We have started the Marc Andreyko era on Supergirl, a time in which Kara heads off into space to investigate the claims of Rogol Zaar. Heading off into deep space, Supergirl is bound to run into systems without a yellow sun. She is certain to make new friends. And she will most likely make new enemies.
With that in mind, I will be trying to look into the back issue box to find adventures of Supergirl in sppaaaccceee!
Action Comics #337 has one of the best gogo checked Silver Age covers ever with Superman being both a top-hatted millionaire and bare-footed hobo. How can you not want to buy this issue?
But the real reason I am reviewing this is "The Green Sun Supergirl!" story in the back. After all, we already have seen in the current title that Kara has donned a new uniform designed to absorb yellow sun energy and provide it to her. Because outside of a yellow sun, she is without powers.
Will she survive on a green sun world? Make friends? Make enemies? Solve problems? Become a worshiped figure?
It's the Silver Age. You should be able to guess.
On to the story.
"The Green Sun Supergirl!" was presented by the legendary Supergirl creative team of writer Otto Binder and artist Jim Mooney.
It is a rather dramatic pose of Supergirl smiling while being struck with alien flame vision. Shouldn't she be powerless under a green sun? And what is with the native peeking out from behind the bushes?
Suffice it to say, as in many Silver Age stories, a lot happens in a short period of time. And there are some panels which almost have a 'fan service' feel to them, putting Supergirl in seductive poses. And get ready for one of the most warped panels I have seen, given current mores.
On returning to the capsule, Supergirl is aware that somehow the ship is caught in a 'warp stream', akin to the gulf stream in the ocean. Before she can react, the ship is whipped to a green sun system. She is suddenly powerless.
As the capsule crashes, she is tossed out of the ship to her apparent death.
Check out these two panels! First off, Supergirl's body is seen on the ground, about to die 'an obscure death' on an alien world. It is a rather odd pose, even for someone tossed from a speeding ship. Is it cheesecake? I don't think so, not with her bruised face. But it is a rather 'centerfold' pose.
Luckily, despite her grievous wounds, Kara is revived by a 'golden rain'.
Okay ....
All right, get your minds out of the gutters. It is the gold sap of the local tree, a healing concoction. The natives humans saw Kara land and have saved her.
As she has no powers, she introduces herself as Linda rather than Supergirl.
Kara quickly gets a lay of the political landscape. The Evil-eyed people live underground but have recently started living above. With their flame vision, they quickly seize power. They tax the poor and rule with an iron fist.
Kara can't stand by and watch this all happen. Using her quick thinking, she gets spare parts from her ship to create an electromagnet and gather up the crystals the people use as money. She has saved the village.
Still, she has little choice. Given a map of landmarks, a bag of money, and the gold sap, she sets off on her adventure. If only she had her powers, it would be a trip of seconds. Now it is a journey.
Using the hardening tree sap, Kara creates a bullet-proof vest. Maybe I'll call it a mithril coat instead. But with amazement, the natives see her walk through the hail of quills without fear.
Once past the trees, she sees the industrious 'ant-men' dragging giant trees to their homes. Hoping to save some energy, Supergirl hops onto a log and rides along.
Despite not having powers, Supergirl leaps to the front of the log and using 'acrobatic tricks', she scoops up the youngster just like Batwoman would have. Of course, we are talking about the original Kathy Kane here. Cool reference!
I like that despite having no super-powers, Kara still knows the right thing to do is help people, even at her own risk.
Having crossed a great distance on her ride, she is at the site of the giant acorn trees. These are enormous acorns filled with poison gas. Supergirl needs to crawl through the area so as not to make a number of acorns fall and crush her or potentially expose her to poison.
Having navigated the giant acorn tree wood, Supergirl enters the realm of the Evil-eyed ones. Earlier in the story, she saw how the burning hut's plastic windows were undamaged by the flame vision rays.
Knowing she would eventually face those deadly rays again, Supergirl brought a sheet of the plastic with her. Wrapped in it, she is basically invulnerable to fire. The onlookers can't believe it.
I do love the sly smile on her face in the second panel. And Mooney does a good job putting her in a body position which shows she is clearly holding something. She isn't standing there with her hands on her hips.
Still, the aliens herd her onto a short outcropping on a mountain. With nowhere else to go, Supergirl leaps off, possibly to her death.
But the invisible plastic sheet works well as a glider allowing her to 'fly' to safety.
With nothing to lose, the alien overlord decides to go all Looney Tunes on Supergirl, cutting off the outcropping in hopes of squashing her like a bug.
It all is going according to Supergirl's crazy plan.
She anticipated everything, down to the evil-eyed one cutting off the ledge.
Supergirl had the ant-men create a crude lever armed with a giant acorn.
When the chunk of the mountain hits the teeter-totter, the poisonous acorn was flung into the air. It lands right on the hole which leads to the evil-eyed underground world and becomes lodged. Should they try to remove it, it will burst and release the poison gas. The day of the fascist rulers has ended.
But this is pure Silver Age craziness.
How did she communicate to the ant men? How lucky the acorn was perfectly tossed to lodge in the portal. Is it right that she basically imprisoned them?
Who cares? A smart thinking Supergirl freed oppressed people without shedding blood. Incredible.
With the bad guys captured, Kara can get the radioactive rock and reprogram her capsule.
Back on Earth and re-powered, she looks back at the world she left. She sees that despite not having superpowers, they have come to call her Supergirl. Because all the things she did with her wits and some supplies made it appear as if she did have powers. Plus, she saved them from their oppressors.
Even in a green sun system, she is Supergirl.
Okay, this was a fun 'done in one' story complete with a sharp-witted Supergirl saving the day. The art is crisp and beautiful. And it shows how Supergirl is a true hero to all who encounter her. So I am glad to review.
I don't think it has any particular importance for Supergirl history. But it is a fun tale to read. And I wonder if the current Kara will run into a green sun somewhere along the way.
Overall grade: B+
This is sheer, undiluted Silver Age craziness. I love it! Thank you for making me aware of it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what Marc Andreyko will do, but I doubt he'll reference some past Supergirl story. In fact, given his first issue outright contradicts New 52 Supergirl's first story as well as her origin issue, he believes she's never dealt with her survivor guilt, and he'll probably not reference "Red Daughter", I'm wondering how knowledgeable he's regarding the character.
"Luckily, despite her grievous wounds, Kara is revived by a 'golden rain'."
Easy jokes aside, that panel doesn't look quite "Mooney-like". I wonder if someone else did the ink job.
Talking about old issues, I just read AC #309. I must say, that panel where Zor-El says he'll lead the Argonians to Earth where they'll establish a race of super-beings has become scary after recent and not so recent events (Reign of Cyborg Superman, New Krypton). Jer-Em was onto something there, after all.
Fun story, I like it when the Supers go on a journey - Action Comics #300 remains my favourite.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anon, that panel does look a bit un-Mooney. The potential cheesecake, not so much!
Perhaps Linda communicated with the ant people via long-distance telepathy, there is mind-reading reference.
So, any follow-up on the astronettes? Diana Prince did eventually enter the NASA training programme...
As science fiction this is berserk even by the standards of the Mort Weisinger Super-Family DCU....but as a catalogue of Superigirl being super-self reliant, self confident and most importantly "self rescuing", its a nice counterpoint to a time when comics were a big reserve of unctuous patriarchy. And yes there is a ton of fan service in this one, art wise...Mooney would occasionally "cut loose"in that regard over the course of his nine year run on Supergirl.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet NASA would love to know how Supergirl essentially "hot wired" the Gemini Service Module, Reentry Module stack to achieve escape velocity without a Titan II-B rocket....:)
JF
Thanks for comments.
ReplyDeleteI could have posted way more fan service panels but the ones I did made the point well enough.
And yes, this is bananas Silver Age fun. I'd love to see Andreyko do some riffs on old stories.
And yes, this is a very self-reliant Supergirl. Once healed, she does this all on her own!
BTW Otto Binder published a magazine called "Space World" which was essentially a "Popular Mechanics" for the space age, very factual in basis. So the fact that somehow the powerless Maid of Might can get a Gemini Service Module Stack back into orbit must've given him a fit of the giggles....I myself think she must've been listening closely to her father's dinner-table talk.
ReplyDelete:)
So we see, whomping' together spaceships is one of Supergirl's lesser known skills.
JF
Mort Weisinger once said that his favorite Superman stories were the ones where Superman was without his powers and had to rely on his wits to survive. Looks like that carried over to Supergirl here. She certainly is resourceful (although it doesn't hurt to have a little luck and a helpful writer on her side).
ReplyDeleteLet's hope the current Supergirl can do as well as she embarks on her "mission of daring in the name of interplanetary justice!" (Okay, what 50s TV show is that from?)
Back to Action 337, I like that the "worse" monster Kara encounters is the Taxman!
I was wondering about the source of the images scanned here. I thought it might be the original comic. But the original is missing the credit box, and there are some coloring differences. The Omnibus volume 2 is also missing the credit box.
As for Andreyko believing that Supergirl has never dealt with her survivor's guilt, we'll see. Some writers (not all) assigned to Supergirl seem to come down with a case of Frank Sinatra Syndrome: "It doesn't count unless I do it MY WAY!"
Sharp eyes Prof! These are scanned from the reprint in Superman Family #170. I usually refer to the original placement of stories so people can have a better sense of where the story falls historically.
ReplyDeleteVery cool! I had to pull out all my old, original ACs and re-read them. My first one is #322 w/Kara; 'the planet of outcasts'. Great way to pass a couple of hours. Thankx.
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