How would you fix Supergirl?

[Dussan]

Supergirl sucks right now, and it seems to be getting weirder by the minutes. It's confused, no direction, and she is bouncing from one failed plot to another.

Personally I would fix her by having her be more involved in Supes life. Don't go living on the farm, or any of that other stuff, have her live in Metropolis with the Kents in a guest bedroom while they square her away in terms of a life outside of the cape.

Basically I would do a blatant rip off of the DC animated Universe Supergirl. She was too cute for words. Loved that she so impulsive and headstrong yet extemely endearing.

[Jack Zodiac]

Agreed. Instead of throwing Supergirl into the worst possible storylines ever (i.e. the fallout of the last two years of Superman/Batman and Joe Kelly's "Godfall" arc), they should focus on her becoming an Earthling, with an Earth identity and life. Then they can flesh her out as a hero. Focusing on her past and constantly dancing around her being programmed to kill her cousin is pathetically uninteresting.

[davids]

KILL HER OFF!:evilsmile

[DonC]

Retcon it so that the Matrix Supergirl exists again.


Yup, retcon the retcon.

[TopGoon]

I too believe that the "programmed to kill Kal-El" thing is getting redundant and annoying. I don't even mind that Supergirl is ending up at all these weird places - it's the fact that the storylines make no sense and go no where that ticks me off.

I originally liked the whole "darker" side to Supergirl, but they haven't really developed that into anything interesting. I think this new Kara has a lot of potential, as a heroine, anti-heroine, or a villainess. They just have to start writing her better.

[Dussan]

If Jeph Loeb had any imagination and DC had balls, they would make Kara Zor-El be a genetically engineered mate for Kal-El. Not be his cousin by blood, but being designed by Zor-El. She would be his daughter by Kryptonian standards but not because he fathered a child biologically.

Would make WORLDs more sense then someone being programed to kill the last kryptonian.

Kara was born to be completely genetically compatable with Supes, and any other human, thereby she would become the mother of the new kryptonian race with her kryptonian genes being dominate in all her offspring.

Throw in a monkey wrench like Lex "I'm a sick evil genius"Luthor in the mix, and finding out about this. He tells confused and lost Kara that Supe wants to make her a brood mare for Krypton. Or even more disgusting you can have Lex try to "father" a race himself.

what do you think the effect of this would be on a girl trained by Amazons?

Damn, I can think of 20 different story arcs right now. Kara embracing that role. Kara going "Screw that". Kara going with Luthor (for the Matrix fans) and actually being an influence on him, or vice versa. Kara and Supes hooking up. Kara and Lois going at it.

[Rik Levins]

How would I fix Supergirl?

Easy. Put Gail Simone on the writing. Alan Davis on the art.

Then get out of the way.

[Lorendiac]

Personally I would fix her by having her be more involved in Supes life. Don't go living on the farm, or any of that other stuff, have her live in Metropolis with the Kents in a guest bedroom while they square her away in terms of a life outside of the cape.

I'd go further than that. I agree we shouldn't leave her stuck on the farm in Kansas; that's been done to death with Matrix Supergirl and Kon-El and maybe even other characters I'm forgetting about. But I also feel that Supergirl needs to stand on her own two feet, finding her own place to live and her own supporting cast, instead of just becoming basically the foster teenage daughter of Lois and Clark in their home in Metropolis. In other words, she needs to "get a life" that doesn't just depend upon being part of Superman's life in Metropolis, or Power Girl's partner in Kandor, or another face in the large roster of the Legion in the 31st century, or whatever.

I'd toss all that stuff about "darkness within" and "originally supposed to kill Clark" out the window. Or perhaps I should say I would quietly, tactfully sweep it under the rug! I wouldn't actually bother to say I was retconning it; I'd just never mention it in any way, shape, or form during my own run as a Supergirl writer! It was all very important to Jeph Loeb -- but he's gone from the title now, so let's just put all that behind us and look to the future, eh?

I'd try to give her the personality of a reasonably cheerful and sane "normal teenage girl," whatever that means. One who had something of a sense of humor about the apparent absurdity of all this "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a charging locomotive" stuff.

I'd either give Kara her own apartment somewhere, or else have her share one with a roommate who was in her late teens or early twenties. I'd develop her secret identity and her social life so that we could see her making a sincere effort to learn to fit in with modern teens of the USA. Not just flying around in costume all the time. The assumption would be that she could easily abandon one identity in whatever city she was currently using as a base, and relocate to another in the blink of an eye, if she made too many bloopers in a current identity. But I wouldn't really want her to actually do that -- might settle for planting hints that this already happened at least two or three times during the one-year gap before the opening pages of "Up, Up, and Away," and now she thinks she's finally getting the hang of this whole "socializing with ordinary Earthlings" thing.

I'd have several issues in which she teamed up with various heroes she doesn't know very well, maybe learning something from each experience. However, I'd avoid Loeb's approach by not having her get into pointless fights with those various heroes at the drop of a hat.

Give her a couple of villains of her own -- either brand new ones, or else new-and-improved versions of some of the more obscure ones who didn't even get any dialogue (or not much) in "Identity Crisis" or "Villains United" or "Infinite Crisis" and aren't being used by anyone else on a regular basis right now.

I'd give her some guy (maybe a superhero, maybe not) who desperately wanted to be her boyfriend, but she seemed totally oblivious to this at first, and not very interested when she did realize how interested in her he was. She didn't hate him or anything; she just didn't feel the same sparks that he apparently felt were in the air whenever he got close to her.

If all else failed, I'd pull a few stunts to get readers involved, like letting them vote on which villain she would face for the first time, six months from now.

That's all I can think of, off the top of my head. (For what it's worth, one thing I definitely wouldn't do would be to retcon in any of the old Pre-COIE stories about the first "Kara Zor-El Supergirl" as having happened to this Kara Zor-El Supergirl within the last year or so. Just thought I should clear that up! I believe Paul Kupperberg tried to do that with some of the Pre-COIE Supergirl stories he had written, claiming in the late 80s that some of them had happened to the Post-COIE Power Girl he was then writing about. I wouldn't follow his example. Why make things more complicated? "Let old continuity that's already dead and buried stay dead and buried!" I would say.)

[Eliseu Gouveia]

How would I fix Supergirl?

Easy. Put Gail Simone on the writing. Alan Davis on the art.

Then get out of the way.


I like the way you think :)

[Young Avenger]

She doesn't need fixing. She just needs better stories. Since that god awful Kandor story is over Joe Kelly can write his own stuff now.

[Jack Zodiac]

That's how I see it. I don't really mind them trying to bring back Kryptonian culture. I loved the Krypton Chronicles books. And if Argo City still exists in the New Earth universe, I hope Kara can find it, and her parents, and put that crappy "Kryptonian Candidate" story to rest once and for all.

[Constantine Drakon]

Step by step turn her into the Animated Supergirl. Maybe they could have had something new and unique, but they blew it, so best to play it safe from here.

Have it turn out that on the way to earth her mind got messed with. Brainwashing, yellow fear demon, trip through a space cloud of LSD... whatever. Have it turn out that her "memories" we've seen so far were false (Along with crap). She's from Argo, a planet in Krypton's solar system. Her mother (A WOMAN NOT A MAN, WHY WAS THAT SO HARD TO GRASP?) built the ship after Krypton's destruction knocked Argo out of orbit - it was meant to be one of an entire fleet of ships, but hell... stuff happens, y'know? And so on and so forth. Establish the likable Supergirl from the show in the DCU instead of this chariacture that has no purpose but to give pinup artists something to draw.

At least... that's what I think.

[Bat-Mite]

Since that god awful Kandor story is over Joe Kelly can write his own stuff now.

So... from the frying pan and into the fire now?

[Ontir]

I'm against spaying the Maid of Might.

[Sean Whitmore]

How would I fix Supergirl?

Kryptonite bullet.

Failing that, I might try giving her a personality, seeing as how she's failed to exhibit one in the eight issues since her book began.

"Perpetually angry" and "confused" are not character traits.


SEAN

[the film freak]

Is Streaky the Supercat in the book? If not I'd start there...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/Streakycat.png

[karasu]

How would I fix Supergirl?

Easy. Put Gail Simone on the writing. Alan Davis on the art.

Then get out of the way.

You said it.

[Young Avenger]

Is Streaky the Supercat in the book? If not I'd start there...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/Streakycat.png

What the hell? Streaky was actual comic character? I thought he was an original creation from the Krypto cartoon.

[the film freak]

What the hell? Streaky was actual comic character? I thought he was an original creation from the Krypto cartoon.

There was a whole menegerie of Super Pets.

[Sean Whitmore]

There was a whole menegerie of Super Pets.


A Legion of Super Pets, to be precise. ;)

Krypto the Superdog, Streaky the Supercat, Comet the Superhorse, Beppo the Supermonkey...and if they ever felt like slumming, they hung with Ace the Bathound.


SEAN

[Forsaken_One]

Yeah...there really was an Ace the Bat-Hound. Dear lord why did I have to remember that? It was the most idiotic story I've ever read but there really was a dog running around in a bat costume for a while. No, no powers. Not super intelligent. Just a dog. With a bat mask and cape on. *sigh*

Maybe Supergirl isn't so bad...? :p

And I'll tell you, those stories where Comet the Superhorse lusted after Supergirl are still some of the most disturbing comics I've read.

[Ronnigon]

Failing that, I might try giving her a personality, seeing as how she's failed to exhibit one in the eight issues since her book began.

"Perpetually angry" and "confused" are not character traits.

Hilarious and wonderful. Love it.... LOVE it.

[Ronnigon]

In all seriousness, I think you should have Supergirl totally crack up from the loneliness of her condition, as one of the last two survivors of Krypton, and unable to adapt to life among mere mortals. She would need a stronger anchor of sanity.

And so, she could go into seclusion somewhere and establish herself as a kind of Kryptonian priestess of logic... She could totally immerse herself in a return-to-her-roots study of the Kryptonian lifestyle.

This would be quite a first: a female character -- much like the goddess Athena -- who is a pure voice of logic and reason in the DC Universe. She would fill that void that is only occasionally filled by such characters as Metron and Brainiac-5, and which hasn't existed in the Superman mythos since the elimination of Superman's "Krypton Man" identity.

Plus, I think a logic-hero character who is female might be a great example for male and female readers, to see that females don't have to be ruled by insecurity and emotionality as is usually scripted to be the case, and can be not only the mental equal, but the mental superior of any male, at any time.

Also, she would delve deeper into the study of Krypton than Superman has ever done... and, in the course of her research, she would uncover something that would rock Superman and the entire planet Earth to their very cores...

What's more, it would also establish her as very likely one of the most important characters in the DC Universe... whom even Superman must now look up to.


:eek: :eek:

;) ;)

[the film freak]

A Legion of Super Pets, to be precise. ;)

Krypto the Superdog, Streaky the Supercat, Comet the Superhorse, Beppo the Supermonkey...and if they ever felt like slumming, they hung with Ace the Bathound.


SEAN

Don't forget Sparky the Bathamster.

[the film freak]

Yeah...there really was an Ace the Bat-Hound. Dear lord why did I have to remember that? It was the most idiotic story I've ever read but there really was a dog running around in a bat costume for a while. No, no powers. Not super intelligent. Just a dog. With a bat mask and cape on. *sigh*

The mask was silly but I think Batman having a dog kind of makes sense. They're good for manhunts and sniffing up clues and such. Ace worked pretty well in Batman Beyond.

[Sean Whitmore]

Don't forget Sparky the Bathamster.


....I'm, like, 90% certain you're kidding, but I can't find it in me to discount the possibility that there WAS a Bathamster.


SEAN

[Sizzle]

The mask was silly but I think Batman having a dog kind of makes sense. They're good for manhunts and sniffing up clues and such. Ace worked pretty well in Batman Beyond.

Ace was around right up to the end of Knightfall. Don't remember what happened to him after that.

[Sean Whitmore]

Ace was around right up to the end of Knightfall. Don't remember what happened to him after that.


Ace took off with Harold once Jean Paul took up residence in the cave.

We never saw Ace again, but the next time we saw Harold, he was no longer a mute and no longer a hunchback.

Coincidence? Ohhh, how I wish I lived in your rose-tinted world.

:D


SEAN

[Bat-Mite]

Hey! Don't talk trash about ACE. He was in my favorite cover of all times.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/Bat-Mite/Batman133.jpg

[milly3cat]

The first few issues were great, but the last two were terrible...:(

May get better though with her back in the normal world now, Rumours of joining outsiders is a good start.. :D

[mr_evilweed]

Fix Supergirl? Well how about if she starts acting like an adult? Wouldn't that be weird and wacky? What if Supergirl stopped being so childish? What if Supergirl bought a thong and started giving lapdances at a stripclub? Okay, maybe that last one is best left to the imagination. My point is this: how about if she grows up?

[Alan2099]

nah. That's for SuperWOMAN. Supergirl needs to be a teen. Preferrably a brash spunky fun loving one.

[protege]

In all seriousness, I think you should have Supergirl totally crack up from the loneliness of her condition, as one of the last two survivors of Krypton, and unable to adapt to life among mere mortals. She would need a stronger anchor of sanity.

And so, she could go into seclusion somewhere and establish herself as a kind of Kryptonian priestess of logic... She could totally immerse herself in a return-to-her-roots study of the Kryptonian lifestyle.

This would be quite a first: a female character -- much like the goddess Athena -- who is a pure voice of logic and reason in the DC Universe. She would fill that void that is only occasionally filled by such characters as Metron and Brainiac-5, and which hasn't existed in the Superman mythos since the elimination of Superman's "Krypton Man" identity.

Plus, I think a logic-hero character who is female might be a great example for male and female readers, to see that females don't have to be ruled by insecurity and emotionality as is usually scripted to be the case, and can be not only the mental equal, but the mental superior of any male, at any time.

Also, she would delve deeper into the study of Krypton than Superman has ever done... and, in the course of her research, she would uncover something that would rock Superman and the entire planet Earth to their very cores...

What's more, it would also establish her as very likely one of the most important characters in the DC Universe... whom even Superman must now look up to.


:eek: :eek:

;) ;)
I'm having "Wonder Womnan;goddess of truth" flashbacks here...

[mr_evilweed]

Fix Supergirl? Well how about if she starts acting like an adult? Wouldn't that be weird and wacky? What if Supergirl stopped being so childish? What if Supergirl bought a thong and started giving lapdances at a stripclub? Okay, maybe that last one is best left to the imagination. My point is this: how about if she grows up?

[Dussan]

What about my suggestion about here being Kal-el's genetically engineered mate?

I think that woud be a real freakin twist.

But I agree she needs to stand on her own, but I don' tlike it when spin off characters completely ditch the core series.

Supergirl should be in Clark's life. Nightwing is in Batman comics all the time. Same with Oracle. Supes should have that same kind of system, but it should be more family and emotional oriented, rather then them talking shop all the time.

She can have villains that are hers alone, but she should still be heavily involved in Supes life, same with Supes being involved in hers.

[Ronnigon]

My solution for the Supergirl dilemma is for me to not read Supergirl, which I already don't do.

I don't like Super-girls or Bat-girls or Super-boys and Super-baboons or Bat-Sea-Anemones or any other variations on one, unique character such as Superman or Batman.

I'm sick of all this petty creation of all these burdensome accessory character all over the place, in order to demonstrate some ridiculous sense of "equal opportunity" where superheroes are concerned.

It's all rubbish.

[chriskenny]

I think the main problem with the Supergirl book is there is no game plan. I mean, the book reads like an '90s-era Image Comic. To fix the book they need to decide what themes they want to hit and what direction they want to go in. Currently it is a really rudderless book.

Rather than have Supergirl flying around the DCU and punching every character for five issues, they should have gotten down to giving her a stable life. How does a Kryptonian land on Earth as a sixteen year old girl and start a new life? What does one do? How does it effect things? Does she go to school? How does she interact with kids she regards as aliens? How does Supergirl see her responsibilities to Earth differently than her cousin, mostly because she wasn't raised here and never grew to love it like Clark did? How do these conflicting feelings of wanting acceptance and wanting to maintain the culture she grew up with express themselves? How does it cause drama? When she sees Superman, does she see a man who has abandoned his own culture--one she is more invested in because she lived on Krypton for sixteen years--or does she see someone she wants to be? Or maybe both?

All of these questions are seldom addressed in the book. And I think exploring the answers to these questions would produce a lot of good comic books. Let's see her trying to be an American teenager. Let's see her try, fail, learn, adapt, and grow. Let's see her work out the feeling of being one of the last remnants of a destroyed civilization. Remember, it is a lot easier for Kal-El to pick up and move on-- for his entire childhood he didn't even know he was an alien! Supergirl however, had her family and culture and planet and then one day they were all gone? Who does she go for support? (I kind of see an interesting story beat where she draws closer to Martian Manhunter, who has a lot to say about dealing with such issues, and Superman becoming somewhat jealous that he isn't that confidante he feels like he should be.)

Stop treating Supergirl readers as if they are Ritalin-addled video game junkies who can't sit down to read a comic book about character and pathos. Let's take the steroids out of the action and spend a little more time getting under the girl's skin and giving her some semblance of life.

[AaronJ]

I disagree with the premise, to start with.

SUPERGIRL is a good title. And i am enjoying the hell out of it.

Is it Linda Danvers, which so many people apparently want? No.

Is it a girl trying to fit into American teen culture? No.

Kara is complex, confused, angry, a hot-head, troubled, thrown through the galaxy, pissed-off that she doesn't understand her past, and generally not happy. Is there anything wrong with that? No.

Look, I think the best thing that happen to Supergirl is that all the people who are looking for Linda to return just accept that it isn't going to happen. Otherwise, I don't see the problem with the title.

[Sean Whitmore]

Kara is complex, confused, angry, a hot-head, troubled, thrown through the galaxy, pissed-off that she doesn't understand her past, and generally not happy. Is there anything wrong with that?


After eight issues, I'm gonna say yes. 15 if you count her Batman/Superman appearances.

15 issues and I don't even know what she does when she's not fighting crime. Or, y'know, other heroes.


SEAN

[AaronJ]

After eight issues, I'm gonna say yes. 15 if you count her Batman/Superman appearances.

15 issues and I don't even know what she does when she's not fighting crime. Or, y'know, other heroes.


SEAN


Yeah, let's see her try out for head cheerleader, or get a job at 7-11.

Fascinating. *yawn*

False IDs are boring, full of pot-holes, and demean the character. YOU might want to see Kara take her SATs, but I'm not really interested in that. I would much rather see her see her go search for Argo, with PG.

[Sean Whitmore]

Yeah, let's see her try out for head cheerleader, or get a job at 7-11.


No, you're right, because those are the only two POSSIBLE things she could be doing with her time. I don't know what I was thinking.


False IDs are boring, full of pot-holes, and demean the character.


Who said anything about a false ID? What I wondered--and I'm pretty sure I'm right about this, since I wrote it--was what she did when she wasn't getting into fights.


YOU might want to see Kara take her SATs, but I'm not really interested in that. I would much rather see her see her go search for Argo, with PG.


I'd rather see her piss around in Kandor for three issues in a nonsense storyline. Takes all kinds.


SEAN

[AaronJ]

No, you're right, because those are the only two POSSIBLE things she could be doing with her time. I don't know what I was thinking.

I'm curious as to what you are suggesting?

I was interested in her giving lectures as Kara, about Kryptonian culture. Otherwise, I can't think of what she would be doing.


Who said anything about a false ID? What I wondered--and I'm pretty sure I'm right about this, since I wrote it--was what she did when she wasn't getting into fights.

Are you suggesting that she "do" whatever she does as Kara? Or she does these things as someone else?


I'd rather see her piss around in Kandor for three issues in a nonsense storyline. Takes all kinds.


Well, it depends. If we learn something about her while in Kandor, then I am all for it.

If she tries and finds Argo because it is a critical aspect of her character, then I am all for it.

If they make her into a school student, just because nothing else seems worthy, then I am not for it at all.

[Sean Whitmore]

I'm curious as to what you are suggesting?

I was interested in her giving lectures as Kara, about Kryptonian culture. Otherwise, I can't think of what she would be doing.

Are you suggesting that she "do" whatever she does as Kara? Or she does these things as someone else?


I don't have anything specific in mind, but she should eventually have a life for herself. I'm not suggesting she take the name Linda and go live in an orphanage, but she's gotta be doing something to occupy her time. Literally, as far as I can tell, she's never stopped flying around from her last appearance in Superman/Batman to the first issue of her series.

I'd be all for her going to Argo too, because at least it's a goal beyond flying around and being attacked by people. This confused and muddled layover in Kandor has lasted three issues too long.


SEAN

[SensorBoy]

Last surviving Kryptonian Female.
+
Last surviving Krpytonian Male.
=
Angst.

If either of them want kids, they've got exactly one option (since it appears the clone thing isnt going to pan out, much to Robins dismay). IIRC, it's canon that Kryptonians have a different number of Chromosomes than Humans(23 pairs), which is a deal breaker for hybrid babies.

One of them has to bring it up in conversation, eventually. Hilarity ensues.

[MrSuslov]

Evidence suggests that I might actually like the Linda Danvers/Earth angel concept. That being said, we don't have that at the moment. What we do have is something that is interesting nonetheless. Although I readily admit that the notion of a fetching young Argo City survivor alternatively pounding the tar out of a psycho Superman and kissing same while under telepathic compulsion is good and all, it can't go on forever. There's only so much that you can get into whilst in a bottled city.

I like the notion of her having more trouble adapting to where she's at, since she did have a fair amount of years as a citizen of Argo City and didn't start from the get-go in Smallville. You know, whereas Superman's for "Truth, justice, and the American way", she's for "Something, something, and the Argo City way". Insert Superman or someone (Power Girl, maybe?) reminding her that she's not in Argo City any more, and things don't work that way here. If she builds a Something of Solitude, make darned sure it's a reflection of her memories of home, and not whatever the current incarnation of Superman's is.

After all, her mission (be it kill him or raise him) is probably a bust at this point, so what's holding her here? Sure she exhibited some compassion for the non-Kryptonians in Kandor, but what's to say that she'll do the same for Earth? Perhaps an attitude of "Hmm, stop the ballistic missile heading for Metropolis or sit around and think some more of where my home might be" might be useful for a while. Similarly, give her fits trying to deal with whatever Luthor's black kryptonite dredged up. Sure, it's merged via lasso and the like, but perhaps it nags her at the back of her conscious mind.

Handled properly, that might be good for several issues. With apologies to Robert Heinlein, there might be value in a concept of the stranger in a strange land.

[Jack Zodiac]

I think the basic goal here is to get her away from the dangling "kill Kal-El" plot, focus on Kara's character, and move her away from uninteresting, confused, angry Kryptonian role. With Superboy dead and, for all intents and purposes, never coming back, I'd like to see Supergirl as a superhero, not a directionless powerhouse.

[J. Robb]

Gail Simone is a good idea. So is Peter David. He turned the other-dimensional blob of goo into an interesting character and a great series. I'm quite sure he could do the same with this latest kick at the can.

[chriskenny]

Supergirl is all mystery and there is no set status quo to even tweak or play with. No supporting characters who aren't in tights. If it was black and white it would be a great coloring book, as far I am concerned.

[Ronnigon]

You could have the Super-cousins breed and make Super-web-toed, cross-eyed babies.

Then you could change the entire direction of the book...

You could relocate them to West Virginia, and have them play the banjo and shoot possums, and raise themsevs a litter o' young-uns.

Hell, Superman already looks like L'il Abner, and Supergirl already looks like Daisy Mae. So drop the pretenses, and make it all "official-like".

[Sabrinaset]

Remove her ovaries.

Oh. Wrong kind of "fixing"...

[Damo]

Remove her ovaries.

Oh. Wrong kind of "fixing"...


No no, judging from her miniskirt, that might be a wise bit of precaution too.

[cactusmaac]

Remove her ovaries.

Oh. Wrong kind of "fixing"...

Once again you prove your perfectness.

[Sean Whitmore]

No no, judging from her miniskirt, that might be a wise bit of precaution too.


Hell, judging from her miniskirt, Supergirl could accidentally lose her ovaries by snagging them on a tree branch as she flies by.


SEAN

[Mon-el]

You could have the Super-cousins breed and make Super-web-toed, cross-eyed babies.

Then you could change the entire direction of the book...

You could relocate them to West Virginia, and have them play the banjo and shoot possums, and raise themsevs a litter o' young-uns.

Hell, Superman already looks like L'il Abner, and Supergirl already looks like Daisy Mae. So drop the pretenses, and make it all "official-like".

I know this an attempt at a joke, but I find this rather annoying.

For one reason I am from West Virginia.

Reason 2. Excuse me sir, but it sounds like you are sterotyping, labeling, and frankly have no clue to exactly what it is like to live in West Viriginia.

[Dussan]

Her being angry and crap is getting old. Not to mention that she basically kicked the crap out of every DC hero she meets, and that is getting older fast. She meets a hero, "Hi I'm Supermans cousin!" POW, she drops em.

It's cool the first time. But each arc seems to have her in some shocking twist with another hero.

End this crap please. She has no direction, no identity. Honestly they should have had her in the Superman comics for a few more issues before giving her own title.

[Forsaken_One]

I know this an attempt at a joke, but I find this rather annoying.

For one reason I am from West Virginia.

Reason 2. Excuse me sir, but it sounds like you are sterotyping, labeling, and frankly have no clue to exactly what it is like to live in West Viriginia.
Not to mention not much of an idea of what kind of genetic problems can come from first cousins interbreeding (hint: excepting rare recessive genes in the family tree it's very little).

[MrSuslov]

I know this an attempt at a joke, but I find this rather annoying.

For one reason I am from West Virginia.

Reason 2. Excuse me sir, but it sounds like you are sterotyping, labeling, and frankly have no clue to exactly what it is like to live in West Viriginia.
Oh, bravo. Were such remarks applied to inner-city residents or the like, there would be calls to arms to fight racism and oppression on behalf of multiculturalism, tolerance, and diversity. Too bad West Virginia doesn't qualify for similar status.

[NenaBoneta]

first of all make her more of a bad ass,That kicks bad guy butt more,like make her have a cool calm additude,and have her anger and rage make her stronger,like when she gets mader her power increases and she rages and pounds the crap outta the bad guy who pisses her off.make her less girly and less winy

[Jack Zodiac]

Hey guys, I have an awesome idea! Instead of devolving this thread into pointless attacks and defenses about a joke, let's stick to the topic.

first of all make her more of a bad ass,That kicks bad guy butt more,like make her have a cool calm additude,and have her anger and rage make her stronger,like when she gets mader her power increases and she rages and pounds the crap outta the bad guy who pisses her off.make her less girly and less winy

I'unno. She's already a Kryptonian who gets even stronger when constantly exposed to the sun. She isn't short on strength. And, up to this point, her anger's only hindered her character potential.

[SensorBoy]

Not to mention not much of an idea of what kind of genetic problems can come from first cousins interbreeding (hint: excepting rare recessive genes in the family tree it's very little).


Well....actually, over the course of generations a small isolated population where everyone mates with their 1st/2nd cousins is not too healthy. This is what eventually led to Tay-Sachs within Ashkenazi populations (small group of Founders, followed by social isolation wrt mate-selection, coupled with reproductive bottlenecks, aka "pogroms").

However, A single-generation won't be affected unless both are carriers (heterozygous recessive) of a negative trait.

[Mia]

Her being angry and crap is getting old. Not to mention that she basically kicked the crap out of every DC hero she meets, and that is getting older fast. She meets a hero, "Hi I'm Supermans cousin!" POW, she drops em.

It's cool the first time. But each arc seems to have her in some shocking twist with another hero.

End this crap please. She has no direction, no identity. Honestly they should have had her in the Superman comics for a few more issues before giving her own title.


Hmmm...it appears as if I am the only person here who actually likes this rendition of Kara. I actually find her a refreshing change to the mewly mouthed heroines that populate DC. Of course no one wants to watch her kick someone's ass for 22 pages month after month. But I like the girl-next-door with an edge. It's fun!


And no to Gail Simone. After what she did to Huntress in BoP. I wouldn't like to see her anywhere any sort of strong self-respecting heroine (please stay away from the X-books). Let her go write Wonder Woman or Hawkgirl. Or some other heroine who likes to shop, eat and do her nails.

[Jack Zodiac]

Huh. I've never thought of Wonder Woman as a shoppy, nail polish sort of woman, what with her being an Amazon and all...

At any rate, she can be "the girl next door with an edge" without wandering through horrible storylines in her own book with little or no character development. A lot of us like her, just not the way she's being handled currently. These past three issues have been the best example of, in fact, reversing the direction of her character development.

[Sean Whitmore]

And no to Gail Simone. After what she did to Huntress in BoP. I wouldn't like to see her anywhere any sort of strong self-respecting heroine (please stay away from the X-books). Let her go write Wonder Woman or Hawkgirl. Or some other heroine who likes to shop, eat and do her nails.


What has BoP done to Huntress? (I'm not defending it, I actually don't know; I'm not caught up on all my back issues)


SEAN

[Mia]

What has BoP done to Huntress? (I'm not defending it, I actually don't know; I'm not caught up on all my back issues)


SEAN

OOOH!!!!! Don't get me started!! Because I could go on for a page and a half! But in a nutshell, Gail Simone turned Huntress from being a strong, proud independent and higly intelligent young woman. Into basically a woman who has no self-respect, let's others mistreat her and can't seem to think on her own.

Gail Simone just seems to have zero grasp on what makes a powerful and ambitious woman tick. None whatsoever. And I would rather see her miles away from Kara (this goes doubly for any of the X-women).

Funny as it may sound to some of you, I actually added SG to my pull list because I noticed similarities between Kara and Helena (not really surprising as Rucka wrote both of them) but Kelley seems to be going along the same trajectory. I understand why some people here have problems with the lack luster story. But I really like this version of Kara. And this is no mean thing for me to admit to. I don't generally like teenage characters.

[Jack Zodiac]

To be fair, even though she is a teenager she doesn't suffer from the same plot devices other teenage heroes do. Yet. She's wrapped up in her own Kryptonian storyline right now, which wouldn't be so bad if they'd actually give her some direction. I'm seriously hoping that her search for Argo City does this, and I have faith that Joe can do this now that he's shed that horrible storyline Rucka stuck him with. If not, though, I think I'm gonna' have to drop this book.

[MythicBrawn]

Give her a better costume.

[MrSuslov]

Well, I like it, and I enjoyed the Kandor arc. The crazy thing is that I decided to pick up the book after reading the TPB for issues 1-5. Now, having essentially pasted a giant target on myself, here's why I liked it:

-Blade Runner-esque settings can be very interesting. This one qualifies.
-An evil Superman-looking thing is interesting; ditto his henchwomen and the Kryptonian theocratic city-state. I kept drawing mental parallels to the carousel of Logan's Run, for some reason.
-Supergirl as an underground freedom fighter was interesting. Teaming her, more or less, with Power Girl creates some possibilities. I admit to being quite interested in the old PAD concept of a team of Kryptonian Birds of Prey.
-"Mother", whoever she is. The psychic chops to dominate some sort of Superman can't be common.

And yes, the art is nice, but if I was solely interested in a T&A book, I'd be reading back issues of Danger Girl and/or Fathom, I suppose. That being said, I'd still prefer a skirt that was a bit longer.

[VietN]

I understand that a lot of her early brawls would leave people scratching their heads. I did just that after watching her fight the Teen Titans some time ago. Supergirl definitely doesn't need that.

[Dussan]

I just read that Kandor mess and it sucks.

What the hell.

[GUTB]

Asking "what would you do to fix Supergirl" is like asking "what would you do to fix New Orleans after the flood". At this point, she would need to be re-built. She needs to move towards "superhero nobility from an alien world" and away from....whatever godawful thing she is now.

Overwhelmingly superior to humans, and not at all arrogant about it, just matter-of-factly so. Less interested in fitting in like Kal who's grown up with humanity, but also less set in her ways and less particular about maintaining a social order. She "lives" in the Fortress, probably in some hall that puts your average palace to shame. She doesn't have nor need any secret identity. Nor does she feel any need to punch other superheroes just because she's angsty. In fact, she'd always have a smile on because she can tell everyone she meets is a little afriad of her so she smiles so that her peaceful intentions are clearly transmitted.

She should have what Wonder Woman used to have -- a wide-open, innocent view of a new world, but different in that she applies crystal-clear logic to difficult human problems without any of the human hang-ups and baggage getting in the way.

[marshal99]

How you fix supergirl ? That would be easy , cancel her book and have her die in one panel in a JLA story fighting a bad guy or something. ;)

[Kara Zor El]

Red mini-skirt of course. What's with the blue one. And I'd quite like to see that bandana make some guest appearences.

[Jack Zodiac]

How you fix supergirl ? That would be easy , cancel her book and have her die in one panel in a JLA story fighting a bad guy or something. ;)

Don't joke around too much. It seems when they can't find a writer to handle a character decently, that's pretty much what they have happen. One panel death. Maybe she'll get her head taken clean off and her and Pantha could get a duo book together.

[KET]

Don't joke around too much. It seems when they can't find a writer to handle a character decently, that's pretty much what they have happen. One panel death. Maybe she'll get her head taken clean off and her and Pantha could get a duo book together.

Kryptonite dagger several times to the heart ought to do it. And to make sure there's plenty of stabby, hire Deathstroke. If he can take out The Flash and Kyle Rayner, Super Bimbo Plot Device should cause no problem at all. :D

[J. Robb]

I don't think Supergirl needs to be killed, we've already had too many Supergirls re-introduced lately, doing it again would only compound the problem. The current one just needs a fresh take- her origin doesn't need to be "retconned", but some selective ignoring would probably help.

[chriskenny]

I don't think she is so broken she needs to be killed off. She just needs writers who have a vision for where she is going and who she is.

[KET]

I don't think she is so broken she needs to be killed off. She just needs writers who have a vision for where she is going and who she is.

Nope, that won't work at all; this incarnation's already had three, and it's pretty clear that their hands are being tied from fixing the assorted problems. What she REALLY needs is someone to FIRE EDDIE BERGANZA from the title.

[Kid Kamikaze10]

Personally, I would love to see Power Girl get her own series. People keep on ignoring her, or say that she's only good in the JSA, but if she given a good creative team (Like Johns and Connor), I believe that maybe, just maybe, she may gain some mainstream success.

I mean, Guy is getting multiple mini-series, and Supergirl has two titles. Isn't time Karen got a chance?


Now, back to Supergirl. Her title, and her personality, needs some work. Here's some ideas:

1) Be innovative with her personality, or give her a more innovative personality, something that will separate her from the rest. (this is a big issue). Instead of her acting angry and ditzy, maybe she can have a more brainy persona. It would lead to a much different direction than those of which most Superheroines go through (though Oracle is an example of this direction, to some degree).

Unfortunately, this is not happening. In fact, PG has a better chance of having a business persona similar to the one above, and her character has already been definied.

2) No more "hero vs hero" fights. It's really annoying.

3) More interaction with the Trinity. They each have stuff to offer Supergirl, and with the correct writer, these moments can be very touching.

4) A rogues gallery that can help define her character.

5) Life outside of Superheroics, but hopefully doesn't involve High School. It's been done to death, and if she's as smart as they say she is, then she should go to College, like that kid in the new Atom series (just not as boring).


And if all else fails, keep her with the Legion of Superheroes, and give PG the title. Her LSH character may be pretty unoriginal (sort of acts like SA Supergirl), but more interesting.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

Supergirl sucks right now, and it seems to be getting weirder by the minutes. It's confused, no direction, and she is bouncing from one failed plot to another.

Personally I would fix her by having her be more involved in Supes life. Don't go living on the farm, or any of that other stuff, have her live in Metropolis with the Kents in a guest bedroom while they square her away in terms of a life outside of the cape.

Basically I would do a blatant rip off of the DC animated Universe Supergirl. She was too cute for words. Loved that she so impulsive and headstrong yet extemely endearing.

I'd just kill her, of create another "timestorm" to erase her from existence. Too bad DC didn't use Superboy Prime for that.

[sabongero]

I am sure everytime Power Girl makes an appearance in the new Supergirl comic books it will be a bestseller. However, T & A aside, I am looking forward to some sort of arc and good writing where we get the Power Girl vs Supergirl slugfest.

Now I know there are fans out there who might think that a slugfest does not make for a good comic as the characterization is not going to be present in the comic book. However, this is a comic book, and I am one of those traditional comic book fans who enjoys a good old slugfest between two characters where you may not really know who will end up as the victor.

Plus a Power Girl vs Supergirl slugfest would be great. It would be one of the greatest confrontations of all time. It's kind of like The Incredible Hulk vs The Thing. The Flash vs Zoom. Batman vs Deathstroke. Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat vs Randy 'Macho Man' Savage. That kind of classic confrontation.

Now you need a really good plot of leading to the actual confrontation. But I don't think a betrayal of sorts is going to work. The DC Editorial staff will have to work on this. Since both are heroines, then you can't have one acting as a villain. This means you can't have one character do a "low-blow".

- Ken

"Carpe Diem"

[KET]

I am sure everytime Power Girl makes an appearance in the new Supergirl comic books it will be a bestseller. However, T & A aside, I am looking forward to some sort of arc and good writing where we get the Power Girl vs Supergirl slugfest.

"...because superheroine catfights are HOT!":D


Now I know there are fans out there who might think that a slugfest does not make for a good comic as the characterization is not going to be present in the comic book. However, this is a comic book, and I am one of those traditional comic book fans who enjoys a good old slugfest between two characters where you may not really know who will end up as the victor.

"Yes, I know how hero slugfests always turn out....the two always make up afterwards. But still, superheroine catfights are HOT!"


Plus a Power Girl vs Supergirl slugfest would be great. It would be one of the greatest confrontations of all time. It's kind of like The Incredible Hulk vs The Thing. The Flash vs Zoom. Batman vs Deathstroke. Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat vs Randy 'Macho Man' Savage. That kind of classic confrontation.

"DC has been teasing us long enough...why don't they just go at it!? There doesn't even need to be a good story anyways, 'cause superheroine catfights are HOT!" :D


Sorry dude, but it looks like instead of PG we'll be getting Batgirl, DC's latest 'hero turned villain du jour'.

And maybe 'Kara's secret boyfriend' will turn out to be Jason Todd and they can all kill each other off.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

And maybe 'Kara's secret boyfriend' will turn out to be Jason Todd and they can all kill each other off.

*LOL*

*Crosses fingers*

[witchboy]

Bring back Peter David and Linda Danvers as Supergirl .
Or if that 's asking too much , get her the heck out of Kandor . I enjoyed the first storyarc , but ever since ...ugh.
How about bringing in a powerless Linda Danvers to act as her guardian /mentor ? Give her a home base to work out of , Metropolis maybe , and some friends , build a supporting cast , and let the book find a pace that works . Stories that take time to build and grow , with a strong payoff down the road may help the book and the character find its place . The current pacing and mood of the book is about as subtle as Cannonball Run 2 . It feels like a lot of concepts and ideas have just been thrown against a wall to see what will stick . The book and character need some direction in the worst way.

[J. Robb]

They need to stop with the guest stars for a while and focus on Supergirl. She needs a "hero quest" of her own to go on that can define her character and mission.

[Jack Zodiac]

I agree. I just finished reading the latest issue, and as usual, it was heavy with cameos and had diddly squat for character development. Not to mention I didn't know where the hell the issue started and ended. I think I'm done with the book now. I might pick it up later, when someone knows what the hell to do with her.

[Adrian Tullberg]

If Jeph Loeb had any imagination and DC had balls, they would make Kara Zor-El be a genetically engineered mate for Kal-El. Not be his cousin by blood, but being designed by Zor-El. She would be his daughter by Kryptonian standards but not because he fathered a child biologically.

Would make WORLDs more sense then someone being programed to kill the last kryptonian.

Kara was born to be completely genetically compatable with Supes, and any other human, thereby she would become the mother of the new kryptonian race with her kryptonian genes being dominate in all her offspring.

Throw in a monkey wrench like Lex "I'm a sick evil genius"Luthor in the mix, and finding out about this. He tells confused and lost Kara that Supe wants to make her a brood mare for Krypton. Or even more disgusting you can have Lex try to "father" a race himself.

what do you think the effect of this would be on a girl trained by Amazons?

This could be interesting ...

[Captain_Video]

I would make her the female equivalent of Spider-man, nerdy, dorky girl becomes idealised super powered crusader all the while juggling school and romance.

I would change her look somewhat also ( when she is out of costume ) make her more relatable to teen girls, maybe even give the comic a trite and cliche' Manga look to it, give her a good supporting cast too.

Build her an original rogues gallery, with a central key villain, maybe one of Supermans underused foes, a revamped Silver Banshee ? Vandal Savage ?

I have always seen Supergirl as a little bit of an untapped gold mine for cool stories.

Basically tone her down to a more humanistic character and hope the right audience finds the books would be my idea, lots of soap opera, lots of nice quirky little stories.

[Lorendiac]

They need to stop with the guest stars for a while and focus on Supergirl. She needs a "hero quest" of her own to go on that can define her character and mission.

I can agree on the "hero quest" and giving her some sort of well-defined mission statement for several issues running. On the other hand, I could tolerate the continued presence of guest stars. Just because another hero bumps into her doesn't mean they are honor-bound to tear into each other in a hero-versus-hero slugfest every time, after all.

A month ago in this thread I also suggested letting her build a secret identity of her own in some other city (not Kandor and not Metropolis) to get out of Superman's shadow and develop an independent social life with people who think she's just a normal red-blooded human girl.

[TheTen-EyedMan]

A Powergirl Vs SuperCypher fight would look something like this.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/Drtzintzin/tZIN%202/PowerGirl-Huge.jpg

[TheTen-EyedMan]

A Power Girl - Super Cypher fight would look something like this.


http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/Drtzintzin/tZIN%202/PowerGirl-Huge.jpg

[666MasterOfPuppets]

A Power Girl - Super Cypher fight would look something like this.


http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/Drtzintzin/tZIN%202/PowerGirl-Huge.jpg

*ahem*

*cough*Do you have the pic in a higher resolution?*cough*

[TheTen-EyedMan]

I swear to Batman I tried to edit the thing down in Photobucket.

[Kid Kyoto]

*ahem*

*cough*Do you have the pic in a higher resolution?*cough*

www.heromorph.com

[666MasterOfPuppets]

I swear to Batman I tried to edit the thing down in Photobucket.

Worry not, cuz Kid Kyoto gave us the source.

[Jason1Kent]

Ok, She is in Kandor, then JSA HQ as well with the Legion? also OYL stroyline was bogus. The story has nothing in it to make you care if she lives or dies. Bringing back such a character should have been given more thought. Maybe Jeph leaving left Dido and the boys in a hole (Not suprised if truth be known, don't even start me on the Infinite Cock up)

If they are reading this, tips
1-Follow Bruce Timm's idea

2-More involvement with Clark

3-Bring back Conner!

4-make us care

[geordiesteve]

I've said this somewhere else before, but can't find it so.....

Ignore everything done thus far with the new Loeb launch and then:

1. Character - Make her a real person, not a micro-skirt wearing super-brittney. How would it actually feel to live in the shadow of the world's most powerful and most influential superhero, in the world. He's practically a god to some people, they'v erected statues to the man, and here's you, this teenage girl, trying to live up to that, and do the badge on your chest justice. You might be from the same place but no one knows you. Would she end up an arse like Booster and a sell out, or would she join a super team only to find she can't work with others. Who is she? What does she stand for?

2. A stranger in a strange land. She doesn't know the world, and no matter how much she might have read, there is a world of difference between knowing and doing. She's not an alien like the Manhunter, she looks like everyone else, but she is still a huge outsider. Obviously she would go to Clark for support and counsel, but who else would she mix with, which leads into..

3. Friends and relatives. While it might be nice and repetitive to have her live on the farm, play the niece or latest discount cousin thing with Martha and Jonathan, it's been done to death, make her go out on her own, want to prove that she can make it. Who would be her friends in the superhero community? Who would she get on with? What about ordinary people as friends? Most only see the Shield (or her chest!) so some wouldnt recognise her out of uniform, who are they, why do they interest her and vice versa?

4. Location, location, location - Don't put her in Metropolis (or a bottle city!) so she falls over her cousin every two seconds, how could she possibly hope to differentiate herself or leave any kind of mark or build a reputation for herself if she is always acting as his sidekick, or he just happens to turn up to lend her a hand, which she might resent as it suggest he doesn't trust her abilities or judgment.

I could add a lot more but I'm supposed to be working, basically, just make her real, interesting, and not a cookie-cut teen bimbo pop-idol type bit of fluff that will titilate teenage boys.

[Ontir]

You're on the right track there.

I'd like to see some interaction between she and Kal from time to time, where they're say speaking <Kryptonese> and she corrects him on syntax, or something, demonstrating that while He's the Last Son of Krypton, she's the Last Person OF Krypton. A greater exploration of the new/current Krypton can be done through Kara, because she's got first-hand knowledge of it.

There should be some frustration, on her part, from time to time. She's from a highly advanced world, with great technological abilities, stuck in what would to her, be the Dark Ages. I'd like to see her check out other worlds, trying to find a place that's more like home.

One of the things I liked a great deal from the late 60's - early 70's Supergirl, was that she had a wardrobe, not just a costume. Even before the Wasp got into it, Supergirl changed her costume - often. That's something that should be brought back.

Romantically, it might be interesting to pair her up with the New Starman. He's from a more advanced time, she's from a more advanced world, they're both strangers in a strange land, and if both have a book, it would make for some interesting cross-overs. That is, if she doesn't continue to go back and forth between the present and the Legion, although it might be interesting to have her torn between the world where her cousin is, and the time-lost Thom Kallor/Danny Blaine Starman, and the Legion's time (where there's a different Thom Kallor), and Cosmic Boy.

I'd like to see Supergirl get a city, someplace new, like Opal, that's her own. A new base of operations, with a supporting cast who is a chosen family.

Along with a supporting cast, she needs a Rogues Gallery. Some real, intense, and capable villains who can really challenge her, more than once.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Cancel her book and put her in Teen Titans. Between that and Legion of Super-Heroes, you'll have both Johns & Waid building up her character into something that can handle a monthly series and they can try again.

In the meantime, give Power Girl a monthly book...

[3D Master]

A few repeated points I agree with from previous:

Character.
Themes.
Human; in a city/school.

Let's make it a bit more in depth:

Basically turn her into DC's Spider-man/Spider-girl. Cracking jokes against her enemies, but mostly trying to have a normal human life. Kinda the opposite of her cousin. Where Superman was adopted by humans and he adopted the Earth, the Earth adopts Kara; or she's trying to make herself be adopted by the Earth. With her homeworld gone, partially to drown out her grief, she'll decide that the Earth will become her home; fully, trying to live there as if she never came from somewhere else. Could be very powerfully part of her personality.

Let her make friends; normal, human, average day friends, and let her tell them her secret once she trusts them. DC has mostly been, and especially lately, all about the powered people to such an extent it seems like the normal people don't even exist. Let her be the girl who is part of the world around her, and let us show the normal people in the world through her eyes.

And don't be afraid of the girl's sexuality. She's hormonal teenaged girl flying around in a short skirt. Joke around with it while she's in the costume, joke around with the normal boys watching the news. Let her have (potential) boyfriend(s), and dates. Also perhaps par the last book, be the one to actually steadily infuses DC Earth with advanced technology, let the humans colonize other planets. You can actually see her make the speech to the UN or just CNN or something: "We Kryptonians were arrogant. We kept all our eggs in just one basket. Now there's just two of us. If humanity wants to survive, it has to spread far and wide, and colonize other uninhabited worlds."

But mostly; just let her be a teenager in the normal world.

[TheTen-EyedMan]

So basically they should have her as Linda Danvers.

Minus the whole demon worshipping thing that was in the last Supergirl series.

That giant cat freaked me out.

[Ontir]

I'd actually like to see PAD's Linda return, and be contrasted between Supergirl and Powergirl. I think it would be interesting if Kara DIDN'T adopt a secret ID, and was "Superman's Cousin" full-time, or maybe picked up on the Mae Kent thing from Matrix, so she can show up at Lois & Clark's from time to time.

[Jack Zodiac]

I'd actually like to see PAD's Linda return, and be contrasted between Supergirl and Powergirl. I think it would be interesting if Kara DIDN'T adopt a secret ID, and was "Superman's Cousin" full-time, or maybe picked up on the Mae Kent thing from Matrix, so she can show up at Lois & Clark's from time to time.

That was Peter's plan, actually. He was going to have Linda return from the Pre-Crisis era she took over for the original Kara Zor-El and become Superwoman, Kara was going to remain on the book as a superheroine on borrowed time, knowing she would eventually need to return to the Pre-Crisis timeline to allow those events to unfold, and Power Girl was going to join the book, making it like Birds of Prey, but for the Superman family.

Which would've been a whole hell of a lot more interesting than this crap.

[J. Robb]

A more interesting question for me would be: how would you fix Power Girl?

Because I think she's a better character but unfortunately in every game of cosmic musical chairs she seems to be left without a seat.

[Jack Zodiac]

I think she's fine now. She knows she's from an Earth that doesn't exist anymore, where she was a girl from Krypton and Superman's cousin, but now she's in a world she was never meant to exist in. She's certainly gotten over her identity crisis funk that's been her schtick for nearly a decade.

[J. Robb]

I think she's fine now. She knows she's from an Earth that doesn't exist anymore, where she was a girl from Krypton and Superman's cousin, but now she's in a world she was never meant to exist in. She's certainly gotten over her identity crisis funk that's been her schtick for nearly a decade.
Yeah, I guess I've just always had an aversion to heroes from other universe/timelines, especially when they're a copy of an already existing hero. As you can imagine, "Cable" and "X-Man" bugged the heck out of me.

I really like the idea of Power Girl as the Golden Age Superman's cousin/adopted daughter, but I'd prefer to see that story in its own world. It's just not as interesting when she exists with another Supergirl, another Superman, etc. Bring back the multiple Earths! :p

Also, I've long wanted to see Power Girl change her name, but not to "Power Woman". I'd forgo the gender identification altogether (she certainly doesn't need it!) and name her "Powerhouse." But I suspect not many will like that idea...

[GUTB]

PG needs to get away from marginal crap teams, and go under Superman's wing. Where SG is superhero nobility, PG is a superhero bully. A commoner with a big attitude and big muscle. She only listens to Superman, and likes to lord her power over villians and other heroes who she believes aren't showing her enough respect.

[Kid Kamikaze10]

PG needs to get away from marginal crap teams, and go under Superman's wing. Where SG is superhero nobility, PG is a superhero bully. A commoner with a big attitude and big muscle. She only listens to Superman, and likes to lord her power over villians and other heroes who she believes aren't showing her enough respect.

I really hope this was a joke.

[TheTen-EyedMan]

Also, I've long wanted to see Power Girl change her name, but not to "Power Woman". I'd forgo the gender identification altogether (she certainly doesn't need it!) and name her "Powerhouse." But I suspect not many will like that idea...


Photon

Or is that joke redundant?

[jadegiant77]

two words:

RETCON PUNCH.

Superboy-Prime's punch has a delayed reaction and erases this Supergirl from continuity. The Supergirl from Many Happy Returns is left as the TRUE Supergirl, with Power Girl and the Linda Danvers Supergirl as her mentors.

Or a kryptonite bullet to the back of the head. Whatever.

[jadegiant77]

A Powergirl Vs SuperCypher fight would look something like this.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/Drtzintzin/tZIN%202/PowerGirl-Huge.jpg

This picture makes me happy in my pants...hehehe I especially enjoyed "Supergirl" having her ass handed to her by Power Girl, as would really happen in a real fight between them.

BTW, anyone remember that short film on I-Film that had Power Girl looking through the want adds for a job? That was funny as hell.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

two words:

RETCON PUNCH.

Superboy-Prime's punch has a delayed reaction and erases this Supergirl from continuity. The Supergirl from Many Happy Returns is left as the TRUE Supergirl, with Power Girl and the Linda Danvers Supergirl as her mentors.

Or a kryptonite bullet to the back of the head. Whatever.

I'd prefer the second option. If anything, there should be two Kryptonians left: Superman and Power Girl (I don't care about her, cuz she's from another universe, so she doesn't really count).

EDIT: BTW, since DC seems to be making some stuff to bring Zod back, it could possibly be a good thing. Possibly.

[Mulett]

Supergirl's stories don't take place in a real world, in the way other heroes do. She has no secret identity, no friends, no job, no 'humans' to interact with. Every story seems to be some way-out-there, hardcore super-powered fight and it is difficult to care about a character that is so far removed from ordinary people.

Her comic reminds me of Extreme Justice, the JLA spin off that had all the mega-powered JLA members fighting mega-powered villains each issue with no interaction with ordinary people. The stories just didn't work because the characters were too caught up in their own world and - frankly - it wasn't that interesting.

Supergirl is going the same way. She needs a home, some friends, and she also needs to be shown as someone learning to use her powers, rather than someone who seems to just know how to use them from day one.

[geordiesteve]

it is difficult to care about a character that is so far removed from ordinary people.


Bingo, this hits the nail right on the head.

I hope you're listening DC!!!! Dan? Can you hear me, Dan??? Hello???

[chriskenny]

Supergirl's stories don't take place in a real world, in the way other heroes do. She has no secret identity, no friends, no job, no 'humans' to interact with. Every story seems to be some way-out-there, hardcore super-powered fight and it is difficult to care about a character that is so far removed from ordinary people.

Her comic reminds me of Extreme Justice, the JLA spin off that had all the mega-powered JLA members fighting mega-powered villains each issue with no interaction with ordinary people. The stories just didn't work because the characters were too caught up in their own world and - frankly - it wasn't that interesting.

Supergirl is going the same way. She needs a home, some friends, and she also needs to be shown as someone learning to use her powers, rather than someone who seems to just know how to use them from day one.

I agree. This is the single biggest problem with the book. Superhero books should be about extraordinary people AMONG the ordinary masses. And the fact is that we don't see that contrast enough. We don't see Supergirl forced to fit in at a school and hide her true self or make friends with people who don't really understand her (and then explore the dichotomy and relate it to being a teenager in general). The fact is that her comic is a glorified coloring book of action heroes. And it needs to be more grounded.

[Lorendiac]

I agree. This is the single biggest problem with the book. Superhero books should be about extraordinary people AMONG the ordinary masses. And the fact is that we don't see that contrast enough. We don't see Supergirl forced to fit in at a school and hide her true self or make friends with people who don't really understand her (and then explore the dichotomy and relate it to being a teenager in general). The fact is that her comic is a glorified coloring book of action heroes. And it needs to be more grounded.

You've reminded me of something. Back around 1993, I bought a set of the first four-issue story arc featuring Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S. I believe I read it straight through in one sitting. Afterwards, I felt dissatisfied. The art was very nice (since Lee did it himself). The dialogue was reasonably snappy, I felt. Perhaps not the catchiest dialogue I'd ever seen in a group title, but passable. (I think Brandon Choi was the scripter.) But I just hadn't gotten as interested in the WildC.A.T.S at first glance as I have been known to do with other superheroes when I read one of their adventures "for the very first time" (or return to an old title after an absence of several years).

The plot had been exciting enough, but something was missing. I asked myself what.

After a few minutes, it hit me. The WildC.A.T.S. had seemed to spend almost all their time, for four issues, talking to each other, training with each other, fighting Daemonites and superpowered mercenaries in colorful costumes, and so forth . . . and almost never "getting a life" by interacting with anybody else at the level of "ordinary people." We didn't see them trying to juggle the responsibilities of fighting evildoers with the task of trying to maintain any sort of social life with nice ordinary civilian friends, relatives, people they wanted to date, or whatever. We didn't see them pursuing any hobbies or working on college degrees in their spare time or anything like that. I don't think we were too clear on whether any of the WildC.A.T.S. even had any close living relatives they stayed in touch with -- parents, brothers, sisters, etc. It would have been nice to see a few such scenes as interludes between all the scenes where they were fighting their way out of traps and unmasking Daemonites and so on and so forth, to show that they knew there was more to life than running around in spandex trying to save the world, page after page.

[chriskenny]

You've reminded me of something. Back around 1993, I bought a set of the first four-issue story arc featuring Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S. I believe I read it straight through in one sitting. Afterwards, I felt dissatisfied. The art was very nice (since Lee did it himself). The dialogue was reasonably snappy, I felt. Perhaps not the catchiest dialogue I'd ever seen in a group title, but passable. (I think Brandon Choi was the scripter.) But I just hadn't gotten as interested in the WildC.A.T.S at first glance as I have been known to do with other superheroes when I read one of their adventures "for the very first time" (or return to an old title after an absence of several years).

The plot had been exciting enough, but something was missing. I asked myself what.

After a few minutes, it hit me. The WildC.A.T.S. had seemed to spend almost all their time, for four issues, talking to each other, training with each other, fighting Daemonites and superpowered mercenaries in colorful costumes, and so forth . . . and almost never "getting a life" by interacting with anybody else at the level of "ordinary people." We didn't see them trying to juggle the responsibilities of fighting evildoers with the task of trying to maintain any sort of social life with nice ordinary civilian friends, relatives, people they wanted to date, or whatever. We didn't see them pursuing any hobbies or working on college degrees in their spare time or anything like that. I don't think we were too clear on whether any of the WildC.A.T.S. even had any close living relatives they stayed in touch with -- parents, brothers, sisters, etc. It would have been nice to see a few such scenes as interludes between all the scenes where they were fighting their way out of traps and unmasking Daemonites and so on and so forth, to show that they knew there was more to life than running around in spandex trying to save the world, page after page.

Yeah. That is a perfect example. As an example that is the opposite of WildC.A.T.S. but supports the sentiment, look at early Fantastic Four. Sure, you had crazy Kirby landscapes and characters that occupied that space that defied all kinds of rules that governed reality. HOWEVER... The Thing struggled with being accepted back at his old neighborhood (the ultimate "you can't go home again"), Reed Richards struggled with financial issues and bankruptcy, Sue became a wife and then a mom, and Johnny reveled in being a shallow, entitled teen. The Negative Zone, the Inhumans, Galactus, Silver Surfer, and Doctor Doom were all conceits that hung on a world full of themes and struggles for the audience to identify with. An access point that we could all enter so that we had an emotional investment in the stories. Even when the Fantastic Four struggled wtih the peaks and valleys of celebrity, we at least had the references of the gossip rags and the teen idol magazines to at least have a point of view on that subplot---everything had the subtext of REAL LIFE AND CULTURE.

Supergirl has NONE of that.

[Captain Smith]

It is still possible that SG is a construct from Myx-ie. Let him appear and zap her into nothingness. Clark can cry a bit.

I really think the book stunk. If they wanted to have a SG - they could have gotten Kara from Earth - 1 zapped out of the COIE Heaven and revived like Hal or Ollie, etc. Then she could deal with the current Supes being such an unpleasant guy.

[protege]

care to explain that?

[Ontir]

I don't think Mxyztplk has anything to do with her. I DO think that Zod has a great deal to do with her though. My theory, is that the "Zor-el" stuff is B.S, and the "dark Supergirl" is important because she is actually the daughter of Zod! That's my theory, anyway...

[666MasterOfPuppets]

I don't think Mxyztplk has anything to do with her. I DO think that Zod has a great deal to do with her though. My theory, is that the "Zor-el" stuff is B.S, and the "dark Supergirl" is important because she is actually the daughter of Zod! That's my theory, anyway...

However, I wouldn't mind if Mxyzptlk appeared and sent her to eternal oblivion...

[GUTB]

All I can say is: thank GOD you people don't get to write comic books.

Want comics in which super-powered heroes interact with normal people? They're called Action Comics, Superman, and Adventures of Superman. Too bad they sell like crap, I guess that puts you guys in the comic-reading minority.

We don't read comics for normals, we read them for supers. Not that Supergirl is a GOOD comics -- it suffers from crap art, crap plots, crap dialogue, etc. But having a comic about her girlfirends, school life, and family is only taking something bad and making it vastly worse.

[Lorendiac]

All I can say is: thank GOD you people don't get to write comic books.

Okay, there's an opinion I didn't expect! I disagree with it, but I have to admire how frank you were about sharing what you really feel on this subject! Came as a breath of fresh air, in a way, to see such a firm stand against some of the things that I and others were saying we'd like to do if we had the chance! :)

I've got a question. If I follow you, you dislike the current crop of Superman-based titles because he spends so much time interacting with "normal" people, in his life as Clark Kent -- especially with his wife Lois, I suppose, and others. And you dislike the current Supergirl series because of the art, plotting, and dialogue.

So I'm just wondering: Can you name a few things you've really liked in the superhero genre that met your standards and didn't waste too much time on the hero's social life with normal people in his spare time? This is a sincere question. If you mention a few specific examples that I might already be familiar with, such as "Mister So-and-so's run on Character X in the late 90s" (or whatever!) then that will give me a better understanding of just which way your tastes run and what you consider to be "great examples" of the right way to do superhero comic books! :)

[GUTB]

Identity Crisis, which was incredibly self-absorbed super-heroes dealing soley with one another. I'll note that I'm in the great majority on this one.

Civil War, which is another incredibly self-absorbed super-hero series in which the super-heroes do almost nothing except deal with one another. I'll note that I'm in the great majority on tthis one.

[Ontir]

All I can say is: thank GOD you people don't get to write comic books.

Want comics in which super-powered heroes interact with normal people? They're called Action Comics, Superman, and Adventures of Superman. Too bad they sell like crap, I guess that puts you guys in the comic-reading minority.

We don't read comics for normals, we read them for supers. Not that Supergirl is a GOOD comics -- it suffers from crap art, crap plots, crap dialogue, etc. But having a comic about her girlfirends, school life, and family is only taking something bad and making it vastly worse.

What are you talking about?

[Pól Rua]

How would I fix Supergirl?

Easy. Put Gail Simone on the writing. Alan Davis on the art.

Then get out of the way.

Good call on both counts.
A friend of mine recently came into the comic shop where I work. Her younger sister is a big fan of Supergirl mainly based on the JLU Animated series, but in general, as an iconic character. Unfortunately, all I had to offer her was porny art featuring a stick-thin Britney-a-like swanning about in a series of nonsensical slugfests designed to titilate a bunch of overly hormonal males who really really need to understand that there are REAL ACTUAL WOMEN OUT THERE, and that no matter how much they love her, Supergirl will never be their girlfriend.
Frankly, I'd like to see a Supergirl title being all-ages appropriate, collected in digest form and squarely aimed at younger female readers.
For other creators I'd love to see working on the character, howabout Mike Allred, Evan Dorkin, Scott McCloud, Darwyn Cooke, Jaime Hernandez?

[J. Robb]

Frankly, I'd like to see a Supergirl title being all-ages appropriate, collected in digest form and squarely aimed at younger female readers.
I agree 100%. And I consider "aimed at younger readers" in the "Harry Potter" sense in that it can entertain adults looking for a fun story as well.

[Pól Rua]

I've always been of the opinion that the best children's entertainment, whether it be by Chuck Jones, Roald Dahl or Hayao Miyazaki should be, if not entertaining, at least able to be appreciated by adults.

[KET]

Want comics in which super-powered heroes interact with normal people? They're called Action Comics, Superman, and Adventures of Superman. Too bad they sell like crap, I guess that puts you guys in the comic-reading minority.

Funny....I thought they usually lodged around the Top 50 titles every month.


We don't read comics for normals, we read them for supers.

Jeph Loeb, is that you??? :D


But having a comic about her girlfirends, school life, and family is only taking something bad and making it vastly worse.

No, it's called "giving the character a supporting cast" and perhaps, a reason to care about her at all.

[geordiesteve]

Identity Crisis, which was incredibly self-absorbed super-heroes dealing soley with one another. I'll note that I'm in the great majority on this one.

Civil War, which is another incredibly self-absorbed super-hero series in which the super-heroes do almost nothing except deal with one another. I'll note that I'm in the great majority on tthis one.

What does that mean? do you mean you liked them? In the majority on what?

IC was terrible in my opinion, it was just, awful. A massive story, with a hundred or more characters, cramped into 7 oversized issues.

Civil War on the other hand, is clean, crisp and I'm actually invested in the story and the characters and give a crud about the outcome.

Oh, and I don't read the Superman comics you mentioned as they're just not up my street, and don't fit with what I and a couple of others suggested for Supergirl. He's a different kettle of fish and you can't treat stories about the two of them in the same way, given that he is an established icon and hero the masses, she is brand new etc.