Review: Supergirl #36

Supergirl #36 was released yesterday, representing part 8 of the now 10 part New Krypton storyline. On his blog, artist Jamal Igle had talked about how emotional this issue was for him to draw and I have to say I agree. This was a powerful issue. And when issues move me, I talk a lot.


Of course, now is the time in reviews when I show the variant cover. Here is another winner from Chris Sprouse showcasing our mystery hero Superwoman and a great looking Supergirl. This variant works better for me than Sprouse's variant for Action Comics #872.

The issue starts in the immediate aftermath of Zor-El being struck down by Reactron. A depowered Kara sprints across the battlefield to attend to her father.

She suffers a shoulder injury, gets saved by Superman, and then her powers kick back in.

I almost pity the Brainiac drones who get in her way. Look at the heat vision spread she demonstrates! And that last panel! Whoa! I can't get enough of a mighty Supergirl.

Kara rushes to her father's side and tells him to hang on, calling him 'father' in their native tongue, a show of love and a very nice little touch.

Alas, it's too late for Zor-El. He dies in her arms. But not before he tells her that she should watch out for her mother. “Watch out” as in “take care of her”? Or “watch out” like a warning? He also tells her how proud he is of her. I am somewhat surprised that DC would bring Zor-El back only to kill him off so quickly. But in some ways it gave it more impact. I was not expecting it and therefore was completely shocked. But after years of the mad Zor-El, to see this one's dying words be ones of pride for Kara was a nice capstone to the troubled recent history of the character.

In a very nice 'silent panel', we see Kara's grief as she cradles Zor's body. It is another take on The Pieta but it works here. It is striking to show Kara screaming without sound effects or word bubble. To add a dialogue bubble or text, well it would detract from the art and cheapen the moment. This is just a wonderful powerful page.

In the commotion, Metallo and Reactron escaped through a pre-built escape tunnel. And Alura sees Zor's body and cries that they should have left Earth.

But even the news of her father's death doesn't deter Cat Grant from her 'search and destroy' mission. She will still run her article 'Supergirl: Science Police Murderer'. At first I thought this was a strange scene to cut to, but later I thought how this effectively showed just how petty Cat Grant is. As news of Zor-El’s death come across the airwaves, she is talking about how she will take Kara down.

We cut to Zor-El's funeral and hear Alura's eulogy. There are some nice touches here. She talks about how an alphahedron was stolen while they were in Argo City and he had faith that the thief would return it. An Alphahedron! Of course, it was an Omegahedron that was stolen in the Supergirl Movie so this was a great little Easter Egg for dedicated Supergirl fans.

But that nice homage is forgotten when Alura says that humans attacked Kryptonians and they should not be surprised if Kandor responds in kind. I love the look of concern on Kara's face. She doesn't have to say 'Kal, I'm concerned' ... the art does all the talking.

A more private moment of mourning is shown next. Kara is seen holding Zor-El’s headband in front of a monument for her father. Superman warns Supergirl that despite this tragedy they still need to deal with the police murders. In a moment of self-doubt, Kara wonders if she is somehow responsible for her father's death. This did not sound like the over the top self-doubt we have unfortunately heard from Kara at times in this series. This seemed and sounded natural.

Much more than Alura's angry response where she blames both Kara and Kal. Look at how she derisively calls Kara ‘Supergirl’, blaming her for the state of Earth and therefore her father’s death. This is simply emotional cruelty on Alura's part.

But Kara has grown a lot. She knows she doesn't need to hear this tripe and flies off. I cannot tell you how much I appreciated this scene. This shows just how strong, just how independent Kara has become. She didn’t argue with her mother. She didn’t break down crying.

I haven’t seen a Kara with this much intestinal fortitude in a long time. I have missed her!

And who meets her as she flies off, Superwoman. Hmmm ... lots of clues here. She definitely has blue eyes. She speaks fluent Kryptonese but is only so-so in English. Here is the translated text. “I don’t mean to bother you but with everything that’s happened in Kandor you look like you could use a friend right now.”

She listens to Supergirl talk about her mother's grief. As Kara talks, we see shots of Alura talking to Zod's soldiers asking for their loyalty.

And boy this Superwoman seems chipper. She says she put on the uniform (including lead-lined mask) because Superman and Supergirl inspired her. She tells Supergirl that she wants to be a friend.

But check out the evil look on her face as the issue ends. It seems this call for friendship is all a ruse.

Not to be lost in the shuffle is this scene of Nightwing and Flamebird taking out some of Alura's personal guard and finding the blueprints of the White House in their possession. This does not bode well.

And Flamebird seems more like a true redhead here than the strawberry blonde we have seen prior.

Wow. Another great issue in the New Krypton arc. This one is a bit more introspective than the action packed prior issues, dealing with the fallout from Zor-El's death.

I have to say that the initial scene as he is dying is done just right ... not overly maudlin, not overly emotional, not a lot of improbable speech. In fact, the dialogue throughout the issue is simply spot on. Thank you Sterling Gates! And that silent splash page was just perfect.

But Kara doesn't have much time to mourn does she? Events are spinning out of control, and her mother seems to be teetering on the brink of madness. "Expect a response in kind?" Sounds like a declaration of war. I do have to say we see just how strong Kara has become in this issue. Not only does she risk her own life heroically to try and save her father, she also knows she doesn’t have to be mentally berated by anyone ... not even her mother. Those days are over.

Despite all these things, the part that intrigued me the most was the appearance of Superwoman. Blue eyes, speaks Kryptonese - Alura and Thara Ak-Var remain possibilities. But we see Alura in Kandor while Kara talks to Superwoman. So I don't think Alura is Superwoman.

I also seems to take Linda Danvers and Cat Grant (a dark horse candidate I have read in places) out of the running. She still could be Thara who may feel that Kara didn’t earn her hero status and that she has been a part of all the mayhem. She looks too young to be Karsta.

Ah well ... still early in the mystery.

I have already complimented Sterling Gates for the pacing and dialogue of the issue. I couldn’t finish the review without commenting on how phenomenal the art was in the issue. Jamal Igle really outdid himself here. I really love his Kara ... a healthy-looking strong young woman. And he does expressions so well. You can tell just how the character feels as they speak their words. That adds to the power of the script. I think this is the best stuff that Igle has ever produced.

One small complaint: Alura calls Zod's troops 'soilders'. Isn't there an editor out there? That typo was just off-putting.

I can’t thank the new creative team enough. Three issues into their run and everything seems right again.

Overall grade: A