Power Girl #1 // Review
Dr. Paige Stetler is addressing a group of unreasonably wealthy people. She’s trying to interest them in the future of the human race. That will be tricky enough without some off-world thief popping by to try to get some quick loot off of a bunch of rich earthlings. What looks to be an easy score for the thief from another world turns out to be a serious challenge when it becomes clear just who Dr. Paige is in Power Girl #1. Writer Leah Williams opens a whole new series for the other Kryptonian woman with artist Eduardo Pansica, inker Júlio Ferreira, and colorist Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Power Girl really IS trying to save the world on more than one level. Unfortunately, super criminals from other planets always have a way of thrusting her into dangerous situations that require superhuman slugfests. The current political climate isn’t great, though. Power Girl is perfectly fine punching her way through a few bad guys, but if she isn’t careful, there is going to be collateral damage. And when a guy in a red cape named Clark shows up after the smoke clears, there will be more bad news for Paige.
Williams’ script echoes some of the better aspects of previous Power Girl stories while launching Paige into a new direction that feels new. Williams has found some new life in the superhuman Kryptonian end of the DC universe that feels interesting enough to keep the pages turning. Power Girl’s strength in characterization has always been her ability to manage a degree of grace, even while making mistakes. Williams takes that strength in an intriguing new direction with the first issue of a whole new series. Though there isn’t anything specifically new or revolutionary about the first issue, Williams’ plot has some great potential.
Pansica and Ferreira capture some of the more casual beauty of Power Girl in a visual package that does a pretty good job of rendering the reality of a superhuman slugfest in a glitzy, posh contemporary environment. The action rushes across the page with a bit of punch as well. The potential impact of the visuals gets lost in some of the sketchiness of the rendering, but action and emotionality are competently brought to the page. Pansica gives Paige more than a little personality around the edges of the action, but the visuals are heavily anchored in the action throughout the first issue.
Williams extends certain aspects of Power Girl’s personality that make her who she is. The inadvertent damage is a recurring theme that makes Power Girl seem relatable. Her desire to go beyond the physical confines of superheroism to try to deal with problems on a more holistic level is one that never really had the opportunity to be nearly as prominent as it should have been in the past. Hopefully, Williams can look into that a bit more closely. Williams’ writing in the first issue suggests a willingness to explore the title character’s semi-disheveled single-girl lifestyle, which should be fun in future issues as well.
