Review: Superman Secret Files 2009

Superman:Secret Files 2009 came out this week and sported a new red-colored triangle and numbered zero. Codename:Patriot is clearly being marketed by DC as a jumping-on point for the super-titles.

With plotlines weaving through 4 titles, Secret Files tried to tee things up for a new reader by mixing in Who's Who style pages, maps, and short stories to try to not only catch the new reader up to date but add something for the hard core reader.

I think the latter is a bit trickier for the creators. I don't necessarily need a Who's Who page to tell me who General Zod is. But a map of Metropolis and a Kara/Thara story might grab me.



Here is the Who's Who page for Supergirl. Her origin is reviewed with much of the text dedicated to the post New Krypton events. Remember, this is supposed to help out any new readers. One thing I did note was the fact that her 'Kryptonite poisoning' wasn't mentioned. I really think that we are looking at a new age for Supergirl. The early issues of the title have been acknowledged, dealt with, and probably won't need to be mentioned again.

I also wonder how an artist comes up with 'THE' pose for a character on one of these pages. You want the art to reflect who the character is at their core. Here it looks like Jamal Igle chose 'graceful' as the central feeling. Supergirl also looks happy, something else I like to see. That is really beautiful art.

But he easily could have chosen a more action-y pose, fists clenched, eyes glowing.

Similar pages are throughout the book including ones for the Science Police, Daily Planet staff, and Nightwing & Flamebird.



The main story for me in the book was the Kara/Thara Fire Falls story that was mentioned in the last issue of Supergirl. 'Blood Sisters' was written by Sterling Gates and Greg Rucka with art supplied by Fernando Dagnino.

It is something of a flashback story, taking place right after Zor-El's death. Remember, at that time Thara was head of Kandorian Security and therefore in charge of protecting Zor-El and Alura.

Clearly, Kara's would be an emotional wreck in that initial mourning period. She loved her father, thought he was dead, got reunited with him suddenly, only to have him die in her arms. I know I would be distraught and probably angry.

As a result, this initial lashing out at Thara makes some sense. Of course Kara would be looking to blame someone for her father's death and Thara is an easy target. Unfortunately, Thara can't explain why she wasn't right there to save Zor-El. I think she was on scene. Could she have been elsewhere in the guise of Flamebird and as a result not next to Zor?

While Supergirl storms off, Thara remembers a day from their past.



There are a lot of small flourishes in this story that I really liked.

For one, while I haven't been floored by Fernando Dagnino's art in the past, I thought this was his strongest effort. I especially liked how he was able to draw the younger versions of Kara and Thara while having them still resemble their older versions. I bet that is tougher that it seems. This isn't a generic kid; this is clearly a young Kara.

Second, I like how the future Guilds that each chose is foreshadowed in their actions here. I always assumed that Kara would pick the Artist's Guild. But in this story, Kara is clearly a scientist. We see her crack open her robot nanny and reprogram it, allowing the girls to slip off unsupervised to the Fire Falls.



And we have heard all along how devout Thara is as a person. She was part of the Religious Guild for a while and obviously is a holy enough vessel to house the Flamebird force. So it made sense to see her want to pray at the Fire Falls rather than immediately go exploring like Kara wants to.
Kara is overwhelmed by the geography and local fauna. Thara is overwhelmed by the grandeur.

I really liked how we are shown these early seeds and how they have blossomed in each young woman. Small touches like this really make for a satisfying product.



While Thara is meditating though, Kara gets into some trouble as she nearly gets eaten by a native giant bird. Luckily Thara is able to help rescue Kara. Thara douses the bird in some blood bloom juice, a known flammable liquid. Kara then ignites the bird while Thara lifts her to safety.

Hmmmm ... a flaming bird ... a Flamebird? Is there some importance to that for Thara's history? Or is it simply foreshadowing?

Safe at last, the two girls become literal blood sisters, holding their cut hands together and holding onto half of a blood crystal as a memento, a symbol of their friendship.

A friendship that appears over when Supergirl storms away from Thara after Zor-El's funeral.

I know that we have a couple of upcoming issues where Supergirl and Flamebird fight. I know that is coming. But I hope that there is more to their feud than just this rift. In the immediate aftermath of Zor-El's death I can understand Kara lashing out at everyone and everything. I would hope that with time that she would calm a bit, realizing that it really isn't Thara's fault.

Overall though, I thought this was a very good background story for both characters.

Just because I am an Ursa fan, I thought I would show some of her story written by Greg Rucka and pencilled by Pere Perez.

The story shows the Black Zero unit in their fight against Brainiac during the Kandor incident. There is a brutal two page spread showing the bloodshed and battle raging.

The story shows how that loss clearly that effected Ursa mentally. How that battle scarred her psychologically and made her lose her sense of self. With no internal compass she latched onto General Zod, defining herself through him. And with Zod near dead, Ursa wonders who she would be without him.

I don't know if I need all my villains to have some tragic background that made them the way they are. I actually don't mind having villains be villains simply because they are evil. But I thought this story helped soften some of the edges of Ursa just enough to make me feel a bit for her.

I went into this issue with no expectations. So I was pretty pleased with it, getting more out of it than I expected. The maps alone are worth perusing.

Overall grade: B+