The New Justice League United

DC has quasi-rebooted the DCnU after Convergence, bringing in new books, new perspectives, and apparently opening up all Earths and continuities to creators. And I have to give them some proper respect, DC gave free 8 page previews for many of the new books and new directions, sticking them at the back of the Convergence mini-series but making them available for free on line.

One I wanted to look at closely was Justice League United. For those who haven't looked, here is a link to the preview: http://www.comicbookresources.com/comic-previews/dc-sneak-peek-justice-league-united-dc-comics-2015

Now I was interested because I liked Jeff Lemire's run on the book. And Jeff Parker, another writer whose work I love, was taking over so I wanted to see what Parker had in mind. But more importantly, or most importantly, I wanted to see if Supergirl was going to be part of the book. She was a big part of the initial stories. She seems to have been swept aside post-Convergence.

What was going to happen?

Well Parker does a great job showing what he has in mind for the book. The core team of Animal Man, Equinox, Adam and Alana, and Stargirl is intact. They are tasked with taking care of continuity anomalies which have sprung from Convergence. And, knowing the individual nature of each adventure, they'll put together a unique team suited for the threat. Everyone is a possible JL member if their powers match up. It is like the biggest team-up book ever.

And Parker does a great job of showing us how crazy this could be, giving us glimpses of unfortunately forgotten heroes like Firestorm and the Doom Patrol, as well as Swamp Thing, Deadman, and other interesting choices.

Perhaps the best scope shot is the ending splash. I mean, I want to read some Hawk and Dove. And the Marvel Family. And Blue Devil. Etc.

But still, look in that massive Who's Who sort of page. Who isn't there? Supergirl.

And that's a shame because Kara was a great part of JLU.

She was often a big part of the cover treatment, especially the variant covers!

And she grew over even the short time on the book.

She was far from the 'bull-headed, stubborn', dark hero Lemire initially described her as. She might be all business. But she knew enough to save Hawkman rather than chase Lobo. And she also became the muscle of the group, a powerful ally to the team, smiling as she jumped into action with her teammates.

And it isn't as if she didn't have her own little subplots going on.

Lemire set up a backstory with Brainiac 5 in the New 52 Universe. Will we ever see that play out?

And we see that she has become friends with Stargirl and Equinox.

But for some reason, DC has decided to pull the plug completely on this version of Supergirl, just as she was getting interesting and heroic. This seems to be a sort of recurring theme with DC, getting Supergirl to where she needs to be character-wise and then rebooting again.

Will Parker explain her absence? Have Equinox and Stargirl mention their missing friend? Or is Supergirl untouchable?

I will read the Parker book because it sounds like the sort of book I am looking for in the DCU.

But I'll miss Supergirl being there.

Comics Alliance: The History Of Supergirl Explained

With the Supergirl show on the horizon, I have been impressed with the sheer amount of coverage the character is getting. And I'll be honest, I was hoping that her character would get covered by Comics Alliance in a 'Comics, Everybody!' strip.

Lo and behold, it happened this week! Here is the link:
 http://comicsalliance.com/comics-everybody-the-history-of-supergirl-explained/

The idea behind 'Comics, Everybody!' is to review the history of a comic character, often humorously pointing out the crazy twists that can occur only in comics. From resurrections to possessions to reboots, 'Comics, Everybody!' covers all the nuttiness. And whenever there is a question that can't be answered ... well the response is 'comics, everybody'.

So this strip does take a tongue in cheek look at the 'prototype' magic totem Supergirl from Superman #123, Superman throwing Linda into a orphanage, the oddness of Comet, the ickiness of dating Lex, and even the more shrill nature of the initial Loeb reboot and the New 52.

Shockingly, her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths is only mentioned in passing (although as one of the saddest moments in comics!) and without an homage to the cover!

For Supergirl fans it is definitely worth checking out.

But this panel ... far and away ... was my favorite of the piece.

I am an unabashed fan of the Peter David Linda Danvers/Matrix series. So to see that character redone as a 'Scott Pilgrim' like character, earning 'Wings of Fire' was just about perfect.

The perfectionist in me says she never sported the wings while wearing the DCAU uniform. But this strip is a sort of mash-up of her history. It is easily forgiven.

I love the fact that Supergirl is getting all this attention. It has been a long time coming!

Superman's "New" Power

It was big news!

Superman was getting a new power!

Something we haven't seen before!

Incredible! Amazing! Astounding!

In Superman #38 we see Superman release all his solar energy into a 'super-flare', a solar flare which incinerates a quarter mile of land, defeating Ulysses in one blow.

But new?

Maybe for him.

Supergirl has been doing this for a while.

During the initial period of the New 52, writers Michael Green and Mike Johnson talked about Supergirl's unique power. They noted that male and female Kryptonians might process yellow sun energy differently. We were all waiting to see what they meant ...

Well in Supergirl #7, the wait was over. In her fight with the World-Killers, Kara unleashes her energy as an attack. I called it the 'corona wave'. But it was basically a flare.

Later, in Supergirl #9, while battling the Black Banshee, she unleashes her energy to try to defeat him.

It is clear that Kara seems to be able to vary her flare power. She never incinerates a quarter mile of land. But here, Silver Banshee is able to survive despite being close by. And the city block is not razed.

That said, she seems to dial it up in Supergirl #17 when battling Wonder Woman. And are those atomic rings around her? Downright Firestorm-ish.

She also seems to be in more control of this power. In Superman #38, it seems to explode from Kal. Here, Kara is standing, in a position of power, and speaking.

Nice panel here by Mahmud Asrar. Beautiful.

In my favorite use of the power, in Supergirl #20,  Supergirl unleashes her flare to destroy Sanctuary, her fortress which was self-aware and trying to kill her.

This is as close to Kal's version that we have seen. This is a huge explosion which does wipe out Supergirl, leaving her depleted and unconscious. So she can apparently dial it up. And if she expends enough energy, she can become vulnerable like Kal.

Again, beautiful page. There is something akin to the end of All-Star Superman to that top panel. Incredible.

I am fairly certain that the last time we have seen Kara use this power was in Supergirl #21 when she uses it to free herself from an I'Noxian defense system. This looks pretty dramatic too.

We have gone a year and a half since the last Supergirl flare. I wonder if Johns' was aware of it?

And will we see Supergirl use it again? Or is this power now solely Superman's?

Kid Robot Supergirl Key Chain

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a new addition to the Supergirl shrine available at my local comic book store. I was in the midst of some work-life angst and so seeing a little Supergirl merchandise threw a little bit of sunlight into my dark mood.

Kidrobot has come out with a series of DC Comics related keychains of some of the more prominent DC characters and Supergirl is one of them.

This is a cute little figurine of Supergirl in her New 52 costume. And, like many of the pieces of merchandise in the New 52 costume, I like it better here than I have in some of the comics.

This has a sort of stop-motion animation feel to it. It looks a little like it could be in Coraline.

The back of the box shows the ten characters 'immortalized' as a Kidrobot keychain.

There aren't many surprises here I suppose. The Joker and Catwoman are the only villains. Plastic Man is an interesting choice but works as a stretchy keychain.

I feel like Supergirl has risen in prominence to be in this group. I don't know if she would have made the cut a couple of years ago.

It found a nice little spot in the New 52 section of the Shrine.

And I think it is a nice addition as it adds a little bit of cuteness to an otherwise serious section.

Here is a closeup!

Always glad to add something to my Kara collection.

DC All Access

I have been pleasantly surprised with the amount of publicity DC has been giving the new creative team on Supergirl. Between interviews on the usual websites and videos on DC All Access, the creative team has been spreading the word about the 'new' Kara and  Crucible.

And that coverage reached a wide audience of DC fans this week when the Supergirl book was the topic of the DC All Access page in all comics this week!

The opening paragraphs talk about angst and confusion but there isn't the bratty negative overlay of prior runs and prior runs publicity. Instead this one goes on to talk about the new direction and Crucible.

And mentioning the new Batgirl and Divergent is savvy. Both of those properties are wildly popular right now.

In fact, I keep wondering why this run hasn't caught the 'lightning in a bottle' that Babs new direction has. This Kara is strong, independent, heroic, and fierce. The book has a female writer and artist. The concept of Crucible is solid and fun.

I can only hope that this little article entices some new readers into the fold.

And kudos for DC for promoting the book!

2014: Year in Review Non-Comics

The next stop on my 2014 Year in Review is to look at all that happened to her outside of the comic book world.

Let's face it, the biggest Supergirl news ... maybe since Kara Zor-El was brought back in 2004 ... was the revelation that there was going to be a live action Supergirl show on CBS. Produced by Flash/Arrow gurus Greg Berlanti and Ali Adler, the show seems poised for the 2015 season and sounds great. The publicity machine around the show has been chugging along revealing things about the Supergirl character, her supporting cast, and possible villains.

Here is how Kara is described:

For Kara Zor-El aka Kara Danvers, the show is eyeing Caucasian females, age 22 to 26, to play 24. As the series’ mythology goes, Kara at age 12 was sent from her dying home planet of Krypton to Earth, where she was taken in by the Danvers, a foster family who taught her to be careful with her extraordinary powers. After repressing said skills for more than a decade, Kara is forced to bust out her super moves in public during an unexpected disaster. Energized by her heroism for the first time in her life, she begins embracing her abilities in the name of helping the people of her city, earning herself a super moniker along the way.

I don't know if, in my wildest dreams, I ever thought that Supergirl would be a TV show on a major network. So this seems like the best possible Christmas gift a Supergirl fan could ever get. It is only made better by the fact that Berlanti and Adler seem to 'get' DC characters. I love the Flash. And while I don't watch Arrow religiously, when I stumble on an episode, I think it is well done. I hope Supergirl is more like the Flash, a brighter hero story.

I also like that she is with the Danvers, has an older sister, and will run into the Toyman and Hank Henshaw. It all sounds almost too good to be true.

We had one casting rumor (Claire Holt) which seems to have been just that ... a rumor. I will hold on to hope that Molly Quinn will play Kara and Alexandra Daddario will play her sister Alex.

But no doubt about it, this is probably the biggest Supergirl story of the year.

A Supergirl live action television show ... INCREDIBLE!!

As for merchandising, Supergirl continued to be a popular subject.

In April, a Kotobukiya statue came out which looked wonderful. I liked the pose, the metallic sheen to the costume, and her expression of confidence on Kara here.

And I am not a big fan of the New 52 costume. But I have to admit, it looks pretty good here.

In September, a New 52 Supergirl figure was released by DC Direct.

Like the statue, the figure actually makes the New 52 costume look pretty good. The expression on this figure is a bit wide-eyed and crazy. But otherwise, this is a great figure.

And then, for those of us not rich enough to afford the original Mego figure, Figures Toy Company came out with a Superman line of retro faux Mego figures. And one of those was this Silver Age Hot Pants action figure ... in ballerina slippers no less!

The hair is a bit bouffant-y. But there is such nostalgia, such a classic feeling, that I love this figure. And the packaging is just beautiful too! There isn't much merchandise in this costume, so I am glad to have this in my collection.

2014 was also the year of the Bombshell. While I liked the Wonder Woman and Black Canary bombshell look, this Supergirl costume didn't grab me.

That said, it was made into a t-shirt, a statue, a print, and even a tumbler glass. I don't have any of that in my collection.

So Supergirl remains a decent seller on the merchandising side of things and 2014 continued that trend with high quality pieces.

 I was able to grab some commissions from the conventions I made it to this last year. This is a great batch by Marcio Takara, Cat Staggs, Chris Burnham, Daniel Govar, and Mitch Gerads. Nice additions and every one of them beautiful!

Lastly, I will close out my review of the best of 2014 by saying thanks to Mike Maihack again for continuing to produce Batgirl/Supergirl comics that are fantastic and fun. There were several this year but this one, poking fun a the lunacy of Kara being a rage-filled Red Lantern is my favorite. Just great.

So that closes my Supergirl review of 2014!

I'd love to hear from everyone what they thought about the year! What did you like best?

Graphic Policy Interviews Emanuela Lupacchino

DC has been doing a great job with publicity for Supergirl and the new direction the title is taking. K. Perkins and Mike Johnson have been interviewed on the usual sites, discussing where Supergirl is going and what new characters we are going to run into.

But I was glad to see artist Emanuela Lupacchino get interviewed by the site Graphic Policy. While Lupacchino predates Perkins and Johnson on the book, she is part of the new direction as well. And I have wanted to hear her thoughts about Supergirl and her approach to the character for some time. Here is a link to the whole interview: http://graphicpolicy.com/2014/11/27/we-talk-supergirl-with-ema-lupacchino/
As always I recommend reading the whole interview by heading to the site. But here are some of the questions that grabbed me and my usual commentary.

Graphic Policy: How did you get the chance to draw this iconic character?
Ema Lupacchino: From what I remember, It happened in just three seconds – Eddie Berganza asked me if I’d  have liked to work on Supergirl and I said “YES”. I was really happy when he named “Supergirl” as the title I could have been working on, I love this character.
GP:  Supergirl is fairly iconic in terms of her costume and her design,  What do you do to put your own personal touch on this character?
EL: What I think is that the costume is not really important in order to define a character – the key is the attitude I give to her. I feel this responsibility every time I have to feature a specific character with the acting, the gesture, the expressions – it’s what describes him or her the most, the costume is just an outfit. This is what I try to give to her, a very specific temper and attitude. It can be a look, a way to move, a feeling. I want her to be as “real” as possible.

I am always glad to hear that creators on the book are fans of the character. So I was glad to see Lupacchino loves the character. I would love to know more of Lupacchino's history with Kara. Did she read the book before she came on board? Have a favorite version?

I also think that Lupacchino does bring a strength and feel to the character. It feels that her art has actually improved over her time on the book, becoming more expressive, as she grows with the character. I think I first felt that resilience and core in the panel above, just as Kara shed the red ring.

GP:  In the most recent issue (#36), Kara is wearing Supergirl-blue nail polish, which is a nice touch for the character.  Did you have any input into that?  
EL:  YES! It was me, I confess! I love blue nails, and since it’s more modern that the classic red one I thought it could be a smart way to show she’s living our timeline.

Whether it be blue (which I do think is quite fetching) or any other color, the very addition of nail polish shows that Kara is embracing Earth as her home. It is something very human.

It is small touches like this that add depth to any book. It also shows a dedication to detail by the artist. Thrilled.

GP:  Also in the most recent issue Kara is thrown into some Kryptonian battle armor, which looked pretty amazing.  What were your inspirations for the design?
EL:  I was inspired by some pretty amazing concepts, mostly by Japanese illustrators I really love, like Terada for example. Japanese are the best at conceiving sci-fi technologies and I wanted to give a sense of futuristic tech on her armor, in order to help her feel light and comfortable at the same time.
 GP:  The series has generally been a mix between Earth based stories and outer-space cosmic stories.  Is there a setting between the two that you prefer?
EL:  Space, of course! On Earth, as our real world, nothing extraordinary really happens – but out there in the space, extraordinary things can be discovered: futuristic technologies, new worlds and races that are very exciting to draw.

I am hoping that the Battle Armor doesn't become the default costume. While it is very slick, I don't want Supergirl to be armored. Seems too '90s. Breaking it out now and then when the battle calls for it would be fine in my book. But how about something more classic ... or at least without the red crotch section.

GP:  Speaking of outer space based stories, the world which you designed for the Crucible is pretty complex and amazing, between the different environments and an awesome looking space station.  How much input did you get into the design of the planet?
EL:  The idea of the Crucible as a bracelet orbiting on two twin stars was written in the script, and I think it’s a very cool idea. I spent a lot thinking about how to design it. You know, there were many factors to consider out there – the balance it should have with the stars’ orbit, the dimension, the details, the dimension of the ships outside. At the beginning I was working on some preliminary studies that didn’t really give the sense of its size, so I asked my friend Emiliano Santalucia to help me in figuring out what wasn’t really working with it. So he suggested to me to draw a huge diameter bracelet in which we can barely see where it ends over the stars. That worked perfectly, thanks Emil!

It is a great visual so I was glad to hear the development of the look. Beautiful.

I hope Lupacchino stays on the book for an extended period of time. Her art is just spectacular. And I love her civilian Kara as much as the hero flying into action.

New 52 Supergirl Action Figure

There has been a recent surge in collectibles of Supergirl in her New 52 costume. Between the Artgerm statue, the Kotobukiya statue, and this New 52 action figure, that corner of my collection wearing that costume has grown.

The figure itself comes in a nice clean package. I do like how the front has the 'peel' appeal of the DC logo. I don't quite understand the Kryptonite shard included with the figure. Could it be some sort of homage to the odious 'stab H'El in the chest' moment in the books?

And I can't believe I just remembered H'El on Earth. Yeesh.

I do like the figure quite a bit, even if I am not to fond of the costume itself.

The low point of the figure is the 'crazy eyes' look she has on close up. Maybe she is wide-eyed about how much she loves Earth? (I can dream).

The metallic gloss red works well with the boots and costume elements but it unfortunately stands in contrast to the matte red cape. And the hair invokes Mahmud Asrar's excellent art.

For some reason, I like the look of this figure more at an angle.

This looks more heroic than head on ... at least for me.

The cape itself is pretty simple with a couple of folds. Nice gold edging though.

And so you see that there are now several pieces in the New 52 corner of the shrine.

These are all really excellent pieces. DC has done a good job with the collectibles of the New 52 costume. That said, I still wouldn't mind seeing it go away.

Bring back the red skirt/full shirt Matrix costume!

Review: Superman:Doomed #2

Superman:Doomed #2 came out this week and I am going to be honest and say that I am thrilled that this arc is over.

It isn't as if there weren't fine moments in this somewhat drawn out mega-crossover. There were. In fact, there were plenty of fine moments in this issue, many of which I will share. But finding those moments felt at times like panning for gold. You need to work your way through a lot of silt to find the treasure.

For every great character moment, for every nuance, for every bit of heroes acknowledging what an inspiration Superman there were many more empty cliffhangers, dropped subplots, and character gaffes.

Perhaps most annoying was the concept of the 'infected Superman' which changed issue to issue ... page to page. Was it an infection out of control? Could he will himself back to normal? Was he cured by 'good feelings' at one point? Was he dying? Without clearly understanding the threat of this Doomsday virus, I didn't feel invested. In one issue Superman is so out of control he exiles himself into space. In the next, Baka's warm feelings completely cures him. Huh??

And then there is the 'real villain' of the piece Brainiac. His plot is also something of a jumbled mess. He is draining the minds of humans starting in Smallville and Metropolis. He sends down drones that are a feint. He has the Cyborg Superman as a sort of misdirection. And he has a ship that in some issues is 4x the size of Earth but in others is like the JLA satellite. At least in Doomed #2 we find out his plan.

As if adding to the disjointed feeling of the overall arc, this issue has 9 credited artists. Each page is beautiful. But you can't go from Lashley to Churchill to Herbert without feeling a little dizzy from the stylistic changes.

Now listen ... I am about to show you the high points. And they are good high points. But as a whole Doomed was like a runny omelet. Some bites were delicious. But mostly it was a mess.

Last issue ended with Brainiac's ship arriving and Superman deciding the only way to break into the Collector ship and stop him is to go full-Doomsday mode. He sheds his humanity and lets the Doomsday in him surge. See ... maybe I am trying to think about this a bit too medically. How does this even happen? From human to Doomsday because he willed the infection to go out of control??

There are only a few free minds on the planet and Lana and Lois are among them. I like that first panel with the two most important women in Clark's life looking up, confident he will save everyone. It is nice that they have faith in him.

And I also liked the next panel explaining the coloring snafu of a couple of issues back when Lois was her normal skin tone. She turns green when she uses her psionic powers. Nice recovery.

 Superdoom basically begins tearing through the ship, hoping to get to the core and disable/dismantle the Brainiac tech.

While Lana and Lois were on the same page just before, here we see how they differ. And it might be the first time I haven't liked Lana in the Pak era.

Lois tells Clark to not lose himself to the monster, to not do something he might regret. But Lana ... she outright tells him to kill Brainiac. It makes me think that maybe Lana doesn't understand Clark quite as well as I thought she did.

 Like much of this arc, a lot of time takes place on the mental plane. Brainiac might be safe in his control room and Superdoom might be running through walls but the real confrontation is taking place in the mind as Brainiac tells Clark his plot.

It turns out that Brainiac is gathering all the sentient mind energy he can. He knows that observation can change reality. He hopes to have enough 'observer power' to recreate the universe.

It is a riff on the old 'light will behave like a wave or a particle depending on the belief of the observer' experiment. But it is a bit much to swallow.

But let's say that I decide to swallow it. Let's say that Brainiac needs lots of minds to do this (indeed he says he has already drained billions). The last place you would ever go is Earth!! Why go to the place with the guy who has trounced you over and over? Drain every other planet you find. Why poke the beehive?

 Back on Earth, Brainiac discovers that the resistance is hiding in the Fortress. So he sends his troops in hoping to distract them. One of his army is the Cyborg Superman.

Now after being sullied and mistreated in the prior big Superman crossovers, Greg Pak and Charles Soule treat her very well in her few moments in the book.

First off, the Cyborg tells her of Brainiac's plans, saying that Brainiac could give them back Krypton. He asks her who would even care about Earth when that could happen. It is basically the same hook that H'El tried to get Kara to help him The same.

And yet it is clear Kara has grown a bit. She isn't lured by that anymore. She cares about Earth and wallops him with a nice left jab.

 Again, conversing in their minds, Brainiac warns Superman what is going to happen if the fight on Earth continues, if Superman doesn't allow Brainiac to rewrite history.

Supergirl will kill her father the Cyborg. Then she will be forced to kill Superman who will be out of control as Doomsday. Then she will become infected by the spores and become Doomsday herself.

I had to include this page. There is something very meta about this page with an enraged Kara, having killed her father, splitting Superman in two and becoming a monster. It is drawn by Ian Churchill who drew the Jeph Loeb and early Joe Kelly Supergirl issues, the one where she is a monster who gunned down her classmates and was trying to kill Superman.

That has to be why he was chosen to draw these pages right? It would have fit right into the last Supergirl series, somewhere around issue #10 I would say.

That said, Churchill does draw the bottom of the costume differently. Look at the second panel. The red area is broader and it looks more like gym shorts than a bathing suit. I like that way more than the usual interpretation.

This is a very good page by Pak with a very good moment for Supergirl.

Superman tell Brainiac is that he doesn't understand the cousins. Kara might have been a little out of control at one point but she won't kill the Cyborg.

And she doesn't. Instead she just pounds him and is victorious.

After seeing him utterly defeat her and kill her in her own book a couple of times over, it is great to see Kara finally win here.

But this is Superman and Brainiac's battle on the psychic plane.

Brainiac enters the marauding Superdoom's mind and shows Clark possible futures ... if only Superman will let the Coluan recreate the universe. In one of them, Steel and Lana marry and become the heroes of Metropolis allowing Superman to retire.

In another, drawn by Dave Bullock, Superman's very presence has an effect on humanity. The world becomes a better place, inspired by Superman. Crime and evil fades away. And Batman gets to retire!

But these glimpses into a possible peaceful future doesn't change the fact that the universe would be rewritten by a tyrant. Superman is able  to shrug these off as folly.

Bullock's style is pleasingly like Darwyn Cooke's. It works for this sequence.

Oh yeah ... remember that subplot where Wonder Woman went into the Phantom Zone to convince Mongul to use Warworld to attack Brainiac? Remember?

Well, we get reminded of it for 2 pages. Diana fires Warworld from within the Zone, blasting Brainiac's ship, weakening Brainiac's defenses and resolve.

Can you fire a weapon from within the Zone, through a portal, and out into the universe??

And I think of the time spent in the Phantom Zone over the issues - hunting Dr. Xa-Du, fighting Mongul, etc. It all seems like a waste of time as none of it seemed to impact the story greatly.

With Brainiac weakened by Superdoom beating him up, the mental plane becomes something of an even playing field. In fact Lois is able to join Superman there to try to battle Brainiac.

In this state, Brainiac's true intentions are finally revealed. His origin includes him losing his wife and child. He is anguished by this. He wants a universe where they are still in his life. And that touches Superman. When Lois is about to psionically kill Brainiac, Superman talks her down.

They should want peace, not punishment.

It is a nice moment showing the core of Superman's beliefs.

That said, I am a bit tired of the 'sympathetic back story for a villain'.

This stay of execution is something of a pause. Brainiac ends up continuing his assault on Earth, is killing the population by draining them, and still wants to recreate the universe. There is no easy way to stop this plot now that it has gone this far.

The only solution is for Lois to drain Brainiac of all his power and then shove it into Superman.

Again, I have some problems with this. Brainiac is the most powerful psionic in this universe (personally I just miss him being super-intelligent). So how can Lois, a neophyte given powers by Brainiac be capable enough to drain him.

And then giving them to Superman?

Look at this panel. Is this what we want Superman to be? This monstrous amalgam. Can't we just have Superman? You know what it reminds me of ...

That's right. Morrison looked into the future.

And then a whole bunch of things happen that I don't know if I quite follow.

Superman, energized by his powers, Doomsday strength, and billions of sentients mental energy, grabs Brainiac and flies him to a black hole. Or maybe he creates the black hole with his 'observation powers'.  Somehow all of this strips Lois of her Brainiac power and rids Superman of all the Doomsday virus particles.

It may be that both Brainiac and Superman head through the black hole ... it's hard to tell. At the very least Superman shoves Brainiac through it.


So is it the black hole or the observation powers that does all this. I guess I have to roll with it.


But once again, the whole 'Doomsday infection' is so convoluted that it is hard to wrap my head around. Gravity cured him? Good feelings? And as this infection was the crux of this whole arc, I am both irked and underwhelmed.

But within the black hole, Brainiac seems to have been placed in a Hypertime like area of alternate realities.

There is a lot to digest here. That's a pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths JSA (based on Huntress costume). That's Plastic Man and Uncle Sam on Earth X, also pre-COIE. There's Lord Volt and Lady Quark, peri-COIE. But also a red trunked Superman, the Flashpoint world, the vampire Batman from the Red Rain Elseworlds. And a classic Harley Quinn!

This really had nothing to do with Doomed and might be the best page, with great art by Aaron Kuder.

So, mercifully, Doomed ends.

For this issue, we have Lois having faith in Superman, that great moment of compassion by Superman, the future sequence with a retired Batman, and all the Supergirl stuff as high points. But I have to weigh that against all the low points here ... the concept of rewriting the universe, the Lois power levels, the cure at the end. And against the big issues I have had with the Doomed arc itself, the feints, missteps, and inconsistencies.

Overall grade: C

Review: Supergirl Futures End #1

 

I  have been singing the praises of Tony Bedard's recent work on Supergirl, rehabilitating her character and making her more heroic, more inspirational. I also have been bemoaning the fact that his tenure on the book is all too brief.

I also know that I was not looking forward to reading Supergirl Futures End #1. Crossovers have not been nice to this incarnation of Supergirl. And just when the character was turning the corner, was being 'good', she is thrust into a dystopian future five years hence. The cover displays her as a bladed cyborg, working with the Cyborg Superman, her twisted father. And the solicit talks about her reconciling with her father in the most horrific way.

I thought we were moving away from this!

Amazingly, and perhaps not surprisingly given what we have read, Tony Bedard is able to make lemonade out of the lemons of Futures End, crafting a story which shows ... eventually ... Supergirl's strength both mental and physical. This isn't a perfect story ... how could it be given the overall circumstances ... but it at least ends with a heroic Kara. And I have to be happy with that.

Art is by Emanuela Lupacchino and it shines. I feel like over the last couple of months, Lupacchino has really grown comfortable with Supergirl. The book flows beautifully. And it is a style which fits the character very nicely.

 The book starts with Cyborg Superman (Herald One) and Cyborg Supergirl (Herald Two) floating above Earth. The two initially worked for the Collector but broke free of his control and started their own mission, to find a world where the inhabitants could be genetically manipulated to become neo-Kryptonians, recreating that 'perfect' world.  Earth seems to be the right place. Humanity 'looks' like Kryptonians. And there are Metans ... called neo-Sapiens ... that could be the building blocks of a new race.

Any book whose title is a quote from Voltaire at least has some potential.

Immediately there are some funny details about this opening scene. Supergirl speaks of how 4 years ago the Cyborg made her perfect, erasing her memories. She only knows she was miserable and hated Earth.  The truth is that if this was done after the first year of the title, I would believe that sentiment. But recently Kara hasn't been miserable and seemed to embrace Earth. Odd ...

What is missing is any fact of her willingly joining the Cyborg.

 Kara's presence on Earth is detected by Shay Veritas who sends someone after her.

What I like about this is that Veritas clearly cares about Kara, as does this unknown plane pilot. 

But here is what really grabbed me. Veritas says that Kara hasn't been on Earth for nearly a year.

So was she fighting with the Cyborg 4 years ago? Or was she on Earth one year ago? Something isn't right here.

I hope this isn't just an editorial flub.

 The pilot turns out the be one of the 'neo-Sapiens', Captain Comet. Comet is able to repel Cyborg Superman briefly so he can enter Supergirl's mind.

I love this semi-splash page. Kara's memories and psyche are laid out nicely here. I love how Comet's eyes are huge, peeking into Kara's mind. I love how the internal Kara is wearing a completely white costume. It makes me think that Kara thinks she is better than what her body is doing. She is pure, in white, even if her Cyborg form is blasting other planets, trying to genomorph them.

And I love that Supergirl, at some point, joins a version of the Wanderers. You can see versions of the 30th century group here - Photine instead of Quantum Queen, Quiller instead of Dartalon, some bird person like Ornitho. And this team of super-heroes are 'in awe' of her.

No I am biased but I always thought that Supergirl would be the leader of the next generation of heroes. Remember when James Peaty had her impressing Damian and M'Gann? So having her be the inspiration within her own group makes me happy. She was their role model.

But there is more to this story. The group went out to try and stop the Cyborg's reign of terror. But during one of these battles, he grabbed Supergirl and left. Was this only a year ago? Does the Cyborg know he is Zor-El??

Now there is something else a little odd here. We learn that Kara and Captain Comet are romantically involved. Maybe this was the love interest that Bedard hinted about in interviews, and not Michael from last issue.

But wasn't Comet born the night Superman's rocket landed, Kal's rocket blasting over Adam's delivery is what triggered his mutation ... that is if Grant Morrison's story is still in continuity. I don't know if I like Supergirl dating someone 15 years older than her. To be fair, I don't know if that origin is still intact for Comet. And Lupacchino draws him looking as young as Kara.

 Comet's mind-meld with Kara opens up her mind. She suddenly remembers who she is and is horrified by what she has become and what she has done.

This set of panels is depressing. She still doesn't know this is her father. But she is curious. I wonder if part of her knows. But that second panel,  where she looks at her robot hand, revolted by what she is, is sad.

 At least we learn through all of this that Kara didn't willingly join the Cyborg on his genocidal strikes. Rebelling against him, the Cyborg Superman tries to take control of her robot parts. Supergirl is literally fighting herself.

And then we get this great panel. It is a very visceral image as Kara rids herself of the evil in her body, ripping off the purely mechanical limb.

Somehow this sequence of Kara fighting herself seems to sum up a lot of her problems in the New 52. I have always sensed that this Kara is a good person, someone who cares and wants to help, but she was so overwhelmed by anger that she couldn't act.

Unfortunately the Cyborg is still pretty strong and overpowers Supergirl. Just as it looks like he might kill her (his own daughter!!), the rest of the Wanderers show up.

You want proof that Supergirl can be an inspiration, a role model, an example of self-sacrifice? Read their words. Every one of them would die for her. She must have been tremendous in this group. Too bad we'll never read those adventures (unless this is a peek at some of the student body in the upcoming Crucible Academy).

And then we get a nice ending panel. Kara strips her body of the cybernetics. But scars and all, Captain Comet loves her and is happy she is back. She might have tried to force perfection on races with the Cyborg but that way doesn't work. And something as simple as a kiss can be perfection.

So how should I regard this story?

Should I dwell on Cyborg Superman somehow defeating and brainwashing Supergirl? That she destroyed races with him? That she still seemed to harbor some anger?

Or should I look at how she was a hero with the Wanderers? That she was their leader. Should I look at how hard she fought once she was in her right mind?

In the end, I looked at both equally. And in some ways I am tired of stories where Supergirl realizes she can be happy and a hero and will put her past behind her. What I really really really want is that past behind her, a dot in the rear view mirror, and her acting like a hero. These stories of redemption for her are great. It is great that she decides to be an inspiration and a hero.

But it is time ... let's have a long long run of Supergirl being the inspiration and hero.

Still, for a Futures End crossover, this was one of the better issues. And Lupacchino's art is just fantastic.

Overall grade: B+/B