Supergirl: Who is Superwoman?

Supergirl (2005) (Old Editions) #6

by Sterling Gates, Jamal Igle (Illustrator)

After encountering the mysterious Superwoman during the "New Krypton" stroyline, Supergirl is left with two burning questions: who is Superwoman, and what gives her the right to wear the symbol of the House of El? The answers lead Supergirl into the darkest depths of New Krypton and drastically alter the Superman Family forever!

Collects issues #34 & 37-42 of the 2005 series Supergirl.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Superman, Fiction

172 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2009

About the author

Sterling Gates has written stories featuring some of the biggest superheroes in the world, including Superman, Supergirl, Spider-Man, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash. He is the cowriter of the New York Times best-selling "Superman: New Krypton Saga" graphic novel series, including SUPERMAN: NEW KRYPTON, SUPERMAN: THE LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON, and SUPERMAN: WAR OF THE SUPERMEN.

Gates was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and studied filmmaking and art at the University of Oklahoma. He moved to Los Angeles in 2006, where he worked first as a writer's room production assistant and later as personal assistant to comic book legend Geoff Johns.

Gates' critically acclaimed run on SUPERGIRL with artist Jamal Igle redefined the character for a new generation and was named one of the "100 Greatest Superhero Comics of All Time" by The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. ADVENTURES OF SUPERGIRL Vol. 1 was selected by YALSA as one of 2017's "Great Graphic Novels for Teens." Gates and artist Matthew Clark contributed a Supergirl story to the Eisner and Ringo award-winning anthology, LOVE IS LOVE.

Gates has written for various other media, including the independent superhero film THE POSTHUMAN PROJECT, Marvel Animation Studios' SPIDER-MAN, and The CW's SUPERGIRL and THE FLASH.

A proud Eagle Scout, Gates currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Reviews

[Jerry Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a C-listed character, "Kara/Supergirl" is actually more interesting than her cousin, "Clark Kent/Superman." After reading "Superman/Batman: Supergirl" a decade ago, I should have checked out the Supergirl comics series.

The story in this volume, which occurs much later than the events in the Superman/Batman graphic novel, portrays a young woman trying to get humans to trust her just as they trust her cousin. Sadly, a mysterious masked woman bearing the family crest symbol, works to prevent that from happening as Kara goes on a quest to bring her father's murderer to justice.

Driving the story is not only the mysterious woman but also a murder mystery. By the story's end, a few supporting characters, including Lois Lane, are affected, creating a desire for more story about the impact of the events on the characters.

[Myles Likes Tacos and Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure Reactron made a military rape joke while fighting Supergirl. Also Lana Lang is dressed like an Asian for most of this volume (although maybe she gets a pass because she played by a half asian in smallville). Late 2000s... What a time

Regardless this is entertaining and all the characters (even the stock cop character) are likable. Tension with Lois / Kara + Lana bad news, actually makes me want to seek out the next volume.

This is dated, but its a good read and makes you want to read more, thats all you need from comics

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the first part of this one, but as it moved along, it started to fall flat for me.
The reason a mystery works is the pay-off at the end...I didn't care much for WHO was Superwoman...it didn't touch me or move me, or make me go "Oh"...
Good action and art though. And it's nice to see Lana Lang.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little all over the place. Great character work...yet too much plot. I felt rushed.
Good work..not great

[Max Van Dyke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was both really good and really confusing at the same time. This collects Supergirl issues #34 and #37-42 I'm not sure why it skips #35 & #36 and maybe if I go back and read those issues and few earlier (#25 is referenced in this) this will make more sense.

As a whole this was really enjoyable even though it seemed kind of all over the place. I've always found Supergirl to be a far more interesting character than Superman and was very interested in reading this. It begins with Cat Grant and the Daily Planet who has just published a hit piece against Supergirl. A lot of this comic deals with Kara trying to find her place in the world and how to be a 'good' superhero.

This story also focuses on a murder trail that Lois Lane and a detective are following. This trail also includes the murder of Supergirl's father, Zor-El. Part of where this get confusing is because in one issue she's in Smallville consoling with Lana Lang, and then all of the sudden she's on New Krypton and is face to face with this mysterious Superwoman character. Kara is sent on a mission by her mother to go back to earth from new Krypton and bring Reactron to her. Along the way, Superwoman gets in her way and the two go at it. There's a lot of really cool action in this so that's a definite plus.

Ultimately the story revolves around Reactron, who killed Supergirl's father, and finding out the identity of Superwoman. Because I like murder mysteries a lot, I enjoyed this book, but again, it's a bit hard to follow with no back story and what appears to be two issues missing.

6.5/10

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been a fan of the sidekicks and have really enjoyed this modern Supergirl series. The Superwoman mystery was interesting and kept me guessing right up until th end. I like how they are bringing Lana Lang into the Supergirl story and really exploring the supporting characters of the Superman universe. I also thought it was cool that this collection included an intro by Helen Slater.

For more on Supergirl check out this episode of Comic Book Coffee Break: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj5wm...

[Gregory · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations and coloring were good to very good but honestly, the story was murky. Sometimes I had a hard time with motivations or reasons on the part of some characters. It's definitely my least favorite Supergirl graphic novel.

[Paul Riches · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was the last great pre-TheNew52 Superman storyline. It was supposed to entertain and enlighten and energize the Superman books for years to come. It was one of the most massive, interconnected tales of Kal-El ever told.

And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

And I think I was one of the few who did.

And that is a complete shame.

Superman New Krypton is a storyline that takes place over almost two years worth of Superman, Action Comics, Supergirl, Superboy, World of New Krypton, Adventure Comics and various one shots and mini-series. One of the slight modifications after Infinite Crisis to the mythos was opening the floodgates to plenty of other Kryptonians being alive and well, and this concept became a tidal wave when Superman faced off against Brainiac for the “first” time and freed the kidnapped bottled city of Kandor.

In all classic and neo-modern versions of this tale, these fellow Kryptonians become jolly good friends of Superman and benevolent helpers to him. Those stores would always bore me to tears. Even when they enlarged and got their own planet, I couldn’t have cared less.

This time, this contemporary version, they range from arrogant to somewhat ungrateful to outright hostile to all sorts inbetween. It is made abundantly clear that one of the points of New Krypton is that a great part of makes Superman “Super” is the parentage of Ma and the now late Pa Kent. Early on the now powered up Kandorians relish “their” new planet, and view the current inhabitants, namely us humans, as like pets. The part with the whale illustrates this dichotomy so precisely, it is downright prescient of what future troubles are brewing.

Tensions immediately escalate when Lois’s presumed dead father, General Lane, enacts Project 7734, with the goal of fulfilling his genocidal hatred of all things Superman. Plots within plots within plots, each met with large body counts, becomes the constant theme here. Anyone and anything that gets in the way of eliminating these filthy aliens must be abolished. The massacres the Kandorians have to endure, and their counter measures to ensure their safety, cause global tensions and bring about a huge cadre of superheroes to sort the situation out.

At this point the preamble is done, the Kandorians see the welcome mat yanked away, which makes them launch their city off into space, create a crystalline planet for themselves, and take up orbit on the far side of the sun. Goodbye you crazy humans!

At this point, Kal is still trying to fix all the myriad problems that have come about here, and so with a heavy heart he talks to wife Lois and mother Martha and goes off to outer space and New Krypton.

The stage is set and the players are now in place.

Kal-El is now world building, society changing and evil plot solving in the World of New Krypton comic by James Robinson, Greg Rucka and Pete Woods. Guest stars like Green Lantern, Adam Strange and Jemm pop up here because of the new galactic power this planet represents. We also see the creators reinvent Krypton by incorporating as many different previous versions as possible, and somehow keeping internal logic. Kal learning about how things work here does not make him a happy Superman, and brings out the social revolutionary in him.

Meanwhile, back in Metropolis, new protectors have emerged in the Superman comic, by James Robinson and Renato Geudes. Through a series of flukes, Mon-El has been plucked from the Phantom Zone and managed to be cured, while another clone of the golden age hero The Guardian has come to town. These two bring truth and justice and subplots galore here every month.

But what of all the subterfuge between the two planets? Action Comics by Greg Rucka and various artists plays with this concept by showcasing the hunt for Kryptonian infiltrators by Nightwing and Flamebird. This crime fighting duo, and potential couple, are also Kryptonians and fighting against the evil General Zod’s plans for Earth.

The tale of someone genuinely torn between the two worlds is in the Supergirl comic, by Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle. Whether she is on New Krypton endlessly arguing with her mother – and leader of Kandor, or learning about humanity while living with Lana Lang back on Earth, Supergirl is constantly challenged. She is also subjected to relentless yellow journalism by Daily Planet gossip hound Cat Grant, trying on the secret identity of Linda Lang, and recovering from Kryptonite poisoning, which by the way, is a brilliant pot device to fix the many many problems plaguing the character over the years. Supergirl 43 is the absolute best of this series, featuring her birthday and choosing a guild.

Joining in on the fun is Adventure Comics, by Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul. Starting with Superboy slowly becoming a part of everything, the series than evolves into telling the tale of how the time travelling Legion of Super Heroes are involved with this crisis.

Along the way with this sweeping storyline, we get some one shots giving us the journey of Jimmy Olsen as he investigates General Lane, and another one shot at a critical junction of everything. A personal favourite is the World’s Finest miniseries, by Sterling Gates and various artists, which has several very important plot developments. But the real reason this is a classic part of New Krypton is that these four issues have a literal whackload of Superman and Batman supporting characters teaming up, arguing, bantering, and just giving us readers a grand old adventure. Come on, Guardian and Robin Damian taking on Mr Freeze and the Parasite, what more can you ask for?

The only downside to this undertaking is the midway point. You can tell the gears behind the scenes were being shifted slightly, with some ideas, like Mon-El’s powers or what to do with Guardian’s “kid”, becoming increasing sidelined. By the time of the epic ending with The Last Stand of New Krypton comic, you can feel the lethargy kicking in. This is not to say the conclusion, which reaches its final crescendo with the War Of The Supermen mini-series, was not good and gripping and emotional, but it is obvious the fatigue from creating all those stories had taken it’s toll.

Afterall, besides everything I have mentioned, New Krypton also stars Lois Lane on a quest for the truth about her father, Perry White trying to guide her, Lex Luther being the master manipulator, Atlas being a brute, Steel helping out in Metropolis, the Creature Commandos making a comeback, Reactron being a ruthless murderer, Doomsday terrorizing everyone, Captain Atom playing a role, Daxam history getting re-explained, Codename: Assassin getting a dust-off, Silver Banshee giving a shout out, Insect Queen crawling about, Rao gaining new followers, and a partridge in a pear tree. With all this, and so much more, is it any wonder that everyone involved probably needed a nice long vacation when it was all said and done?

One issue that was present from the start, as related in interviews by writer Greg Rucka, is that New Krypton was very much behind schedule right from inception. Playing catch-up was always a present concern for all creators, who all want to do their best, but are facing a super deadline looming before them.

Because of this rushed nature of the series, and despite the promotional push from DC Comics, fans seemed slightly jaded before New Krypton even began. I myself got every issue, but only read them all last month. Because of this malaise, I firmly believe sales of the entire storyline were far below expectations, which is most likely why virtually all aspects of it were promptly ignored as soon as it ended. And this failure was also the most probable reason why the major surgery was committed on Superman’s history with The New 52 Relaunch. Think about it, this massive sweeping tale of epic proportions with far reaching ramifications vanishes from continuity a year later? Such a shame.

Everyone has a favourite Superman. Mine is the From Crisis To Crisis era. This storyline, with a nip and tuck and a bit of mental rewiring, can still fit somewhat gently into that beloved version of the Man of Steel. Yes, some leaps are harder to take than others, and I am looking at you Lucy Lane, but so many of the basic concepts are still present and accounted for.

So many thoughts and ideas are expressed here. The Clark Kent of Ma and Pa Kent faces off against the Kal-El of Krypton, nature versus nurture on a planetary scale. Earth and New Krypton on a collision course caused by madmen, people who know nothing of what Superman stands for. All this encompassing something like 150 comics in total.

A Super tale for a Superman.

[Rylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So backstory Supergirl was my very first superhero comic I ever read with issue 49 of this series, it’s what made me fall in love with comic books. That was 10 years ago. I decided that since I have the means, I would read through all of Sterling Gates Supergirl run. This first volume reminds me of that instant love I had reading Supergirl. It opens up with Supergirl fighting Silver Banshee (which is ironic since she fights her in the first issue I read). Kara is trying to find her place in a world that she’s unfamiliar with and one that doesn’t seem to like her that much. She eventually establishes herself a secret identity because being Supergirl full time is taking a toll on her. Right when she thinks she has things figured out New Krypton comes into play and she is torn between the new life she’s trying to forge for herself vs her old life she had on Krypton. Right off the bat Sterling Gates gets who Supergirl is, most writers seem to only have a surface understanding of who Kara is and they either make her too angsty or too sweet. Gates has a nice balance between giving Kara more of an edge than her cousin has while also keeping her good demeanor. I liked seeing how Kara is torn with New Krypton because unlike Superman who was a baby when Krypton was destroyed she lived there into her teen years and has more of a connection. Superwoman is an interesting character and I liked the reveal although I already knew who it was since I read future issues of this series. I also like how Gates uses the other women in Superman franchises such as Lois Lane, Lana Lang, and Cat Grant. Jamal Igle’s art is absolutely outstanding. Comic are an art medium so the art is just as important as the words in telling the story. Igle’s art works perfect with this story, it’s dramatic and dynamic, I love the way he draws actions scenes. I also like how he doesn’t overly sexualize any of the characters and makes everyone look realistic. To me personally, Sterling Gates’ Supergirl is the best take on the character to this day and is worth checking out for anyone who is a fan of the character or is interesting in her.

[Kyle Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Did not read issue 34.
**Read in New Krypton event reading order.

Here is where New Krypton gets as close to a straightforward Superman book as it has since this event began.
Kara's torn between life on Earth and New Krypton. Sent to Earth on a mission to capture Reactron, Kara begins to battle with Superwoman. Soon Kara must face two great threats while trying to uncover the truth in the murder of a hero and Superwoman's identity. While this is a fun and exciting read, the mystery in the title was no mystery at all. I have to admit I would have rather seen more Superwoman in Project 7734, or perhaps have a bit more to the action with her and Supergirl. What happens in the last two issues really is the most gripping stuff in the book. All in all this is a good read blending mystery, action and character in a very deep way.

[Emile Rudoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que gran trabajo estaba haciendo Sterling Gates con Supergirl en esta serie. Por un lado nos presenta a una Kara que no deja de ser una adolescente que está entre la espada y la pared ya que está feliz viviendo en la Tierra junto a Lana Lang pero que a su vez quisiera tener una relación mas cercana con su madre Alura. Por otro todo el misterio de Superwoman que la verdad no recordaba y si me sorprendió bastante. Se que quizás no es un compilado accesible si no has estado siguiendo otras cosas de Supergirl y/o Superman pero la verdad es que para los que si lo estamos haciendo está increíble. Incluso el arte de Jamal Igle que en su momento no me gustaba demasiado siento que está quedando increíble con la historia y de todos los cómics de la Superfamilia es que el tiene el mejor dibujo.

[Pato Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this wasn't bad, but it's kind of a depressing place to start supergirl. Everyone is emotionally and physically harmful to her except one person who is ill and superman isn't really around. I don't know I thought there'd be more happy and hope in a supergirl story. My previous media consumption with her involved are childhood cartoons and some of the recent live action which all include herbeing generally happy.

[Terry Walters]

I like this Kara Zor-El/Supergirl

I like this Kara Zor-El / Supergirl and the art is great. But I have an issue with taking liberties with her origin and history and a new secret identity Linda Lang. But that is the only bugbear. Everything else works well including Superman / Clark Kent. Classic looking and Iconically perfect. Not bad at all.

[Burton Olivier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't really care for the whole New Krypton angle but I do like Supergirl's characterization here

[Vibeke Hiatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the New 52 Supergirl, but an interesting story. The art was consistent, which always plays a big part in how I feel about a comic book. My main complaint is that the collection jumped from issue 34 to 37. I really felt like I was missing part of the story by not having issues 35 and 36.

[NullusAnxietus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having met the mysterious Superwoman in the events of the New Krypton storyline, Supergirl is left wondering just who she is and what gives her the right to wear the symbol of the House of El.

Both these questions are answered in this fantastic book that fleshes out the New Krypton story. Following the death of her father Zor-El, Kara moves to Krypton to be with her mother in this difficult time.

But Mum isn't the most nurturing of mothers, expecting Kara to be the perfect obedient Kryptonian daughter. She dispatches Kara on a mission to earth where Kara is confronted and attacked by the mysterious Superwoman.

The story arc here was a lot of fun to read and it was really good to connect with a character with all the powers of Kal-El, but with just a touch more vulnerability.

Fantastic read and well worth a look.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read some critics who said Sterling Gates has made this title readable, which those same critics had thought would be impossible. Despite my initial feelings about resurrecting the Kara character Gates's writing makes for enjoyable reading. The downside is that this title is so tied, thru no fault of the creative team, to the other Superman titles that you know there is more story going on that you are not getting in this volume.

[Rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this was so tied to previous Superman and Supergirl titles that I was very confused about certain aspects of the story. That being said what was standalone was definitely interesting. I'm not a big Superman reader but it was interesting to get a scoop on what is going on with the Lanes. I found the first chapter the most interesting and kind of wished I'd gotten to see more of Supergirl establishing her identity.

[Lou(ise) Odenkirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet. Those were my immediate thoughts the second I finished reading "Who is Superwoman?" but fun nonetheless. I enjoyed the portrayal of all the characters even though I felt like they were building toward something else the entire time. An omnibus is in need. There's too much excitement here to split single issues into different volumes.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

10 Second Review
Supergirl is having a bad week.
Her Mom is on her case, she’s getting some bad press and Kryptonians have been outlawed in Metropolis.

A good story that should appeal Teen Titan and Superman fans.

Notes
Identity of Superwoman revealed!

Learning Curve
Low: Should be good for new readers

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been a really fun book. My only criticism of this trade is that if I hadn't read the New Krypton crossover that happened between the first issue in this collection and the subsequent "Who is Superwoman?" story, I would be really confused about the transition.

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely amazing, and it will keep you glued to the edge of your seat right up until the last page!