Review: Supergirl #42

I am feeling a bit verbose so bear with the long review.

Expectations are a hard thing to overcome and they can skew perceptions in ways both good and bad.

I went into Star Wars: The Phantom Menace with unbelievably high expectations. Those preconceived notions influenced the end result. Phantom Menace wasn't just awful ... it was horrendous and completely irredeemable. It plummeted even farther in my mind because it was so much worse than I expected.

Conversely, after being let down by the Wachowski brothers with the last 2 Matrix movies and V For Vendetta, I saw their Speed Racer with unbelievably low expectations. When that turned out to be enjoyable it leaped in my mind to spectacular because it so surpassed what I thought it would be. (I might be the only person on Earth who really liked the Speed Racer movie.)

So why talk about this here? Well, I have so enjoyed the Gates/Igle run on Supergirl that I simply expect every issue to be spectacular, the best comic I buy the week it comes out. And those expectations can be hard to reach. So when they put out an issue that is 'very good' but not phenomenal, it sort falls sort of flat.

Supergirl #42 was a good issue with a lot of emotional punch. More than any issue so far, I think this issue shows just how more mature Supergirl is now, how she has changed over the last year. But after last issue's climax, for some reason, I was expecting more ... more of Superwoman's back story, more understanding of what happened to her last issue, more closure. But this didn't feel like an epilogue to the Superwoman story. It felt like more of the same.

Now in rereading the above paragraphs, it sounds almost too harsh. Because there was a lot of really good stuff here. So maybe I should just start the review.

I already reviewed the preview pages from Newsarama last week. One thing there worth looking at again was the replaying of the 'I know who you are' panel this time with the knowledge that General Lane knew it was Lucy under the cowl all along. Changes the feel of that scene completely.

And this ultimate response from General Lane, reacting to the apparent death of Lucy. He vows to do worse than kill Kara.

I like that General Lane, a huge player in the Superman titles these days, has such an key role in Supergirl. It cements how important she is in the super-family.

Contrast his response to Lois' response.

I think it is great that Supergirl went straight to Lois to explain everything that happened. And I like how she brought Lana there for emotional support. I don't know if the Loeb/Kelly Supergirl would have done that or would have understood that this was the right thing to do. But this is a different Supergirl than we saw in those books.

After Lois asks all the questions we did as readers (was Superwoman a robot? Shapeshifter? White Martian?), she asks Kara to leave. It is clear that Kara was hoping for forgiveness from Lois or at least an understanding that there was nothing else she could do.

But I can understand Lois response in some ways. For one thing, regardless of the circumstances, she just found out that her only sibling has been killed. For another thing, let's face it ... Supergirl had been something of a screw-up until recently, both emotionally and physically. Gates/Igle have said all along that they are not ignoring the beginning of this title. Lois remembers Kara as the little girl who spurned Clark and went off on her own for so long. There is a kernel of truth in a lot of those Cat Grant stories. So of course Lois is going to wonder 'did Supergirl screw up again only this time with fatal consequences'. Lois needs some time to wrap her head around this, to investigate. With a mix of anger and grief swirling in her head, the best thing to do is to show Lana and Kara the door.

Unfortunately, this is not the response Kara was expecting. At first, she responds defensively.

As usual, Igle's art provides so much of the context here. His expressions show just how the characters are feeling throughout this scene. But look at Kara in the doorway. Can't you feel the tension in her, the anger at Lois for not grasping that there was nothing she could have done to prevent this tragedy, for Lois not seeing that Lucy was a murderer.

So I can understand Kara's feelings too. She was defending herself against someone who was an accomplice in her father's death and had killed (or tried to kill) several others. Plus, she didn't intentionally kill Lucy, she was trying to remove her power source when this accident happened. Why can't Lois see passed the fact that this was her sister and recognize the event for what it was.

But this is where the scene is its most powerful.

The old Kara would have stormed out of the building. She may have even flown out through the ceiling. That Kara may have even burned a curse word into the floor with her heat vision as she was flying off.

But this is a more mature Kara. She has grown so much in the last few months. She takes that deep breath we all need to take every so often and apologizes to Lois. She must see Lois' side just enough to know that arguing here is the wrong thing to do. And in those three words ... 'I'm sorry Lois' ... I put the angsty bitter Supergirl from the first 19 issues out of sight forever. I have said it before but it is always worth saying again ... thank you Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle for giving me back a caring and heroic Supergirl.

Kara hands Lois a scrap of the Superwoman suit and leaves.

But things continue to unravel in the periphery of Supergirl's life.

Reactron gets freed from Science Police custody by Agent Assassin. Re-armed with gold Kryptonite, Reactron is ready to re-enter the fray. And given General Lane's earlier comments, my guess is Reactron will be sent gunning for Supergirl.

In the meantime, Lois flies to Lucy's apartment only to find it deserted - mail piled up, dust accumulating on the furniture.

It strengthens Kara's accusations since Lois knows Superwoman was living on New Krypton.

It is hard to know exactly why Lois is crying here. It may be just that Lucy has died. But I think it is that Lois is mourning what Lucy had become. How could her loving kid sister have turned into a cold-blooded killer? And could Lois have been more a part of her life to stop that from happening.

I really like the composition of this panel: a shot from above with Lois taking up a central but small part of the panel. It is bigger in the comic and really gives a sense of how lost Lois feels right now, how insignificant she feels. That is just how it would be shot in a movie.

As I said above, I think one of the undercurrents of this issue was showing how much Kara has grown.

I like that she took the time to visit Inspector Henderson in the hospital and drop of some flowers.

Despite Reactron being loose, Supergirl realizes that there is more to be done about the Lucy/Superwoman mystery. Kara asks the questions we all have been asking: "how did Lucy have an apartment on New Krypton?" Supergirl plans to head off and investigate.

Lana has been a bigger presence in this issue than in recent ones. It is clear that she is someone Kara trusts and appreciates. I like how Lana reiterates to Kara that Alura shouldn't push her around any more. And I like the confident answer that Supergirl replies with. Supergirl isn't wallowing in misery over her inability to apprehend Reactron or in being on the receiving end of Lois' anger. Instead she carries on, fighting the never-ending battle. Again, more maturity bubbling to the surface.

As a way to show her love for Lana and in some way to acknowledge that Earth is home now, she asks to be called Linda from now on.

I have always been pro-'secret identity' so I am glad to see this.

As Supergirl flies off though, Lana gets an ominous phone call from the hospital.

My guess is that Lana has some sort of cancer. I worry that there may be a backlash since we are still just under a year from the 'Saving Thomas' arc. We have seen the Supergirl vs. cancer story once. Hopefully this will not be a rehashing of that plot.

The issue ends on a very strong and very appreciated note.

Kara flies home with the plan to confront her mother. Alura has been emotionally bullying Kara and playing on Zor-El's death as a way to get Supergirl to submit to her. It looks like that is going to end. Kara says outright she will not be controlled by Alura any longer. She also says that she realizes now that she has 2 homes: Earth and New Krypton.

Once more, I like the panel layout here. Maybe I am reading to much into these things but the flight home has the sun prominently displayed in the background. It gave the impression of enlightenment but also power via a 'baptism by fire'. Kara has been through a lot these last few issues and like iron tempered by fire she is stronger. If the background had been space and stars that implication of strength would not be there.

We are shown pretty emphatically here that this is a different Supergirl than the one who got soda dumped on her and cried back in issue #34 . This is even a different Kara than the one who wished her mother had died instead of her father. These recent events have changed her and despite the tragedy attached to them, I think they have changed her for the better.

This was a phenomenal character-driven issue as we really get to the meat of what everyone is thinking. In particular, the characterization of Supergirl was wonderful. She is still 'becoming' and that is what I like about her.

So ... after such a glowing review of the issue's contents ... can I still say that this issue let me down? I think I can if only because the buildup of the mystery of 'Who is Superwoman?' was soooo huge with Newsarama polls and interviews and everyone piecing together of clues. I think so much is left unsaid about Lucy/Superwoman that it feels like the mystery isn't over. I don't need to know Superwoman's whole story right now as a reader I deserve more than 'it was the suit'.

Still, the dialogue was spot on and the art was fantastic (it is great to see Igle back on the book). I prefer Jon Sibal's inks on Igle's pencils as I think they bring more depth to the work.

Overall grade: B (but probably would have been a high B+ without prior expectations)