Karen Starr Power Girl Appreciation 2021

[achilles]

Pretty much what Robanker said. She is only on three pages at the very end of Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey #4. Is that book even part of the main continuity?

What I find really disheartening is that Karen is not even featured on the character database of the main DC Comics website. Sucks being a Power Girl fan right now.

I've long noticed that. It shows IMO a complete lack of respect for the character at DC, and probably reflected a lack of any intention to use her. How hard is it to add a Who's Who entry on their own site?

[The Frog Bros]

It gets a bit horrible for PG fans to see so many completely new characters getting titles left and right while neither the JSA nor PG herself have a title or anything even officially hinted at by DC on the horizon.

Which is an extra kick in the teeth because didn't they tease the hell out of the return of JSA in books like Doomsday Clock and Snyder's JL run? Seemed like they would really be back but nothing ever came of it. So close, yet so far...

[Robanker]

I've long noticed that. It shows IMO a complete lack of respect for the character at DC, and probably reflected a lack of any intention to use her. How hard is it to add a Who's Who entry on their own site?

She was in the first batch on DCUniverse when it had an encyclopedia, so some people remembered her.

[Thor-Ul]

And don't forget her even present presence in cons. When there were cons....

[Robanker]

And don't forget her even present presence in cons. When there were cons....

I think that's done more harm than good, honestly.

[SuperX]

I think that's done more harm than good, honestly.

Depends on where your standing, and not to mention if she didn't show up at a lot of cons then she proba KY wouldn't get any exposure and DC would bury her for good

[achilles]

Actually, the subject of a rogue or two for PG is a good one. She really doesn't have any good ones, none I particularly care to see again. The obvious starting point is to decide what type of villain they will be, and what is their goal and why. Motivation is important, but all to often forgotten these days. That give you a boring, one dimensional bad guy. But obviously, there's the physical thing----it's bloody hard to match up physically with any Kryptonian---and Kara can fight pretty well to boot. So a physical match-up would put a rogue into the Doomsday/Darkseid/Zod category. A magic type villain---could work, but I hate magic as a weakness for Kryptonians. It's not particularly logical, and always seemed forced, so I'd like to just avoid that for the time being. A science type like Luthor? Eh...maybe, but it's always been hard for me to buy Luthor as a threat to a guy from a hyper-advanced and super smart alien race of which the least member, the youngest child, should know more by far than any human being, even Lex Luthor possibly could.

An enemy that goes after her emotionally? Maybe.

[Agent Z]

I thought Satanna, Ultra-Humanite and Divine were good villains.

[Ascended]

I thought Psycho Pirate was being set up nicely as a PG rogue too. Seemed like a perfect foil for her, a nice twist on the "brain v. brawn" theme with a focus on emotional intelligence, and their shared connection via COIE forged a bond that could have really made for a compelling dynamic.

But, alas, the potential was never realized.

What I really want to see from a PG rogue is a focus on her business acumen. This aspect of Karen's life seems woefully under developed, even in comparison to the rest of her mythos, yet there's a lot of interesting things you can touch on there. Girls in STEM and business seems like it's always getting brought up as a near-constant part of the national/global conversation, there's niches in the DC business world that Starrware could fill (like aerospace development, now that GL is always off world and Ferris Air gets no attention), and it'd be a great way to highlight Karen's mind rather than her muscles or bust. I'm thinking someone who isn't a costumed villain, more like a business rival sort of along the lines of Justin Hammer's role as a foil for Tony Stark's business more than Iron Man's heroics.

And you guys are gonna hate me for saying it, but I think there's potential in the idea of Karen poaching H'el and/or Cir-El. Both were temporal, cosmic anomalies that shouldn't have existed, trapped in a timeloop and used against Superman. I'm not fond of a hero's rogues gallery being nothing but stolen villains, but I do think characters like Karen, who don't have deep benches of bad guys, benefit from borrowing established names while they build their own unique roster up. And given Karen's status as a multiversal refugee, H'el and Cir-El seem like they'd be fitting additions; they're all cosmic "mistakes" who shouldn't be in the universe they're in.

And I know Cir-El wasn't a villain.....but that's what would make it work. What would *you* do to survive? Would you cross some lines you didn't want to? Of course you would, and Cir-El could be no different. It'd offer Karen a great "redemption" story too, as she tries to stop Cir-El from doing...stuff....then finds a way to keep her from being erased from history. Cir-El could start as a sympathetic villain just trying to survive cosmic entropy and end up a beloved member of the supporting cast.

And as for that boob discussion, clearly certain posters didn't bother reading the thread. I don't think any of us here have a problem with how Karen looks and I know many of us champion it, as well as the various discussions and commentary that it brings about. I doubt anyone would read my posts talking about how my wife has the same "busty girl" problems as Karen and think I'm somehow against Power Girl.

But the problem arises when her body is the *only* thing being discussed. That's like talking about Obama and ignoring everything he did, good or bad, just so you can focus on him being the first black POTUS. Yes, that's a big gods damn deal and yes we love him for it. But Obama was more than his skin color, and Karen is more than her bra size, and ignoring everything else just to focus on that does the character a disservice.

[Agent Z]

What I really want to see from a PG rogue is a focus on her business acumen. This aspect of Karen's life seems woefully under developed, even in comparison to the rest of her mythos, yet there's a lot of interesting things you can touch on there. Girls in STEM and business seems like it's always getting brought up as a near-constant part of the national/global conversation, there's niches in the DC business world that Starrware could fill (like aerospace development, now that GL is always off world and Ferris Air gets no attention), and it'd be a great way to highlight Karen's mind rather than her muscles or bust. I'm thinking someone who isn't a costumed villain, more like a business rival sort of along the lines of Justin Hammer's role as a foil for Tony Stark's business more than Iron Man's heroics.

I think this is what Winnick was setting up Dr Ophelia Day as.

[Ascended]

I think this is what Winnick was setting up Dr Ophelia Day as.

Oh yeah, I forgot about her!

Yes, I agree, that seems to be what Winnick was doing. Wish he could've done more, I'm very hit or miss with Winnick (mostly miss, honestly) but when he does do something I like, I really, really like it. And I thought his Power Girl was damn solid and enjoyable.

[Gaius]

[Robanker]

Loved that exchange.

[Gaius]

Loved that exchange.

Don't read much of the Super-family but Powergirl's always been pretty cool when she shows in the stuff I read.

[Robanker]

Don't read much of the Super-family but Powergirl's always been pretty cool when she shows in the stuff I read.

She's Super Family adjacent most the time by practice if not by design, so she tends to crossover in unusual spots. She tends to get a great showing in most those situations because a lot of creators really like her and how goddamn little **** she takes off people while maintaining a sassy, upbeat character. Johns was the exception where he had her being depressed most the time, but I'm convinced had he stayed on the book he would have returned her to form after he concluded her Imposter Syndrome/Home Sickness arc. It was good stuff, so I do enjoy her in that run, but it's the one place where she felt incongruous to most other people's takes.

Simone did right by her the few times she used her. She punched Diana into another state! Hell, Diana even remarked that PG is very good at what she does, but Amazons are simply better trained and that won out in the end. Losing to Wonder Woman is never something to be ashamed of.