Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1 Discussion/Spoilers

[Rakzo]

Tom King, Tom King, Tom King, what do I expect from you?

Right from the beginning, King's work has been extremely hit and miss for me (and after Heroes in Crisis, for everyone else too) so you never know what to really expect from him. For example, I'm currently enjoying his Strange Adventures book but I lost interest in his Rorschach title due that it emphasizes cryptic writing to try to make the plot and mystery more interesting than they actually are (and mystery stories is not something King is really good at, see again Heroes in Crisis).

That doesn't mean that I don't anticipate King's works though because if there's something I can say about his titles is that they never left me indifferent, there's always something to either really like or really hate in them.

What do I think about Supergirl then? Well, it's a mix of both.

First of, the true protagonist of the story is not really Kara Zor-El but the recently introduced Ruthy Marye Knoll who is hunting her father's murderer and this is where the typical issues with King's writing become apparent right away due that you will immediately notice a lot of "Tell, don't show". The narration can be sometimes asphyxiating with several boxes explaining about what happens and what's going to happen over the course of the plot, in King's favor though (and at different from someone like James Tynion IV), the narration at least can be interesting to read at times instead of being simply redundant.

The plot progresses at an acceptable pace let's say, hampered a bit with the already mentioned issues but not to the point of being a slog and we're quickly introduced to Supergirl who is interestingly and funnily portrayed as a drunk now that she turned 21 and reminds me a bit of Bean from Disenchantment. This might be the typical out of character behavior that you can expect from King sometimes but Kara is such a blank slate that this is acceptable for me (Mind you, I could see someone like Power Girl more suited for this portrayal).

There's also a feminist vibe going on where the sexist men get quickly punished by strong women which is appropriate considering who the characters are and is not as in your face to get annoying.

The dynamic between the two protagonists gets quickly entertaining and is easily one of the major factors that makes this tale engaging so far for me but the dialogue, as usual for King, can be a bit tricky. For example, there's a line that describes Kara's ship by making a reference to Comet the Superhorse (who doesn't appear here because Superhorses are silly I guess) but doesn't quite work and gets really silly when Kara puts a bigger emphasis on it.

Bilquis Evely was also one of the biggest reasons about why I was anticipating this but, unlike with King, I completely love her work since the first time I saw it from the Sugar & Spike story she handled along with Keith Giffen. Her characters are extremely beautiful and expressive and manages to tell the story in a way that really elevates the script she works on with a lot of detail.

So, mixed bag? I don't know, I think I liked it more than I didn't so that's a win I guess. Looking forward to the next one.

[sifighter]

I mean I liked it so far, nothing bad but of course it is only the first issue which is left mostly for set-up of the story. Kara isn't written as out of character, and personally I remember some of my friends 21st birthdays so Kara's action did not surprise me in the least. The Art was great too, Evely is really good at the whole sci-fi fantasty mix going on here.

If I had any questions its how the red sun works, I mean Kara took three arrows to the chest clearly bleeding and still Supergirl'd the whole situation. Is she just acting tough or does she have some slight invincibility left?

[Factor]

I really like this issue.
Ruthy was truly the star of the show, thought. I hope Kara gets some more focus from now on, but I'm not mad because I liked the new character a lot.
The setting and the art were also phenomenal. It felt like a unique super comic, which isn't really easy to do considering the franchise's long history.
About Kara being out of character, I didn't feel that at all. Seemed like the normal 21 years old woman who had a bit too many drinks. It makes a lot of sense that she'd have gotten drunk because a) she seems to be mostly powerless and b) it could be her first time drinking.

All in all, I can't wait for more. After HiC and Batman, I began to avoid anything written by King, but this book has got potential and I hope it does well so Kara can get her own ongoing again.

[Vordan]

Short version: I liked it. Drunk sword master Kara is a cool take. Ruthye is the archetypal Tom King character who loves to repeat herself though lol. I don’t mind her being the focus of the first issue, and it seems like she will be the POV character for this story, but I hope King doesn’t become so enamored without his OC he forgets whose name is in the title. Curious to see how they’re going to get into space without a ship.

I mean I liked it so far, nothing bad but of course it is only the first issue which is left mostly for set-up of the story. Kara isn't written as out of character, and personally I remember some of my friends 21st birthdays so Kara's action did not surprise me in the least. The Art was great too, Evely is really good at the whole sci-fi fantasty mix going on here.

If I had any questions its how the red sun works, I mean Kara took three arrows to the chest clearly bleeding and still Supergirl'd the whole situation. Is she just acting tough or does she have some slight invincibility left?

She’s tough and is pushing through the pain because of how angry she is that they shot Krypto.

[Superlad93]

but I hope King doesn’t become so enamored without his OC he forgets whose name is in the title.

Well, it's called "Supergirl" and not "Kara", right? With all signs pointing towards Kara becoming Superwoman by the end of this, it leaves that title open, soooo....

[HsssH]

If I had any questions its how the red sun works, I mean Kara took three arrows to the chest clearly bleeding and still Supergirl'd the whole situation. Is she just acting tough or does she have some slight invincibility left?

I think that red sun does not de-power them immediately and it takes time so maybe she still had some lingering invincibility. Like maybe she still has 1% of her powers.

[Frontier]

Well, it's called "Supergirl" and not "Kara", right? With all signs pointing towards Kara becoming Superwoman by the end of this, it leaves that title open, soooo....

This is reminding me of the current debates about the new Masters of the Universe: Revelations cartoon and whether He-Man is still the main character.

[K. Jones]

Bilquis nails it.

King. I'm a Grayson stan so I'll always know that King is capable of good work. Like, I actually think his pitches show good taste and then he just mistakenly thinks not telling a story in chronological order or short-cuffing or short-handing all the world-building, motivating and fine minute detail work in "How they get there" goes out the window - BUT! - that's a critique I specifically level at his Batman run, and when I was preparing for this series I thought back to the handful of Superman stories he's played with in the last three or four years and I don't have those criticisms of those Superman stories. He plays Superman straight. And so, cautiously, skeptically, but hopefully, I anticipated he'd likely play Supergirl straight, too. And he did, and I like it.

The high concept of the introductory portion feels vaguely Morrisonian. Supergirl is after all, in spite of -girl, a young woman and the landmarks of a young adult's life include things like the kind of early college age, get a job, intern style stuff that Orlando excelled so well at, blending with the adult-performed TV show style, so on, so forth. So things like "how do you set up Supergirl's 21st Birthday and attempting to drink for the first time?" are actually quite funny. Historically Superman, or at least, Superman-type characters (even Captain America, for instance), can't get drunk from alcohol without some kind of depowered or altered extenuating circumstance and so you have a cute sort of ... "Simply Clever" reason for her to be there and get embroiled in a Red Sun Medievalist World's shenanigans, in a move that feels kindred to Grant Morrison's usage of Fantastical Athmoora in Hal Jordan stories (where his Ring can't be relied on quite). Which is a "Simply Clever" great place to introduce some Medieval Sexism and have Kara punch the hell out of some big Macho Fantasy Men. But in a "come on guys, don't" way, more than a sort of Wonder Woman "Oh really?" way, which shows her ... Well, her Clarkiness - that Super-Family Goodness intrinsic to the Els and Kents and such.

Notable and easy to miss is that Drunk Supergirl had set her Space Ship on Autopilot so as to not Drive Drunk through Space. Very responsible, like calling a Space Uber, and that is why our loser initial villain is able to "get away".

And then of course King does a John Wick, which is sort of low, but I mean, it works. Krem needs to die.

So there we have it. Certainly Ruthye is the viewpoint lead here but as an opening issue that works, so long as Kara gets front-and-center as things progress. No structure/format/timeframe/every-character-is-an-unreliable-narrator shenanigans makes the story readable with actual rising narrative drama, stakes and without undercutting all of its own efforts ... thus you know, getting us interested in an actual ongoing story's progression. Art is gorgeous. Color is gorgeous. Not bad at all. I'll keep reading.

[Vordan]

Well, it's called "Supergirl" and not "Kara", right? With all signs pointing towards Kara becoming Superwoman by the end of this, it leaves that title open, soooo....

Still not sure Ruthye becoming Supergirl is the best idea but we’ll see. This book definitely lives up to King describing it as “True Grit in space” going off of Ruthye’s characterization so far though.

[Superlad93]

Still not sure Ruthye becoming Supergirl is the best idea but we’ll see. This book definitely lives up to King describing it as “True Grit in space” going off of Ruthye’s characterization so far though.

I think Thao-La (the woman who escaped from Warworld in Action) is a much cooler choice (what with making the S shield brands on her hands her own via becoming Supergirl). But if any character is going to be the new Supergirl if Kara is to be Superwoman then chances are very good that it'll be the young girl who is driving the story and relating directly to Kara in the Supergirl book where Kara seems positioned to leave the title behind and have said young girl learn from her mistakes.

Plus, I'm kind of interested in a Supergirl who comes from such an underdeveloped planet and sees such wonder in basically all of the universe around her. That's a nice contrast to Kara coming from an advanced world and going to a relatively primitive one. And I feel like DC may be in the market to fill the void of small child superhero in the Superman family left by kid Jon, but that's just my guess.

[oneveryfineday]

Plus, I'm kind of interested in a Supergirl who comes from such an underdeveloped planet and sees such wonder in basically all of the universe around her. That's a nice contrast to Kara coming from an advanced world and going to a relatively primitive one. And I feel like DC may be in the market to fill the void of small child superhero in the Superman family left by kid Jon, but that's just my guess.

Now that you mention it, Gleason and Bendis have both hinted at adding a daughter/little sister to the Super family a while back, and this could be DC’s way of finally doing that.

[Superlad93]

Now that you mention it, Gleason and Bendis have both hinted at adding a daughter/little sister to the Super family a while back, and this could be DC’s way of finally doing that.

And as I recall they were rejected (likely because they wanted to focus on Jon as a kid). But now that there is no kid super in the main continuity, and it doesn't seem like there's any intention to deage Jon anytime soon, this may be the plan.

It's basically giving Kara a "Jon Kent" of sorts. And, funny enough, like Jon during Rebirth this book seems to be more driven by the child than it is by the adult, Kara.

King did say DC has no idea what to do with Supergirl, right? Chances seem good that someone just said "lets more or less do Superman Rebirth with her since that rehabbed Superman when he was low."

[Robotman]

I enjoyed it. Definitely inspired by “True Grit”. The art is beautiful. Only complaint is King’s tendency to get way too wordy is on display here.

Was hoping this book would take Kara on adventures to different planets, so I hope she’s not stranded on this backwater world for too long.

I mean I liked it so far, nothing bad but of course it is only the first issue which is left mostly for set-up of the story. Kara isn't written as out of character, and personally I remember some of my friends 21st birthdays so Kara's action did not surprise me in the least. The Art was great too, Evely is really good at the whole sci-fi fantasty mix going on here.

If I had any questions its how the red sun works, I mean Kara took three arrows to the chest clearly bleeding and still Supergirl'd the whole situation. Is she just acting tough or does she have some slight invincibility left?

Kryptonians have naturally stronger skin and bones. The gravity and atmosphere on Krypton was more extreme than earth and their bodies adapted. In the Golden Age, before the yellow sun explanation, Superman could leap tall buildings in a single bound and stop bullets because of earth’s weaker gravity. It’s a reverse John Carter. A lot of writers ignore that and just make Kryptonians as weak as humans under a red sun.

So technically, arrows shouldn’t even be able to pierce Kara’s skin on this planet. But at least King kept at least some of her strength here.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I really dug this. The art was incredible and the story has hooked me.

[9th.]

I liked it well enough, I can't say I care about Ruthye much right now but she's new. I usually don't like the King crippling depression thing but I understand it with a character like Supergirl so I want to see him explore this concept a lot further. Also poor Krypto.