Superwoman is the name given to several fictional characters published over the years by DC Comics.
Versions
Lois Lane
Probably the first appearance of the name "Superwoman" in a DC comic was a story in Action Comics #60 (from May 1943), where Lois Lane dreams that she's gained superpowers from a blood transfusion from Superman, and launches a career as Superwoman.
A story from Action Comics #156 in May 1951 has Lois actually gaining superpowers thanks to an invention of Luthor's, and launches a short-lived career as "Superwoman."
Later stories would sporadically feature tales in which Lois gained superpowers and functioned as a "Superwoman" of sorts, but all of these were, like the 1951 tale above, only temporary, with the powers usually wearing off by the end of the story.
Superwoman of Earth-Three
In 1964, an evil counterpart of Wonder Woman from a parallel universe named "Superwoman" was introduced. This Superwoman was a member of the Crime Syndicate of America, a villainous counterpart of the Justice League of America from the parallel world of "Earth-Three" (vs. the Justice League's world of "Earth-One"). Superwoman, like Wonder Woman, was an Amazon, and possessed similar powers, including the use of a magic lasso.
In current comic continuity, Superwoman (and the rest of the Crime Syndicate) comes from a parallel world similar to Earth, but located in an antimatter universe. Superwoman continues to make occasional appearances as a member of the Crime Syndicate, most recently appearing in storylines in the Justice League and Superman comics.
Kristin Wells
Another version of Superwoman, this one a heroic character, came about in the form of Kristin Wells, who was created by Superman comic writer Elliot S! Maggin. Kristin first appeared in Maggin's Superman novel Miracle Monday, but he later introduced her in the pages of DC Comics as Superwoman.
Kristin is a descendant of Jimmy Olsen who lived in the 29th century (like Jimmy, Kristin is a freckled redhead). She was a journalism student whose graduation thesis was the successful investigation of the origins of the holiday known as Miracle Monday, using a form of time travel technology that had just began to be used by the public in her era. She then became a teacher, but became interested in finding out the identity of Superwoman, the last superhero from the 20th century whose identity was never found out. She managed to convince the authorities of her time to send her again to the present, at the moment when Superwoman was supposed to debut, helping Superman fight a villain called King Kosmos. Kristin soon deduced that SHE was supposed to become Superwoman, and, using some of the technology she had brought from the future which (conveniently enough) allowed her to pretend to have super powers, she disguised herself and helped Superman defeat Kosmos. She revealed the truth to Superman, then returned to the future to make the information public. Kristin realized she would have to periodically return to the 20th century to ensure that all the historical events Superwoman was part of were fulfilled.
However, during one of those trips, a malfunction of the time travel process---which was still imperfect---left Kristin trapped in the past, suffering amnesia. This caused her boyfriend to lead a movement against time travel that eventually resulted in it being banned. Years later, Kristin returned home, apparently having recovered her memories, and was reunited with him. The details of her later activities in the present (and of her return to the future) remained unrevealed. Kristin's last appearance to date was in the non-canonical story Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? in 1986; her character has yet to reappear in the current (post-Crisis on Infinite Earths) continuity of DC Comics.
Other uses
Various comic stories assumed that Supergirl would one day change her name to Superwoman.
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