Adventures of Supergirl Chapter 12 Review and **SPOILERS**

Written By: Sterling Gates

Art By: Emma Vieceli, Sandra Molina

Lettered By: Saida Temofonte

Cover Price: 99 cents

On Sale Date: June 27, 2016

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

I think when DC Comics asked Sterling Gates to write a digital comic to tie in with the Supergirl television series, they didn’t expect him to write a sweeping, long form epic where several digital story arcs are combined into a massive überstory that suggests a confrontation that could change Kara Zor-El Danvers forever. “Hey Sterling, you wanna write Supergirl again?” asked Mr. DC from his heavily-ornamented rickshaw. “Do I?!” exclaimed Sterling Gates, looking up at Mr. DC with moistened doe eyes and clutching his threadbare newsboy cap in his gnarled hands. “I’ve got this idea for a multi-issue fractal storyline where the first issue ties in directly to the last and the middle issue are really the first issues and…” began Sterling, but he was cut off by Mr. DC who peered at Sterling through a pair of diamond-lensed opera glasses with ostrich eggshell frames, “No no, my dear boy, this would be a digital comic. You know we reserve our best yarns for the print lines.” Mr. DC lit an expensive cigar made of mummy’s remains on an original, mint condition Confederate bill, and added as an afterthought, “That’s what I’m told, at least. Never did get around to reading the silly things.” Sterling Gates rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and shouted, “So I can write whatever I like, Mr. DC? No one will be paying attention?” as Mr. DC’s rickshaw driver picked up his carriage and began jogging away. “Quite right, my dear boy, I say I’m scarcely paying attention to you now!” And so that charged Sterling Gates with writing a Supergirl series to the best of his abilities, and his abilities are quite keen in that regard. Don’t believe me? Read my review and see for yourself!

Explain It!

Last chapter’s cliffhanger left Ms. Danvers at the mercy of the menacing, time-hardened female form of Facet, one-time warden at Fort Rozz and confidante of Kara’s Kryptonian mom, Alura. And while that was happening, Rampage was busting through the DEO to kill Kara’s sister Alex, who she accuses of having killed her sister Moyer some years back—not to mention Vril Dox is able to send psychic waves of some type, that threaten to break the museum case he’s trapped within as well as enrage Rampage and kill every normal human. Whew! There’s a lot of stuff going on in this book.

When this digital comic debuted, I remember writing in my first review that I wondered if this would be a series of one-shots, like Wonder Woman ‘77, or if it was going to have a cumulative storyline, like Injustice. Well here at the twelfth chapter of Adventures of Supergirl, I think we can definitively say that BOY HOWDY is this a cumulative storyline! The thing with Rampage wanting to kill Alex because of her sister is from the first arc of the series, and it was left sort of nebulous as to whether or not Alex had killed Moyer because she wouldn’t talk about it. For the following nine chapters, Rampage has been stashed away but Supergirl has moments of suspicion of her sister and her motives. Nothing that stopped the music, but little reminders here and there that this thing happened and was never resolved. Well now, as Rampage is about to kill her, Alex apologizes, then explains that Moyer actually saved her life on her very first mission, by catching her as she fell off a roof. And it was overzealous DEO agents that shot Moyer to death, thinking she had captured a team member.

And it’s just such a strange yet touching character moment, as Rampage’s rage subsides and she shrinks down to a somewhat chunky but otherwise normal-sized woman, and Alex holds her while they cry together. It’s a story of redemption, of confession, of character growth in a goddamned digital-first series about a television show that wasn’t renewed at the same channel. What gives here, anyway? This thing costs ninety-nine cents, but it still got more emotion than a Vertigo title. If this comic sounds interesting to you, then I have to recommend that you go back and start from the beginning, because the payoff is great. The only thing really detracting from this chapter was that the art was just okay, but not really anything special. But it didn’t take away from the developments or overall story.

Bits and Pieces:

An overdue confession leads to some big character developments and the resolution of a hanging thread from the very first arc in the series. Fans that have read every chapter of this series will appreciate this one, but I wouldn't recommend jumping on at any point in the middle. This is the culmination of the entire series and I think preconceived information will be more important going forward. I's a very rewarding series that plays out tonally and at a similar pace to the television show.

7.5/10