DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERGIRL #35

New Krypton, Part 5:  Secret Origin of Supergirl

January 2009

Written by Sterling Gates

Pencils by Jamal Igle

Inks by Keith CHampagne

Cover by Alex Ross

Synopsis

[continued from Action Comics #871] General Lane is worried the Kryptonians are more of a threat than people realize.  Meanwhile, Supergirl’s parents Zor-el and Alura tell her that she can not masquerade as Linda Lang; it’s not safe outside Kandor.  Her parent’s discuss her weird behavior over the years and determine it is due to Kryptonite poisoning.  Elsewhere, Lana Lang confronts Cat Grant over another negative Supergirl article.  Meanwhile, General Lane can help Reactron, but wants him back in action as part of the deal.  In Kandor, Supergirl’s parents cure her of Kryptonite poisoning.  In the process, she regains her memories and recalls being in Argo City when Krypton was destroyed.  Afterwards, Zor-el and Alura want Supergirl to remain in Kandor, but Supergirl is torn because of her life in Metropolis.  Meanwhile, a woman dressed in white hood and cape with a red costume with a “S” on the chest appears over Metropolis. [continued in Superman #682]

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

One step forward.  Two steps backward.  This is pretty much what the character and the book have been doing ever since Jeph Loeb brought her back to the DC universe a number of years ago.  This issue is no different as Gates spends the entire issue explaining what happened (and why) in the previous 35 issues.  On the one hand, it was well done and manages to make sense of those 35 issues, but on the other hand it is sad that after 35 issues not only do we get an origin story but it also serves as an explanation for her odd behavior (read:  different writers with different interpretations) since her debut.  But, as someone who has read this series since its beginning, I am used to these re-boots.  Every so often we get a new writer with a promising beginning, then they futz with the origin and it seems like the beginning never gets going.  Hopefully, with this origin out of the way, and the seemingly never-ending New Krypton story connecting to Supergirl, we’ll get actual stories (such as a secret identity that lasts longer than one or two issues) rather than explanations for whatever is going on this title. 

Wait.  Did I miss something?  Zor-el and Alura were within the bottled city of Kandor.  Reference was made that Kandor was already taken by the time they were in Argo City and Krypton exploded.  Now, did Brainiac come back and take a bunch more people and put them in Kandor?  If so, this was explained properly in this story.  Right now it seems like Zor-el and Alura were in Argo City, but were found later in Kandor. 

ïPREVIOUS	Main		Page	NEXTð

Home ●  Blog ● Who Are We? ● Site News
Alive and Well since April 16, 2006

 DC Universe Reviews.  All Rights Reserved
  Characters, trademarks, brands are property of DC Comics

For problems or questions regarding this website, please contact our kindly webmaster.
Last updated: 08/06/11.