Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 Fallout: Superman #414

Last week, I reviewed the Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 sections of the George Perez Tribute issue of Back Issue. It reminded me of just how in depth my coverage of COIE #7 has been on this site over the last 15 years. By now, I thought I might have covered almost everything. I even have a subset of posts called Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 Fallout, deeper looks at books reflecting closely on the events of that famous book.

So I was shocked, truly, to realize that over the time of this site I have never covered Superman #414, a Crisis crossover issue in the immediate aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7. This issue came out in September of 1985, 2 months after Supergirl's death in the Crisis.  In many ways, it is an epilogue to Supergirl's life although it takes a long time to get there.

Writer Elliot S! Maggin clearly had a tale to tell, of Superman mourning Kara's death and returning her body to Rokyn, New Krypton and her family. But to get there, he needs to tell a very padded tale of the Superman Revenge Squad causing some havoc. There are a lot of needless splash pages, aerial fights over Rokyn, and home scenes of Van-Zee. In fact, if you removed the Revenge Squad story you could have a tight 8 pager showing the aftermath of Kara's death with a bit more dignity. I get that you need action in comics, especially then, but I would have preferred a 22 pager showing that aftermath. While I am glad we got this epilogue, it still feels like Kara got short shrift here.

To make things maybe a touch worse, the art is a bit muddy. Curt Swan's usual magnificence is rendered crudely by co-artist (inker?) Al Williamson. Even the lettering by Ed King feels a bit wonky. I do like the cover by Eduardo Barreto. Barreto drew the back end of the 1980's Supergirl title. So seeing his take on the iconic COIE #7 cover is a nice touch here. 

On to some details.

Back Issue Box: Superman Family #165

I am rapidly approaching my 15th anniversary here on the site. That is a loooooong time and that means that I have reviewed a lot of books! It also means that I sometimes forget what I have reviewed and what I haven't reviewed. 

So I have to admit that I was shocked when I discovered that I have never reviewed Superman Family #165, the first original Supergirl story in the Superman Family anthology book. 

This is a crazy time for the Superman books. Back in February of 1974, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen was 'canceled' with Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #163. The numbering for the book was assumed by Superman Family, an anthology book with a rotating original story (noted by the larger image on the cover and the top spot of the character role on the left). Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and Supergirl would rotate that original story spot during this bimonthly 'reprint' era of the book. 

Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane was still being published when Superman Family came about but it only had a few more issues before it was canceled and rolled into anthology. Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #137 was the final issue, in the September/October 1974 schedule. 

The first solo Supergirl book was still on-going, but nearing the end of its 10 issue run. Supergirl #10, the last issue of that volume, was also on the racks in that fateful September/October 1974 shipping window.

Here we have Superman Family #165, on the rack in the June/July 1974 shipping window, meaning for a couple of months folks were getting an extra original Supergirl story to read and enjoy!

Put in the historical context, Supergirl had been part of a mobile news team in her Adventure Comics run, which ended with Adventure Comics #424. That story, cover dated October 1972, had her quit the journalism racket. The next month in Supergirl #1, cover dated November 1972, Linda enrolled in Vandyre University as an acting student.

Now semi-headlining Superman Family, it was time for another change. Talk about a character being a bit in the blender. And things get even crazier. So let's dive in!

Back Issue Review: Superman #247

Last week I reviewed Superman #25, the first chapter in the Synmar plot which marks the end of the Brian Michael Bendis run on the character. In that pilot, we see a race of aliens called the Synmar who seem to live in judgment over the universe. In fact, there is a brief discussion about stopping Kal-El's rocket before the baby Kryptonian can become some sort of monster.

The idea of some alien race sitting in judgment over Kal-El certainly stirred up memories of 'The Trial of Superman' storyline from the diamond era. But it also made me pull out Superman #247 in which the Guardians of the Universe wonder if they should curtail Superman's actions. They sort of sit in judgment over him as they try to impart a hard lesson.

"Must there be a Superman?" is one of the more famous Superman stories and certainly is a 'must reprint' in any Bronze Age or Seventies Superman collection. And it is an interesting thought exercise. What should Superman do? And what shouldn't he do? 

 

Perhaps most interesting is that the Guardians of the Universe espouse a very Luthorian view of Superman in this book. Luthor always screams that Superman is holding humanity back. Here the Guardians say much the same thing.

 

And the narrative boxes are also somewhat novel told in the second person, as if you the reader is Superman. 

 

On to the book.

Back Issue Box: Superman Family #174

In Supergirl Episode 406, 'A Call to Arms', Supergirl fought a dragon.

Thanks to a comment on this site, I was reminded that this wasn't the first time Supergirl had fought a dragon. I was reminded that Supergirl fought a dragon in Superman Family #174. How could I not dip into the back issue box to review it!

Of course, that led me to review the other time Supergirl fought a dragon (sort of) in Adventure Comics #418.

So sit back and relax and get ready for me to review and try as best I can to makes some sense of the following story. Because it is one of the nuttiest stories I have ever read.

Superman Family #174 came out in late 1975.

In 1974, Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane was canceled at #137. Supergirl's solo title was also canceled in 1974 at #10. And Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen was renamed Superman Family with #164. Those three solo books were basically consolidated into the 'new title' Superman Family.

Readers were given one story for each of the three main players. One story would be new; the other two would be reprints. The new stories would rotate and readers would know who was the star of the new material by who dominated the cover.

And so Superman Family #174 had 'Eyes of the Serpent' starring Supergirl as the lead and fresh story.  It has a sweet cover drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger showing Supergirl using her cape to block a dragon's nostril fire.

Matrix Supergirl Origins ... From The Silver Age?

For those who didn't know, I was on vacation last week and that meant a pretty deep immersion into comics. Ahhh ... free time. And it was a very zen experience, grabbing runs on books (Morrison's New X-Men), mini-series (hello Legionnaires Three!), and individual issues based solely on memories, suggestions, and mentions in my social media timeline.

One of the issues that I decided to reread, mostly because we are getting the Action Comics Special #1, returning Luthor to his purely evil roots, was Superman #292.

I don't think I can express how important this issue was for me as a kid. I am sure it was bought at a yard sale. While I knew who Luthor was already, this was a primer on his history. Please remember that in a world where there wasn't the internet, Comixology, or a glut of trades, readers only knew hardcore comic history through flashbacks, reprints, and editor's note boxes. This issue taught me who Luthor was and why he hated Superman.

So, you might be asking, why is this post titled 'Matrix Supergirl Origins'? Well ... read on.

Digest Cast: Supergirl

You all have read my thoughts about Supergirl over the years here.

Have you ever wanted to HEAR my thoughts on Supergirl?

Over on the Fire and Water Network of podcasts, I was invited onto the DigestCast to discuss The Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digests #17 - The Many Lives Of Supergirl.

Here is the link for DigestCast so go and listen!

We review this great digest from 1981 showing the different periods of Supergirl's life.
There is orphan and secret weapon Supergirl in The Great Supergirl Mirage from Action Comics #256 (by Otto Binder and Jim Mooney).
There is revealed super-hero in The World's Greatest Heroine from Action Comics #285 (by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney).
There is college student Linda in Supergirl Goes to College from Action Comics #318 (by Leo Dorfman and Jim Mooney).
There is reporter Linda in Crypt of Frozen Graves from Adventure Comics #424 (by Steve Skeates, Tony DeZuniga, and Bob Oknser).
There is drama student Linda in Trail of the Madman from Supergirl #1 volume 1 (by Cary Bates and Art Saaf).
And finally there is Guidance Counselor Linda in Princess of the Golden Sun  from Superman Family #165 (by Elliot S Maggin and Art Saaf).

Whew ... a lot of great stories, many covered on this blog.

Not only do I help with the reviews, I talk about Supergirl's history and my love of the character.

But there is more.

Back Issue #84: All Supergirl

Last week, a true treasure appeared in my folder at the local comic book store.

Back Issue #84 came out, an issue 100% dedicated to Supergirl in the Bronze Age. Given the 30th anniversary of Supergirl's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths, it makes perfect sense for this issue to be published. And it is chock full of great stuff for any Supergirl fan.

We start out with the cover, an obvious homage to Adventure Comics #397 where Kara peruses a bunch of costume variations.

The inside of the magazine has great articles about her stories in the Bronze Age, the movie, Superwoman, merchandise from back then from podcast friend Chris Franklin, an Alan Brennert interview from Aquaman Shrine's Rob Kelly, a brief look at Matrix ... it is all good. Any Supergirl fan should purchase it from TwoMorrows.

Just a couple of samples, a mere scratching of the surface.

After reviewing pretty much all of Supergirl's stories from her Adventure Comics through Daring New Adventure and talking to a ton of the writers from those books, there is a nice summation at the end of the article.

It is clear that each writer basically tried to wring Supergirl into a shape that fit their vision. Thus we saw the all the professions, all the locales, all the personality quirks. And yet, it is all of that sort of change which actually grabbed me as a kid. It felt like Supergirl was trying to figure things out. For me, it made her relatable.

There is a very fun comic in the middle by Karl Heitmueller Jr. focusing on her costume changes. I love it.

In the coverage of Crisis on Infinite Earth #7, there is a portion dedicated to fan reaction.

After being a sort of forgotten part of the DCU, it was interesting for me to see just how much backlash there was to her death. There was no internet then. I didn't read a lot of fanzines back then. So seeing how much ill will it brought about was interesting.

"Some heroes appear bigger or more important when they pass away - that is exactly what happened here with Supergirl."

Exactly!

And then there is Rob Kelly's Alan Brennert interview. The classic story 'Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot' is touched upon. I love hearing how Brennert disliked Supergirl's sacrifice (and even existence)  simply being forgotten. So I love that he decided he needed to repudiate it. And, after vilifying Dick Giordano a bit for his role in Kara's death, it was fascinating to hear how he grabbed to story to draw himself.

And I love the hand-wringing from the current creators who were told Supergirl could not be referenced. Hearing how they tried make this vision be an astral projection of Power Girl made me chuckle. Interestingly enough, it was Giordano who shuts them up with the simple statement 'guys, it's just a nice Christmas story'.

I love Back Issue. And I love this issue in particular.

Supergirl Digest

One of the things that I love about social media and even this blog is that I have met great people over time, people I may never meet in person but who I count as friends.

One of the first was Mart Gray, from across the pond, steward of the Too Dangerous For A Girl comic review site, Supergirl fan, and overall great guy! I have talked comics with Mart for a long time and think he is a wellspring of comic knowledge. If you are looking for great comic reviews for a multitude of books, you should head there!

Mart sent me a gift recently, something missing from my collection. The Best of DC Comics, Vol 3, No. 17, better known as the Supergirl digest! I have been looking for this book for a long time so this is truly a wonderful present.

The digest sports a nifty George Perez cover, Linda Danvers in the background switching to Supergirl, flying towards the reader. She looks outright graceful there.

The supra-title is 'The Many Lives of Supergirl' and it shows how varied Supergirl's life was back then.

 The back cover is just as wonderful with a playful and casual Supergirl leaning on the panels showcasing the stories on the inside. And what I love about it is that it concentrates on the Linda side of Supergirl's life. There is action in all these stories. Instead we see the different points in Linda's life they occur. From orphan to revealed super-hero to college student to reporter to acting student to guidance counselor, Linda was trying to find her place. This is a Linda cover!

I have reviewed the last 4 stories in this digest here over the years. Perhaps most surprising is that I haven't covered the second story, Action Comics #285, in which Supergirl's existence is revealed. How have I not covered that issue here??

The back cover does a nice job writing about how Supergirl's life meandered over the years at this point.

It was 1981 so she was starring in Superman Family. This was two years away from another turn in her life, as grad student in Chicago.

It is a shame there were no footnotes or issue references in this blurb. This was well before the internet. I might have liked to know what issue she discovers her family, etc.

Since I haven't covered Action Comics #285 in depth, I had to include this panel.

This might have to become a t-shirt.

An absolutely huge thank you to Mart for sending this my way! I owe you one, my friend!

Back Issue Box: Superman Family #171

World's Finest #3 is going to be released in a couple of weeks and represents the "first" team up between Supergirl and Batgirl in the DCU. Well, at least the first team up of the current incarnations of these characters.

With that issue right around the corner, I thought I would review a couple of Supergirl/Batgirl team ups from the past.

The first one will be Superman Family #171, one of a handful of team ups between the Silver Age Linda Danvers Supergirl and Barbara Gordon Batgirl. The issue sports a lovely Nick Cardy cover.

"Cleopatra, Queen of America" was written by Elliot S! Maggin and drawn by a combination of Curt Swan and Vince Colletta. This is an interesting time in Supergirl's history. Her solo title had ended and original material was being cycled through the Superman Family title. (The original material's character appeared at the top of the left hand cover column. The other stories in the issue were reprints.)

This also was the beginning of Linda's career as a student advisor at the New Athens Experimental School. One thing I don't like about the early Superman Family stories by Maggin is that Linda states that she wants to lead a 'normal life', almost denying her powers. I prefer my Supergirl to be an active hero.

The story starts at the Experimental School's Art Museum where Lilibet Winsor, an exchange student from London, is magically drawn to a museum piece, the scepter of Cleopatra. The scepter leaps from its case into her hands.

Before we can see the outcome of that scene, we are brought to the school's administration building where Linda Danvers has been asked to give a tour to a very special visitor ... Congresswoman Barbara Gordon!

I had completely forgotten about this chapter in Babs' life. Can anyone tell me more about her time in Congress? Was there a storyline about her campaign??

The two women commiserate about their problem with the stuffy nature of their respective systems ... be it a school's hierarchy or the government. In fact, both complain about the 'tight bottomed rigidness' they deal with daily. Go ahead and snicker all you want .... I did!

The tour is cut short as a very unnatural hurricane-like wind begins to batter the campus. Both superheroes realize that this gale needs to be investigated so they slip away from each other and change into Supergirl and Batgirl. There is a nice side-by-side vertical strip of the two women switching into their more colorful identities. Apparently at this stage of their friendship, the two have not shared their secret identities with each other.

The source of the wind is Lilibet and Cleopatra's scepter. The scepter hangs in the air over the student's head while the wind violently swirls around her and her boyfriend.

Supergirl and Batgirl try to save the two but the wind only stops when Lilibet takes hold of the relic.

In an earlier scene, Lilibet tells her boyfriend that when she grabbed the staff the first time that everyone around her obeyed her without question. Her boyfriend theorizes that the scepter is magical as he recalls myths that Cleopatra could not be disobeyed as long as she held it. Lilibet must somehow be a distant descendant of the Egyptian Queen and therefore could use the staff to rule the world.

The exchange student does not want the power or rule the world. In fact, while holding the staff she states that she wouldn't ever want to control someone from New Athens.

Unfortunately, absolute power must corrupt. Linda hears on the television that Congress has voted to abolish the Constitution and name Lilibet as Queen of the United States.

Despite wanting to live a 'normal life', Kara flies to Washington D.C. and runs into Barbara. Because of Lilibet's prior statement about not controlling anyone in New Athens, Kara and Babs are free from the new Cleopatra's control.

Realizing that Cleopatra's scepter is the source of Lilibet's power, Supergirl flies off and wrests the staff from the Queen's hands. However, before she can destroy it, Supergirl is confronted by more of Lilibet's slaves ... this time the JLA!

Superman regains the scepter and returns it to Lilibet. The new Cleopatra then orders the JLA to subdue Supergirl. Kara is pummeled by Green Lantern, Black Canary, even the Elongated Man.

Unconscious and magically stripped of some of her power by the scepter, Supergirl is thrown off a bridge into a nearby river to drown.

Luckily, Babs has changed to Batgirl and had been trailing the scene. She pulls the limp Supergirl from the water.

And then we see one of the oddest medical resuscitation scenes I have seen in comics. First we see some standard mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. But then we see the delivery of some pressurized air from a car tire? Seems a little weird. Nevertheless it works and Supergirl is revived.

But the heroes realize that a depowered Supergirl and Batgirl are no match for Lilibet and her army of slaves. The two will need to win the day through cunning and deception.

So later, as Lilibet gets named Queen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, someone claming to be the resurrected Cleopatra arrives on the scene.

This 'Cleopatra' tells Lilibet that she is immune to her mind control powers and will reduce the exchange student to 'snivelling jelly'. In fact, the only one who could save Lilibet from the suddenly living Queen of the Nile would have been Supergirl.

For some reason, Lilibet buys the story. So she doesn't order Superman to come and squash 'Cleopatra' like a bug.

Instead, Lilibet sees that Supergirl has also arrived on the scene and gives the Girl of Steel all of her powers back.

At the same time, the true nature of Lilibet, the girl who did not want this power to begin with, comes to the surface. She says she doesn't want the power any more and throws the scepter to Supergirl. Supergirl then quickly throws the scepter into the sun.

With the scepter destroyed, everyone returns to their right minds. And 'Cleopatra' reveals herself to have been Batgirl all along. Lilibet even turns out to be a good person having been somehow drawn to the scepter and somehow forced to do what she did.

The story ends with CLark and Linda catching up. Clark again wonders why Supergirl would want to live a 'normal' life rather than be the pro-active hero she should be.

This is sort of a silly story albeit one perfect for the time it was released. Despite her desire to not be a superhero, Supergirl does leap to action throughout the story.

As for its place in a Supergirl collection, the issue is one of only a handful of Supergirl/Batgirl team-ups from the Silver Age despite being portrayed as the best of friends. This issue also sports a nice Cardy cover, a prolific and talented cover artist from the seventies. As a result, the Linda/Babs stories are nice additions to have in a Supergirl collection.

This issue probably costs between $10-20 bucks in decent condition at most conventions.

Overall grade: C+