Review: Supergirl Survive #1

The Summer of Supergirl started out with a bang this week with both Supergirl:The World and the Elseworlds Supergirl Survive #1 hitting the stands. With the movie around the corner, I am pretty thrilled to see DC pushing the character forward.

Supergirl has only headlined a couple of the old prestige Elseworlds in the past - Wings and Elseworld's Finest - so when Survive was announced, I was intrigued. I know really nothing of the writing partners Ethan Parker and Griffin Sheridan. I am familiar with Rod Reis.

One of the wrinkles added to the Supergirl origin when Jeph Loeb brought her back was the idea that she is older than Kal. That an errant path and suspended animation has her land long after Superman had grown up. Elseworlds are about mixing things up so why not have a story where Kara and Kal aren't separated and she truly has to raise him. That is a decent hook.

Parker and Sheridan definitely give this kick-off issue a political angle. Here, Krypton doesn't explode. It is destroyed in a world war brought on by a splintered culture, evident even in the relationship between Jor and Zor. 

But this is a Supergirl story. In this issue we get a sense of who this Kara is, a little shy, a little smart, completely loving. It will be interesting to see where this story leads here.

Rod Reis really has a soft touch here. He brings an almost Phil Noto feel to the art, a high compliment from me. I like his Kara a lot.

On to the book.

The book opens with Kal being born. But the whole scene is focusing on Kara, there to welcome her cousin but also bear witness to the adults in the room.

We immediately see the tension between Zor and Jor. What should be a joyous occasion quickly devolves into an argument about politics. 

I have to admit, this conversation made me think Zor is the right winger, talking about citizenship. But perhaps he means everyone should be considered a citizen.

What I love is the angry look on Kara's face, disgusted at this. This is a celebration. Instead she says Kal is the most magical thing and says she will always protect him. Great foundation for the character.

We get some pages of Kara's normal life, being too shy to ask out Ben-Lo to a formal. Being teased by her friends. Sitting in the science class. Opening locker A252 (nice nod).

But this peace is shattered by a school drill against an 'atom' attack, with kids ducking under desks like a 1950's nuke drill.

You can tell she is a good friend and well-liked. 

And is Ben-Lo a sort of take on Ben Rubel from Rebirth?

After a night with her friend, Kara returns home to her parents watching some depressing news.

The Kryptonian government seems to be a fascist regime, eliminating terrorists ... or protestors ... 

It feels like Zor and Alura are more liberal in thinking, opposed to this view.

Still, love Reis here showing the eye-rolling teen Kara.

Krypton's ruler is Emperor Zod and he has a a zealous group of followers who believe in his view of maintaining safety through fear and violence.

The frenzied art and odd coloring and scribbly letters all wonderfully convey the insanity of Zod and the fierce loyalty of his followers.

But with protestors being killed and Zor's beliefs and this shot, you get the sense this is a splintered world.

That night we get another peek into this Krypton.

Somehow the moon is 'green'. Could the moon be Green K? Somehow irradiated?

Things progress quickly. No more high school days.

The world breaks out in war. Jor-El arrives at Zor-El's home. 

The two brothers haven't spoken in a long time, probably torn apart by politics. 

But with death around the corner, they talk about a time they worked together, on a prototype rocket, for just such a time.

Good on Jor-El for extending the olive branch. Zor opens up with more fire.

There is a prototype rocket, big enough for Kara and Kal, heading to a planet in sector 2814 to hide until the family can find them. This isn't Krypton exploding. This is Krypton in a nuclear war. So maybe the families think they'll survive.

Perhaps my favorite panel is this first one where Alura tells the very young Kara that she is more capable than she thinks. She can do this, care for Kal.

So far, this is a good opening, giving us the fractured Krypton and showing us how it impacts even the Els. Furthermore, I thought I knew where this was going. Kara and Kal heading to Earth for that Elseworlds story.

Instead we get another wrinkle.

The missiles are flying and Kara's escape rocket is hit.

We aren't heading to Earth.

Instead, the farthest it can limp to is the green moon. 

I love when stories take a turn I'm not expecting.

We get a great splash as Kara sees the people of Krypton destroying themselves in an atomic exchange.

Love how Reis has her holding her arm out, like trying to hold on to her home.

We get a cliffhanger, echoing the cover with gun-toting Kara trying to protect her little cousin.

It is clear that Parker and Sheridan are laying out an allegory for Earth and the US in this divided Krypton. And perhaps it is laid on thick albeit briefly. The differences in this Elseworlds are interesting and engaging. Krypton destroying itself in war, not planetary cataclysm. Kara and Kal in the same rocket. Those are good hooks. But this only works when the foundation of Supergirl is intact. This Kara seems caring and smart and fierce in defending the helpless. 

Add to that these pencils of Reis, conveying all the right feelings.

Overall grade: B