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Supergirl #36

Scheduled to arrive in stores: November 20, 2019

Cover date: January 2020

"Who's Laughing Now?"

Writer: Marc Andreyko
Penciller: Eduardo Pansica
Inker: Julio Ferreira
Cover: Dan Mora
Variant Cover: Derrick Chew

Reviewed by: Adam Dechanel
Click to enlarge

(NOTE: Read Batman/Superman #5 first)

After arriving in the Fortress with Krypto, the Girl of Steel is confronted by an invader and frozen to the spot. Brainiac 1.0 has infected Kara Zor-El with nano-probes that are slowly taking over her mind and body using his dark gift from Lex Luthor to unlock the Kryptonian databanks in the Fortress. Kara awakens from her trance and, leaving Krypto behind, races to an emergency she picks up with her super hearing.

When Kara arrives she finds infected Justice League and Titan members battling uninfected heroes. When Kara questions Batman as to what is going on he refuses but instructs Supergirl to protect her cousin. Kara races ahead of a deadly batarang and catches it before it infects Superman. The deadly infection causes her to collapse.

When Kara reawakens she is in the presence of the other infected. 'The Commissioner' Jim Gordon, 'Deathbringer' Donna Troy, 'Scarab' Blue Beetle, 'Sky Tyrant' Hawkman and 'King' Shazam. Supergirl is now one of the deadly Secret Six.

Kara's memory returns and she remembers meeting Brainiac 1.0. The infection kills the nano-probes in Supergirl's system and she leaves her new teammates to exact some revenge.

To Be Continued...

3Story - 3: Stability for a character isn't too much to ask for I think and jumping through tie-ins are a frustrating thing. Can they survive on their own merit or do they depend wholly on another book to make a modicum of sense? The parts of this issues story where Kara is internalizing her thought process and emotions excelled, but the overall storyline just didn't work for me at all.

Kara has been on a quest for her cousin, then jumping into Event Leviathan, Dark Gifts and now Secret Six, it just seems Supergirl hasn't had time to be a person again rather than a plot device.

There were moments when she reconnected with Jeremiah where we briefly glimpsed Kara Danvers but this issue, for example, showed us very little of Kara beyond her powers.

Brainiac 1.0 was an interesting concept that appeared out of nowhere and unfortunately has led to nothing. It will be fun to see a Supergirl free of conscience next issue but as I said I am beginning to feel like Kara needs her life back.

I won't even get into poor old Krypto's scenes...

4Art - 4: Great visuals, it makes sense this issue in particular as it is almost one big action sequence. I'm not a huge fan of Supergirl's 'infected' look. It reminds me a little too much of the "Berserker Supergirl" look Kara sported when she was Linda Danvers/Matrix, only a bit more rough around the edges. I think the muted colors lessen Supergirl's presence but appreciate this is more due to the overall tone of this issue.

3Cover Art - 3: I like the concept carried across the two covers substituting the character model layer featuring Kara as Supergirl and as a Secret Six member. I mentioned in relation to the interior art that I wasn't a big fan of the costume design or the muted color scheme and it seems to have been carried forward here. The cloudy blue background doesn't do a great deal to help. The concept however is inspired.

5Variant Cover Art - 5: This cover is a double win. First it shows the Kara Danvers identity and second it continues Derrick Chew's spectacular series of variant covers. Pure brilliance, I want more!

Mild Mannered Reviews

2020

Note: Except for digital first releases, the month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020

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