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A review by dr_matthew_lloyd
Supergirl: Power by Norm Rapmund, Jeph Loeb, Ian Churchill
4.0
This was part of a mini-re-read of my Supergirl comics when I happened to be at home where they were. I first read the story around 2007, and I really wish I could remember why I decided to start reading Supergirl over other superheroes - nontheless, it was good to begin with a character who had only recently been relaunched.
Kara's own adventures begin after one last Superman/Batman strip in which she tries to shake off the obsessive stalking of her that Superman has been doing. Superman compares the relationship he and Kara have to that which Batman has to Robin, which is an unfair comparison: the Robins have largely been young, orphan boys Bruce Wayne has taken in to look after, which is a strange enough relationship, but Clark's assertion that he has a right to be involved with the teenaged and largely capable Kara's life simply because they are related is intrusive and uncomfortable. Batman highlights the weirdness on the first page when he comments on Clark's hovering over Themyscria - he doesn't seem capable to see how wrong his actions are. And yet, he wonders why Kara tries to outrun him, to escape him.
This is important because it essentially establishes the relationship between Clark and Kara as she begins her own series. Clark thinks he has a right to be involved in Kara's life; Kara wants to establish her own identity and personhood and doesn't think she can do that with Clark around. It doesn't help that everyone on Earth (or at least in the superhero community) knows that she's Superman's cousin, and that she's stuck wearing an imitation of his costume.
Supergirl #1 begins with a recap of her origins - naturally - and a conversation with Stargirl which highlights a persistent problem with Ian Churchill's art: his women's faces all look largely the same. With Stargirl also being a long blonde-haired red, yellow and blue wearing, midriff-bearing superhero, Kara's story opens by making her look like an identikit female superhero, whose one distinguishing feature is the "S" on her chest (leading to an obsession in the story with her chest, most aptly and unfortunately mentioned by Lex Luthor). As she mentions at the start of #3, all of her powers have already been named by her cousin.
The storyline focuses on Kara trying to find her place in a DCU where she can't look after her little baby cousin, who's all grown up, where the family of S-wearing superheros into which she has been thrust doesn't want her, and where everyone from Superman to Lex Luthor wants to exploit her for their own purposes. Superman and Batman have been watching her, but so has Lex Luthor, and to be fair, so has much of the DCU including the Outsiders and the JLA. She makes it pretty damn clear that she's more powerful than all of them, too.But ultimately, Superman makes his weaknesses - the fact that he holds back and doesn't unleash his full power - look like strengths. Perhaps they are, but it comes across as sounding like an excuse for the fact that he's afraid of Kara, and afraid of her power. How can a little girl be more powerful than Superman?!
There's great moments here, especially for those of us who were watching Smallville before this comic came out and knew exactly what the black Kryptonite would do; most of the actions of the heroes, though impulsive and controlling, ring true. Kara ultimately (for now at least) accepts the identity of Supergirl, although part of her has rejected it. It opens up the idea that superpowered characters shouldn't be polarised, good-or-bad figures, but even heroes can have some darkness in them - and should.
There's a lot to be critical of in the art, story, obsession with other characters (although this does allow Kara to be placed in the wider DCU) and the fact that Kara is largely pressured into accepting her identity as "Superman's cousin" rather than a fully realised individual, but I enjoyed this introduction to a complex character with much development to go.
Kara's own adventures begin after one last Superman/Batman strip in which she tries to shake off the obsessive stalking of her that Superman has been doing. Superman compares the relationship he and Kara have to that which Batman has to Robin, which is an unfair comparison: the Robins have largely been young, orphan boys Bruce Wayne has taken in to look after, which is a strange enough relationship, but Clark's assertion that he has a right to be involved with the teenaged and largely capable Kara's life simply because they are related is intrusive and uncomfortable. Batman highlights the weirdness on the first page when he comments on Clark's hovering over Themyscria - he doesn't seem capable to see how wrong his actions are. And yet, he wonders why Kara tries to outrun him, to escape him.
This is important because it essentially establishes the relationship between Clark and Kara as she begins her own series. Clark thinks he has a right to be involved in Kara's life; Kara wants to establish her own identity and personhood and doesn't think she can do that with Clark around. It doesn't help that everyone on Earth (or at least in the superhero community) knows that she's Superman's cousin, and that she's stuck wearing an imitation of his costume.
Supergirl #1 begins with a recap of her origins - naturally - and a conversation with Stargirl which highlights a persistent problem with Ian Churchill's art: his women's faces all look largely the same. With Stargirl also being a long blonde-haired red, yellow and blue wearing, midriff-bearing superhero, Kara's story opens by making her look like an identikit female superhero, whose one distinguishing feature is the "S" on her chest (leading to an obsession in the story with her chest, most aptly and unfortunately mentioned by Lex Luthor). As she mentions at the start of #3, all of her powers have already been named by her cousin.
The storyline focuses on Kara trying to find her place in a DCU where she can't look after her little baby cousin, who's all grown up, where the family of S-wearing superheros into which she has been thrust doesn't want her, and where everyone from Superman to Lex Luthor wants to exploit her for their own purposes. Superman and Batman have been watching her, but so has Lex Luthor, and to be fair, so has much of the DCU including the Outsiders and the JLA. She makes it pretty damn clear that she's more powerful than all of them, too.
There's great moments here, especially for those of us who were watching Smallville before this comic came out and knew exactly what the black Kryptonite would do; most of the actions of the heroes, though impulsive and controlling, ring true. Kara ultimately (for now at least) accepts the identity of Supergirl, although part of her has rejected it. It opens up the idea that superpowered characters shouldn't be polarised, good-or-bad figures, but even heroes can have some darkness in them - and should.
There's a lot to be critical of in the art, story, obsession with other characters (although this does allow Kara to be placed in the wider DCU) and the fact that Kara is largely pressured into accepting her identity as "Superman's cousin" rather than a fully realised individual, but I enjoyed this introduction to a complex character with much development to go.