Powergirl Appreciation 2019

[Robanker]

Well, since I'm not their target audience for that title, I don't quite know how SG is portrayed, but I've long been of the opinion that DC seems to be moving in the direction of getting rid of PG in favor of SG, with the Tanya Spears thing being what convinced me. Once you start handing out the character's superhero name to unrelated characters, and parcelling out part of the core characteristics of that character to the parent character, as started to happen instantly when they brought back SG...that seems to be where you're aiming.

The only thing is they keep using her in covers and sometimes interior art, though without any dialogue or even acknowledgment from other characters. Why do that if you getting rid of the character? OTOH, why not actually use her in any meaningful way for YEARS while major storylines evolve and change the environment she's facing in the DCU completely?

I think they feel they cannot get away from the stigma of the character's costume and reputation for her exaggerated features, so they're trying to phase her out to avoid future criticisms. They tried to change her costume several times in the past but it never takes so perhaps there's some merit to the idea she may not be able to move past those aspects of her character. The rest is just current editorial's war on anything they deem redundant.

I don't agree and wouldn't change a thing about Karen, but I also think you can cover the boob window and it'll be fine.

[achilles]

I think they feel they cannot get away from the stigma of the character's costume and reputation for her exaggerated features, so they're trying to phase her out to avoid future criticisms. They tried to change her costume several times in the past but it never takes so perhaps there's some merit to the idea she may not be able to move past those aspects of her character. The rest is just current editorial's war on anything they deem redundant.

I don't agree and wouldn't change a thing about Karen, but I also think you can cover the boob window and it'll be fine.

If you change PG's rather unique personality, you basically kill the character and might as well simply call that character something else. The costume...is open for discussion if it will save her with DC, as far as I'm concerned. There HAVE been a few decent versions, even some that include the "S". Turns out that blonds, at least when rendered in a comic book, look very good in black, and the "S" also looks good with that color on a woman, so that particular version was okay, (though technically, she had white hair at the time). The Injustice 2 skin had a couple of nice options, as was the rejected artwork, and I've seen some fan versions that were good). The nu52 version was...well, according to Kevin Maguire designed by committee, and only drawn by him, and they kept changing their minds about details, so it's no surprise it didn't go as well as simply letting him do his thing would have. Plus, it sort of upset him, as did getting blamed for it. The other variants from that run, apart from the classic costume, (was a bit amusing how she got that one, or at least the banter with SG and her computer), are sort of a blur, not too memorable either way. But hey, she's had dozens of costumes and variants, as have many other characters.

I think you may be right about why DC views her as a bit problematic...so if visuals are the main thing, change them a bit, so long as they're not too terrible, and at least evoke the classic versions. I doubt too many PG fans will complain if she has the two button cape stay instead of the single button version, as long as they can read more PG stories.

Which, along with a champion at DC who has some power or influence, a great backstory that can come close to matching the big DC classics like at the very least the sundry Flashes or GLs, a notable supporting cast and bad guys, is what she most needs IMO, some great stories. She currently has none, at least no solo stories where SHE'S the heroine; certainly nothing like say a Batman: Year One, or a DKR, or a Whatever Happened To...., nothing like that. That makes it all the harder to take her up a notch.

[WonderNight]

I think they feel they cannot get away from the stigma of the character's costume and reputation for her exaggerated features, so they're trying to phase her out to avoid future criticisms. They tried to change her costume several times in the past but it never takes so perhaps there's some merit to the idea she may not be able to move past those aspects of her character. The rest is just current editorial's war on anything they deem redundant.

I don't agree and wouldn't change a thing about Karen, but I also think you can cover the boob window and it'll be fine.

DC is just being stupid. Not all of DC's characters have to be for the same demographics, power girl (nightwing and wally) are perfect for a more shounen jump style fanbase.A huge fanbase that loves More action, comedy and Fan service. Perfect for power girl. Let batman, superman and wonder woman have the more traditional style. There nothing wrong with power girl's costume or asset's just find the right demographic.

[Frontier]

I think they feel they cannot get away from the stigma of the character's costume and reputation for her exaggerated features, so they're trying to phase her out to avoid future criticisms. They tried to change her costume several times in the past but it never takes so perhaps there's some merit to the idea she may not be able to move past those aspects of her character. The rest is just current editorial's war on anything they deem redundant.

I don't agree and wouldn't change a thing about Karen, but I also think you can cover the boob window and it'll be fine.

She was at least in Injustice 2, albeit as a Supergirl skin, in all her boob window glory .

[Robanker]

She was at least in Injustice 2, albeit as a Supergirl skin, in all her boob window glory .

Yeah, she's a lot of fun and shuts down anyone trying to hit on her. There's zero reason to play Supergirl when PG is in the roster.

[achilles]

DC is just being stupid. Not all of DC's characters have to be for the same demographics, power girl (nightwing and wally) are perfect for a more shounen jump style fanbase.A huge fanbase that loves More action, comedy and Fan service. Perfect for power girl. Let batman, superman and wonder woman have the more traditional style. There nothing wrong with power girl's costume or asset's just find the right demographic.

With a manga artist? That would be an interesting way to approach her and a few others. Though I would quite like to see Stephan...er, I absolutely can't spell his name, but he'd be perfect for a certain cheesecake version of PG. Now he's doing stuff for DC, maybe in the future, he might be interested in drawing her for some title, (I would of course hope for a PG solo, but honestly, though she really does need it, I don't think she'll get one, or baring that, maybe a Wonder Woman/Power Girl buddy title. To my mind, PG is Diana's closest female peer, but the two have almost never had one on one scenes together, A few in the various League titles, a Brave and the Bold issue by Mark Waid, and a couple of things by Gail Simone, and Amanda Connor respectively IIRC.

Oh, and DC, a pet peeve, please don't have PG be the one to be mind controlled. She's THAT one all the time. Hell, it's the goto way to get her to fight another hero or heroes, and it's never the other way around. If you need that, either have the other party be THAT one, or better yet, give it some thought and come up with something new. Also I think part of DC's problem is that PG literally IS Supergirl, the more well known one with "Super" in her name. I think if DC changed her backstory just a bit, so that she isn't a version of Supergirl, and Superman's cousin Kara ZOR-L, they might want to use her. Basically, all they have to do is change her parents and hence name so fewer DC execs have a problem with that, and if they made her completely distinct from SG, it might help. She needs backstory and a niche that's compelling and fairly unique in the DCU, but broad enough so that she doesn't fall off the scope if a first try doesn't work.

[achilles]

Yeah, she's a lot of fun and shuts down anyone trying to hit on her. There's zero reason to play Supergirl when PG is in the roster.

What I thought. Next time though, I hope she's not just a skin, and has her own opening and ending. I never did get game PG's story for being there, or what she wanted other than to go home/fight the bad guys. And hit anyone who mouthed off the her.

[WonderNight]

What I thought. Next time though, I hope she's not just a skin, and has her own opening and ending. I never did get game PG's story for being there, or what she wanted other than to go home/fight the bad guys. And hit anyone who mouthed off the her.

DC has there wonder comics line with young justice for teens and young heroes. I think DC should do a young adult line with nightwing Wally and power girl as the face. A young adult line that focuses on young adult characters with more action, adventures and yes fan service. Get some of that huge growing manga and anime market. That how adult legacy character can have more of there own niche by focusing on different demographics.

Man a power girl solo aimed at one punch man fans could be huge.

[achilles]

DC has there wonder comics line with young justice for teens and young heroes. I think DC should do a young adult line with nightwing Wally and power girl as the face. A young adult line that focuses on young adult characters with more action, adventures and yes fan service. Get some of that huge growing manga and anime market. That how adult legacy character can have more of there own niche by focusing on different demographics.

Man a power girl solo aimed at one punch man fans could be huge.

There, DC, make it so.

[Agent Z]

So with the JSA supposedly appearing in the Black Adam movie what are the odds of Karen showing up?

[achilles]

So with the JSA supposedly appearing in the Black Adam movie what are the odds of Karen showing up?

I got the feeling he was referring to the original JSA, probably meaning the movie will be set maybe in WWII or some other pre-modern time. Which doesn't rule her out of course, in the movies they can have her be whenever they want. But...I don't see it, sadly, or maybe not so sadly, as while I like Dwayne Johnson, it's going to be his show like it always is, which of course is what people want from a movie starring him. Point it, it might not even be the best venue for her. She's not going to get the same treatment from WB as Carol Danvers did from Disney. I'd rather wait a movie for her to debut in a JSA movie, unless WB wises up and takes a chance with her like Disney did, rather than another SG movie.

[Agent Z]

https://www.reddit.com/r/PowerGirl/c...d_from_my_old/

[superduperman]

I think they feel they cannot get away from the stigma of the character's costume and reputation for her exaggerated features, so they're trying to phase her out to avoid future criticisms. They tried to change her costume several times in the past but it never takes so perhaps there's some merit to the idea she may not be able to move past those aspects of her character. The rest is just current editorial's war on anything they deem redundant.

I don't agree and wouldn't change a thing about Karen, but I also think you can cover the boob window and it'll be fine.

I think it might have more to do with the fact that they just don't know what to do with legacy characters to begin with. PG is a bit of a redundant character and attempts to separate her from Superman have been messy and not very successful. How many versions of Supergirl do they need? It's not a secret Didio isn't a fan of legacies. Just trying to get Wally back into continuity involved turning him into a murderer and it's not a secret he's tried to get rid of Nightwing for a while now. When they can't even keep actual legacies that have a stable place in continuity without problems, how are they going to fit an alternate version of Supergirl in there? New 52 created a problem with the whole "refugee from Earth 2" origin. For all intents and purposes, it gave her a happy ending (more or less). How do you pull her out of that to use her again?

[achilles]

I think it might have more to do with the fact that they just don't know what to do with legacy characters to begin with. PG is a bit of a redundant character and attempts to separate her from Superman have been messy and not very successful. How many versions of Supergirl do they need? It's not a secret Didio isn't a fan of legacies. Just trying to get Wally back into continuity involved turning him into a murderer and it's not a secret he's tried to get rid of Nightwing for a while now. When they can't even keep actual legacies that have a stable place in continuity without problems, how are they going to fit an alternate version of Supergirl in there? New 52 created a problem with the whole "refugee from Earth 2" origin. For all intents and purposes, it gave her a happy ending (more or less). How do you pull her out of that to use her again?

I don't think Didio is the problem in this case, after all, he DID brand her as one of "the new Icons" in that advertising blitz that lasted a few months back when she first got her solo title. But yes, what they need to do is make her clearly her own character, very distinct from SG. To add to that, they likely need to keep her Kryptonian, and related in some fashion to Superman to keep her fans happy. And make her role in the DCU different than SG's. She really can't continue being an off-brand, slightly older and more competent version of Supergirl with no distinct purpose or skills or really anything other than her personality and look, and they've been co-opting pieces of her personality for SG since they brought the latter back in the 2000s, so she does have issues as a strong character that need to be addressed. Personally, I'd simply leave nu52 PG to her happy ending and use either the exact original version as she last was on the final page of her solo. Either that, or create a slightly new version of the character with just the bits I mentioned above being addressed to make her more viable in DC's eyes, and probably a better commercial fit. And if you ever want to use either original PG or nu52 PG, you can...multiverse.

That said, it does seem that DC tends long term to marginalize alternate universe heroes, at least when compared to the main universe, so...maybe consider the pros and cons of moving her to be a main DCU Krypton native instead of the Earth 2 stuff. I'd like to know that DC is at least spitballing ideas about how to reintroduce her in such a way as to move her up the ranks.

[The_Lurk]

DC has there wonder comics line with young justice for teens and young heroes. I think DC should do a young adult line with nightwing Wally and power girl as the face. A young adult line that focuses on young adult characters with more action, adventures and yes fan service. Get some of that huge growing manga and anime market. That how adult legacy character can have more of there own niche by focusing on different demographics.

Man a power girl solo aimed at one punch man fans could be huge.

You mean like in the way of story telling but with the western art (i.e. Jim Lee style)?

I think it might have more to do with the fact that they just don't know what to do with legacy characters to begin with. PG is a bit of a redundant character and attempts to separate her from Superman have been messy and not very successful. How many versions of Supergirl do they need? It's not a secret Didio isn't a fan of legacies. Just trying to get Wally back into continuity involved turning him into a murderer and it's not a secret he's tried to get rid of Nightwing for a while now. When they can't even keep actual legacies that have a stable place in continuity without problems, how are they going to fit an alternate version of Supergirl in there? New 52 created a problem with the whole "refugee from Earth 2" origin. For all intents and purposes, it gave her a happy ending (more or less). How do you pull her out of that to use her again?

Consider the whole arc elseworlds? When I tried to get it I heard from quite a few ppl I should avoid it because its terrible (assuming you refer to the Paul Levitz arc).

Since then we had PG appear in all kind of background be it on covers or be if on crisis prevention during one story or another (currently have a panel of an Green Lanterns arc in mind); multiple times in Harley Quinn as active part of the story and once dropped in between dimensions together with this Power Tanya Girl from Deathstroke.

Lets make her all of them. DCs cosmic One Punch (wo)Man. And if one might think "Mary Sue" right now I suggest picking up OPM issues or watching the episodes.

The last survivor of a destroyed universe background is quite bad ass and the 2005 arc had her coming to accept that. Instead of constantly headscratching and pondering how to mess with her, her background and her outfit again they should come to the realization that they have a naturally story grown super bad ass right in front of them. On top of it: a woman, something they are constantly; at least appear to be; looking out for but cannot seem to get right outside a few exceptions.