Can you feel the Force? - Power Girl #1

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Power Girl #1

Cover Date: June1988

Released: 1st March 1988

⋅ Writers: Paul Kupperberg ⋅ Pencilers: Rick Hoberg ⋅  

⋅ Inkers: Arne Starr ⋅ Colourists: Julianna Ferriter ⋅

⋅ Letterers: Bob Pinaha ⋅ Editors: Robert Greenberger ⋅ 

After what seems like forever of her either being in a team or hardly appearing at all, it's nice to see an issue around just Power Girl! And I've got to say this issue introduces a lot of things that I consider the standard from Power Girl '09.

To start with we're in New York City, and yes I know the JSA was generally in New York but to me, it never felt like it was the focus, whilst from the first page, New York is front and center!

 

We start with her day job as the head of Starrware, dealing with a potential takeover bid from top software company owned by Sayles Wilde. Karen, as Kara's in her civilian identity (for a change), is not happy about this having not been told about it and says no whilst mentioning she's not interested in creating computer games. Apparently Starrware is working on cutting edge spreadsheet pprogrammers. It was a different time!

 

It's nice here to see that Karen Starr is a capable CEO and seems to know what she's talking about, its often forgotten she's just as capable as her (not) cousin even in this post-Crisis age. Talking of we get a few pages talking about her origins, both her Kryptonian one and Atlantean one. It's fascinating that it's implied that Superman thinks she's still family, as it was some kind of cover story that Kara would use to protect herself in the world. We also having Kara mention she has friends, and we see helpful haedhots, though we've not really met any of them yet. And all this is in only four pages before the plot proper kick in!

 

Trying to stop a biker causing a high speed chase through New York, though it doesn't seem particulary fast, before it's revealed that the biker was controlled by the villain The Force, no really! (and ironically I missed the first release of New Hope by only a day). Most of the rest of the issue is a fight between her and this villian, with her first taking a few hit to get him away from the more populous part of the city. Apparently during the fight she's knocked into a lone cameraman, apparently with enough force to knock him out. With his beard and being a reporter I thought it might be "that reporter" but apparently it just some random reporter. Finally she wrapped The Force in power cables and elecute him, apparently working out he has some weakness to the electricity.

After trying to find out a little more about this new villian we have time to get back to her apparement where one of her friends has been mugged and there apartment turned over. Finally we get some mysterous type villain perving on Kara getting changed from some kind of astral realm.

Whilst I'm not a fan of the fighty bit in gerneral this is a really good balance of Kara's superhero life and her civilian identity, acting like all these characters had always been around in her life. We'll not question how she managed all this whilst being on the JSA / Infinity Inc, but that's always a problem when you go from a team book to a solo one. It's weird as this reads like the setup for a ongoing series, not a four part series as we're told from the cover. But that spliting hairs in what a really enjoyable issue.