Supergirl #2

Power Chapter 2: Teen Titans

Jeph Loeb Writer
Ian Churchill Pencils
Norm Rapmund Inks
Letterer Richard Starkings
Colorist David Morán with Beth Sotelo
Assistant Editor Jeanine Schaefer
Editor Eddie Berganza
Special thanks to Geoff Johns, all things Titans

Our main cover is by Ian Churchill. His work is not the most amazing art I've seen, but it is very solid. Most impressive is his ability to stage an exciting action scene. Everybody is flying around in dramatic, yet realistic, poses. Not to mention the fun attention to detail. Robin is shooting a grappling hook around Supergirl's arm. Cyborg is pulling up wires from the building to power up his weapon. It's pretty great stuff. Although the fight inside doesn't quite turn out this way, this cover does accomplish the mission of showing us these characters will be fighting in this issue.

We also have a variant cover by Michael Turner. There's not a whole lot to this, just Supergirl happily flying in the clouds. Turner seems to have improved on drawing Kara's face from when we last saw him, so that's a plus. This cover does emphasize Supergirl's costume, which I still think is ridiculous. Wouldn't those extra-long sleeves get in the way of fighting bad guys? And really, does she need to be showing off so much skin?

Our story begins with Supergirl deciding to pay a visit to Superboy to discuss a troubling incident she recently had with Power Girl. Unfortunately, Supergirl is not well received, as Superboy believes he still could go "evil Luthor mode" whenever he comes in contact with other heroes, so he's decided to try to scare Supergirl away. But Kara is not one to be so easily pushed away, and in her anger, frustration and confusion, she actually dislocates Conner's jaw. After looking him over with her x-ray vision, popping the jaw back in place, and apologizing profusely, the two finally calm down and begin to talk like normal people.

But before they can discuss what's troubling Supergirl, the T-jet arrives overhead, with Cyborg, Beast Boy, Wonder Girl and Raven jumping out of it. Conner accuses Kara of summoning the Titans, but as Supergirl denies this, Wonder Girl greets her with a big punch to the face. Cyborg immediately immobilizes Superboy with a new hypersonic device he installed in his robotic hand. He apologizes for subjecting him to this pain, but says it's necessary since the last time they met, Superboy tore through his armor like it was a paper bag. Beast Boy turns into an elephant and sits on Conner, while Cyborg asks him why he's hanging out with Supergirl after placing himself under house arrest and breaking off all contact with the team.

Supergirl, meanwhile, quickly gains the upper hand on Wonder Girl. She mimics a maneuver of the Flash to vibrate and become invisible, then reveals she's read up on Wonder Girl's lasso and harnesses its powers to electrocute Cassie. Raven then wraps up Supergirl in her cloak, but immediately releases her after seeing Kara's thoughts.

Conner explains to Cyborg that Kara never even had the chance to explain why she came to visit him before the Teen Titans showed up. As he talks, he realizes that if the Titans didn't send Supergirl, then that means they've been spying on him. Cyborg admits that they saw a high-speed projectile headed for the Kent house, and since he still considers Superboy to be a Teen Titan, he still feels responsible for his safety. Conner doesn't accept this answer, and he angrily lifts Beast Boy off him, who urges Cyborg to hit Superboy with another hypersonic blast. Supergirl comes between Superboy and Cyborg, telling them to stop fighting, and vows to leave since that's what everybody seems to want her to do. Suddenly, Starfire arrives, accompanies by Robin and Kid Flash.

Robin chastises his teammates for jumping to conclusions so quickly, and Kid Flash jokes that they're "The Angsty-Teens-Who-Need-to-Hang-Out-with-Our-Friends" Titans. But more importantly, Starfire says she's been looking for Supergirl, believing she has answers to some of her questions.

We then end with a shot of Lex Luthor, who is alive and well after his mysterious disappearance during the big Brainiac fight. He's still wearing his power suit and has chosen to repay his old collaborator, the Calculator, by explaining the abilities of each of the different colored pieces of kryptonite in his glove. Green is deadly to Khryptonians. Red causes erratic and unpredictable behavior. Blue only works on Bizarro. And black ... well, Luthor takes a moment to laugh to himself before revealing that secret.




This was a pretty good comic. We got to see that despite the introspective pep talk Raven gave him a while back, Superboy is still terrified of potentially being Luthor's pawn. And so are Cyborg and Beast Boy. Not that I blame them, considering Superboy's power and previous instances of similar betrayals in Teen Titans history. Wonder Girl was more worried about Supergirl, but Robin and Kid Flash, the two who know Superboy best, were the only ones who managed to keep a level head and find an actual nonviolent solution.

Next time, we'll really hit the Infinite Crisis prep hard with The OMAC Project #6.