Bullet Review: Crime Syndicate #4

One of the best things about this site has been how it has connected me to a truly excellent circle of comic folks on line. If you have been on here for a while you know I have become pretty great friends with Mart Gray of the Too Dangerous For a Girl comic review site. 

Mart has great taste and when he gushed about the Crime Syndicate mini-series, I knew I had to pick it up. It is a complete hoot. 

Yes, this is Earth 3 and these are villainous versions of our heroes. But unlike other recent takes on these characters which has been unrelentingly dark and vicious, this series doesn't sink that deep. Instead there is almost a sly, black humor to the proceedings. 

From silly nonsensical editorial boxes asking us to look for nonexistent back issues to the villains conniving to conquer even as they unwittingly become 'good guys' saving the world from Starro, I have loved this. You can have a villain book that is fun not horrific torture. So judos to writer Andy Schmidt and artist Kieran McKeown.

But this is a Supergirl blog and we know from upcoming solicits that Ultragirl shows up in this series in the final issue. I think we got a peek at her here. 

As in other versions of Earth 3, Luthor is a true hero, trying to deal with the Syndicate and unit the world.

The villains have sudden fame and some good will after their defeat of Starro but they are still scheming.

Meanwhile, Luthor is dealing with a lot of stuff. His company is being sued. He needs to deal with the Syndicate still. And there is some concern of a bigger threat looming.

His bespectacled blonde assistant wonders how she can help. Hmmm.

Luthor tries to rally the world around him.

But what about that little interaction in the first panel.

A super-horse reacting to Luthor's bespectacled blond assistant? Hmmm.

And then when Owlman shows up in his Thomas Wayne to say he is talking over Luthor's company, Luthor's bespectacled blonde assistant takes matters into her own hands, shoving him into the wall hard enough to break the stone.

So it is pretty clear that this is Ultragirl.

There is a sort of Linda Lang to her look here, with the glasses and business suits. 

A super-horse reacting strongly to her is a little funny. Sure, it could just be a nod to her being super. Given the Comet part of Supergirl's history, I thought it was extra funny.

But the big thing to unpack is her loyalty to Luthor. Does he know she is super? Is this a Kryptonian Ultragirl?  If yes, how could she have powers with Kryptonite? Or is this going to be a Matrix-style Supergirl, a version of the character more known to have a fixation with Lex?

Anyways, it looks like she'll be a hero on this world and that makes me happy. 

Can't wait to see how it plays out.

And thanks again Mart for the tip!