Mild Mannered Reviews - Supergirl Comics
Supergirl #35
Scheduled to arrive in stores: November 19, 2008
Cover date: January 2009
"New Krypton" - Part 5: "The Secret Origin of Supergirl"
Writer: Sterling Gates
Penciller: Jamal Igle
Inker: Keith Champagne
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Bridges
Click to enlarge
Sam Lane is worried all the new Kryptonians are a bigger threat than people realize.
Kara's parents crush her glasses and tell her Linda Lang is dead, and that it's not safe for her outside of Kandor. Kara and Zor-El talk about how weird she's been over the past three years, and Zor-El seems worried.
Lana confronts Cat Grant over another negative Supergirl article, and Sam Lane might have a new procedure to help Reactron, but wants him back in action as part of the deal.
Kara's parents say she has radiation poisoning, which explains the crystals coming out of her skin, all the odd different Kryptonian origins and versions of her parents, and all her odd behavior. They put her in a chamber to cure her, which causes her to remember being in Argo City with her parents after the destruction of Krypton. After her ship launched, during an attack by Brainiac, it was stuck in a Kryptonite debris field for 30 years, which is where the radiation poisoning came from.
Her parents still want her to come back to Kandor, but she's torn between them and her budding life in Metropolis. Meanwhile, a woman in a white hood and cape with a red costume with a white S on the chest makes her appearance in Metropolis.
 Story - 4: I'm a little torn here.
This book tries so very hard, bless its heart, to make sense out of the years of bad issues of this book that we've gotten.
Of course none of this was planned from the start, because no one would plan to take 35 issues (which is even longer than three years, if you remember all the massive delays this book used to have) to reveal what the hell's been going on.
So it makes the most of the mess that's come before and tries to explain all of it, and does so in a well enough manner.
The problem is, 35 issues into this book, and this is what, the third or fourth different origin story we've seen now? I know it's a complete mess and needs to be cleaned up, but that does not in any way lessen my desire to do nothing but recoil and say "DEAR GOD, NO!" at the thought of yet another origin story/version of Kara's parents.
I'm also miffed at the apparent dismissal of her secret identity. Again. One issue after it was set up. Again!
So for all that this book got right in terms of story and characterization (and it was a good deal, I assure you), it still falls into the trap so many past issues have of trying to reboot everything AGAIN. And I see why they did it, and you can even argue that they really had to. That does not, however, lessen my horror at seeing the same thing done again (albeit done better this time). We, as fans, deserve better.
And again, I don't know that this could have been avoided by ANY writing team. I think this may be the best that could have been done, but when the mess you have to clean up is as horrendous as the one "Supergirl" provides, even the best job is still tied into all of the ridiculous garbage and that pulls it down.
So here I am, almost ranting about this, but all of that combined was only a half point off, tops. So where did the other half point off come from?
Zor-El and Alura curing Kara of her Kryptonite radiation poisoning, that's where. They keep saying they'd do anything for her, want to help her, care about her... but here's this procedure that, by the art, clearly causes a severe amount of pain to Kara, and they don't even warn her that it will be painful. Everything seems fine and calm and then ZAP ZAP ZAP AAAAAIIIIIEEEEE and it struck me as a bit cruel of them.
This was likely an accidental oversight, or even a writer/artist miscommunication, but it was still bothersome.
Still though, a fine issue. And now can we PLEASE have no more versions of Zor-El and Alura and no more different origins? 35 issues in and we finally have the "real" origin (I don't know if I can't believe that, but hey), so how about we finally move forward with some character development, a supporting cast and some stories about a Kara we can actually carte about?
'cause that'd be swell.
Art - 4: Not bad. The layouts are a bit on the bland side, but otherwise a fine job.
Cover Art - 4 (Alex Ross): The angle makes me a little nauseous, but it's got good movement and a creative angle. I very much appreciate the return to the bright colors as well. Nice to see it not so washed out.
Mild Mannered Reviews
2009
Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.
January 2009
February 2009
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April 2009
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Check out the Comic Index Lists for the complete list of Superman-related comics published in 2009.
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