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Welcome to Part 2 of my review of 1998's Elseworld's Fines Supergirl & Batgirl. If just jumping on board, you can read my Part 1 review here.
I am reminded that this was 1998. We are deep into Matrix country for Supergirl at this time. In fact, at the time this issue came out we were more than 2 years into the Peter David run. The Earth Angel Supergirl was about to have a run-in with the protoplasmic remnants of the Matrix base.
But that means we were also over a decade removed from a Kryptonian Supergirl being anywhere on the racks. The very idea of a Kara Zor-El seemed forbidden. So this stands out as about as true an Elseworld's for the time as anything.
I gave Barbara Kesel kudos last review but more are needed here. Kesel throws in Easter Eggs for Supergirl and Batgirl that made me smile. And there is a key plot point that I can remember being shocked at the first time I read this book. I love when I am completely surprised by a plot turn any time I read a comic. And the ending seems like it is poised for a sequel, the two heroes friends. Alas, we never got one.
Matt Haley continues to really shine on art. I am impressed with the action sequences here. The work he does on expressions is impressive. I have never seen him on a con circuit but I would definitely want a commission from him.
And Tom Simmons colors reflect and complement the art perfectly as you will see.
On to the conclusion!
We ended last part with Supergirl rushing to Gotham to save a kidnapped Lex. Begrudgingly, Batgirl accepts Supergirl's help and the two head off.
It gives us a little time for Supergirl to tell Babs an origin story. And it is very Silver Age.
Even on Argo City, the Kryptonian citizens knew of the Earth heroes and their feats. And so to save Kara, they rocketed her there. But instead of being greeted by Superman, she is greeted by the Justice Society.
That second panel is pure Action Comics #252 cover, which makes me smile. That happy, bright, and obviously young Kara just bursting from her rocket, beaming a smile. That truly made me smile. And these added bits of history. Diana as mother. Abin Sur and Hawkgirl as people who knew Krypton. You can see how this is a nurturing world instead of one where she is taken to an orphanage. A very nice twist.
And it is clear that the Earth's yellow sun did her body good. It looks like she has grown a foot and definitely is more of a Power Girl physique in the present.
And then she met Lex and saw a kindred spirit. He could relate to her sadness. He was a friend and mentor.
This smacks a little bit of the Matrix infatuation but at least there isn't romance here.
Of course, Babs is still in her pure Bat-mode. She is so against superheroes that she can't recognize the good in them. Seriously, this is even a step further down pessimism and paranoia than Batman!
The two head to the abandoned carnival where Lex is supposed to be being held. But Barbara has a way to track where Lex and the Joker have gone. Using a series of tunnels which exist deep below Gotham (so deep even Kara didn't know about them), the follow the trail to ... dun dun dun ... LexCorp.
It is clear that Babs doesn't trust Lex because she has clearly been here before. The tech seems alien and the language is oddly Kryptonese. Of course, Supergirl still thinks Lex is a good guy. She thinks it is sweet he would use her language as his code.
Again, while she denies a romance, you can tell she likes this Lex. That would jibe with (for that time period) the more recent Lex/Supergirl history. Echoes of current continuity which ripple into Elseworld's often make them more interesting for me.
And then ... the plot twist.
Inside the Lex lab, Kara discovers the bioelectric basis for all of Lex's tech. The dead baby Kal-El.
Now this is a very dark turn and one I was not anticipating.
I just assumed that this was an Elseworld's where Superman simply didn't exist. Having Lex find and kill baby Kal-El is a grim story twist. And, frankly, since I didn't see it coming, I loved it.
Secondly, you have to love this panel. Kara is absolutely shocked to discover this. She clearly is reeling at the news. Not only is Lex not the hero she thought, he is a murderer. He killed her family. Haley plays up that sudden disorientation, that emotional wave of nausea, by having Kara's second eye warped from the fluid in the bottle. It has a very Ditko 'Shade the Changing Man' vibe to it, showing a lurch in her emotional well being. Great green shading by Simmons.
Suddenly filled with rage, Kara streaks up from the underground lab to the penthouse to confront her former mentor.
And she is irate and almost irrational.
Now I always say that I love a Kara who is fierce when she faces injustice. And I love a Kara that is still learning and fallible. But a murderous Supergirl ... stretching it.
Look at how smug Lex is. The law says nothing about the rights of aliens. He thinks killing Kal was eliminating a threat. How interesting that realizing he couldn't kill Kara he instead made her into an unwitting lackey.
Last week, I talked about how Batman talked down a murderous General Zod in Batman/Superman #8. Here Batgirl tries the same logic.
Oh, and she very neatly places a camera down in the penthouse.
But Supergirl really isn't having any of it. She casually throws Batgirl out the window of the skyscraper. No one will get in the way of Kara's vengeance.
Those are some angry expressions on Kara here.
Well, actually, a couple of people will get in the way of Kara's vengeance.
One is Lex, now sporting a Kryptonite ring (again Kesel leaning into more current and actual DC continuity). And the Bane venom powering up the Joker seems to be Kryptonite infused. His blood is green. Between the two dosages, Kara is suddenly weakened.
Again, Haley and Simmons score here by putting the psychedelic background in. It gives that sense of vertigo and delirium Supergirl is probably feeling in the face of first time Kryptonite exposure.
Luckily Batgirl was able to survive being thrown out a penthouse.
And now we get a little backstory for Babs, her origin.
She and Bruce were both seeing Zorro that fateful night. And when that killer approached them in Crime Alley, James Gordon did what he was supposed to do. He tried to protect the innocent. The Gordons got killed that night.
I love the slow fall of the badge here. It not only signifies Jim's fall but it also is a sort of nod to the over-used image of Martha's falling pearls.
She becomes Oracle and Batgirl. And Bruce becomes her confidante.
That is a great Elseworld's origin!
Again, I am gushing about Haley's art. But isn't there something Mazzuchellian about that top panel.
It turns out Lex was the one who ordered the hit. Babs needs Lex to be brought to justice, not to be murdered. And, now brandishing Lex's ring, if she has to use force to stop Kara, she will.
But the thing here is the dialogue.
Even though our heroes are facing off against each other, Babs recognizes that Supergirl represents hope. She cannot be tarnished by Lex. She cannot be brought down.
Heady stuff.
And always true.
Even though Lex has basically confessed to killing Kal and being complicit in the Gordon murder, Kara knows his influence will make him basically untouchable.
But wait ... you didn't forget about that camera Babs planted did you?
This whole scene has been broadcast to the world.
With the truth known about everything, this story is over. We just need the wrap-up.
Lex is hauled into court.
He isn't answering any questions.
But it doesn't look good.
Meanwhile, Kara mourns the death of a cousin she never knew.
Poignant imagery here by Haley and Simmons. The darker palate and sky reflect the funereal feel of this.
Are the Elseworld's Finest now friends.
Well, Batgirl kept the K-ring and puts it in storage in the cave hoping she'll never need that insurance.
The book could have ended there and I would have shrugged at yet another gritty take on the relationship between a Super and a Bat.
But luckily, Kesel does an about face and does a Friendly Farewell. Kara confronts Babs in her secret identity.
The two seem like they could team up again, this time as friends.
That ending really made me swell.
So overall, this was a great Elseworld's. It is clearly a different world. It leans into the 'real' continuity enough to make there be some sense of familiarity. There is that unanticipated twist. And the art/colors just sparkle.
Definitely worth a purchase if you can buy it!
Overall grade: A
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