Review: Supergirl Woman Of Tomorrow #5

Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow #5 came out this week and it fits right in with the tone of this mini-series so far. This is an oppressive book. Even though Tom King keeps promoting the book as one where everyone will finally realize how kick-ass Supergirl is, we don't see much of it in this title and certainly not in this issue.

No, as usual, Ruthye is the star here. It is her point of view, as it always is. And in this issue were Supergirl is suffering and sick, it is Ruthye who carries the narrative. And boy does she carry the narrative, continuing the overly verbose style that I think would even make Mattie from True Grit say 'speed it up'!

I shouldn't be surprised with any of it, given what we saw in Vision, Mister Miracle, Strange Adventures, and Heroes in Crisis that Tom King must equate heroism with suffering. After last issue where Kara cowers in a sun from emotional torment, where we learn she 'lives a life of pain', we get this issue where she is thrown in an environment that is physically giving her pain.

As a reader, you can take a step back perhaps and see some things which are admirable. Supergirl guts out a whole day of suffering when we learn that Superman could barely last 45 minutes. So that shows grim determination. We see how she actually inspires Ruthye to think of others rather than herself.

But surely that must be better ways to show how great and heroic Supergirl as a character is than that. And when you instead look at the detail, you get a book where Kara is wracked in pain for the bulk of the issue. An issue were King gets to show how 'mature' she is by showing how crass she is, constantly cursing, taking a shot at her cousin, and even being proud for teaching Ruthye the right time to curse. Is this a Supergirl book aimed at promoting her? Or an Adam Sandler 90s movie?

Nothing to complain about when it comes to the art as Bilquis Evely and Mateus Lopes again bring the fire here. They make this place look horrific and monstrous. They convey how ill Supergirl is brilliantly. If only the material they had was one where Supergirl is elevated.

Perhaps the saddest thing is nothing about this issue shocked me. I know what I am getting in a Tom King Supergirl book. I just don't know if I needed a Tom King Supergirl book, especially if this is how DC is going to view her moving forward.

On to the particulars.

Supergirl and Ruthye have finally caught up with Krem on a remote planet. He is wading in a field of fire and corpses. 

He unleashes a 'Mordru Globe' on them, a magical weapon which teleports our heroes far away from their target.

King does a good job playing up just how despicable Krem is. The opening page of him rooting around the dead is pretty chilling. We learn that to power a Mordru Globe the wielder has to have killed thousands just for the joy of killing. What first seemed like the town ruffian and horse thief is now a genocidal maniac. 

And Evely and Lopes do a great job showing the power of the sphere. That first panel you feel the tug of it on Kara. And the stark whiteness of the spell stands out against the conflagration. The art is so beautiful.

Krem uses the globe to send Kara and Ruthye to Barenton, a green sun planet inhabited by dinosaurs. I don't know if what she says means the sun is Kryptonite but it certainly seems to effect Kara like Green K, with her being in constant pain, weakened, and delirious. 

She knows the planet because it was a trap against Superman. As we have learned in an earlier issue, no one approaches Kara because they remember the good she did. No one approaches her because they remember the good Superman did. The only people who approach her are those with a grudge against Kal.

No wonder she seems to have negative feelings for her cousin. At least in Tom King's world, Superman is only associated with pain in Kara's life. (Compare that to loving, familial feel the two have in the main books recently, specifically Brian Michael Bendis and Phillip Kennedy Johnson.)

When Superman was trapped there, he lasted 45 minutes before the Justice League rescued him. He said he was as close to death as he ever has been. Kara need to survive 10 hours of this. At that time, the sun will set and her powers will return.

Now I get how having Supergirl survive 1233.33% longer than Superman did shows how she is 'stronger' or 'grittier' or 'more determined' than him. She is going to gut out this pain. But I wonder if maybe we could see those aspects in her in action. Suffering more makes her kick-ass?

I also don't know if I understand the power premise. I suppose if the sun is Green K, that it setting would remove the pain. 

And then this 'mature' moment when Kara praises the young Ruthye for using a swear word in the right context. She even throws in that she understands the hate people have for Superman. 

This moment sums up the book nicely. The weakened, crass, Supergirl, wracked with pain, says she hates Superman and teaches a young girl to curse. 

The two head to an elevated plateau and try to wait out the day. Supergirl is said to be convulsing in pain at time, unconscious at others. 

It is up to the hero of the book Ruthye to defend her friend.

Using her father's sword, she is able to somehow kill this monster who approaches them.

Whether it is in narrative boxes or dialogue though, Ruthye says her piece. 

Ruthye saves Supergirl.

Maybe this should have been Ruthye Woman of Tomorrow? Guest starring Supergirl?

When pterodactyl like creatures come to feast on the carcass, they decide that maybe Ruthye and Kara will also be tasty treats.

In a somewhat forced joke, the feverish Kara awakens and scares them off with a blast of heat vision. 

Kara gets a 'look .. it's a bird' joke out.

With the sun nearly down, Supergirl thinks she is dying. She needs water. 

Ruthye and Kara have been avoiding the nearby lake knowing the monsters will congregate there.

Initially Ruthye tries to stop Kara from going, even to the point of raising her sword at Supergirl. But then she decides that the better plan is to help her friend get what she needs. They will go together. Even if that means death and her never getting her revenge, Ruthye helps.

Perhaps you can say that this is Supergirl's good influence on Ruthye. No longer driven just by revenge, Ruthye helps her friend in need. 

Of course, we need one last threat. 

And it doesn't look good. 

But the sun sets just in time and Supergirl's powers come back.

I really like this panel. The dino being rocked, the colors of dusk but also the reds for a feel of power, even the big BAM, all reflect what is happening here wonderfully in art. 

With the green sun set, the two fly off.

How will they pick up the trail again? What if the globe put them light years away? We know that 'many months' have passed since this started. Does anyone care that Kara has been missing this long? Has Superman tried to seek her out? We know the League rescued Superman after 45 minutes of being here. Kara has been gone for months! She spent a day on this world. Does this show how little the other heroes care about her?

As I said, this whole thing didn't surprise me. Kara was basically passive for the bulk of this issue. Other issues Kara has slept the majority of the issue. Ruthye telling me about Supergirl's heroism is ... well ... telling me. How about showing me? But Kara guts out a tough situation and inspires.

Maybe I should concentrate on the positive.

Overall grade: C+ (art as always is an A)