A little Kara philosophy in this post, so bear with me.
Two weeks ago I posted a poll on this blog asking people to vote for their favorite Supergirl costume. First off, let me thank all of you who voted and left comments. It is overwhelming to me that 67 people have even found this blog, let alone took the time to vote. Overwhelming. Thanks again!
And yes, the Matrix style costume won the poll, hence the great Jackson Guice cover above, showcasing that uniform so wonderfully. However this was no landslide win. In fact, I was surprised at how close the poll was. Here are the results.
Matrix: 16 votes
Current/Turner: 13 votes
Hot pants/70s: 12 votes
Crisis/head band: 10 votes
Original/blue skirt: 8 votes
White shirt/Timmverse: 5 votes
70s variant: 3 votes
That is a pretty amazing spread. I think it actually speaks a lot about Supergirl fans in general. We tend to be very attached to Supergirl, almost zealous. No one seems to like Supergirl a little bit. If you like her, you tend to love her. And yet, Supergirl fans seem to be divided amongst ourselves despite our common love of the character. We can't even agree on her clothes.
I have been reading a pretty wild thread on Geoff Johns Comic Bloc Forums in which Supergirl #34 is being discussed. Most people really liked the new direction, myself included. I thought it was a step in the right direction to bring back a heroic and noble Kara. But there are several people on that thread that absolutely hate it. They hate the secret identity. They hate her 'losing her edge'. It is an incomprehensible response for me. How could I have loved this issue so much and yet other Kara fans hate it with the same intensity?
I think it boils down to Kara being a pretty complicated character who has grown a lot ... changed a lot ... throughout her history. As a result, fans can have a very specific and valid feel for what they want her character to be like. And when the character is not written that way, they feel cheated. Heck, they can even feel cheated if the costume isn't the one they like. And you can see from this sampling poll here, there is a contingent of Supergirl fans for each of them!
Superman is written one way. He is the ultimate hero, the ultimate good guy, the one who is able to see the 'right' thing to do and does it. For me that makes him difficult to relate to. He is invulnerable, unstoppable, bigger than life, and completely ethical. I am not that good. I am human with human foibles and failings. I can aspire to be Superman, but I can't really relate to him.
And I think that therein lies what I love about Kara. I was drawn to comics because I like the genre. I like reading about super-heroics. I was drawn to Supergirl because she had those powers, she lived those stories, but she also seemed to be trying to find herself too. She could even fail, just as I could fail.
So when she struggled with her relationships or wondered if she would forever be alone, I 'got' that. When she was trying to figure out what she wanted to do in life ... TV reporter, soap opera star, guidance counselor, or grad student... I understood that too. And when, unlike Superman, she got frustrated and lashed out swiftly and violently against villainy, something we have seen throughout her comic career, I could understand that response. She never seemed as restrained and staid as Superman. She might even have a temper like I do. She was easy to relate to and as a result a better read.
Now the Supergirl I started reading was the Superman Family dollar comics and the Daring New Adventures of Supergirl. I did not grow up with the Kara who listened to Superman and stayed hidden, who never seemed to reach Superman's expectations. But when I finally read those stories, I could see her evolution from the meek young girl in Midvale to the independent and strong Linda Danvers I fell in love with.
The problem with all these sides to Kara (struggling for acceptance, looking for love, finding her place on Earth, strong-willed and independent young woman, and super-strong kick butt heroine) is that her fans can want to see one side of her more than another, to look at the jewel of the character but want to focus on only one facet.
So someone can like a conflicted Kara trying to find her way in the world and it is a valid interpretation. These folks most likely hated the opinionated anti-hero we saw in the first 19 issues of this current title.
And another fan can like the opinionated, 'take charge' loner Kara we saw in the first 19 issues and feel that version is valid. (I really don't ... that Kara was not a hero but a self-absorbed killer.) So a Kara who tries to save a child from cancer or cries when a negative editorial is written about her makes little sense to that group of fans.
You almost could ask 'will the real Supergirl please stand up?'
All these shades of gray that make up "Supergirl" (I guess the concept of Supergirl rather than this particular one) make her a rich and and wonderful and complicated character to write stories for. That said, it would be hard (if not impossible) for a creative team to write the 'perfect' Supergirl, someone all Supergirl fans like a lot ... someone who can unite all the Kara fans under one banner.
Now one issue does not make a perfect run, but in issue 34 we see a Supergirl who drops a garbage truck on a villain and takes out a griffin. We see a Kara who is questioning her place in the world. We see a young woman who faces her personal enemy (albeit with a cute note) and decides to do what is right. We see the many shades of her personality just like we all have different sides to ourselves. I will say it again ... it is the readers' ability to relate to Kara that makes her so compelling.
This issue just felt like Kara to me.
I do not envy Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle. They have to please a very vocal Supergirl fan base who have very strong ideas about her. But I would rather be writing or drawing a character that people cared about this much than one people could not care less about.
Hopefully, these ramblings make some sense ...
