Review: Supergirl #20

Supergirl #20 came out this week, the first issue with writer Michael Alan Nelson. For me, I was glad to finally have this issue in my hands. Nelson is best known for a Cthulhu and his Supergirl was being touted by the DC higher-ups as being 'dark very dark. And yet, Nelson's own interviews talked about wanting Supergirl to be happy, wanting her to strive for joy, and wanting her to embrace Earth a bit more. 

What was this title going to be like with Nelson at the helm?

Well, if this first issue is any indication, I think Supergirl is in good hands. I liked this issue very very much and I felt that it hit upon a lot of the things that I think make Supergirl such a great character. We see her intelligence, her resilience, a sort of self-deprecating attitude about herself, and ... shockingly ... her humor. We haven't had too many laughs in this book so far to have some humor enter the story was heartily welcomed. This felt a bit more like a classic Kara to me, and that is a great thing.

The book also nicely sets up two things for the future, best discussed during the review.

The art on the book is done by Mahmud Asrar and is even a notch above his usual superior stuff. In particular, he seems to have an innate grasp on Power Girl, making me wonder what he would be like on Worlds' Finest (without ever wanting him to leave Supergirl). His ability to make the two Karas appear similar enough for them to be the same person but distinct enough to be different is amazing. And colorist Dave McCaig really shines here, steeping the Sanctuary scenes in orange and keeping the deep sea and space scenes dark but clear.

The cover by Emmanuela Lupacchino is lovely and updated from the original solicit to show the 'old school' Power Girl costume Karen is now sporting.

On to the book!

Last issue ended with Supergirl's Fortress AI, aka Sanctuary, declaring Power Girl a clone and stating that she would need to be killed. Kryptonians don't like their clones!

The math is a little off here as the computer has the odds as 93% clone, 44% doppelganger, 13% random imposter, and .0457% quantum anomaly. That's 150.0457%. Is that fuzzy math? Or maybe a sign that Sanctuary is somewhat compromised?

I love the fierceness of Power Girl here. And there is the orange hue of the Fortress, bathing everything. Just superior art.

Outside of just the art her, I love the dialogue between the 2 Kara's as they come to grips with talking to ... well .. themselves. It is snappy and funny and feels true. I can only imagine what the young Anj would say to this old one walking around.

I love how Supergirl thinks the Power Girl 'boob window' outfit is a bit much, even though it came from her closet. And I like how Power Girl defends the choice. It is nice characterization, so different from the usual Supergirl/Power Girl brawls we get.

One thing I still think DC doesn't have their editorial heads wrapped around is how much these two know of each other. Heck, I don't even have a good sense of just how much the world knows about Power Girl. Is she a known hero? I have had the feeling in Worlds' Finest that she is sort of a stealth hero and not out and about that much. And again, these two haven't met before this. So Supergirl saying she hopes she will be half the person Power Girl is felt just a tad off. Does Supergirl even know about her?

Still, the preceding conversation is right on the money where Power Girl says she remembers being as frustrated with life as Supergirl is. It humanizes Supergirl a bit, makes her relatable.

Unfortunately Sanctuary is still hunting them and in a decent turnabout, says that its scans prove Supergirl is the 'clone' not Power Girl.

The bulk of the issue is now spent with Sanctuary both verbally and physically attacking Supergirl. After jettisoning Power Girl outside, the AI begins reminding Supergirl of her short comings.

First it reminds her how she fell for H'El. I love the 'yeesh' semi-embarrassed look on Kara's face as she is forced to recall that debacle.

Then it says she isn't much of a thinker, relying on her fists, and thus her attacks are easily countered.

I do like the top panel where a determined Supergirl talks about how she never gives up fighting. There is a tenacity here that feels very classic for Supergirl.

And then, in a very nice montage page, Sanctuary shows Kara every reason why she should simply give up fighting - how she fell for the wrong man, is constantly being attacked, has been shunned by her cousin, has been poisoned. It does seem a bit odd that a computer would resort to such vile mental tactics. I have a theory ... seen at the end.

Despite this Supergirl continues to fight on.

I felt like Nelson was trying to show just who his Supergirl is going to be on these pages. He has said his Kara is going to search for joy in this world. It is as if he wanted to remind us of all the bad things that have happened to Supergirl over these last two years and show that she is moving beyond them. I thought it was wonderful.

And then add to that a nice little showing of how smart Supergirl is, another nod to the more classic scientist Kara, we see her defeat Sanctuary by 'oh you know ... thinking'. She has Power Girl freeze the place from the outside and then she releases her  'corona wave' sunburst inside, rupturing the mechanics from within, destroying the fortress.

We just got this fortress into the book and now it is gone. I think that having Kara lose one more link to Krypton has to force her to look at Earth more as a home now. She has to find an apartment, meet people, etc. instead of simply hiding away from everything.

I love the little physics formula she says in the middle. This isn't some child. This is a strong, intelligent, young woman who is able to use her powers effectively. The scientist Kara has been present in almost every incarnation.

As I said before, the interplay between the Kara's is really wonderful in this book. With Sanctuary defeated, the two head into the high atmosphere to see the sun rise, so similar to how it looked on Krypton.

The line by Supergirl that she is starting to forget the Krypton sunrise is such a loaded sentence. Is it that she is having a hard time remembering it? Is it that she wants to forget, put the pain behind her and embrace Earth as home? Or is it a little bit of both? Such a great little line. I love the small moments.

And then to have Power Girl acknowledge Supergirl's loss, when both come from similar tragedies, is fantastic. Even the look on Power Girl's face, so understanding, but with a twinge I think of sadness. She has literally been there.

 It is great to see these two be so friendly. Supergirl even gets in one more zinger about Power Girl's costume.

Sanctuary doesn't seem to be done though. A robot drone vows to eradicate 'Not-Kara', what he called Supergirl throughout the book. The verb eradicate always carries extra weight when it comes from Kryptonian technology. Was Sanctuary somehow built with Eradicator technology, that fervent xenophobia we saw in the 90s, crazy enough to carry out psychological attacks.

Or is it that the Cyborg Superman, a known villain in upcoming issues, was somehow inside, trying to eliminate his enemies with their own tech? Maybe that explains his powers in this new universe, a merging with Kryptonian mechanisms.

I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed with this comic. We had a couple of years of watching Kara deal with her grief and learn about her past. Mike Johnson seemingly had her poised to turn the corner and embrace life. And new writer Michael Alan Nelson seamlessly picks up from that point and runs with it showing us an intelligent and strong and even funny Supergirl who now is forced to leave the comfortable trappings of Krypton on behind and learn to love Earth.

If the rest of Nelson's run has this feeling, I will be happy.

Add to that the continued stellar art by Mahmud Asrar and I was one happy Supergirl fan.

Overall grade: A

Review: Supergirl #17

Supergirl #17 came out this week, the penultimate chapter of H'El on Earth, an arc I will be happy is coming to an end. From the beginning, the deck was stacked against Supergirl in this story. In the span of a couple of issues all the characterization that has been slowly building in her main book was demolished.

In Supergirl, Kara was on the journy, moving from a grieving character to one who was dealing with her tragedy and realizing she needed to move forward on our world. She was a character very reticent to let anyone in ... to trust anyone, but one with a solid core of being a good person. She wanted to help and would never harm anyone. yes, it was decompressed story-telling but this Supergirl was someone I was rooting for, someone I was hoping was going to work her way through her stages of grief and emerge a young hero.

In H'El on Earth, all of that went away. She immediately trusted H'El. She jumped in with both feet in believing his story. She immediately fell in love with him. And she began lashing out at everyone around her ... first calling Earth a ball of sweat and mud and then bludgeoning Superboy within an inch of his life.

This has not been a good story arc for Supergirl. And I find that in her own title, writer Mike Johnson is trying to do the best he can with this editorial edict of Supergirl being a patsy and a villain. He has her saying things that jibe better with his characterization of her. And so we have this issue where finally ... finally ... she realizes the truth, that H'El has been duping her. Of course, she has to be told it by Wonder Woman, never getting to that conclusion herself. It makes these earlier issues of H'El that much more preposterous. Why didn't someone tell her this a while ago?

I will once again pass some sympathy onto Mike Johnson who probably didn't want this to happen to Kara but was forced their by 'the powers that be' ... I am looking at you Dan Didio and Eddie Berganza ... people who have never seemed to understand the character of Supergirl and what should be done with her. And kudos to Johnson for at least trying to portray Kara in a sympathetic way here and in his other issues of H'El.

I have no complaints about the art though. Mahmud Asrar continues to amaze on this book and this issue, in particular, is fantastic. His fight sequences and his Wonder Woman are very easy on the eyes and make this issue a visual treat, one with lots of splash pages.

Enough preamble. On to the review.

The issue opens with Wonder Woman and Supergirl in a standoff. And, as usual, Supergirl is ready to fight and defend H'El's star chamber, a machine which is straining the time-space continuum of our solar system.

You can read Johnson's thought on Supergirl in Wonder Woman's words. She is a strong brave woman, someone fighting through tragedy. But this defense of H'El and his plans is idiotic. No more sympathy.

Funny, that is just how I have been feeling about this Supergirl up to know. The fact that she has maintained some sense of perspective, hasn't gone mad or wallowed in rage, despite the sadness around her has been remarkable. That has been one of the strengths of this book, that Kara has been something of a hero despite the recent events of her life.

But this being H'El on Earth, that stuff isn't happening. Maybe she and Diana could be allies but not in this story.

Even this panel is an interesting pattern because it is mirrored by one of H'El punching Superman in the same way. There is no doubt ... Supergirl is a villain here.

Despite all this, Superman still seems to have some faith and familial love and loyalty to Supergirl. He is angry that H'El is using her for his schemes and defends her.

I haven't always seen Superman be so demonstrative in his love for his cousin. In fact, in some places he has outright belittled her. But again, I wonder if Johnson is trying his best to patch things up in this book.

As I mentioned before, I think Asrar is phenomenal in this issue. The fight scenes show nice 'bullets and heat vision' action and his Diana is just spectacular.

And, despite her power, Supergirl isn't as prolific a warrior as Diana. I loved this part of the fight where Diana simply hog-ties Supergirl with the magic lasso. I love the expressions here ... one of surprise on Kara and of superiority on Wonder Woman. Great stuff.

Now I never have a super-solid understanding of the powers of the lasso. Here Wonder Woman says the truth of the situation, that H'El is going to blow up the sun, will be revealed by the lasso. Is that true? Does the lasso work that way?

Supergirl has one last trick up her sleeve, the corona wave sunburst, which blasts her free of the rope but drains her of her last energy.

While Wonder Woman is blasted away it is temporary. And the drained Kara can't escape.

Can I say that I have come to accept this power! I didn't think I would like it but if used in this way as a last ditch effort which drains Supergirl, I think it is a neat little maneuver. I didn't think I would like it at all. I guess even an old fan can accept new tricks.

And here is my favorite moment of the book.

With everything that has happened, it would be perfectly reasonable for Diana to just deck Kara. Instead, Wonder Woman takes the high road. Realizing that Supergirl is drained and not a threat, Diana asks her if she is okay and says the time for fighting is over. This is a teachable moment for Supergirl. Not conflict has to end with punches.

And in this brief moment of zen, Wonder Woman ... gasp ... tells Supergirl that the star chamber will destroy Earth and the solar system. And, Supergirl ... double gasp ... actually sees that she is telling the truth.

Hmmm ... maybe that info could have been relayed earlier?

The charade now revealed, Supergirl finally shuns H'El (now continuously sporting the backwards S which has been intermittent). No more 'Beloved', no more 'it was alllll yoooouuuu H'El' gushing, no more 'this is the only thing that has gone right' defiance. She is now angry and against him.

Well, I should be happy about this and I am ... I guess. Except, now Supergirl is a bit petulant, a bit too easily swayed, a bit too hot and cold. She is all in for H'El and then one minute later she is all against him. It just further ingrains an air of immaturity in her, a feeling that she doesn't have a strong core of her own.

I know, I can't have it both ways and I am thrilled she isn't a villain anymore.

But this turnabout does not correct the disservice done to the character in this arc.

We have one issue to wrap this up. Hopefully in those 20 pages we learn H'El's true origins, understand what it means that the Oracle is standing next to Earth, have H'El be defeated, and have the super-family come together a bit. Does anyone think that all those things can happen in a satisfactory way? Me either.

So in this issue, we have tremendous art. We have Supergirl seeing the errors of her ways. And we have subtle dialogue trying to salvage the characterization of Kara that has come before this. We have a coloring error by Dave McCaig who puts Superman's red shorts back on, on a splash page no less. (It is a rare miss for McCaig who otherwise is stellar with nuanced colors around things like the sunburst, etc.)

But in the end, it is an issue were a deluded Supergirl is trying to stop Wonder Woman from saving the world. And I have had enough of Supergirl being the duped villain.

Overall grade: C+