering criminals.

During the 1994 Zero Hour event, Power Girl experiences a mystical pregnancy and gives birth to a son (supposedly named Equinox), who ages rapidly. Finally he disappears, and has never been mentioned again in DCU.

Power Girl appeared in later issues of the Sovereign Seven series, Chris Claremont's creator-owned comic book for DC. However, the final issue revealed that the entire series had been a story appearing in a comic book, and events in the book have had no bearing upon DC continuity.

Power Girl was one of Oracle’s first agents. Their short-lived partnership ended after a disastrous mission which resulted in a large loss of life. Power Girl believes that Oracle's poor leadership was responsible for the tragedy, being disgusted that Oracle would sacrifice hundreds of lives & herself following orders. Although she has worked with her again on a few occasions when needed, the relationship between the two is tense. In Birds of Prey #35, Power Girl admitted that she is primarily to blame for the tension, but is unable to overcome the memories of the deaths.

Power Girl is a key member of the Justice Society, which she joined when it was reformed in the late 1990s. During an adventure with the JSA, she meets Arion, who reveals her Atlantean heritage to be a lie he concocted at the behest of Power Girl's "mother".

While attempting to save her teammate Ted Grant from the new female Crimson Avenger, Power Girl is severely wounded by supernatural bullets fired from the vigilante's cursed handguns. Despite being saved by Doctor Mid-Nite, Power Girl comments that her near-death experience has shown her that she needs to make more personal connections outside of the superhero community.

Infinite Crisis

JSA Classified: Power Trip

The Psycho-Pirate shows Kara multiple versions of her origin in an effort to drive her insane. Eventually, he reveals the truth: Power Girl is a survivor of Krypton from the dimension which contained the pre-Crisis Earth-Two.

The other survivors
In the "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Kal-L himself returns to the post-Crisis DC Universe after breaking down the walls of the paradise dimension in which he, Lois Lane Kent (of Earth-Two), Alexander Luthor, Jr. (of Earth-Three), and Superboy-Prime (of Earth-Prime) had been living since the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Appalled by the rapidly deteriorating state of affairs on the contemporary Earth, their goal is to replace the post-Crisis Earth with a recreated Earth-Two. Kal-L's first order of business is to track down Power Girl and explain the events of the original Crisis to her. Kal-L also reiterates her pre-Crisis history as his cousin. A touch from the ailing Lois of Earth-Two inexplicably restores Power Girl's memories of pre-Crisis Earth-Two.

Soon after this revelation, Power Girl is confronted by Superboy-Prime, who renders her unconscious. She is attached to a ”tuning fork”, a device controlled by Alex Luthor whose purpose is to bring back the multiple Earths. Alex Luthor and Psycho Pirate coerce Black Adam (who is also attached to the machine) into saying "SHAZAM!", and use the now-raw magical energy to power the tower. After the reappearance of the created Earth-Two, everyone associated with that Earth is transported onto it (although Power Girl remains on New Earth because of her proximity to the tower).

After being brought to the barren created Earth-Two by Kal-L, Lois Lane Kent collapses and dies. A violent confrontation between the two Supermen ensues, at the end of which Kal-L comes to the realization that this created Earth-Two had not been a perfect world, since "a perfect earth doesn't need a Superman."

Power Girl is freed by Wonder Girl and Kon-El, and joins them in fighting Superboy-Prime and Alex Luthor. During a savage battle on Mogo, Superboy-Prime beats Kal-L to death and is later subdued by Kal-El. Power Girl is brought to Mogo by the Green Lantern Corps just in time to bid a tearful farewell to her dying cousin.

"One Year Later"
In the "One Year Later" storyline in Supergirl, Kara takes up the mantle of Nightwing in an attempt to free the natives of Kandor. Ultraman, masquerading as Kal-El and working in concert with the Saturn Queen, has taken control of the bottle city. Kara Zor-El is the city's Flamebird; she prevents Ultraman's forces from executing the captured Power Girl. Power Girl is forced to leave Kandor with Kara (against her better judgment) after Saturn Queen reveals to Supergirl information about Supergirl's past and purpose. This causes another rift to grow between the two women, as Power Girl feels Supergirl left an entire city of people to suffer, all because of her own selfish desires. This animosity is still on display when she next encounters Supergirl.

Power Girl remains a core member of the Justice Society. Power Girl is selected as the chairwoman of the team after Mr. Terrific steps down.

Power Girl is invited to rejoin Oracle's Birds of Prey, but refuses, stating that she would do so only "when Hell freezes over". Her ill will toward Oracle is the result of a single mission in which she served as one of Oracle's agents, which ended badly. However, Power Girl does come to Oracle's aid against the Spy Smasher in Birds of Prey #108.

The appearance of the Earth-22 Superman (and his resemblance to Kal-L) upsets Kara greatly when he first arrives on New Earth. However, they adopt each other as family after a period of time.

Following the events of Infinite Crisis, a new Multiverse is created. Among them is an Earth-2 from which its Power Girl and Superman are both missing. The Power Girl of this Earth returns to Earth-2 after failing to find her cousin. The Power Girl of New Earth is accidentally sent to the pre-Crisis Earth-2 by the Third World god Gog.

The Power Girl of New Earth faces off against the Power Girl and Justice Society Infinity of the new Earth-2, due to the Earth-2 Power Girl's grief and rage over the loss of her cousin prompting her to believe that the 'other' Power Girl is an impostor with some role in Superman's absence. Power Girl returns to New Earth with the help of the Earth-2 Michael Holt, until the Justice Society Infinity follow her and take her back to Earth-2, where it is revealed that the recreation of the Multiverse created a new Earth-2 and duplicates of its heroes, including its own Power Girl. The Power Girl of New Earth then returns home with the JSA.

Solo series and All-Stars
Power Girl briefly appears in the Final Crisis crossover event, battling the forces of Darkseid after he conquers the Earth using the Anti-Life Equation.

After deciding to once again use the Karen Starr identity, she moves to New York City and begins rebuilding Starr Enterprises while continuing solo superheroics. She eventually takes teenaged hero-in-training Terra as her sidekick following the horrific events depicted in the Terror Titans mini-series. After the duo fight off a robot invasion of the city, Power Girl is kidnapped by the new Ultra-Humanite, who plans to transplant his brain into her body. Using her ice breath to destroy her gravity enhanced shackles and gag, Power Girl easily defeats the villain and saves New York. She also helps a trio of lost alien princesses and their bodyguard adjust to life on Earth, buying them a home in South America to stay until they can get back to their home planet.

Following a massive battle that ends in the destruction of the Justice Society's HQ, the team decides to split up into two separate squads. Power Girl partners with Magog to start a more youth-oriented team dubbed the JSA All-Stars. Using Stargirl as leverage, the two are able to convince all of the teen JSA members except Jennifer Pierce to join the All-Stars. During the team's inaugural press conference, they are attacked by a group of mercenaries led by the villainous nephew of Sylvester Pemberton. Karen and her team emerge victorious, only to discover that Pemberton has kidnapped Stargirl during the confusion of the battle. The team eventually rescues Stargirl.

During the 2009–2010 "Blackest Night" storyline, both JSA teams gather in Manhattan to stave off the invading Black Lantern Corps. Several of the team members examine the corpses of Kal-L and Psycho Pirate, both of whom had been reanimated as Black Lanterns only to be killed again during a battle with Superboy and Superman. Karen breaks down in tears upon seeing the twisted corpse of Kal-L, and swears vengeance upon whoever is behind the creation of the Black Lanterns. While on her way to the streets of Manhattan to assist her teammates, Karen hears Ma Hunkel screaming. She rushes to her side, only to see Ma being attacked by the Black Lantern Lois Lane-Kent of pre-Crisis Earth-Two. Black Lantern Lois sacrifices herself by removing her ring and giving it to Kal-L to reanimate him. During the battle between Kal-L and Power Girl, Mr. Terrific invents a machine to destroy the Black Lanterns. He activates the machine and it wipes out the Black Lantern ring connection and Kal-L and completely dissolves Kal-L's corpse.

"Brightest Day"
In the 2010–2011 storyline "Brightest Day", Power Girl attacks her comrades, and after being subdued, is discovered to have been possessed by the Starheart (the cosmic entity that gave Alan Scott and Jade their powers) to which she was vulnerable because of her Kryptonian heritage, as Kryptonians draw their abilities from the sun. Staying out of action in order avoid another possession, she helps Mr. Terrific work on a machine that may be able to dampen the Starheart's power. Nonetheless, the Starheart takes control of Miss Martian's body and transforms into her White Martian form, causing her to attack her comrades again. Batman ultimately tells her to stay on Earth and try to fight the other metahumans being controlled by the Starheart, explaining that bringing her along would jeopardize the mission.

During the events of Justice League: Generation Lost, Power Girl assists her fellow heroes in a global manhunt to track down Maxwell Lord, the former head of Justice League International and the murderer of Ted Kord, who had been restored to life at the end of "Blackest Night". Lord uses his powers to erase his existence from the minds of everyone on the planet, including Power Girl. She subsequently helps Booster Gold find proof of Lord's existence. Through the course of their search, during which Power Girl encounters Divine, a raven-haired clone of herself, she manages to regain her memory of Lord. As she attempts to inform the Justice Society of this, Lord uses his powers to take control of her and attack the Justice League International, but manages to convince the others of his existence through the exhumation of Ted Kord's corpse.

New 52 
Following the New 52 reboot of 2011, Power Girl appears as a refugee from Earth 2 in Worlds' Finest along with Huntress.

During the 2011 relaunch of DC Comics' entire superhero line known as The New 52, Karen Starr appears in the Mister Terrific series as a friend of the titular hero. In the series, Starr is still the head of Starr Enterprises, which was financed by her comrade in arms Helena Wayne (Huntress) after the latter hacked into Wayne Enterprises accounts. From a software design and development corporation, Starr Enterprises now purchases intellectual property and technology with possible interdimensional access capabilities so that the two women can return home. Power Girl subsequently stars in a new ongoing series, Worlds' Finest, which premiered in May 2012. In the new continuity both she and Huntress, with whom she is partnered, are from Earth-2 but were flung into the Prime Earth's universe by an interdimensional vortex of unknown origin during the closing stages of an invasion from Apokolips-2 which took the life of Earth-2's Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman. It is also revealed that prior to adopting the alias of Power Girl, she functioned as Earth-2's Supergirl and, in stark contrast to the Supergirl of Prime Earth, Karen loves her adopted Earth with a passion and was accepted with open arms by an adoring public. Power Girl eventually returned to her source Earth in the Earth-2: World's End weekly mini-series to team up with the new Earth-2 Superman Val-Zod. A temporarily amnesiac Power Girl from a seemingly alternative reality (not Earth-2, but more reminiscent of the pre-New 52 Power Girl) crashes in Harley Quinn's reality as shown in the Harley Quinn (2013-) storyline "Power Outage" (Issues #10-13). Some of the missing time from this joint encounter was explored in the 6-issue mini-series Harley Quinn and Power Girl (2015). Due to an attack by some evil aliens she got knocked back to Earth and landed at Harley Quinn's feet, devoid of memories. Harley temporarily took her on as a partner and they fought crime together before being sent across the universe on a quest to return home. When Power Girl got her memories back and realized that Harley had lied to her, she was less than amused, but forgave her. However when Harley hit on her, Power Girl left her atop the Eiffel Tower. Power Girl has reappeared in Harley Quinn's ongoing series several times since and has recently taken Terra/Altee on as her sidekick/partner.

DC Universe
In the post-DC Rebirth DC Universe, Power Girl (Karen Starr) appears to be trapped in some sort of interdimensional void between earths. Tanya Spears tries to get Karen Starr out by using an etheric transponder that allows her to travel there in an incorporeal state, but her physical body was disconnected from the machine by an unaware Kid Flash (Wallace West), so both women remain trapped as a result.

In the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock," Power Girl returns to the DC Universe when Doctor Manhattan, inspired by Superman, undoes the changes that he made to the timeline that erase the Justice Society and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

She can be seen talking with Blue Beetle on the background alongside Supergirl.

Powers and abilities
As the biological cousin of Superman, Power Girl exhibits all of the classic Kryptonian powers: super strength; flight; super speed; invulnerability; x-ray, telescopic, microscopic and heat vision; freeze breath; and super-hearing. Over the years various writers have given Power Girl's Kryptonian power differing levels, reflecting the lower powers of the Earth-Two Superman Kal-L. For example, Power Girl can fly through space, but has to breathe, so before she leaves a planet, she must take a deep breath and hold it for several hours until she needs a new oxygen source. Power Girl needs to sleep or she will experience disorientation due to fatigue. However, as recently shown in "Brightest Day", she now draws her superpowers from yellow sunlight, just like Superman. The reason for this change has not yet been explained.

Since she is from an alternative universe (pre-Crisis Earth Two), kryptonite has no effect on her, but she is still vulnerable to magic. As Karen Starr, she is an accomplished business woman and is regarded by Mr. Terrific as a first rate scientist. Even though Power Girl is from an alternative universe, her biology is still similar to Superman's. As one of a handful of characters who survived the Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC editorial was initially uncertain how to portray the character and attempted to portray Power Girl with a non-Kryptonian origin for a number of years. Power Girl's abilities have fluctuated since 1986. For some time, Power Girl believed she was an Atlantean. At one point, Power Girl possessed telekinesis; at another she was vulnerable to attacks by certain natural elements (for example, wooden weapons). After sustaining severe injuries from a magic attack Power Girl retained only a degree of super strength, speed and durability. However, she later recovered her ability to fly, and writers have gradually restored her superpowers.

Physical appearance and costumes
Power Girl's original Wally Wood artwork (1976) showed her as relatively busty but otherwise her figure and build conformed in appearance to other contemporary comic book women. However, in Wonder Woman #34 (2009), written by Gail Simone, Dinah Lance, the Black Canary, mentions Power Girl as having the top bosom of DCU, comparing her assets with a "national treasure". Her most common outfit is a leg-baring, figure-hugging, long-sleeved white leotard with a keyhole cut-out opening in the chest.

According to character writer Jimmy Palmiotti, "Okay. When the character was created, Wally Wood was the artist that drew Power Girl, and he was convinced that the editors were not paying attention to anything he did. So, his inker said "Every issue, I’m going to draw the tits bigger until they notice it. It took about seven or eight issues before anyone was like, "Hey, what’s with the tits?" And that’s where they stopped. True story."

Power Girl was at one time portrayed as having a highly athletic but slender physique. Artists Bart Sears (in the Justice League Europe series), and later Alex Ross (in the limited series Kingdom Come) restored Power Girl's well-endowed shape. Ross rendered her as a heavily muscled Power Woman (as if she was an ardent bodybuilder).

The character is consistently depicted as a large breasted young woman, and her physique is one of her most recognizable attributes – to the extent that various writers have acknowledged it in both serious and humorous ways.

For example, Justice League Europe #37 (1992) attempts to explain Power Girl's revealing costume by having Crimson Fox question her about it; she receives the reply that the costume "shows what I am: female, healthy. If men want to degrade themselves by staring, that's their problem, I'm not going to apologize for it."

Conversely, in JSA: Classified #2 (2005), writer Geoff Johns has Power Girl explain her cleavage-window to Superman, revealing that "the first time I made this costume, I wanted to have a symbol, like you. I just…I couldn’t think of anything. I thought eventually, I’d figure it out. And close the hole. But I haven’t." A similar treatment of the character can be seen in Superman/Batman #4 (written by Jeph Loeb), in which the heroes need to distract the Toyman while Batman and Superman battle Captain Marvel and Hawkman. Batman suggests that Power Girl's endowments would be likely to distract Toyman, a 13-year-old boy. Toyman later attempts to make a reference to the size of her chest before being cut off by Superman. A variant of this joke is included in the Superman/Batman: Public Enemies movie.

Power Girl's costume design has varied greatly over the years. Her classic costume design from All-Star Comics #58 is that which is in use today: a red cape and belt, blue gloves and boots, and a white bodysuit sporting a circular cleavage-exposing cut-out on her chest (its variable size and shape determined by the artist depicting her).  According to Gerry Conway, "The true, dumb reason for the circle? At the time, it was a convention for hero costumes to have a chest symbol. I thought a giant 'P' looked silly. The circle was intended as a nod to convention without being conventional. Not a sexy thing at all, until Wally Wood’s inks." This window was closed for the first time in All-Star Comics #64, pencilled by Wood. According to Conway, it was dictated by publisher Jenette Kahn, because "she felt it was sexist". During her time with Justice League Europe/America, she wears a capeless yellow and white spandex unitard, and later a blue and white spandex unitard with a short mini-cape, headband, and a diamond shaped opening on her chest, once again exposing her cleavage. She has also worn a headband, as had Supergirl prior to her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths. In a guest appearance in Green Lantern, Kara is seen in her large wardrobe closet with every costume design she has ever worn in DC continuity, deciding which costume to wear for that mission. Her original costume returned when Johns and David Goyer had her rejoin the JSA.

In Justice League: Generation Lost #16, she sports a variation of her traditional costume that includes pants.

As part of DC's 2011 reboot of its continuity, The New 52, Power Girl was reintroduced into the DC Universe as first being the Earth-2 Supergirl, where she wears a variation of the traditional Supergirl costume designed by Kevin Maguire that features red gloves and belt, and a new S-shield, identical to the new Earth 2 Superman's, and has a cape that attaches directly to the shield. However, some aspects of her continuity were retained: she was still adopted by Clark Kent and Lois Lane, married on Earth 2 before their deaths and still uses the secret identity of software entrepreneur Karen Starr. After some time passes, she decides to take on a new identity as she is now trapped on the mainstream DC Earth. Here she adopts the identity Power Girl, where she wears a white one piece body suit that covers her legs, and a red cape that attaches to a new P-shield symbol over her left breast. In Supergirl #19, she returns to her classic costume, complete with the opening on her chest, after her then-current costume is badly damaged. Later, when back in her home world, she discovers her cousin and adopted father Superman has been resurrected by Darkseid, but Superman sacrifices himself to help stave off Darkseid's attack on Earth. After his second death, Power Girl's adoptive mother Lois Lane (Red Tornado) gives her the S-shaped hope symbol from Superman's chest, which then becomes a part of Power Girl's costume.

Other versions

 The first use of the name Power Girl was a story in Superman #125 (1958). In this story, Lois Lane has a dream where she is a superhero named Power Girl who is constantly coming to the aid of a bumbling Clark Kent whom she dreams as a superhero named Power Man. In Power Girl #23 (June 2011), Power Girl adopts this incarnation's red wig disguise for her Karen Starr identity (along with glasses), after being advised by Superman to make Karen a real person, not just a costume.
 In the final issue of 52 (2007), a new Multiverse is formed, consisting of 52 parallel realities. As a result of Mister Mind "eating" aspects of these realities, their histories are modified, and one takes on aspects of the pre-Crisis Earth-Two. This reality listed as "Earth-2" has its own Power Girl who has spent years in space searching for her long lost cousin Superman. As shown in several issues of Justice Society (Vol. 3) Annual #1 (2008) and issues #18–25), the mainstream Power Girl was sent to Post-Crisis Earth-2 by Gog and was briefly confused to be the Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl by its native heroes. Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl returned to her source Earth and battled the mainstream Power Girl as she regarded the mainstream Power Girl to be an imposter who caused the disappearance of her source Earth Superman who she had been searching unsuccessfully for years off-world. Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl wears the original Power Girl costume and shows herself to be arrogant to the point of being unbalanced, and is overtly aggressive as shown when she openly tortured the mainstream Power Girl almost to the point of killing her as well as directly attacking the Earth-22 Superman. The two Power Girls parted with no apologies given for the torture. Starman stated that the mainstream Power Girl will have important interactions with the Post-Crisis Earth-2 heroes including the Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl at some points in the future (Justice Society (vol. 3) #25), despite the obvious disregard the Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl has for the mainstream Power Girl. The Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl has not reappeared since this storyline concluded.
 In the Tangent Comics imprint, Power Girl is a vastly powered genetically engineered superhero created by the Chinese government. This Power Girl is of Chinese descent. This powerful superhuman have originality from the Earth in the reality of Earth-9.
 The JLA: Another Nail graphic novel features a Power Girl who is an ally of that reality's Black Canary and Black Orchid. Though visually identical to her Earth-2 counterpart, her relationship to Superman or if she is even a Kryptonian at all is never mentioned in the story.
 In Kingdom Come, Power Girl is renamed Power Woman, and assists Superman in reforming the Justice League.
 In JLA: Created Equal, Power Girl is a member of the Justice League. She has a daughter of her own, Kara Zor-L II.
 A version of Power Girl appeared in Justice League International Annual #5, No Rules to Follow. This version of Kara has no memory of where she came from before she arrived on Earth. As part of a team of ten revealed metahumans, she sides with the heroes who go into hiding.
 Karen, now stripped of her powers thanks to the Great Darkness Engine, appeared as a prisoner of Kid Karnevil's Neo-Nazi regime shown in the Fatherland storyline depicted in Justice Society of America #37–40. She is portrayed as one of the world's few living surviving superheroes, with most of her comrades having been executed.
 An elderly, grotesque and blind version of Power Girl, known as Old Karrie, appeared in an alternative timeline depicted in Justice League: Generation Lost. Set in 2351, she is stated to be the sole survivor of a violent metahuman war instigated by Maxwell Lord. According to Karrie, even the immortal metahumans were killed in the war. She also claimed to have lost her powers, as a result of kryptonite. She is still somehow alive, after more than 300 years, without powers, food or even sleep. Another future Power Girl appears later in the series, fighting alongside a future incarnation of the Justice League. When Captain Atom is once again sent into the future, he meets an older Kara Zor-L, with white hair. She has abandoned her classical white bodysuit for a black one, with bracelets (similar to Wonder Woman's) & Superman's S-shield.
 In the Ame-Comi line, Power Girl is that universe's equivalent of Superman. She is Kara Jor-El, daughter of Jor-El, cousin of Supergirl, and the primary protector of Metropolis. She makes no efforts to maintain a secret identity, and uses her corporation to utilize Kryptonian technology for the betterment of mankind. This version of Power Girl, unusually for most depictions of Kryptonians, doesn't get her powers from the sun.
 A red-haired version of Power Girl is seen amongst the agents employed by Monarch in the battle on Earth-51 during Countdown to Final Crisis. This version appears to be Kryptonian as she is shown to be susceptible to kryptonite and is slain by that world's version of Batman. Nothing is known about her personality or powers as she is seen only in a few panels and appears to be fully under Monarch's control and arrogantly describes Batman as being "just a human". It is the only line she speaks before being slain.
 In the DC Comics Bombshells universe, Power Girl was cloned from Supergirl's DNA by Hugo Strange during the Siege of Leningrad, and was forced by her master to fight Supergirl until the latter convinces her to turn on Strange. She escapes the facility beneath the Church of the Savior on Blood thanks to the assistance of Supergirl and another superhuman clone whom she treated like a brother, Superman.

Collected editions
 Power Girl (collects JSA Classified #1-4, Showcase #97-99 and Secret Origins #11)
 Power Girl: A New Beginning (collects Power Girl #1–6)
 Power Girl: Aliens and Apes (collects Power Girl #7–12)
 Power Girl: Bomb Squad (collects Power Girl #13–18)
 Power Girl: Old Friends (collects Power Girl #19–27)
 Power Girl: Power Trip (collects JSA Classified #1–4 and Power Girl #1–12)

In other media

Television
 Although Power Girl did not directly appear in the Justice League animated series or the follow-up, Justice League Unlimited (although she does appear in a few of the ambiguously canon tie-in comics), the JLU character Galatea (voiced by Nicholle Tom) is based on her. This character is a clone of Supergirl (also voiced by Tom) created by Emil Hamilton (who sees her as a daughter, while she sees him as a father figure) from Project Cadmus as a contingency plan in case the Justice League turned against the US. Although the clone resembles Power Girl and wears a similar hairstyle and costume (at one point, she briefly drapes a red workout towel over her shoulder, resembling the half-cape of her comic book counterpart), her personality and origin are significantly different, being a supervillain who seeks the League's destruction. She also possesses a mental link with Supergirl, allowing them to experience each other's recent memories in the form of dreams. Galatea first appears in the first season's sixth episode, "Fearful Symmetry." She subsequently appears at the end of season 2's "Flashpoint", and she is last seen in season 2's "Panic in the Sky". In her last appearance, "Panic in the Sky", she fights Supergirl for control of the Watchtower. She is defeated by Supergirl, who traps her in a contact, causing all of the Watchtower's power to flow through her, causing an overload. Following the massive surge of electricity, she is left dead, twitching and catatonic. Conversely, this continuity's Supergirl borrows several elements from Power Girl, such as having been in suspended animation (which had not been introduced in the Kara Zor-El mythology at that point) and being a surrogate cousin of Kal-El rather than a biological relative. Also, in her first appearance, in Superman: The Animated Series, when she first meets Jimmy Olsen, she's without a disguise and tells him that her name is "Karen".
 Smallville
 In the Smallville season 2 episode "Visage", Chloe Sullivan identifies Tina Greer (Lizzy Caplan) by the moniker "Power Girl".
 In the Smallville season 3 episode "Extinction", the "meteor freaks" database created by Chloe Sullivan uses a program called Starr-Ware Database System 5.0, which hints at the existence of Karen Starr's corporation, Starrware, in the Smallville universe.
 In the Smallville season 3 finale "Covenant", a girl named Kara (played by Adrianne Palicki) claims to be from Krypton, although she does not claim to be Kal-El's relative. However, when Lana Lang asks who she is, Clark pretends Kara is his visiting cousin. At the end of the episode, she is revealed to be Lindsay Harrison, a human empowered and possibly brainwashed by Jor-El's technology. As with many of the show's future superheroes, who tend to be dressed in the same colors as the costumes of their comic-book counterparts, Lindsay is dressed in white, matching the color of Power Girl's costume (minus the red cape and blue boots, as Lindsay never wore either a jacket or shoes).
 In the Smallville season 10 episode "Supergirl", Lois Lane suggests "Power Girl" as a name for Kara Zor-El (then known as "Maiden of Might").
 Power Girl appears in episode 46 of Mad. She joins the other superheroes in a musical number that asks Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman about being called "Super Friends."
 Former The Flash executive producer Andrew Kreisberg hinted that Power Girl could appear in the series.
 In the DC Super Hero Girls episode "#PowerSurge", Supergirl (voiced by Nicole Sullivan) is presumed dead after a major battle with Livewire and decides to reinvent herself as a new heroine and becomes Power Girl. Her comic book origins on Earth-2 are referenced when Superman begins to suspect the ruse and she makes up a story on the spot about being an alternate universe's Supergirl.

Film
 Power Girl appears in the animated Superman/Batman: Public Enemies film, voiced by Allison Mack. This marks her first true appearance in animation, as opposed to the above JLU version which is merely based on her. In the film, she works under the command of Captain Atom, who is under orders from President Lex Luthor. When Superman is framed for murdering Metallo, she is the only one of her group to truly doubt his guilt, and she later switches sides and helps him and Batman. She angrily attacks Major Force after it is revealed he killed Metallo and almost killed Batman; in the fight, she accidentally ruptures Force's containment suit, almost causing him to explode, which would unleash his nuclear energies on the city. The potential disaster is averted by Captain Atom, who absorbs all of the dying Force's energy into his own containment suit, making himself considerably more powerful in the process but passing out from the strain. She is later revealed to have helped them escape from Hawkman and Captain Marvel. As in the graphic novel on which the film is based, she is assigned to watch over the new teenage Toyman, Hiro Okamura, who finds her quite attractive, even "testing" his X-ray goggles on her, which she finds offensive; so she breaks his goggles and avoids him from then on (he later tries to make a comment on her breast size as well, before being interrupted by Batman). She is knocked unconscious by Lex Luthor in his new kryptonite enhanced battle-suit, but she recovers and is seen at the end, along with her squad members, taking the now-impeached Luthor into custody.
 In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, an evil version of Power Girl appeared on a computer page of the lesser members of the Crime Syndicate.
 Power Girl is portrayed by Ashley Hinshaw in the 2011 short film The Death and Return of Superman.
 While Power Girl doesn't appear herself, the animated Batman and Harley Quinn film briefly features a waitress, at a superhero themed restaurant called Superbabes, who is dressed in a Power Girl costume. The same restaurant is shown to offer a "Power Girl Jumbo Combo".
 Power Girl makes a brief appearance in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.

Miscellaneous
 Power Girl appears in the DC Animated Universe in the comic book series: Adventures in the DC Universe (vol. 1) #6, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #13,  Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #16, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #3, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #34, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #8 and Superman and Batman Magazine (vol. 1) #1.
 Power Girl appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1 (March 2009), in which she helps Batman to stop Lex Luthor. Much like her mainstream comic counterpart, she came from an alternative universe's Krypton. In her civilian identity, she goes by the name Karen Starr and is a computer programmer. Her goal is to create a device to monitor Earth's condition, so that her new home planet will not suffer the fate of Krypton.

Video games
 Power Girl appears in the DC Universe Online video game, voiced by Adrienne Mishler. In the villain campaign, the players help Parasite to defeat Power Girl and to gain a sample of her DNA so that Lex Luthor can be one step ahead of cracking the Kryptonian genetic code. She is also a playable character in DC Universe Online through "Legends PvP".
 Power Girl appears as DLC in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
 Power Girl appears in Injustice 2 as a premier skin for Supergirl, voiced by Sara Cravens.

In popular culture

 Power Girl is a popular cosplay character.
 Power Girl appears as a member of the Justice League in the comic book adaptation of Justice League Unlimited, issues #8 and #16.
 Power Girl has been featured in several comedy skits aired beginning in 2010 on G4TV's Attack of the Show. The skits, which also feature parody versions of Superman and Aquaman, feature AOTS guest host Carrie Keagan as a physically accurate recreation of the character, although the skits cast Power Girl in the stereotypical "dumb blonde" role; for example, the second skit has Power Girl trying to convince her friends that actor Kevin Bacon is, in fact, made of bacon.
 The character was ranked ninth in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

References

External links

 JSA Fact File: Power Girl
 Earth-2 Power Girl Index
 A Brief History of Power Girl by Julian Darius
 History of Power Girl by Alan Kistler
 Power Girl's official secret origin on dccomics.com
 Amanda Conner: Talking Power Girl – Interview with JSA Classified artist Amanda Conner.
 Everybody Loves Power Girl! by writer David Campbell.
 Interviews with Paul Levitz, Gerry Conway, and Ric Estrada about the 1970s All Star Comics revival—from Alter Ego Vol. 3#14.
 Power Struggle, the Rise and fall and Rise Again of DC's Power Girl – Movie PoopShoot Article
 The Experiment Part Two: still "Power Girl" after all these years ~ Joseph Illidge by former Birds of Prey editor Joseph Illidge.
 Interview: Jimmy Palmiotti interview at Pink Raygun

Alternative versions of comics characters
Characters created by Gerry Conway
Characters created by Ric Estrada
Characters created by Wally Wood
Comics characters introduced in 1976
DC Comics characters with superhuman strength
DC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes
DC Comics female superheroes
DC Comics orphans
Earth-Two
Fictional business executives
Kryptonians
Supergirl Girl power is a term of female empowerment.

Girl Power may also refer to:

Girl Power (video), a 1992 short film by Sadie Benning
Girl Power (Kickboxing) Television series produced by World Kickboxing Network

Music
Girl Power! Live in Istanbul, a 1997 concert by the Spice Girls
Girl Power North America Tour, a 2014–2015 concert tour by English singer-songwriter Charli XCX
"Girl Power" (song), a 2003 single by the Cheetah Girls

Albums
One Hour of Girl Power, a 1997 video by Spice Girls
Girl Power (Shampoo album), a 1996 album, and its title track
Girl Power (Twins album), a 2004 album