SUPERGIRL #3

Power - Chapter Three:  Outsiders

December 2005

Written by Jeph Loeb

Pencils by Ian Churchill

Inks by Norm Rapmund

Cover by Ian Churchill

Synopsis

For the past three days, Supergirl has spent time with the Outsiders waiting for Starfire and Nightwing to learn the location of Lex Luthor, whom they learned has been watching Kara.  When Nightwing tells her the location, she runs off on her own, leaving the Outsiders behind.  She finds Luthor, who proceeds to beat her up using kryptonite to weaken her.  When he beats her down, he gives her a blast of the black kryptonite.  From the prone figure of Supergirl, a second Supergirl dressed all in black emerges.  She tells Lex, “You just made the biggest mistake of what’s left of your life.”

Review

“I thought we weren’t supposed to use our names.  I mean, who wants to say, ‘Look! Up in the sky! It’s...Bob!’”

This issue was essentially split into two different sections:  the training session with the Outsiders and the confrontation with Lex Luthor.  I liked the first part better than I liked the second part.  The part with the Outsiders (and even the flashback to the Teen Titans) was funny and showed a little bit of Kara as she tries to understand everyone around her.  I think the book would really benefit if she could interact more with others and would definitely benefit if these interactions were not fight scenes.  I can excuse the one with the Outsiders since that was essentially a training exercise and not a real fight as it was with Power Girl or with the Teen Titans.  Yet the best part of the issue was the brief conversation with Nightwing and her crush on him and then when she ran away to confront Luthor on her own.  The confrontation, for me at least, went on for far too long.  I was getting antsy waiting for the cliff hanger to end the issue.  I wonder:  did Lex know what was going to happen with the black kryptonite?  He never did tell the Calculator what it was for.  But if he didn’t know, what did he expect to happen?

One part of the issue has me scratching my head.  The fight between Supergirl and the Outsiders seemed to me to be a training exercise.  Yet, at the very end, Arsenal is loading a kryptonite tipped bullet to shot at Supergirl.  He missed the shot.  Part of the confusion is the artwork.  Based on the words, it looks as if Nightwing caused him to miss.  So that’s good.  But Arsenal wasn’t aiming to miss.  He was aiming to hit.  So, what if he really did shoot her?  Wouldn’t that kill her?  Doesn’t that kinda go against the idea of “training?”  That whole part just throw me off completely. 

In case you were wondering, the following is a translation of the black Supergirl’s Kryptonian speech.  On Page 20:  “Yes freed at last” and on Page 21:  “Lex. You just made the biggest mistake of what's left of your life.”-- MRB

PREVIOUS	Main		Page	NEXT