Supergirl #21 Review and *SPOILERS*

Up, Up, and Away

Written By: Marc Andreyko

Art By: Kevin Maguire, Sean Parsons, FCO Plascencia

Letters By: Tom Napolitano

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 8, 2018

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

It’s a brand new beginning for the Supergirl book and from what I hear, it was needed. I admittedly did not read Orlando’s run with this book and according to most, I dodged a bullet. Now, I’ve never been a huge fan of Supergirl. I like the television show enough but I’m just not that familiar with the character. However, I like to think that I know good writing when I read it. Now, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Marc Andreyko but after returning to his Batwoman run, I like it more. As we have finally separated the book from the controversy that surrounded it when it was being released, I have to say that I quite enjoy it. It’s not the best story ever but there are some solid ideas in it and that gives me hope for this new series. Hopefully, we will finally get a Supergirl book that we can be proud to read. Let’s jump right into it.

Our issue begins with a monologue from Kara talking about classic sayings from Earth and how they attempt to tidy up life. However, life is messy. We get a quick flashback to Kara being sent away from Krypton before the planet was destroyed and her arrival on Earth. She talks about how the pain of her planet may have faded but something came along that brought all that pain running back to her. That “something” was Rogol Zaar who she recently fought with and he revealed that he was behind the destruction of her home planet. Kara continues to contemplate in the ruins of the Fortress of Solitude as she continues to grieve.

We cut to a flashback in which Kara is in Smallville and she is visited by her cousin, Superman. Kara tells him that she is still leaving for space to solve this mystery of who was behind Rogol Zaar and who is responsible for the death of her friends and family. Kara and Kal get into it a bit and Kara tells Kal the hard truth that Earth is his true home so he doesn’t feel as connected to Krypton as she does. Kara tells Kal that she loves him but that she has to go and do this on her own and she says goodbye. She then travels to National City and calls the Danvers to leave a goodbye message. After this is when Kara goes to the now destroyed Fortress of Solitude. It is here that Kara finds Zaar’s weapon.

Kara travels to Coast City and meets up with Hal Jordan after he dispatches some villains. She asks Hal to scan Zaar’s axe to find a lead. Hal tells her that he already searched for the symbol on it but she wants him to scan the actual axe itself. They learn that there is information on the axe but it has been redacted. Meanwhile, on a distant planet, an alien receives an alert that the axe is being scanned by a Green Lantern. Their firewall holds and keeps any information from leaking but it doesn’t stop the alien from panicking. Back with Kara, Hal gives Kara some advice about the path she is going down. He recognizes the rage she is feeling and tells her that it can lead to a dangerous place.

Kara returns to the Fortress of Solitude and dawns a new suit, one that can store energy from a yellow sun which will allow her to keep her powers in space. She loads up her ship when she is visited by Krypto. On his collar, she finds a note from Superman. The note is a proper goodbye and he asks her to bring Krypto with her for his own peace of mind. Kara and Krypto hop in their ship and blast off into space. Back with the mysterious alien, he reports about Supergirl looking into Zaar to his superior. The person in charge seems to be unfazed by this news but says if she gets too close that she will meet the same fate as her planet. This is where the issue leaves us.

As I said, I’m not a huge Supergirl fan. A majority of what I know about her character is from the television series in which Kara is almost a carbon copy of Superman. When reading this series, I like that the comic version of her character is properly distinguishable from her predecessor. I like seeing a character that strives to be like Superman but deals with a strong anger and rage that is bubbling beneath the service. Supergirl seems like it is going to be dealing directly with the people behind Zaar and I know that may turn a few people off to this series but as someone who is coming into this fresh, I actually find it very interesting. Andreyko did some strange things with his previous run with Batwoman and I’m hoping we see something similar with this book. I like that Krypto is a part of this as well. 

I really loved the dialogue in this book. While the story is fairly simple, It is the first issue of a long-standing series and those tend to be difficult to make unique. However, the dialogue in the book adds so much weight to what is happening in the book. I think a lot of writers really struggle when it comes to how character talk to each other. When I read this issue, it feels more natural. I’m actually really looking forward to seeing where this series leads us.

Bits and Pieces:

The first issue of a brand new run for this book starts now and it immediately breathes new life into this dying book. Andreyko has come in after a fairly big change to the landscape of the Superman adjacent books, and new beginnings are hard to pull off. However, Andreyko has succeeded through incredible dialogue to engage the reader and make them care about Kara’s new mission. The only let down from this books is the art that we’re getting. Art is subjective and I’m sure there are many that will enjoy this art. I’m just not one of them. Overall though, I really enjoyed this issue.

8.0/10