The Batmom

Supergirl #0

Supergirl #0; Michael Green, Mike Johnson, Mahmud Asrar

Covergirl: See “Heroines Take the Mic.”

Ramble: After Catwoman, I was relieved by Supergirl’s straightforward narrative. Taking us through the last days of Krypton, the book revolves primarily around Zor-El, Kara’s father, and his plans to shuttle his daughter safely away from their dying planet.

We also meet a superbly cowlicked baby Superman and his father Jor-El, who tells Kara he doesn’t approve of certain experiments his brother Zor-El is undertaking.

Zor-El, who looks like Dr. Zaius, comes off as compassionate and determined; he’s working on a plan he hopes will save Argo City, and breaks his own heart and that of his wife by sending Kara away before it’s too late. The intrigue – what else is he working on? – suggests that perhaps he’s not all self-sacrifice, however.

Good read, second only to the Banshee stretch in Supergirl’s New 52 run. As with those books, though, I liked issue #0 despite Supergirl’s pale character.

She’s a solid seller, this Kara, so maybe the fault lies with me. Perhaps some superheroes serve as mighty, silent, character-less centers around which fascinating worlds can revolve. And maybe that's enough.

(For you. Not me. One more issue and I'm outta here. Making like a Zor-El and flying.)

CBV Reads Supergirl #5

COVERGIRL: Fave so far. Red Supergirl cape flows in one direction and red bad-woman hair flows in the other, dragging the eye diagonally up.

(Digression: Batwoman should totally fight someone named Badwoman. Everyone would get their names confused, and verbal hijinks would ensue.)

(Digression Digression: What is a hijink? It’s they – plural. “Hijinks” derives from “high jinks.” The Word Detective explains that a “jink” per one olde Scots dialect is a “playful, rowdy activity” and that “high jinks” was a 16^th century drinking and dice game during which losers had to perform silly acts. By the 19^th century, the phrase had taken on a more general, merrymaking meaning. Happy Pranksgiving, Badwoman!)

Badwoman, whose name is Reign, menaces. Her scythe is nasty, her abs induce envy, and she probably has powerfully bad breath smelling of dead bugs.

I’m happy to see Supergirl looking pissed, though Reign’s grip on her wrist holds her back from victory. She has yet to triumph on a cover, poor girl. I’m thinking Kara, like the East Dillon Lions, needs a W.

INSIDE STORY: The red sunstone from last issue tugs Kara through space to Argo, her home city, which has been both ripped apart from the rest of the planet Krypton and decimated. The high point of Kara’s homecoming is watching the recording her father made for her, captured on the sunstone. It’s also the lowpoint: First he tells her that if she’s watching this, he’s dead; and then some unseen foe blasts a hole in his paternal midsection.

Reign, the mighty-abbed winged creature from the cover, arrives and tells Kara she’s a Worldkiller, one of a mighty race of weapon-beings created by Kara’s people, the Kryptonians. Reign doesn’t know why she was created, but she wants to know.

She also wants Kara to help her take over earth which, she claims, is peopled by Krypton’s only survivors. Plural. So Superman and Supergirl and … ? Supernanny? Super Mario Bros.? I expect Supergirl creators Mssrs. Green, Johnson and Asrar will soon spill the super-beans.

RAMBLE: Tragic events litter the backstories of many a superhero. The Joker blasted Batgirl into a wheelchair; she now struggles to regain self-assurance and her physical prowess. Batwoman, her twin sister, and her mom were kidnapped. Her mom died; her sister turned into a bad woman and eventually drowned.

I enjoyed seeing Supergirl emotionally respond in the present to her tragic backstory; the first time I’ve witnessed a real-time reaction to life-blasting events that make the superhero who she is.

While Krypton exploded years ago, Supergirl is just now  facing the death of her family, friends, and planet. I found myself choking up as she watched her father’s image speak to her across time.

I also choke up during “100 Years to Live” every time they play it at the grocery store.

And while watching Family Ties re-runs, whether it’s the episode where Skippy meets his birth mother or Alex chases down a betrothed-to-another Ellen.

And at every last damn You Tube video featuring a dog.

So Supergirl’s creators shouldn’t get too cocky. Still, first comic book sniffle. Gotta be worth something.

WHO THE HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Supergirl/Kara Zor-El: Recently arrived to earth from her home planet, Krypton. Older cousin of Superman on Krypton; younger cousin of Superman on earth

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? (AKA Last Time on Supergirl)

Supergirl escapes the clutches of evil space tycoon Simon Tycho by blasting a hole in his ship, causing the ship and Simon to explode. She zips off with a red sunstone in hand. She believes it holds a message from her parents. Tycho’s minions shove what remains of their boss’s body into that of The Brain, an experimental supervillain created by Tycho.

CBV Reads Supergirl #3

COVERGIRL: Not loving the expression on Supergirl’s face. It’s supposed to read horror, but actually suggests fauxrror, like an SNL actress playing a slash movie victim. Having said that, the idea of Supergirl horrified is enough of a hook to pull that cover open.

INSIDE STORY: Superman tells Supergirl that her home, her loved ones, and her way of life are gone, destroyed years in the past. Part of her believes him, but part of her hopes he’s wrong, and it’s this part of Supergirl/Kara that drives her to find her travel pod.

Ditching her cousin, Supergirl meets Simon Tycho, a slick young space tycoon who lures her to his space station and tests her strength, skill and wiles. First she battles a fluttering squad of killer butterflies, then faces a strange gelatinous man-like Tycho-creation called The Brain. She eventually slams The Brain through a wall and out of the space station. In the vacuum of space, he’s powerless.

The Brain brain-dead, Supergirl heads back into Tycho’s HQ for her pod which is, unbeknownst to her, leaking Kryptonite. As she nears it, the Kryptonite renders her, in Tycho’s words, “worse than someone who just chugged a few gallons of motor oil.” As she goes all green-eyed and weak, Tycho assures her “I have your best interests at heart.” Mwah ha ha.

RAMBLE: Compared to Batwoman, where every centimeter is crammed full — beautifully crammed, but full — Supergirl has felt vast from issue #1. Whether vast tended toward the spacious or the empty remained to be seen until this issue. The comparatively straightforward narrative here proves a sturdy backdrop allowing Supergirl’s character to emerge more surely than it has the previous two issues.

While the two books have a different vibe, as do their heroines, Supergirl and Batgirl share some similarities. Their creators both use action sequences to reveal inner psychological truths. For different reasons, Supergirl and Batgirl are struggling to find their strides as superheroes and still figuring out the physics of the fight.

To my mind, at least one in three superhero flicks never reaches beyond popcorn movie status.

Now that I’m a comic book reader, and not just a superhero movie viewer, I realize how rich are the psychological journeys undertaken by superheroes. They are yin to the action-packed narrative yang, the quiet internal drama counterbalancing frames full of kapow.

Kapow translates readily to the big screen, but the accompanying inner action is necessarily harder for the big-screen moviemaker to convey than it is for the efficient small-frame comic book creator. The movies, I think, suffer for the lack.

Once I catch up with my reading (hopefully by the release of issue 6 of my 5 books), I’d like to sit down with some well-regarded superhero flicks and see how various filmmakers attempt the translation. Suggestions requested.

WHO THE HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Supergirl/Kara Zor-El: Recently arrived to earth from her home planet, Krypton. Older cousin of Superman.

Superman: Superman. Younger cousin of Kara on Krypton; older cousin of Kara on earth.

Simon Tycho: A young bossy britches of a bazillionaire tycoon who gathers space debris and barters with various governments around the globe. Determined to discover what makes Supergirl tick so he can reproduce it and sell it.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? (AKA Last Time on Supergirl)

Supergirl crashes to earth. Metal-sheathed men take her travel pod. She’s confused. Superman tries to help, but she keeps smashing his face in. She’s surprised at her powers.