Otto Binder

Biography

Otto Oscar Binder was a prolific American comic book and science fiction writer. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), introducing her in Action Comics #252 (1959) alongside artist Al Plastino. Binder was a titan of the "Silver Age" of comic books. Before his work at DC, he was the primary writer for the Captain Marvel (Shazam) stories at Fawcett Comics, writing over half of the character's Golden Age adventures. He co-created the "Marvel Family" characters including Mary Marvel, Black Adam, and Mr. Mind. At DC Comics, he fundamentally shaped the Superman mythos. Aside from Supergirl, he co-created the Legion of Super-Heroes, the villain Brainiac, the bottle city of Kandor, and Krypto the Superdog. His work laid the foundation for the stories being adapted in the upcoming DC Universe film Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2026).