Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1 Review

 

Art By: Bilquis Evely

Colors By: Matheus Lopes

Letters By: Clayton Cowles

Cover Art By: Bilquis Evely, Matheus Lopes

Cover Price: $4.99

Release Date: June 15, 2021

In Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1, it's Supergirl's 21st birthday, and she's decided to go to a planet with a red sun so she can forget about invulnerability or superpowers or her responsibilities as a hero... and get drunk. Meanwhile, a young native girl named Ruthye is tracking down the man who killed her father. When their paths cross, Supergirl becomes Ruthye's choice to help avenge her father, whether Supergirl likes it or not.

Was It Good?

It was certainly different.

Most of the issue is spent getting to know Ruthye and her quest to avenge her father's death. If the series remains consistent, this story is told entirely from Ruthye's point of view, so it's hard to say whether or not this is a good Supergirl story just yet.

The writing is good overall. There were a few grammatical hiccups if I'm picky, but nothing detracted from the overall narrative. Ruthye has a unique voice, consistent with her culture, and the tone feels more in line with a Dark Ages sword and sandal story from out of Robert E. Howard's catalog.

At the very least, this is not your typical Supergirl comic.

The art is very good. Evely's sense of texture and anatomy works exceedingly well for a gritty sword and sandal story. 

Overall, this first installment has good writing, excellent art, and a unique approach to Supergirl. I'm interested to see what happens next.

What's It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

Ruthye Marye Knoll is a young girl among many siblings that live on a rock farm(?) on a planet with a red sun. One day, her father gets into a quarrel with a man named Krem, a kingsagent loyal to the new King who took issue with Ruthye's father's views on the King. Krem leaves behind his sword, still buried in the chest of Ruthye's father.

Later, the siblings vent and rage and argue over vengeance, but ultimately, they decide to let their deity deal with justice. Ruthye chooses to action and sneaks out to find Krem and kill him.

Ruthye rides through the night on Krem's trail, hell-bent on killing him with his own sword. Along the way, she stops at a pub to secure the services of a bounty hunter, offering up Krem's sword as payment as long as she's the one who can deliver the killing blow.

The bounty hunter takes the sword from Ruthye but refuses her terms. As he moves to leave the pub, a very drunk Supergirl grabs his arm, disarms him, and sends the bounty hunter on his way.

The following day, Ruthye tries and tries and tries to hire Supergirl to help her track down and kill Krem. It's at this point we get a sense of the kind of voice King has adopted for Supergirl, and it's tired, jaded, maybe even world-weary. It was depressing for a girl celebrating her 21st birthday with no friends or family around her.

Supergirl refuses the offer again and leaves. Ruthye follows until she finds Supergirl making preparations to go on a spaceship. This is a primitive world, so this level of technology is beyond Ruthye's understanding. Supergirl tries to shoo Ruthye away since the launch countdown has already started.

Suddenly, Supergirl is shot through the chest multiple times with arrows by Krem from the nearby brush. The bounty hunter Supergirl embarrassed, tracked down Krem and offered to show him the two females hunting him. It's a bounty hunter double-cross.

Krypt jumps from the ship and attacks Krem, but he gets an arrow in his chest for good measure. In an adrenaline-fueled rage, Supergirl attacks the bounty hunter and knocks him out. Before she can turn her attention to Krem, he runs off. Supergirl is injured with multiple arrows in her chest and bleeding badly, so it's unclear why Krem would run away.

Well, Krem does run away... right into Supergirl's ship that's still counting down to auto-launch.

We conclude the issue with both Supergirl and Krypto dying or dead in the grass as their ship takes off with the murderous Krem inside.

Bits and Pieces

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1 has excellent art, tells an interesting story from an exciting perspective, and leaves enough open threads to warrant sticking with the title.

8.5/10