Livewire Coming To Supergirl Comic??

Since the inception of the Supergirl title post-Rebirth, writer Steve Orlando has been doing yeoman's work trying to merge the continuity of the DC Universe Kara with some of the broader ideas of the Supergirl television show. So show specific ideas like CatCo, the DEO, and Jeremiah & Eliza Danvers.

Over on Twitter, Orlando tweeted that he was meeting with the Supergirl creative team (editor Jess Chen, artist Robson Rocha, inker Daniel Henriques, and colorist Michael Atiyeh) to discuss the next arc in the book. (Can I just say, as a reader always interested in the creative process, the idea of a summit meeting of the whole creative team is just fantastic!)

When I asked for a hint, Orlando said there could be some "shocking additions".

Given that proclivity to merge the show's sensibilities with the comics, I figure the shocking hint means we'll be seeing Livewire soon! And that makes me happy. Because I think the time is right to convert Livewire to an official member of the Supergirl Rogue's Gallery ... in the same way that the Silver Banshee seems to have gone that way.

And there is the history between the two!

Most of the history, as I hinted above, is from the television show.

Livewire, played by Brit Morgan with a delicious sadism, was first seen in the fifth episode of the first season title, appropriately enough, Livewire. There we meet shock jock Leslie Willis, a radio personality who has become so toxic, attacking everything, that media mogul feels she needs to pull the plug. Through a quirk of fate ( a lightning bolt which courses through Supergirl into Leslie), Livewire is born. And she is ready to burn her way through her enemies.

I thought this was a great episode. At that time, it showed me that CBS was committed to good special effects. But it showed a side of Cat, the mentoring side, that became key. Cat realized that she didn't mold Leslie the way she should have.

 Livewire is next seen later in the first season in the fantastic World's Finest episode. This was the great Flash/Supergirl team-up in which they fight Livewire and Silver Banshee.

There is so much to love in this episode. The easy chemistry between Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist is on full display here. And Livewire again is a credible and dangerous foe.

And then, just this last season, we saw Livewire in We Can Be Heroes, the most underrated episode in the season for me. Livewire is kidnapped and used to power up other criminals. In a great end battle with Mon-El and Guardian, the bad guys are captured.

In a moment of generosity, optimism, and hope, Supergirl lets the real Livewire go, hoping that maybe this olive branch will lead to Livewire rethinking things.

So there is a nice history between the two characters on the show. But what about the comic?

Well, as far as I know (and I know my memory is near capacity so I may be forgetting some encounter, they have only met briefly, in a quick scene way back in the fill-in issue Supergirl 30. This was one of the first issues I ever reviewed on this site way back in 2008!

Shoved in the middle of Kelley Puckett's 'Thomas' story, this issue had writer Will Pfeifer explore Kara's memories of her father. (It definitely showed the inconsistency of the Supergirl history at this time as this Zor was much different than Joe Kelly's mad killer.) The art by Ron Randall is fantastic, no big surprise.

In the opening scene, Livewire is in Metropolis, killing civilians indiscriminately in hopes of luring Superman into a battle.

Instead Supergirl shows up.

Once more, you see how Livewire has the stuff to be a deadly villain.

And, as she does in the TV show, Supergirl uses water to 'short circuit' Livewire, weaken her. But Kara ends the fight with a straight right.

This is such an odd time for Supergirl. Reeling from the terrible Joe Kelly run, she tries to become a hero to Thomas. But things aren't quite set. Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle are 3 issues away.

So seeing her still questioning Earth behavior makes sense for this time.

Even here, instead of people mobbing Supergirl for saving them (remember there are piles of dead people around), they are unhappy that it is Supergirl not Superman. Supergirl is basically shunned and unappreciated. This 'extreme outsider' idea was part of this version (at least until the Gates' run) and even rears its ugly head in the early New 52 book.

Anyways, I love the idea of Livewire as a Supergirl villain and hope Orlando's hint means she'll be coming to the Rebirth book!

Posted in: Reviews