Action Comics #1077 came out last week, the eighth weekly issue during this Mark Waid run.
That also means it is the eighth entry in Mariko Tamaki's Supergirl story which has plodded along in the most dull way. I feel like my reviews have been repetitive. Nothing happens; Supergirl seems ineffective. But wait ... something happens this time.
In fact, something potentially interesting happens this time. I am not saying this is a good chapter. But at least there is some progression. And after 7 chapters of nothing happening, I am nearly giddy that at least we got something.
The prisoner gives us some background on who she is.
Also, Tamaki brings in Tom King's Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow. Is she praising it? Retconning it? I think I know what it happening but I am hoping you all will tell me what you think as well.
Now Supergirl still does nothing in this chapter. This is the prisoner's story, not Kara's.
Meghan Hetrick is back on art and brings an open style to things.
On to the details.
As the prisoner reveals that her partner is 'rage', we see flashbacks to King's Woman of Tomorrow. Moreover, we see Rage actually present while Kara judges Krem.
We learn that the prisoner was one of a duo.
You see her partner? Brother?
He wields a sword and brings war to worlds.
I may actually have to go back and reread this story because I picked up on the shapes on gloves and how one seemed to fit into the other.
So have we been seeing both of these beings along the way? Was one the sword-wielding being in pursuit and I didn't realize it?
And, like some type of apocalyptic Wonder Twins, when they clasp hands, completing the glove symbol, they become 'destroyers of worlds'. They cause planets to explode.
The prisoner then says that she is 'fear'. And her partner is 'rage'. Together they bring war to worlds and then, it seems, blow them up. But with body language you can see this prisoner isn't happy she is doing this.
And then this page ...
For me, this is Tamaki explaining why the Supergirl in King's book acted so differently from the one we have seen in the Bendis, PKJ, and Williamson runs. Is Tamaki saying this Rage being amped up Kara's rage and made her act so addled in that book?
That is how I am reading it. And if somehow DC is trying to retcon Kara's actions in that story away, I am all for it!
Of course, the other way to read it is that this being is somehow drawn to Kara, perhaps because the King Supergirl was all over the map in that story, angry, drunk, alone, angry, depressed ...
And knowing a James Gunn backed movie is coming out based on that story (in some way), would they undo it?
What do you think?
'Fear' doesn't like what she is doing so she kills 'Rage' with his own sword and runs.
But Rage is still around and chasing her.
And so we end this chapter. The prisoner is having a heart to heart with Kara and asks Supergirl to kill her before 'Rage' arrives.
How do you sum up this chapter?
Supergirl is sitting and listening this whole chapter. She has one line. We learn some things about this prisoner but there isn't a lot of background explaining powers, history, etc.
Hetrick's art is solid and she recreates WoT moments nicely.
But really this boils down to that one page. Will Tamaki leave it open-ended forcing the reader to decide? Or is there more to come? At least there is something for me to mull over!
Here we are, chapter 8 of 10 behind us.
Overall grade: C
2 comments:
Thanks for the review. I don't think I agree with your opinion that the scenes depicted indicated that this being's "twin" had some influence over Kara's behavior in Woman of Tomorrow. I think it's more likely that this being and its counterpart simply happened to observe the events of that book and responded to them in accordance with their innate predistortions towards rage or fear. What's more significant to me than the response of this being or their counterpart is the fact that Woman of Tomorrow is being cited in an ostensibly "mainstream" DCU book. Prior to this, I thought that D.C. considered Woman of Tomorrow to be an Elseworlds story. After reading this, I'm convinced that D.C. now considers Woman of Tomorrow to be part of the mainstream canon for Supergirl.
If that's the case, it's a genuine shame that Woman of Tomorrow has become part of the canon for the mainstream DCU. The miserable, misanthropic Kara depicted in that book is a far cry from the most compelling iterations of Kara that other writers have provided. I would say in particular that either PKJ or Mark Waid's portrayal of Kara are far more compelling than Tom King's iteration of Kara. King simply thought that Kara was totally consumed by misery over the loss of her family and Krypton's destruction as well as a sense of inadequacy over some perception that she can't measure up to the standard Clark has set for her. While there's a good case to be made that Kara should have some sadness regarding Krypton's end, the thing Waid and PKJ got which King didn't is that Kara is strong enough to overcome the tragedy of Krypton's end and also doesn't see perceive herself as somehow being perpetually stuck in Clark's shadow. Kara is at her best as a character when writers show how despite all the things that could hold her back, she's become an intelligent, resilient adult who's able to effectively cope with the tragedy of her past and thereby focus on using her powers and strength of character to create a present and future where what's best in her rather than those past setbacks determine the parameters of the world around her.
I don't know what Tamaki has planned for the rest of this series, but I do feel confident saying that if Tamaki's model is King's Kara instead of the better versions of Kara that Waid, PKJ, or Tamaki herself portrayed in Supergirl: Being Super, this series is doomed. This may be a bit presumptuous, but with that said I think it's fair to say that if your whole blog could be distilled down to one point, I think it would be this: dark Kara doesn't work. Kara is at her best as a character when she is a beacon of intelligence and virtue, not when she's mired in misery. There are many reasons why this story has been a failure so far, but I think it's fair to say that one big reason it's failed is that Tamaki hasn't presented anything positive or engaging about Kara in this backup. As long as this story keeps leaning into King's miserabilist depiction of Kara while also hewing to Tamaki's plodding storytelling style, there just isn't a way that this story will be anything other than a failed, dreary attempt to craft a worthwhile Supergirl tale.
Minor point: I meant to write "predispositions" not "predistortions." I'm still not quite sure how spell check screwed that up. Regardless, I stand by the rest of what I wrote.
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