That’s a lovely cover from writer/artist Sophie Campbell, it’s so nice to see Supergirl back in her regular outfit after that unprepossessing white and blue number she picked up last issue. Inside, though, she’s still in the costume that came with her repairs after a brief period as a cyborg. The good news is that she changes into a third look. The bad? Wait and see.
The issue opens with the restored Supergirl once again fighting Kandorian supervillain Black Flame. Zora sees herself as a rebel, a freedom fighter, but she’s off her rocker. Luckily Kara has plenty of help. Lena Luthor is down for the count, but Lesla-Lar has woken up to her cousin’s evil, Superboy Kon-El is recovered from previous injuries and clone Thunder Girl is finding out she has something to say.
Wanting to stop Zora once and for all, Kara lures her from the bottle city of Kandor and into the Arctic air.
Black Flame’s new look seems to be linked to the biological anomaly that’s confined Kandorian young people to the bottle city – and it’s not healthy.
In fact, Zora starts shrivelling as she and Supergirl have what must be their third or fourth brutal battle. This time, Kara has a convincing win.
Back in Kandor, Lesla-Lar presents the ruling Science Council with her blueprint for a better world. Adults and kids working together to rebuild Kandor, find a cure for the genetic anomaly and generally become a saner society. Oh, and she doesn’t want Zora, who smashed up the city, sent to the Phantom zone.
Kara tells Lesla how proud she is of her, and invites her to become the hero Kandor needs.
The ring allows a Kryptonian to have super-powers under Kandor’s artificial red sun and stronger gravity, which is how Lesla gets to be cover girl Luminary again.
As she prepares to return to Midvale, Kara has a word with Thunder Girl.
And back in the Fortress, Supergirl comes to a decision.
But she’s not willing her regular costume back.
Nice hair. As for the rest of the new look, brrrr. I guess her thinking is that if she’s stepping up to take Superman’s place, she should wear the costume. Or as near as gosh darn it.
What’s more, Kara decides it’s time for a leadership role.
Oh come on Kara, Super-Squad is right there.
Also, what a weird line-up. Lena I get, she’s proven useful over and over again, but Princess Shark? Nightflame? Thunder Girl? That’s one mercurial ocean predator, one creature of nightmare and one traumatised newborn super-clone. As for that blue sperm thing, that’s psychic pal Luna Lustrum’s new look. Yeesh.
We’ve not even seen Nightflame since Supergirl #6, cowering among a bunch of ‘Innerverse’ monsters after Kara defeated her. How can she function outside of Kara’s subconscious. Why does Supergirl think she’s remotely trustworthy?
I really do think Kara is taking the whole ‘Help, hope and compassion for all’ motto a bit far – apparently she can’t help hoping her compassion will make misfits and madwomen into faithful companions. But look at her recent record. Lesla was introduced as a delusional single white superheroine, trying to steal her life. Kara forgave her and after months of friendship, Lesla is helping Zora lay ravaged to Kandor, building her super-flunkies and standing by as she eviscerates Kara. That should surely give Kara pause, but here she congratulates a calm Lesla on lecturing her parents about how Zora doesn’t deserve space jail.
That’s Zora, who Kara saw murdering people – that goes a tad beyond the acceptable bounds of rebel with a cause. She’s not shown one iota of regret over her actions, but has grimaced and snarked and cursed at every act of kindness shown her. By going along with Lesla’s ideas Supergirl is lining up a lot of trouble for the future.
And her ragtag ‘Super-Force’ may as well be called ‘Zod, meet the Redshirts’.
Supergirl #15 finally wraps up the ‘Hero of Kandor’ story that began in issue 11. We’ve had some good moments – Supergirl’s determination has been amazing… but so has her naivety. The overall brutality of the storyline has been a turnoff, and Lesla’s failure as a friend has been equally off-putting. We’re at the point where we need to be told Lesla is a person living with a bipolar disorder… or something. She needs help, Supergirl is ignoring this and people are getting hurt. And Zora needs to be behind bars, phantom or otherwise.
I’ve enjoyed seeing what’s been going on in Kandor, but it’s a bit much that every adult we’ve seen has been obnoxious and/or useless. Hopefully this really will be a new beginning, but looking at the expressions as Lesla lectures, I doubt it.
Those expressions are an indication of how great Campbell’s art is – every character is well differentiated, the storytelling is spot on, the action impressive. I may disagree with some of Campbell’s story choices, but the craft is inarguable. Extra points for Lena’s costume, a riff on Lex Luthor’s super-outfit from the Supergirl feature in 1963’s Action Comics #298.
Campbell’s art is blessed with the colour work of Tamra Bonvillain, who uses a bright palette without comprising on moodiness. I do like how much the sun-swollen Zora reminds me of old Superman enemy Rampage, and the super-sized savage also benefits from Becca Carey’s considered lettering.
It’s been great having Kon-El in this storyline, he’s been a tremendous support, here showing great faith in his kinda sorta cousin – why isn’t he in this new Super-Force? There’s no reason it has to be all-girl, and it could use Superboy’s experience.
I do like that comics Kara – unlike big-screen Kara – is vehemently anti-killing, as we see again here.
But I don’t understand her determination to be ‘the true heir to the House of El’ – what does that even mean? She certainly doesn’t need to be a Kal-El knock-off, and Clark would be the first to agree.
I love that this Supergirl series always gets me thinking if there’s one thing it’s not, it’s boring!
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
Campbell making Kara apply the ‘second chance’ thing way too often and to the undeserved is weakening her character. At least the overdrawn out Kandor mess is over.
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Agreed, she needs to show caution, and embrace the idea of punishment along with offering a chance at restitution. Let’s see what current Phantom Zone warden Mon-El could do with Lesla.
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I agree that Zora should have some sort of punishment, especially considering her look as Supergirl talks to Thundergirl. However… Since it’s a Kandorian situation, I think Kara feels she has to leave it to the Kandorians to deal with. She is a hero, not a judge. If making Zora be part of the rebuild is part of her rehabilitation, that is for the Kandorians to decide. (But it is a good reason why I wouldn’t want to live in Kandor.)
I disagree with your assessment that Lesla could be bipolar. Reading her in this reminds me greatly of my teenage nieces and nephews: one minute they are full of confidence and bravado, the next minute they are unsure of themselves. That is part of the awkward teen/young 20s experience. We are just seeing it here with super powers.
I’m reading a great book right now, Hope for Cynics by Jamil Zaki. One of the chapters is about how it’s been proven that if you put your trust in people, they generally live up to that trust. Trust literally changes a person: it makes them want to be better. That is exactly what Kara is doing with Lesla: She is putting tremendous trust in Lesla. Lesla will excel as Luminary because she knows she has that trust.
The new costume: I really hope Campbell is leaning into Supergirl’s history of changing outfits frequently and this one is just part of the rotation. I know it is Superman’s with a little extra yellow, but it just doesn’t feel right to me. Supergirl has proven she is her own hero that does thing her own way. Why would she then want to be a stand-in for her older cousin?
Super Force… Either make it the Super Squad or add another member and make it the Super Seven. I like the homage to the Action Comics issue you pointed out (great catch!), but… no. Also, way too much green and blue in this group.
Finally, I don’t know if you had a chance to read it, but the Summer of Supergirl Special has a wonderful origin clean-up story by Mark Waid, Cian Tormey, and Alex Guimaraes. Check that issue out!
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I agree about the Summer of Supergirl Special. My only quibble with the Waid story is that it provides a different reason for Kara to be placed in an orphanage that the one that was offered in the current Supergirl series. That seems a little sloppy to me, considering there were a couple of issues/scenes within the current series that dealt with Kara’s feelings about having been shunted off into an orphanage by Clark.
Having said that… I prefer Waid’s reasoning that Supergirl wanted to be around people, and around people her own age after living through the trauma of Argo City’s death.
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Waid really did come up with something clever there. Do we still have or;hanages in the US?
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Wasn’t Waid quoted the WF quip was just a joke and the new explanation was a later inspiration?
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Thanks for the insightful comments, Jeff. I do take on board your reminding me about teenagers, it’s been a while; but there’s a difference between being moody, dealing with turbulent emotions, and standing by as your supposed friend is ripped apart.
I wouldn’t say I want Kara to act as judge etc, but likewise I don’t want her backing Lesla’s no jail stance. You’re right, this is basically a matter for the Kandorians.
I love the idea that people will bloom if you trust them, but Lesla has already had the trust and she blew it. I think what she needs now is supervision (which reminds me, whatever happened to our Kryptonian werewolf… Lar-On?).
Yes please to your idea Campbell is bringing back the rotating wardrobe – let’s use all that space in the Closet of Solitude.
I’ve been meaning to do something on the Summer of Supergirl business, I have e thoughts…
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Quick question for all the experts. Who is the Lena Luthor character who is appearing in this series? Is she the still the daughter of Lex Luthor and the Contessa who was introduced back during the Triangle Era? Or is she someone else nowadays?
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That is indeed the daughter of Lex & the Contessa from the Triangle Era. She came back early in Williamson’s run on Superman (Superman #7 of the current run, to be exact). She had been under the guardianship of Lex’s mother. Not an ideal situation, so she got away as soon as she could.
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Thanks for the information about Lena.
So, Lex’s mother is still alive in current continuity? I remember that in the post-Crisis backstory for Luthor, he grew up in Suicide Slum and murdered his own parents by sabotaging the brakes on their car so he could collect the insurance money, which he used to to first fund Lexcorp. I guess nowadays Lex is back to having come from Smallville?
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I’ve honestly become very confused as to Lex’s past, in that recent Krypto mini-series we see that he’s manipulated his dad in Smallville to send him to live with relatives in a Metropolis shanty town who he intends to kill for life insurance he’s opened ‘on their behalf’. What a stinker.
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Nice one Jeff!
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Martin, I think that if E. Nelson Bridwell was still alive, his head would literally explode from attempting to make sense of current DC Comics continuity!
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I’m glad you got an answer there, it’s easy to get confused with the Lenas – original, post-Crisis daughter, post-Crisis sister, post-Crisis AI that fell in love with Jimmy Olsen. Probably about a dozen I’ve missed.
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He didn’t come from Smallville, but he did spend some time there with his dad. His mom, Leticia, took Lex in when he ran away from his dad. She showed him the company she was building, and in little time he took it over and formed it into Lexcorp. He faked her death and moved her to a secret prison island. After Lena was returned from Brainiac, Lex secretly sent her there to be raised by her grandmother so that she would be safe from Brainiac. Leticia is really bitter at Lex for taking it all away from her and tried to kill everyone in Metropolis in revenge. She was stopped by a combo of Superman, Lex, and Lena.
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So Leticia existed before that recent issue of Superman in which Lena came back? I’d assumed Williamson had made her up, based on the TV Supergirl character… who was probably a Lavinia. Or Laverne.
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Williamson did create her, you are correct. What I wrote is a summation of the line of events that trickled out during that storyline. I’m sure she is at least partially based on other versions of Lex’s mother that have appeared throughout various media over the years.
I truly wouldn’t be surprised if Lex was “slumming” with the couple in the camp part-time as part of the scheme to scam the insurance. It does show him leaving Krypto alone for extended periods of time.
If I understand the current Luthor family correctly, in the current timeline/earth it is:
Lionel Luthor: Patriarch of the family who was a scientist before he had his brain altered by Vandal Savage and all of his contributions wiped from history. He moved to Smallville, and began heavily drinking to try and remember/forget what had been done to him. The events of his death are not clear, though it assumed it was done by Lex. However, Leticia referred to him living in Smallville in the present tense at a couple of points.
Letitia Luthor: Matriarch – cold, manipulative, businesswoman. Currently in custody.
Lex Luthor: Currently a part of the Justice League under it’s amnesty program following DC KO.
Lena Luthor: Lex’s sister, who went a bit mad after Lex basically cut her off from the world in order to “protect her” due to her uncurable illness. She created and perfected several of Lex’s key inventions – with him taking the credit, of course. She eventually merged with one of “Lex’s” battlesuits and caused havoc before being subdued. She is currently in an undisclosed location.
Lilith Luthor: Lex & Lena’s aunt, but it is unknown if she is a sibling or sibling-in-law to one of the two elder Luthors, or if it is an honorary title. During a point where Lena was abandoned by Lex, Lilith took her in and encouraged her education and career in STEM. Current whereabouts are unknown.
Lena Luthor II: Lex’s daughter via the Contessa (before Lex had her killed). She has managed to buck the “Evil Luthor” trend, lives in Midvale, is a tech genius (partly by her own merit and partly because of her connection to Brainiac), and a staunch friend of Supergirl.
Connor Kent: he is a half-and-half clone of Lex and Superman. Thus far, he is the only known clone of Superman that has not become a Bizarro. He rejects his Luthor side completely, but it isn’t clear how he feels about Lena II, ostensibly his “sister.”
Jimmy Olsen: Lex’s distant relationship via 4th cousins twice removed or some such.
So far, there have been no mention of Silver Age Lexor or his deceased wife Adora, nor his niece Natashalthia “Nasty” Luthor. But given the amount of past history that has been rewoven into current continuity, I wouldn’t be surprised if they show up at some point.
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I am glad you mentioned where Nightflame had appeared and who she is because I didn’t recognize her at all. And I have read this entire series. I haven’t seen the Supergirl movie, but this seems to be quite the counter to the conclusion of that film. I’m glad that Kara did not kill Zora, but I was less pleased with her becoming a prison abolitionist alongside Lesla. Yes, Zora does deserve humane treatment, but the people of Kandor also deserve to be safe as you indicated.
Super Captain
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Exactly, she’ll poison more minds and cause more chaos within a week.
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I don’t believe that orphanages (as envisioned in the sliver age) are still a thing (not withstanding the residential schools which – while not orphanages, did separate children from there families. The last of those closed here in Canada in the late 1990s).
I would guess that the foster care system is where children without parents would end up nowadays, much like what we saw in the last couple of Shazam series. It’s more likely that Clark would have placed Kara into a foster system and then she would have been popped into the Danvers home straightaway.
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That would likely makes things a lot less easy for Kara, having to go where she’s sent, and being under closer observation. Thanks Murray!
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