Review: Power Girl #17
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Leah Williams
Art: David Baldeon
Colors: Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Letters: Becca Carey
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
Power Girl and friends finish renovating the Daily Star building and subsequently raise the ire of the Void of Three. Somehow…they end up with a dinosaur.
Positives
Every few issues of this series, something happens that gives Power Girl fans hope that DC Comics and/ or Leah Williams is listening to the criticism and are about to instigate a massive change to get the character back on track. A few issues ago it seemed like Lilith was about to be exposed for manipulating PG. Last issue, Karen Starr was mentioned. Power Girl #17 seems PG don a costume that is more in keeping with her traditional look. Gone is the jacket and accompanying “S” symbol, replaced by a version of her classic cape. It showed up back on the cover of issue #13, but it makes its interior appearance in this issue and appears that it’s going to be her new/ old look.
This Void of Three seems to appear out of nowhere, but the editor’s note tells us that PG fought one of them in issue #13. They seem like they could be a decent challenge for Power Girl. They seem to have an elemental quality to their look and power sets. When the dinosaur shows up it recalls Power Girl #22-23 from her previous ongoing series. It could be fun…
Negatives
…or it could just be fodder for the awful sense of humor that permeates this series. We get that again in Power Girl #17 when Williams has PG tell Natasha Irons that Omen says the dumbest things all the time. We get an example and it’s completely nonsensical. There is a complete lack of humor in the scene and it makes me feel bad for everyone involved…cringe.
When PG tells Natasha that Axel asked PG to wear her new/ old costume when she stumble across it when they were packing and moving to their new building, Natasha tries to explain that she thought Axel meant that for sex. PG doesn’t seem to get it and it’s not funny. It doesn’t land. Maybe it’s funny for a teenager. I don’t know. Williams continues to try and write PG like she doesn’t understand common parlance or understand common social interactions, but she’s not done any work to demonstrate why Power Girl would be this way. Williams has touched on it briefly, but there’s not story there, or anything that makes it feel real. Which in turn leads to a missed opportunity from last issue.
Negatives Cont’d
We got the mention of Karen Starr last issue, that she’s a millionaire. It’s insinuated that PG has somehow gotten this money. She’s somehow claimed the money from her “former” identity. There’s two issues to deal with now. First, if PG is some ingenue who doesn’t understand common phrases etc., how did she have a life in which she was a millionaire? How is she able to get the money? Secondly, why not follow up on this and make the connections to Power Girl’s past and why she’s in the situation she’s in now. From the beginning of Williams’ work on the character this has never been made clear. It’s a huge gap. There’s just a massive lack of effort to make it connect and in turn give the sense that anything deeper is going on. It’s all just superficial. There’s no attempt to put the work in to get this new version of the character to land. There’s no doubt Williams doesn’t get the character or understand her past, but she’s made no attempt to give readers anything of significance to explain how she got to this position. It’s all just superficial nonsense and silliness.
Williams’ difficulty in writing anything substantial for the character can be seen in the fact that this comic is slowing growing into an ensemble book. First there was Omen, a forced best friend. Then there was some team-ups with Supergirl. In Power Girl #17 both Natasha Irons and Mariposa, intern from the Daily Planet move in as well. I think Williams just wants to write a book about women who are friends. There’s nothing wrong with that, except that Williams doesn’t understand how Power Girl interacts with others…especially women…and people don’t buy a Power Girl comic for Omen, Natasha Irons and, …Mariposa. Hell, they don’t want to buy it for Supergirl.
The page below from JSA #39 (2002) is an example of her characterization and how she interacts:
Negatives Cont’d
Axel continues to be a weird inclusion. He’s forced into this title as much as Omen was at the beginning. Williams hasn’t done the work on either character to make it believable that Omen and Power Girl are best friends (they’re not) or that there’s any chemistry at all between Axel and Power Girl. It’s one of those situations that demonstrates how out of place Power Girl is in her own book. Nothing really fits the character, but she’s stuck here against her will.
There are some jumps around in the story in this issue that feel awkward. Williams tries to connect them with some dialogue, but it is jarring and not executed smoothly. It throws the pacing off and fails to capitalize on the anticipation she’s tried to build for the housewarming party.
Verdict
Power Girl #17 is another issue of missed opportunities to turn things around. Leah Williams continues to make PG less and less important in her own title in favor of a growing ensemble. She’s as lost as PG is in this book with forced characters and cringy dialogue. This series continues to be superficial, silly and utterly disappointing for fans of Power Girl. At least her costume is better!
