Back at the NYCC, it was hinted that Supergirl was going to leave the Super-titles. At the time I wasn't sure what that meant but I hoped that she would headline a new and nearly defunct Young Justice line of books. And Scott Lobdell hinted that Charles Soule might be involved which I assumed meant that Supergirl might also appear in Superman/Wonder Woman. Because that made sense.
And Tony Bedard was taking over the Supergirl book and talked of making her likable again and all that made me optimistic that maybe ... just maybe ... DC finally understood the character and was moving her away from the darkness which had mired down her New 52 incarnation. I was actually feeling optimistic.
And then this hit the internet yesterday: http://www.newsarama.com/19526-guess-who-s-a-new-red-lantern-as-title-smashes-with-green-lantern-for-february-flipbook.html
GREEN LANTERN/RED LANTERNS #28
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI and CHARLES SOULE
Art by BILLY TAN and ALESSANDRO VITTI
GREEN LANTERN Cover by BILLY TAN
RED LANTERNS Cover by STEPHEN SEGOVIA
With dozens of sectors in open rebellion against the Green Lantern Corps, Hal Jordan is faced with a crisis in the sector most important to him: 2814, home of Earth…as well as Ysmault, home of the Red Lanterns. Hal made a dangerous bargain with Guy Gardner, and now it’s time to pay up! Plus: Guy and the Red Lanterns take over policing Sector 2814! And you’ll want to keep reading RED LANTERNS next month to see what happens to their newest member: SUPERGIRL!
That's right. Supergirl is becoming a Red Lantern. She is becoming a warrior of rage.
Supergirl.
As a Red Lantern.
I don't know what to say anymore.
It is as if DC Comics has no understanding of their characters anymore.
It is as if DC Comics has no understanding of their readers anymore.
Because it is clear that DC thinks that Supergirl can only exist as an angry isolated young woman. And when things don't seem to be selling well enough, they think the solution is to make her darker.
The original pitch was Michael Green and Mike Johnson's 'hell on wheels', someone who would 'fight her friends as much as her enemies', a disaffected, alone young woman ... so don't piss her off.
Then Scott Lobdell had her fall in love with a villain, be hysterical, gullible, and immature, almost turning her back on her family, willing to sacrifice Earth for her own needs.
Then Michael Alan Nelson came on board, to the glee of the laughing Bobbi Chase who cooed about how dark the book was going to get. Nelson made her abandon Earth, turned her father into a villain, and then literally killed her while she cried for mercy.
And now ... why not ... let's have her vomit up her heart and embrace rage.
Is there no joy ... no light ... no hope in the DCU? Does everything need to be dark and edgy?
Of course, this comes on the week Marvel announces a new title where a young muslim woman is so inspired by Captain Marvel that she decides to become a hero herself ... Ms. Marvel. A young woman deciding to become a hero. Meanwhile DC announces that their most recognizable young woman hero, someone who should be inspired by her cousin to be a hero, becomes a Red Lantern.
Throughout her 50+ years of being around Supergirl has always been a character striving do what was right. She saw the best in people. She saw the best in the world. She never gave up. She might fail but she learned and she tried even harder. She was filled with passion but always directed at achieving her goal of doing good.
We have seen DC try to make her darker. From Matrix being a dupe of Brainiac and Lex to Jeph Loeb and Joe Kelly's horrific brat in the last incarnation, people have wanted to sully Kara's character. But each of these takes have ultimately failed. Supergirl fans don't want to see her dark. And fans of dark characters don't want to read Supergirl. That's why these takes always fail ... ALWAYS.
That's why Peter David's tale of redemption and Sterling Gates' story of a maturing hero and even Landry Walker's story of a shy Supergirl blossoming into a hero have all been lauded. Because they understood Supergirl and wrote stories for who she is.
I have tried to be patient with the nonsense of the new 52, the never-ending grimness, the aloof Superman, the killing heroes, the bickering Justice League, the 'evil is relative' tagline, the obvious missteps with Supergirl. I have tried.
Maybe this is a short lived thing. Maybe this is her story of redemption as she slowly rejects the rage. But I can't be sure any more. Because DC has just made one misstep after another. I don't think they are thinking that far in advance. And regardless, this announcement ... it didn't make me angry. It depressed me.
I am sure that is what DC was going for with this announcement ... a feeling of inevitablity and depression.
As for me, you know what I think.
Kara would be an Indigo, a force of compassion.
Because in no universe does it make any sense for Kara Zor-El to be a Red Lantern.
51 comments:
I agree. It could be well written, it could be beautifully drawn, it might even be exciting to some - But the concept... it's just not right. I just don't get it.
If Tony Bedard was telling the truth in his interview that you covered here before about what his plans were for Supergirl, then he's going to have his work cut out for him to sell this to us. Seriously.
When I saw your tweet the other day, I couldn't believe this. I just don't think DC knows what they are doing. I've always been a Marvel person myself and joined the DC bandwagon with the 52 reboot as it seemed like a nice starting point. But it seems that as I mentioned on prior occasions DC is trying to use the success of Nolan's movies in the new 52 but making everyone more edgy and dark. I know Marvel does this as well taking popular things from the Cinematic into their Universes but at least they try to keep the characters the same. I too hope this is a temporary thing, as we also don't have the Supergirl solicit to compare what's happening in her own book in issue #28, as 26-27 has her fighting Lobo.
This is a God damn disgrace. Here's the thing: let's say this is a story of redemption. Ok. I'll go with that. Why in the actual hell is Kara, of all people, the person for that kind of story? How degrading for her that she has to be reduced to this in order have a role right now. Awful. Awful. Awful. ---Shades
Thanks for the comments.
I don't understand the direction at all.
Awful sums it up.
Every writer seems to want to write the hero's journey. Break the character down to provide the impetus, then build the character back up to bring the protagonist through revelation and into discovery and a heroic denouement. And the various writers that get a crack at Supergirl all seem to indicate that's what they're doing. But while they get the chance to do the first part of the heroic journey they're off the book before they build her back up, and then another writer comes along who wants to do the same . So what we get is a constant downward spiral, and Kara is more angry and disagreeable with each new writer.
If there's any chance they can break out of this race to the bottom they've gotten stuck in then good on Soule and Bedard. But I hope the new writers understand the fans cynicism by this point.
When I thought I had cried enough for everything that DC did with Superman and his family, yesterday I sat in a corner and cried a little bit more ... I no longer believe in DC and have no hope for change under the current regime. Sorry for the rant ... Mina
I think (if you changed the gender and replaced Superman with Supergirl) this quote from the Injustice comic sums up your feelings about what's going on:
"I miss Superman. I miss the guy who actually inspired people. The Superman who had time to help a kid who fell off a bike. Before he was changed. Before he gritted his teeth and looked angry all the time. Before he became all hard and dark because people, supposedly, needed him to. I miss the City of Tomorrow— —and the man of yesterday."
As soon as I heard the news, on this, yesterday, I was floored, & in not a great way.
The way DC's going with her characterization...
Well, I'd rather read Supergirl from the 90's, compared to this.
As I said, before, this is getting ridiculous DC.
As I said in my recent post to my own blog announcing my retirement for the foreseeable future from blogging the cluster frack that has become DC Comics -- for similar other developments as well as increasingly depending on short-sighted marketing stunts -- it's getting pretty obvious DC views at least it's oldest, most faithful fans, with contempt, and it's as if they are specifically as if they were trying to drive me away. (No persecution complex here, no.) Superboy a villain, now Supergirl a Red Lantern. If that sticks, and maybe it won't since it's not in her own title -- but where was Power Girl's return to her traditional costume debuted? -- I'll be out the door. Shameful.
This will sound like so many knee-jerk reactions, but I'm being sincere. When I saw this solicit, I made the decision to stop reading DC after this month. I haven't even been reading SUPERGIRL, but this news is representative of many (not all) of the problems I see from the publisher lately.
Geoff Johns ends his AQUAMAN run this month with issue #25, Black Canary appears in BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #25, and Dinah has a Zero Year tie-in in BIRDS OF PREY #25 that I feel compelled to read only for the sake of my own blog. That's it. Three more DC comics and I'm out until the company shows me something resembling the characters and stories I used to prize.
I think Marvel at the corporate level does some odious, deplorable things sometimes, but at the creative level at least they seem to want to expand their characters' appeal and diversity, whereas DC has homogenized everything about their characters from their ages, origins, attitudes, marital status, even costume designs.
I get so much more enjoyment out of books from Image, IDW, Dynamite, and Dark Horse that I almost feel ashamed about my "brand loyalty" to the Big Two. Well, enough of that.
I would hope for their New Year's Resolution, the heads of DC Comics and Entertainment look in the mirror and get their $#@% together, but really, I don't think they want the same things I want anymore. When I file for divorce from these comics, I'll cite "irreconcilable differences".
DCs idea that mindless rage and violence are what is best for their books and what the readership want strikes me as a peculiarly 90s way of thinking. It belongs to that peculiar era of MTV era adolescence, the same thinking that gave us Image comics, which initially put out little else but this type of shallow paper thin exploitative product. Image of course grew out of that stage and are now one of the most lauded comicbook publishers in the business, essentially doing what DC used to do with Vertigo but on a more ambitious scale. Image go from critically acclaimed success to critically acclaimed success, DC in response head back to that shallow 90s well which Image started from...
I've read some on the internet point to Bob Harras as the culprit behind this destructively shallow way of thinking, I don't know as I'd agree with that theory as while he had much to answer for Harras was still responsible for some decent comics back then. It's not as if DC doesn't have a lot of up and coming talent today after all, but it does seem to struggle with how to apply that talent and put their faith in their ability to produce some compelling entertainment.
Certainly I think you have to step back and put all of this into context, DC can't keep down this route as this obsession with rage an negativity is simply not sustainable longterm, from the start of the reboot the company seemed far too interested in the 'look' of the product rather than the content, but with Marvel and Image both aiming for sophistication and intelligent product DC can't afford to just go for the lowest denominator like this. It's not what builds successful and sustainable audiences...
Will Supergirl make it to issue #50 at this rate?
The Beatles song "Yesterday" keeps playing in my head when I read Supergirl news like this. My Supergirl is the hero from her early years, the Gates/Igle era, the epic that Walker & Jones gave us, the Timmverse, and personified by Helen Slater and Laura Vandervoort.
If you are looking for me when this atrocity comes out next spring, I'll be across the aisle reading the new She Hulk comic.
Gene
"I don't know what to say anymore. It is as if DC Comics has no understanding of their characters anymore. It is as if DC Comics has no understanding of their readers anymore."
Those three lines sum up my sentiments exactly and is right on point with everything that's been wrong with the New 52 since it's official launch. I completely agree that the current leadership is way out of touch with what fans actually want to read and what they think is a smart, longterm business strategy.
The part that depresses me the most is how the current leadership homogenised the entire franchise across TWO universes into this abysmal black hole of grimdark hopelessness. Literally no one is allowed to inspire hope, no one is allowed to lead a full and fulfilling life, and worse yet, characters are not allowed to establish meaningful relationships with anyone without risking losing that person as a way of bringing them to a dark place in their lives, or have them come back evil, or as a robot, etc. It's utterly ridiculous and very short-sighted in the long term.
If you're a major comic book publisher, and you're going to take it upon yourself to reboot an entire franchise from scratch, that comes with a huge responsibility that can't be taken lightly. To begin with, any changes that you impose on fan-favourite characters and their unique histories automatically puts you at risk for losing customers who have been following and buying your brand for decades. As such, it is very well within the interest of the company to consider those changes more carefully, and most importantly, have a LONGTERM PLAN in mind.
The current business model at DC Comics can be best summed up as corporate suicide for the publisher on several fronts. To begin with, there's an over-reliance on stunt marketing, gimmicky comic book deaths, and even gimmicky bastardisations of iconic characters as a way of boosting sales HERE and NOW. Longterm, however, who seriously wants to buy stories about a brainless, evil Superman who literally rips people apart in one universe and is gritty and angry in another? Who seriously wants to read about a version of Lois Lane who was converted into a robot following her initial death in one universe, and doesn't even have Superman or many of her recognisable traits in another? Who seriously wants to read about a very dumbed-down version of Supergirl (aka Power Girl) who conforms to the dumb blonde/party girl stereotypes and another version of her who is full of rage and commits actions at the expense of others?
These are not the characters I grew up with, nor ones I care to read about in the longterm. They have been completely stripped of all of that was unique and original about them in order to pigeonhole them into whatever flawed vision the current leadership thinks will sell better.
DC may be making tonnes of money right now every month. But in the longterm, they're just setting themselves up for another much-needed reboot once they've finished destroying their entire franchise and they have nothing else left to destroy. When you consider that DC's main competitor, Marvel, is actually pushing for quality, character-driven stories, they're actually bringing in award-winning writers to write their books, and they are actually putting out diverse books that people actually enjoy without compromising their established history, DC literally cannot afford to be this irresponsible with their brand.
At the rate that things are going, DC is going to be forced to reboot in less than ten years, and I can only hope that by then, they actually have a longterm plan in mind and don't rinse and repeat. Their goal should be to stay fresh without compromising quality in the process, or they're going to be handing the next generation of comic book fans to Marvel in a hand basket.
-HelenaWayneDCnU (on Twitter)
I hate this idea, but, I don't really find it apt to use it as a platform to claim they're committing corporate suicide. They're not. They have no clue what they're doing with Supergirl, this is clear. But numbers do not indicate this an issue across the board. At this stage of the game, they're kinda breaking even with where they were at pre-reboot, maybe a bit better. So I mean, they haven't lost anything in the longrun, at least nothing that sales would indicate. They're having issues with some individual properties right now, heavens knows I wouldn't disagree with that, but its exaggerating when one tries to paint a picture of a company on the verge of self-destruction. That's not just not the case.
Well I said "Nowhere to go but down" and I was right sad to say.
Dunno I think I might be ready to call it, and stop reading this book. If DC is hell bent on DESTROYING Supergirl and they WILL NOT LISTEN then they can do it without my $$ to pay the fare.
These people hate us, when the producers hate their aud this is what is created and marketed, pure and simple it cannot be sustained over the intermediate term...but there you have it. Supergirl is a Red Lantern? I mean the only way we can stop this is to stop buying the book...and at this point I begin to seriously wonder if we don't need a complete Do-Over, force a cancellation in the forlorn hope of a better nobler reboot.
Please some one out there prove I am wrong....
JF
Thanks for all the new comments!
I am not surprised that everyone thinks this is a bad idea.
I am surprised at the degree this has affected some people. Not buying DC anymore. Not blogging about DC anymore! Long term fans dropping the book!
I can only hope that DC is cognizant of this backlash.
I wonder how they'd interpret it if they are reading it.
I suppose I would be remiss if I didn't point out that I HAVE seen positive and intrigued responses to this development, mostly on Reddit. People who already read both books and one or two who read RL but not SG seem to find the idea very interesting, which i guess isn't that surprising. One guy I speak to on reddit a lot said he found it intriguing but he was sick to death of angry Kara. One guy who I'm not sure if he reads Supergirl or not says RL is one of the best books out there and this is great for her and wondered why I'd consider this a bad thing! You can see the entire discussion on /r/DCComics here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/DCcomics/comments/1q776k/guess_whos_a_new_red_lantern_as_title_smashes/
But it's clear that to pretty much everyone NOT reading RL already, Soule and I guess by extension Bedard have an absolute MOUNTAIN to climb. I don't blame people for wanting to stop buying the book with this announcement. I intend to stick with SG through until 27 at the very least, but I was planning on shilling 26 to the heavens if it turned out good - because like you yesterday when you wrote your Action 25 review Anj, I was quite optimistic about it and I love this character so I wanted to spread the word. But now I'm not sure HOW I could sell it to people. How do I explain this?
If the editors/marketers/whoever did not foresee this backlash coming, then I don't know what to think.
If it were last year or something it wouldn't bother me that much. It made sense for her to have a lot of anger in her then. But doing this now just seems to fly in the face of what's going on in her own book and when stuff like that happens, just for a guest spot in someone else's book, its irritating. She's in the process of finding an inner-peace with her situation, she's been doing nothing but dealing with her anger for months in her own book. But now for the hell of it lets put a Red ring on her. Just shows a lack of collaboration with where this character currently is to me, and if the GL team can't be bothered to do that, why should I think they'll do her justice within the pages.
They are committing corporate suicide with the way they're treating their employees.
Who knows, maybe they can maintain (if not increase) their sales numbers by replacing the multiple generations of readers who made up their pre New 52 readership with an entirely new crowd who have no emotional investment in the previous characterizations (like said redditters). We're dealing with very small numbers, compared to any other fandom industry. Their sales targets are an incredibly low bar to meet. Perhaps they can keep replacing the new readers who become disenchanted after a few months. I don't know.
What they *cannot* maintain indefinitely is the continual loss of disenfranchised creative staff. Those people are not easily replaceable. That is what I believe will be DC's ultimate downfall. Readership doesn't matter if they don't have staff to create the product!
I'm starting to believe that DC never HAD any understanding of their characters. Period.
The only silver lining is that maybe this is symptomatic of DC's collapse...and possible restructuring into something better. Maybe.
It's sad, DC used to be the home of heroes, but now all they're interested in is angry anti-heroes and villains. On Earth-2 they've turned Joe Siegel's sweet story of a hero and his love into a zombie and a robot fighting for control of the Earth. (I wouldn't be surprised if Joe and Joanne (model for Lois Lane) Siegel are turning in their graves!)
Thanks for the continued comments and great points.
The point about great creative talent jumping ship as much as readers is a great one! It is hard to think that writers and artists would actively *not* want to write these characters.
I also think that the unrelenting 'anger' theme in Supergirl's book is getting a bit tiresome. I keep hoping for her to move forward but instead we get these backwards steps.
Lastly, I find it disheartening that Soule can talk so much about She-Hulk being fun and wanting to help people and looking at how her history makes her special while at the same time making Kara more dark.
Here is the Soule blurb I was thinking of. From a CBR interview:
CBR: Let's talk about Jen Walters as a character. What do you find most interesting about her? Which aspects of her personality are you especially interested in exploring?
Soule: One of my favorite things about Jen is that she sees the fun side to being a superhero. She doesn't look at her bright green skin and consider herself a freak -- she thinks it's something that makes her special, unique. It's always fun to write characters with a good attitude. I also like that she doesn't always make the best decisions about her personal life -- she's impulsive, and it can be fun to play that thread out. She might make a snap decision that has consequences she'll have to deal with for quite a while. I note that I've used the word "fun" three times in this paragraph -- that probably tells you a lot about how I see Jennifer Walters.
If only we could insert Kara Zor-El or (even better) Linda Lee/Danvers/Lang everywhere he says Jen Walters.
Mr. Soule, please inject some of this positivity into Supergirl!
If I was rich...I would sue DC Comics for "being unfair with it's characters."
Anj, if I could hug you, over the internet, I would.
You just said what I couldn't, right now.
DAMN, I MISS the Linda Lee/Danvers/Lang eras.
I may go back to reading those, until this series & the charaterization gets better.
No one needs an angry Supergirl.
We need a hopeful one, dammit.
One that made us believe in what the character stood for.
In those eras, the writers made this character WORTH the read, & the artists, & the crews working with them, carried that hope into their works.
Positivity is key, so is drama & humor, to some really great characterization,(Linda Danvers is the Supergirl I grew up with, over here), but, the way they're going with the character feels like they stuck a mountain full of kryptonite right next to her & they're just waiting for the right moment to pull it back & wait for what happens next.
Angry Supergirl, unless there's a reason for that characterization, isn't a great jumping off point, in my book.
I'd rather have those previous eras of Supergirl, that made me hopeful for her future, than one that's really grim & gritty.
(And I'm not going to compare this "grim & gritty" stuff, now, with the Linda Danvers characterization, because they were two different types of "grim & gritty" in their characterization & eras)
*Sigh*
I just miss the old days, where we had hope, again.
This ain't it, fans.
-ealperin
I think if this news had come out a year ago the fans would be willing to go with it to see what happens. But after this last year with the continuous diet of anger and self pity I feel like Mr. Creosote being offered one little wafer thin mint, it's just too much and I'm not willing to eat it.
Soule and Bedard need to speak to this pretty soon because this isn't the only place I'm seeing this sort of response.
Shoot. I was looking forward to what Bedard might bring to the book. Now? Not so much.
Yeah... I imagine we'll be seeing interviews with Soule, Bedard and Vendetti about this soon enough.
One thing we need to be careful of though is not to harangue these people for information, especially in this age when they're all on twitter. If we do ask them questions or send them anything, remember to be polite. It's probably not a good idea to @mention them in any and all tweets discussing this - they can't tell us anything anyway, all we'll do is annoy them and that doesn't help anyone.
One exchange I saw on twitter last night that is slightly reassuring:
Landry Quinn Walker @LandryQWalker 9 Nov
For the record: I trust @CharlesSoule with Supergirl. He's a solid creator. Besides, the RL's could benefit from Supergirl's influence.
Charles Soule @CharlesSoule 9 Nov
@LandryQWalker Thanks, Landry! It'll be more than just a stunt.
I think February solicits are out tomorrow. So then we'll see the official one for Supergirl #28, which of course comes out after GL/RL 28, not before.
That's the one thing I forgot to mention: I'm a fan of Soule. Planning-wise I've made it clear I don't think this makes sense and am thus skeptical, but if there is a silver-lining here its Soule, as I think he's done a great job with Superman thus far (his Swamp Thing appearance, and Superman/Wonder Woman #1). Maybe he can do some good things with Supergirl here despite an underwhelming situation.
To be honest though, even if she were another color, I'm kinda over the multi-spectrum Lanterns. I wish it were just Green and Yellow again.
Charles Soule posted this over on CBR Forums:
http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?474432-Supergirl-as-a-Red-Lantern-Yay-or-Nay&p=17807760&viewfull=1#post17807760
Just quickly - this was my idea, it's character-motivated, and I'm not doing it as an "OH MY GODDDDD" sort of thing. There's a reason I think this makes sense to do, which I think you'll see as we get into the story. I think Supergirl is a phenomenal character, and I'm excited to be able to write her.
Let's talk about it again after you guys have read the story - looking forward to it.
Let's give him a chance.
Boo change! :)
I've said my piece on the Action Comics thread, but I figure the more naysayers here the better, hopefully DC will see that we're sick of how they treat Kara.
And yes, Soule is good, but the basic idea of the Red Lanterns is so vile that I don't even want Kara in the same universe as it, never mind comic. I won't be reading.
Next year, Kara gets the Joker face ...
While I think it is great that Charles Soule reads these things and has an understanding of fans feelings, it doesn't change the fact that Kara as a Red Lantern is inherently a lousy one.
Maybe this will be a great story where things end well. But the premise is wrong.
Let's have Batman carry a machine gun and slaughter bad guys.
Let's have James Bond be a pacifist.
Let's have the Flash decide to walk at normal speed when he fights crime.
All of these *might* be great stories but are wrong.
Fundamentally, the people who run DC (Didio/Lee/Harras) do not understand their characters. Paul Levitz did. Jenette Khan did. If you want to understand what Supergirl is all about, read her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths, read Mark Waid's Christmas Special with Deadman (written when Kara was persona non-grata), read Peter David's last Supergirl story, "Many Happy Returns". But as with Cassandra Cain, I really don't think the people who run DC read their own stories. The attempt to make the Loeb/Turner Kara reboot an unlikable violent brat was extremely unpopular, and so DC's response? Make her into a Red Lantern, a literally heartless character filled with her with wrath and anger.
WTF?
Hey guys, guys. Wait.
What if...this is all part of some master plan?
Remember the open capsule in Man of Steel? Where's that heading?
What if this is all some committee-mandated thing where eventually Kara is going to be a Luthor-goaded madwoman in an upcoming DC movie, who Kal brings back to the good side? Maybe this is all an effort to shift sympathy away from Kara so she can play that role, then be redeemed, then return to her good gal image once the whole movie storm has blown over.
Or maybe some DC execs/editors are just really grumpy every morning after having to deal with their 14 year old daughters or something and want to depict what they think Kara-aged girls are really like.
Hard to know if you are being sarcastic Anonymous. But I'd rather not have Supergirl be a dupe of Luthor *again*.
And I have a 14yr old daughter at home. And she isn't heartless.
I dropped this book last month. Seeing this news I'm glad I did. For the past several months it's been on the bottom of my reading pile, again and again. I didn't like the H'el storyline and Kara's role in it and I really tried to like this book despite it's many troubles- including the cover of the first issue. What a horrible cover. The most depressing image of the character ever. It even beats COIE #7. Jeezuz.
*sigh* Seriously, DC? Superman, Supergirl, and Superboy are supposed to inspire hope in people. That doesn't mean that the characters can't take dark turns or make mistakes. But killing off Superboy and replacing him with a villainous child of Clark and Lois and turning Kara into a Red Lantern are just bad ideas that come off as gimmicks no matter what the writers say. How is it that the group of characters that are supposed to be the inspiration for all others have slowly turned into such grimdark characters?
Even Superman is affected. He's a pale shadow of his former self, and of course over in Earth 2 he has become a mass murderer.
I'll give both Superboy and Supergirl a chance, but if these are supposed to be new permanent changes I'm out. I don't care for Jon Lane Kent and I don't care for Red Lantern Supergirl no matter how well written.
-CJ
It's official! In the Feb. '14 solicit, Supergirl #28 will feature Supergirl getting a red lantern ring and then everthing changes. (Sigh, I'll miss this comic, but everything I liked about it has changed.)
It amazes me to see that Kid Flash is also going villainous in February too!
Thank you everybody for the comments on this thread! Some responses I have been late on.
Jack - I agree that the people who understood the DC characters are gone or out of power there. This is all about short term gain. It's a shame.
ealperin - It is truly hard to believe in these characters. PAD's Linda struggled but grew despite everything done to her. We need someone worthy of the Supergirl name.
CJ - I am with you that seeing a Red Lantern Supergirl is the last thing I want to see.
What I need ... and quickly ... from this new character path is hope and quickly. I can't go through 2 more years like this. There needs to be some movement towards the good. Maybe Bedard and Soule can pull it off. But this is rock bottom for this character.
Funny thing, up to and including issue #0 I felt there was progress and that Kara was becoming a hero. The battles with Reign and Black Banshee, the addition of Sanctuary, the new friendship with Siobhan, it all felt like we were going somewhere. Everything since then has been a disaster.
If this can give us a path to growth and becoming a hero again then I'll grit my teeth and hope for the best. And if leaving the Superman family, hopefully temporarily, can get her away from Eddie Berganza and Scott Lobdell then there's a silver lining.
"...ealperin - It is truly hard to believe in these characters. PAD's Linda struggled but grew despite everything done to her. We need someone worthy of the Supergirl name."
EXACTLY!
I miss the fun & adventure that we USED to have in comics.
I'll have to wait & see what the writer comes up with in her characterization, though.
Being cautiously optimistic, over here.
If Landry says he's good, he's one not to miss, surely.
I just have a bad feeling about this run, now that Kara (And KF, even) are Rage Red Lanterns...
It doesn't fit their personalities (Hell, even Linda, both Lang & Danvers, didn't get that angry)& I'm shaking my head at the fact that these are the characters that I grew up with.
It's a new era, sure, but, the characters & the personalities have changed SO much.
It seems DC is not only burning their bridges behind them, they have set fire to the building to attract attention, not realizing they could burn up with it. I mean, if readership drops drastically, Time Warner will fire them all.
Why DC why do you feal the need to ontinually destroy Supergirl's character it's times like this that i miss Peter Davids Linda Danvers.
I, totally, agree, Justin.
Well think many of you are not being fair.
For one thing if you read Red Lanterns you see nearly every one that gets a Ring gains control of there anger they find peice, the ring appears to leach the anger out of you though most of the cast has not figured that out yet.
The reaction is here how are the RED LANTERNS GOING CORRUPT KARA! Here a Better Question how is Kara going to help redeem the Red Lanterns.
She is best done as a savor. So let her save them.
The REDS Need a HEART and KARA can do that better than any DC cast Member.
She go on about her pain that she lost her world and did not get to die with her friends and ask Bleez her story.
"My Planet was concurred and I a Spoiled princess was sold to a brothel my wings wear cut off and I was Gang Raped over and over by Senestro's monsters till the ring heard me. I want to love and trust but as long as there men laughing at women screaming I just can't."
She gets to see that she not the only one hurt. That some of these monsters are people and that she can help heal them.Sorry guys this IS CLASSIC KARA and it Explains what the writer said about how the Red Corps wear going to help her get in touch with that!
Give it a Chance!
Now I fear that Superman might become a Yellow Lantern. And there was no intention behind that horrible pun.
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