In the Fortress of Solitude, a Brainiac drone who dreams of being a real boy/killer android has deduced that he requires a Kryptonian to complete his evolution. And he doesn’t need any nosy service robots getting in the way.
Supergirl has returned to Earth after her space odyssey to find foster mother Eliza apparently killed and foster dad Jeremiah on the run from Leviathan goons.
They’re being watched by a Leviathan agent, who’s surprised when her boss shows up beside her.
Soon she’s fighting Jeremiah, and he notices something.
Supergirl, meanwhile, gets the standard, ‘join me and be part of a better world’ speech from Leviathan. She’s not impressed.
Penciller Eduardo Pansica is on fire this issue, delivering page after page of dynamic action with inker Julio Ferreira and colourist FCO Plascencia – I could almost feel the blows landing this time. Poor Krypto, in particular, has a bad time as Leviathan shows off their green K weaponry. Supergirl, though, remembers that her current costume has shielding, allowing her to turn the tide and forcing her opponents to flee.
What was I saying last time about Eliza still being alive? Well, here she is, apparently undercover, though why her husband wouldn’t know is something to be revealed. As is the ‘complicated’ reason he and Eliza were reactivated as DEO field agents – like Kara, I just assumed it was a fight and flight response to the rise of Leviathan.
Kara’s rage-filled reaction to Leviathan is immediately disappointing, I thought she’d purged herself of such feelings after the recent Unity Saga, but given she believes Leviathan murdered her mother, it’s perhaps understandable. And it was fun to see the new-look costume again, although I don’t want green K shielding to be a permanent thing – Kara needs her main weakness.
Pansica and Ferreira draw great dogs. The continued presence of Krypto is great, but really, I want to see him regularly in the Superman books – or with Jon, in the 31st century – Supergirl should have her own traditional furry pal, Streaky, at her side.
One little fella who has a worse time than Krypto is Fortress major domo Kelex – he’s up there with Robotman and Wildfire in terms of how often he gets blasted to near-smithereens.
I feel a bit sorry for writer Marc Andreyko – he must have stories of his own he’d like to tell, but as well as the Leviathan business he has to incorporate the Brainiac stuff for Year of the Villain and, as of this issue’s final page, the Batman Who Laughs rubbish. You can’t imagine how much I’m looking forward to see Kara corrupted yet again, heck, it must be weeks since we’ve had Dark Supergirl.
Supergirl has it right. Would it be too much to ask for a story in which she gets a breather, and when excitement is required is the prime mover, rather than a pawn in someone else’s crossover?
At one point, this issue’s cover question would elecit the response ‘of course not’, but these days, given how often she’s chosen, or been drafted into, the wrong side, you just don’t know. Still, Jesus Merino’s cover image, coloured by Plascencia, is a grabber.
And kudos to letterer Tom Napolitano for making me smile with another nod to the classic Superboy logo… we’ve seen it a few times in the Superman Family books of late. And I love that ‘In’ is in the telescopic logo font.
I didn’t enjoy this issue as much as last time, but it’s still better than most of the space issues we’ve had recently – and I’m pretty sure it’ll prove better than the next couple of issues. Kara as one of the Infected? Yeah, thanks DC, this is what we want.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 