Superman Homepage

Mild Mannered Reviews - Superman Adventures Comics

Superman Adventures #39

Superman Adventures #39

Scheduled to arrive in stores: November 10, 1999

Cover date: January 2000

Writer: Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer
Penciller: Bret Blevins
Inker: Terry Austin

"Reunion"

Reviewed by: George O'Connor (LukeSky500@mindspring.com)

On Argo, Superman and Supergirl arrive to pick up the equipment of Supergirl's deceased mother, hoping to deliver it to STAR Labs and not only make advancements in Earth technology but learn more about the world of Argo as well.

As Superman and Supergirl carry out the last piece of equipment, a ghostly voice warns Supergirl and a cave-in almost buries the duo. Hauling the last piece of equipment into their spaceship, the two head home with Supergirl curious about the mysterious voice she knows she heard.

Later, in STAR Labs, Professor Hamilton is studying the equipment that Superman and Supergirl brought him when the lab suddenly comes alive, sealing Hamilton and an officer inside the laboratory. When the officer attempts to dismantle the machinery, a blast from a laser cannon drops him to the ground.

Meanwhile, Kara and Clark are in Metropolis with Ma and Pa Kent when they spot an explosion over in STAR Labs. The two spring into action, changing into Supergirl and Superman and arriving at STAR Labs where they smash apart reaching tentacles and attempt to save the professor when they are suddenly blasted by a red sun beam, draining the two heroes' powers.

As Hamilton, Superman and Supergirl watch helplessly, a female Brainiac is created through the alien machinery from Argo. Supergirl is even more stunned when she realizes that the face of the Brainiac is that of her dead mother.

Elsewhere, LexCorp officials lose their plans for constructing Brainiac, which are transferred to STAR Labs where...

...Brainiac is created by the female Brainiac. The two robots explain how prior to the destruction of Krypton, Brainiac sent some of his data to the planet Argo where Kara's mother picked up on the signal and it transferred into her computer. The Brainiac data used Kara's mother as a mold and constructed a female Brainiac trapped on the planet Argo's computer banks. When the machinery was moved to Earth, the female Brainiac was able to construct herself into a robot with the extra machinery found in STAR Labs. For this reason, the female Brainiac wished Superman and Supergirl to safely make it back to Earth with the equipment and warned them on Argo.

Brainiac takes his advantage with the powerless heroes on the floor, planning to destroy his opposition, document Earth's history and then destroy the world. He begins to turn a powerful death ray on the heroes when the female Brainiac realizes the evilness involved and turns the ray on Brainiac.

Brainiac quickly dismantles the weaker robot, turning her to scraps but not before she can change the red sunbeam to a yellow sunbeam, returning power to Superman and Supergirl.

The two heroes spring into action as Superman and Supergirl pummel away at Brainiac who shrugs off the attacks fairly easily. Brainiac soon gains control of the situation when he grabs hold of Superman and begins to strangle him.

Supergirl succeeds in pulling the villain apart, but Brainiac's upper half continues to strangle the Man of Steel as his lower half kicks the Girl of Steel. Supergirl ends the villain's struggles with a well-placed bolt of heat vision, causing the robot to explode.

Supergirl then rushes over to the fallen female Brainiac, who weakly gives Supergirl an orb containing Argo's history, much like the one that Superman holds of Krypton, before the female android ultimately expires.

4Story - 4: A fun story with a lot of good battle scenes between the Super pair and Brainiac. Although predictable that the female Brainiac would turn on Brainiac, the issue had its share of clever and original bits. The entire explanation of how this female Brainiac was constructed and Kara's feelings of loneliness were explained and expanded upon well and it was nice to see Supergirl again since she makes so many rare appearances.

4Art - 4: A solid job by Blevins and a fantastic inking job by Austin. With Austin's inking, you really get the sense of all the spooky shadows covering the dead world of Argo and the same effect is achieved in the android controlled STAR Labs as Superman and Supergirl find themselves helpless. I really don't give enough credit to Austin, whose work has been with the Superman Adventures comic book since it began. Austin's done a great job so far, keeping the feel of the animated series while being able to add his own artistic touches.

4Cover Art - 4: That same spooky feeling you get with Austin's inking is again effective here as Superman and Supergirl stare helplessly into the face of their shadowy enemy.

Other recent reviews:

Mild Mannered Reviews

2000

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic was on sale.

January 2000

February 2000 March 2000 April 2000 May 2000 June 2000 July 2000 August 2000 September 2000 October 2000 November 2000 December 2000 Annuals

Back to the Mild Mannered Reviews contents page.

Check out the Comic Index Lists for the complete list of Superman-related comics published in 2000.

DISCLAIMER: SUPERMAN and all related elements are the property of DC Comics. TM & © 2024

This Superman Homepage is Copyright © Steven Younis 1994-2024
All Rights Reserved

Dedicated to Andrew J Gould - the original keeper of the Superman Homepage!

Since May 2001, the address is www.SupermanHomepage.com

Our Privacy Policy.