Superman/Batman Annual 5 - Attitude is Everything

[perletwo]

Since there's a bit of a discussion of the most recent Supergirl reboot's character swings and roundabouts going on in the Casstoons post, this seemed like a good time to post 3 pages of Superman/Batman annual 5 which address some of those issues.

A Reign of Doomsday tie-in, the basic setup is Sh*&, Meet Fan. Kara and Dick are trapped in the Watchtower with Doomsday and Cyborg Superman, who's turning the satellite into a giant weapon. Kara has apparently gotten hit with synthetic magic energy and is too ill to fight, so Dick gets her to sickbay, which he explains the JLA somehow turned into a "panic room" - it's cut off from all other systems, Cy.Sup can't reach it to manipulate it, and it's shielded from magic energy. Kara's well while she's in there, but only while she's in there. Dick leaves her to fight the Gruesome Twosome by his lonesome, and Kara accidentally triggers a full-body diagnostic scanner, which informs her she's dying. dun dun DUNNNN!

Through comms she passes word on to Dick, who in mid-battle tells her how to initiate sickbay's holographic Dr. Mid-Nite AI. Holo!Pieter confirms she's dying but can find no organic cause. So, Dick suggests one more option - the holographic Dr. Fate AI.











She does as he prescribes, and rejoins the battle. And then things get exponentially worse, but that's a tale for another post.

Comments

[thanekos]

Her psyche has an odd way of being affected by non-mental attacks, doesn't it?

And man, you know what Cyborg Doomsday this issue means.. tactilely telekinetic Doomsday in this week's Superboy.

[flash_fan]

"...But I am so angry. And sad. And tired. And sad"

Great writing there.

[darkknightjrk]

Yeah, needless to say Robertson's written better dialogue in the past. :O

[pyrotwilight]

I actually thought it worked. It sounds like what someone frazzled and unable to cope with the loss like Kara there would say.

[hybrid2]

Her costume change colour when she's sad and angry? O_o
What?

[icon_uk]

The Matrix Supergirl had a shapeshifting power and could alter her appearance and clothing on a whim, maybe she's channelling her? Or it's a bizarre form of tactile telekinesis.

[perletwo]

It seems to have happened in Justice League #53, in battle with the Omega Man - something to do with dark matter energies?

[icon_uk]

Dark Matter?

Ah well, that explains the colour scheme then!

(I apologise immediately to any astrophysicists reading this. I know, it's not called that because it's actually dark just that we can't register it. If we COULD register it, it wouldn't be dark matter anymore)

[darkknightjrk]

No need to apologize I think--this is COMICS, and that kind of pseudo-science makes perfect sense here!

[shadowpsykie]

when she comes in to save Dick i was like :DDD but then she gets distracted and i'm like :O ... (it reminded be of her fight with the Anti-monitor, (the panel looked so similar) and it scared me....)

[hoey]

Disregarding the crapfest thats been the Grounded storyline, shouldn't Kara be having this conversation, as important as it's made out to be here and should be, with Clark, maybe Lois, or at the very least Ma Kent and not some ridiculous hologram of Dr Fate/Nelson?

Are monkeys running DC?

[pyrotwilight]

Honestly she should be having story like this in HER book. If nothing else and it had to happen here, you'd think she could at least have a nice scene with Saint Walker whose all about cheering people up and giving hope.

[kenn_el]

In her book she's probably too traumatized by the horrendous haircut the artists foisted upon her to deal with weightier matters. This was an awful issue. As usual, Robinson's mess has to be cleaned up by others;in this case, the idea that 'Dark Kara' was a cool idea. So somehow the JLA satellite can magically force Kara to sit out an epic battle in order to have a medical examination, a second opinion and a psych consult while BatDick does all the heavy lifting! Just eccchhh!

[hero_of_lallor]

It DID happen in her book, at the end of the Bizarro storyline where she tells Bizarro Supergirl she has to stop torturing herself.

[arbre_rieur]

If Kara was suffering from some serious physical ailment, do you think it'd make more sense for Clark, Lois, or Ma Kent to examine her instead of an actual trained MD? No? Then why should it be any different for a psychological problem? Remember, Fate's a psychiatrist by profession.

[hoey]

We're not talking about serious aliments, we're talking about fallout from New Krypton story and residual feelings that Kara hasn't dealt with which with a little help from dark matter/whatever, has made her into Dark/Supergirl. It makes sense for either of those three, in order that I stated, have this conversation/turning-point with Kara instead of some psychiatrist seeing as they all were affected by the same event, some more the others and have history overcoming previous traumatic events. (Ma Kent is someone who comes across as even if she didn't know the full extent of the probelm, she'll know what to say)

It would ended up as one part of Supesclan helping another move past a traumatic event and finally having the character back on the track it should be on.

[heckfire]

In a word?

Yes.

[mistervader]

In the sixth panel, I thought Batman decapitated someone with a kick. Had to turn my head sideways to get the right angle.

[wizardru]

THANK YOU. I was trying to figure out why Batman was kicking a beast with four legs, then I turned my head sideways after I read your post and it made a lot more sense. :)

[icon_uk]

I confess I had no clue that Kent Nelson was a psychiatrist until I googled it and discovered he's a differrent Kent Nelson from the original one, who just happened to have a female companion (or victim-in-waiting) called Inza, which is one of those coincidences that just make my sinuses ache a little as I'm reading.

[recognitions]

Well, Starman was good.

Is the Cyborg Superman Hank Henshaw or the thing from Krypton? I can never keep those straight.

[icon_uk]

Cyborg Superman is Hank Henshaw, the thing from Krypton is the (non-cybernetic) Doomsday.

[recognitions]

But I thought there was something from Krypton calling itself the Eradicator, too?

[recognitions]

Nevermind, I just googled it; it was definitely the Eradicator I was thinking of.

[perletwo]

It's lately been getting squished appearing in the Outsiders title, as a mercenary on retainer to Geo-Force's kingdom of Markovia.

[fifthie]

I continue to hate that this is treated as Supergirl just being upset and having to work through her own guilt, and not, the US government carried out genocide.

Grounded was, weirdly, the closest thing to a reasonable reaction to all that which I've seen, since Superman basically IS, at the very least, justified in going around calling people assholes, for all that every single particular about how he did it was fucking stupid and also his own soporific detachment from the entire New-K tragedy remains unaddressed.