Three degrees - Power Girl #2

Tapestry

Power Girl #2

Cover Date: July 1988

Released: 5th April 1988

⋅ Writers: Paul Kupperberg ⋅ Pencilers: Rick Hoberg ⋅ 

⋅ Inkers: Arne Starr ⋅ Colourists: Julianna Ferriter ⋅

⋅ Letterers: Bob Pinaha ⋅ Editors: Robert Greenberger ⋅ 

After talking with the cop who arrested the bad guy last issue, enjoying a hot dog as they talk, and learning nothing Power Girl ends up fighting a liquid controlling villain Hydra. With what is a really good black and white costume. Hydra keeps Power Girl away with her liquid control power first using milk, disappointingly missing the most obvious joke, and finally gasoline setting the area on fire. Frustrating for Power Girl she doesn't manage to get a single hit on the villain despite technically being more powerful. 

We then cut to the corporate drama going on with more challenges to Karen Starr's business, including that takeover bid that was set up in the previous issue. Things are going south because Kara's been focusing on her Power Girl problems over her company ones, a plot that will crop up for quite a few times.

But enough of that Karen is convinced to go on a night out with her two housemates, one of which is having a terrible run of luck. In a line that made me grin she bemoan how she can't be a yuppie with her Volvo totalled. And boy how things have changed over the last few decades! The night up isn't much apart from a joke about a man hitting on Kara and going on to the next when rejected, another thing that hasn't aged well. Luckily the night is interrupted by the arrival of the second villain, Hurricane. This one goes better than the last and after a fight and the villain eventually flees.

Next, we have Karen meet an older man offering a self-defence lesson, which she tern down. It's interesting that she dismisses things out of hand when she used to fight alongside Ted Grant, really if he wasn't fighting Ragnork it would be him here I'm sure! She also mentions probably being one of the ten strongest heroes, which I'm curious who those other nine might be.

Anyways after that, we meet the final of the three villains of the piece, and in our elements themed this one is the fire-based Pyro. It's a quick two-page fight before he flees and we're into the last few pages. Here we find out in a suspiciously timed event that Starrware building burnt down. 

The final scene is her seeking out the not!Ted to take him up on those self-defence lessons. Why this one event is the one that was a step too far I'm not sure, and it's probably the one sour note in a solid issue.

This is the perfect middle issue! All the pieces are moved around and built towards later issues. That might sound like damning it with faint praise but it's entertainingly solid. And it seems I can't talk about an average issue without sounding I dislike it.