Supergirl Best Of 2023 Part One: Non-Comic Moment And Comic Honorable Mentions

Hard to believe that we have reached the end of another trip around the sun. 

I have to say that 2023 has been a very good year for Supergirl. In fact, I would have rated it an excellent year overall except for a recent event which made things a little less exciting.

But I think back to 2022 and how Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was still fresh in my mind. That was a drunk, despondent Kara who didn't resonate with me. It worries me a little that Woman of Tomorrow is going to be the basis for the planned Supergirl movie. Thankfully that representation by Tom King never creeped into the main comic universe.

Which brings us to 2023. 

Between Phillip Kennedy Johnson on Action Comics and Joshua Williamson on Superman, Supergirl has been in good hands. She has been a leader, a scholar, a mentor, a friend in those books. She is often the smartest person in the room and the emotional core of the family. That positive character portrayal seeped into the ancillary books like Steelworks, Monkey Prince, Lazarus Planet,  World's Finest, and others. I actually had a tough time narrowing things down to a top ten comic moment. Also, there were so many very good moments that no one stood out as a clear number one. They're all great. 

So today, I'll cover some non-comic stuff, a dishonorable mention, and the five comic moments which almost broke the top ten. 

Settle in!

I'll never complain when Supergirl is a big feature in other media, like animated movies.

Early in the year  we got the  Legion of Super-Heroes Movie which really should have been called Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes. The opening premise of a Supergirl who was out of control and a bit of a fish out of water on Earth. 

But Josie Campbell really gives us a great Supergirl story in the back end, focusing on the Brainiac 5/Kara relationship which goes from rivalry to romance. As a Supergirl fan AND a Legion fan, I was giddy throughout. I mean Supergirl and Brainiac 5 defeat the Dark Circle. Tremendous. 

A version of Supergirl was seen on the big screen in The Flash movie. 

There was a lot wrong with that movie, least of which was the loop of Supergirl's death in the climactic scene. That said, I enjoyed Sasha Calle's performance as an Elseworld's Supergirl. She had a quiet dignity. She had a moral core (even if she slaughtered her oppressors when first released). And she was willing to risk herself to save Earth, paying the ultimate price (over and over and over).

A Supergirl in a sort of Crisis-style costume on the big screen. I never thought I'd see it. 

Speaking of the Crisis, just about a month ago we got the first trailer for the first part of the Crisis On Infinite Earths trilogy. We got two pretty good looks at Supergirl in this brief trailer. One, where the Monitor says 'you're needed Kara', saying she is in his plans. The other we see her streaking across the surface of the sun. I like the way Supergirl looks in this latest phase of the DCAU.

Of course, we know what happened to Supergirl in the actual Crisis book so I'll be watching closely.

Not everything was great. 

I really liked the way Supergirl was being used in the super-books all year but she was a sort of background character. When Action Comics became an anthology book I wondered if Supergirl would ever get a back-up strip. Instead, she got a solo special.

Unfortunately, the Supergirl Special #1 wasn't very good. All the things I said were right about Supergirl in the main books were gone here. She was sad. She was jealous. She was petty. She didn't remember Krypton. 

There was nothing heroic or inspiring or really interesting in that story to make me think DC sees a future for a Supergirl solo book, at least by writer Mariko Tamaki who seems to not get who Supergirl is in the main universe.

Okay okay. I try to light a candle not curse the darkness. So let's get to the good stuff.

Let's start to look at the best Supergirl moments in comics for the year 2023 by checking out the Honorable Mentions, the 'almost made it' stuff.

Honorable Mention 5 - Superman Lost #8 - 'Move On.'

Superman Lost has been a sort of up and down series. Supergirl has really had an extremely minor role in the book. In issue 8, Supergirl finally tells Superman what we as readers may have been saying for a while. Yes, you have every reason to be sad ... but get over it. The world needs Superman, not someone so morose he is barely active.

Carlo Pagulayan shows us a rather stern Supergirl, arms folded, head cocked, squinting. I don't like a mean Supergirl but at this point Superman needs someone to talk to him this way. Good for her.

Honorable Mention 4 - Batman/Superman World's Finest #12 - 'Dress code'

Mark Waid just gets Supergirl. I hope after his World's Finest Teen Titans book ends we get a World's Finest Supergirl book by him. I was thrilled when we got the doomed first date between Robin and Supergirl in World's Finest #12. It was fun to see Kara as the mature one and Dick as the inexperienced kid.

Emanuela Lupacchino shows us just how much Kara wanted this to go well as we see her fret over which outfit to wear. The pink dress slowly falling to the floor makes me think this whole page was done at super-speed. 

Honorable Mention 3 - Knight Terrors Superman #2 - 'Too many Supergirls'

I wasn't very invested in the Knight Terrors crossover but the Knight Terrors Superman book was a true horror book. The second issue was almost a Supergirl book as we saw her confront her nightmares ... other Supergirls. 

Joshua Williamson somehow pulled off this meta take on Kara as we see all her different outfits, including some worn by the Matrix Supergirl! And Tom Reilly's art is rough and muddy enough to bring a sense of dread. 

Any time the long history of Supergirl is not only acknowledged but sort of revered, it makes me happy. 

Honorable Mention 2 - Action Comics #1059 - 'I'm a - a Supergirl of the House of El'

I talked earlier about Supergirl being a mentor. Now this isn't a true Kara moment. But this resonated with me.

It makes sense for Otho-Ra to think of Supergirl as a role model, a hero. 

Here that slight stammer, that slight pause before she calls herself 'a Supergirl of the House of El' when she confronts Norah Stone is brilliant. It is almost like she is reluctant to call herself the name of her hero. But it is also powerful because she ultimately does call herself a Supergirl. 

I couldn't include this in the top ten. Supergirl isn't here. But it is a small moment showing what Phillip Kennedy Johnson thinks of her, a role model, an aunt, a teacher for Otho. A hero.

And now, the last Honorable Mention for best Supergirl Moment in Comics, 2023!

Honorable Mention 1 - Action Comics Doomsday Special #1 - 'Satan Girl Redux'

The Action Comics Doomsday Special #1 was actually a better stand alone Supergirl story than her own special. In this story, Supergirl is called upon to enter Hell and stop Doomsday from escaping. 

She is fearless and powerful, smart and brash, and respected by just about everyone. Writer Dan Watters really gave us a great Supergirl.

But I loved this moment. Needing a little boost to fight the juiced up Doomsday, Kara dons some demonic armor, giving us yet another take on the very Supergirl trope of Satan Girl. As with the Knight Terrors book, I felt this was a nice reference to Supergirl's long history. A version of Satan Girl has shown up in almost every incarnation of Supergirl so I am glad we got this. 

That ends the first installment of my look back at 2023. Be back tomorrow for Supergirl moments #10 through #5 from 2023! And let me know what you think so far!