WIZARD WORLD TEXAS -- SMALLVILLE'S LAURA VANDERVOORT

ARLINGTON, Texas -- This was a little different than Laura Vandervoort's first comic-book convention.

Last summer, she appeared at Comic-Con International, with only a couple of scenes as Kara, aka Supergirl, under her belt. She was joined by castmates and executive producers Al Gough and Miles Millar for a Smallville presentation before a packed room of about 2,000.

Vandervoort's appearance at Wizard World Texas on Sunday was more intimate. Smaller room. Smaller crowd. And she was joined only be a moderator.

It gave the fans, who lined up over the weekend for her photo and autograph, a chance to meet the latest figure in the Superman TV/movie legacy.

Following are highlights from the panel:

* Vandervoort said her original audition was done on tape. "I thought there was no chance they'd look at my tape, there are thousands of blonde, blue-eyed girls," she said. "But they had me come in for a test, and a week later I had the role."

* Resident prankster Michael Rosenbaum, who plays Lex Luthor, hasn't gotten Vandervoort -- yet. She noted that on set he jokes around right up to the time the scene begins, then immediately clicks into character.

* Vandervoort wasn't a comic-book reader, but has researched Supergirl's history online and through comics. She said she would enjoy incorporating the horse from Supergirl's history into the show.

* On working with Helen Slater, the movie Supergirl who play Lara on Smallville: "She's great, she's beautiful. We really hit it off. kind. She's a mother now, and she's nuturing. She floated through her scenes. She's so angelic."

* Vandervoort was cautious about any hints to future stories. "I can tell you that Lex and Supergirl come closer," she said, eliciting gasps. "What can I tell you? It's the bald head."

* Asked about how the Writers Guild strike would impact the series, Vandervoort said scripts have been written through the 15 episode, and that the 12th episode begins filming in about 10 days.

* What would she like to see for her character?

"Hopefully, I'll remain for the season, first of all," she said. "I want her to find herself. She's obvsiouly a little confused right now. I hope she discovers who she is and finds a home on the Kent farm. I hope she kind of finds herself, that's all."

* Vandervoort said she isn't worred about any stereotyping. "I love fact people might always see me as Supergirl, but I'd like to try other things," she said.

* A Supergirl movie would intrigue her. "If you're on Smallville, they might not want to see you on the big screen playing the character," she said. "But jump at it? Yeah. I'd fly at it."

She said she would also be interested in a television spin-off.

* Vandervoort said Erica Durance, who plays Lois Lane, helped acclimate her to working on Smallville. "She's the first person, who saw me cowering in corner. She kind of took me in. She went through a lot of kind of the same stuff, so I kind of connected with her. Our personalities are similar."

* Vandervoort is a second-degree black belt, and said it's asset to be able to do a lot of her own stunts.

"It's good for the confidence for girls, that they can protect themselves," she said. "I haven't had to., but it's nice to know I can."

* Her favorite moment on Smallville so far? The scene when Clark teaches Kara how to use heat vision on a watermelon. "We improvised a lot," she said, she couldn't stop laughing when Tom Welling had watermelon thrown on him.

* Vandervoort said that Welling helps as almost a second director at times. "I love it because he gives me a lot of good ideas, how to stand and look strong," she said.

* Vandervoort said she was given particular instructions on how to portray the character. "I wanter her not to be bitchy, but fun and out there," she said. "I wanted her to be a little more down to earth and I started doing after the few first episodes."