Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle; John Bell; Marc Deering; Richard Friend; Jamie Grant; Jim Devlin; & Jared K. Fletcher
Cover Art by Amy Reeder; Richard Friend; & Guy Major
SUMMARY:
DC Comics released this issue for October 2010. Entitled “Fakeouts,” a flashback from six weeks before reveals a crumbling Bizarro World under siege by the cosmic Godship. Bizarro Lois Lane prevents her cowardly husband from joining his young cousin on a rocket ship escaping to Earth.
In present-day Metropolis, the Girl of Steel survives a death trap encasing her in some unknown solid substance. She takes on her now-refugee Bizarro counterpart to save the lives of several captives, including Dr. Light (Kimiyo Hoshi) and Jimmy Olsen. In full combat, Supergirl teams up with Dr. Light to neutralize Bizarro Girl. A twist ending continues this storyline’s return to Bizarro World for the next issue.
Meanwhile, as she awaits Perry White to get off the phone haranguing Lois Lane, Cat Grant toys with her latest Daily Planet hit piece meant to discredit Supergirl.
REVIEW:
Well-played! While introducing Supergirl’s Bizarro version should be ripe for comedy, writer Sterling Gates opts for a straight-up tale with more emphasis on horror than humor. Starting with Bizarro Girl’s corpse-like appearance, the character is an intriguing mesh of childish stupidity and an obliviously malevolent streak (having killed innocent bystanders).
Writer Sterling Gates scripts an exciting showdown vs. the Girl of Steel, along with a solid supporting role for Dr. Light. Gates doesn’t really even need to hint at a late plot twist that makes sense (keeping Kara’s compassion in mind).
Justifying its need for an extensive art squad, this issue’s bright visuals are generally excellent. More so, from the get-go, readers get some eye-opening surprises. Case in point: Bizarro Girl’s horrific appearance is zombie-like vs. the traditionally dopey Bizarro look fans would expect. Overall, Supergirl # 55 takes a presumably silly concept and makes it into a seriously good read.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
In the “DC Nation” column, Senior Story Editor Ian Settler hypes DC’s representation at Toronto’s Fan Expo Canada.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 8 Stars
