Comments on: Top Five Supergirls

By: David Alexander McDonald

David Alexander McDonald — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 18:16:38 +0000

Eh, my favorite Supergirl is the one played by dragonblink in the Pendant Audio productions of Superman: last Son Of Krypton, and Supergirl: Lost Daughter Of Krypton.

Mind you, I’m biased on th second as I’m now writing and directing it….

By: michael

michael — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 06:30:50 +0000

Nevermind, I saw it was Ed Benes on the wiki page. Thanks again for the column!

By: michael

michael — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 05:59:44 +0000

I see the current Supergirl as just an extension of the poor and horrid DCU that is right now. DiDio seems to be the problem. But then again lots of writers I admire seem to be working for the guy so my respect for them has gone down.

I do agree with the list with one exception. Helen Slater as Supergirl should be at least # 5. And I keep hoping they’ll make a Supergirl movie soon and have Britney Snow play her but since WB feels like female starring movies bomb…

BTW, who did the art on the Supergirls wallpaper mentioned above? I have it too but I can’t make out the sig.

By: Comics Should Be Good! » Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #126

Comics Should Be Good! » Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #126 — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:05:04 +0000

[...] In my recent piece on the Top Five Supergirls, commenter Rex Baringer asked, So is the real reason they killed Original Supergirl in the Crisis series because the Supergirl movie bombed a year or two earlier? [...]

By: joshschr

joshschr — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 04:12:57 +0000

Not to be contrary, Chrism, but I’m sure there’s a Superman on one of the 52 Earths who had that exact thought.

By: Chrism

Chrism — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:11:19 +0000

A girl pops out of a crashed spaceship and the first thing that pops into Superman’s mind is ‘great guns’. Poor form, Superman.

By: Ted Watson

Ted Watson — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 18:32:54 +0000

I, too, disagree with your seemingly arbitrary disallowing of Power Girl, on the grounds that she was indeed created to be, and for just about a decade was, the Supergirl of Earth–2. Or was your thinking that she has spent more of her existence post–Crisis–retconned as unrelated in any sense to the big guy? Not a good enough reason, IMHO.

By: Frank Rook

Frank Rook — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 09:12:23 +0000

According to the wealth of information in the Absolute Crisis supplemental material, Supergirl’s movie bombing had nothing to do with the decision to kill her. They’d (meaning Marv and Dick, mainly) already chosen her as expendable well before her film came out. The movie kept her alive for a while, but its failure did more or less seal the deal. Byrne’s reboot wasn’t a factor that early, since specifics of it were still being hammered out well into 1985 and up, but I do suspect it played right into the fact the Supergirl mantle wasn’t picked right up once she died, unlike Flash, Wildcat, and a few others.

By: km

km — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 02:20:33 +0000

Of course, thereâ€™s always the chance that could be due to young girls being constantly bombarded with female exploitation and a media that seems to confuse promiscuity with being a â€œstrong womanâ€. While art imitates life, the converse is also true.

Thanks much for this, and for the comments following.

By: Paco

Paco — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 01:59:11 +0000

DC Animated SG all the way.

By: FunkyGreenJerusalem

FunkyGreenJerusalem — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 01:53:15 +0000

As a comic book fan I sometimes feel a vague need to apologize to women everywhere, and to distance myself from the myriad of titles and artists who apparently cannot draw a female character without dressing and posing her like a Vargas girl or a succubus.

I just tend to avoid books where that happens, so I don’t feel that compulsion.
If the artist draws every woman as some sexed up deformed street whore, then chances are it’s going to be a shit book.

By: fourthworlder

fourthworlder — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:42:27 +0000

Great comment, Apodaca.
As a comic book fan I sometimes feel a vague need to apologize to women everywhere, and to distance myself from the myriad of titles and artists who apparently cannot draw a female character without dressing and posing her like a Vargas girl or a succubus.
I understand why such stuff is stimulating for adolescent hetero boys, but isn’t there a point where we all grow up a bit?

By: Apodaca

Apodaca — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:22:25 +0000

Iâ€™m strangely OK with Supergirl dressing like a street whore, because in my observation that is how teenage girls today seem to want to dress.

Of course, there’s always the chance that could be due to young girls being constantly bombarded with female exploitation and a media that seems to confuse promiscuity with being a “strong woman”. While art imitates life, the converse is also true.

By: Jacob T. Levy

Jacob T. Levy — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:58:21 +0000

I actually liked Matrix– she was great in Panic in the Sky, and the relationship with Luthor was a fun twist. I was sorry enough to see her distinctiveness (including shapechanging) go that it dampened my enjoyment of the PAD series. Also, however high-quality the latter was in execution, I just didn’t like the premise. While there’s always an angelic subtext to Superman-and-family, the text is more comfortable as SF than as magic/ religion/ fantasy.

By: Mer

Mer — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:32:09 +0000

DCAU – Where Comics Are Good

By: Sean D.

Sean D. — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:11:13 +0000

“So is the real reason they killed Original Supergirl in the Crisis series because the Supergirl movie bombed a year or two earlier? Thatâ€™s what I always thought, but I never see that theory expressed anywhere.”

I’d say that played a part in the reasoning behind killing her off, but you also had the “reboot” factor where Superman was going to be the lone survivor of Krypton (though that might not have been a done deal when they decided to kill the character) and the fact that thanks to her various solo series, the pre-Crisis was a continuity nightmare.

Between her debut and Crisis Kara…
- Joined the Legion on her second try.
- was adopted
- graduated high school
- graduated Stanhope College
- Got a job as a TV reporter/camera person
- went back to school(?)
- Became a student advisor at the New Athens Experimental School
- Became a soap opera star
- Went back to college

And the whole time, her cousin stayed 29 years old.

Maybe DiDio’s original intention of Dick Grayson taking the dirtnap in Infinite Crisis could be based on the “Supergirl Principle” – Evolution of spin-off character must not over-age the main character.

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:09:53 +0000

The “secret cutter” sleeves are what bother me the most about the current Supergirl costume. Honestly, what other reason is there to have such baggy, too-long sleeves if not to cover up the wounds she inflicts on her wrists and forearms with a Kryptonite razor? Being a cutter would totally fit with her angsty pastiche of a personality. Then again, what wouldn’t fit, given that her personality changes all the time?
I loved PAD’s Supergirl, though I was never that thrilled about the whole “Earth Angel” thing.

By: Thenodrin

Thenodrin — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:51:31 +0000

I’m strangely OK with Supergirl dressing like a street whore, because in my observation that is how teenage girls today seem to want to dress.

My best friend’s daughter is 14, and all of her friends dress one of two ways: street whore, or tomboy butch. There’s no middle ground.

Theno

By: avengers63

avengers63 — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:00:02 +0000

Luis Dantas said â€¦

“Why must the current Supergirl have the body of an anorexic and dress like a street whore?”

I couldn’t agree more. Her skirt is so low, it’s pretty obvious that she shaves. Her goods are ready to fall out! Entirely unappropriate for a teenager.

By: Rex Baringer

Rex Baringer — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:59:06 +0000

So is the real reason they killed Original Supergirl in the Crisis series because the Supergirl movie bombed a year or two earlier? That’s what I always thought, but I never see that theory expressed anywhere.