Review: Superman Family #189

Yesterday I started a review of a 'Supergirl on trial' story which appeared in Superman Family comic. Today I'll finish the review by looking at 'Memories of Menace!', the Supergirl entry in Superman Family #189.

As I said yesterday, Jack C. Harris actually built his stories on a foundation of some Supergirl history, something which I think wasn't done too often in this time period. In the post-Action back-up feature stories, most authors seemed to ignore Supergirl's mythos. As a result there never seemed to be a strong supporting cast, a rogue's gallery, or a sense of journey. At least Harris looked back at what was Supergirl's arch-nemesis in the Action Comics days and set up a showdown.

Jack Abel's art seems pretty standard even for the time period and doesn't let Supergirl shine too much.

The story starts right where last issue left off. Supergirl has been sent to the Phantom Zone after pleading no contest to a charge she falsely imprisoned a Kryptonian criminal named Shyla, sending her back to the Zone despite Shyla having finished her sentence long ago.

Still, Supergirl seemed to have a plan to use the Zone to exonerate herself from damning mento-tape testimony showing her conspiring with Lex Luthor years earlier.

Already you can get a sense for the art here. There is just something off with how Supergirl's costume looks like. The shirt and shorts seem wrong.

And Superman, acting as her defense lawyer, does his best to buy Supergirl some time. Despite her having already been sentenced and her punishment meted out, he asks that the 'official closing' of the case be delayed a mere 12 wolus (the Kryptonian equivalent of 20 minutes).

And Superman's request is met with 'interest' so it is granted.

I am still shaking my heads about this. Superman and Supergirl have saved Kandor countless times and Supergirl's heroic history speaks for itself. This just reeked of 'rush to judgment'. A twenty minute recess after you have banished her to the zone after a one day trial! Crazy!

Now I don't know if Supergirl asked for only 20 minutes or if Superman plucked that number out of the air. Either way, it doesn't seem prudent. Whatever Supergirl is looking for, it is in the Phantom Zone ... a limitless dimension of ether. How could she hope to find what she was looking for that quickly??

And it doesn't help that there are a bunch of crazed criminals with a fierce hatred of the El family in the Zone. When they see Supergirl, they attack using the limited telepathic power they have in the Zone, drilling into her mind.

I do like that in a time of crisis, she thinks of her family, perhaps a way of support to help her maintain her resolve and fight back.

Kara decides that the best way to stymie a mental attack is to go physical. She brawls with the criminals and given their circumstances she is a simply the better fighter.

I have to say, I was not aware that the phantoms could physically interact with each other in the Zone. I don't know that that has always been the case.

Unfortunately, the criminals do outnumber Kara and would seem to be re-organizing when Supergirl gets some unexpected help from another person in the Phantom Zone ... Mon-El!

Supergirl knows Mon-El from their Legion days together. He, of course, is 1000 years away from being released.

Luckily ... or maybe it was Supergirl's plan all along ... Mon-El was snooping on Supergirl's life during the alleged meetings with Luthor. And so he can provide some mento-tape testimony as well. This was the crucial evidence she was hoping for.

I guess it was luck that he witnessed these things. He could have been anywhere in the Zone and watching anything (like maybe Daxam). Instead he was keeping track of Supergirl on Earth. There is no easy explanation about  why he was stalking her ... watching her life ... but I suppose that is a story for another day.

As the 20 minutes are about to elapse, Superman runs to the Phantom Zone Projector and turns it on. The Mon-El mento tape is tossed out for the court to peruse.

And so the story of Supergirl nemesis Lesla Lar plays out for the court. How she looked exactly like Supergirl, how she brainwashed and switched places with Kara (explaining Kara's blackouts), and how she met with Luthor and released the Phantom Zone villains before dying at their treacherous hands.

It was Lesla Lar, dressed as Supergirl, that Luthor met in that prior mento-tape testimony.

Shyla seethes while the 'energy blob' mastermind, the disembodied mind who orchestrated this revenge scheme, continues to plan its next move. Spoiler alert ... 30 years late ... the blob is the psychic presence of Lesla Lar, her mind continuing to exist after her body was atomized. She wants revenge on Supergirl and she has been hammering away to get it. After several more villainous plans fail, Lesla Lar faces off against Supergirl psychically and face-to-face in Superman Family #206.

Meanwhile, the Mon-El testimony clears Supergirl so her crime record is expunged and she is set free. Boy, justice is swift and reversal of fortunes are swifter in Kryptonian courts. This whole thing took less than a day!

And so our hero is returned to freedom.

It is so Supergirl to thank Superman for helping her even though he acknowledges that it was her plan that worked.

And then one of the most catty moments I know in Supergirl history. Supergirl promises Shyla that if they cross paths again, Supergirl will rip out her hair! Meeee-owww. I had to laugh at this lapse in characterization. It would be one thing for Supergirl to warn Shyla that they better not see each other again ... but threatening hair pulling? That just sounds so petty.

So from a Supergirl collection point of view, I would again say this is of low importance. I have to say that these two issues really gave me some insight into the Kryptonian criminal justice system. Things sure happen fast there! As I said before though, I think Harris slowly building up the Lesla Lar storyline was a good thing especially given Supergirl continuity (or lack thereof) for the time.

As for me, I guess we'll need to see if I end up being chosen for jury duty.

Overall grade: C

Review: Superman Family #188

I recently got a summons for Federal Jury duty which, while my civic duty, would be somewhat cumbersome on my crazy schedule. So how was I going to deal with this sudden new massive item on my 'To Do' list? Why, by thumbing through the long boxes to find some Supergirl story involving juries and courts, etc.

And so, behold Superman Family #188, in which Supergirl is put on trial!

As I have said before, these Superman Family Supergirl stories can be pretty rough both in concept and in art. But one of the things that I will say about this particular mini-run in these issues is that writer Jack C. Harris actually had a working knowledge of Supergirl history and tried to bring in some concepts and characters from her early Action Comics stories into this book a couple of decades later. Remember, this was back in the day ... before the internet, before Showcase trades, before many trades at all. So this is an interesting story and arc for that reason alone.

But, as I said, the actualization and the art can be rough and that is true for this as well. Harris does a good job moving the story along in the small number of pages that he has to tell the story but you have to make a couple of leaps of faith to buy the turn of events. Moreover, the art on this issue is Jack Abel and his stuff is pretty crude. There are no great artists on Supergirl during her times here - Abel, Mortimer, Heck, etc.

And so, here is 'Kandor vs. Supergirl'.

Harris had Supergirl's adventures span from villains attacking New Athens Florida to intergalactic threats requiring spme super-hero assistance. Throughout this particular run, there has been a number of odd events plaguing Supergirl, all orchestrated by an odd amorphous cloud which seems to have a vendetta against the Girl of Steel.

After a quick trip out to a prison planet, Supergirl returns home looking for a little rest and relaxation.

But right from the start, you just get the sense that the art here is somewhat crude.

But, as is usually the case for Supergirl, there is little time for rest. As she approaches the Fortress, hoping to unwind, she hears Kandor calling her. She is needed immediately for an emergency. And, being in such a rush to head to Kandor to help, Supergirl decided the best and most expedient way to enter the Fortress is to rip the door off its hinges. Really? I just think that the time to turn the key would be the same as it took to destroy the door.

Moreover, I think it is crazy that Kandor would call her like this. Sure ... she is Supergirl but she doesn't have super-powers in Kandor. I guess she is held in such high regard by the Kandorians that they might actually call her to help out in a crisis, with or without powers.

Turns out that whole cry for help was a ruse to bring Supergirl into Kandor ... to arrest her! No subpoena. No 'please come to Kandor to discuss a matter concerning you'. No 'Supergirl we can't believe these charges that are being brought against you. Come to Kandor to talk to the authorities'. Nothing like that. Instead it's a sort of entrapment.

So maybe they don't hold her in high regard. This just didn't feel right. I think Supergirl would come willingly if they simply asked her.

And, of course, Supergirl doesn't help her cause her. Slapped in old-fashioned irons, she decides the besy course of action is to attack the Kandorian police. I suppose it shows that she isn't a pushover, that she will defend herself. And she is listed as a 'formidable fighter'.

She awakens in prison and Superman is there. He was notified of Supergirl's arrest and came to help.

This was somewhat interesting if only to see how Kryptonian courts operate which is, unfortunately, extremely close to American courts. I did like the gong to announce the judge.

It turns out that she is accused of falsely imprisoning another Kryptonian named Shyla. Well, at least she gets to face her accuser.

Earlier in the year, in Superman Family, Supergirl fought Shyla. In something of a sad story, we learn that Shyla was scheduled to a year in the Phantom Zone but prior to being released, Krypton exploded. Unfortunately that has meant that she has stayed decades in the zone instead of that one year.

Guided by that vengeful invisible energy cloud, Shyla found a rent in space which allowed her to escape the zone. Unfortunately, she used her freedom to attack Supergirl and try to rob Kara of her super-powers. With little choice, Supergirl sent her back into the Zone despite knowing that Shyla had served her sentence. Thus, Supergirl stands accused of wrongful imprisonment.

Well, there is a lot to dissect here. For one, why hasn't the court system on Kandor done a sort of review of the Zone criminals and release those who are due to be released? Aren't they really to blame? And is the extra days that Supergirl had Shyla in the Zone a drop in the bucket to the 20+ years that penal system left there to rot?

Moreover, the prosecutors insist that Supergirl imprisoned Shyla with 'criminal intent', not just for self-defense. And they have proof! There is surprise evidence ... a mento-tape! The mento-tape is a sort of mental recording of a person's memories. One cannot fake a mento-tape is considered infallible in the Kryptonian court of law. Ooohh .... surprise evidence ... this is like Law and Order. The good Law & Order, with Jerry Orbach and Jill Hennessy!

Actually, this is somewhat concerning. Maybe the person doesn't remember everything quite right. Isn't there a subjective component to someone's recollections? Is that really infallible?

What's worse ... the mento-tape recording is from Lex Luthor! Yeah ... that's great ... an evil scientific genius with a grudge against the El family is the star witness for the prosecution. Nothing to worry about there!

Lex does have some interesting memories though. He remembers Supergirl breaking Luthor out of jail, giving him super-powers, and asking him to be her mentor. This is back in time a bit. Supergirl is wearing the blue skirt uniform and makes reference to being a secret emergency weapon.

Now long time Supergirl fans might remember this as actually having happened ... in a way. But the mento-tape doesn't lie. This did happen.

Supergirl is able to place the time when this would have happened despite having no precise recollection of meeting Luthor like this. It was a time when she was having some lapses in memory, some black-out periods. Unclear if she was ever a criminal, Supergirl makes a bold decision ...

While she might not have had criminal intent in throwing Shyla in the Zone, she can't be sure she was never a criminal. And so she pleads no contest, feeling she deserves to be imprisoned. Despite Superman's plea to defend her, to let her spotless record speak for itself, Supergirl is determined. She is sentenced to 30 days in the Zone and she willingly goes. Hmmm ... she says she knows what she is doing, so maybe she has a plan and isn't just throwing in the towel.

And in the last panel we see that energy cloud gloating that things are going as planned. Supergirl won't survive her sentence.

So I have pointed out enough issues with the Kryptonian police force and judicial system to know that I would not want to be falsely accused of a crime there. Lured into an arrest, no 'out on personal recognizance' after years of being a hero, thrown in jail based on the recollections of a super-villains - scary. My guess is if I was falsely arrested that no matter what I would end up in the Zone, and probably for too long to boot.

Still there is either something noble or sly about Supergirl pleading 'no contest'. Noble if she thinks she 'did the crime' so has to 'do the time'. Sly if it is all part of some wild plan to prove her innocence. That said, I don't know if it is ever a good plan to be shot into the Phantom Zone.

Abel's art is average at best with little distinguishing style.

As for it's place in a Supergirl collection, I would put it in the low importance category. The final denouement of this story, with the reveal of what the cloud is, probably would be bumped up to moderate importance. I don't want to ruin a 30yr old story point ... at least not here. But I probably will when I review part 2 of this story.

Overall grade: C