By: Paul Levitz (story), George Pérez (pencils), Scott Koblish (inks), Kevin Maguire (art), Hi-Fi & Rosemary Cheetham (colors)
The Story: Introducing the Thelma and Louise of the DCU.
The Review: Longtime readers of the site know the dissatisfaction I felt reading Levitz’s work on Legion of Super-Heroes and Adventure Comics. At the time, his writing came off pedestrian and outdated, unable to inject any of his old energy into the characters he helped make famous. But longtime readers also know that I’m always willing to give creators a fresh look when they offer something new.
So although I have zero interest in jumping aboard the leaky ship that is Legion of Super-Heroes again, seeing what Levitz can do with Huntress and Power Girl sounds a lot more palatable. From the start, Levitz has a very clear vision of how his heroines think and how they interact. Helena Wayne, in contrast to the hotheaded avenger she was as Helena Bertinelli, seems cooler, more sensible and down-to-earth. Karen Starr doesn’t seem all that changed from her usual portrayal: brassy and full of life, she thinks and dreams big, in perfect proportion to her b…right and vivacious personality. At every turn, Helena tries to rain on her friend’s parade (“You go on believing in fairy tales, princess…I’m making the best of this nightmare.”) and Karen lets it roll right off her back (“Best part of a nightmare is waking up.”).
Levitz disappointingly doesn’t delve too much into their parallel-universe pasts in this issue, which is really what we all want to know. After all, we’ve seen enough of their Earth One exploits so far (Helena in her Huntress mini and Karen in her featured role on Mr. Terrific) that some Earth Two goodness would be an interesting change of pace. Instead, we mostly get the two ladies figuring out how to come to terms with their new living situation, each determined not to make too much noise and attract attention to their outsider selves.
They’ll have a hard time of it if they both keep on with the costumed adventuring. It hardly takes more than a couple issues before a given vigilante runs into one of his peers, and at some point, someone will have to remark on that blond woman who has all the powers and abilities of Superman. But they have good reason for lying low; when Darkseid invaded their world, on top of the usual Parademon excitement, they also had to deal with “Infiltrators,” Apokoliptian spies who got close to our heroes and crushed them when least expected. Considering it was a Boom Tube that brought the women here, they have reason to believe a bit of Apokolips followed.
As for the writing, it’s with some relief that I say Levitz manages a natural chemistry between the two leads, though mostly couched in those labored quips (“…if you’re going to use your powers, get a costume—not an arrest for indecent exposure.”) and smart remarks (“Prude.”) he’s so famous for. At times, however, the cornball nature of his dialogue just makes you feel like he’s writing for a different era entirely. Helena, remarking on their latest opponent: “Ugly was an understatement.” Karen: “Wait until I’m done with him…then you’ll see ugly!”
I’ve made my critiques of Pérez’s work before, but it looks stronger here than on other things he’s done recently. He does have a great eye for detail, as you can see just from the props he stuffs into the Tokyo restaurant Karen and Helena dine in at the opening. Still, his figures at times take on a plastic model quality, changing features from panel to panel. I much prefer Maguire’s contributions to the issue. He lacks Pérez’s intricate details, but you can’t deny his work across the board looks bigger, bolder, more powerful, and more consistent.
Conclusion: The word’s still out on whether this title will get the job done on making Huntress and Power Girl the superstars they have the potential to be, but a fine start, either way.
Grade: B-
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: – “Th-that’s not Kal—h-he’s so young.” Maybe it was Nicola Scott’s art, but the late Superman of Earth-2 didn’t look all that old to me.
– Helena’s costume has become a classic, so good on DC to not mess it with it too much. Wish I can say the same for Power Girl. The loss of the boob-window I don’t regret—much. But that outfit just looks weird across the board. And no one since Amanda Connor has gotten Karen’s hair right.