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Supergirl (2011)
Supergirl, Volume 3: Sanctuary
'Completing the H'EL ON EARTH crossover event that had made its way through Superman, Superboy and finally Supergirl.
When a mysterious Kryptonian arrives on Earth and convinces Kara that he intends on returning them to Krypton, prior to its destruction, in an effort to save the planet. When presented with the opportunity to return home, the young and sometimes foolish Kara fails to see H'el's whole plan, a plan that will leave the Earth in ruins. Wonder Woman and The Flash must facedown Kara in an effort to make her see the truth and save Earth before it's too late!
Collects: Supergirl #13-20.
When a mysterious Kryptonian arrives on Earth and convinces Kara that he intends on returning them to Krypton, prior to its destruction, in an effort to save the planet. When presented with the opportunity to return home, the young and sometimes foolish Kara fails to see H'el's whole plan, a plan that will leave the Earth in ruins. Wonder Woman and The Flash must facedown Kara in an effort to make her see the truth and save Earth before it's too late!
Collects: Supergirl #13-20.
181 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 18, 2014
40 people are currently reading
451 people want to read
About the author
Mike Johnson
608 books53 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Mike Johnson is a comic book writer.
An almost lifelong Trekkie, he has scripted more Star Trek comic books than anyone else to date.
Mike Johnson is a comic book writer.
An almost lifelong Trekkie, he has scripted more Star Trek comic books than anyone else to date.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
April 1, 2024
(B) 72% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: Partway problematic and pointless, its perky posterior's pretty pleasing: a peppy, playful plot with plenty of pizzazz.
*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issues #13-15
Notes: Partway problematic and pointless, its perky posterior's pretty pleasing: a peppy, playful plot with plenty of pizzazz.
*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issues #13-15
June 25, 2015
Crossover events that span multiple volumes for multiple characters are a “H'el”uva thing to keep straight and DC comics aren’t alone in the naughty publisher’s corner. Contained here we have bits and pieces of the “H'el on Earth” crossover, but not enough to follow coherently. The collection also lacks a resolution. Boo!
From what I can gather, H'el’s a creepy looking Kryptonian, player of mind games, who’s trying to enlist Supergirl in his quest to turn back the clock on Krypton’s destruction and the other DC heroes can’t convince her it’s a bad idea. “But Supergirl, Earth will be destroyed!!”
<“Whatever!”> - translated from Kryptonian.
This volume is bookended by two stories. The first involves this guy:
The evil Visible Man! (That's not his name. I forget what it was. Sue me!)
Kids! Learn anatomy and read a crappy comic at the same time!
The second half of this volume involves Power Girl.
Power. Girl.
Power Girl!!!
She’s supposed to be some sort of alternate Rubenesque (Heh!) version of Supergirl. It’s never completely explained what exactly their relationship is, but who cares. Power Girl!
I don’t give a d*mn what Supergirl says, you’re not too old to wear that outfit!!
From what I can gather, H'el’s a creepy looking Kryptonian, player of mind games, who’s trying to enlist Supergirl in his quest to turn back the clock on Krypton’s destruction and the other DC heroes can’t convince her it’s a bad idea. “But Supergirl, Earth will be destroyed!!”
<“Whatever!”> - translated from Kryptonian.
This volume is bookended by two stories. The first involves this guy:
The evil Visible Man! (That's not his name. I forget what it was. Sue me!)
Kids! Learn anatomy and read a crappy comic at the same time!
The second half of this volume involves Power Girl.
Power. Girl.
Power Girl!!!
She’s supposed to be some sort of alternate Rubenesque (Heh!) version of Supergirl. It’s never completely explained what exactly their relationship is, but who cares. Power Girl!
I don’t give a d*mn what Supergirl says, you’re not too old to wear that outfit!!
December 26, 2014
3.5 stars
Also reviewed at Addicted2Heroines
I'd already read most of this in the crossover comic Superman: H'el on Earth. Not only read it, but was fairly unimpressed by it.
So when I started reading this, and it turned out to be the Supergirl story that I'd already seen?
Yeah. Not so much with the Happy.
Supergirl: Sanctuary. I mean, it doesn't have H'el anywhere in the title! And it's not like I'm smart enough to look at the back of a comic before I pick it up, you know?!
Ok, ok. I'm big enough to admit that maybe that little misunderstanding was partially a teeny bit my fault.
Sort of.
So Supergirl is still all depressed, because she's alone on a planet full of ruffians, and Clark isn't the baby she remembers.
Then along comes (yet another) miraculous survivor of Krypton, who goes by the name H'el. Supposedly, he was Jor-El's assistant, who was sent off into space to try to find some way to save Krypton. He's been traveling the universe for...I don't know...a really long time. Somehow, he crashed on Earth.
Of course he did. Earth is a magnet for Kryptonians! If there's a random alien whose planet has been destroyed, you can bet your ass they'll somehow find their way here.
And speaking of Krypton and random aliens?
How many fucking survivors does this planet have?!
Superman: The Last Survivor of Krypton!
Last survivor, my ass. Those fuckers are continually coming out of the woodwork.
It should say, Superman: One of Many Survivors...With Probably More on the Way Right Now!
Anyhoo, now that he's here, H'el's got a plan. A plan to save Krypton from certain doom! It involves time-travel, and he needs Kara's help to pull it off.
M'kay. Superman's father, Jor-El, already KNEW that Krypton was going to go BOOM, and he STILL couldn't do anything to stop it. So, I'm not really sure what these two idiots were planning on doing with the time-travel scheme. Was there a plan beyond that? Did they have some new form of technology that they were going to tote with them that would, perhaps, to keep the planet from exploding?
Something smells fishy.
And it ain't Aquaman.
Now, obviously, with a name like H'el, he's definitely going to be the villain in the story. And once he gains Kara's trust (which isn't hard to do, because she's evidently very stupid), he enlists her help to get all the stuff together that they're gonna need to pull this off. They've almost got the machine up and running when the Justice League attacks them.
Ok. That might sound kinda random. And it is, if you've only read this book, so let me explain.
Remember what I said about this being a big crossover event that I'd already read? Well, turns out this doesn't make much sense on it's own. There are whole hunks of information that you're missing, like how Superman finds out about H'el's plan, how he recruits the Justice League, and what the hell Superboy is doing there. The answers are there, just not in this title.
Alright. BIG BATTLE time! Supergirl takes on the Flash and Wonder Woman, as both of them try to convince her that H'el is a psycho.
Lalalalalalalala! I'm. Not. Listening.
Finally, Wonder Woman is able to whip her ass hard enough to get her attention. And then it's all, Oh my God! What the hell is H'el doing?!
Come on...you knew that pun was coming.
Fight, fight, fight. Good guys win. The end.
So, don't read this for the lackluster H'el storyline. Read it for the issues that come after that.
Read it for Powergirl! These issues were AWESOME!
For those of you who don't know, Powergirl is actually Supergirl from Earth 2. During a battle with Apokolips (that killed off their Justice League) she and Earth 2's Robin were sucked into a Boom Tube and ended up on our Earth. And they can't get home.
Robin was the daughter of Batman and Selena Kyle, and now goes by the name Huntress. Powergirl is several years older than our Earth's Supergirl, which explains why she has ginormous boobs, whilst our little Kara still has normal(ish) sized knockers. Cool backstory, no?
You're right, it is. However, the actual comic for these two sorta sucks.
Now you're up to speed!
At any rate, Powergirl knows about Kara, but she's been actively avoiding her. It's simply too weird, and she's got other shit to do with Huntress. But because of her battle with H'el, Kara's got kryptonite poisoning, and somehow it's also affecting Powergirl.
It's time for a Kara/Kara team-up!
The Sanctuary storyline was just about as good as they come. In fact, it was so flat-out funny that I ended up going back and reading it again! Good stuff!
Now go read it.
Also reviewed at Addicted2Heroines
I'd already read most of this in the crossover comic Superman: H'el on Earth. Not only read it, but was fairly unimpressed by it.
So when I started reading this, and it turned out to be the Supergirl story that I'd already seen?
Yeah. Not so much with the Happy.
Supergirl: Sanctuary. I mean, it doesn't have H'el anywhere in the title! And it's not like I'm smart enough to look at the back of a comic before I pick it up, you know?!
Ok, ok. I'm big enough to admit that maybe that little misunderstanding was partially a teeny bit my fault.
Sort of.
So Supergirl is still all depressed, because she's alone on a planet full of ruffians, and Clark isn't the baby she remembers.
Then along comes (yet another) miraculous survivor of Krypton, who goes by the name H'el. Supposedly, he was Jor-El's assistant, who was sent off into space to try to find some way to save Krypton. He's been traveling the universe for...I don't know...a really long time. Somehow, he crashed on Earth.
Of course he did. Earth is a magnet for Kryptonians! If there's a random alien whose planet has been destroyed, you can bet your ass they'll somehow find their way here.
And speaking of Krypton and random aliens?
How many fucking survivors does this planet have?!
Superman: The Last Survivor of Krypton!
Last survivor, my ass. Those fuckers are continually coming out of the woodwork.
It should say, Superman: One of Many Survivors...With Probably More on the Way Right Now!
Anyhoo, now that he's here, H'el's got a plan. A plan to save Krypton from certain doom! It involves time-travel, and he needs Kara's help to pull it off.
M'kay. Superman's father, Jor-El, already KNEW that Krypton was going to go BOOM, and he STILL couldn't do anything to stop it. So, I'm not really sure what these two idiots were planning on doing with the time-travel scheme. Was there a plan beyond that? Did they have some new form of technology that they were going to tote with them that would, perhaps, to keep the planet from exploding?
Something smells fishy.
And it ain't Aquaman.
Now, obviously, with a name like H'el, he's definitely going to be the villain in the story. And once he gains Kara's trust (which isn't hard to do, because she's evidently very stupid), he enlists her help to get all the stuff together that they're gonna need to pull this off. They've almost got the machine up and running when the Justice League attacks them.
Ok. That might sound kinda random. And it is, if you've only read this book, so let me explain.
Remember what I said about this being a big crossover event that I'd already read? Well, turns out this doesn't make much sense on it's own. There are whole hunks of information that you're missing, like how Superman finds out about H'el's plan, how he recruits the Justice League, and what the hell Superboy is doing there. The answers are there, just not in this title.
Alright. BIG BATTLE time! Supergirl takes on the Flash and Wonder Woman, as both of them try to convince her that H'el is a psycho.
Lalalalalalalala! I'm. Not. Listening.
Finally, Wonder Woman is able to whip her ass hard enough to get her attention. And then it's all, Oh my God! What the hell is H'el doing?!
Come on...you knew that pun was coming.
Fight, fight, fight. Good guys win. The end.
So, don't read this for the lackluster H'el storyline. Read it for the issues that come after that.
Read it for Powergirl! These issues were AWESOME!
For those of you who don't know, Powergirl is actually Supergirl from Earth 2. During a battle with Apokolips (that killed off their Justice League) she and Earth 2's Robin were sucked into a Boom Tube and ended up on our Earth. And they can't get home.
Robin was the daughter of Batman and Selena Kyle, and now goes by the name Huntress. Powergirl is several years older than our Earth's Supergirl, which explains why she has ginormous boobs, whilst our little Kara still has normal(ish) sized knockers. Cool backstory, no?
You're right, it is. However, the actual comic for these two sorta sucks.
Now you're up to speed!
At any rate, Powergirl knows about Kara, but she's been actively avoiding her. It's simply too weird, and she's got other shit to do with Huntress. But because of her battle with H'el, Kara's got kryptonite poisoning, and somehow it's also affecting Powergirl.
It's time for a Kara/Kara team-up!
The Sanctuary storyline was just about as good as they come. In fact, it was so flat-out funny that I ended up going back and reading it again! Good stuff!
Now go read it.
July 30, 2015
After last volume, I was done with Supergirl, but this was at the library and a new writer took over...
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
This comic is a piece. Of. Garbage.
There's obviously crossover shit here, and I feel like a 7 yr old trying to understand quantum mechanics.
A bad guy named H'el? Fuck off.
Who's next a hero named H'even?
How about an anti-hero named Purga Torrie?
As with anything involving Kara, she inexplicably trusts ANYONE not named Superman, and anyone who is Superman aligned must be a villain.
Ergo, she beats up Superboy, Flash, Wonder Woman, until Wonder Woman reminds us why she's a Woman, not a Girl.
There there's a shitload of Lex Luthor clones or things...they kill Kara? But she's saved by PowerGirl? The Earth 2 version, you know. What she would be on Earth 2.
Then it's just blah blah blah boobies, blah blah blah tits, blah blah blah nice rack.
This is the worst tripe, a pile of festering anal seepage baked in rotting menses wastes topped with a dash of decomposing vomit and bloody stool.
and that was the good part.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
This comic is a piece. Of. Garbage.
There's obviously crossover shit here, and I feel like a 7 yr old trying to understand quantum mechanics.
A bad guy named H'el? Fuck off.
Who's next a hero named H'even?
How about an anti-hero named Purga Torrie?
As with anything involving Kara, she inexplicably trusts ANYONE not named Superman, and anyone who is Superman aligned must be a villain.
Ergo, she beats up Superboy, Flash, Wonder Woman, until Wonder Woman reminds us why she's a Woman, not a Girl.
There there's a shitload of Lex Luthor clones or things...they kill Kara? But she's saved by PowerGirl? The Earth 2 version, you know. What she would be on Earth 2.
Then it's just blah blah blah boobies, blah blah blah tits, blah blah blah nice rack.
This is the worst tripe, a pile of festering anal seepage baked in rotting menses wastes topped with a dash of decomposing vomit and bloody stool.
and that was the good part.
January 23, 2022
So Supergirl is to blame for Power Girl's stupid new boob window costume.
Thanks a lot, Supergirl.
Thanks a lot, Supergirl.
October 4, 2016
I think I'd taken about an hour to finish reading Supergirl Vol. 3, it is a fun read and I'm glad to see the artwork being so fine, plus the character's design and their outfits are so outstanding (the combat scenes are also masterfully drawn). I rarely say this about DC's comic, but at least this time the artwork doesn't look too brightly colorful nor too crowded and the drawing is neat and upbeat.
However, I have huge problem with the stories, although none of the storylines and the setting are difficult to understand--Supergirl woke up on Earth not fully knowing her home planet was long destroyed and she tries to deal with her life on Earth whilst always yearning for her home planet and her old life, it is entirely clear and understandable.
But for unknown reason scenes and storylines tend to just get broken off and we get shifted into another storyline or another scenes without ANY EXPLANATION and it's so, so annoying! For example, Supergirl walks in on Superman (her cousin) having a conversation with Lois but what is the outcome of it? Supergirl confronts her love interest H'el but then what happens next? ()
Can you believe I actually had to check Wiki to know what is going on? Can you believe that!?
Still, I kind of like this volume, so I will keep reading.
However, I have huge problem with the stories, although none of the storylines and the setting are difficult to understand--Supergirl woke up on Earth not fully knowing her home planet was long destroyed and she tries to deal with her life on Earth whilst always yearning for her home planet and her old life, it is entirely clear and understandable.
But for unknown reason scenes and storylines tend to just get broken off and we get shifted into another storyline or another scenes without ANY EXPLANATION and it's so, so annoying! For example, Supergirl walks in on Superman (her cousin) having a conversation with Lois but what is the outcome of it? Supergirl confronts her love interest H'el but then what happens next? ()
Can you believe I actually had to check Wiki to know what is going on? Can you believe that!?
Still, I kind of like this volume, so I will keep reading.
May 27, 2020
Much more likeable performance in story, and continuing solid art. (Although ALL of DC's writers need training in cross-overs; they should be able to tell two parallel stories that make sense, in case you aren't about to run snap up yet another round of comics just to understand a story...)
The "H'el on Earth" story proceeded predictably, but only because I had read 1/3 in Superman, Volume 3: Fury at World's End. A couple of nice twists with Lex Luthor, a resurrected villain, Sanctuary, and Power Girl.
Power Girl, ah, Power Girl. We are all pretty sure by now that P.G. is Kara Zor-El of Earth 2, making her way in a world not her own. So there shouldn't be any mystic mind-transference or twin soul stuff going on here. And she's got a cool, modern, tasteful set of "work" clothes, so I don't get why they pushed her back into the silly leotard & keyhole swimsuit-with-a-cape. Ah, well. Such is the fate of tasteful costumes in the Age of Demographics.
The "H'el on Earth" story proceeded predictably, but only because I had read 1/3 in Superman, Volume 3: Fury at World's End. A couple of nice twists with Lex Luthor, a resurrected villain, Sanctuary, and Power Girl.
Power Girl, ah, Power Girl. We are all pretty sure by now that P.G. is Kara Zor-El of Earth 2, making her way in a world not her own. So there shouldn't be any mystic mind-transference or twin soul stuff going on here. And she's got a cool, modern, tasteful set of "work" clothes, so I don't get why they pushed her back into the silly leotard & keyhole swimsuit-with-a-cape. Ah, well. Such is the fate of tasteful costumes in the Age of Demographics.
February 3, 2023
Great artwork, decent stories...but, I was not too keen on the character of H'el.
August 14, 2019
The comic is definitely fantastic
March 14, 2019
This was messy collection.
This is mostly ruined by the He'el or whatever storyline. You know the big New 52 storyline that had Supergirl, Superman, and Superboy all come into play. Sounds like it could be a fun idea, but just one problem. Each collection has each other's comic issues. So just re-reading the same story of the lost family member coming down, tricking supergirl into falling in love with him, and fighting each other. Anyway, the other two issues are basically about Supergirl's Sanctuary, which is her version of fortress of solitude. Oh yeah, and Power Girl comes into this universe.
Good: The Power Girl banter with Supergirl is actually a lot of fun. I also thought the idea of Sanctuary is really interesting. A more talkative version of Superman's hideout. Oh and the art remains pretty solid throughout.
Bad: Well the crossover event takes up 65% of this volume and guess what? That storyline is just okay at best. Worst part about it is the fact they make supergirl evil or bad, or follow this guy, mostly because she "loves him" I think is so fucking stupid.
So yeah, a okay collection at best. A 2.5 out of 5.
This is mostly ruined by the He'el or whatever storyline. You know the big New 52 storyline that had Supergirl, Superman, and Superboy all come into play. Sounds like it could be a fun idea, but just one problem. Each collection has each other's comic issues. So just re-reading the same story of the lost family member coming down, tricking supergirl into falling in love with him, and fighting each other. Anyway, the other two issues are basically about Supergirl's Sanctuary, which is her version of fortress of solitude. Oh yeah, and Power Girl comes into this universe.
Good: The Power Girl banter with Supergirl is actually a lot of fun. I also thought the idea of Sanctuary is really interesting. A more talkative version of Superman's hideout. Oh and the art remains pretty solid throughout.
Bad: Well the crossover event takes up 65% of this volume and guess what? That storyline is just okay at best. Worst part about it is the fact they make supergirl evil or bad, or follow this guy, mostly because she "loves him" I think is so fucking stupid.
So yeah, a okay collection at best. A 2.5 out of 5.
June 25, 2015
Not bad. The H'el stuff (which is most of this volume) can be confusing without the completeness from the other books but the stories overall were entertaining.
April 11, 2019
Was not crazy about this one. Just read it for the Superman Hel on Earth tie-in. Just not a big fan of this version of Supergirl.
September 19, 2014
Note: Last week, I reviewed the crossover volume "H'el on Earth", which includes four of the same issues collected in this trade paperback. To avoid a recap of that material, this review will just cover my thoughts on the other four issues.
Appropriately enough, Supergirl, Vol. 3: Sanctuary picks up immediately where Vol. 2, Girl in the World left off, puts Kara's exploration of her new secret base on hiatus to follow Superman and Superboy into battle against the Kryptonian supervillain H'el, and then essentially returns to mildly conclude the Sanctuary arc. As such, this volume is rather fragmented in its presentation of Supergirl's story and depends to a large extent on your ability to acquire the remaining 11 issues of Superman and Superboy (I suggest the H'el on Earth collection in terms of cost-effectiveness).
With the "Sanctuary" plot, Michael Alan Green does a few things right, but ultimately it only cements Kara's place on Earth. She crosses paths with Power Girl, deals with the aftermath of the "H'el on Earth," and that's about it. We learn a modest amount about the Sanctuary fortress, but there isn't a large amount of content beyond that. Aside from a cool-looking cover by Emanuela Lupaccino, Mahmud Asrar's artwork stands pat as just-okay and keeps the overall quality of the book towards the middle of the pack.
BACKLOG PRIORITY
3/10 - This is a volume for collectors of the Super-books only, as it doesn't really contain all of the content necessary to understand all of what's happening in all of Supergirl's story arcs. If this book has quickly resolved the consequence of Kara's involvement with Superman in the fight against H'el, then this is a volume safely skipped for most readers.
Appropriately enough, Supergirl, Vol. 3: Sanctuary picks up immediately where Vol. 2, Girl in the World left off, puts Kara's exploration of her new secret base on hiatus to follow Superman and Superboy into battle against the Kryptonian supervillain H'el, and then essentially returns to mildly conclude the Sanctuary arc. As such, this volume is rather fragmented in its presentation of Supergirl's story and depends to a large extent on your ability to acquire the remaining 11 issues of Superman and Superboy (I suggest the H'el on Earth collection in terms of cost-effectiveness).
With the "Sanctuary" plot, Michael Alan Green does a few things right, but ultimately it only cements Kara's place on Earth. She crosses paths with Power Girl, deals with the aftermath of the "H'el on Earth," and that's about it. We learn a modest amount about the Sanctuary fortress, but there isn't a large amount of content beyond that. Aside from a cool-looking cover by Emanuela Lupaccino, Mahmud Asrar's artwork stands pat as just-okay and keeps the overall quality of the book towards the middle of the pack.
BACKLOG PRIORITY
3/10 - This is a volume for collectors of the Super-books only, as it doesn't really contain all of the content necessary to understand all of what's happening in all of Supergirl's story arcs. If this book has quickly resolved the consequence of Kara's involvement with Superman in the fight against H'el, then this is a volume safely skipped for most readers.
July 14, 2024
An excellent story, that highlights the dangers of wanting something badly and blind to any other alternatives.
In an attempt to stop Kara (Superman's cousin) Wonder Woman and The Flash were perfect choices as opponents.
Great story telling, lots of action and impressive illustrations make this a worth while read.
In an attempt to stop Kara (Superman's cousin) Wonder Woman and The Flash were perfect choices as opponents.
Great story telling, lots of action and impressive illustrations make this a worth while read.
July 12, 2014
If I was reviewing this edition ONLY, I would give it one star. If I was reviewing the story ONLY, I would give it five. Unfortunately, you can't buy either this volume or the Superman/Superboy/Supergirl crossover graphic novel H'El On Earth, since Supergirl Vol. 3 includes issues that came both before the crossover and after. That's all that frustrated me, though.
I didn't like Power Girl, but I enjoyed her interactions with Kara. Kara is by far my favorite superhero and I still really sympathized with her. I'm still anxiously waiting for Vol. 4 so that I can continue the story. After that, I can read my husband's issues and then wait for the monthly issues like a normal person.
I didn't like Power Girl, but I enjoyed her interactions with Kara. Kara is by far my favorite superhero and I still really sympathized with her. I'm still anxiously waiting for Vol. 4 so that I can continue the story. After that, I can read my husband's issues and then wait for the monthly issues like a normal person.
February 23, 2014
4+ stars. One of DCs best titles these days. A bit jarring because only two chapters of a crossover event are here, so they didn't make much sense. Rest of the book is terrific. Might have to read the rest of the H'El story as I liked what was here.
February 20, 2014
I'm not really digging this whole "Supergirl verus the world" motif that DC has started pulling. We all know that teenagers have angst, but this is cranking the drama up to eleven. There are enough whiny people on the planet as is. Let Supergirl be super.
June 20, 2013
Read the separate issues.
The H'el on Earth story arc wasn't my favorite just cause Supergirl seems a bit too easily manipulated. Still nice to see a Supers crossover.
The H'el on Earth story arc wasn't my favorite just cause Supergirl seems a bit too easily manipulated. Still nice to see a Supers crossover.
July 2, 2016
He'l Crossover issues 2 stars.
Power Girl team up. 4 stars.
Power Girl team up. 4 stars.
April 25, 2020
Suffers from crossoveritis.... Like most of the New 52... I will say, it has been pretty easy to figure out where to find the rest of the stories (not that I am goanna get em, but if I ever want to) since it is a Superman family thing. Batman's Death Of The Family was the same way, pretty easy to figure it out there. Still, it is rather annoying to read it in bits and pieces like that, and then have to go back and read the previous volumes of whatever series you had to pick up to follow the whole story...
Anyway, the first few were good, though Kara got rather annoying by the end of He'l On Earth event. She has been on earth a while, she has been adjusting. I would think Superman would have introduced her to the League, but yet she won't listen to a word anyone says because... She's in love??? It does kinda make sense, she is only 16 or so, but STILL she acted more like a 12 year old. Actually not even. Jon Kent is more mature than her...
The last few volumes with Powergirl were pretty good, and Sanctuary became rather funny at times. Overall, skipping it won't matter much, as nothing really happens to move her story or character forward here.
Anyway, the first few were good, though Kara got rather annoying by the end of He'l On Earth event. She has been on earth a while, she has been adjusting. I would think Superman would have introduced her to the League, but yet she won't listen to a word anyone says because... She's in love??? It does kinda make sense, she is only 16 or so, but STILL she acted more like a 12 year old. Actually not even. Jon Kent is more mature than her...
The last few volumes with Powergirl were pretty good, and Sanctuary became rather funny at times. Overall, skipping it won't matter much, as nothing really happens to move her story or character forward here.
May 27, 2025
Supergirl Vol. 3: Sanctuary
H'El comes to Earth and convinces Kara he can restore Krypton via time travel, putting her at odds with Superman and the Justice League. Recovering from kryptonite poisoning, Kara is brought to Sanctuary by Karen Starr to recover. When the Sanctuary AI believes that Supergirl is a clone of Power Girl, it sets about trying to destroy its mistress.
Incredibly sad in places, where Kara is willing to sacrifice everything for a chance to go home, but then livened up when Earth 1 and Earth 2 collide, Johnson keeps the story entertaining and the art is simply superb.
H'El comes to Earth and convinces Kara he can restore Krypton via time travel, putting her at odds with Superman and the Justice League. Recovering from kryptonite poisoning, Kara is brought to Sanctuary by Karen Starr to recover. When the Sanctuary AI believes that Supergirl is a clone of Power Girl, it sets about trying to destroy its mistress.
Incredibly sad in places, where Kara is willing to sacrifice everything for a chance to go home, but then livened up when Earth 1 and Earth 2 collide, Johnson keeps the story entertaining and the art is simply superb.
August 11, 2025
Okay, this one took me into a world of Supergirl that I had not known about. Let me tell you, I have been thinking about the next volume for weeks now, especially the Red Lantern crossover one. Like, yeah I do hate the costume, my brother in Christ like she's a baby why she wearing that??? Regardless, my crashout queen. I need more Supergirl stories.
October 29, 2024
So what's funny is I like every artist more than the featured artist. So I'd say art super unbalanced. Story was, meh, I really enjoyed Power Girl, but everything else is another, Supergirl is convinced to to the wrong thing, and I feel like that's just a super overused story for her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2015
It's a hard decision to make, placing a star rating on this volume of Supergirl. In some ways, it's the best yet, combining Kara's resourcefulness with her desire to be alone and safe, with some well-intentioned comedy and a fun meeting with Power Girl. On the other, it's a jumble of stories which aren't complete, making the impact of what should have been a great emotional arc for Kara hollow and a little pointless.
I wondered, in my reviews of Batman: The Night of the Owls and Nightwing, Vol. 2: Night of the Owls, if it was fair for a volume to include all of the stories from a cross-over arc if those stories were also going to be published in the individual volumes of each hero. In the case of Batman, this might have worked quite well, although there are a lot of different series which tie together in the Bat-family. With the H'el on Earth storyline, I am fairly certain that it only crosses over with Superman and Superboy, but I don't have access to those comics, so that was frustrating. But, from what I can grasp from the Supergirl portion, this would actually make a perfect emotional arc for Kara. The story as it stands makes it out as if Kara trusts the wrong people, but fails to exploit the obvious counterpoint that Kal-El has done nothing to encourage Kara to trust him. Thus, when Kal-El turns out to be right on this one (was there any chance that he wouldn't?) Kara feels betrayed - but unless he explains why he didn't trust H'el (which he certainly doesn't in what's recorded here) then there is no reason why Kara should have believed him - all it sounds like is that Kal-El, having grown up on Earth and not Krypton, doesn't care about his home planet or the people who lived there. Kara has genuinely lost something Kal-El never had. It would be an opportunity not just for Kara to make a mistake and have to live with the consequences, but for Kal-El to come to understand all the mistakes that he is making with Kara, and to try to repair their relationship. There's plenty to explore for Kara here, but it doesn't seem like that will actually happen in the Superman volumes, which should, really, be focused on him.
I did enjoy the meeting with Power Girl, when the story got back on track with things that were mostly Kara-related. The Supergirl/Power Girl relationship should, by rights, be an interesting one and it's good to see them doing something different with it than in the Crisis-period. Just try not to notice their terrible costumes...
I wondered, in my reviews of Batman: The Night of the Owls and Nightwing, Vol. 2: Night of the Owls, if it was fair for a volume to include all of the stories from a cross-over arc if those stories were also going to be published in the individual volumes of each hero. In the case of Batman, this might have worked quite well, although there are a lot of different series which tie together in the Bat-family. With the H'el on Earth storyline, I am fairly certain that it only crosses over with Superman and Superboy, but I don't have access to those comics, so that was frustrating. But, from what I can grasp from the Supergirl portion, this would actually make a perfect emotional arc for Kara. The story as it stands makes it out as if Kara trusts the wrong people, but fails to exploit the obvious counterpoint that Kal-El has done nothing to encourage Kara to trust him. Thus, when Kal-El turns out to be right on this one (was there any chance that he wouldn't?) Kara feels betrayed - but unless he explains why he didn't trust H'el (which he certainly doesn't in what's recorded here) then there is no reason why Kara should have believed him - all it sounds like is that Kal-El, having grown up on Earth and not Krypton, doesn't care about his home planet or the people who lived there. Kara has genuinely lost something Kal-El never had. It would be an opportunity not just for Kara to make a mistake and have to live with the consequences, but for Kal-El to come to understand all the mistakes that he is making with Kara, and to try to repair their relationship. There's plenty to explore for Kara here, but it doesn't seem like that will actually happen in the Superman volumes, which should, really, be focused on him.
I did enjoy the meeting with Power Girl, when the story got back on track with things that were mostly Kara-related. The Supergirl/Power Girl relationship should, by rights, be an interesting one and it's good to see them doing something different with it than in the Crisis-period. Just try not to notice their terrible costumes...
March 22, 2015
Supergirl Volume 3 is mostly dealing with the H'El on Earth crossover that introduces the maniacal nutcase that wants to go back in time to resurrect Krypton, even if it means murdering everyone on Earth to do it. Of course, Kara ends up on the wrong side of the conflict, and all H'El breaks loose. Yes, poor pun, so sue me.
This volume opens with Kara dealing with Sanctuary, her new base of operations. As she gets to know it and begin to enjoy having somewhere to call her own, the H'El on Earth crossover takes over and it's basically forgotten about until the final issue, which has it trying to kill her before getting destroyed. So that's a complete waste of a potential plot, well done everyone involved there. Sigh. Simon Tyco is sorted out in this first issue too, so at least he won't be bugging the new creative team in the future, and it's a satisfying way to deal with the man who made Kara's life a living hell as soon as she started on Earth.
H'El on Earth itself is decent enough. Despite DC's idiotic idea of reprinting all the Supergirl issues without any of the other material, it flows pretty well except for the first cliffhanger and the fact that the resolution of the story isn't collected here at all. You can gather what happened by the following issues, but it'd have been nice to have a recap page put in somewhere to explain it all more explicitly, but I've been saying that since DC starting this idea and no one's listened to me yet.
The final two issues have Kara meet Power Girl, her Earth-2 counterpart, and they get along a lot better than I thought they would. They skip the whole 'heroes vs. heroes' part of the superhero team-up, and instead bond quite well in two issues. New writer Michael Alan Nelson also does a good job of capturing Kara's voice, injecting a little humour into the action along the way.
As a side note, I was annoyed to see that my fears about Kara's language barrier were wiped away in one go as H'El grants her full knowledge of English with a wave of his undefined powerset that seems to include teleportation, shrink rays, and being an entire Rosetta Stone course.
Artwise, the volume is again strong with Mahmud Asrar drawing the majority of the issues, with the delightful Sami Basri (seriously DC, get him on a new series, he's great) doing a fill-in issue, and Robson Rocha (DC's go-to fill-in artist at the time) doing an issue too.
This volume opens with Kara dealing with Sanctuary, her new base of operations. As she gets to know it and begin to enjoy having somewhere to call her own, the H'El on Earth crossover takes over and it's basically forgotten about until the final issue, which has it trying to kill her before getting destroyed. So that's a complete waste of a potential plot, well done everyone involved there. Sigh. Simon Tyco is sorted out in this first issue too, so at least he won't be bugging the new creative team in the future, and it's a satisfying way to deal with the man who made Kara's life a living hell as soon as she started on Earth.
H'El on Earth itself is decent enough. Despite DC's idiotic idea of reprinting all the Supergirl issues without any of the other material, it flows pretty well except for the first cliffhanger and the fact that the resolution of the story isn't collected here at all. You can gather what happened by the following issues, but it'd have been nice to have a recap page put in somewhere to explain it all more explicitly, but I've been saying that since DC starting this idea and no one's listened to me yet.
The final two issues have Kara meet Power Girl, her Earth-2 counterpart, and they get along a lot better than I thought they would. They skip the whole 'heroes vs. heroes' part of the superhero team-up, and instead bond quite well in two issues. New writer Michael Alan Nelson also does a good job of capturing Kara's voice, injecting a little humour into the action along the way.
As a side note, I was annoyed to see that my fears about Kara's language barrier were wiped away in one go as H'El grants her full knowledge of English with a wave of his undefined powerset that seems to include teleportation, shrink rays, and being an entire Rosetta Stone course.
Artwise, the volume is again strong with Mahmud Asrar drawing the majority of the issues, with the delightful Sami Basri (seriously DC, get him on a new series, he's great) doing a fill-in issue, and Robson Rocha (DC's go-to fill-in artist at the time) doing an issue too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2014
I read this at the same time as Superman Vol 3, but not Superboy Vol 3. For anyone who doesn't know, this includes part of the H'El on Earth story, but not all, and not even the conclusion (which pretty significantly affects Kara. While I did enjoy the crossover, the choppiness between the issues and the way it relies on other books to get the full story is frustrating. Even worse, it's not like you could skip this volume for Supergirl and just buy the H'El on Earth book because this includes another storyline. And it would be an IMMENSE shame if anyone who is a fan of Supergirl missed out on the Sanctuary story.
The H'El stuff is a little weak. I understand how he plays to her and I understand her motivations in the story, but there are some big gaps. For one, I'm pretty sure no one actually communicates their worries about H'El to Kara until the very end. On top of that, no one ever tries to deescalate the situation, just punch each other. I did really enjoy the way some of the stuff was turned around and fixed, but again, with just these issues, it's a very choppy story that doesn't even include the ending.
That said, the two issues after H'El are fantastic. Kara interacts with Power Girl, the displaced Kara Zor-El of Earth 2. What really sets these apart is how FUN the last issue is. I laughed out loud multiple times, and I hope you do, too. So many of the New 52 series are focused on being dark and gritty that they forget to give the characters likable personalities. This issue reminded me why I liked Supergirl and was just a really fun ride that still had good action and ended very well.
On top of that, I think Asrar is here on art for every issue. Those that have read my other reviews would know that I really enjoy his work and think he brings a great aesthetic to the comic. That continues here.
With a weak second volume, I was a bit nervous about this. However, the H'El crossover was much more engaging than I expected and the surrounding issues were just fantastic. I'm excited to keep reading.
The H'El stuff is a little weak. I understand how he plays to her and I understand her motivations in the story, but there are some big gaps. For one, I'm pretty sure no one actually communicates their worries about H'El to Kara until the very end. On top of that, no one ever tries to deescalate the situation, just punch each other. I did really enjoy the way some of the stuff was turned around and fixed, but again, with just these issues, it's a very choppy story that doesn't even include the ending.
That said, the two issues after H'El are fantastic. Kara interacts with Power Girl, the displaced Kara Zor-El of Earth 2. What really sets these apart is how FUN the last issue is. I laughed out loud multiple times, and I hope you do, too. So many of the New 52 series are focused on being dark and gritty that they forget to give the characters likable personalities. This issue reminded me why I liked Supergirl and was just a really fun ride that still had good action and ended very well.
On top of that, I think Asrar is here on art for every issue. Those that have read my other reviews would know that I really enjoy his work and think he brings a great aesthetic to the comic. That continues here.
With a weak second volume, I was a bit nervous about this. However, the H'El crossover was much more engaging than I expected and the surrounding issues were just fantastic. I'm excited to keep reading.
February 21, 2015
We're in crossover territory for the Superman family titles, and as we've seen from DC in the recent past, the individual collections don't make a lick of sense unless you're also reading Superboy and Superman. Want to see Silver Banshee hiding her powers from Supergirl, and then have Supergirl knowing about said powers without any scene that explains it? Look no further! Want to see Superboy and Superman randomly turn up here and there, fighting villains one minute, wearing different outfits the next, and referencing things that you never saw took place? Then this is the collection for you!
The saving grace here is Mahmud Asrar's art. It really is terrific, with clear lines, dynamic transitions, and a great sense of the emotion of this scene. That said, there are elements the art cannot save, such as that mentioned above. (And Supergirl's outfit still makes me cringe a little. Top half - perfect. Bottom half - not so much!)
Also jarring is the transition between writers from Mike Johnson to Michael Alan Nelson. Want to see Sanctuary go from a bland AI to a wise-cracking joke machine? Of course you do. Character continuity is for suckers!
A shout out must be given to Supergirl's gullibility here. She trusts a guy named H'El and helps him to try and destroy Earth to resurrect Krypton. HIS NAME IS H'EL AND HE LOOKS MONSTROUS! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? It's a convenient device to have Supergirl bashing heroes and indulging in a weird romance subplot, and nothing more. It only half works, and the half that works comes from Johnson madly trying to get us to buy into the farce. (He does a lot better than Lobdell does in other collections, so there's that).
Overall this is disjointed, poorly collected, more than a bit silly, and requires massive leaps of logic to enjoy at all. Thankfully, because of my fellow goodreads reviewers, I knew that I needed to lower my standards to enjoy this, which I did quite successfully. It's the only reason this gets 3 stars instead of 2.
The saving grace here is Mahmud Asrar's art. It really is terrific, with clear lines, dynamic transitions, and a great sense of the emotion of this scene. That said, there are elements the art cannot save, such as that mentioned above. (And Supergirl's outfit still makes me cringe a little. Top half - perfect. Bottom half - not so much!)
Also jarring is the transition between writers from Mike Johnson to Michael Alan Nelson. Want to see Sanctuary go from a bland AI to a wise-cracking joke machine? Of course you do. Character continuity is for suckers!
A shout out must be given to Supergirl's gullibility here. She trusts a guy named H'El and helps him to try and destroy Earth to resurrect Krypton. HIS NAME IS H'EL AND HE LOOKS MONSTROUS! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? It's a convenient device to have Supergirl bashing heroes and indulging in a weird romance subplot, and nothing more. It only half works, and the half that works comes from Johnson madly trying to get us to buy into the farce. (He does a lot better than Lobdell does in other collections, so there's that).
Overall this is disjointed, poorly collected, more than a bit silly, and requires massive leaps of logic to enjoy at all. Thankfully, because of my fellow goodreads reviewers, I knew that I needed to lower my standards to enjoy this, which I did quite successfully. It's the only reason this gets 3 stars instead of 2.
August 28, 2016
It appears that there's a really interesting story here, too bad you only get about a third if it. Supergirl, vol 3: Sanctuary, continues DC's tradition of having these large crossover events (this one involving the Sueprgirl, Superman, and Superboy comics), but when it comes to their trade paperbacks for the individual titles, they only collect the issues for that title. This means you only get the Supergirl part of the story, which is only PART of the actual story. It's like picking up a book to find most of the chapters missing. As a result, Sanctuary contains a rushed romance, unresolved cliffhangers, and doesn't even give us the end of the story, resulting in a choppy, uneven mess.
The second storyline, which involves Power Girl, is more successful (despite the ridiculous moment when Supergirl, WHO ISN'T WEARING ANY PANTS, criticizes Power Girl's equally ridiculous Boob-window outfit). Still, that doesn't change the fact that much of this volume is too frustrating. I am quite glad that I got this from the library and did not pay my own money. The artwork is fine, at least.
Originally read and reviewed- 11/19/15
Re-read- 08/28/16
The second storyline, which involves Power Girl, is more successful (despite the ridiculous moment when Supergirl, WHO ISN'T WEARING ANY PANTS, criticizes Power Girl's equally ridiculous Boob-window outfit). Still, that doesn't change the fact that much of this volume is too frustrating. I am quite glad that I got this from the library and did not pay my own money. The artwork is fine, at least.
Originally read and reviewed- 11/19/15
Re-read- 08/28/16
April 6, 2014
This series had been on decline since it's strong initial putting, which makes it all the more disappointing that it sort of just unravelled toward the end. It think that it's definitely worth pointing out that Mike Johnson appears to have left the book as writer after the H'El storyline. There are several problems with this volume. First, the H'El storyline is told across issues 14-17 of Superman and Superboy as well as 14-17 of Supergirl. So for the first chunk of the book, you're getting a disconcerting leap forward in the story between issues that are covered by the Superman and Superboy comics. Then after the H'El storyline, Mike Johnson leaves the book as writer and the change in tone and coherence is immediately evident. The parts that you do get of the H'El storyline are compelling, but the following issues are not.
June 26, 2014
This book was the perfect example of how the story arc can suffer when a crossover begins. The first two trades showed Supergirl's ongoing development, and began exposing this interesting and complex Kryptonian backstory, which her father's manipulations played a large role. Then you have this h'el on earth crossover with the other Superman books, and each issue abruptly starts in a different scene, leaving without any clue of what happened in other issues.
Sometimes, in trades that are collecting a single series, an explanation for what has happened in other books is stuck in between each chapter in the trade. That wasn't the case with this book. I do like the New 52 Supergirl better than any other version of the character I have seen. I look forward to future trades, I just hope there aren't more issues that are part of a multi-book crossover.
Sometimes, in trades that are collecting a single series, an explanation for what has happened in other books is stuck in between each chapter in the trade. That wasn't the case with this book. I do like the New 52 Supergirl better than any other version of the character I have seen. I look forward to future trades, I just hope there aren't more issues that are part of a multi-book crossover.
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