Comic Info
Comic Name: Superwoman
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Phil Jimenez
Artist: Phil Jimenez/Emanuela Lupacchino/Jack Herbert/Joe Prado/Matt Santorell/Ray McCarthy
# of Issues: 7
Release Date: 2017
Superwoman #1 Variant
Reprints Superwoman #1-7 (October 2016-April 2017). There’s a new hero in town…or two. Lois Lane and Lana Lang find themselves housing the power of Superman after Superman’s death and sharing the responsibility of filling in for the deceased Man of Steel. When tragedy strikes, Superwoman finds she’s going to have to forge her own path to be a hero, and Lex Luthor isn’t the person she should be afraid of.
Written by Phil Jimenez, Superwoman Volume 1: Who Killed Superwoman? is a DC Comics Rebirth superhero comic book collection. The series features art by Jimenez, Emanuela Lupacchino, Jack Herbert, Joe Prado, Matt Santorell, and Ray McCarthy.
When the DC Rebirth titles were announced, Superwoman was one of those intriguing titles. Knowing how comic books work, I didn’t have much hope of it surviving, but I was definitely going to check it out. The first issue started out with a bang, but the comic book lost steam and began to feel more like a 1990s comic (and not necessarily in a good way).
I was oddly a fan of the Superwoman from the future named Kristin Wells, and I wished that DC would do something with her. The Rebirth storyline set up a problem with two Lois Lanes so turning one into Superwoman made some sense but killing her made even more sense. Lana Lang has had a role in the DC Universe for ages, and it is nice to see her get her chance to shine.
Superwoman #7 Variant
The problem with the comic is that Superwoman’s powers are a little undefined. She kind of had the look of the Superman-Red and Superman-Blue and I also would have been interested if Superwoman had that Superman’s abilities. Instead, you get strange superhuman strength and energy powers.
I do like that the comic book took a nice logical villain that felt a bit like a throwback to classic comics of the ’50s. Lex’s sister Lena makes her move, and it is reminiscent of the female heroes having the female equivalent of the male heroes’ villains. It is kind of sexist that a female seemingly must battle a female, but it also is weird when guys are beating down on women in comics even if they are superpowered.
The problem with Superwoman is that the story feels a little typical. You have the superhero whose powers are potentially waning and/or killing her and a ho-hum set of issues after a rather creative first issue. I would like Superwoman to survive, but it feels like DC is already hedging their bets with the character. Superwoman 1: Who Killed Superwoman? is followed by Superwoman 2: Rediscovered.
