#i do think kara should go from supergirl to superwoman

[karaspal]

clark should always pass the superman mantle to his adopted children only. superman is not just a superhero name, it’s part of his identity. it gives him a sense of belonging in his adoptive world, while still honouring his birth one. it’s a celebration of both his homes. it also gives him the freedom to be fully himself. it’s much more meaningful for clark to pass the superman mantle to chris, otho or osul. he was the one to take them in and make them feel at home. he was the one to give them a better tomorrow. clark saw his younger self in these kids. and these kids see their bright future in him. because he, just like them, was once just an orphaned little boy who never felt like he belonged. but he survived the storm. and look at him now, he is superman. if he can come out stronger on the other side, so can they.

[bisupergirl]

Random, but I wanted to ask: if you had the chance, what would be your ideal vision for the superfamily? Like present, and then how things play out in the future. What names would everyone go by, and that teams/units would they be apart of?

ok so specifically for kara i think it'd be good if she left metropolis after this current arc about metallo + his sister. there's just so many superfam characters in action comics rn, and while i think pkj is doing an alright job all things considered with balancing them all, kara really only gets to be in the background with maybe one line of dialog if she's lucky. i wouldn't necessarily mind if she went back to national city, but i think it'd also be fun if she went back to one of the cities she's been connected to in the past like new york or san francisco or chicago.

i'd really like it if they let kara move on from the supergirl mantle. it can be superwoman (and i think it'd be cool if they just took the "kara zor el, superwoman" title from kara's future state series for any new ongoing she gets) or something specifically more kryptonian (i also think it'd be cool if she became flamebird). idk like it's been talked about on here a lot but it is so incredibly lame that jon instantly got to go from superboy -> superman the moment he grew up but kara has to stay as supergirl just for brand recognition or whatever lmao.

i wouldn't put kara on any pre-existing team like the justice league or titans or anything like that just bc i don't think it would do her any good AND she's never really been a team player. even when she was with the legion of super-heroes she wasn't like a fully committed member (both in pre and post crisis), and she likewise wasn't a super committed member when she was with the teen titans in post crisis. ideally i'd just like to see her team up with different heroes and make lasting connections with different people in the dcu since she's never really been allowed to do that.

something that i desperately want is for her and nia nal to have a full dedicated arc together. it is SO upsetting to me that JON and nia have a legitimate friendship with each other whereas kara and nia have only briefly met…… but whatever. i'd also love for kara to interact more with the amazons like she used to! i think a kara + artemis team up could be really fun, and kara + diana of course. and then even though i want kara to leave metropolis, i also want her to develop her relationship with otho and osul ra. i've just finished reading the warworld arc of action comics and i loveddd it, and i think that there's so much to explore with kara and the super twins' dynamic. and even though i think it's fun when kara and bruce solve a mystery together (love you the brave and the bold vol 1 #160), nothing good comes out of a non-bat character teaming up with a batfam member so i want her to stay 1000 miles away from gotham.

ok this got kind of long so i'll briefly talk about the other superfam members under the cut:

for pretty much everyone else, i think pkj and joshua williams should just keep doing what they're doing in action comics and superman. i'm really enjoying both titles rn and i really recommend them, not just because the art on both are fantastic (with rafa sandoval on action and jamal campbell on superman) but also because i think both storylines are very intriguing.

to single someone out: i think jon should start going by a different name than "superman", and i'm not even saying that as a jon hater. him being superman is the most boring and predictable route they could've gone with his character, and i think it would be genuinely helpful to his image if he chose a different mantle to go by. i don't have any suggestions, but i just think his character needs a shake-up in more ways than one.

but yeah :) i don't really have any super in-depth thoughts about the other superfam characters just bc i'm really enjoying what's coming out right now (everyone should read action comics and superman NOW!!!!!).

[from-a-reckless-writer]

ii. secret.

read on ao3

Lena Luthor dies a villain.

Her death took out half the population in the vicinity. A blinding white light piercing through the National City skyline. A deafening boom heard 5 cities over. An explosion so great, even Supergirl was knocked dead.

And so, Lena Luthor dies a villain.

Alone and young. And so, so bitter. An accomplice and ally to Lex Luthor.

Some would even say she was a greater, far more cunning, far more terrifying force than Lex.

There were rumors that the woman had magic at the end of it all. That no one person could be capable of that much destruction without the help of something inhuman.

But well, rumors were all it can be, especially when all possible witnesses perished along with the Luthors.

******

Weeks later, Andrea Rojas holds a memorial event for Lena Luthor; protesters burn the venue to the ground.

Months later, Supergirl returns to the world. More radiant than ever. More alive than ever. Stronger. Better.

Years later, National City recovers fully from the whole catastrophe.

Supergirl is reported to most frequently be seen in the memorial square for the fallen victims. A dozen paparazzi pictures of the caped heroine quietly walking, sometimes whispering under breath.

Praying, somebody on a CatCo article comments. She’s always praying whenever we see her there.

****** The closet doors burst open and out steps Alex Danvers.

A colorful stream of expletives coming right along with her, “Fuckin’ fur coats, goddamn hangers, fucking hitting me in the face—”

“Took you long enough,” a familiar voice greets her, “where the hell have you been? And why are you so...dirty? If you track mud on my carpet I swear to God, Alex—”

“I was cleaning your grave, okay?” she snaps, setting down a bucket filled with various cleaning supplies, that Lena’s just now noticing, on said carpet.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alex huffs about, crossing her arms, “You don’t have to make a big deal about it. I don’t want to do it again, it’s a bitch for my back pain. I was just pissed about the graffiti. You’d think people would have better manners than defacing the grave of a dead woman. If only they—”

“Thank you, Alex,” she cuts her off, a shy smile gracing her face. She really doesn’t want to hear about the rest of it. And if Alex doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it, then no big deal shall be made.

“There’s coffee in the kitchen,” she says then, and Alex just nods, grabs her bucket of supplies again and turns to leave.

Although not before saying, “Remind me again why you let Kara win? With the portal?”

Lena just shrugs, dark hair escaping out of her messy bun at the movement.

“She said she’s always wanted to go to Narnia.”

Alex shakes her head, rolls her eyes, “Whipped.”

And well, that sounds about right.

******

There’s a documentary on Netflix about the Luthors. Lena’s face in black and white, on the preview banner, a big red X drawn over it.

Kara snaps the remote in half.

Lena reaches over the blanket, grabs her hand, flicks the TV off with only a swish of her fingers and a glitter of sparks.

“C’mere,” she says, tugging gently, till she has a lapful of Krytonian draped over her. Lena traces her fingers over the crinkle between Kara’s brow, smooths them out, thumb dragging across lips till it pulls to a soft smile.

“We know the truth,” she tells her, “and that’s enough.”

“It’s not fair.”

Nothing ever is.

******

“How’re the kids?” She asks, one hand whisking eggs, the other holding the bowl steady.

“Oh, you know, asking me a thousand silly questions a day. Driving Alex crazy. Never letting me sleep. They’re perfect, really,” Kelly says, and Lena hums in response. Before she catches Kelly popping a blueberry in her mouth, a crime punishable by Lena Luthor’s death stare.

“Those are for the muffins.” A foam covered whisk points dangerously to Kelly’s chest.

She raises both arms in surrender, palms opening, dropping the remaining three blueberries onto the counter.

“You know, I’ve seen you do it a thousand times, yet it still doesn’t fail to surprise me.”

Lena concludes she’s talking about the baking tray hovering in the air, a feet away from them, greasing itself. Or maybe it’s the soup at the stove with a ladle stirring itself.

“What can I say,” Lena quips, smirking, “I’m magical like that.”

******

Andrea finds her on a Tuesday.

One minute Lena is reading quietly on her front porch, the next, there is an explosion of sound in her living room. She throws open her door, magical energy sizzling at her fingertips.

The sight that greets her stops her in her tracks. Acrata pinning Supergirl down, their coffee table destroyed. She sighs internally, she loved that coffee table. It was a wedding gift from Nia and Brainy.

“I knew it,” Andrea whispers, her grip slackens around the hero's throat. She stands up slowly, as if afraid that if she moved too fast Lena would disappear. She leaves Supergirl gasping on the floor; materializes in front of Lena in a cloud of black smoke.

“I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.” She sobs into Lena’s blouse, arms wrapped tightly around her. Lena embraces her on instinct, her eyes closing briefly, before opening up again to check on Kara dusting herself off.

“Andrea,” Lena croaks, “you can’t tell anyone.”

You can’t tell anyone I’m alive. You can’t tell anyone how I tricked Lex, how I saved Supergirl, how I saved National City.

“Nobody will know,” Andrea promises her.

******

There is a cottage by the woods that nobody else sees, where every Sunday a blonde woman rips apart pieces of wood with her bare hands, where a pale woman with even paler hands grows crops from the barren earth within seconds, where the closet hides cities instead of clothes, where a dead woman and a hero spend their lives in bliss.

******

It has been ten years, her hair is more gray than blonde now, her skin more wrinkled than smooth, her hearing though? Her hearing is still better than ever. And it has been ten years since she’s heard that tell-tale whoosh of a cape, it’s been a decade and still, the sound brings her the same thrill, the same adrenaline.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Supergirl? Or should I say, Superwoman, now?”

And oh-

She did not come alone.

Lena Luthor is set gently down on the balcony.

If Cat Grant wasn’t Cat Grant, she’s sure she would’ve already suffered a heart attack from the mere sight of a woman long dead standing breathing and alive in her home. She would’ve shrieked and demanded answers.

“I need a favor,” Kara tells her, stalking closer, hand on her hip. Cat would’ve laughed at that if this were some other time. No need to play the intimidating game with me, Kiera, she would’ve said.

“What is it?”

“I need you to break a story,” she tells her. “You, Cat. I want you, and nobody else to cover this.”

Cat raises her brow at that, she already has an inkling as to what the story might be about.

“A story hmm? This better be good, if I’m to come out of retirement for it.”

This time it’s Lena Luthor who speaks. Cat has been dying to hear what she has to say.

“It’ll be good," she promises her, "It’ll be better than good."

Kara crowds closer to Lena, then; wraps a protective arm on her waist. Cat watches frozen as Lena's index finger lights in flame. What a sight they make.

"You’ll be telling the entire world the last Luthor’s secret.”

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

ACTION COMICS ANNUAL (2021) fixed the trash fire that was Future State: Superwoman so lemme just RAMBLE about how much I loved it.

Spoilers, obvs.

Folks who read this blog (thank you, but also, my sincere apologies XD) will perhaps recall that I...did not particularly care for the Superwoman book, that came out of Future State.

(Of course, various individuals on twitter have since pointed out that Future State was deliberately set up to be a bad timeline; a future that the current DC books are actively fighting against. So I guess, technically, you could argue that the book was awful on purpose.

Except that, you know, some of the awful stuff was still framed good and inspiring. 

So, okay, but also, no.)

BUT THIS ANNUAL? FIXES EVERY GRIEVANCE I HAVE WITH FUTURE STATE: SUPERWOMAN.

I wasn’t even going into this book with huge expectations for Kara because of Superwoman, but! She’s here! As like, a key component of the House of El!

SHE IS THE LEADER. FOR MANY YEARS, APPARENTLY, WHILE CLARK IS AWAY.

I’m getting ahead of myself.

Backtracking a bit: this book begins with a framing device, featuring a group of Kryptonian refugees that have been introduced recently in Action Comics. 

We’ve got an older guy, Byla, telling a bunch of kids stories about The House of El.

Which is how we get back to the characters introduced in the initial House of El oneshot: Brandon, Theand’r, Ronan, Rowan, etc.

And, to be clear! I was excited for this book, knowing it would be about these guys! And these guys alone! Because they’re very cool! And there’s clearly like, a whole history and mythology just simmering below the surface and MAN. I wish we had a House of El ongoing. XD

They’re all gathered on Sanctuary to attend the wedding of Alura Van-El and Khan.

So FIX NUMBER ONE: The moon sanctuary introduced in Superwoman is no longer home to a bunch of rando jerks; rather, it’s an ACTUAL sanctuary for aliens/folks who need it, AND there are a BUNCH of House of El family members!

PKJ clarified on twitter that the ‘Sanctuary’ is built from Kara’s Fortress of Sanctuary, and that it’s a city that functions a little like Camelot. They grant refuge to all, and the members of the House of El act as a kind of Knights of the Round Table, protecting anyone who needs their help.)

THUS!! The actual dream of Kara’s Fortress is realized, AND she is SURROUNDED by friends, family, and loved ones, as opposed to dying alone. On the moon. With just her dog to keep her company.

Anyways it’s great. We love to see it.

FIX NUMBER TWO: Kara displays an emotion OTHER than barely-suppressed rage, and is genuinely happy to be overseeing this wedding!

Like, there’s no background, simmering animosity towards her cousins. 

Byla even hints at another ‘tale of the House of El’ where Kara and Clark meet again! And presumably get along okay!

FIX NUMBER THREE: The Superwoman mantle is passed down to Theand’r! 

Future State: Superwoman made a big to-do about how the Supergirl name was so singular that Kara never gave it to anyone (which is so STUPID because if your big thesis is how inspiring Kara is as an individual but you say, ‘no one else gets to be Supergirl’ you kinda undermine your own point.)

(Imagine if Into the Spider-Verse spent all that time building up how inspiring Spider-Man is as a hero, and then in an epilogue narrated by Miles, he revealed that no one else ever became ‘Spider-Man’, and that the name died with Peter.)

(That would be DUMB, right?????)

This isn’t passing the Supergirl mantle, but it’s passing the Superwoman mantle, so it’s close! Which, hey. I’ll take it. XD

FIX NUMBER FOUR: Kara actually comes across as the mature, adult leader of the House of El. This ties into the whole ‘she’s not a walking bundle of barely-contained rage’ bit; she’s, like. Graceful and dignified and very clearly no longer a kid/teenager. 

Literal and figurative character growth! WOOOOOOO. 

FIX NUMBER FIVE: There isn’t the gross ‘birthright’/’pure-blooded Kryptonians are stronger/better’ element in play. In fact! Pyrrhos, the bad guy, calls Kara a traitor for allowing the ‘diluting of Clark’s bloodline’ e.g. letting folks who AREN’T Els by blood become part of the fam.  

FIX NUMBER SIX: Kara gets angry at Cyborg Superman (the original one, not her dad) but it never devolves into murderous rage, as it does in Superwoman. She PARDONS him!

Mercy! Sympathy!

AaaaaAAAAhhhhhh love it. LOVE IT.

And so! Nearly every. Major. Complaint I had regarding Superwoman is fixed in this Annual.

*happy sigh*

Some final thoughts on the Annual overall, so as not to make this COMPLETELY about Kara. ...Well. Moreso than I already have, anyway.

The art is solid, though I feel for the artist who had to share the book with Godlewski; it’s not that their art is bad, it’s just that Godlewski is very, VERY good, so his pages look a touch more polished and confident.

That said, the character art throughout? Excellent. This is a cool, varied cast and both artists do a great job with all the designs/costumes etc.

(Well, okay, Kara’s costume looks a little weird at times; I like the costume but I honestly think they should’ve stuck with the costume introduced in Superman of Metropolis, it’s much easier for artists to replicate.)

(But also like. The Superwoman costume looks more stately/’grown-up’ so I get it.) 

I WANT TO SEE MORE OF BRANDON AND HIS KID.

I want to see more of ALL of these characters but you KNOW I found the two of them particularly endearing.

I love that the House of El has a Brainiac!

As is right and good, and should always be!

Overall, SO GLAD the annual allowed us to go on another adventure with these guys, and hope that PKJ has opportunities in the future to weave them in a bit more.

There’s already a cool connection brewing with the new character introduced in Action Comics proper. Thao-La, I think her name is? Can’t wait to see where that goes!

[kassies-take]

Mission Failed

Summary: Kara and Lena’s daughter (your name will be Lauren in this) has been kidnapped, what they find changes their life and breaks their heart

A/n: Missing Supercorp hours

Warning: Angst & Torture

Supercorp, Lena Luthor x Reader, Kara Danvers x Reader

Word Count: 2077

Two boys — twins with dirty blond hair, greenish blue eyes and defined jaws — walked into the Zor El Luthor Danvers home. The two distinct differences between the two was that Liam wore lead-lined glasses while the younger, Lucas, wore lead-lined contacts courtesy of L-Corp tech.

“Hi mom,” Liam kissed Lena on the check while side hugging her before he moved to the other side of the white marble kitchen island towards the refrigerator.

Lucas followed suit with a bone-crushing hug. Lena goaned, her fragile human body screamed at her to get out of the hug. Lucas released his grip from around his mother and barely dodged Lena’s hand as she swatted at the air.

“I’m making stir-fry, do you want some?” Liam asked with ingredients laid out on the island.

“Yes!”

Liam glared at his brother. “I wasn’t asking you, I was asking mom.”

“It’s okay honey, I don’t have your appetite. Thank god you sister doesn’t have the same appetite as you two and Jeju.” Lena frowned, now that she thought about it she didn’t feel the usual back hug from you when she worked at home. “Where is your little sister?”

“Ren said she was going to Catco, she wanted to show Jeju the photos she took.” Lucas opened the fridge.

“I’m sure Lauren or Jeju would call if something was wrong,” Lena said before a few clicks were heard and the laptop shut. “You boys want to help with dinner?”

“What are we making?” The two asked.

“Irish stew?”

The two boys cheered.

“We’re eating good tonight!”

“At least you boys have a different favorite food from Kara.”

Around three hours later when the stew was finished the balcony door beeped before it opened.

“It smells good in here!” Kara’s suit dematerialized and hugged Lena.

“Hey, where’s Lauren?”

“Is she not home? She left earlier than I did.”

“She’s not home.”

“I’ll call Nia and see if she saw Lauren.”

“I’ll call Lauren.” Lena moved to her phone.

Kara picked up her phone and was about to dial Nia’s number when she put her arms to the side and walked towards the door. The door swung open before you could pull out your key.

“Oh, Jeju look what Aunt Nia and I did.”

Lena pushed past Kara and held you tightly. “Oh, hi!” You equally matched Lena’s strength and hugged her.

No matter how many times Kara saw this, this moment between the mother daughter duo, it never ceases to amaze her that you are a carbon copy of Lena. With the exception of Kara’s ocean blue eye.

“Little Luthor and I were out in the area doing long exposures with dream energy. Must’ve forgotten to call you. See you tomorrow Kara, bye Lena!” Nia dashed off before the could run after her.

“How about you go get changed up and you can show me your long exposure after Irish stew.”

“Okay,” you ran off into your room.

“Are you okay?” Kara wrapped her arms around Lena.

“I’m okay, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you have the face you make when me or the boys get hurt from superhero work.”

“You and the boys are bulletproof, Lauren doesn’t have powers. I can’t help but think someone is going to hurt her because she is a Luthor.”

“If she’s anything like a Luthor she is gonna give one hell of a fight.”

~~~~~

“Alex, it was a trap!” Kara’s grunts mixed with the sounds of guns going off in the background. “Don’t send reenforcements, we don’t know how many are there. The place is lined with lead and power dampeners. They knew we were coming.”

“Alex, pull them out!” Lena pleaded.

“It’s not that easy, it’s raining fire everywhere,” Alex braised herself against the D.E.O command center.

“My wife and sons are out there!”

“So is Nia and J’onn!”

“Director Danvers! Dreamer’s and Liam’s commutations went offline.” Brainy stood with his tablet to show Alex and Lena.

There was a brief moment of silence in the D.E.O before Brainy suggested that the Supers fly into the outer atmosphere and fly back down to make a shockwave.

Lucas informed Liam and the three Supers looked at each other before taking off into the sky. The landing’s aftershock threw the enemies off balance. The Luthor-Danvers boys wrapped them with ropes and nets found in a room earlier.

“Where is the alien tech?” Kara asked with her hands on her hip. The two twins stood behind her with matching red and blue suits, and a few other golden strips around their arms.

“There isn’t any.” The leader laughed. “Isn’t it funny how you heroes try to prevent fate from happening. Now everyone in National City will know they can’t mess with fate because no matter how much you heroes try, it wouldn’t be enough!”

Kara rolled her eyes and walked away to inform J’onn and Nia as a D.E.O unit came to detain the villains of the week.

“We will do everything in our effort to stop threats and keep the world safe from the likes of you. We already stopped you.” Lucas smirked.

“But who kept Lauren Luthor safe?” Kara’s head turned towards the laughing maniac.

“How do you know Lauren Luthor!” Kara marched back.

“Careful there Supergirl. You’d want your daughter back in one piece wouldn’t you?” The man smirked before Kara knocked him out with a punch.

Lena stood frozen at the D.E.O, she let out a cry before her knees gave up and she fell to the floor. Brainy had just confirmed that your tracker was untraceable amidst the chaos. Your phone, unavailable.

Liam and Lucas went back to school to see if your friends had seen you, but the last anyone saw of you was when Kara and Lena went to pick up Liam and Lucas. They had thought you left with them but Lena had told you to go back to school.

Kara broke the sound barrier easily, circling the Earth countless times trying to find you. Nia could dream where you were and J’onn couldn’t find your mind.

Lena, poor Lena hasn’t stopped crying. She didn’t feel Alex’s arms around her, she didn’t care for several agents looking at her. She wrapped herself in her arms, looking for a sense of comfort she couldn’t feel.

Liam and Lucas flew in the D.E.O through the balcony. Their eyes swimming in red. They pulled Lena into their arms.

Alex used this opportunity to call Kara back.

“Alex they have my daughter!”

“I know... I want her as badly as you do, but you have circled the Earth 6 times already and your wife and your sons need you right now.”

~~~~~

It had been a month. A month, a week, 10 hours, 18 minutes and 50 seconds. Lena couldn’t helped but count, her mind was left for nothing but finding you. She and Kara both took a break from their respective jobs, spending every waking moment trying to find you.

The twins found it hard to concentrate on school. But they pushed through knowing you would’ve wanted them to.

Your hands were chained above your head, suspended a couple of inches in the air. Your lip had split with a black eye forming. The famous Luthor glare burning holes into the two masked men in the video.

“Here’s the deal, Superwoman reveals her identity to the world and we won’t kill your daughter.”

“Wait Wait this was the whole plan? Beat me up so Superwoman would reveal her identity to the world? What the heck was the point of kidnapping me when you could’ve revealed her secret identity yourself. You’re the one stalking us!”

“Boss should I shut her up?”

“If you need to ask, you already should’ve done it.” The man turned to his henchman, gave him a knife and gestured towards your face.

“You see I just wanted to get you riled up. I knew Superwoman’s identity even when she was Supergirl. And she left me like this,” the man pulled off his mask revealing a familiar face Kara hated her first year as Supergirl, Maxwell Lord.

His face half burnt almost mechanical. No flesh, only bones and nerves.

“Am I supposed to know who you are?” You asked.

“No but your mother knows who I am. Your mom couldn’t save everyone and now she can’t save you. But she can do everything I say or your pretty face would be like mine.”

You moved into the knife that was pushed against on your face. It drew blood as you smirked.

Lord whooped. “You are bad ass! But that will change. I’ll be in touch...Kara.”

Lena rubbed her face in her hands. They’ve gotten nothing from the video. Each day she grew less and less sane, she buried herself in her home lab or in the D.E.O. Falling back to old habits of unhealthy hours and little to no meals.

And if Lena was falling back into old habits, Kara acted like a prisoner from Arkham. She’d pace the rooms blaming herself for what happened to her daughter.

You weren’t kidnapped because you were a Luthor, you were kidnapped because you were a Zor-El Danvers.

Lena’s and Kara’s relationship fell a little on the rocky kryptonite side. Arguments would break, they would even get noise complaints by the neighbors. They both spent late hours of the night on encryption or circling the Earth, the little hours they did sleep was spent on soaking pillows and in each other’s arms.

It wasn’t until a very similar night, both Kara and Lena had just fallen asleep when the D.E.O got a lead. Alex, Lena and Kara were immediately contacted. They all raced to the D.E.O to prepare. Hopefully it was a rescue and not a recovery.

~~~~~

All the men were taking down, Lord dealt with courtesy of Lena punch and Kara holding him down. Alex ordered the D.E.O take the escaped aliens that were working with Max and Max himself back to the D.E.O, escorted by the Super Twins, Dreamer, Brianiac, and Martian Man Hunter.

Lena, Alex and Kara walked towards the last room. Lena had her lip in between her teeth, Alex’s hand shaking as Kara’s heart pounded. With Kara looking back at her wife and sister for extra confidence, the other few times had been the same but now was nerve taking. It was either that you were her or you weren’t and they were too late.

The steel door dragged against the wooden floor. The room was poorly lit with a orange lightbulb in the center of the room. There were torturing tools, some clean, some rusty and some with a thin line of blood. The three froze, there eyes flooded with tears. Lena gasping for air.

A puddle of blood under the body. Wrists red and pale, ankles puffed out like a balloon. Your head hung low. A rib seen on both sides, the sports bra and spanx stained brown and red. Trails of red drop down your body like splatter paint.

Lena cried loudly when she saw your back designed like an old willow tree mixed with black webs. Lena shakingly reached for your face scared that once she touched you you’d crumble into dust. A purple tennis ball on your right eye and the left side of your face heavily scarred.

“Mom,” you whimpered, recognizing the delicate touch.

“I got you. You’re safe now.”

Alex released the chains from your wrists as Kara’s strong arms swaddled you.

“We’re going to take you back to the D.E.O. You’ll be okay.”

Kara took off into sky. Alex broke several speeding laws under Lena’s instructions ‘Any speeding ticket you get I’ll pay off. Just drive!’

~~~~~

Stitches, bandages, casts and wires flooded your body. The room was bright with every Superfriends littered on the floor.

The scene in front of them wasn’t pretty but Lena and Kara preferred this, knowing you were here.

Lena held onto your hand, using her thumb to rub the back.

“Haha! I win!” Lucas threw pieces of Monopoly at his brother.

“Can’t a girl heal in peace?” You grumbled.

Cheers erupted in the room and a groan afterwards. You had made immediate eye contact with Kelly.

She knew that look, it was the look of needing help without wanting to tell anyone else.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1316

Monday, March 8, 2021

 Coming up on a year since the pandemic started. I hope you're all healthy and safe. I am hopeful that vaccines will be deployed widely and help us all feel less anxious. I am fortunate enough to be one of those people who is happy as a bug snug in a rug while self isolating. I do really miss my dear friends and family but hugs can wait until we're all vaccinated.

 My thanks to Doug for lending me these comic books to read.

 Batman Annual #5 - James Tynion IV (writer) James Stokoe (art) Clayton Cowles (letters). It's the origin of Clownhunter and it's not very original. If I had to pay $4.99 US I would have passed on this and lived with leaving a hole in my Batman collection. If you're not familiar with this new vigilante, he's an Asian teenager named Bao who decides he's going to kill the Joker and all of the villain's sycophants. The reason he becomes Clownhunter (and killer) is very mundane. I wish they could have come up with a new motivator. Maybe the philosophical discussion about what to do about the Joker might interest some fans but I found this story quite tedious. I also didn't like the way Bao and his parents were portrayed. Did they really have an Asian saying "Ah, so"? Yes they did on page 8. Shades of Charlie Chan, Batman. I was not offended, just disappointed.

 Batman/Catwoman #3 - Tom King (writer) Clay Mann (art) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). I was thrilled to see the town of Port Orange, Florida mentioned on the first page. My pal Al lives there. It's also where Selina finally catches up with the Joker and does what Batman never did. I love this Black Label book taking familiar characters and treating them in a new and interesting way. Here's a future where Selina has survived her husband Bruce's death and their daughter Helena is the new Batwoman. Now I wait to see how mother and daughter deal with the Angel of Death.

 And now, more Future State books.

 Future State: Robin Eternal #2 - Meghan Fitzmartin (writer) Eddy Barrows (pencils) Eber Ferreira (inks) Adriano Lucas (colours) Pat Brosseau (letters). The consequence of Tim Drake/Robin being dunked in Lazarus resin is that now he's immortal. Whoop-dee-doo. Not only is this a boring Robin beats up bad guys issue but the art lacked any logical perspective. This issue takes place on a train but you would think it's in a huge building based on the art. I know it's comic books but I hate when one doesn't make visual sense. I think that's just laziness.

 Future State: Kara Zor-El Superwoman #1 & #2 - Marguerite Bennett (writer) Marguerite Sauvage (art) Wes Abbott (letters). This 2-issue fairy tale was not meant for old farts like me and Doug. With it's soft pastel colours these books should have included glitter and bubblegum flavoured lip gloss. Maybe young tween girls will like this. The moral of this story is "no one is born wise".

 Future State: Dark Detective #3 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Dan Mora (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Aditya Bidikar (letters). There are not one but two Batmans in this issue. You've got Bruce in his new capeless costume but here he's wearing a trench coat to give that fluttering effect, and then there's the new guy in the Bat suit, cape and all. The "uh-oh" point of the story hits here when the bad guys discover where Bruce is hiding out. The Matthew Rosenberg (writer) Carmine Di Giandomenico (art) Antonio Fabela (colours) & AndWorld Design (letters) Grifter story concludes here too with a double cross and a whole lot more of Helena/Huntress. This is my favourite Future State book so far.

 Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1 & #2 - Sean Lewis (writer) John Timms (art) Gabe Eltaeb (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). If you're wondering how a grown up Jonathan Kent takes over for his dad as Metropolis's protector then these two $5.99 US books will satisfy your curiosity. The villain of the story is an evolved Brainiac who is a big multi-mouthed ball now. Metropolis is shrunk ala the bottle city of Kandor, the citizens go nuts but Jon returns things back to normal in the end with the help of Kara/Supergirl. I don't know why Kara's a girl in this story and a woman elsewhere. Each issue has two back-ups so you get your money's worth. One features Mister Miracle and the other the Guardian. They are both dealing with bad things inside the bottled Metropolis. You won't miss much if you don't read them. The Mister Miracle story "The Metropolis Menagerie" is done my Brandon Easton (writer) Valentine De Landro (art) Marissa Louise (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). The Guardian story is brought to you by Sean Lewis (writer) Cully Hamner & Michael Avon Oeming (art) Laura Martin (colours) AndWorld Design (letters). This one got me excited because a villain wants to throw Jimmy Olsen off of the Daily Planet building.

 Future State: Catwoman #2 - Ram V (writer) Otto Schmidt (art) Tom Napolitano (letters). Read this to find out if Catwoman saves the lives of the people on the train. You will also find out if Bruce is freed from the bad guys. Talia Al-Ghul appearing is the deus ex machina in this story. I like the new Cheshire and Onomatopoeia is always fun.

 Future State: Superman: Worlds of War #2 - Phillip Kennedy Johnson (writer) Mikel Janin (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) & Dave Sharpe (letters). In "The Many Deaths of Superman" the Man of Steel fights in the arena of Warworld where Mongul resurrects him after every death match. It's the typical brutal battle scenes and super villain gloating. What's more compelling is an old newspaper story that Clark Kent wrote that inspired a young woman who travels to Smallville. I was totally confused by the three back-up stories featuring Mister Miracle, Midnighter and the Black Racer because they were not very good. I am a completist and have to finish what I start. I could have stopped reading after the $3.99 US main story in this bloated $7.99 US comic book  but my obsessive compulsive nature wouldn't let me. It's a character flaw I wish I could change.

 Future State: The Next Batman #1 - John Ridley (writer) Nick Derington (art) Tamra Bonvillain (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). All the teasers for this book hyped the fact that this Batman is black. You won't get the secret identity in this first issue but there are a bunch of likely candidates. Lucas Fox is a possibility but it's confusing because he's a bad guy in another Future State book. This is another $7.99 US book with back-ups. These are more coherent than the ones in Future State: Superman: Worlds of War.

Future State: Outsiders by Brandon Thomas (writer) Sumit Kumar (pencils) Sumit Kumar & Raul Fernandez (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) & Steve Wands (letters) gathers together some old Batman associates helping Gotham City citizens escape persecution by the Magistrates outside Gotham City's borders. Get it? It was nice seeing Katana in action.

Future State: Arkham Knights by Paul Jenkins (writer) Jack Herbert (art) Gabe Eltaeb (colours) & Rob Leigh (letters) gathers together some of Batman's rogues gallery to fight the oppressive Magistrate. Two-Face, Mr. Zsasz, Dr. Phosphorus, Killer Croc and other ex-inmates of Arkham Asylum are being lead by an armoured Astrid Arkham. It's super villains being super heroes.

 Future State: The Next Batman #2 - John Ridley (writer) Nick Derington (breakdowns) Laura Braga (art) Arif Prianto (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). We learn the secret identity of the new caped Batman in this issue. It's Lucas Fox's brother. He has a brother? This also has three new back-up stories.

"Batgirls" is by Vita Ayala (writer) Aneke (art) Trish Mulvihill (colours) & Becca Carey (letters). Batgirl/Orphan Cassandra Cain gets locked up in the Magistrate Detention Facility where both good guys/white hats and bad guys/black coats are incarcerated. She got caught on purpose because her mission is to find Oracle and Batman and free them. She gets help from Spoiler who is queen of the inmates. In this reality Cass is way more articulate than she used to be. I didn't like that. I also didn't like that in the other Future State stories the Magistrate foot soldiers have a shoot to kill order for any masks that they encounter. Why are all of these masks alive? Anyways, this part ends with the white hats and black coats forming an alliance so Cass can get on with her mission.

"Gotham City Sirens: Ladies' Night Out" is by Paula Sevenbergen (writer) Rob Haynes (breakdowns) Emanuela Lupacchino (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) John Kalisz (colours) Becca Carey (letters). Catwoman and Poison Ivy spring a domestic droid named Dee Dee (get it?) from servitude and they have a night on the town at a bar. The bar is run by Sam Bradley and both super heroes and villains can imbibe in peace. Fans of Sex and the City may like this. Not a lot of drama until the last page when the joint is raided by Magistrate goons and major characters are shot.

 Future State: The Next Batman #3 - John Ridley (writer) Nick Derington (breakdowns) Laura Braga (art) Arif Prianto (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). This is the "uh-oh" moment in the story where the hero is felled by the villain. A wounded Batman is attacked by the murderer he's trying to bring to justice. I saw that coming.

I like the change with Black Lightning in the Outsiders back-up.

I like the art in the Arkham Knights back-up even though the dialogue is eye roll inducing.

 Future State: The Next Batman #4 - Jace/Batman lives, as if that was in any doubt. This story would have been a lot more interesting if Bruce/Batman was really dead. Even if the Future State line of comics dies out this Next Batman is a cop out. The Batgirls story ends with Cassandra/Orphan saving Barbara/Oracle and the Resistance gaining ground on the Magistrates. The Gotham City Sirens story ends with Catwoman and Poison Ivy helping the Resistance get an advantage in their war with the Cybers thanks to Dee Dee.

 I admit that I was sucked in by the hype for this mini. The Next Batman being black intrigued me. The story itself was meh and I would not have missed anything by not reading it. I was not engaged as a mature reader but I think someone in their teens might like all the stories in these four issues.

[vima000]

Saving Supergirl Chapter One - Crash Landing

Before You Read: I suggest reading my introduction real quick if you want to get a better understanding of what this fic is about.

https://vima000.tumblr.com/post/632471235536814080/new-fic-update-saving-supergirl

-=-=-=-

EARTH-9

When Nora West-Allen suggested hopping Earths to see how others are recovering from the last few weeks after Crisis, Lorraine should have realized not everything was going to go to plan. Usually when Nora and her go off on their so called “adventures” by themselves or with the Legends, they end up getting caught up in some kind of trouble and this time was no different.

“Okay I know that you wanted to visit the Titans, but now that we have can we please go back home to Earth 72? I still have to finish writing my term paper on molecular physics before my moms realize we disappeared again,” Lorraine complained to Nora as they left the Titans Tower in San Francisco. Ever since Crisis, Nora has been dying to check on her other friends since the large wave of anti-matter hit and destroyed the multiverse. Luckily Oliver’s sacrifice on Earth Prime helped rebirth the multiverse, bringing back some old earths along with new ones.

“Loosen up Lori, everyone knows you can write that paper in your sleep. Plus I think we still have enough charge to visit my parents back on Earth Prime, they don’t even know I'm alive yet.” Nora retorted as they entered an alleyway. Lori was going to complain again about being cautious with the amount of charge left in their courier bracelets until she looked up at Nora and saw the hope and determination in her eyes to see her parents again and apologize. Lori knows how guilty she felt about the events that lead to her death in the old timeline and why she has avoided visiting them until she was ready.

“Fine.” Lori conceded with a pout and Nora did a little happy dance.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Okay i’m so excited! It will be a big surprise!” Nora exclaimed as Lori shook her head with a grin at her friend's antics. 

“All right and hurry up already, what’s the coordinates again?” Lori inquired, but when she turned to look at Nora, she was already pushing her button to transport. 

“Oops.” 

“Nora wait!” Lori exclaimed, trying to grab her shoulder so she could travel with her but as her fingers were about to reach Nora, she disappeared into a bright light. “Great. No Nora, don't worry about me, it’s not like I have never visited Earth Prime before.” Lori mumbled to herself sarcastically and set her courier to Earth Prime. Seeing as she had no specific coordinates Lori entered a rough estimate of National City coordinates. She pressed the GO button and hoped for the best as a familiar bright light engulfed her body.

EARTH PRIME

“Kara, go home. You look exhausted,” Alex mused as she entered the DEO breakroom, where Kara was currently laying on one of the couches, sprawled out and pouting with her cape covering her as a blanket. 

When she went to go and prevent an attack on L-Corp Luthor-Corp, she didn’t expect to be fighting a meta-human with the ability to teleport. Every time she swung, he would disappear and reappear just to punch her and disappear again. She spent what felt like forever frustrated and over exerting herself until Lena stepped in with a device that acted like an EMP and stopped him from teleporting long enough for Kara to put meta-cuffs on him. Just after doing so, Kara turned to thank Lena but she already left as DEO agents entered the room with Lex, wearing a big grin witnessing the cold shoulder Lena gave her.

After the fight, Kara took off from the balcony and headed straight to the breakroom to grab a tub of ice-cream and sulk. Still pouting, Kara sat up and faced Alex.

“She acts like I'm invisible Alex! All I want to do is make things right but she won’t ever give me the opportunity to. All I want to do is explain why I kept it from her for so long but how can I when the only time I see here is in a meeting or in an emergency?!” Kara huffed out and tossed the now empty ice cream carton into the trash bin.

“You will figure it out, have a little hope.” Alex joked and lightly nudged her leg with her boot, which brought a little smile to Kara’s face. 

“Ugh, you’re right, I just have to be more patient.” Kara replied.

“Good luck with that, you are the least patient person I know.” Alex smirked as she dodged a pillow being thrown at her.

“Quit it Alex!” Kara exclaimed and the two girls laughed. Then Brainy walked in with a tablet and started spewing a hundred words at once about particle traces and space breaches that popped up in Central City and National City.

“Breathe Brainy and start over.” Alex said as she put a hand on his shoulder to relax him.

“My apologies, Director Danvers, we’ve just received readings of a new sort of breach, similar to Cisco’s but also different that popped up here and in Central City. I’ve connected with Team Flash but nothing unusual has happened yet. They said they would be on standby in case of any attack.” Brainy explains as Kara goes to clip her cape back onto her shoulders. 

“Well where is the particle reading located in our city, I can go check it out from an aerial view.” Kara suggested, already heading towards the balcony for take off. Brainy told her the reading was located in the park across from Luther-Corp and to be careful in case it’s a trap. Alex reassured her they will be on standby in case anything happens.

With that knowledge Kara takes off in the air and heads over to the park. At first, when she arrives she doesn’t notice anything out of the ordinary until she sees a dark haired figure laying by the statue recently put up by Lex of himself to commemorate his role as a Paragon. Kara has always considered chopping off the head one night with her heat vision but it would be too obvious since everyone adores Lex in this reality.

Cautiously, Kara descended in front of the unconscious figure until she was just a couple feet away from her. As she was about to clear her throat to get her attention, the stranger groaned and rubbed the side of her head. 

“Well that’s certainly new.” The stranger mumbled aloud with a slight Irish accent. 

Kara then figured now would be a good time to announce herself and said, “Excuse me miss, did you need some help?”

Lorraine startled and whipped her head around and dropped her jaw looking up at Kara, her mom… except it’s not her mom, Lori had to remind herself. Blinking a few times, Lori stood up and brushed off her jeans and cleared her throat.

“I’m sorry Superwoman, I didn’t mean to cause any problems, or damages.” Lori finally said as she addressed a curious Kryptonian but winced after she realized her slip up.

“Superwoman? What damages? Are you hurt?” Kara asked as she did a quick x-ray check of the woman to make sure she is in fact okay. 

The woman pointed to the statue and Kara followed her gaze. Kara noticed a small head shaped dent near the podium base. When she went to ask how that got there, she made eye contact with strikingly familiar blue-green eyes and facial features. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Who are you?” Kara inquired. Lori shifted her feet uneasily under Kara’s gaze, not knowing what to do in this situation. She can’t give out her usual alias, Lara Kent, which is on her fake ID for when she and Nora go to other earths since Kara will see right through that lie.  Instead of answering she looked at her courier bracelet and attempted to contact Nora but it seemed to have run out of battery.

“No, no, no, no! This cannot be happening to me! First Nora and now this.” Lorraine uttered out as she began to pace nervously. Not knowing what to do in this situation she attempted to distract her not-mom and pointed to a random building in her sights. 

“Oh no! There is a fire!” Lori tried to distract her as she attempted to escape, except Kara didn’t buy it and radioed Alex over coms while putting a firm hand on Lori’s forearm so she wouldn't attempt to run.

“Hey Alex,” Kara said as she activated her earpiece, “ I don’t know how to explain this but I think I found out what, or rather who is responsible for the particle readings that Brainy received.”

“Okay, bring them in for questioning so we can get some answers.” Alex responded and the coms cut out.

Grabbing a hold of the stranger, Kara put on specialized cuffs and took off into the sky towards the DEO. 

[karazrel]

Do you ever see Kara giving up the name Supergirl and going by another alias like Superwoman or something else?

hmm I mean I know from like very surface level comic knowledge that superwoman is a different hero? but then again it’s not as though they care about comic accuracy so asdghkl. tbh I don’t personally like the name “supergirl” cause it feels kinda patronising considering kara is well into her 20s and has been doing this for years so shes outgrown the title in p much every conceivable way but then again it’s an iconic name so it’s not exactly easy to drop lmao. do I think she should get a new name now that she’s a seasoned superhero and grown woman? yes. do I see that actually happening? not realistically

[nancywheelxr]

Kate hadn’t grown up knowing a Superman.

Well, she had- in the Post-Crisis timeline, or so she heard, Superman and Batman started out at around the same time. Kal-El, or as he was known to the humans, Clark Kent, had pulled Kara’s pod open and set her free from it after she’d spent twenty-four years in the Phantom Zone, around when Batman had pulled Kate from her family’s car, the only survivor of-

One of the survivors of the crash that had killed her mother.

(That was still difficult to adjust to, even if Kate had found out about it before the Crisis)

But even if she did know who he was, before then he would still sound like a myth to her. Someone with too much power to exist on the Earth? Kate already knew about one person like that, and she was going to stick with hers.

It wasn’t like he would have ever gone to Gotham, anyway. Superman would be too good for her city, and however much he tried to clean it up, there would always be more criminals, and more crime.

Kind of like his own city, but without the pretense that everything was okay in the first place.

She knew, deep down, that she should also think the same of Supergirl. But by now she’d worked with her enough, been through enough with her, to know that Kara thought of her and Gotham the same- she hadn’t expected to go there, or meet her, but she had, and she still respected the city and its hero, flaws and all.

(Maybe a little more than respect, considering how right now, they were getting coffee together. But it was more than Kate got from a lot of people, status as the Paragon of Courage be damned)

~

“So… why Supergirl?”

Kara groans, dropping her head into her hands, propped up by her elbows resting on the high table that she and Kate are sitting at together.

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Kate says, gently holding Kara’s wrist, making her look at her. “I was just wondering.”

“Right. Because I was too old to be called a girl when I started?” Kara asks. “I know. And I was just about to ask you, ‘why do you get to be Batwoman?’, but I couldn’t find a way of saying that that didn’t sound…”

“Condescending?”

“Weird. And that, yeah, actually.”

“Well, my feelings are fine, if that was what you were worried about. I understand.” Kate says, thinking of Vesper Fairchild, who has definitely said much worse things about Batwoman without knowing she’s saying them about Kate Kane.

“You do?”

Kate nods.

“Yeah, if it weren’t for-“

Kara’s chin is on her hands now, waiting for Kate to continue, but just thinking of Sophie right now makes her want to avoid the subject in front of Kara- it is the definition of complicated- so she puts it off for the moment.

“For there already being a Batgirl, before me, I’m sure I would’ve gotten that name instead.” She finishes. She doesn’t think about how she was jealous of the girl who had claim to that title when she was younger, that someone around her age was paid more attention to by Bruce than his own cousin was.

She doesn’t hate her now, whoever she was. She actually feels sorry for her, and all the shit she must’ve gone through.

“What about you? Was “Superwoman” taken?”

Kara laughs.

It seems so long ago, all of it- saving her sister and the plane she was on, making a costume with Winn, starting to work with the DEO, getting her superhero name. She’d thought, back then, that she might not even make it through her first year. But here she is, almost five years later, talking about it with her voice tinged with nostalgia. She nearly misses it when things weren’t as complicated, when she had to worry about Fort Rozz and its escapees, and her biggest threats were her aunt and uncle and their soldiers. Her universe is much bigger now, even with the merged Earths, and she’s grateful- that expansion did lead her to Kate, after all. But sometimes she still remembers her origin, and there’s no way she would erase any of that, even for what she has now.

“Not exactly.” She says. “I… really hated the name Supergirl at first, believe it or not.”

“Yeah, I believe it.” Kate answers. “Your groaning the second I asked gave you away.”

“Right.” Kara continues. “My boss at the time, Cat Grant, was the head of a media company. The same one I work at now- although back then, I was just her assistant. And after I got started, she decided to give me the name Supergirl.”

“But Kara Danvers had no say in it, I guess.”

“Exactly. I tried to tell her that I thought it was minimizing. But she didn’t want to hear me, and gave me a speech about how that name wasn’t minimizing at all.”

“Sounds like someone I know.” Kate says. “Or at least, I know her voice. If I saw her in public, I might just punch her.”

“Yeahhh… maybe don’t do that.” Kara answers, although she also considers the people she’s wanted to throw into the sun. “For what it’s worth, Cat became a mentor to me- as Kara and Supergirl. If you give her a chance, this-“

“Vesper.”

“Vesper could be the same. Or she might just be another critic, and you could decide not to listen to her.”

“Yeah, that possibility sounds way better.”

Kara smiles.

“Besides, I bet she hasn’t had to fight her twin sister, or survived the end of the multiverse.”

Kara looks down, suddenly, and her voice trails off after that, and Kate sees the solemn expression on her face, something in her eyes that makes her want to hug Kara, or sit down with her and a few drinks and let Kara share everything she’s feeling.

But right now, in public, isn’t exactly the right time for that, and so Kate goes with a different approach.

“Wouldn’t be surprised if her broadcasts did, though.”

Kara decides that she’s going to call in and give Vesper a piece of her mind, before Kate sets a hand on her arm and she can think of nothing else.

“For what it’s worth, I think Supergirl is a great name.” she says. “It suits you.”

Kara mirrors the gesture.

“Just like Batwoman suits you.” She says. “So, what else has been going on? Because let me tell you-“

“Oh, good luck trying to top this.” Kate answers, raising an eyebrow.

Kara raises her chin, in what she hopes is a challenging gesture.

“I’m certainly going to.”

“You’re on.”

~

Kara grew up knowing of Batman.

If it hadn’t been for the Danvers, maybe, she would have been adopted by Bruce Wayne- not that she wishes anything with her chosen family had gone differently, but it was an interesting possibility all the same. Just like the possibility of her arriving on time, and her relationships with everyone she knew changing, even if there were still a few constants in her life whom she would’ve met anyway.

But if she’d been taken in by Bruce at the age of thirteen, in this new Earth she now lived on, perhaps she would have made a friend, and found a kindred spirit.

Another cousin of a famous hero, who’d lost her world, and was putting the pieces back together even years afterwards, devoting herself to her city without her cousin’s presence and doing the best she could with a small group of people she held close to her.

Though she hadn’t known Kate Kane back then, she thought, she saw her blossoming friendship with her as a way of making up for lost time, and as they spent more time together, it would only grow and flourish, as they had on their own.

And now that they had each other, operating separately but finding common ground in concepts as big and nebulous as hope and courage and as common as coffee dates and favorite donuts, Kara could see them truly becoming a team- that Kate had once phrased as the “World’s Finest”.

Or, as Kara would say, they were stronger together. Truly exemplifying El Mayarah, in their personal and professional lives, and they both seemed to be happier for it.

Even if Kate was just a bit out of place in National City- as much as she was getting used to the aesthetic.

[s-nebul0sa]

Thank you for tagging me, @turtlegirl81

Rules: Tag 9 people with excellent taste

Colour(s) I’m Currently Wearing: Dark green (Ireland green, it’s an Irish tourist shirt okay no shame because it actually looks nice) and dark blue (because it was too hot for the long black jeans I was wearing)

Last Band I saw live: Actually I think this might also be the only real band I saw live... East of Eli in Paris.

Last song I listened to: Given It All by Hayley Kiyoko, assuming the song I’m currently listening counts as the last one. 

Chapstick or Lipstick: Neither. I only use chapstick when my lips are really dry and splitting and bleeding and itching which really happens less than once a year. I was very surprised when this happened a few weeks ago and I actually found chapstick in my bag. Though I really do need to clean that thing out because I put in a lot of stuff that could one day be useful but I never use anyway.

Last Movie I watched: Ocean’s 8 with my friends in the cinema. I haven’t watched a lot of movies lately so it even took me a long time to remember this. I can say I actually really liked it. Though I did consciously have low expectations, it’s not like Ocean’s 11, 12 or 13 were really good movies but they’re enjoyable and Ocean’s 8 was too, even managing to surprise me.

Last 3 tv shows I watched: Oof. I have so little time I don’t watch a lot of TV shows.

1) Helix. I watch this show with my dad and I remember I visited my parents 2 weeks ago and watched two episodes with him then. It’s a little too straight for my taste (lol if you told me a year ago I would ever say this I’d laugh in your face) but I can overlook that in favour of plot. I do cringe every time they screw up the science or medical parts though, which is a lot. At least my dad and I can have a laugh over that.

2) Supergirl. I don’t think this needs a lot of explanation. 

3) I don’t even know. I think maybe Nailed It with my friends the night before we drove to Paris because we wanted to watch something light and we have all seen different thing already and couldn’t settle on a good show to watch because everyone has seen different things already.

Last YouTube Video I watched:  “I Let My Boyfriend Choose My Outfits For The Week” by Candace Lowry. I know, very straight. I live alone okay. I need something to do when I have dinner and this one was the right length and I just like her videos usually.

3 Characters I Identify With:  This one is hard.

1) Hermione Granger. I’ve always felt akin to her. Too smart to really fit in (not to brag because really, I’ve grown to see smart as an insult more than a compliment and that’s difficult when people keep saying you’re ‘so smart’ and you can’t agree and don’t want to). I always was a smarty-pants and know-it-all when I was little, spewing random facts and asking my parents difficult questions (”No, Iris, I don’t know why the sky is blue or why the earth is round”). I’m sorry mom and dad. I’ll probably feel you once I get kids of my own and they start asking impossible questions.

2) Here I’m already stuck because I’ve never really felt like I could identify with other characters so I’m going to brush my teeth (because I should be in bed already) and think about it. Okay. 2) Kara Danvers. Even though I might love Lena Luthor and Alex Danvers more than I do Kara, I actually identify with her more. Trying to always seem happy, even if I’m not. But also the little things: loving food, the way she reacts to knowing other people have/had/almost had sex, feeling responsible, feeling like you don’t fit in no matter how hard you try to be ‘normal’ (joke’s on me, there is no normal) 

3) Now I’m really coming up empty so I guess I owe you guys this one?

Books I’m Currently Reading:  I have a whole stack of books I want to read and there’s a few I’m currently reading but abandoned because I didn’t like them enough anymore. But I’m really reading Lies of Locke Lamore right now and have started on Truthwitch and The Fiery Cross too but got bored with them or just too busy, I don’t remember honestly. If I’m honest, Supercorp fanfic ruined me because that’s what I mostly read nowadays. 

Along with those three, I have a pile of books ‘to read’. I got 4 books in Ireland (they were on sale. My friend and I are terrible and enable each other. The first thing we did when we went downtown in Dublin was buy a load of books) I still want to read. I’ve got a comic series I grew up with that has gotten an upgrade and a more ‘adult’ version (as far as I know more gruesome and visible blood and such) I really want to read. I also got a ‘5 best’ of the same comic series because I bough 2 English ones online for Katie and Chyler and saw this one and decided I needed it (spoiler: I didn’t but no regrets). I also know in a week I’ll have expanded my ‘to read’ collection with more books I’m going to get and I know there’s even more in my cabinet I want to read and borrowed from my mom because she recommended them. I’m never having enough time though without a real summer break and though technically I’m not studying full-time next semester (if I get my way) I’ve already said ‘yes’ to too many extra curricular activities to really get reading done. Especially since I spend most of my free time writing or sleeping.

Tagging: @ellieroxx, @superwoman-samdanvers, @proudtobealuthor, @gay4katiemcgrath, @irish-luthor, @ohsimpleplant, @supercorp-shipper, @themcgrath, @lena-lipbite-luthor, @lena-in-a-red-dress (if you all want to) and anyone who wants to join too (just say I tagged you!)

[hellyeahheroes]

Ten Winners and Losers of DC Rebirth:

DC has dropped the Rebirth logo out of their titles. That is usually the sing they consider that the transition period for their books is over. They have built their status quo and what they have built during it is the new DC Universe. While I doubt fans will stop calling DC books Rebirth titles from now on (same as they didn’t stop using New 52 name long after DC dropped it from the covers), I want to look at what they managed to fix and bring to new fresh in this period, this last 1,5 year and also on what has failed. What were the winners and losers of DC Rebirth. Enjoy:

Winner: Superman Family

Out of all lines, I don’t think any has made as much of an improvement as Superman’s. While there were good stories in New 52 Era, that time’s take on Superman has been generally seen with negative reception. Bringing back married Superman and Lois AND their son Jon has been a brilliant move, that quickly launched both Superman and Action Comics to some of the most popular in the era. The emphasis on Superman as a father made him more relatable to growing audience, several well-written Lois moments helped remind people why she is a belowed character and Jon quickly gained love of older fans and kids alike. That success was then quickly capitalized on with Super Sons, giving the spotlight to Jon and his new friend, Damian Wayne. The return of classic Superman villains like Eradicator, Metallo, Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, Mr. Mxyztplk, Manchester Black and General Zod with a new, interesting antagonist in Mr. Oz, helped make it an era that will certainly be remembered. 

Adding to it three new books - Superwoman, Supergirl and New Super-Man only cements the lines’ status as probably the best quality-wise of the entire Rebirth. While Superwoman was sadly the shortest-living of them all, it still left us with Traci Thirteen and Natasha Irons as a couple, a move fans approved so much we now hope for Traci’s sexuality to be addressed in her upcoming show and Young Justice Season 3. Meanwhile, new take on Supergirl, taking clues from the show, but making Kara a high-schooler with adopted parents, has been well-regarded by the fans and New Super-Man became a minor fan-favorite, to the point DC took back the decision to cancel the series and let it continue as New Super-Man & the Justice League of China. 

Loser: Blue Beetle

Poor Jaime. One of the few characters that Rebirth set to fix after New 52 made him into a hot mess. The premise was solid - Jaime getting a mentor in form of previous Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, written by Keith Giffen, who shaped Ted into a comedic character and helped launch Jaime’s 2006 book. It had the potential for success. But the creative team (which J.M.DeMatteis joining in the middle) clearly didn’t believe in it and tried to launch a stealth team book they should have pitched in the first place. This resulted in a chaotic story that has lead to Blue Beetle’s cancellation and many plotlines left unresolved.

Winner: Damian Wayne

Rebirth was a good time to be Damian fan. Between his appearances in not one but two books, leading new Teen Titans and forming great friendship with Jonathan Kent as well as having a handful guest issues, be it in Nightwing or Superman or Batman, Damian has received a tremendous push. While the quality of some of these titles remains debatable among the fans and some are unhappy with him not being pushed as Batman’s partner, it is undeniable they have a lot of fresh Damian content to choose from.

Loser: Tim Drake

By contrast with Damian, Tim Drake has spent most of the Rebirth imprisoned by Mr. Oz and presumed dead. While his spirit was hanging over his friends in Detective Comics and his perceived loss affected them greatly, he himself was almost not present at all, really having a chance to shine only in two stories, Rise of the Batmen and A Lonely Place Of Living. In a way it feels as if James Tynion IV even knew he likes Tim too much and moved him away to give everyone else the spotlight - spotlight they undeniably needed, may I add.

Winner: Batman

It’s bizarre for me to even put him on this list. Batman is the golden child of DC, the fortunate son, the star, the fan-favorite. He always gets best writers, the spotlight, the books, the guest appearances. And yet, DC Rebirth did something unbelievable, something I would never bet to see with Batman. They let him be weak. When over the years Batman has amassed reputation that earned him nicknames and memes like “Prep Time”, “BatWank” or “Batgod” over how perfect, always right and invincible he became, in Rebirth this feels toned down. 

Batman in Rebirth was allowed to have flaws and vulnerabilities. His moments of super-competence are now contrasted with his emotional vulnerability. Batman was allowed to be a father who needs his children maybe even more than they need him, he was allowed to take serious beatings from Bane and Reverse Flash, to grieve after Tim, to seek happiness in marriage with Selina, to see his fears and regrets exposed in monstrous forms of Seven Dark Knights. All these things like tiny woodpeckers chipped little bits away from the image of BatGod and brought back Bruce Wayne, Batman the human. And boy did he needed to come back and remind people why this character is popular, to begin with. I mean, if even my bitter and cold heart started feeling a bit more sympathy for the guy whom last few decades made me despise, you know DC is doing something right.

Loser: Raven

One of the biggest mistakes of DC Rebirth was Marv Wolfman’s Raven book. Not the book itself, but the fact it was only a miniseries. Being limited to only six-issue format have visibly constrained the potential the story had and forced the writer to rush things. The fact that in January DC launches new Raven book only makes it that much more infuriating. DC had little faith in the character and while I’m grateful they were willing to try at all and they clearly are testing waters for her potential ongoing, I wish we could see how things would turn out, had she been given one in the first place. Or at least a twelve-issue miniseries, I’d rather have that than 12 issues of Chuck Dixon slamming his head against the wall in Bane: Conquest.

Winner: Green Lanterns

That was the book I doubt that many people believed in. Two relatively new members of Green Lanterns being given their title that early and made to work together. A book written by Sam Humphries, who didn’t gain that much of a good reputation for his works at Marvel. And yet...it worked. The series earned peoples’ love with an honest approach to subjects like anxiety disorder and extremely relatable portrayal of main characters. Jessica Cruz, in particular, seems to have grown into a fan-favorite to the point she’s going to be Green Lantern in DC Superhero Girls Universe and may even find a way into DC Comics Bombshells. This book opened a path of bright future to both Jessica and Simon, seeing how it still steadily continued as a bi-weekly series when other books with seemingly more famous character have been reduced to a monthly series. It opened Sam Humphries a way to his dream work at Nightwing. It thinks out of all Rebirth books this one might be one of the biggest breakout hits.

Loser: Gotham Academy

It feels cruel to put Gotham Academy in that category. The creative team truly gave their all to this title. But sadly, the second book they got managed only last for twelve issues, enough to wrap the dangling plot threads. While other DC books benefitted from a new beginning, this one seems to have suffered what restarts did to Marvel books - diminished sales. But I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again - the combined amount of issues Gotham Academy had is an impressive number of 38. Let the fans never allow anyone tell them this title failed. I need to also praise DC for the amount of faith they’ve put into this series and how hard they tried to make it take off and become popular. This effort is worthy of respect. And something that I’d never been expecting from Marvel, so kudos for trying to do better.

Winner: New 52 Wally West 

When Old Wally West from before Flashpoint came back, many people feared this means his New 52 counterpart, now revealed to be a cousin with the same name, will drop into comic book limbo and never be mentioned again. Thankfully DC had a better idea - they kept both of them around. And through a string of writers who wanted to use him, Young Wally has not only been prominently featured as a supporting character in Flash but also joined Teen Titans, had appearances in his cousin’s book Titans and even managed to become a cast member in Deathstroke’s series. While I have complained his life probably sucks with an amount of bad stuff happening, he did leave his mark on larger DC Universe, had a chance to win fans’ love and established relationships with other characters. Hell, he even managed to send Raven’s heart...racing.

I’m sorry, no more puns, I swear, don’t hurt me!

Loser: Conner Kent and Bart Allen

Another case where it feels outright cruel to call them losers. Both of them were erased with the reboot and replaced with versions that can be respectively called a hot mess and an outright identity theft (no, seriously, New 52 Bart turned out to be some asshole using his name). Since Rebirth launched the books started to tease fans with their returns. First, it was who might be in Mr. Oz prison next to Tim Drake’s in Detective Comics. Then the very clear erasure of Conner from Superman’s memories of Reign of Supermen, with Clark noting something is missing on the same page. Then Batman of Tomorrow bringing up Conner and finding out present Tim doesn’t remember him. The Murder Machine telling Barry there was a Bart in his reality. James Tynion IV and Joshua Williamson being very clear they want them back. And of course that Geoff Johns himself seems to want pre-flashpoint Conner back. And now the upcoming appearance of their evil future selves, Titans of Tomorrow in Super Sons of Tomorrow crossover. On the one hand, it appears DC wants to play a long game with setting up their return. On the other, many fans are probably having enough of constantly being shown a carrot on the stick and I hope DC will manage to bring those two back before fandom’s patience runs out.

Winner: Christopher Priest

If you read his essay The New Black Mambo, you will know that Christopher Priest has a complicated history with Big 2. After his successful, character-defining, run on Black Panther, he started to feel the publishers are seeing him as ��black guy to write black people” and he felt they’re denying him their A-List characters and jerking him around whenever he tries to pitch a non-black book (he tried to launch an all-female Avengers series almost a decade before A-Force, for example). He also felt his books that do feature black and other poc protagonists are thrown to the assholes on the Internet, even back then ready to declare them a “black propaganda” and other bullshit, which killed his project the Crew before the first issue was even out. This had led him to reject offers on DC and Marvel books for nine years. 

Thankfully, during Rebirth DC was pulling its collective head out of its collective ass so well, they finally noticed why he keeps saying no and pitched him a different character - Deathstroke. On that book, Priest not only managed to rebuild mythos destroyed by New 52, but also built around Slade a diverse cast of complex, multi-layered characters and showed exactly how much of an awful, destructive person somebody like him would be. This opened him the door to Justice League, which he is currently writing, glad he can finally get his hands on all those characters he was always denied. 

Loser: Cyborg

The news on Christopher Priest taking over Justice League was quickly followed by reveal he will make Cyborg the new leader of the team. This sadly quickly became ironic, as DC announced the cancellation of Victor’s own series. Cyborg was another one of those characters DC tried to push even before Rebirth, during DC You, but to no success. Cyborg still retains his role in Justice League so his fans can see him there, but it’s a shame Rebirth didn’t manage to save his book.

Winner: Stjepan Sejic

Stjepan Sejic has become fairly popular on the Internet and in indie in the last few years. Yet, despite years of outstanding work and even solid portfolio of Image Comics books he worked on, he never managed to land a work for the Big 2 outside few covers for Marvel. In Rebirth DC has changed that by giving him not only an arc on Aquaman but bi-weekly Suicide Squad series as well. Hopefully, this will finally give him the spotlight and help land more prestigious jobs in the future, both of which he certainly deserves.

Loser: Frank Cho and Jonboy Meyers

Not all artists managed to capitalize on the success of Rebirth and made their own. Incredible talented Jonboy Meyers was on his way to make his art become the face of new Teen Titans, with his animesque style and modernized designs of the team members gaining a lot of attention. Yet he fell off the project due to “creative differences” after just a few issues. While creators leaving DC books and cursing the editorial was a common occurrence in New 52, it didn’t follow his departure. What’s more he also quickly had the same thing happen to his job at Marvel’s series Royals. I have not been privy to what were his reasons, but I just hope it wasn’t any serious health issues, as he gives an impression of a man too nice to lose two jobs due to acting like a primadonna, unlike some creators in the past.

Frank Cho, on the other hand, DID lose his Rebirth gig due to acting like a primadonna. Being put on variant covers for the first 24 issues of Wonder Woman, he has quit after just six, because Greg Rucka asked him to remove a pantyshot - a reasonable request especially during the time when DC tried to avoid controversies that haunted New 52. Cho, however, decided Diana’s underwear is a hill he will die on and threw a colossal temper tantrum that made him look extremely immature. Ever since his output involving Big 2 characters was a series of “fan” pinups of the same woman in different costumes with some characters screaming “OUTRAGE!” in the background, a sad attempt at pissing people off to feed his persecution complex.

Winner: Jack Kirby

In the seventies Jack “the King” Kirby gave DC several books and characters who maybe never rose to the popularity of their core heroes or his Marvel creations, but became iconic fan-favorites none the less. Were he still alive, 2017 would be his 100th birthday and DC went out of their way to honor him. Kamandi Challenge, Mister Miracle, Bug! the Adventures of Forager and Demon: Hell is Earth all are limited series that allowed some of King’s creations shine once again. Then DC gave others special issues that are now collected in a sweet trade. Not to mention some of those titles featuring Kirby’s heroes meeting each other (I mean, Forager outright went and resolved cliffhanger of Kirby’s original OMAC series) and his other characters and concepts are being featured in ongoing books like Superman or Green Lanterns. DC went out of their way to celebrate Jack Kirby during Rebirth. This is especially poignant at the time when all Marvel managed to do are some cheap variant covers and putting a bunch of his Monsters into one event because they were too busy spending most of the year shitting on one of his most beloved characters in Secret Empire.

Loser: Justice Society America and Legion of Super-Heroes

These two teams have been on everybody’s mouths ever since DC Rebirth Special teased their return. Yet outside of occasionally throwing us a bone here or there, teasing their returns in Batman and Flash, nothing had materialized out of this. I heard rumors there was a plan to launch JSA book, but it appears to have fallen through. Meaning currently both teams are in Comic Book Limbo with Shazam and Martian Manhunter.

Winner: Grant Morrison

Rebirth has become a time when you could notice more and more references to works of certain creator popping up - crazy Scott, Grant Morisson. Be it use of his characters like Aztek in Justice League of America or Doctor Hurt and Professor Pyg in Nightwing or concepts like Hypertime or his Multiversal ideas. With writers like Joshua Williamson, Tom King, Scott Snyder, Gerard Way, Tim Seeley or James Tynion IV it is clear that right now DC Universe is put in hands of creators who have been influenced by Morrison’s body of work and even others, like Gene Yang, while not directly touching on his ideas still add more pieces having similar feel. I’ve been saying Grant Morrison would be proud several times during this era and for a good reason. It feels he has achieved a similar position Warren Ellis had at Marvel for some time before 2015 - maybe not directly affecting the company, but having enough people who learned from or were inspired by him working on it, that he is present in spirit even when he isn’t writing anything.

Loser: Eddie Berganza

This might be a bit cheating since this has little to do with DC Rebirth itself. But it needs to be pointed out that during this era position of Eddie Berganza, an important editor and a serial sexual harasser who was seen as too big to be dealt with, started to tremble. Greg Rucka made DC ensure his new Wonder Woman book will not be edited by Berganza and neither he nor any member of his team will have to even interact with the guy. I like to see it as the first sing the industry was ready to deal with this pathetic, painful ulcer of a man. A thing that indeed has happened, when on the wave of allegations of sexual harassment in Hollywood his name has been brought up. DC and Warner decided to take a look at his case and he was promptly, in their own words, terminated. Good riddance. 

Winner: Imprints, Crossovers, and Elseworlds

One of the greatest successes of Rebirth for me was that DC took serious attempts at bringing back Wildstorm and Vertigo characters, whom they have mistreated by forcing into one Universe with rest of DC in New 52. Warren Ellis’ Wild Storm rebooted the 90′s Universe in a new flavor, giving us a fantastic science-fiction take on their heroes.Gerard Way brought back the feel of early Vertigo in his imprint Young Animal with great series like Doom Patrol, Shade: the Changing Girl, Mother Panic, Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye and Bug! the Adventures of Forager. They are not stopping there, seeing how they are working on the return of Milestone Media, launching Dark Matter and working on an all-ages imprint.

At the same time DC launched an imprint for reinventing properties under their Hannah-Barbera license. Which, admittingly, gave us two baffling books in Scooby Apocalypse and Wacky Raceland but also fan-favorite Future Quest, Flinstones or new Dastardly & Muttley. DC seems to have enjoyed working on those books so much they made series of one-shots crossing over other HB characters with their heroes. And enjoyed THAT so much they did it again with Looney Tunes, which were much more entertaining I think anyone would have suspected. Speaking of which, DC has a blast with doing crossovers and you can always see them doing some sort of it - He-Man/Thundercats, Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Shadow/Batman, Wonder Woman/Conan, Justice League/Power Rangers or several Batman ‘66 crossovers. It seems to have even rubbed on their games, with Hellboy and Turtles making their way to Injustice 2.

And finally, DC had a lot of fun with Elseworlds lately. Including Nightwing: New Order, Green Lantern: Earth One, Gotham City Garage, DC Superhero Girls, DC Comics Bombshells or Batman: White Knight.  All of it contributed to a new image of DC as ever-expanding as both the world and the publisher. Which I feel greatly helped their success.

Loser: Marvel Comics

Oh come on, you’ve seen this one coming. When DC wins, Marvel is the biggest loser and vice-versa. But to say that DC suddenly cleaning their act caught Marvel by surprise would be an understatement. It might even be said that their own behavior allowed Rebirth to succeed - after all the big plot twist if Rebirth Special, the big reveal that could have easily turned people against DC, has been overshadowed by Marvel turning Captain America into a Nazi. Compared to THAT what DC did seemed much less outrageous and many people seem to be more open-minded to the Rebirth as a whole as a reason. 

After consistently losing in sales for months, Marvel tried to desperately try to shift the blame on diversity, bloat their sales, copy Rebirth with Legacy, while also making a ton of fuckups and see their bad past decisions finally catching up to them. It is shocking how badly they took the beating, culminating probably with a kick to the balls in form of DC nabbing Brian Bendis, Marvel’s best-selling writer - and even he was just one of the many creators who jumped ships by that point. Things have gotten so bad at Hosue of Ideas they let go their Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso and replaced him with C.B. Cebulski. And even in that, they manage to come under fire. 

While in general, both companies seem to be in the constant back and forth, when one is on top and the other starts fucking up, how drastically had the landscape shifted from New 52 era, when Marvel was seen as a dominant one even if DC was beating them at sales is, to me, a testament to how big success DC had with Rebirth. Now the question remains if they manage to keep it up going forward - which I sincerely wish to them. Because let me say something - DC Rebirth made me fall in love with so many aspects of DC Universe I didn’t care about before and it even made me seek some older DC titles. And that, I feel is the best testament to Rebirth’s success.

If you feel I have missed any winner or loser or just want to call me an idiot for something I’ve said, comments and reblogs are welcome.

- Admin

[pensola]

So with Wonder Woman’s comics and teams through her creation charted down, I wanted to take all of DC Rebirth’s Batman and Superman comics and put them side by side, to compare to Wonder Woman’s titles since the softboot.

Batman’s DC Rebirth Titles:

Batman - Batman encounters two new heroes in Gotham.

Detective Comics - A more Batfam comic where Batman works with Batwoman to train the younger generation.

All-Star Batman - Is not part of the All-Star series, and tells stories from the perspective of Batman’s villains.

Batgirl - About Barbara Gordon and her international journey.

Batgirl and the Birds of Prey - Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress track down someone claiming to be Oracle.

Batwoman - Tells the story of Kate Kane.

Batman Beyond - A comic in the future about its new Batman, Terry McGinnis.

Gotham Academy - A comic about students that go on a weird school in Gotham.

Harley Quinn - One of Batman’s villains turned anti-heroish.

Bane: Conquest - Tells the story of one of Batman’s villains.

Regarding teams, Batman’s cast is also in:

Trinity, which while not an official team consists of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman and their shenanigans.

Justice League, where Batman is co-founder,

Justice League of America, where Batman is founder or member and only JL-member who is also part of JLA.

Titans, with his former first Robin, Nightwing.

Teen Titans, with his current fifth Robin.

Red Hood and the Outlaws with Red Hood

Super Sons, which is not a team, but a team-up comic with Batman’s son Robin and Superman’s son Superboy.

Suicide Squad with Harley Quinn.

Then we go to Superman’s comics and teams:

Superman - Tells adventures of Superman

Action Comics - Tells adventures of Superman and family.

Supergirl - Is about Superman’s cousin Kara.

Superwoman - Is about Lana Lang (I think).

The New Super-Man - Somehow China is able to recreate Superman’s powers and put them into another person and gives them to arrogant Shanghai boy Kenan Kong. (With Superman having no problem with this; I don’t know if he actually agreed to it or not, but he rolls with it better than when he was cloned against his will in Young Justice’s cartoon).

Of team-up books, Superman’s cast is also in:

Trinity, which he shares with Wonder Woman and Batman,

Justice League, which he co-founded,

Super Sons, which co-stars his son Superboy.

Wonder Woman’s titles and teams, on the other hand:

Wonder Woman - Tells the adventures of Wonder Woman

Odyssey of the Amazons - A limited prequel series about amazons in Man’s World before Diana was born.

Wonder Woman: Steve Trevor - A one-shot that could have been a “day in the spotlight” issue in Wonder Woman, starring her boyfriend and warrior puppy Steve Trevor.

Team-up books:

Trinity, with Superman and Batman,

Justice League, as a co-founder,

Titans, where her former sidekick Donna Troy co-founded.

Red Hood and the Outlaws, where Artemis is though we don’t know if they know each other

So in other words, 18 comics with the Batfamily in it, 8 with the Superfamily in it, and 7 with the Wonder Pantheon, in which Wondy herself is mainly in 3 of them.

That is a BIG difference, and I personally bet the only reason Wonder Woman has more saturation than Green Lantern is because Green Lanterns don’t have sidekicks and juniors the same way. GL still has two on-going comics whereas Wonder Woman only has one, ignoring non-Rebirth series. It helps that she has more limited comics and team comics, but still. If she is part of the Trinity, she should have some more attention. If only, say, giving her an on-going Sensation Comics that starts from #117 like they are doing with Superman’s Action Comics and Batman’s Detective Comics. Especially since her movie is apparently their most successful attempt at a superhero movie that not even their precious Batman could save, so they should milk it a little more beyond non-canon series.

[writebethany]

What would it look like of Vega and Jessica have a fight? Does Jessica know about Vega's superpowers? What if she doesn't? Is Vega affected the same by kryptonite? She's kryptonian but she was born on Earth.

Previous Parts

In the scheme of things, Jessica finds out pretty quickly that Vega has superpowers. There’s about a year, however, where she doesn’t know. Even though Vega has grown up with her powers, during that year she has a few slip ups, like her Ieiu and Aunt Kara still do even though they’ve lived with their powers longer than Vega’s been alive. Mostly they happen when she’s emotional, which definitely happens during a fight. Alex is fiery when she’s mad and words come tumbling out of her mouth before she can think about them, Astra is cold and sharp and desolating and thinks about her words before they come there are less of them, but god are they effective. Vega, Vega is some combination of the two, cold fire, exploding and pacing and gesturing wildly with a sharp tongue and knowing exactly where to hit to cause maximum damage. It’s a scary sight to behold.

It’s even scarier when her eyes start to glow pink, and Jessica has no idea why. Or a spoon gets bent in half with no effort. Or Vega starts to float a little bit off the ground. Jessica is observant even when they’re arguing and things only add up to one conclusion, but Vega doesn’t exactly look like Supergirl. She does, however, look a bit like the hero that shows up now and again to help Supergirl. The media calls her Superwoman, but she’s been showing up for as long as they’ve been alive. So it’s pretty unlikely that Vega is Superwoman, but…maybe she’s just imagining things. Real or fake, even when she does see these things, she’s not afraid of Vega, Jessica trusts her. And Vega, Vega always turns away from Jessica and takes a few deep breaths or looks at Jessica and says “Before this gets any more out of hand I think I need time to cool down, ok?” and then goes off for a while before she comes back, calm and ready to sort out whatever was the basis of the argument in the first place. They disagree often, but true arguments are few and far between, growing less and less as they get to know each other and learn.

When Vega does tell Jessica, though, about a year after they started dating and two years into their friendship, Jessica doesn’t take it well. She’s been waiting and waiting for Vega to tell her, so long that she really is convinced that she sees things when they argue. It’s only been like half second glimpses and she could have imagined it. Or at least that’s what she’s been telling herself until Vega actually sits her down and explains to her that her mom is an alien and so is she, sort of, considering she was born on Earth. She does have the superpowers though. Jessica just kind of shuts down for a minute because she had talked herself into believing that she was seeing things, had doubted herself, had thought she was having a mental break, but no, everything was true. And she had gone through all of that, just because only now had Vega actually trusted her enough to tell her.

So she looks up at Vega, a bit of murder in her eyes and says, “You couldn’t have told me that before I thought I was crazy?”

 Vega blinks. “Um, sorry?” She rubs at the back of her neck. “Technically I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but a few nights ago I sort of realized that we were definitely in it for the long haul and that you deserved to know.”

 “Oh. Right. So that makes it ok. You weren’t allowed to tell me.” And maybe Jessica knows she’s being unreasonable, but she doesn’t care at the moment. She shoves up off the couch and stands. “I’m leaving. Don’t call me. Don’t fly by my house, don’t even think about me.”

 Vega pops up after her. The arguments her mothers have, the worst ones aren’t the shouting matches, the worst ones are when they both go cold and stop speaking. She can see it happening right now in front of her eyes and she wants to stop it before it can even start.

 “Look, Jess, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but you have to understand it’s a delicate secret and really, I don’t tell people because it puts them in danger too. I mean I’m not the one who’s in the public eye a lot, but it doesn’t take much to trace back from my Ieiu to me and everyone I care about.” She puts a gentle hand on Jessica’s shoulder but it’s shaken off as Jessica shrugs on her jacket.

 “I don’t care right now, Vega. I can’t deal with this right this second.” She whips around. “Because do you know what it’s like to doubt yourself so much that you think you’re going crazy? No? Ok, well, let me tell you right here and right now that it’s not a pleasant feeling and one that I’m not going to stop being mad about just because you tell me good reasons for. I’m allowed to be angry. You damn well know I am. So just let me walk out this fucking door right now or this fight will get even worse. You walk away from our arguments all the time, why is this different?”

 Vega pauses to think for a few moments. “Because when I walk out it isn’t because I’m too mad to function, it’s because I know that everything I need to say has been said and to really talk about it, I need space to cool down. You just stopped from the get-go.” She looks down at the floor. “And I’m not sure you’ll come back and I don’t know if I can deal with that.”

 Jessica’s anger cools just enough for her to reach out and squeeze Vega’s hand. “I’ll be back. Though don’t think that you’re off the hook when I do come back.”

 “Never thought I was.”

 Jessica leaves and Vega lets her this time. That night she cries and eats enough ice cream to stock an ice cream shop, and hopes that what Jessica said is true.

–

 Jessica does come back three days later. She opens the door to Vega’s apartment with the key that Vega gave her and sits down on the couch beside her.

 “So, any weaknesses?” Jessica asks. “If you’re some superpowered alien, I need to know just in case you decide to be noble or something like your moms. I need to know just how easy it is for you to be hurt so I can worry accordingly.”

 “Not really that easy. Like I can catch bombs and be fine. But there is one thing, Kryptonite. It’s from my Ieiu’s home planet. It messes with the absorption of the radiation from the sun and makes us vulnerable again. So unless someone has some green glowing sword, I should be ok.”

 Jessica nods. “Good, because you aren’t making me lose my mind again like that again, you hear?”

 “I hear loud and clear.” She kisses Jessica’s temple. “I’m sorry I made you think you were crazy. It’s just harder to control everything when I’m super emotional. That’s probably what you were seeing.”

 Jessica hums. “Well, you don’t seem to have any problems in the bedroom, and I’d say you’re real emotional there.”

 Vega doesn’t really have a comeback for that, so wisely, she stays silent and tilts Jessica’s face towards hers and kisses the other woman again. When Jessica kisses back, she knows she’s forgiven, even if there’s still some more talking to be done. She can take that as long as she knows they’ll be together.

Next part

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Moooore Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow stuff, courtesy of another Tom King interview: 

King was on the Supergirl Radio podcast this week, and while a lot of it is just a repeat of what was said in the previous interview on ComicPop Elseworlds Exchange, there were still some interesting bits, IMO!

They opened with some general questions--how did he start writing, when did he get into superhero comics, etc. 

And then, the Supergirl portion!

The hosts asked where he first encountered Supergirl, and as before, he said that Supergirl is one of those characters that everyone just knows, like Batman and Superman. So he felt there was never a time where he wasn’t at least aware of her.

If forced to pinpoint something specific, though: the cartoons (Superman: The Animated Series and JLU) and for Kara Zor-El in particular, hardcover trades of the 70s stuff.

He had some AWESOME Carmine Infantino art, from the issue where Supergirl fights a bunch of mini-supergirls, in Daring New Adventures.

When asked if he used any of those stories for this new project, King again said that he went back to the ORIGINAL origin, in the Silver Age Otto Binder stuff.

Because he’s written Superman, the hosts asked if he thinks about the differences/similarities between the two when writing Supergirl.

He said that Kara’s more of a survivor than Clark, she’s been through more; he feels that Superman is always striving to be the icon that is Superman, whereas Kara can just be herself. 

He describes her as harder, more cynical, ‘she’ll drop an F-bomb here or there,’ she’s ‘old and crusty.’

The hosts asked him how he came to be on the book and while it’s basically the same story he told on the other podcast, there were a few additional details he mentioned here.

He specifically said that editors were frustrated, because there is this. Thought? Among creators, that Supergirl is perfect, and there are no fun Supergirl stories to tell. 

(Brief, opinionated interjection here: HOGWASH!)

He again brought up the idea that people can be precious with Supergirl; he said she is precious, but she’s also badass.

When asked if there was any particular piece of Supergirl mythology that he wanted/was excited to use, King said that this book isn’t really about that--he again used the expression of stripping off the barnacles that have built up on the characters over the years, really getting at the most basic, pure take on them.

He was like, ‘we keep the dog, maybe the horse if we can make time for him, because [Comet] is the weirdest thing in all of comics.’

Elaborating on the book/lack of Supergirl mythology: He put her in space, gave her a simple mission, and let the story be a thesis on why Supergirl is awesome.

Next question was about the comic writing process.

King said there’s no set way to write a comic script; he tends to write ‘full scripts’; they resemble movie scripts in that there’s panel descriptions for each page, as well as the dialogue for each panel.

His descriptions are light, though. For example, he’ll simply put: ‘Supergirl encounters a Space Dragon’, and leave the rest up to Bilquis.

Again had nothing but praise and excitement re: working with Evely and Lopes. 

Said Evely adds such depth and emotion and storytelling to the artwork.

Then there was a question from the live chat; the listener noted that a lot of King’s work contains romance/is focused on romantic love. They asked if this book would also be about romantic love, or another kind of love.

King: This is not a romance. The love in this comic is a friendship love, between Kara and Ruthye.

When asked if other pre-existing characters would make an appearance: There will be shout-outs, but this is first and foremost a book about Supergirl; she is at the center of the book.

The goal is to make her one of the pillars of DC Comics.

On the subject of the ‘western’ part of the space western: Again mentioned True Grit, as well as The Searchers, and Red River.

Compared Kara to John Wayne.

Likes the idea of a character who has a simple mission, needs to go somewhere, and travels through various lands to get there, like the Odyssey.

Initially, he was going to have Kara be a sort of ingenue who learns to be tough as she goes on this journey, but his editor said, ‘No, she should be the teacher, instructing this young girl on how to be tough’ b/c Kara has the life experience. And King was like, ‘yeah! Let’s do that!’

And of course, because it is Supergirl Radio, they asked if he’s watched the show.

He watched the 1st and 2nd seasons with his daughter, then they fell behind/stopped watching because she moved on to other things, but he loved it! Specifically loved that he could watch a superhero show with her; good bonding time.

They asked him about incorporating stuff from the show and he said that he opted not to do that, as it’s sometimes not done well/feels forced. The example he used is that it’s very hard to get something like Calista Flockhart’s performance from the TV show into the comics, both in terms of the actual writing, and also in terms of legal stuff like the likeness rights, etc. 

Then they talked about KRYPTO! And King’s own dog, Roxy. 

Because King is a dog owner, he said he found it very hard to write Krypto sometimes, because he never wanted to put him in danger.

He also said that you can feel like a dog is a family member, and that is how Kara views Krypto; he is not a pet, or a tool, but a member of her family.

Another live chat question: Does he think of Kara differently, now that he’s written her?

King said she’s a much tougher character, than he initially thought.

Compared her to Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark; you don’t see him become Indy, he just already IS Indy, and he’s done this stuff a hundred times over.

And then he shared a little bit of issue 2 to illustrate this point: Ruthye and Kara encounter a guy who has beef with Superman, so he decides to take it out on Kara, and Kara easily dispatches him; Ruthye (the narrator of the book) marvels at how this happens everywhere they go, and it’s just a daily occurrence for Kara, because everyone thinks she’s the weak link/a way to get back at Clark.

Final question was about what he hopes is his legacy/the takeaway of this book.

King said he wants it to do well, and convince DC/the editors that there ALWAYS needs to be a Supergirl book on the stands.

And now, SOME THOUGHTS!

As mentioned, a lot of this stuff was already covered in the prior podcast, BUT! There are some new details here that build on those points.

For instance: King is really committing to a harder, cynical Kara. Who knows if she’ll remain that way by journey’s end, but that’s the take he’s going with.

(And, as before: not my preferred/ideal Kara! But I am open to seeing this. Largely because it is rooted in like. Character backstory/history; he’s not being edgy for edge's sake.)

Also, NO ROMANCE. 

*insert happy muppet flailing here*

I will admit that I had the extremely cursed thought that he’d bring back Comet, or worse, 90s Comet as some sort of guest star--and maybe he will, who knows! But I don’t get that vibe, really. Like, maybe as a fun shout-out, but not a full-on character in the story.

I do like that he repeatedly emphasized that this is a very simple book, with Kara at the center, and that it’s basically about Supergirl, and why she’s awesome.

Especially given how Future State whiffed that one.

That said, was a little dismayed to learn that Ruthye will be the narrator of the whole thing. It brings back horrible visions of Future State, and it’s harder for the reader to get into a character’s head when you’ve got someone else narrating the whole thing, but. We’ll see.

(What might take the edge off of this narrative choice is Evely’s art, since you can better determine Kara’s emotions/thoughts/etc.)

Interestingly, King didn’t want to comment too much on this book’s potential connection to Future State: Superwoman which...has me a little concerned.

(Please, never let that book be canon. PLEASE.)

The further details on the BTS stuff is disappointing, but not surprising. ‘Supergirl is too perfect/boring’ is a take that 1.) mirrors the same nonsense you see about Superman, and why everyone would rather be writing Batman and 2.) has existed FOREVER, and was particularly prevalent after the introduction of Power Girl. 

(It’s also flat-out wrong, in the same way that ‘Superman is boring’ is wrong.)

Other little things: Love that King says Kara views Krypto as a family member (because he totally is), and the Camine Infantino art was SO COOL.

SO, OVERALL: Gonna have to get used to the idea of an old, crusty Kara.

(Honestly I can’t even be mad at that description because I kinda find it funny? I mean, what with the Superman Fortnite announcement recently, I’m feeling pretty old and crusty, ngl. XD)

But I like a lot of the stuff King’s said so far.

Some of it does give me a little pause--like the heavy emphasis on the Supergirl part of her identity, as opposed to Kara, and how she’s just this awesome badass, with no real mention of other aspects of her character--but.

As should be very clear by now, I’m not in it for the writing.

Rather. I am here primarily because of

*takes a deep breath*

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT!

[hellyeahheroes]

Cleansing the Crimes of Old Krypton: Comparisons Between Superman #1-6 and Supergirl #1-6

Ever since the rise of the comic-book anti-heroes, Superman and his family were positioned by writers in the opposition to them. This is a natural progression for those who understand the character’s roots as the hero of the little folk. Such qualities are resonating with the liberal and socialist ideals. Meanwhile, antiheroes often voice ideas that would be very terrifying if said by real-life politicians. The efficiency being presented as more important than human rights or collateral damage. The idea that the justice system only stops the protagonist from doing what’s necessary. An approach where stopping the bad guys is more important than protecting the innocent. These ideas can easily be applied to politics. And as a result, lead to authoritarian or outright fascist thinking. Don’t get me wrong. Some people claim if Batman won’t kill the Joker, he has the blood of Joker’s future victims on his hands. I’m not saying they’re cheering Donald Trump saying federal judges who overruled his ban on Muslim Immigrants are to blame if a terrorist attack happens. But we need to recognize the parallels.

Many successful antihero stories were built on exploring the consequences of this approach. You can find those themes everywhere from The Authority and V for Vendetta to Code Geass. Sadly, lately, we have a continuous increase of those problems being glossed over. And not only for actual antiheroes but even more upstanding characters. Especially in movies. Once paragons of virtue on big screen become terrifying. And yet we're supposed to cheer when they commit atrocities. Violating borders of a foreign country, intruding on people’s privacy, destroying an entire city in battle, murdering people. It all becomes not only justified but even glorified. They say it’s okay for “good guys” to do those things. Because otherwise, we’re all going to die. Because they’ll stop once the danger is gone, pinky swear. Because only the bad guys get hurt and killed. So relax and handle all the power and no accountability to those guys, they need it to protect you.

Superman stories often tackled this issue. Sometimes results is a compelling, meaningful voice in the discussion. Other times we get an awful, hypocritical story. That is given praise regardless because it sticks it up to the other side. “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice And American Way” and it’s adaptation “Superman vs the Elite” are a prime example. There Superman proves wrong the Authority knockoffs who claim that might makes right. By beating the living shit out of them, thus proving that might do indeed makes right…. if you’re Superman. Thankfully, two stories I want to talk about do not have this problem.

For inspirations, both stories reach back. To a tale of 4 individuals that tried to replace Superman after his supposed death - Reign of Supermen. Superman books under Rebirth banner, in general, try to recreate the feel of that era. Superman is dead and his replacements start showing up. Kenan Kong in the New Super-Man, Lana Lang in Superwoman, even Lex Luthor dons the cape. But DC managed to have their cake and eat it too. The main Superman book still has it's Man of Steel. It's Superman from another Universe, with wife and son. He is more in line with old DC Continuity, compared to Superman that died. Meanwhile, Supergirl reaches to feel more like beloved TV Series, even if Kara is still a teenager. To connect with Reign of Supermen both books use a different way. They reach for its “bad” Supermen - Eradicator and Cyborg Superman. They also revamp them to have them fit a specific purpose.

Or use earlier revamps, as is the case with Cyborg Superman. Before Flashpoint this name was held by Hank Henshaw, a scientist with a grudge. In New 52 he is the man who had sent Kara to Earth from Argo, last surviving city of Krypton. Her father, Zor-El. He failed to save the whole colony and is desperate to undo past failures. He turns dead corpses of his citizens and even wife into cyborgs like him. But to regain sentience the need to consume life force of intelligent beings. Then Zor-El hears Kara cry in her moment of doubt. She question she’ll even be able to fit on Earth and how strange and, well, alien, our customs are for her. Her father doesn’t hesitate. He decides to invade Earth, harvest humanity to resurrect Argo and take his daughter back.

Eradicator was absent from New 52 era of DC, to resurface in Rebirth, with a simplified origin. Before Flashpoint it was an alien A.I. obsessed over Krypton. In Rebirth Eradicators were created by General Zod. It was a mechanical police force used against both criminals and political rivals. This one came back to life through contact with the blood of Superman’s son, Jonathan. And then vowed to protect and restore Krypton’s legacy. Starting with the last heir of House of El, Superman himself. Clark is reluctant to trust the robot when it offers to examine Jon’s health and fluctuating powers. Turns out it was a good call. Eradicator decides that being half-human half-Kryptonian, Jon is impure. And that the best way to heal him is to eradicate human part of his DNA. Jon would become fully Kryptonian, but also cease to exist as a person he was up to this point.

Both those villains have a history of representing darker shades of Krypton. In old continuity, Eradicator was a go-to explanation for every Krypton-related bad thing. Villainous interpretation of Zor-El is nothing new either. Before Flashpoint his whole motivation was "He hates his brother, Jor-El". He didn't send Kara away to save her, but to make her kill Kal-El. He had brainwashed his own daughter to make her a weapon against her cousin.

If anything, this version of him comes off as, if not sympathetic, then at least pitiable. Flashbacks show us he was a caring, loving father, who sent Kara away to protect her. It makes it much more tragic to see how far he has fallen. Even Kara starts to feel bad for him over the course of the story. She recognizes in him a man haunted by his failures, whose actions are a desperate try to fix everything. But Supergirl still calls him out. She points out that he doesn't care about anything but himself anymore. If he did, he’d see how twisted his “solution” actually is and try to find a better one. The results were more important than how he achieved them. And things like mass murder became merely means to an end. It doesn't matter how many he has to kill. It doesn't matter he turned his wife and friends into mechanical monsters. Once he gets them back, everything will be back to normal, he tells himself. He expects his wife and daughter to go back to their old life and ignore all the blood on his hands. He is delusional. When his wife regains part of her mind, she sacrifices herself to save Kara's adoptive mother. She'd rather be dead than part of this. Does it get to him? No. because for Zor-El it doesn't matter how appalling his methods are. Only that he wins.

Both Zor-El and Eradicator are operating on racist and xenophobic assumptions. They see everyone who is not Kryptonian as inferior and disposable. The whole idea of a Kryptonian living with human family is appalling to them. Zor-El several times states he never meant for Kara to stay on Earth forever. He expects her to simply abandon her new home, now that it served its purpose. He also mentions in passing wars betweenKrypton and other races. It's implied they were as horrible as what he is doing now. Meanwhile, what is Eradicator? A Kryptonian version of police brutality and law-enforcement being used for political reasons. All these factors make the reader ask a question neither of the villains bothered with. Should you bring old Krypton back? If Kryptonians were warmongering xenophobes, then why should they return? Who is to say if they do, they won’t go down the same path again? Neither Eradicator nor Zor-El makes a strong case against this argument. Not when they’re willing to stomp into the ground anyone who stands in their way.

We live in times when people in power tell us we need to give up parts of our freedoms for our own protection. That we need to do whatever it takes, no matter how unethical, to protect our way of life from “the enemy”. Even if it means crushing rights of those different from us. This is no different from many anti-heroes in comics. How often do we see one accusing more restrained superheroes of not having what it takes to “get the job done”? Or claim not only are they too weak, but people they protect are dumb masses easy to sway and control? Those themes are still being explored by creators of both books. Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason do it through later Superman villain, the Prophecy. Lord Havok and the Extremists serve this role in Steve Orlando’s JLA. But it isn’t enough to have heroes beat this type of villains. What is even more important is how they beat them. As I mentioned above, in that kind of stories it’s easy to come off as a hypocrite, if you play your hand wrong.

Luckily, even on that ground, the stories are on point. Neither Superman nor Supergirl can defeat their enemies alone. It is the strength of family, friends, and allies that allow them to overcome this threat. As Kara says, she isn’t on Earth to inspire humans – they inspire each other. Threat Eradicator and Zor-El present cannot be defeated by an individual. It needs the united effort of everyone it threatens. Even average people like Cat Grant or Bibbo Bibbowski have their part to play. It’s love, family, and unity that save the day.

And in true classic fashion, they are both shown mercy. While Eradicator’s physical form is destroyed, Superman’s very aware that’s not enough to kill him. Meanwhile, Cyborg Superman ends immobilized and imprisoned. The story ends with Kara hoping to find a way to save her father. If you follow solicits you know they’ll both be back in May’s Action Comics. Some might complain about the never-ending nature of superhero comics. How no victory is ever meaningful because the villain will come back. It’s one of the major problems raised by supporters of the antiheroes. But looking at those villains a metaphor for fascist tendencies, it works. Fascism can be beaten, but it cannot be killed. It will always find a way to creep back under a different name. The weakness of anti-hero stories lies in them giving the reader a fake sense of finality. They tell us we have to do whatever it takes, even if it’s immoral and unethical, to win against the evil. That once we beat it, it’s gone and we can go back to normal. But that’s not true. Evil is forever and it will keep coming at you in new forms. We can see it in today’s world as well. Not so long ago many folks would say fascism died when WWII was over. Allies victory over this evil was final and definite. The questionable choices made by them like bombing civilian cities, were justified because fascism is now dead. Once put down it will never rise to power again. And then Richard Spencer and Steve Bannon started making the news…..

The purpose of this text is not to bash on fans of the antihero characters. But when working with them it's important to show their questionable aspects. Otherwise, they can become propaganda tools for the worst kind of people.