Action Comics #252 (1959)
by Otto Binder & Al Plastino
cover Curt Swan
This is it, folks. To end the Supergirl retrospective, we go all the way back to her first appearance.
The cover is extremely iconic and endlessly homage and parodied, but it does make me question the seating arrangement of the rocket.
Also this is the same issue featuring the first Metallo. That’s actually the first story in the book: following is a Congorilla story, and Supergirl ends the issue.
This is a VERY fast 8 page story. Superman hears the rocket crashing on Earth and immediately flies to the rescue… leading to a fateful meeting.
Superman shouldn’t be THAT surprised about other Kryptonians surviving the destruction of the planet: Action Comics #242, the first appearance of Kandor, was 10 issues earlier.
Get this: when Krypton exploded, “by sheer luck” an entire city survived and was sent into space!!!
You might expect this to be devastating for the survivors… but apparently it’s not a big deal, thanks to their Food Machine ® and the fact that “a large bubble of air” still surrounds the city.
Sounds legit.
There’s an additional problem: thanks to Krypton’s explosion, the ground is now Kryptonite!
No problem, because the local know-it-all scientist has “a roll of sheet metal” that is sufficient to cover THE ENTIRE CITY…
…and that was enough to protect the city for SEVERAL YEARS.
Wait a second… if Zor-El knows how to build rockets that can take them to other planets… why are these Kryptonians still living here!? There’s being fond of your city, and there’s staying there for years when THE GROUND IS RADIOACTIVE!!!
Not to mention that there is absolutely no reason for sending ONLY Supergirl away. Why is making a costume more important than saving yourselves!?
Especially since they KNOW they’ll have superpowers there!!!
Superman shows some empathy to a fellow orphan…
…but I have no idea what is reaction is supposed to be once he realizes they’re related.
I take back what I said about Superman showing empathy: his first priority is STILL his secret identity. Come on, Supes, can’t you say she’s a distant relative or something!?
Heck, considering the age difference, you could probably get away with adopting her as Clark Kent!
But nope, his first idea is to force his cousin into an orphanage and lie about her identity.
You know, his only living relative. A teenage orphan who just lost her entire civilization and can bench press the planet.
Ah, the times where you could show up and just claim an entire town was decimated without suspecting the alien superhero was the one doing it.
Also the times where orphanages didn’t need any paperwork whatsoever.
I know it wasn’t the intent, but it’s hard not to interpret Superman’s action as him trying his hardest to shove his cousin out of sight. He’s not wrong about wanting her to start using her powers in public only once she’s mastered them, but still… does she REALLY need to stay in an orphanage!?
We will see in later stories that the Midvale orphanage is the most dangerous place on the planet, but at this time it doesn’t look that bad.
Supergirl can even fix mirrors just by looking at them!
Sounds legit.
But she’s still a teenager (canonically 15), so she still sneaks out at night to go against orders.
That’s already the end, setting up Supergirl for her own serial… there actually isn’t any real superhero action this time.
And there you have it. Supergirl from her very first words to her last.
Historical significance: 10/10
Come on.
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
Nothing about the survival of Argo City makes any sense whatsoever, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Does it stand the test of time? 6/10
This is a hard one. If this was a quality score it would be much higher, since it’s a very enjoyable if quick read. The standard plot holds up just fine, but for modern standards it’s more like the summary of a story rather than a complete one. And while this Superman doesn’t have the luxury of having the Kents still alive to serve as Kara’s foster parents… placing her in an orphanage is the best option available to Superman? Really!?!?
Bonus: as mentioned in the comments, this is easily the best tribute to the original Supergirl.
CHRISTMAS WITH THE SUPERHEROES #2 (1989)
by Alan Brennert & Dick Giordano
This is a Deadman Christmas story. Where he’s sad because he’s dead and he only manages to celebrate by possessing other people’s bodies.
He flies away to angst on his own, when a familiar face spots him. Which is unusual since Deadman is invisible to most people.
And she calls him out on his constant angst.
When analyzing that Deadman really misses the recognition he had when he was alive, the mystery woman drops a very heartfelt lesson about heroism.
And her name was Kara.
We do remember indeed.