Four issues into SUPERGIRL and we are still slowly learning more and more about Kara Zor-El's origins. Back in September we outlined four of the major changes that had been made to Kara's character based on the first issue of her "new 52" book -- but one thing we did not touch on at the time was her relationship to Superman.
Towards the end of Supergirl's first issue, Kara caught her very first glimpse of Superman and quickly identified the 'S' insignia on his chest. The second issue of her series served to demonstrate Kara's reluctance towards Kal and readers were given their first look at their relationship going into the "new 52."
One thing is definitely certain, these two do not have the loving relationship we saw when Kara was introduced in Jeph Loeb's Batman/Superman #8. In Loeb's series, Superman was thrilled to see Kara and she was happy to meet him, as well. Rather than asking questions, she was completely trusting of Clark and adjusted very quickly to her new surroundings. She took to the role of Superman's younger cousin rather fast. Looking back, maybe it was a little bit too fast.
The introduction between them played out like they had known one another forever; and while it's great that it played out the way; it's still hard to believe the only skeptic in the room at the time was Batman. Their first meeting was very different from what we saw play out In issue #2 of SUPERGIRL.
In the second issue of the SUPERGIRL ongoing series, Kal-El concluded after obtaining Supergirl's birth name that she must be his cousin. This very similar scene played out in Loeb's series with very different results. Rather than a warm embrace, Kara was in disbelief. Angry, scared and confused; Kara attacked Kal in the heat of the moment. Kara remained skeptical of this stranger who claimed to be the baby cousin she had just held in her arms three days prior. And who could blame her?
With no recollection of how she got to this strange planet, why she was wearing her family crest before her graduation day and who this man was that claimed to be her cousin; Kara was quite literally afraid. Her reaction was normal -- natural even, and makes a heck of a lot more sense, in retrospect. By having her question Clark, writer Michael Green is not only humanizing Kara, he is also depicting her as an intelligent young woman. She is not complacent and she is thinking for herself, something we didn't see a lot of from her when she was first introduced. After all, landing on a strange planet in a pod is a little bit strange; even for a Kryptonian.
What of the future of her relationship with Clark, though? How long will she be hesitant and keep her cousin at a distance? When will she try to learn more about who he is and understand that he might be able to her her discover how she got to where she is now?
In issue #4 of her series, Supergirl escaped Tycho's space station with one clue: a sunstone. The sunstone, like a memory stick, is the only key to uncovering what happened to her in the last three days and how she was sent to Earth. Problem is, the sunstone is broken. Kara briefly considers what to do and wonders if she should return to the man who claims to be her cousin for help.
So does she? Looking at the solicits for the series' fifth issue, it looks like Kara Zor-El is more stubborn than ever before. Rather than going to garner the help of her cousin, Kara opts to return to Krypton to find out what happened to her family, friends and her entire life. What she will find is a planet unlike she has ever seen.
That still doesn't answer the question of whether or not Kara will reconcile with Clark, does it? While the solicits don't reveal any information regarding whether these two will start being nice to one another, a recent interview with Superman Editor Matt Idelson reveals that they might indeed patch things up very soon. According to him, Supergirl, Superman and Superboy will all be joining forces in a story this Summer.
Many things that will be factors in ACTION this year are being established in issues #5-6. Grant (with the help of guest-artist Andy Kubert) has sprinkled an incredible amount of fun hints inside a really challenging story. Meanwhile, Keith and Dan are plotting some really star-spanning stuff for Supes, though before that we'll be doing an event between SUPERMAN, SUPERGIRL and SUPERBOY in the summer. Superman hasn't met Superboy yet, and his relationship with Supergirl isn't exactly lovey dovey. Seeing how they function as a unit under those circumstances should be interesting, to say the least. And as I mentioned earlier, oh, about three questions ago, "The Death of Superman" very much did happen.
The question remains, how? What will lead these two characters to finally reconcile? Do you like the way Supergirl is being written thus far? Do you think it made more sense for her to fight Superman as she did in her current series, or would it have been better if they had a friendly relationship from the get-go as we saw in Loeb's book?
