[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artists: Jose Luis, Norm Rapmund, Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Michael Atiyeh, & Stanley “Artgerm” Lau
Summary
Supergirl seeks a friend to assist her in controlling her abilities.
Positives
This was a very weird, yet interesting issue. For starters, I really loved the fact that Kara used her smarts and words to diffuse a potentially dangerous situation rather then punch her way to a resolution. It’s important for a hero to listen and convince others to see the right way of doing things, and of course, lead by example. Orlando’s Supergirl is definitely an improvement in that regards compared to the New 52’s much more brooding, whiny, punch first, ask questions later kind of Supergirl we used to get. Kara even went to her cousin to seek advice, which she never would have done during The New 52 era.
Speaking of The New 52 Supergirl, it was great to see a throwback to her crash landing in Siberia way back in issue number one of that series. She’s really grown up since then, and this issue proves that.
The mention of Siberia wasn’t the only throwback. When Kara’s talking to her cousin in the opening few pages, Superman mentions how Kara is so great with dogs, and suggests the Danvers should get her one. Kara quickly chimes back stating that a dog wouldn’t work, but a cat would, with the word “cat” in bold lettering. Of course, this being a nod to Streaky the Cat from the Supergirl of the Silver Age era.
The chemistry between her and the Super-Man of China, Kong Kenan, was pretty genuine. They seemed to know each other pretty well, and worked well together to solve the diplomatic problems in this issue.
The art in this issue was fantastic. Kara looked great in each panel, as did Kong Kenan and all the action sequences. Every page was full of color and vibrancy. The first few pages with Kara, her cousin, and Krypto were definitely the best ones, and really stood out.
Negatives
This was a one off issue. It essentially dealt with the aftermath of the previous story arc, but didn’t really have any merit to a future storyline. Not a huge negative, but something worth mentioning.
In the world of comics, we understand there are beings that fly and run faster then the speed of light, and for the most part, we buy into their abilities as there’s some sort of science or magic behind they’re powers. Kara’s out of no where ability to speak multiple languages was a bit far fetched, even for comics. There was no real explanation to it, just that she taught herself at some point. Seeing as this is the first time we’re hearing about it, it’s a bit to convenient, and to easy of an explanation.
Kara’s new found ability to control her powers in this issue seemed very strange, not to mention she seemed to grasp it pretty quickly.
Verdict
A great read for sure, with some pretty fun throwbacks as well. As a personal note, as great as the original cover is, if you can get your hands on the variant, do it. Stanley “Artgerm” Lau absolutely killed it! The variant is simply incredible.
