Even after her death, Supergirl managed to squeeze another appearance before the pre-Crisis continuity was over.
Supergirl never had a regular writer for any length of time despite her being a fan-favorite character. As a result, when word spread that she was to die in the Crisis, editor Julie Schwartz’s stable all wanted to pay tribute to her memory.
Elliot S! Maggin drew the assignment to bring her home, while Cary Bates wanted to give her some happiness before her death.
ROBERT GREENBERG, associate editor
From “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Companion Deluxe #3”
Superman #414 (1985)
by Elliot S. Maggin & Curt Swan
What Greenberg calls “bringing her home” is at the very end of the issue, when Superman recovers the body of his cousin he left in orbit…
…and takes her to her parents on New Krypton. This is their final appearance.
I sure hope Superman got the time to talk to Supergirl’s adoptive parents on Earth as well.
Yeah, I can see why they wanted to give her another appearance after this one, because it sure is a downer.
Superman #414 (1986)
by Cary Bates & Curt Swan
Considering Supergirl’s luck when it comes to romance, no wonder we find out about her marriage only once she’s dead.
We begin with Superman rushing to the Fortress of Solitude. Now that Supergirl is dead, nobody else has access to the place (suck it, Batman!).
Once there he finds an alien (who despite appearances is not the Joker’s extraterrestrial cousin) stealing something from the “Supergirl room”.
And for some reason the scene is drawn with a weird angle, so pardon the scan.
The alien says he’s too “grief-stricken” to talk, so he just teleports out of the Fortress.
Even stranger, the alien called Supergirl “Jasma”. And he doesn’t appear to be truly hostile, or to have any idea of who Superman is.
In fact he even tries to stop Superman from following him by using a weak force field. Then again, basically anything is weak against pre-Crisis Superman.
Apparently Supergirl was very fond of the object that the alien has now stolen. Exclusively off-panel, of course.
The alien has telepathic abilities, which he uses to narrate to Superman how he met Supergirl the first time… finding her adrift in space after being weakened by Kryptonite.
Supergirl had complete amnesia because of her injuries, and later joined the superhero alien (named Salkor) as his ally defending the planet.
Considerably more than an ally, actually.
The device Salkor recovered at the beginning of the story is a device used to record one’s memories, a traditional wedding gift on his planet.
Naturally this is a Supergirl love story we’re talking about, so it’s only a matter of time before something terrible happens.
The couple manages to defeat the alien invader, but not before Supergirl gets hit with a lucky shot that seems to really shake her.
And as far as Salkor knows, that’s how it all ended.
That’s all very tragic and sad, but SUDDEN TRANSFORMER!!!
That’s the new form of the alien invader that attacked Salkor’s planet, and he’s here for revenge. A little late to fight Supergirl, but Superman really needs to blow off some steam.
This guy looks absolutely ridiculous, but he has an extremely useful power: he can’t be defeated the same way twice.
Does that make him the pre-Crisis Doomsday?
Superman’s solution is as easy as it is brilliant: just combine their powers in a single attack.
And that’s the end of pre-Crisis Doomsday.
In the epilogue, we get to hear the rest of the story from Supergirl, who recorded a special message to be played whenever Superman and Salkor were in the same room.
This is the closest thing to her leaving her last will.
So long, pre-Crisis Supergirl. I am genuinely going to miss your retrospective.
But in the spirit of Supergirl’s eternal optimism, let’s not end it on such a downer: next time I’ll cover something I’ve originally skipped… the very first Supergirl story.
Historical significance: 3/10
Kind of the last appearance of this version of Supergirl. Not anywhere near as known as the issue of her death, though, and ultimately has no lasting impact.
Silver Age-ness: 6/10
Plenty of tropes… from the easy-come easy-go amnesia, to the inconsistent effects of Kryptonite, and let’s not think too hard about all the shenanigans about super-frequencies trackable across the universe.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
Typically I don’t like it when Cary Bates writes Superman… for whatever reason he always comes off as way too childish for my tastes (which is weird considering how modern his Flash could be). But perhaps thanks to the somber tone of the issue, this time he manages to restrain himself and actually delivers a good story, even if it’s filled to the brim with clichés.
Despite the simplistic style, it manages to give Supergirl a bittersweet ending.
There’s a really good short story in CHRISTMAS WITH THE SUPERHEROES SPECIAL #2 in 1989. Deadman is moping around at Christmas, complaining that his “reward” for all the good things he does is eternal misery as a forgotten ghost… when he meets a blonde woman named Kara, who puts everything into perspective for him. “We don’t do it for the glory, or the recognition. We do it because it needs to be done. Because if we don’t no one else will. And we do it even if no one knows what we’ve done. Even if no one knows we exist. Even if no one remembers we ever existed.” My favourite Supergirl story, bar none.