Supergirl 21 review

This is the second Supergirl issue for Michael Alan Nelson, and the first of a new storyline. The last issue was wonderful, so how is this one?

Supergirl 21 has the title character leaving Earth, and after all the hardships she’s had there I wouldn’t blame her. She’s been hunted by humanity, she has issues with her cousin, Superman, and is currently dying from kryptonite poisoning. There’s a nice scene involving her one friend on Earth, Silver Banshee, where they discuss each other’s problems. The bulk of this issue takes place in space though.

This issue finally gives Supergirl a chance to feel like a superhero. Kara gets to save people’s lives without any ethical concern and gets positive attention for it. She then meets a being with morphing powers based on something called N-10. He offers to use the N-10 to rebuild Krypton, and while Supergirl is appropriately skeptical at first, she seems to be a bit too easily swayed considering how badly H’el manipulated her in the H’el on Earth crossover. This is especially the case since this comic directly shows us that she’s being manipulated.

The art is fairly good, especially with facial expressions. The sheer joy on Kara’s face as the crowds accept her is a great little moment, as is her confusion after the end of this issue’s fight scene. While there’s one page with a lot of blank backgrounds, most pages have enough background detail to set each scene. The panels where the N-10 is morphing into different structures also look good – it has a real science fiction look to it.

This isn’t as good as the previous issue. The plot is bare-bones so far, and it kind of relies on Kara’s lingering desire to see Krypton again. It’s still a good issue though, with some funny lines here and there to keep it entertaining. As someone who knows nothing about the character reveal on the last page however, the next issue could go anywhere from here – better or worse. On its own this issue could have been better, but it’s still an enjoyable comic about Superman’s cousin.