Supergirl #7

Cover by Mahmud Asrar, Dave McCaig

Supergirl #7 (March 21, 2012)

Writer: Michael Green, Mike Johnson

Penciller: Mahmud Asrar

Colorist: Dave McCaig

Letterer: Rob Leigh

Supergirl has been a character that I have been vaguely interested in ever since I saw my very first episode of Justice League Unlimited, “Fearful Symmetry.” If you haven’t seen this show or this episode, do yourself a favor and do so now. Aside from being an all-around solid work of animation and writing, it also introduced me to some of my now favorite characters, Green Arrow and the Question. Supergirl, though the focus of this episode, only piqued my interested slightly, sad to say. Therefore, I was terribly happy to read Supergirl #7 and find myself loving it.

If you’re looking for a comic book filled with action and awesome fight sequences, then you should probably pick this one up if you haven’t already. Supergirl #7 opens right in the middle of an intense fight between Supergirl and a group of genetically modified aliens, the Worldkillers. Created in a lab by Kryptonian scientists, these Worldkillers are hungry to destroy, discover their true heritages and seek revenge on the Kryptonians who stole them from their home worlds. They now set their sights on Earth as it houses the last Kryptonians.

As a new reader, rushing into an established fight sequence should have lost me. Instead, the central Worldkiller, Reign’s, exposition to Supergirl was surprisingly succinct and clarifying. I knew whom Supergirl was fighting, why and exactly what the costs were. Reign, unlike other verbose villains, did not go on and on about her anger or her detailed plans for Earth’s demolition. She was to the point and rather articulate. Also, she could be surprisingly frightening, for a genetically modified alien.

Overall, this entire comic book was one long fight scene but a well-written and suspenseful one. This was a battle that Supergirl worked very, very hard to win and her struggles throughout the fight seemed very plausible and often painful.

It was just refreshing to see a fight sequence in which the hero is both outnumbered and frankly, not a whole lot stronger than her opponents. Instead, Supergirl relied both on her strength and her cunning to outsmart and win this fight, which was just so awesome.

Green and Johnson wrote a Supergirl that I could very well become a huge fan of and enjoy as a reader. She was smart, determined, imperfect, and rightfully proud. By the end, I was thoroughly rooting for her. I even didn’t mind her lack of pants, which could normally bother me in a female super hero costume. I’m often really annoyed by exposed skin in female super hero costumes because it serves absolutely no purpose and only further illustrates these women as sexual objects. And look, there’s been a lot of debate about everything from Wonder Woman’s lack of pants to Huntress’ stomach window but for once, I didn’t find myself rolling my eyes at exposed legs. Asrar drew a costume that was not over-the-top and in fact, managed to make it appear practical. Whether or not it really is, I’m not sure; I keep imaging a lot of skinned knees.

Reign, however, did rock the insane, painful-looking cleavage, which was interesting to note. Was this acceptable because she’s the villain and only bad girls have massive cleavage? Also, she never really fought so much as taunt Supergirl while her counterparts did all the heavy lifting. That was pretty disappointing.

Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Supergirl #7 and I now find myself the fan of yet another DC female super hero. I care about her and want to know more about her. I just pray that her other comic issues do not lessen or simplify her dynamic awesomeness, which I have seen happen time and again to many of my favorite female comic book characters.