Review: Supergirl #20

Supergirl #20 came out this week, the last issue of this volume of the title, the last issue of the Rebirth era, the last issue for writer Steve Orlando who has been here since the beginning.

It is painful to write that.

I have written too many times on this site that DC seems to pull the plug on Supergirl titles just when they are cresting creatively. And that is so true here. Since the end of the Phantom Zone storyline, Orlando and current co-writer Jody Houser have really tightened up this book, bringing us a fantastic Kara who is trying to improve the world around her, helping people while she learns about Earth. And artists Robson Rocha and Dan Henriques have brought such compelling and gorgeous art. Everything was working, the book was selling well with Artgerm variants; DC cancels.

But I am not here to curse the darkness. I am here to light a candle.

This is a wonderful ending issue, doing what last issues should do. It wraps up the ongoing DEO storyline very quickly; it has to. It puts the character in a very good place for whatever comes after. And it shows utter respect to the character.

But there are plenty of things not finished. Things I would have loved to read. There had to be more planned for Ben Rubel. There had to be more for Belinda Zee. There had to be more for the Danvers. We hadn't seen Cat Grant in months. Those are all threads that probably won't be seen again. Much like the unwritten threads for Sterling Gates and K. Perkins/Mike Johnson, or the ninth grade with Landry Walker and Eric Jones, I will always wonder what could have been.

I can honestly say that this has been a wonderful run for Supergirl. I wish there was more time. On to this book.

Mr. Bones and Mokkari are heading to the DEO stronghold The Blade to deal with Shay Veritas. Mokkari is psychologically torturing her, as is his want.

Meanwhile, Supergirl is working with Ben Rubel to take Mr. Bones and Mokkari down. Cameron Chase and Insight have been infiltrating the DEO, downloading damning evidence, and prepping to send it Rubel to broadcast over CatCo.

As for Supergirl, her role is simply to delay Bones and Mokkari.

There is so much to like here. Chase and Veritas being in a relationship ups the ante of this rescue. Lar-On, a throw away character from my youth, is an ongoing character and a good guy, inspired by Supergirl. He's a super-werewolf!  Insight, a no name villain in an early issue who also has been inspired by Kara to be better, is also a good guy. And Ben Rubel gets to be as big a hero!

Before Supergirl can skirmish with Bones, a new character arrives. The Viking Judge, a young woman with a magic axe and a chip on her shoulder, shows up to kill Bones and Mokkari. The Viking Judge ... well ... she judges. She has a very black and white view on things. She has a magic axe in which a victim's sins are shown in the shining blade. Mokkari and Bones are evil and therefore they should be killed. She is going to end them.

And Mokkari, thinking of his own health, wounds Mr. Bones to slow him down. Mokkari just wants to escape.

Luckily, Supergirl arrives to save the day. And this, of all things, shows who Supergirl is. She wants to bring down Bones and Mokkari. She knows how evil they are. But she'll also protect them from this death.

This panel is amazing. You sense that it takes some effort for Supergirl to block this blow.

As for the crew, they are able to slide into the DEO and save Veritas. We see a nice moment as Veritas and Chase hug, relieved that Shay is safe.

And it is as if Orlando has the same taste in odd characters as me, because Strange Visitor is freed by the group to join the fight. Yes, this team has to fight with DEO agents who don't realize they have been commanded by villains.

I love the 'Hulkish' line of 'we have a Lar-On'.

Unfortunately, Supergirl and the Judge continue to fight as the Viking will not be satisfied until there is blood. There is a decent conversation about mutable ethics and how people can grow. As always, Supergirl believes people can improve themselves. The Judge thinks people cannot move past their sins. It encapsulates this Kara's beliefs nicely.

That said,  this is also where I have my biggest complaint of the issue. Supergirl looks into the axe, the one that is supposed to show past sins, and there is no reflection.

And I don't buy it.

Part of what I love about Supergirl is that she isn't totally pure and perfect like Superman. She is growing and learning. And this Kara? She avoided Superman at first. She teamed up with H'El to blow up the Earth. She joined the Red Lanterns! She has brawled with her father.

Now maybe the point is that Kara herself has looked past the sins. That she is only looking forward. But I think it is the mistakes that Kara has made that makes her who she is. I would have rather seen the sins shown and Kara say 'that isn't me any more'.

The fight is a close one because Viking Judge has magic on her side.

Meanwhile, Chase and her crew get the information to Ben who then sends it to every news organization he can. Suddenly headlines are everywhere saying Supergirl was framed and Mr. Bones is a traitor.

While I think that Bones is extreme in his viewpoint, I think he was being played by Mokkari. He thought he was in control but he really wasn't. I don't like that in this issue he suddenly is portrayed only as a bad guy.

Another small nitpick. The Judge has been swinging that axe and going nuts.

Supergirl can slow things down by breaking the Judge's arms. She wonders if she could do something like that.

Really?

This isn't a discussion of killing the Judge. It's breaking her arms and stopping her.

I don't want Supergirl bemoaning physical action once attempts at diplomacy end.

And yes, this issue reads like a backdoor premiere for Viking Judge who is appearing in Unexpected this summer.

The Judge is finally about to kill Mokkari when someone named Neon shows up, telling the Judge that Quench needs to be found. The Judge has another persona, perhaps a normal woman who manifests this identity. And just like that they are gone.

Can't blame Orlando for pitching his next project. She works in this story.

And we see Supergirl stop Bones. We don't actually see Mokkari cuffed. I hope he was.

I do love the middle panel when Supergirl almost leisurely shakes the poisoned hand of Bones. He was never a threat.

Sweet.

So nothing left but the wrap-up.

Ben has a nice family dinner at the Danvers. And he gets a hug from Linda who is happy he is alive.

Sheesh, every time Supergirl always seems to find love in her final issue! From Dick Malverne in (Daring New) Supergirl #23 or Michael in Supergirl #40 and now Ben in Supergirl #20, she always gets the boy at the end.

I would have liked to see more of this relationship. Ben has grown on me over the time.

Supergirl then gets to speak to the masses on CatCo. Ben interviews her. And she gives a nice speech about how she isn't perfect but she is trying, she will be there to protect people, and she hopes they believe in her.

The last page is the perfect coda for the series. A happy Supergirl, flying over National City, and happy in her life. We get the next version of her mantra. She chooses hope, to inspire and be inspired, and build a better future.

A smiling Supergirl, calling herself the Girl of Tomorrow, and ready to save the world? I'll take it. And man that is a beautiful page by Rocha and Henriques.

That's a wrap folks. My guess is that if the title wasn't ending this week the DEO storyline would have taken a bit longer to wrap up. Given the time/page constraint, I think Orlando and Houser did a very good job. But most importantly we get this coda. Kara is in a very good place and that makes me happy.

Hopefully DC builds on this when they send her on her 'new mission'.

Overall grade: A