Back in August 2017...Wow, 2017. That was seven years ago. How time flies. Anyway, back then, I took a look at the first issue of Supergirl's short-lived 1980s series. I remember finding it...alright. Not the best thing I ever read, but it was far from the worst comic I ever read. It did do what I felt a first issue should do, introduce the new status quo, build up a supporting cast, gave her a villain of her own to fight, etc. So I thought, let's look at the next issue of the comic, shall we? This is Supergirl #2!
The cover is a Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano piece. It's a pretty cool cover, even if it's a well-worn idea, the hero facing off against the villain. It works. What gets my attention is the box on the bottom, promising a story focusing on Lois Lane. The box implies that she is going to team up with...Humphrey Bogart. Yeah, silver screen legend Humphrey Bogart. Sure, why not? DC has done comic books based on Bob Hope as well as the comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, why not Humphrey Bogart? Sure, man had been dead for nearly thirty years at that point, but I doubt that'll stop DC.
"Crisis over Chicago!"
Writer: Paul Kupperberg
Penciler: Carmine Infantino
Inker: Bob Oksner
Colorist: Tom Ziuko
Letterer: Ben Oda
Editor: Julius Schwartz
Executive Editor: Joe Orlando
The story begins from the events of the previous issue: With our heroine getting attacked by Gayle, aka Psi.
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| Suddenly, Supergirl has a refreshing pink lemonade flavor! |
Gayle needs more power to take down the Girl of Steel!
She traps the Girl of Steel in a psionic energy field and uses her powers to tear up the city below. You know Gayle, you could make some legit money in the demolition business with those talents of yours.
Inside Psi's mind, Gayle and Pendergast discuss Supergirl's power. While her body is no more immune to psionic attack than anyone else's, her mind and will appear to be just as strong as her muscles. Gayle has trouble getting through it, but Pendergast demands she do so. Pendergast wants Chicago to be wrecked, as it will help stop the "Decay". Psi demands Supergirl surrender, but the alien wonder not only refuses, she breaks free.
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| 🎵 I can siiiiiiiiiiiing! 🎵 |
I can only imagine the headaches Psi is having from the backlash.
She wants to know what the heck Psi's deal is. She tries to get the psychic woman to see that slaughtering the city isn't going to help anything. Gayle is well aware of that, but Pendergast blasts her with their powers, screaming she is an agent of...the "Decay". The two continue to fight, Supergirl noting how Psi seems to just switch back and forth between the docile Gayle and her seemingly more aggressive persona, like they are two separate people fighting over control over the same body. Psi does her best Magneto impression.
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| "Your Magneto cosplay SUCKS!" |
Where was I? Oh, yeah. Pendergast is clearly speaking through Gayle, ranting about how the "decay" is "polluting" mankind, and how humanity needs to be cleansed. Supergirl is understandably not impressed.
Supergirl beats around Gayle some more, all while giving a speech calling out Gayle's hypocrisy. Gayle ends up tormented, torn between Supergirl's words and Pendergast's screaming. The whole thing causes her to seemingly vanish.
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| "MY FACE! MY BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL MONEYMAKING FACE!" |
Supergirl is left understandably confused by the whole thing. I don't blame her.
However, the Girl of Steel is grateful it's over. Fighting Psi was surprisingly tiring for her, and she wants to get some rest. As such, she heads back to her apartment, while back in her Linda Danvers identity, of course.
She notices her door is unlocked. Which is odd. Either she forgot to lock the door, or there's a burglar in there. Well, if there is a burglar, they picked a bad apartment to rob. After all, it is Supergirl's. And empty. Luckily, when Kara opens the door, she gets a surprise.
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| "...how'd you people get in here?" |
Hey, it's her friends! This is a nice surprise!
It turned out that Kara's furniture had arrived while she was in her work clothes tussling with Psi. As such, her neighbors took it upon themselves to help get everything moved in for Kara. It's here we're introduced to a couple more of Supergirl's potential supporting cast: Cheryl DeLarye, Joan Raymond's roommate, and Cheryl's main squeeze, Daryll Simmons. John Ostrander (the character, not the comic creator), flirts with Linda a bit, but she decides she'd rather help the neighbors out with moving her stuff in. We learn a little bit more about Cheryl, mainly that she's 33, and she's also a student at Linda's school.
This is actually not as unrealistic as some may think. When I was in college, I had classmates that were quite a bit older than I was then. It's never too late to learn something new. In Cheryl's case, she had been...engaged for the last 15 years, but now she's free of it, she wants to get an education. Makes you wonder what she meant by 'engaged'. I mean, it can be an innocent thing. People can put education aside for other things, like work. But this is a superhero universe, so it could mean anything...
After the neighbors finish helping move her stuff in and leave, Linda flops down on her bed for some hard-earned rest. Even a superheroine needs her beauty sleep, after all.
Elsewhere, Gayle is being berated by Pendergast. He sees Gayle as a failure, seemingly wavering in their dedication to stopping the "Decay". Gayle states that she wants to stop it, but Supergirl did have a point. Their way won't work. But Pendergast won't hear of it. He continues berating Gayle, and the psychic young woman has had enough. She tries to use her powers to shut Pendergast up, but she ends up somehow accidentally unleashing...the Decay.
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| 🎵 My name is mud... 🎵 |
Well, that's going to ruin the carpets.
I think this comic is perfectly fine. It's hardly the worst comic I ever read, but it's not something I would consider a "must read" comic, either. I did like the twist of "the Decay" being an actual monster, although I admit, I am left a bit confused as to its origins. Maybe the next issue will clarify things. I will give kudos to the creative team for trying to give Supergirl a villain of her own to fight. I did like the scene of Kara interacting with her neighbors. It's a nice homey little moment, allowing readers to build bonds with these characters. I did get some amusement from ol' Johnny O getting turned down for a date. Carmine Infantino turns in some respectable art.
If you want to read this story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2016 trade paperback The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl Vol. 1. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!
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