Supergirl #3 Review – Careful What You Wish For
Kara has wished every night since moving in with her adoptive family that she could return to Argo City. Be reunited with her Kryptonian family. Essentially be in a world where Krypton has not blown up. Last month, Kara’s father returned to her to grant such a wish as a zombie cyborg superman. It was really hard to swallow, but the depth of Kara’s longing for a family honestly made it work. Yes, I know that sounds insane. Usually anything with the words “zombie” and “cyborg” is enough to raise a few red flags. Throw in “superman” in there and it’s a ticket for looneyville. Somehow though, it all works.
In this issue of Supergirl, it works unbelievably well. When I first read the summary for the upcoming Supergirl comic, it contained the phrase “zombie cyborg superman.” Normally I would have laughed at it, rolled my eyes, and moved on. But for whatever reason, I didn’t. Instead, I bought it and then subscribed to it. This had everything I normally loathe about superhero comics (except Wolverine), but I’m so glad I picked it up. Zombie cyborg supermen aside, Supergirl has a truly sad and deep story to tell.
Kara has undoubtedly struggled with fitting in Earth. Her parents are gone. Her last true tie to Krypton is gone. Now that the DEO has restored her powers, they’ve sent her to live with two of their top agents. Even though she has people around her who care, like the DEO and the Danvers, she feels absolutely alone. All of her wishing that she could turn back time and save Krypton has united her with her father, but not exactly how she wanted. Last issue we learned that the cyborg superman she has fought countless times is actually her father. He’s been brought back to life thanks to cyborg technology, and now he claims that he has resurrected all of Argo City.
Of course Kara can’t not see this phenomenon, as ridiculous as it seems. She tells her Earth parents that she needs to go and see this for herself, and they are fine with it. However, Eliza Danvers insists that she go too. They debate who this adventure is more dangerous for, and in the end, it’s both of them.
When Kara lands on this floating city in space, she sees that her people are indeed back to life. Sort of. They’ve been reanimated with cyborg tech, but there is no real life in them. There’s only one way to give them life, and it’s pretty much what zombies do. No, they don’t eat brains, but they can take the ore of life from humans. Earth is rather doomed.
Yes, Kara wanted her old family back. Yes, Kara wanted to return to Argo City. Yes, Kara wanted to be with her own kind again. But Kara does not want to be with zombie cyborg Kryptonians. As happy as she was seeing her mother walk toward her again, she knew that wasn’t truly her mother. Her mother now is Eliza Danvers, and she’s been captured. Her new people, those of Earth, are now in trouble. She couldn’t save Krypton, but she knows she needs to save Earth. She needs to save her new family. That’s a lot to take in as a teenager.
It was a lot for me to take in as well.
Our Rating: YUS
Author: Steve Orlando
Artists: Brian Ching and Michael Atiyeh
Publisher: DC Comics
Publish Date: 11/9/2016
Acquired via Purchase
