52 Catch Up is a series devoted to looking at issues from DC’s New 52 and seeing how they’re faring now that they’re underway, why they’re worth reading (or not), and places we hope they will go in time.
Concept:
The last daughter of Krypton, Kara Zor-El, cousin to Superman, arrives on Earth with no memory of how she got there and a lot of people interested in possessing the powers of a Kryptonian.
MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW
Previously on Supergirl: Covering Issues #1-#9
A meteor shower in Kansas attracts the attention of space entrepreneur Simon Tycho, who has a standing order to retrieve debris from space, when one particularly large “meteor” burrows its way from Kansas through the Earth’s mantle and arrives in Siberia. The meteor is in fact a pod containing Kara Zor-El of Krypton. Tycho’s soldiers arrive and attempt to bring Kara and her pod into custody, but she resists, discovering that in the presence of Earth’s yellow sun, she possesses super powers: strength, speed, and heat vision, all of the powers of Superman. Though she has difficulty controlling them, she manages to take down Tycho’s men. That’s when Superman arrives. He starts to talk to Kara in Kryptonian and explains how he came to be on Earth, but she is confused and angered when he claims to be Kal-El, who was her infant cousin on Krypton, which, from her point of view, was just three days ago. Kara starts to fight him while Tycho’s soldiers move in and take her pod.
During their fight, Kara discovers she can fly and the two take their fight to the skies. They wind up at the Great Wall of China, but Kara backs down when she realizes there are innocents in the area who might be hurt if they continued to fight. Superman explains in greater detail how he came to be on Earth and what might have happened to her, but the conversation is cut short when he receives a call for help and has to leave. Kara refuses to accompany him and returns to find her pod missing but discovers a holographic message Tycho left for her, which shows her the path to his station in orbit. Kara fights her way aboard the station and finds her pod, but it’s leaking Kryptonite fuel which incapacitates her. Tycho begins to study her, wanting to find a way to capitalize on her powers, but one of the soldiers from Siberia, Jacobs, breaks Kara out. Jacobs is killed trying to help her escape. Her strength returned, Kara fights her way off the station, taking back a sunstone, a crystal containing data, Tycho took from her pod and then destroys the station’s reactor with her heat vision. Most of the crew manages to get off in time, but Tycho is badly injured and mutilated by the explosion, though still alive.
Kara follows the sunstone’s instructions through a portal in space to Argos City orbiting a blue sun. Argos City was once Kara’s home, and she has no idea how it came to be there. She soon learns from the sunstone that her father was responsible for moving the city, but it doesn’t look like anyone survived the trip. Kara then meets Reign, a Worldkiller also looking for answers. Worldkillers were Kryptonian genetic experiments using alien species, in an effort to make a superior weapon. Kara attacks Reign once she realizes what she is, but Reign defeats her and leaves her to die, trapped on Argos City and its decaying orbit. Reign heads to Earth and starts to tear apart New York along with three other Worldkillers, looking for answers to their origin on the only planet still known to have Kryptonian inhabitants. Kara manages to escape and returns to Earth where she holds off all four Worldkillers by herself. She realizes that the only thing that can hurt a Worldkiller is another Worldkiller, so she tricks one into injuring another, which is when Reign calls a stalemate.
Reign and the Worldkillers retreat, but the NYPD and national guard still want answers from Kara. She manages to evade them with the help of a woman named Siobhan who has a gift for understanding all languages. The two retreat to Siobhan’s apartment and, after laying low for a time, Siobhan leaves for a gig, taking Kara with her. Barely into her first set, Siobhan is attacked by the man who was once her father, the Black Banshee. Kara holds him off but Siobhan decides it’s time to stop running from what she is and gives in to her family’s curse, becoming the Silver Banshee. Kara and Siobhan fight her father, but the Black Banshee starts to manipulate Kara’s powers, causing her to lose control of them. When he sets her to start generating energy to the point she will explode, Kara flies straight into him, giving herself, soul and all, freely, leaving Silver Banshee behind to face her father alone.
High Points
Kara Zor-El: Kara is a fantastic character in the DCnU. Her struggles to come to terms with the fate of Krypton and the strangeness of Earth are captivating to watch unfold. The writing for the character makes it very easy to believe she is a sixteen year old girl who suddenly finds herself with unbelievable powers, the destruction of her world, and a whole host of bad guys thrown in her path.
Learning Curve: From her powers to the customs of Earth, Kara is brand new to much of the situations she finds herself in. I’m especially a big fan of how Kara’s developing powers have been used as a handicap. In early issues she’s barely able to control flight or hold her breath in space, and even by Issue #9 she’s still struggling to keep her super hearing and x-ray vision turned off when she doesn’t need them.
Low Points
Siobhan: I was excited about Kara making a friend on Earth until it actually happened. So far, I’m not a fan of Siobhan, who really annoyed me in Issue #8, between her attitude dialogue. There are a few cool things with her backstory, but the whole Black Banshee scenario feels rushed, and I don’t buy Kara and Siobhan becoming BFFs in a matter of hours.
Last Minute Rescues: The soldier, Jacobs, saving Kara from Tycho’s station was a deus ex machina of the worst kind. You’d think Tycho would have placed a little more security near his super powerful favorite new plaything. Then there’s Kara’s rescue on Argo. Drained of her abilities, the spirits of her parents show up and grant her the strength to escape. Fortunately, Kara’s encounters with the Worldkillers and Black Banshee have relied on her own abilities and ingenuity instead of a last minute source of help.
Looking Ahead
Learning English: Kara can’t speak Kryptonian forever. Whether with Siobhan or Clark, once she gets some down time, she’s got to sit down and learn at least one language of Earth. I’m fairly certain there’s going to be some great comedic moments out of her early lessons of both language and of learning Earth’s customs, such as we saw briefly in Issue #8 with Kara picking up and commanding the TV to produce a holographic display.
Fifth Worldkiller: The Worldkillers were a cool group of foes for Kara, and though Reign and the others have retreated for now, they will undoubtedly return looking for their answers. Then, there’s the fifth Worldkiller Reign mentioned, who was released first and is still out there.
Kal-El: Kara is distrustful of Clark and with good reason, but the two are bound to cross paths again, and one day, hopefully, reconnect as cousins and as the only Krpytonians left in the galaxy.
Return of Tycho: He survived an exploding space station, badly injured, but they rebuilt him, made him stronger, faster, and now he’s going to go looking for revenge on the girl who took everything away from him.
