Hat tip to my blog friend @FKAJason (who runs the excellent Captain Atom Blog Splitting Atoms) for sharing the Supergirl relevant cards from The Return of Superman card set from 1993.
As I have said in the past, the Matrix Supergirl prior to the Reign of the Supermen storyline was something of a muddle, a being totally being used in all ways by Lex Luthor. Prior to that she had been insane, wandering the cosmos, and then finally a slave of Brainiac.
But once Superman died and Funeral For a Friend and Reign of the Supermen happened, Matrix started to turn more towards the light. She started to question Lex's motives. She totally realized the hero that Superman was. She decided she would become the hero and defender of Metropolis. And she followed him into the battle against the Cyborg Superman.
This card has a great art by Jackson Guice. I love ... and I mean love ... Guice's take on Matrix. Just great.
I love how this card stresses the fact that Supergirl has become Metropolis' new defender.
And I also love that they simply say 'born in a lab on a faraway planet' instead of trying to explain the Pocket Universe in the small amount of text space they were given.
"Her brillian psionic powers make her a formidable opponent for any who cross her path!" Nice.
And there is this card titled 'Boy Meets Girl!' which uses the cover art of Adventures of Superman #502.
This was something of a high water mark for the Superman books. Guice was on Action. Here we see Tom Grummett's work on Adventures. And the running arc of the four supposed replacement Supermen was a done very well.
The idea that one of the replacements was actually Superman in some way was a very good mystery.
And given the unclear future for Superboy given his impetuous nature, this card correctly states these two could be enemies, friends, or something more.
Thanks again to @FKAJason for sharing these! And I am glad that Supergirl got some mention in this card set!
Very nice gift!
ReplyDelete"the Matrix Supergirl prior to the Reign of the Supermen storyline was something of a muddle"
The understatement of the century. Dick Giordano claimed -wrongly- not much thought was put in the creation of the original Supergirl. Still, the only thought Byrne put in the creation of Matrix was "keeping the name trademarked".
The contempt often shown by DC -and Marvel- regarding their characters -especially the female ones- baffles me.
"And I also love that they simply say 'born in a lab on a faraway planet' instead of trying to explain the Pocket Universe in the small amount of text space they were given."
Yes. You cannot blame Dan Didio for thinking her origin was too confusing. "Kara Zor-El is Superman's cousin who also survived" is way easier to explain to non-readers than "Matrix is a protoplasmic, sentient, shape-shifting being created in a destroyed Pocket Dimension" or "Linda Danvers is an Earth Angel created when a protoplasmic entity merged with her to save her life".
Sigh. They claimed the reboot would streamline Superman by "cutting the fat" and "bringing the character back to basics". However, the only thing Byrne and his ilk achieved was making the mythos hopelessly more convoluted because they threw the baby out with the bathwater!
"This was something of a high water mark for the Superman books. Guice was on Action. Here we see Tom Grummett's work on Adventures."
The art is definitely very nice.
"The idea that one of the replacements was actually Superman in some way was a very good mystery."
Heh. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Then again, comic-books have recycled plots since the 50's, so we shouldn't be surprised.
"And given the unclear future for Superboy given his impetuous nature, this card correctly states these two could be enemies, friends, or something more."
Heh. What is with Superboy and Supergirls? He checked Matrix out, looked smitten over Kara, and... wait, let's not to mention Blackest Night.
"And I am glad that Supergirl got some mention in this card set!"
Indeed. Most of time Supergirl gets shafted when it comes to merchandise. Fortunately things are changing (I hope). Have you seen this?
https://www.supermanhomepage.com/dc-ooshies-collect-them-all/
Two Kara figurines, wearing her New 52 costume but having her Post-Crisis backstory (I wonder if DC is accidentally clueing us in on the nature of Rebirth).