Review – Future State: Kara Zor-El, Superwoman #1 – Kara’s Refuge

Future State: Kara Zor-El, Superwoman #1 – Marguerite Bennett, Writer; Marguerite Sauvage, Artist

Ray – 9/10

Ray: While Jon Kent is Superman on Earth and Clark is MIA, Kara Zor-El has chosen a very different path. Reuniting the team behind DC Bombshells, one of the most underrated comics from the digital first era, this miniseries follows Kara as she swears a path of nonviolence and oversees a colony of refugees from Earth and other worlds. It’s clear she’s been through a lot of trauma—she had some brutal conflict with Jon, and her pain over the path she took to Earth has never been more clear. And worst of all, Krypto appears to have died at some point in the past. The opening pages are melancholy, contemplative—and then it takes a sharp turn when another mysterious refugee arrives on the colony. It appears to be a young girl, almost like Kara when she arrived—and then she reveals herself to be very different, seeming to be a power leech who quickly strips Kara of several of her powers and absorbs them.

Kara’s non-violent approach allows her to turn down the volume, and it soon turns out the girl is not there to attack. She’s a refugee herself, packing enormous power and fleeing from some evil relatives who want the artifact keeping her alive. It’s a wild ride of a story that has equal parts action and quiet moments of reflections. Sauvage, one of the best artists working today, draws an absolutely stunning Kara and makes her look both older and ageless. She also clearly has a lot of fun depicting our new arrival’s shapeshifting powers. The little we see of the villains this issue indicates their danger level and delivers a great horror movie vibe, and Kara’s personal journey as she struggles to keep her vow of non-violence alive even as violence comes to her is highly compelling. This is probably the best Kara Zor-El story we’ve gotten in years, and I’m hoping it’s the start of an extended run on the character for these creators.

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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.