Supergirl #3

Power Chapter Three: Outsiders

Jeph Loeb Writes
Ian Churchill Pencils
Norm Rapmund Inks
Letterer Richard Starkings
Colorist David Morán
Assistant Editor Jeanine Schaefer
Editor Eddie Berganza
Special thanks to Judd Winick, the Outsider

Our main cover by Ian Churchill shows Supergirl standing in the shadow of ... well, herself. It's a pretty neat way to hint at the ending of this issue without giving anything away. I would have changed the background, though. Those photo-realistic clouds don't seem to fit.

Our variant cover by Michael Turner takes the more direct approach in showing the main conflict of this issue: Supergirl vs. Lex Luthor. It's a decent enough cover, but it's poses like this that make me really uncomfortable with Supergirl's skimpy outfit. I mean, she's a minor, right? And Lex is a grown man lifting her above his head, getting a peak at what's underneath that miniskirt.

Our story begins three days after last issue, with Supergirl training with the Outsiders. For some strange reason (a mystery even to Supergirl), the Outsiders have Kryptonite shackles that can be regulated for more or less exposure. Supergirl dialed the shackles down to 5% to break the chain dramatically during the sparring session, which ends with Arsenal firing an exploding bullet with liquid Green K at her. Nightwing walks in at this point, and isn't too pleased. He takes the shackles off Supergirl, telling her that Starfire has a lead on who has been tracking her. But while he talks, Supergirl's thoughts go back to the conclusion of her little adventure with the Teen Titans.

When Starfire showed up last time, she told Supergirl that she learned from Batman someone was spying on her. Supergirl and Superboy both see Batman's actions as a lack of trust, but Cyborg says trust is something you have to earn. Wonder Girl darkly adds that it helps if you're not trying to kill your teammates. As Starfire and Supergirl hover in air above the Titans, Kid Flash and Beast Boy both admire the view of the girls' butts.

Starfire tells Supergirl that Lex Luthor is spying on her, and Superboy immediately vows to help out. Robin wraps a rope around Superboy's ankle and tells him he should not go anywhere near Luthor. Conner wants to argue this point, but Supergirl stops him, saying this is her thing and she agrees to go with Starfire to the Outsiders. Bart suggests having Supergirl fill in for Superboy on the Teen Titans, and Tim agrees, saying they could use the raw power. Conner says they could have at least waited until they were over Oklahoma to talk about replacing him.

Back in the present, Starfire reports that Luthor has been spotted in Monument Valley, Utah. Supergirl immediately takes off in that direction, frying the Outsiders' jet so they can't follow her. Starfire flies after Supergirl, but doesn't catch up until they're over Utah, and she is promptly shot down by Luthor. Supergirl flies down and is hit with a blast of Green Kryptonite. Luthor accuses Superman of killing Darkseid, which enrages Supergirl, but she's no match for Luthor. After he beats her up for a bit, he then exposes her to the Black Kryptonite rock on his pinky. This causes a dark version of Supergirl to appear, and she threatens to kill Luthor.



I have to say, I kind of like how Jeph Loeb writes the Titans more than Geoff Johns. Robin is more of the leader he was in Young Justice than the angsty teen Johns turned him into. And I liked seeing how everyone is still worried about Superboy's brainwashing incident. But all this was just a minor part of the story, presented in an odd flashback scene. It really didn't make sense for Supergirl to have this long flashback while gazing lovingly into Nightwing's eyes. Other than that, this was a decent issue.

Next time, we begin the event of the decade with Infinite Crisis #1.

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.

Supergirl #37

Hell's Heck's Angels Part 4 Demon in the Bottle

Peter David, Writer
Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs, Artists
Gene D'Angelo, Colorist
Digital Chameleon, Seps
Bill Oakley, Letterer
Frank Berrios, Asst. Editor
Mike McAvennie, Editor

Our cover shows Dante slamming Supergirl's head into the glass containing the lava monster Dis, while the possessed Young Justice attacks from the rear. Not only is this slightly inaccurate, it's absolutely horrible-looking. Why is everything pink and purple? And when did Dante transform from a suave disco stud into a grotesque half-man, half-ape? The only slightly redeeming element of this cover is Impulse running upside down on the cavern walls. That's pretty cool.

Our story picks right up where we left off last time, with Dis breaking free of his glass container. But Supergirl is somehow able to contain him with a telekinetic blast (I wasn't aware of that power), and she reseals the container with her flame vision. But Dis is still somehow able to cause Supergirl to be covered in ice, which shatters her flame wings.

The mysterious Lord Carnivore is watching the progress of Young Justice's assault on Leesburg, Virginia. Superboy and Wonder Girl have thrown a bunch of trees in a pile, which Arrowette lights on fire. And Impulse is running around with a very small speed limit sign for some reason. Carnivore knows this should be pleasing him, but something's nagging away at him.

Dante begins beating on Supergirl, vowing to have more fun with Young Justice once he's done with her. Supergirl is able to fight through the ice and throw Dante off her. Unfortunately, she threw him right into Dis' container, shattering it.

In Leesburg, Young Justice has moved on to freeing the inmates from the prison. As Superboy and Wonder Girl rip off the cell doors, Impulse steals the guns from the police and hands them to the criminals, saying he was recently taught in social studies to not infringe on bearing arms. Arrowette and Robin fight off the police outside, relishing in their new villainous attitudes.

Dis finally breaks free once and for all, and in his eagerness to kill Supergirl, he inadvertently engulfs Dante, who suffers a horrible death. This angers Carnivore, who wanted Supergirl to be the one to kill Dante. He doesn't want her to die, but to fall.

Back on the surface, Robin notices the weather has suddenly become very cold. The demon-creatures on the backs of his and Arrowette's necks are suddenly hit with something, and the two of them feel like they're coming out of a fog. The Super-Cycle shows up, and Robin and Arrowette use it to rescue some officers from Superboy, Wonder Girl and Impulse.

The Super-Cycle fires three pink beams at the creatures on our heroes, freeing them from Dante's control. Robin explains that the Super-Cycle's tactic was risky, which is why it didn't attempt it earlier. But it decided to take that risk once it saw the heroes freeing criminals. Returned to his senses, Impulse very quickly incarcerates all the inmates with ropes and chains since the doors are still broken.

In Dante's Inferno, all the other demon-creatures suddenly decide to leave the prisoners. Supergirl arrives with Dis (literally) hot on her tail. As Supergirl wonders how she can rescue all these people, Young Justice arrives in the Super-Cycle to save the day. Arrowette offers an awkward apology to Supergirl, and they load everybody into the cycle, which phases out to freedom.

Agents Fite and Maad (who are always able to travel great distances quickly) have left Chicago and arrived in Leesburg to search for Young Justice. They don't have to look very long, because Young Justice and all the criminals Dante had kidnapped phase up right in front of the A.P.E.S. agents. But Dis isn't far behind, bursting up through the sewers. However, as soon as he's exposed to the daylight, he turns to ice and shatters. Everyone congratulates Supergirl, and she takes the credit, but secretly doesn't know what happened. And Carnivore isn't sure, either, suspecting only that Hell is freezing over.


I'm pretty disappointed with this issue. Besides the lackluster art, the story was just full of too many coincidences. The Super-Cycle just happened to be able to rescue Young Justice, but conveniently waited until the end of the story. Dante was conveniently killed by Dis, and the demons conveniently just decided to leave. Young Justice just happened to arrive right at the most convenient time — heck, even Supergirl called that a deus ex machina. And Dis conveniently died before he could cause any real damage. Ultimately, our heroes didn't do anything to save the day. They were just kind of there while things happened around them.

All in all, it was a disappointing story and a disappointing crossover. While Young Justice did get a fair amount of time in these four issues, and their side stories did continue in their series, this whole crossover mostly felt like a Supergirl story. All the villains ended up being Supergirl villains involved in this very strange world of demons and angels. Dante started off rather interesting, especially since he believed he was actually a good guy. But he very quickly devolved into a worthless pawn in this story that I don't find all that appealing. In the end, I feel like a Supergirl-Young Justice crossover could have and should have been much better.

Next time, we'll wrap up the month with Impulse #53.

Supergirl #36

Hell's Heck's Angels Part 2 Justice Delayed

Peter David, Writer
Leonard Kirk, Penciller
Robin Riggs, Inker
Gene D'Angelo, Colorist
Digital Chameleon, Seps
Bill Oakley, Letterer
Frank Berrios, Asst. Ed.
Mike McAvennie, Editor

Our cover shows Supergirl (literally) in the clutches of Young Justice. They look particularly demonic with their faces and bodies blacked out, leaving only glowing red eyes and a few distinguishing elements of their costumes. It's a really neat effect. I'm not a big fan of the art in this issue, but I can get behind this cover. The only nit I have with it, is it doesn't say that this is the second part of a crossover with Young Justice. I've been burned by comics like this before, where I only find out after I open it that I should have bought an issue from a different series to read first. Small notes on the cover help prevent this.

As to be expected, there's a lot going on in this issue that doesn't concern Young Justice or Impulse. So I'll just gloss over all the extraneous stuff. Our story opens on an odd businessman named Mr. Carnivean. His underling, Mr. Stubbs, informs him of Dante's recent visitors, and even brings up a video to show Young Justice making their way through the cavern. Mr. Carnivean calls Dante an "overreaching little mortal" and says Arrowette remains quite the fashion nightmare. (Hey! At least this costume is better than her first one!) Anyway, Mr. Stubbs shows Mr. Carnivean that Dante has captured a woman named Tammy Neil. The two sinister men hope Dante doesn't know the true nature of Tammy, but just to be sure, Carnivean decides it's time to introduce Supergirl to the new chaos stream.

Let's skip ahead a bit to Supergirl spotting a reverend being attacked by one of Dante's winged demon friends. Supergirl's able to get the creature off the man's back with her heat vision, then follows it as it escapes through the sewers. Supergirl is led through a portal in the sewer wall, which opens up to what she recognizes as another chaos stream. Supergirl follows the little winged demon through a series of caverns until she comes enters Dante's Inferno just in time to see Superboy get pounded by the large winged demon.

Supergirl helps Superboy defeat the large creature, and they learn that its wings are metallic and were somehow grafted onto its back. Their victory is short-lived, however, as Wonder Girl swoops down and begins attacking them. Wonder Girl is followed by Robin, Arrowette and Impulse, who start hitting Supergirl with everything they've got. They all have the demon-succubi things on the back of their necks, and their eyes are red like the cover. Supergirl realizes the teens are possessed, and she asks for Superboy's help. But in the commotion, Superboy also was possessed, and he quickly joins his teammates in the onslaught against Supergirl.

I am all in favor of a Supergirl/Young Justice crossover. Since both titles are written by Peter David, you can count on him to get all the characters right and keep the continuity straight. And having Supergirl take on pretty much the entire Young Justice is a pretty awesome idea. This issue was only hampered by the subpar art and my lack of knowledge of this version of Supergirl. I guess I need to sit down one day and read Peter David's run on the title. With this issue, I'm surprised at how much the series seems to deal with angels and demons. I find that idea a little weird, but it could be cool. David is, after all, a pretty dang good writer.

Next time, we'll see what Inertia has planned in Impulse #52.

Supergirl #34

We'll Always Have Parasite

Peter David, Writer
Leonard Kirk, Penciller
Robin Riggs, Inker
Gene D'Angelo, Colorist
Digital Chameleon, Seps
Bill Oakley, Letterer
Frank Berrios, Asst. Ed.
Mike McAvennie, Bougoise

No Supergirl and Parasite — it's "Eiffel" Tower, not "I Fell" Tower! Leonard Kirk, Robin Riggs and Patrick Martin took the plunge for this month's cover. I'm actually not too impressed with this cover, and that's mainly because of Kirk's art. It's just really blobby and unimpressive. But, I am happy the inside artist was the cover artist, and he did draw a scene that actually happens in this book.

Impulse and friends only make a very brief cameo in this issue, so we'll just breeze through this. Supergirl got her dates mixed up and accidentally scheduled an art exhibit for her alter ego, Linda Danvers, in Paris at the same time Supergirl was supposed to give a speech at a charity event in Columbus, Ohio. I'm not sure exactly how that worked with the time difference, but it was pretty fun watching her come up with lame excuses to abruptly leave one event to rush off to the other in a futile attempt to be in two places at once.

While flying to Columbus, Supergirl passes through a thick cloud of fog and nearly crashes into Young Justice on the Super-Cycle. Robin manages to phase them through the heroine, which comes as a big shock for Supergirl, who only recognizes Superboy from the group. Collision averted, Superboy shouts at Supergirl for being a "skyhog" and Impulse makes a really stupid mocking gesture. All Arrowette cares about is Supergirl's hair, while Supergirl flies away, considering Superboy real immature.

And that's all we see of Young Justice in this issue. Where were they going? What were they doing? It doesn't matter — it was funny! Sometimes, that is my favorite kind of cameo. Completely random and utterly goofy. Anyway, while Supergirl is hoping back and forth between Columbus and Paris, the Parasite escapes the D.E.O. in Paris, kills a bunch of agents and gets into a big fight with Supergirl, ending the issue on a cliffhanger.


Even though I breezed through this issue, it was actually really good. Peter David supplied his usual sense of humor with some truly terrifying moments with Parasite. And since he's writing Supergirl and Young Justice, it was only a matter of time before they crossed paths (and they will again before too long). Of course, Impulse had previously met Supergirl for about five minutes with the New Titans, but I'm not entirely sure if that was the same Supergirl we have here. In any case, I really did enjoy this issue, even with the lackluster art.

None of the letters to the editor mention Impulse or Young Justice, so let's head straight to the ads:

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Next time, Impulse and friends will make another quick cameo in Resurrection Man #26.