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The Superman Leviathan Rising #1 special came out this week and laid out the path that the super-books will be taking during the upcoming Event Leviathan crossover. From peeks at the new Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen books (written by their respective creative teams) to linking the threat of the Invisible Mafia to the Leviathan organization, the cavalcade of talent on this special lay out a great sort or mid-story prologue. We have been circling Leviathan for sometime in Action Comics. Here we see him straight on.
I'll be reviewing the bulk of this giant early next week. But today I thought I would focus on the Supergirl chapter. As said above, this special sort of paves the way for the Event Leviathan storyline. And that impacts Kara as much as anyone. Her chapter feels separate, as if she is going to be tangentially involved with the main plot but not a key figure. I can easily pull her pages out of this special and the main story would go off without a hitch.
And bear with me as this is something of a rant. A rant that happens so frequently in Kara's comic history that it flows easily out of me, like some memorized prayer.
The creative team on this chapter is writer Marc Andreyko and penciler Eduarado Pansica. So this segment feels like Supergirl's main book. Now if you have read my reviews of Andreyko's 'Supergirl in space' arc, you'll know that I haven't been too thrilled with it. And angry Kara, wielding an axe, screaming for vengeance, and abandoning Earth seems all so 2004, all so New 52 to me.
Here we see that Supergirl is back home and hoping to reconnect with her adoptive family the Danvers only to find their house demolished and her parents missing. When we get the back story we see that Eliza Danvers acts completely out of character, leading to her disappearance.
It is as if Andreyko wants to scrub away all the good foundation that Steve Orlando and Jody Houser built in the prior issues. A sort of awkward Supergirl, learning to be a hero, surrounded by a nurturing family and a supporting cast of other teens? That was a recipe for great stories and solid, steady sales.
But DC never seems to want that stability. It is always trying to swerve Supergirl into a gritty, dark mess which never works. And after having her be called 'The Queen of the Axe', Andreyko doubles down by removing all the supportive elements from Kara's recent history.
And, much like the Omega Men played way too big a role in her stories, it looks like the Kate Spencer Manhunter might also be around to steal some pages.
Does DC want a Supergirl book on the shelves? Does Andreyko like Supergirl as a character? Does anyone in DC care what the Supergirl fan base wants to read? I don't think so.
On to the details.
The story opens with Kara floating over the debris of her parents' destroyed apartment.
She seems shocked that her home is destroyed. She doesn't know what has happened with her parents. And she wonders how long she has been gone.
Well this is the thing. When you abandon your life to chase clues in space, like she did when she felt compelled to hunt down Rogol Zaar's history, then you ... well ... abandon your life.
Did she use a communicator to talk to the Danvers when she was out there? Did she think about them at all? Did she miss this life? We didn't get a sniff of that in the main book. She acted like the Kara Danvers identity was meaningless, an afterthought.
So to have her suddenly care, and then actually say that she doesn't know how long she has been off planet, seems off. Either she cared about this life (if so we should have heard about it in her solo book) or she didn't.
We then flashback. The DEO has been destroyed by Leviathan. The Danvers come to inspect the wreckage. They see friends and agents they know in the rubble. I thought one of the big things about Leviathan is that we never see bodies. So is this a continuity error? Or was this attack different.
Then Eliza goes full on dark. She curses Director Bones for being the unscrupulous person he was. She blames him for the death of their friends. She thinks that maybe it is a good thing that the DEO is gone.
And then she talks about how heroes like Superman look at humans like cannon fodder. Maybe they are the villains.
Nothing ... and I mean nothing ... in Steve Orlando's run hinted at this cynicism in Eliza. This seems out of character for someone who took a super-powered teenager into her home to raise. But I shouldn't be surprised that this Eliza is so different. Even an important detail like she is missing her right hand is overlooked by the editors. So why base her on anything that has come before.
Back in the present, Kara scans the destruction and sees Jeremiah's wedding ring. Since he would never willingly take it off, she worries that they are dead.
Again, while I am glad she is showing this concern, it is coming a bit out of left field for the Kare we have been reading. You know, the revenge-fueled person who didn't care enough about her family to talk to them about heading off into space (that is, we were never shown such a scene).
And we haven't heard her mention them at all while she has been out cavorting among the stars.
Turns out Jeremiah did take the ring off willingly.
When Eliza continues to descend into anger about the state of the world, when she refuses to try to help Jeremiah investigate the DEO attack through normal channels, he leaves her.
These two were portrayed as almost silly in love by Orlando and Houser, a married couple still mooning like puppy dogs around each other. It was a great relationship for Kara to be around.
So of course it is gone. Eliza is portrayed as irate and almost unhinged in her viewpoint. Maybe this is how Andreyko plans to have all his women act?
Still in the past, we see that Eliza may be having some second thoughts on the whole rant.
Drinking alone, she is looking through scrapbooks of her family.
There is a nice shot of the family working together. And that gives her pause.
So maybe all isn't lost.
And then Andreyko throws us old timers a bone. We see shots and brief video snippets of a time the Danvers all worked together to take down Blackstarr. Yes, Blackstarr, the villain from the 1980s's Supergirl solo title.
In her mood, Eliza wonders if she opened herself up too much by allowing herself a normal life of family and photo albums even though she is a spy.
I suppose it might be the moment where she is about to turn back onto the path of the righteous.
Now we know how the house was destroyed. Now we know where Eliza is.
And given Eliza's rants about the useless way the DEO dealt with things, she is the perfect person to be recruited by Leviathan. Leviathan wants what Superman wants; Leviathan is thinking of a new world order. And a skilled person like Eliza sick of the way things are going now would fit right in.
I suppose this will lead ultimately to a Danvers family reunion with parents on opposite sides. I can only worry how that will end.
Still scanning in the present, Supergirl finds a note in a bottle, something she says is 'very Eliza'.
But the note only warns her.
About Leviathan.
Maybe that note isn't from Eliza but instead from Jeremiah?
In case you didn't catch it, Manhunter is skulking around the site as well although Supergirl never registers Kate being there. And Kate never says a word, instead running away. We know Andreyko created/wrote the Spencer Manhunter so I am not surprised he will put her in the Supergirl book he is writing. But I want a Supergirl book, not a Manhunter book.
I am glad Supergirl is back on Earth. And maybe this will be a great arc. But seeing her suddenly care about the Danvers after snootily taking off into space troubled me. Seeing Eliza go all nihilistic and sport two hands seemed wrong. And having Manhunter lurking like someone waiting to steal page space all gave me pause.
Pansica's art is very solid and it gels well with the Mike Perkins and Yanick Paquette pages in the book. I suppose if Maguire isn't drawing the main book, I'd be happy for Pansica to stay on board.
Am I shocked DC once again went to a gritty, dark Supergirl take? No. Not with Didio in charge.
Am I shocked it doesn't seem to work. No. It never does.
Am I shocked to see it not sell well? No. It never has.
Hoping for the best. Expecting the norm.
Overall grade: C-
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