Superman Family #207 (1981)
by Jack C. Harris (plot), Roy Thomas (script) & Win Mortimer (pencils)
cover by Ross Andru
Although the Supergirl retrospective is finished and we know when she’s going to die, she still has a role in the Legion retrospective.
This might a bit awkward, but now you know how the Legion feels!
The cover is a bit busy, as it’s often the case with an anthology like Superman Family…
…but keep in mind that Universo is on the cover. Also, judging by the ears apparently he’s a Vulcan now?
We begin with Supergirl’s civilian identity getting off a plane… and seemingly landing in her long destroyed Argo City.
It’s a good start for a mystery!
Aaaaand the mystery is immediately ruined when Supergirl straight up suspects this is just an illusion. Now if we didn’t have Universo on the cover this could still work, but come on!!!
In another good moment, Supergirl uses her absurdly overpowered telescopic vision to check where Argo City is supposed to be: orbiting around Krypton’s remains.
But instead it’s around a yellow star.
The idea that Argo City should still be orbiting Krypton’s sun is a bit iffy. The city WAS blasted away from Krypton, so I imagine it should be on its way to a different system.
Obviously it shouldn’t be anywhere near a yellow sun or, you know, not destroyed… but at least it’s very convenient for Supergirl!
Once she lands on Argo City, everyone is still alive! I know we often joke about nobody dying on Krypton since so many people survived, but this is a bit much.
There’s a nice bit of continuity with Action Comics #309: the fact that Supergirl’s parents survived thanks to an attempt to move to the Phantom Zone is a major plot point.
And with that information, apparently the entire population of Argo City survived as ghosts.
Another revelation is that Supergirl’s father invented a device that would make her invulnerable even without a yellow sun, and then… he just left it home.
Just in case there were any doubts he’s the brother of Jor-El.
Supergirl tells her old neighbor that the Density-Intensifier™ was disguised as a table lamp.
First Superboy learning about emergencies through a lamp, now this… is there some kind of Kryptonian cultural significance about lamps?
And immediately after she makes this revelation, the entirety of Argo City disappears.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, I’m very happy to announce that now the story goes completely bonkers.
Yes.
NOW.
First of all, Supergirl finds herself near a red sun, surrounded of LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF TONS OF KRYPTONITE…
…and not only she’s not already dead: she can spot Universo…
…she can also follow him into the future!!!
Soooo many questions there!!!
1) How is she still alive!?
2) How did Universo get back to the past?
3) How is she still alive!?
4) If he stole a time machine, why isn’t the Legion’s Time Bubble or the Time Cube invented by his son?
5) How is she still alive!?
6) If she wasn’t near a yellow sun, how did she keep her powers?
7) Seriously, how in the name of Professor Potter is she alive!?!?!?
*groan*
It’s interesting that Supergirl has never actually met Universo before. She was in Adventure Comics #359, but she missed the actual confrontation.
Both time travelers reach the Legion almost simultaneously…
And the Density-Intensifier™… actually doesn’t do anything, because Universo really did just steal a lamp.
Turns out Supergirl was never fooled by the illusion, and Universo didn’t really do his research.
And so we end with Supergirl leaving immediately, teasing a return of the Density-Intensifier™ which I’m fairly sure never shows up again.
Legion significance: 0/10
From the Legion’s point of view this lasted… what, five minutes tops?
Silver Age-ness: 8/10
No, seriously, how is she still alive!?!?
Does it stand the test of time? 3/10
What a wasted opportunity. The mystery at the start is great, but why would you spoil the involvement of a illusionist on the cover!? Plus the resolution is incredibly fast and anticlimactic, and Universo’s plan makes little sense. How exactly did he learn about the device again!?
We are legion
21 Legionnaires
6 reserve members
1 on sick leave (Matter-Eater Lad)
1 presumed dead (Ultra Boy)