Review: Supergirl Vol. 5- Red Daughter of Krypton
Quick Summary
Pros: The main narrative is filled with fun action. Supergirl’s journey through the volume is great to see. The conclusion leaves things on an interesting note.
Cons: The story jumps around a lot and ends up feeling messy.
Overall: This is one of the best volumes in this Supergirl series. It takes a unique and unusual premise and uses it to tell a story packed to the brim with action and drama. This has the added benefit of working well with Supergirl’s current character progression, which will be a treat to fans of the series. There are places where the volume stumbles but, for the most part, it is a solid read. Those interested in a good New 52 Supergirl story or in a unique moment in the character’s life should consider reading this volume.
Story
Supergirl Vol. 5: Red Daughter of Krypton, by Tony Bedard and Charles Soule, is probably the best New 52 Supergirl volume since the first one. This collection emphasizes action in a way that is fun to see play out. It also develops Supergirl in a way that builds upon past stories while also doing something entirely new and different. The volume then closes by bringing this development to its pinnacle and leaving the narrative on a compelling conclusion. The only real problem is that there are portions of the read where it feels like the story jumps around too often and does so in an uncomfortable way. Luckily, the book is still very worthwhile and makes for a fun read.
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The main narrative in Red Daughter of Krypton takes a few pages from the Red Lanterns series’ playbook and places a heavy focus on action. This creates a fun story that contains one intense battle after another. Supergirl is placed in a variety of precarious situations yet is always able to rise to the occasion and triumph over her enemies. In general, it feels more celebratory than previous volumes, which often felt more somber, and, thus, ends up being a more fun reading experience.
This collection also works well for Supergirl as a character and for the progression of this series as a whole. The ridiculous and often frustrating situations of past volumes come to a head when Supergirl accepts a Red Lantern Ring and fully gives in to the anger she is feeling. The acknowledgement and acceptance of this anger feels like a natural path for the series to take and makes sense for Supergirl. The new role allows her to vent some of her frustrations and allows for some fun action while this happens.
Then, as the volume comes to a close, Supergirl is able to move past her time as a Red Lantern. She recognizes that being a Red Lantern, though cathartic, is not what she wants to be in life. Instead, she starts to take on a role as protector of the weak and misplaced, a role that fits well into her legacy and works as a great contrast to her Worldkiller enemies. This progression works out well and left me excited to see where the Supergirl series will go from here.
My biggest complaint with Red Daughter of Krypton is that it often ends up feeling very messy. The story starts with Supergirl taking a moment to return to Earth, jumps over to Siobhan for a bit, focuses on the Red Lanterns, then concludes with the return of a Worldkiller. Along the way, there are also hints about story arcs involving the mystery of Shay Veritas and Blaze but they are introduced way too early to work as effective teases for the next story arc. The volume as a whole is still good but these problems deprive it of a level of polish that could have made it great.
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Art
The visuals in Red Daughter of Krypton might be some of the most consistently positive visuals in this Supergirl series. The volume starts with several chapters from penciler Yildiray Cinar, inker Ray McCarthy, and colorist, Daniel Brown. This creative team provides some nice work, creating bold and bright visuals that pair well with the character-focused and action-centric storyline. In addition, a chapter from Billy Tan looks great in a chapter about the Green Lanterns and some work from Alessandro Vitti captures the darkness of the Red Lanterns.
There are only a few places where the quality of the visuals drop. Near the end of the volume, the regular creative team is substituted out by a number of contributing artists. This produces several pages where characters look strange and where bodily proportions seem off. Luckily, this is only a brief portion of the book and the rest of the collection ends up looking positive.
Continuity
Supergirl Vol. 5: Red Daughter of Krypton continues the story from Supergirl Vol. 4: Out of the Past (Review).
The story here continues in Supergirl Vol. 6: Crucible (Review).
This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:
- The New 52 Lobo (Reading Order) has been looking for Lobo (Reading Order) ever since Justice League #23.2.
- The Green Lanterns began policing the use of the Emotional Spectrum in Green Lantern #25, collected in Green Lantern Vol. 4: Dark Days (Review). This was a result of the Green Lantern: Lights Out (Reading Order) event.
- An inauthentic message from Hal Jordan is mentioned. This message was sent out in Green Lantern #27, collected in Green Lantern Vol. 5: Test of Wills (Review).
- Red Lanterns #28-29 continue many story elements from Red Lanterns #27, collected in Red Lanterns Vol. 5: Atrocities (Review).
- Superman’s relationship with Wonder Woman is mentioned. For more information on this see ComicBookWire’s “Superman/Wonder Woman Reading Order“.
- Guy Gardner recently served on the Justice League International (Reading Order) through Justice League International #1-12, collected in Justice League International Vol. 1: The Signal Masters (Review) and Justice League International Vol. 2: Breakdown (Review).
- Supergirl #31 continues story elements from Red Lanterns #30. These story elements are then continued further in Red Lanterns #31. Both of these issues are collected in Red Lanterns Vol. 5: Atrocities (Review).
- The atmosphere around Earth was poisoned with Kryptonite during the Superman: Doomed (Review) (Reading Order) event.