I bought this issue of SUPERMAN FAMILY at a supermarket of all places–a clear sign of the aggressiveness with which new DC publisher Jeanette Kahn was pushing her new initiative. Having come to the conclusion that one of the things that was causing the comic book business such ills was that the books weren’t as profitable for mainstream retailers as “real magazines”, Kahn initiated the Dollar Comics program: four titles would be converted into 80-page all-new releases priced at a dollar rather than thirty cents. This would generate better profit-per-unit for retailers and perhaps get the product into more outlets.
SUPERMAN FAMILY was the first of these books that I encountered–the others to make the shift to the Dollar Comic format at this time were WORLD’S FINEST, G.I. COMBAT and HOUSE OF MYSTERY–so two super hero titles, a war book and a weird mystery title, covering multiple genres to see what stuck. All of the books were anthologies, which helped with generating this much material on a monthly basis but which also made them all, in essence, less-than-essential buys. You could read SUPERMAN or BATMAN just fine if you avoided the Dollar Comics, for instance. I’m sure some of the thinking going into these choices involved not wanting to monkey around with the company’s true money-makers by converting them to an unproven format.
The Dollar Comics initiative lasted for a little over five years, though in that time, as you’d expect, the size of the books dwindled a bit, and the initial ads-free approach was eventually dropped. I don’t know that it had much of an impact one way or the other–certainly, none of the initial Dollar Comics titles was cancelled, at least not for that reason. But once they stopped being new, I don’t know that they opened up as many doors as Kahn had been hoping. Still, it was a worthy experiment.
If I had to pick one word to describe this inaugural edition of the Dollar Comics SUPERMAN FAMILY, it would be “nice”. All of the stories in it are competently done by seasoned professionals, they’re all well-constructed yarns. But none of them are particularly exciting or engaging or memorable–and, in fact, I didn’t remember a one of them until I cracked this book open again to write up this piece. They all represented five minutes of disposable entertainment, to be read and discarded without another thought.
There were seven stories in total in this issue, covering the length and breadth of the Superman line of characters, but focusing on the three series–JIMMY OLSEN, LOIS LANE and SUPERGIRL–which had been the backbone of SUPERMAN FAMILY for it’s run up to this point. In the opening Jimmy Olsen tale, the red-headed “Mr. Action” investigates shady goings-on in the world of Ice Hockey, with some assistance from the Man of Steel. The Superbaby tale that follows it up is about the infant from Krypton adopting an alien pet, who turns out to be a stranded alien pilot.
The third piece is a Lois Lane story that’s very similar to the Jimmy Olsen opener, except that Lois is investigating the world of professional wrestling. Superman is largely absent in this one, but he does appear for a panel or so at the end to wrap everything up. The next story is probably the one that took the greatest attempt to have substance, aided by the always-interesting artwork of a young Marshall Rogers. It’s a Fabulous World of Krypton outing that details that planet’s equivalent of the Christmas holiday, a celebration of the pacifist Jo-Mon whose death by violence brought about Krypton’s first lasting peace. It’s an obvious allegory, but it’s presented with sincerity and heart.
Next came a full-length Supergirl story nicely illustrated by Mike Vosburg, in which the Maid of Might engages in a rare battle with her cousin’s arch-enemy Lex Luthor. Luthor is after a sample of Kryptonite which rests on the surface of Mars–this was during that time period where all of the Kryptonite on Earth had been transmuted into lead, so the stuff was a bit more rare. And it’s a fake anyway, a ruse by Supergirl to draw out Luthor. That’s followed up with a light Krypto story in which the flying canine first emasculates and then restores the confidence of a protective junkyard hound. Truly these were life-and-death stakes.
The book closes on another Jimmy Olsen story, in which the reporter is gifted with telepathy by an imperiled mentalist and has to come to his aid. Once again, it’s Superman who does most of the heavy lifting here. So it was a nice, think package, of the sort that always appealed to me as a kid. And yet, I found it unfulfilling–there wasn’t anything in the issue that I found especially memorable, which was almost never the case in a comic book this large. So it would be a while before I sampled another issue of SUPERMAN FAMILY.
Behold, the superfam family tree! AKA the biggest tree I’ve made so far. Sorry it took so long! There are way more members than I anticipated.
Same message as always, tell me if I’ve missed anyone and message me if you need any clarifications because my handwriting can be pretty awful.
Some facts I stumbled upon while making this, that might also clear up some confusion: - Mia Kent, otherwise known as Cir-El, was introduced as Clark and Lois’s daughter from the future, but she was actually born to two human parents, with Superman as a genetic template. So she’s a clone.
- Hunter Prince is actually Diana’s son, with the Darkness being his father. Diana gave him up to Clark and Lois, who raised him as their own son alongside Jon.
- Christopher Kent was born originally as Lor-Zod, General Zod’s son. Clark and Lois adopted him in an effort to protect him from the government, and he would later on take on the title of Nightwing.
- Ur-Zod is the clone of both Lord Superman and Lady Wonder Woman, evil counterparts to Clark and Diana. Clark adopts him, but is not married to Lois in this universe
- Joel Kent killed his sister Kara out of rage and jealousy from always feeling like everything was a challenge, a race, with her. He was then killed by Luthor who basically revealed that everything he’d known was a lie and he killed his sister for nothing. However, he had a son with a woman named Mei-Lai before he died. The son was named Clark Wayne, as he ended up being adopted by Bruce Wayne Jr, who was married to Kara before Joel killed her. He also married Mei-Lai after adopting Clark. Clark Wayne would then go on to have twin daughters, Lois and Lara Wayne. Andthen, centuries after all of this, Clark Kent (who is immortal for some reason I can’t recall) has two children with Beautiful Dreamer. Lar-El (his son) and Vara (his daughter)
Crazy, right!? Kinda want to make a second family tree just for that universe because it’s insane
On twitter DC Comics will allow fans to participate in the #DCRoundRobin! And choose one of these pitches to become a new comic book series!
Paws Off the Justice League: When the Justice League disappears, Jimmy Olsen and the Super Pets must save the world from certain doom by posing as the missing League.
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Jesse Quick: Control:When Jesse Quick uses her speed to access an alien artifact from a long-dead civilization, she finds herself imbued with the ability to harness and control the elements around her as her former super-speed is drained. But, when the power begins to corrupt Jesse, she must decide to give up these gifts or risk becoming, quite literally, her own worst enemy.
‘Supergirl’ Recap: Will Kara Save Hank Henshaw in Time?
This episode on Supergirl, everything goes wrong for Kara until she realizes that compassion is her greatest superpower. Meanwhile Maxwell Lord gets even creepier, Cat is onto Kara until she isn’t, and Hank Henshaw is this week’s damsel in distress.
The theme of the episode is pretty well encapsulated in the Kryptonian saying, “Blood bonds us all.” No matter how bad Astra seems, Kara can’t seem to completely give up on seeing the goodness in her aunt.
It’s the ties that bond the characters together that are the most important, whether it’s Jimmy and Winn bringing Kara back from the edge of punching smug Maxwell Lord through a wall, or Cat giving Kara the confidence and guidance she needs. The people around Kara might not be blood family, but it’s these bonds that keep her on the right path.
Unfortunately right now Kara and Astra have bad blood (cue Taylor Swift pun) but it seems like there might be some hope for her once-evil aunt yet. While Supergirl is a young series, one of its biggest themes so far is the show’s compassion and belief in people. Supergirl is a show that is not afraid to be earnest.
Supergirl might be fighting big foes who don’t play fair, but it’s her faith in people that most often wins the day. In a media universe where the default superhero template can often seem ultra-gritty, it’s a nice change of pace to have a hero who wears her heart on her sleeve.
Blood Bonds Us All
The episode starts off right where the mid-season finale left us, with Kara and Astra’s husband flying off into the air in an epic battle of Kryptonian might. Kara doesn’t do so well, and Astra’s husband Non manages to fly off with Hank Henshaw in tow.
With Hank kidnapped, Alex is made the acting head of the DEO. But she doesn’t get to luxuriate in her power for very long, because General Sam Lane is taking over the show and he means business. He immediately tells Astra that he’s afraid of her, showing himself to be an honorable man in the Kryptonian culture. Then he jabs her with a needle full of Kryptonite. That’s way harsh bro.
Kara is very conflicted about Astra. On the one hand, she still remembers when Astra was her favorite aunt. On the other hand, Astra seems to be a crazy person hellbent on saving Earth by killing a bunch of people, so that’s a bummer. And you thought having to deal with your family during the holidays was bad, imagine what it’s like for the House of El!
Astra eventually “gives up” Hank’s location, which is just a trap that turns into a bomb. Understandably, this upsets Kara. No one likes to be exploded. It has a way of ruining your day.
But Kara finally realizes that her compassion and belief in others are her real secret weapons. She deploys them against Astra by telling her that she still believes that there is good in her aunt.
Astra has really thrown Kara off with all her talk about her mother not really being who she thought. When Kara feels like she’s losing everything this episode, the one thing that clearly hurts her the most is losing this idealized version of her mother.
And while that vision might not have been completely true, it turns out that Kara was more right than wrong about her mom. Astra reveals that although her sister sent her into the Phantom Zone, she never gave up believing in her or seeing her good side either. In that way Kara is actually a lot like her mother. This familial heart-to-heart leads to Kara and Alex walking right out of the DEO base with Astra between them, even though they weren’t supposed to make the trade.
Despite General Lane whining, the soldiers are more loyal to Kara and stand down, allowing Astra, Alex, and Kara to strut out like the dope squad they are. The only way to improve this scene would have been if it was in slow motion with things exploding behind them. Basically I really wanted this episode to be the Taylor Swift video for “Bad Blood.”
Thanks to their family bonding, Astra calls off the double-cross after the trade is over, instead merely leaving with her husband Non. I doubt this is the last we’ll see of Astra and her evil plans of…environmental conservation? I’m still not super clear on her evil plans.
Maxwell Lord is a Jerk
While Kara is busy putting out fires at work and with her family, Jimmy and Winn team up to take down Maxwell Lord. For some reason they think this is a good idea, and it goes about as well as you’d imagine, which is not well at all.
On the plus side, we get to see Winn interact with someone who isn’t Kara, which means less puppy dog eyes and pining this episode. I still have no conception of who Winn is as a character though, which is becoming a bigger and bigger issue as the show goes along. As the other characters continue to get fleshed out, Winn remains fairly two-dimensional.
After a weird conversation where Max lectures Jimmy on media ethics, James proves he didn’t listen to a word Lord says by breaking into his secure compound. They want to find out what Maxwell Lord’s plans are to stop the aliens, including Supergirl.
Instead Jimmy just gets knocked out, tied to a chair, and beaten. Probably not Jimmy’s best ever day. Although no part of me really believes that Maxwell Lord’s tiny impotent fists would have that much of an impact on James “Six Pack” Olsen.
When Kara discovers what happened to Jimmy she flies into a rage and has to be talked down by Winn and Jimmy. They work as her anchors and bring her temper back down to Earth, explaining that she can’t just go and punch a hole through Maxwell’s smarmy face. She has to be better than that. Then they both hold her hand, which briefly causes me to remember the love triangle and groan. But mostly it’s a very nice scene.
Elsewhere in Maxwell Lord’s evil lair of evil, he has a Jane Doe in room 52 (a nice shoutout to DC Comic’s New 52 line) and is planning something nefarious. It’s probably not a good sign that she already has black eyes.
Secret Identities
All episode Cat Grant is sure that she’s onto Kara as Supergirl. Kara is understandably freaking out about this, but the fact that she’s a seriously terribly liar is not exactly making it easy for her to convince Cat that she has the wrong person. “Let me recite a lot of esoteric facts about my childhood for you! Convinced now right?”
Cat is not convinced, but she is curious why someone with Supergirl’s abilities would be a simple executive assistant. Kara tries to explain to Cat that the workplace is important to her, and that she enjoys learning from Cat herself. To this heartfelt confession Cat is like, “Ew, lame!”
Unless “Kira” can convince Cat that she’s not Supergirl, she’s going to be fired. Cat makes a fairly reasonable point, which is that while Kara is working at CatCo there are a bunch of people that need to be saved. Kara is like “Can’t those people just get into life-or-death situations on my lunch hour?” but Cat is not hearing it. Kara feels at a loss without her job at CatCo, which is one of the strongest bonds she has to a regular, human life.
Thankfully she finally finds out that Hank Henshaw is really the Martian Manhunter, and she immediately conscripts J’onn J’onzz to use his shape-shifting abilities to pretend to be Supergirl. This allows Kara and Supergirl to stand side-by-side in front of Cat, which is pretty convincing. This works like a charm and Cat feels embarrassed, immediately giving “Kira” her job back.
It feels like a bit of a cop out for a show that has thus far been fearless with putting all cards on the table quickly to backtrack like this. I’m interested to see whether Cat is kept in the dark for long, or if “Kira’s” secret eventually comes out again.
What did you think of the episode? Do you love the earnest and hopeful tone of the show? Has Astra seen the error of her ways? What’s Maxwell Lord up to now? Sound off in the comments!
Jimmy could give Jason a run for his money in the Batman tire stealing department. Considering Bruce didn’t even notice the tire, until he had already been standing in Jimmy’s room for a bit.
This time I’m reblogging my own post because someone pointed out there are little bat grooves on the tires and I love it.
