Amazing Heroes #91: Supergirl's Obituary

A couple of months ago I stumbled upon Amazing Heroes #91, a special post-Crisis issue of the premier comic magazine of the time.

The book is a treasure trove for a Crisis fan like me and I have been a mining it for retrospective looks at Supergirl's death and the review of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.

Another thing I liked about the book was that the had an obituary section for all the heroes and villains who died in the series. What could be better than one last eulogy for Kid Psycho and the original Dove. Let's face it, they probably weren't mourned enough when they died. There wasn't time.

But that obituary section included all the big names as well.

And that included Supergirl.

One thing about these obituaries are that they are a little bit comic history and a little bit 'Who's Who' style history.

It is funny to read this detailed history in one setting as it highlights just how bonkers the last 15 years of Supergirl's continuity was. That said, the article doesn't poke fun or ridicule the history. It just reports it. After all, Supergirl had been around for nearly 30 years. She was bound to have a few wrinkles in her storylines.

Enjoy the article written by Mark Waid, Supergirl fan extraordinaire.

 It is always interesting to hear some perspecitive on the Lesla Lar storyline which led up to her historic reveal to the world in Action Comics #285. It is impressive to hear it documented as being 9 parts long, an insane length of a story for that time period, especially in a back-up feature.

But the most intriguing portion is the part which details her story in the 70s through the end. What a crazy set of paragraphs detailing her life as news team member to student to guidance counselor to actress to student again. Whew. When you read the stories you know those are crazy life changes. Reading them laid out in an obituary seems to highlight it.

It is a shame that Waid had to include the marriage to Salkor. I wish that story was forgotten and not commemorated.

Anyways, Supergirl's death in Crisis remains a key moment in comic history. I am glad that Waid was able to showcase her history in this manner, maybe educating some fans who only knew her from her death.

Posted in: Reviews