So I am recovering from back to back convention weekends - Boston Fan Expo and the terrific Terrificon - so today will be a bit of a fluff piece. Bear with me.
One of things that I like is when I accidentally stumble across Supergirl sightings in comics where I wasn't expecting one. And I am even more thrilled when they are found in books I get out of the 'dollar box' almost randomly, things that just grab my eye and have a little SG-bonus. And there is no better place to rummage through the bargain bins than conventions. So these beauties where just obtained within the last week!
I will admit that one of these books I had heard (and therefore should have known) that there was a Supergirl appearance. But just kick back and check out some Supergirl sighting, all for the completionists out there!
First thing first. Any time I see a Secret Files and Origins issue in the dollar box, I buy it. These can be great stories. But they often have Who's Who style pages and they do give me a sort of 'pulse check' for the comics at the time.
Many podcasts I listen to band together to do a crossover lovingly title JLMay. This year they did the Silver Age storyline which ran through a number of titles in the year 2000. It was big enough that we got a Silver Age Secret Files and Origins.
The art in this book was predominantly done by true Silver Age artists so this is a true time capsule.
So how did Supergirl show up here?
There is a story called 'The Secret of the H-Dial' which covers the origin of the powers of 'Dial H for Hero' characters. It is written by Mark Waid, noted Supergirl fan. And it is drawn by Supergirl legacy artist Jim Mooney! For fans of the good old days, this is a true treat!
Okay, it really isn't Kara. But the Dial H character Susan dials H-E-R-O on the dial and becomes Supergirl, someone she doesn't recognize! Of course, back then, a Kryptonian Supergirl didn't exist. In fact, as noted by Waid in Secret Origins, she really couldn't even be named!
How sweet to see Mooney draw Supergirl again!
To be honest, I listened to the Fire and Water Podcast where this page was noted. I should have remembered. But lucky me to purchase!
Next to that in the dollar box was the Guide to the DC Universe 2001-2002 Secret Files and Origins.
I had never heard of this book but it is a Secret Files and Origins and it sported this great cover by Ariel Olivetti. And I saw that there were Who's Who pages as well as Krypto on the cover. Sold.
Inside, there is an ongoing story of a journalist who is reporting on the big events in the day specifically the fallout of the destruction of Topeka from the Our Worlds At War storyline.
Written by Will Pfeifer with art by Anthony Williams, 'A Day in the Life' includes this 'blink and you'll miss it' sighting of the Linda Danvers/Earth Angel Supergirl. Here she stops some looters.
I am a huge fan of the Linda Danvers Supergirl series so any time I stumble across an appearance I didn't know about I smile! This is it, one panel. But I am glad she was important enough to show up in this guide! Hooray!
Second things second. Any times I see old Secret Origins issues for an affordable price, I am there.
So when I saw Secret Origins #6 in the $2 box and saw it covering two of my faves, Legion and Blackhawk, I was there. The Blackhawk story is a reprint of the original story from 1941 with story by Will Eisner and art by Chuck Cuidera.
But I am here for the Legion stuff.
The story is written by Legion and DC historian E. Nelson Bridwell. Art is by Pete Costanza.
And the opening page shows heroes looking at statues of the original three Legionnaires and learn about their history. Who is there taking it all in? Supergirl.
But here is the moment that warmed my heart.
When R.J. Brande says the three teens should become heroes, they wonder if they are too young.
Brande brings up famous historical heroes who were active as teens, Superboy AND Supergirl.
Usually Superboy is named as the historical impetus for the team to form. So I am thrilled that in this story, Bridwell elevates Supergirl to be just as important. That is thrilling!
So there we go! Three Supergirl sightings I wasn't expecting but made me happy!
Mooney! Linda Danvers! Supergirl as an inspiration for the Legion!
Nothing wrong with any of that!
"In fact, as noted by Waid in Secret Origins, she really couldn't even be named!"
ReplyDelete... The more I think about it and the more I hear about this kind of stuff, the more absurd and damaging the "Kara Zor-El never existed" policy looks. They should have stuck to "Yes, she existed and is remembered by Superman, but she's dead now".
But Byrne hates legacy characters -unless created by him-, so it wasn't possible.
"Usually Superboy is named as the historical impetus for the team to form. So I am thrilled that in this story, Bridwell elevates Supergirl to be just as important. That is thrilling!"
Funny how in the 60's she was treated as the male hero's equal but now fanboys throw a fit whenever she gets anything.
Wasn’t Superboy retconned to be some jerk in the same pocket universe from where Matrix Supergirl came? And I think has been used as a villain a number of times. I don’t envy that character!
ReplyDeleteI think this mess also meant Power Girl “became” Atlantean as long as there could not be another surviving Krytponian. Then when Kara Zor-El reappeared in 2004, Power Girl went into a state of total confusion and despair. Until the multiverse was restored I guess.
Does history record Crisis as a good or horrible choice?
I think Crisis re-invigorated the DC world. I have come to appreciate Kara's sacrifice as a key moment in comic history, not just Supergirl history. So I think it helped.
ReplyDeleteBut almost every bit it undid has ultimately been brought back.
"I think Crisis re-invigorated the DC world."
ReplyDeleteThere's an argument to be done that it invigorated the line and initially led to a creative explosion, indeed.
But it also utterly and irrevocably WRECKED DC continuity, spawning a ton of issues which were previously non-existent. Confusing continuity, confusing identities, confusing and ever-changing backstories, more alternate versions than ever, more legacy characters than DC knows what to do with, reboots, reboots and more reboots, and every single time DC attempts to fix the mess they make it worse. Way, way worse. Exhibit A: Flashpoint.
As far as I'm concerned, it was a real, real bad idea, and DC should have figured it out as soon as they realized they didn't want to fully reboot the line since the Legion, the Teen Titans and Infinite Inc were big sellers.
"I have come to appreciate Kara's sacrifice as a key moment in comic history, not just Supergirl history."
Oh, yes. That big, key moment in comic history that DC tried very, very hard to make everyone forget it ever happened.
Don't get me wrong. It's an iconic moment and ensured Supergirl's legacy and recognizability even among people who knows nothing about the character. But it was in spite of and not because of the people who came up with the Crisis.
Plus, missing most of the Post-Crisis era affected Kara Zor-El for worse. Most of Pre-Crisis characters were being featured in stories written with modern sensibilities, starring in critically-praised runs enjoyed by a new generation of fans.
Kara Zor-El... didn't because she was dead and banned from continuity. As a result of it you run into DC fans claiming the bulk of her stories were Silver Age nonsense, she lacks character depth, she's not needed, the Superman books were better off without her and Supergirl's best run doesn't even feature Kara Zor-El anyway.
Supergirl (2005) #18 was the culmination of the dark storyline where a Monitor, investigating any anomalies that might put the multiverse at risk, had hired Dark Angel, who in turn had contracted with Cassandra Cain, to test Kara. This led to all kinds of violent and bizarre tests.
ReplyDeleteKara passed all the tests, and the Monitor declared her fit to exist.
That doesn't mean the Silver Age Kara was now declared as having existing - merely that while this new Kara was found to be an anomaly, she was harmless and allowed to exist going forward.
My opinion is that this was an unnecessary and overcomplicated idea. Kara Zor-El need not have been an anomaly in this universe. When the Crisis altered continuity, the Silver Age Supergirl had not existed simply because of a timing change. She didn't arrive in 1959, because she was simply still orbiting the sun and arrived later. Seems to me to be a very simple answer to a problem that DC didn't need to fabricate. Unfortunately, that's not the story they decided to write. Of course, the story they did write was more interesting than my theory.
It may be that this storyline was noteworthy as one of the earliest appearances of Cassandra Cain in her new role as a villain, post One Year Later. Another choice that infuriated so many fans.
Reminds me to ask: there is one story, probably in a Supergirl book, where Supergirl encounters a Batgirl who says she's a different one, and Supergirl says she already knows that. Anyone remember when that happens?
I tend to agree with the anons. Crisis was an attempt to make DC more like Marvel, which kind of misses the point of why people read DC's comics instead of Marvel's. The very thing they wanted to eliminate (50 years of continuity to reference) was DC's biggest advantage over Marvel, as far as many fans (myself included) were concerned. As much as it's a cliché, the success of stuff like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns poisoned DC's thinking about what the fans wanted. There have been some series I've enjoyed since then (mostly out of continuity or based on TV shows and movies) but things are pretty far gone.
ReplyDeleteI can't really ever see Supergirl's Incredible Sacrifice in COIE#7 as anything but a irksome detail to DC Comics at the time since they expunged her name, continuity and her very fans from out the DCU realm. Basically DC was run by haters back then, they got everything they ever wanted plus a change to gloat about it (Marv COUGH Wolfman) and in the fullness to time everything they hated came back new and improved and tougher than ever.
ReplyDeleteBut this is why I'm such a paranoid Supergirl fan I know it can all turn on us again...
Good to see Jim Mooney throw down one last time with "Super-Girl" in the floppies though...
JF
"That doesn't mean the Silver Age Kara was now declared as having existing - merely that while this new Kara was found to be an anomaly, she was harmless and allowed to exist going forward."
ReplyDeleteThe whole Loeb/Ruck/Kelly era was retconned when Geoff Johns and Sterling Gates established Post-Crisis Kara's final origin. According Gates, Kara was suffering from Kryptonite-induced dementia back then, and since her origin contradicts the Monitor's statement that the whole "Zor-El got Kara gun her schoolmates down because they were possessed by phantoms" thing was real... well, I'd not put much stock on his words.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure that scene meant Kara was the real Supergirl who belonged to that timeline and NOT an anomaly. The Monitor himself told so.
"When the Crisis altered continuity, the Silver Age Supergirl had not existed simply because of a timing change. She didn't arrive in 1959, because she was simply still orbiting the sun and arrived later. Seems to me to be a very simple answer to a problem that DC didn't need to fabricate. Unfortunately, that's not the story they decided to write."
In fact, DC ultimately opted for an upgraded Silver Age origin where Kara's pod got delayed several decades.
"It may be that this storyline was noteworthy as one of the earliest appearances of Cassandra Cain in her new role as a villain, post One Year Later."
Depending on the TPB, that storyline was called "Identity" or "Breaking the Chain". You can find a summary in the DC Wikia.
"Reminds me to ask: there is one story, probably in a Supergirl book, where Supergirl encounters a Batgirl who says she's a different one, and Supergirl says she already knows that. Anyone remember when that happens?"
Hmm... I can't tell. Maybe a Superman/Batman issue? Kara Zor-El/Stephanie Brown's first team-up?
"As much as it's a cliché, the success of stuff like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns poisoned DC's thinking about what the fans wanted."
I agree.
In the short term it draw fan interest as well as sales. In the long term, though...
"According Gates, Kara was suffering from Kryptonite-induced dementia back then, and since her origin contradicts the Monitor's statement that the whole "Zor-El got Kara gun her schoolmates down because they were possessed by phantoms" thing was real... well, I'd not put much stock on his words."
ReplyDeleteI'm checking it out now - it's ambiguous dialog.
Kara: "So... my father... my memories of Krypton?"
See what they did there? The question is too vague to expect a good answer.
Monitor: "... However, the memories awakened within you... the tragic story of your journey to earth is fact."
A nice vague answer. Which memories are "fact"? What does he mean by the tragic story?
The murders were not on the journey. The tragedy of the journey is that it was needed at all, because she lost everything.
Then Kara asks specifically about protecting Kal from the phantoms, and gets another non-answer:
Monitor: "That is your affair. We shall trouble you no more."
This is classic Comic Book Writing Sleight of Hand Dialog 101. Not that there isn't an art to it, to be concise, evocative and ambiguous at the same time while driving character and plot to a satisfying point in 20 pages. (Or even 10 pages, in a digital-first comic.)
Great finds. I expect Tommy Tomorrow was also in that Dial H story because Jim Mooney drew him too - remember that time the real Kara and Tommy met, in Action Comics #255?
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments.
ReplyDeleteGates has the ‘real’ Zoe-El talk about Kryptonite poisoning causing hallucinations and stuff. I am pretty sure that wiped all the Kelly stuff away. After all, the Zor-El in New Krypton was not the one in Kelly’s run.
And great point about Mooney and Tomorrow Mart!
So I tried to research that "Batgirl meets Supergirl" moment I mentioned above, and can't find it. But during my search I rediscovered some other things:
ReplyDeleteBatgirl introduces herself to Supergirl in Batgirl (2016) Annual #1 (May 2017). This comes in between Supergirl #8 and #9.
But: they had already been together in "Arena," the story on Warworld told in Batman/Superman (2013) Annual #1 (May 2014). Different costumes, but the same people.
It's nit-picking to observe, though, that there is actually no explicit interaction between the two in "Arena" beyond appearing together on the montage-like cover. They don't even share a single panel together. But they were all on the same headset frequency... surely they would have met at the start and end of the mission even if that wasn't drawn.
It's likely that DC or Hope Larson simply forgot they had already met. Or were under the impression these were unrelated continuities.
Pre-Flashpoint Supergirl met Stephanie Brown in the Gates and Igle World's Finest (2009) #3 (Feb 2010); she already knew Oracle.
Interesting where these meetings with Batgirl took place - in neither Supergirl nor Batgirl titles. Keeps us on our toes!
Sorry if this is very boring or obscure.