Comedian books have an extended, difficult historical past with an inclination to go fully off the rails, and nowhere is that extra clear than with Supergirl. One take a look at her first origin will depart you both scratching your head or nodding alongside and saying that, sure, that’s precisely how comedian books could be generally. After all, there are some elements of her historical past which might be even stranger, and the primary recipient of that title is the protoplasmic Supergirl, Matrix. She was the byproduct of DC’s try to easily Superman’s mythos, just for her to wind up infinitely stranger than the unique Lady of Metal.
Given the mixture of her difficult existence and Kara’s return as Supergirl, it appeared like DC was prepared to jot down Matrix off for good. Nevertheless, this alternate Maid of May formally returned in Supergirl (2025) #18, full with the prospect to turn into the primary Supergirl as soon as once more. Not solely is that this a unbelievable exhibiting of a personality that no person might have anticipated to see once more, nevertheless it’s the right illustration of how a lot DC has modified. As a substitute of operating away from the wacky and peculiar elements of its historical past, the corporate is embracing all of it for the higher.
The Strangest Supergirl of All
Let’s briefly go over who Matrix is and why followers have been so satisfied she wouldn’t be returning anytime quickly. When John Byrne took over Superman’s world post-Disaster, he wiped away each different Kryptonian to ensure Superman was the Final Son of Krypton. This concerned eliminating Supergirl, however followers campaigned for her return. Byrne created Matrix because the compromise, however she was infinitely extra difficult. She got here from a pocket universe, created by Lex Luthor as a protoplasmic clone of Lana Lang who might mimic Superman’s powers. She’d go on to behave precisely like Kara, aside from falling in love with Lex Luthor (who was disguised as his personal son) and fusing with the following Supergirl, Linda Danvers.
Evidently, all the pieces about Matrix was bizarre. She was made to fill a task and did so expertly, however continuously in a approach that appeared barely alien. Supergirl #18 lastly introduced her again in an enormous approach, establishing that she reached the top of her pure lifespan and was remodeled into an data dice till she may very well be resurrected. She lastly was when she fused with Kara’s Tremendous-Substance swimsuit, granting her a brand new type and restoring her to the difficult lady all of us love, regardless that we by no means would have seen this coming. Supergirl already struggles to take care of her personal mythos, and including in Matrix positively complicates issues, however that’s on no account a nasty factor.
Embracing the Bizarre to Improve the Heroic
Superhero comics are bizarre. There’s no getting round that, and each try and diminish that weirdness solely results in it coming again twice as laborious down the street. The very nature of how comics commerce artistic groups so usually with characters designed to final ceaselessly makes this inevitable, however that historical past can also be what makes DC so unimaginable. DC tries to get rid of that on occasion, with reboots like Disaster on Infinite Earths or the New 52, however lately, DC has determined to embrace their historical past as an alternative of shying away from the elements that appear like they might confuse new followers.
The floodgates of historical past first opened with the return of Wally West in the beginning of the Rebirth rebrand, nevertheless it kicked into excessive gear on the tail finish of Darkish Nights: Demise Metallic, which restored everybody’s reminiscences of their lives by way of each common reset. This was the shift that hallmarked DC embracing the many years of historical past at its disposal. This period has given us again tons of legacy characters as soon as thought gone for good. Wally’s complete household is right here to remain. Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown are each again as Batgirl, and Cass even has her personal ongoing. Now, Matrix is again, regardless of being simply essentially the most obscure and strangest a part of Supergirl’s historical past.
Frankly, there’s no purpose to carry Matrix again aside from love of her character, and that’s precisely what fashionable DC comics are brimming with. Her previous is wild, however her return is the last word showcase that DC is prepared to make huge swings and embrace all of its heroes, even once they solely danger overcrowding a heroine who’s making an attempt to interrupt into the highlight. A couple of years in the past, DC would have balked at a personality like Matrix. Now, she has the prospect to shine as the primary Supergirl whereas Kara is depowered, constructing her personal identification and pushing Supergirl’s mantle even additional into the long run with out throwing away the previous.
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