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| Front cover of Supergirl (1996) by Peter David book 1 |
Score (out of 5 Capes)
3 out of 5 capes for stories that take the protoplasmic Matrix version of Supergirl down into intimate family-level drama.
My Review
The late author Peter David was a prolific and award-winning author. On several occasions, he took well-established characters and given them new life and new direction.
One of my personal favourites was Aquaman who, under David's pen, lost his hand in battle and became a much stronger, imposing and dangerous character. For Marvel Comics, he also won multiple awards for his innovative work with The Incredible Hulk series.
So I can think of no one I would rather see writing for the protoplasm-based Matrix version of Supergirl. After the traditional Supergirl was killed in the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the character was rebooted with none of the Kryptonian mythology and with very different powers and experiences.
In the new mid-1990s ongoing series, the first nine issues of which are collected here, David shrank her world down. Down from anything cosmic in scale, or inter-planetary or earth-sized, all the way down to the small town of Leesburg, and even the bungalow of the Danvers family.
In fact, the climactic battle between the forces of Good and Evil, angels and demons, takes place around the Danvers' dining room table as Linda / Supergirl faces her Cockney-accented antagonist Buzz Aldrin. Flan for dessert has never been so explosive!
While the setting is collapsed down into a small but overheated, dense mass, the themes David weaves into the stories are big. Good vs Evil, not in the abstract, but in the spiritual realm. Religion, belief, faith, trust, power, authority and its potential for abuse all factor into the almost mystical feel of these pages.
Linda's mom, Sylvia Danvers, is a leading point of connection between Supergirl, Linda, and these spiritual forces at play. Her involvement in her local church, helping out both the parish and the priest, put her at the center of the ultimate confrontation between Supergirl and Buzz. The jaded cynicism and suspicion of religion that dominates the tone of the tales ultimately refuses to dismiss the spiritual realm altogether. Rather, it is co-opted into the ultimate conflict.
Breaking up the intense and at times overly melancholy central conflict with Buzz are several appearances by more standard superhero friends and foes. Gorilla Grodd takes over the church and causes mind-controlled chaos for a couple chapters. Chemo makes a brief but destructive appearance. Rampage pounds a Ferrari to pieces. Superman and Mary Marvel pop by, not necessarily for pleasant visits.
Gary Frank, who shares some writing credits in this collection, is the lead artist for the ongoing series. At the height of the mental confusion between where Linda ends and Supergirl begins, he shines at sharing that sense of bewilderment with his viewers. His flashback sequences are superb, filled with dark and foreboding teases, as Linda slowly recovers glimpses of what led to her death before the merger with Supergirl.
Overall, in true mid-1990s fashion, his characters are all impossibly tall and slim, long-legged beauties. Except for Buzz, whose unnaturally long and straight nose becomes increasingly unsettling as his mask slips and his evil intentions are revealed.
This collection drew its stories from several different titles: the first nine issues plus an annual from the Supergirl ongoing series, a Supergirl Plus one-shot and an issue of Showcase '96. It all adds up to seven different writers, eight pencillers and seven inkers getting a credit somewhere in these pages.
The David / Frank team serves as the backbone, and the shifting visuals are the best hint that we've reached the Annual or Showcase sections. It is frustrating, though, that nowhere in the collection is the source of each chapter identified. Mary Marvel's appearance - Peter David wrote it, but Gary Frank was not part of the art team, so was it in Supergirl or Supergirl Plus? or maybe the Annual? Some tighter collection editing was definitely needed.
Matrix / Supergirl was a strange period in this long-established and easily recognized heroine. Peter David grounds it in the intimacy of family relationships, a bold change of direction that, at least in these first chapters, is ultimately too chaotic and not enough to restore the shine of the classic character.
3 out of 5 capes.
What I loved
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| An aggressive reporter is touched by Supergirl's vulnerability |
I love the more intimate scope and setting of these stories.
Silver Age Supergirl was always popping over to Atlantis, travelling to a distant planet or jumping backward and forward through the time barrier.
Pre-Crisis 1980s Supergirl was all grown up and facing adult problems while making her way in the big city.
Post-Crisis Matrix Supergirl stories took a whole different approach to the character, jettisoning the mythology for something radically different.
In these stories, Peter David is still working with the protoplasm-based Supergirl. But while she is arguably less human than the Kryptonian version, David roots her adventures in very relatable human circumstances.
In the opening Showcase story, Supergirl must cope with the physical, mental and emotional stress and exhaustion of making an impossible choice: save the life of a pregnant woman or that of a middle-aged priest. Only one can be saved, she has just fractions of a second to make her choice and will have to live with it ever after.
This emotionally wrenching tale concludes with the powerful panels above: an aggressive reporter, doggedly pursuing her story by seeking comment from Supergirl, finds her sleeping peacefully beside the recovering new mother in a hospital bed. Such a tender and touching moment that sets the tone for the whole book.
What I didn't love
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| The Psi-blast power of Linda / Supergirl / Matrix |
From her late-1950s debut, the conceit around Supergirl had always been: all of Superman's amazing powers - super-strength, invulnerability, flight, heat-vision, etc. - in the body of his teenaged cousin.
Her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths three decades later was a shocker, a powerful moment in the evolution of the DC characters. DC Comics wanted to bring back the Maid of Steel but also wanted to honour that courageous twist. So they gave us Matrix, a protoplasm being mimicking Supergirl.
Naturally, the powers and abilities of Matrix-Supergirl should not be required to line up with her traditional powers. That's canonical and continuity-baggage thinking that had no place in the post-Crisis world.
But the power to project a mental psionic blast of energy, as pictured here, or to turn invisible, and the seemingly reduced invulnerability leading to several wounds and bruises, really shake up the Superman comparisons. The name and outfit still look like his, and like her traditional appearance, but this is a very different character.
The change in powers and abilities subverts our expectations, opening the door for new angles on the character. And Peter David does try to lead us through that door, with occasional success. But he can't quite bridge the differences in the battle sequences. At least the ensuing chaos builds on our sense of the disorientation Linda is experiencing in these pages.
Related Reviews
Supergirl: the Silver Age volume 2 (1962-3)
Daring New Adventures of Supergirl from the mid-1980s
Aquaman Book 1 by Peter David
Quick Reference Details
Writers: Peter David
Artists: Gary Frank, Terry Dodson, Cam Smith
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Oct. 25, 2016
Parental Rating: Teen
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| Back cover of Supergirl (1996) by Peter David book 1 |
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