Supergirl #12 – Sophie Campbell, Writer; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: This is probably the most intense arc of Sophie Campbell’s Supergirl yet, with the events of the last issue not just bringing major changes to Kandor – but to Supergirl as well. As Kara entered the shrunken city to check up on her friend Lesla-Lar, she found herself in the middle of a massive civil war. The Science Council had walled itself off, and a rebel youth movement led by the terrorist Black Flame had begun launching an assault on them. Kara confronted the villain, but was quickly overwhelmed as her powers failed her, and she was left for dead. She wakes up in the care of the Science Council, which has taken extreme measures to save her life – essentially turning herself into the Cyborg Supergirl. I wish the comic hadn’t spoiled this on the cover, but Campbell does an amazing job of capturing the existential body horror of this development, as Kara finds herself altered against her will – in more ways than one.
I have no doubt this will be reversed in short order, as status quo is pretty much God when it comes to major DC heroes, especially the summer before their big movie. But Campbell works in some fascinating commentary about the way Kara’s new tech works, as it becomes increasingly unclear who the villain is here. Black Flame is a violent radical, but the Science Guild’s experiments aren’t just unethical – they’re monstrous, as becomes clear when we discover what was actually up with the cameo at the end of last issue. There’s a great segment at the beginning focusing on Conner Kent and Lena Luthor as they investigate Kara’s disappearance, but other than that, humor is hard to come by in this issue. This is a war comic, and one that doesn’t shy away from the scars it leaves on the young – including on the girl of steel’s own face, in this issue.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
