Supergirl #2 – Review

By: Michael Green & Mike Johnson (writers), Mahmud Asrar (penciller), Dan Green (inker), Dave McCaig (colorist)

The Story: On the plus, this means no more babysitting for Supergirl—probably.

The Review: Back when DC brought back Kara Zor-El as Supergirl sometime in the first few years of the new millennium, they took a lot of things for granted with her.  So many comics readers know the major bullets about her character (e.g., cousin of Superman, teenager of Krypton, etc.) that maybe writers didn’t feel the need to explore those things so much.  This really did a disservice to the character since a large chunk of her background got shafted.

Green-Johnson aren’t making that mistake this go-round.  Now you get to see some of those basic elements directly, which pays off dividends.  Take that opening scene of Kara with baby Kal-El.  It’s one thing to think of her being Kal’s older cousin in theory, but to actually see her deep affection for him as she cradles him, to see her shush his tears, and to think she might have been one of the last people to have held him before he rocketed to Earth—it’s quite touching.

Then seeing that babe all grown up into a big, burly man who’s trying to restrain his former caretaker just drives up the emotions of that scene to an even higher level.  You’re completely in tune with Kara when Superman introduces himself as her cousin and she flies into a rage.  You don’t need her to explain the mix of fear, confusion, and anger she’s feeling; you immediately feel it when she grabs Supes by the cape and demands, “What have you done with him?!”

Anyone who beats up on Superman won’t look too great, but Green-Johnson do a great job selling her violent reactions to what’s happening.  Still, once they transfer their fight to China (she gets the hang of flying pretty fast), the destruction hits the verge of getting out of control.  But in a moment that reveals much about her future heroism, you see her dismay as she realizes she’s not just on a world full of goons trying to attack her; this world has families and babies too.