Review: Supergirl #22

Supergirl #22 came out this week, the second chapter in the Marc Andreyko era, and a decent move forward in the storyline of Kara's space investigation of Krypton's destruction. I was heading into this new time with some trepidation. Steve Orlando and Jody Houser had really got their sea legs and were crafting great stories in this title just to have the Bendis-izing of the super-titles rock the boat. Plus, images of an axe-wielding Supergirl being portrayed as an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps seemed like a step backwards.

This second chapter does push the overall storyline forward nicely. We get a lot of internal monologue here which does a good job of telling us just what Kara is feeling here. I have a better sense now of why she is so hell-bent on this mission. There is a nod back to the Silver Age which made me smile. And Kevin Maguire hits another home run on art here, giving us every bit of expressive emotion he can in the art. And there is no doubt this book is linked to the ongoing Superman books. Overall, I liked this issue.

Not to say it wasn't perfect. I don't quite understand why Supergirl is being so secretive about her mission. She seems a bit all over the map here emotionally, more than I would expect from someone who has lived the New 52 life she has. I don't want all those lessons to simply be swept under the rug.

On to the book.

 We start with an opening monologue where Supergirl discusses why she is heading to Mogo. There are redacted files about Rogol Zaar's axe in Hal's ring. Perhaps more information resides in the main Lantern repository.

Initially I wasn't quite sure why Supergirl felt compelled to do this research about Zaar if he was captured in the Phantom Zone. Here we get a couple of answers. One, she thinks Zaar couldn't destroy Krypton on his own so there may be co-conspirators. But she also wonders how someone could have so much hate that they become Rogol.

So some comments. One, I like that the main compulsion is bringing to justice anyone who may have abetted to Krypton's death. That seems very much a Supergirl thing to do. But how does one get filled with hate and rage? Didn't she herself feel that way about Earth? Didn't she have so much rage she became a Red Lantern and hung out with Red Lanterns?

And I also will need a refresher on Kryptonian physiology. The opening scene is Kara flying by a pitched battle between Lanterns and Weaponeers from Qward. Wouldn't Kara stop and help? If she was looking for an 'in' to head to Mogo, wouldn't aiding the GL Corps provide it? This was one thing I didn't like. Let's say Arisia died in this fight, wouldn't Kara wonder if that could have been prevented if she stopped and helped?

Perhaps my own question of why she didn't stop was answered shortly thereafter.

On approach to Mogo, Zaar's axe overloads with energy and destroys Supergirl's ship. In the vacuum of space, Kara says she only has seconds to survive. Perhaps that's why she didn't stop? Is she useless in space these days? If true, shouldn't she have a transsuit or some life support nearby.

I did love the art here. The topsy-turvy nature of the panels really give the sense of the chaos. I especially love the last one where Kara hits the roof of the ship but it is to our left, showing how the thing is flipping around in space.

 Thankfully she doesn't die in space. John Stewart, Kype Rayner, and B'dg all arrive to put her in a green bubble and escort her, her axe, and Krypto to the surface. I laughed a bit at Krypton chasing B'dg around. Good dog!

One thing I like that Andreyko does is give us a running internal monologue with Kara, showing all the things she is thinking and (more importantly) not saying.

So when John asks about the axe, she skirts the truth. I especially like the 'hey look how innocent I look' expression on her face.

But herein lies my difficulties.

 When John asks why Kara is on Mogo, she says she is doing research but she doesn't tell him the whole truth. She wonders if somehow Zaar had help from Oa, was this an inside job.

That seems like a pretty big jump to take although the presence of the redacted files probably planted the seed.

But why not just tell John or Kyle? Why not clue them in? Surely there was a chance that Hal, who scanned the axe for her, would have told them his findings? Did she think they wouldn't be sympathetic?

And she's right. It does look suspicious for her to arrive with a big axe. It just felt wrong that she felt she needed to lie about her mission here.

 On the surface, we meet Mogo majordomo C'zal. He seems all too nervous and maybe recognizes Kara's axe. Of course we recognize the body type as the same as Hakmon at the end of last issue. Maybe C'zal is Hakmon? Or a race in on the whole Krypton conspiracy? Hmmm ...

Earlier the axe overloaded destroying her ship. Here, on it's own, it changes shape, folding in on itself to become something more hatchet-sized.

It is another problem I have with Kara running off so quickly. She has no idea about this axe or it's properties. You would think a little investigation on Earth would have helped.

 C'zal points out that redacted files and secrets lie in a guarded wing of the Lantern library. But a little telescopic vision let's her see the ancient Gildishp'n password which will allow access.

That night, dressed in a stealth suit I wasn't sure I wanted until I saw it on her, Kara sneaks in.

I love this sense of pride when she remembers the password. But I also love that we get a callback to her earliest stories where her 'photographic mind' or eidetic memory was actually one of her skills.

Seriously, I like the red/black suit a lot more than I thought I would. And that silent fist pump is too wonderful.

Eidetic memory ... or a photographic mind ... is a pretty deep pull from Supergirl lore. I wonder if Andreyko has been reading some of the older collections.

I like it.

Inside the forbidden section, the axe again springs to life, becoming an enormous, red, energized, double-sided, batwing looking thing.It again seems to have a mind of it's own, swinging at the Lantern librarian and generally being menacing.

The librarian calls for help and suddenly a gaggle of GL Corps arrive to try and stop Supergirl. She won't drop the weapon because she is holding it back from attacking on its own. So, or course, with this misunderstanding the two side attack. She even has to call in Krypto to run interference.

See how all of this could have been avoided if she only told everyone what she wanted? Or looked into the axe's properties a bit more. I suppose this is a life lesson for her.

 Without warning, the axe again seems to rev up, this time dragging Kara away in some sort of warp.

And then, a very good hook.

In some pocket dimension, or maybe teleported away, Kara gets a pre-recorded message from Appa Ali Apsa. He has been waiting for a Kryptonian to trip this message because he wants to tell all he knows about The Circle.

Hmmm ...

Okay, I'm intrigued.

So, here is what I'll say. One of the reasons I love Supergirl is that she isn't the infallible Superman. She's young and brash and fierce. She can fail and learn. She isn't perfect. So running off to solve this mystery without a lot of forethought is perfect for the character.

That said, this Supergirl has been through so much already. She has come to Earth, hated it, shunned her cousin, left Earth behind, come back, became a Red Lantern, shrugged that off, accepted Earth, went to Crucible, returned, embraced Earth again, worked for the DEO, met and defeated her evil Dad, etc etc.

That's a lot of life lessons. That's a lot of accepting of Earth. That's a lot of realizing she needs help and can't do things alone. I just want those experiences to weigh in on some of what happens here. This isn't a clean slate.

I think the post-Bedard, post-Johnson/Perkins, post-Orlando/Houser Supergirl might have asked Superman for some advice. She would have told Hal or John what she was going to do. I'm not saying she wouldn't investigate this ... I get it. I hope Andreyko has read the series leading up to this to get a sense of who this Kara is.

And one more time, Maguire just crushes it.

Overall grade: B+

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