Ruthye is struggling to keep a young Kryptonian alive. It’s the least she can do for someone who has saved her life countless times. Throughout the past four issues. Sadly, however, she’s not going to get a whole lot of help as Supergirl - Woman of Tomorrow reaches its fifth issue. Writer Tom King reaches a remarkably inspiring moment in the series that is rendered for the page by artist Bilquis Evely and colorist Mattheus Lopes. King and company tackle the challenge of showing a hero’s influence on others in an inspiring Jack London/Touching the Void moment for hero and sidekick.

Supergirl and her little companion are thrust into a dangerous planet around a distant star. The sun in question is quite harsh. It’s green. Everything on the planet is meant to be a danger for a Kryptonian. Supergirl will only get her powers back once the sun has set on a world filled with dangerous predators. The planet was meant to be a tomb for her cousin Kal. He lasted 45 minutes on the world before the JLA came round to save him. Supergirl’s got ten hours and an untrained girl with a sword to protect her. What could go wrong? 

It’s no challenge to show a superhero being super. After over half a century on the comics page, it might be difficult to do it in a way that feels new, but it’s not difficult to show a superhuman doing superhuman things. The real challenge is to show the inspiration that a hero can instill in a perfectly normal person without superpowers. It’s been done to great effect in larger ensemble comics. Still, King manages to make the inspiration to heroism work in striking clarity in a single issue with a single girl trying to protect a fallen goddess of a Kryptonian.

Evely has a very sharp eye for drama. The harshness of the planet meant as a tomb for Superman is kind of challenging to deliver. King actually manages considerable menace in a lush area of vegetation with a lake that was intended to be a trap. Evely makes it look beautiful, which amplifies its danger amidst the towering dino predators that occasionally dominate the landscape. The drama of Supergirl’s near-death is heartbreakingly evident in Evely’s art...which is amplified with powerful color by Lopes. The sickly green of the planet’s atmosphere makes the harshness of the environment seem that much more devastating.

A big part of King’s genius with this series lies in the fact that anyone chapter could stand alone almost perfectly on its own. Each one is its own self-contained story that rests in a larger context of a much bigger plot. A series like this could easily run for MUCH more than the eight issues that have been allotted for it. The travels of Kara and Ruthye are satisfying on quite a few levels. Thankfully, a few more issues are left to carry us through much of the coming winter.

Grade: A