Issue 16 is titled “The Truth” and the cover proclaims “Origin Revealed!” The question is: whose truth? Is this the real Zor-El’s take on what transpired in those final dark days on Krypton? And if it is him, can he be trusted?
Spoilers ahead.
The previous issue ended with Supergirl crushing an Apokoliptican “fatherbox”, which somehow triggered a voice in her head. That’s never good.
We pick up from that point, and I’m still confused:
At first I assumed Zor-El’s appearance was triggered by Power Boy’s “fatherbox” exploding and/or Kara being knocked out by the blast, but then I realized it must be her father speaking to her through the sunstone crystals in her body…somehow. Similar to the way Jor-El’s artificial consciousness can interact in real time with whoever activates his program. If that’s really Zor-El’s, um, “spirit” up there in space with Kara, he’s one creee-py dude. Seriously, WTF?
So we finally get the answer to why Zor-El sent Kara to kill Kal-El. It’s too late to kill Superman: he’s already brought the phantoms to Earth. If Zor-El was correct (and with the foresight of previews we know he is), Kara has a real problem on her hands! Like her father, Kara is the only one who can sense them and she may have a very difficult time convincing anyone, given how little everyone trusts her. But what prompted them to surface now? Are they really not as evil as Zor-El thought? Can they not interfere on Earth? Did they just take a realllly long time in getting here? So many questions! The scary thing is, the only reason she’s alive today is because Kal-El was sent to Earth and she was unintentionally immunized by the sunstone crystals.
Ignoring for the moment whether or not this is the real Zor-El, he’s still the creepy guy we’ve come to know: “You have failed yourself in every conceivable way, Kara…so perhaps, finally…you are ready to listen to your father.” Not someone to be trusted, nope. “By Rao…that is how you see me? I–You’re not remembering things correctly, Kara. Please…let me help you remember.” Hello, child protection services!
Nothing in Zor-El’s version of events contradicts anything Kara’s remembered or how she remembered it. He readily admits to having used and hurt his daughter in his effort to fight off the phantoms. He’s evil Kara, don’t listen to him! Anyway, this portrayal of Zor-El, his brother, and the Kryptonian authorities all fits in with the “Last Son” story which ran in Action Comics #844-846 this spring. Both the El brothers seem to have had a serious problem with ethics, among other personality flaws. We never get to see Alura’s side of the story (I can’t recall if she even gets NAMED in the current series), but I don’t think I would have wanted to be married to this guy. He doesn’t handle things well when things get bad.
Of course this might not even be Zor-El. His suddence appearance may have been generated by the explosion of Power Boy’s “fatherbox” – speaking of which, this is first I’ve ever heard of a fatherbox – how does it differ from a normal motherbox? There sure is a lot of maleness surrounding Kara: Zor-El, Batman, Superman, Boomer, Power Boy: all have tried to control or influence her for their own purposes at some point (excepting Boomer, that I can recall). And now a masculinized motherbox. Contrast that with the pointed absence of mother figures (Alura, Martha, Lois, the *very* brief, mostly offscreen influence of Wonder Woman, the far too brief pairing with Power Girl). It’s just…odd. I wonder how much the writers are aware of this pattern.
The art! I loved it. I was really hoping the new artist would turn things around, but I was trying not to get my hopes up because, you know, been burned a lot by artists – and I don’t just mean on this book. So I was cautiously optimistic going in. I gotta say, I really enjoyed Alé Garza’s work in this issue. It’s the main reason I enjoyed this issue, for the first time in a long while. I was worried that Garza’s rounder, “cuter” look wouldn’t fit in with this book, but I was quickly hooked. Garza was true to his word on Newsarama and didn’t go out of his way to sexualize Kara. Gone is the creepy, exploitive vibe from before (aside from what’s written). For the first time in a very long time, I was able to enjoy looking at each page. Also, I really loved the Kryptonian outfits shown here. They reflect my idea of what Kryptonian dress better than anything I’ve seen previously (the animated series came the closest). I love variations on the blue jumpsuit, and I like the fact that Alura and Kara get to wear pants/shorts (we need Zor-El in a skirt! and Alura in a cape, please!) I could really get used to having Ale Garza on Supergirl. I hope he gets to stick around for a while.
“Real?” My brain hurts. It’s all fiction. But if it’s in the published book it’ll be canon until the next canon comes along…
Too true *grin*
“Real” meaning it’s not a hoax or a delusion. Today. Five years from now, who knows.
i love Garza’s art. i hope he stays on for a while too. :D
his Kara looks thin but healthy,and doesn’t have that elongated,emaciated,stick figure that Churchill tends to give all his female characters.
Re: Churchill. You would not believe how long it took me to figure out that was Batgirl in #14. I’d heard she was head of the League of Assasins now, but I had no idea that tall, skinny, pouty-lipped exotic beauty (hmf) was Cassandra Cain.
that same can also be applied to Michael Turner’s depiction of Supergirl. on one X-Men comic book cover, he had drawn Emma Frost and besides the costume, she looked exactly like Kara(when she first appeared in Superman/Batman). ;)
i miss the way Gary Frank and Leonard Kirk drew Supergirl.
I also rly loved the art :D
Both Ian and Mike’s women all look the same :(
Yus, I also thought Zor-El was very creepy and like… :O Iffy…
I still think he’s crazy.. and now Kara’s crazy too :(
I’m still on the outside looking in on Supergirl. The book had gotten too bad. In your opinion is it worth giving it a second look?
I still think he’s crazy.. and now Kara’s crazy too :(
Kryptonians as crazy and/or morally messed up seem to be all the rage these days. It’s…weird.
In your opinion is it worth giving it a second look?
I, er, um. I can’t in good conscience suggest someone spend their money on it without previewing it first. I hear you can download comics nowadays from BitTorrent sites *coughs*
“In your opinion is it worth giving it a second look?
I, er, um. I can’t in good conscience suggest someone spend their money on it without previewing it first. I hear you can download comics nowadays from BitTorrent sites *coughs* ”
I’ll give it a look …. butttttt i’m not to big on downloading things (pc crashed … lost everything more then once … i hate it when that happens).
Yeah, I just know it’s not always easy to flip thru an issue in the store. Certainly not possible where I shop.
Why WOULDN’T you suggest someone to buy the Supergirl book. Forget the Kandor mess and re-read issue 9-16.. this is a fabulous book which shows Kara’s anguish over finally being able to breath since she came to Earth. Have you guys ever had days where you get flung in a situation and things just keep piling upon each other? You probably didn’t handle them that well and people forgive you because that is life.. well this is what happened to Kara.. she gets to earth, finds out she has powers, gets stalked-kidnapped-rescued-fakes a death, finds out she has an evil twin inside her, then the universe is almost destroyed and she is flung into the future.. ummm HELLO, give the girl a break.
And this origin is turning out to be AMAZING. seriously re-read issues 9-16 at one time. because of lateness and delays and all of that and the monthly format of the book it sometimes hinders the true understanding of what is going on. Anyway, if you want a little bit more in depth on this current Supergirl head over to my site, which is linked here, http://www.karalives.com… I am doing some in-depth look at some of the things in the supergirl title currently AND will have interviews with all the people creating the book and an AMAZING contest where you can win scripts and garza art.. And keep visiting Supergirl:Maid of Might – Michelle is doing a great job..
p.s. michelle have you been getting my emails I know you said your email wasn’t working for a while…
KARA LIVES!!
_C
Hey Cory =) My email’s working again as far as I know, but I don’t seem to have received anything from you. Nothing at all from your email address. I don’t know why. Can you try emailing again to either michelle AT michellebacon DOT net or supergirl AT astraldream DOT net?
I’d be hesitant to recommend this series to someone who’s never read it before, or has missed a number of issues, because it’s been all over the place and it requires a LOT of knowledge of DC continuity from the past two years. [I fear that Infinite Crisis, the One Year Later Jump, and 52 will make most of the DC universe nearly impossible to sort out for anyone trying to get into DC books in the future.] I like where it’s going at this point – Kara has a *mission* now! – but I can’t know what anyone else may be looking for in a Supergirl book. It’s certainly not what I expected, and it won’t be to everyone’s taste. I just don’t want them to buy it on my word alone and be disappointed.
I do agree with you about re-reading the series, sans certain issues (!) I’ve been skimming thru the series from the very beginning and now that we know what happens in #16, it makes a whole lot more sense. But it’s been a bumpy ride, and there are some things I wish could have been handled better.