It has been a while since I read the first comic, but I remember that it was a fun adventure. The collection had a lot of action and it really paved the way for future comics to start off right. Unfortunately, I don’t think that many of them will decide to do this, but it was still nice to see a comic getting the intro right. This volume isn’t quite as exciting as it certainly slows down, but it still makes for a nice adventure.
Supergirl is still trying to live on Earth without attracting attention, but it is tough because she doesn’t know how to fully control her abilities. Moreover, she doesn’t understand English, which makes discussion rather difficult. Luckily, she meets up a girl who is able to learn new languages after hearing them for a few minutes. The only drawback is that the girl is the Silver Banshee’s daughter and her dad is trying to absorb her. Supergirl must now help her new friend, but can she defeat such a menace?
The premise is a little difficult for me. Why can’t Supergirl just beat the Banshee with a single blow? She may not be Superman, but her abilities are still on his level so this match should be child’s play. The Banshee’s reason for surviving her attacks so easily is that he is using magic, which helps him deal a lot of damage to Supergirl. I don’t mind magic as an excuse, but it doesn’t change the fact that Supergirl is faster than him. She can easily dodge his attacks with her super speed.
As a villain, The Banshee is a lot cooler than he used to be. I like his design and his abilities are certainly formidable. He is portrayed as being more powerful than he really is, but at least that makes him a threat. I wonder if we will ever see him again. Somehow, I have a feeling that he will definitely return.
As for the daughter, she seems like a nice supporting character. She certainly helps Supergirl out of a jam even though she begins to lose her will power rather quickly. It is too bad that she temporarily lost her abilities since they would have been very useful here. I hope that she stays on the side of the heroes as Supergirl can use an ally against the many villains that she wil be facing soon. The girl also happens to be the only supporting character that I like so I hope that she sticks around.
There’s a who tries to be a nice supporting character as well, but I don’t see the point in his character. He just has a filler role where he starts to like Supergirl. The comic would be exactly the same without him. As for Supergirl, she makes for a very good main character. At times, she can be a little unreasonable like when she told Superman that she would examine the ship on her own, but she is typically a good character. She isn’t afraid to fight at full power and she takes on her opponents with great efficiency. She did take a chance when she blasted one of the opponents in a way that could have destroyed him, but at least things worked out all right. Supergirl has always been one of my favorite comic book heroines and it is safe to say that the comic book did her justice. I do think that it is very early for romance though so I’m glad that the subplot ended before it could truly begin. Supergirl is still overwhelmed by being in a new culture, but this is fairly realistic and she isn’t as dramatic about it as Starfire. I don’t typically like the trope of adjusting to Earth culture, but it’s handled well.
The art style looks good for this comic. It is hard to describe, but it is like a paled version of the Superman comics. The colors are darker and that’s the easiest way that I can put it. This works for just about everything in the comic except for Superman’s design. The artist clearly hasn’t looked at Superman in a while because the character on the page looked nothing like the legendary hero. He seemed meek, timid, and unassuming. Those qualities don’t belong in the same sentence as Superman and even the hair was oddly flat. That was my one gripe with the art, but it is not a major one.
One of the comics had a quick fight with a random villain. That plot will likely come back soon, but it is the being who is on the cover of this collection. He made for a fun villain even if I couldn’t take him all that seriously. If the comic took super speed a little more seriously, Supergirl could have handled this battle with ease. The collection ends with Supergirl’s origin story and it is fairly straightforward. She got out of that planet alive, which is good. Her dad’s plan was sound although he really cut it close. The mom tried to stop him at the end though, but I think it was really because she didn’t really get what he was doing or she just thought that the planet was safe. Because of that, I was on the dad’s side since he did keep some secrets, but he ultimately got the job done. It is just too bad that he also had to do some illegal experiments on the way. This made him seem rather shady and untrustworthy. I’m guessing that Superman’s dad was going to stop him, but with the planet in turmoil, he had bigger fish to fry. Krypton always looks so…unprepared for such a futuristic civilization.
In the end, this volume couldn’t beat the original. Both of them had some really good writing and action scenes, but volume 1 had the better villains. The Worldbreakers were a serious threat and they may just be the strongest villain group to debut in years. As a group, most heroes wouldn’t even stand a chance against them. I do think that it was a little iffy that Superman couldn’t break through the shield last time, but that’s a minor thing. I really can’t wait until they show up again and they were referenced several times so this definitely hints that they will be returning soon.
Supergirl demonstrated some new abilities in this comic, which is neat. I know that Superman recently learned how to weaponize his solar energy and Supergirl is already showing that she can do this as well. When the strongest comic heroes start to get even stronger, you know that some massive villains must be getting ready to pop up. I still do consider Supergirl to be stronger than Wonder Woman is almost all incarnations and this comic certainly helps that as well. It is no stretch of the imagination to say that Supergirl is the strongest comic book heroine so it is good to see her get credit for being so powerful here.
Overall, This volume was a fun way to continue the Supergirl adventure. The series still provides us with a lot of action and some quality dialogue. It is a complete title that I would certainly recommend to comic readers since it is a lot of fun. The art works for the collection, but I expect Superman to look a little better in future issues. Even the way that he acted seemed a little off although I think that Supergirl overreacted in that scene. I look forward to seeing where Supergirl goes from here, but I’m looking forward to the return of the Worldbreakers even more. Now those were incredible villains!
Overall 7/10
