Supergirl #13 – Sophie Campbell, Writer/Artist; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Sophie Campbell made her name on this title by delivering a fun, silly Silver Age-accented run on the Girl of Steel’s book – which made it all the more jarring when Kara was essentially plunged into a nightmare with the new arc. She entered Kandor to rescue her frenemy Lesla-Lar as the bottled city was embroiled into chaos, only to be betrayed and brutally attacked by the rebel leader Black Flame. When Kara awoke, she had been altered by the Kandor government, given cybernetic augmentations to replace what looked like a missing eyes and fix seriously damaged limbs. These prosthetics made her movements clunky, limited her powers – and worst of all, seemed to be controlled by the tech experts, raising the potential that Kara could be puppeted by outside forces to force her to kill. I don’t suspect these massive changes will last past this arc, but it’s a fascinating status quo change.
As Black Flame continues to tear her way through Kandor’s defenses and tries to force the young Thunder-themed heroes defending Kandor over to her side, Kara slowly works her way through the claustrophobic innards of the city to find Lesla. I can see why this character is frustrating for some, and I kind of think she’s supposed to be. She’s a deeply suggestible girl, who latches onto people she sees as strong. That led her to pattern herself after Kara at first – and now it leads her to follow Black Flame, even as she knows her childhood friend is becoming a monster. Kara’s speech to her was very satisfying, although there seems to be a larger plan for the character that will likely mean continued character growth. The end of this issue brings in a massive new plot element from Kara’s lore that could change her entire status quo once again, and the increased tension in this arc is working very well so far.
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