"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
Pretty much this. It's just easier to know who is being referred to with "Karen." Nobody should correct you for calling her Kara the same way none should object to referring to Superman as "Kal." They're both his name, and neither is considered a dead name by any stretch.
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Power Girl in DC Bombshells
I will see about commissioning a Power Girl piece in the format of Maxima's here, but it gets me thinking: what 4-5 costumes do you favor from Karen's closet?
I think it makes sense depending on certain characters like She-Hulk (though her more recent versions look more like a trans female than a FBB).
PG has had the bodybuilding physique by artists like Phil Jimenez and Alex Ross, though I think a hard fitness physique (what female pro bodybuilding used to be generations ago) would make sense with her.
The bodybuilder craze among artists for PG lasted basically for only the few times those guys, (and a Rags Morales depiction from an old BOP issue), worked on her character; while the tall fitness instructor look went for a much longer time...as did the basically normal build she had to start, (ignoring the obvious parts that eventually er, developed into a bit more than normal with some artists). It just doesn't work in an aesthetic sense.
That was one of the things I thought was rather inspired. Kara during this time spoke up about the way that women's bodies are often maligned when they don't conform to a certain type. She went through great pains to get her musculature as after the injuries sustained during the Teasdale Imperative she literally had to train her way back to near Superman levels. I rather enjoyed that aspect and this timely commentary was something spare or even absent from even the likes of Wonder Woman or Big Barda.
Last edited by Stanlos; 02-16-2023 at 12:30 PM.
Aesthetics are subjective. They don't work for you? Okay, but that physique was one of the things for which the character was celebrated by other Power Girl fans. When for example Ed McGuinness made her really petite and not muscular it was noticed and decried on the black and blue DC boards of yore. Even her JSA stint retained her more muscular physique. She's one of the few characters who actually had a reason in-story to be so buff.
That's a good use of the Teasdale Imperative experience. After she recovered from her emergency surgery, Kara appraised her decreased power and declared that she could live with it, but I prefer to think she suffered in silence to have had such a drop in levels. There was also the Infinity, Inc. adventure where she faced off with a berserk Superman and got her butt handed to her. Between such experiences and Karen Starr's strong personality, it makes sense to me for Power Girl to pack a bit of extra brawn.