I had to read this dark, not-at-all simple 'Supergirl' comic twice in order to somewhat comprehend, understand and appreciate it.
This is despite how it demonstrates both the best and worst traits of Tom King as a writer; meaning, he comes up with the most brilliant, creative, subversive, introspective, existentialist, and out-of-this-world-and-cosmos concepts, of which he doesn't waste any potential, and his fearlessness in thinking outside the box and giving expectations a whiplash is exceptional...but my goddesses and garters is it hard not to disagree that he might have been better off as a novelist, because nearly every comic of his is wordy as hell. Waxing poetic about everything and nothing like there is no tomorrow (heh) appears to be his favourite vice. You do not read his works for a quick, breezy, action-packed time, that's for certain. It's great that they are not brainless, but they can be far too much if all you want to do is enjoy a colourful superhero comic.
It's like King is afraid of editors--or is it the other way round? That it's editors that are afraid of him, of even suggesting he cut a single word out of his overwhelming deluge of narration boxes and dialogue balloons?
This is especially troubling as it breaks the number one rule of storytelling across all mediums: "Show, don't tell". And King absolutely loves to tell, without letting the artwork speak for itself, for a chance - for room and space - to convey atmosphere. Readers are left with hardly anything to infer from and interpret for themselves.
Ofttimes King borders on being like an unrestrained, pretentious, egotistical, overrated and overblown classic male movie director. That he seems to be restlessly writing for every comic nowadays regardless of the mixed quality of his output doesn't help his "keeps getting hired over everyone else and it's suspicious and seedy" case.
Yet in spite of all this (wow did I go longwinded myself, huh?), 'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow' (2021) is an excellent comic book, and I can see why it would be widely considered a masterpiece and an instant graphic novel classic. It's also not hard to see why it would pretty much serve the basis of the new 'Supergirl' movie coming out in 2026.
Sure, there are some random, superfluous and nonsensical things in it, and I find the ending to be only a little less frustrating and confusing on the second read, but its merits outweigh its shortcomings. I can appreciate better what King was doing, now with the knowledge of what to expect, plus a refreshed memory, and I can therefore properly exercise the patience required to enjoy it.
'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow' - such effort is especially heartening to see in a 'Supergirl' comic in general. Tom King does not undermine the superheroine. Based on his writing, it is clear he respected her, and wanted to show her at her best, at her most rounded and three-dimensional...and most painfully tragic.
No one would forget about, ignore, dismiss, or underestimate Supergirl after reading 'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow', even if they had read lesser comics about her before, that do not do her character justice in the slightest, and seem to despise her existence.
Supergirl/Kara Zor-El is no mere distaff counterpart, distressed damsel, fridged woman, and "girl hero" - she is her cousin Superman's equal in every respect, perhaps more so; and is perhaps better than he is, due to her having experienced, struggled and survived far greater in her comparatively shorter life (she is in fact much older than he is - as a young teen she was originally sent from her decayed and destroyed Krypton civilisation(s) to earth to protect baby Kal-El; space and time travels, and depending on the rocket ship, and all that).
'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow' is basically a retelling of Charles Portis's 'True Grit', set in outer space, with aliens, and the most devastated, hostile, barely habitable, and/or corrupt alien worlds, and genocidal space criminals and thugs and pirates.
Twenty-one-year-old Supergirl is on a mission that takes her across the universe. She is accompanied by Ruthye Marye Knoll (now that is a pretentious name), a girl from another planet, like Supergirl. Ruthye will stop at nothing to seek revenge on a monstrous man who murdered her father in cold blood, with a sword.
Over the long, hard and heavy course of her revenge quest, Ruthye comes to know of the unspeakably tragic past, and the inner and outer journey, of the Woman of Tomorrow. But by the ends of the universe, she will attempt to speak them, unceasingly, via her one notable characteristic of never shutting the @#&*! up, in her narration and her dialogue. Whether anyone likes it or not, Ruthye is the one telling the whole story - the story of her and Supergirl, from her perspective and memory, from when she is an old woman.
Kara's beloved Krypto the Superdog is there, too.
Supergirl, whatever she is doing, and whatever occasion she finds to smile and be kind and help those in need, there can be no doubt: she is suffering. She is depressed. She is constantly living, surviving through the trauma of losing her home on the blown-up planet Krypton, then in Argo City, and of losing her parents. In having to take care of the younger, naïve, stubborn and impulsive Ruthye, her PTSD reaches its full potency; it is showing up to the surface, beyond her control. With all her superpowers, that are without limits (kryptonite effects aside, and depending on what sun she is under, and magic is another weakness of hers), she is not so insuperable and perfect, after all. Heck, she's drunk in her first appearance in this comic. She has a short fuse and mood swings, and swears a lot (though it's censored).
But she will keep trying.
Keep defying.
Keep flying.
Keep finding and improving herself.
Keep saving lives.
She knows she has to cling on to hope somehow, or else there really is no reason for her to go on, to help others.
To save herself.
And there will always be other people who will fight to save her, sometimes from herself. People who stand up for her, admire her, and love her.
Through all her trauma, and personality flaws, she is Supergirl, fighting for truth, justice, and compassion and kindness in the face of all the evils, all the destruction, obliteration and oblivion, of the indifferent universe.
She is not a god, and she never asked to be compared to one. She never asked to be a hero, either. But that's the role she's been given, that's the hand she is dealt. And she will accomplish her tasks and duties to the best of her capabilities.
'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow' - a grand, epic, emotional, horrifying, poignant, complex, and compact standalone superheroine graphic novel, if overly wordy and flowery in language, for this supposedly visual art medium. It swings between pretension and genuine cleverness on almost equal footing. It showcases the best and worst of Kara Zor-El, in a good way. It may just make a Supergirl fan out of anyone, if they are not already.
If you want, you can read my reviews of the other 'Supergirl' comics I like:
'Supergirl: Being Super'
'Supergirl Vol. 1: Misadventures in Midvale'
And to further show I do not completely hate Tom King's work, read these:
'Jenny Sparks'
'Helen of Wyndhorn'
Final Score: 3.5/5
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