Dream Warrior
Written by: Sterling Gates
Art by: Emanuela Luppacchino, Ray McCarthy, Hi-Fi and Saida Temofonte
Cover Price:$2.99
Release Date: June 8, 2016
If you are keeping score at home, this is the review for Adventures of Supergirl #3 print edition that collects chapters six and seven of the Digital First comic. Last issue was all about Vril Dox trying to expose Supergirl's identity and make a mess of her and her friends' lives and even though he was taken away by the D.E.O at the end, Kara still doesn't know who hired him in the first place. Will she figure it out or will Vril Dox crank up some Foreigner and keep playing those Head Games? Let's find out...
The issue opens with Kara making me feel really old when she calls Silence of the Lambs "This old movie", but I guess the truth hurts. It's a nice tie-in for those old enough to get it, however, as she goes to visit Vril in his D.E.O. cell. He may not have eaten anyone's liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti lately, but Kara still is plenty pissed at him and wants answers.
He not only doesn't do what she wants, but seems to be the one in control and by that I mean of everything! Before Kara knows it, she is being attacked by D.E.O. agents, aliens and the kitchen sink...and then she wakes up. Surprise! It was all a dream.
However, just because she's awake, doesn't mean everything is fine. A report on her television informs us all that D.E.O. HQ has been destroyed in a massive explosion and before we know it, Kara is suddenly on the scene. I mean like "poof", she's there. Looks like we got trouble right here in National City...or do we?
I know that all this craziness was cleverly tipped off by Gates calling this chapter, "Nightmares on El Street", a title which I love, but I am a dummy and had no idea what was going on here until Alex and Henshaw show up as zombies. The best is Kara overlooks that and realizes it's not right because of how the zombies treat her. Either way, Kara braks out of this dream and ends up on...
Krypton! While the dinner she's having seems delicious (no fava beans here), it's all wrong and Kara figures it out, but also lets whomever is trying to trap her know that she is the official Queen of Lucid Dreaming. It's game on now!
After a little break to get the next chapter back up to speed, we are back in dream world and I could swear I heard Dokken playing somewhere in the distance because Kara has become a Dream Warrior! She's fighting the Wolf Knights of Innerworld and it's awesome! I don't care if this is all a plan to take Supergirl down, I want to see more of it! That's not to be, however, and after multiple dreams that flicker in and out like a bad (good?) acid trip, they come face-to-face.
I don't want to spoil it all so I won't tell you who the big bad is, only that they aren't really big or bad. Sterling Gates continues showing that there is a fine line between hero and villain and the D.E.O. and Kara's sister, Alex, are the ones that may be going back and forth over that line. The issue ends with Supergirl making a promise to do what's right, a hint at a future villain and a new mission.
I was never a fan of the whole "it's only a dream" type of story, unless the writer embraces it fully and runs with it. Sterling Gates does just that and after the beginning bit of trickery, we are in on the joke and it turns into something more. I actually wanted to see more dreams, but by the end, Gates had shown us what needed to be shown and we go forward in the story with more questions about the morality of the D.E.O. I love how everything is building up and can't wait to see when the poop hits the fan.
I've been waiting for some Emanuela Luppacchino art in this book and it doesn't disappoint. The second chapter is way better than the first, but that's more because of the dream worlds that Luppacchino gets to play in than anything really wrong with the beginning chapter. No matter who is on art, this book continues to look fantastic.
Bits and Pieces:
This book continues to be the place to be for Supergirl fans...comic and television. Sterling Gates shows that Kara has an open mind and invites us to all climb inside and it's a fantastic journey to say the least. Emanuela Luppacchino's art makes it a fantastic looking journey, but it's not just for show. Gates continues to plant seeds of doubt about the D.E.O.'s true methods and intentions and that's what seems to be pushing the overall story forward. I suggest everyone get onboard and enjoy the ride, but hurry because I'm not saving you a seat. I'm a jerk like that!
8.5/10
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