This month’s Supergirl picks up right where the last one left off. After going on a mind quest inside Lar-On’s noggin, Kara visited the Argo Memorial and took a moment for herself up in the clouds. Then who should appear but Supergirl’s super cousin, Superman?
Speaking in Tongues
Supergirl is super excited to see Superman. (Ok, no more of that. We’re super sorry). After all, who else is she going to speak Kryptonian to? Just as long as she doesn’t mind his Earth accent. Superman suggests that they celebrate the Kryptonian holiday, the Day of Truth together as the last surviving son and daughter of Krypton. This is a day when Kryptonians only tell the truth, no matter how blunt. That ought to be interesting.
Before they can “keep it real” together, however, both their super-hearing picks up some supervillain causing some super havoc. (We’re really done this time, we super promise). It’s another one of the original Suicide Squad unleashed by Max Lord in the Justice League vs. Suicide Squad event. Isn’t it fun how the things that happen in DC’s event comic have effects on the world that you don’t have to have read the event itself to understand? Weird, right?
Anyways, the super cousins fly to the rescue and come across the Emerald Empress and her creepy magic green eyeball of doom. For some reason, she is really upset at Supergirl for some future thing she hasn’t done yet. (Good thing the OTHER Danvers isn’t around. You know the one we mean.) The Supers are vulnerable to magic, which makes this a tricky situation. Luckily, Supergirl read the DEO handbook and knows just how to handle magic. (Not kidding, that’s actually what happens).
A Walk in the Park
After the villain is dealt with, Clark and Kara take a tour of “The National.” They have a lovely chat about street food, the pitfalls of human English grammar, and the ins and outs of being “super.” Superman is proud of her for making a difference for the people of National City and impressed with how she dealt with Cyborg Zor-El.
They keep the holiday going with a trip to the Fortress of Solitude for dinner with the Kents. She gabs with Jon about Kryptonian school and gives Lois some dirt on her rival Cat Grant. Then she and Clark step outside for a game of “catch.”
In the spirit of the Day of Truth, Clark tells the story of how the pre-Flashpoint Superman and the New 52 Superman were merged to become one and the same by Mxyzptlk. (This story was all told in the recent Superman Reborn crossover). Superman is afraid that the danger to him and his family is not over, and wants to call on Kara for help. (We all want that too. These two are just adorable together).
The last few pages are devoted to setting up the next arc for Supergirl, which is a team-up with you-know-who (or you would if you read Ian and Jorge’s review of last month’s Batgirl Annual).
Supers Being Super
This. All of this. This is the comic we wanted from last month’s Supergirl. Last month was an oddball standalone psychological journey into emotional abuse. It wasn’t a bad story, but it wasn’t something we look for in our Supergirl comics. This month’s ish was a slam-dunk. It had everything; Superman and Supergirl beating up bad guys together, Superman and Supergirl bonding, The whole Super family around the (super) dinner table, it was all perfection. Our favorite moments of cute were Jon and Kara talking about how amazing Kryptonian technology is, and Clark and Kara’s interstellar game of catch.
The actual best though was Clark and Kara’s conversation in the park. Kara, in a lot of ways, has it tougher than Clark. He doesn’t remember Krypton. Kara has to carry all her memories around with her. (For more on this, listen to Kori, Gretchen, and Elizabeth’s Ladies First podcast on DCTV Superladies. Elizabeth touches on this very thing.) Clark is proud (SUPER proud) of how Kara has inspired the city. People proudly display the sigil of the house of El not because of Superman, but because of Supergirl.
Finally…
It is so great to have these moments of Clark and Kara actually having a healthy relationship. Edgelord New 52 Kara only ever fought with Edgelord New 52 Clark. Thank goodness those days are behind us.
Matias Bergara continues as fill-in artist and does a great job with it. The family scenes are especially great, and his style lends itself well to the lighter feel of this issue. Next month, Brian Ching will be back with his distinctive style, and our hope is to see it toned down a little bit. As cool as his work is, it’s a little much over long arcs of story.
All-in-all, this issue was everything we wanted in a Superman/Supergirl team-up and was a nice tie-in to the Superman Reborn story. We fully expect the Emerald Empress to be back (Clark as much as said that she would be) but for now, we are looking forward to the team-up that lies ahead. It’s going to be (super) good. Super.
Supergirl #8 Family of Tomorrow
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Matias Bergara
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Letters: Steve Wands
