Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow has been a deeply moving and thoughtful series that sadly comes to an end today. Its end is fitting even if it’s bittersweet, but much like life, endings have a way of feeling right but also sad. Tom King, Bilquis Evely, and Mat Lopes have told a story that spans many worlds and many different experiences, all of which were solely motivated by a young girl named Ruthye seeking revenge for her father’s death. She’s now got the culprit within sword’s distance from her, but can she finally do what she’s wished for with righteous vengeance?
This issue is without a doubt a fantastic conclusion to a series that has been moving towards a moment of incredible violence, especially for a young person like Ruthye and Supergirl. This series has shown readers incredible alien worlds, many lives lived, and different horrors and delights, while becoming a kind of celebration of life. Be it good, or bad, Supergirl and Ruthye have gone on the adventure of a lifetime. That complicates Ruthye’s desire to kill her father’s murderer because she’s been through so much.
What ends up happening is there’s a lot of anticipation and buildup that leads to a fight, and then an eventual decision to be made. That anticipation may just kill some readers who can’t wait to see what Ruthye decides. Will she go through with it and kill a bound, blindfolded man, or will she change her mind at the last minute?
This buildup leads to a major revelation about what the entire series has been about. Given Supergirl and the nature of her character–similarly to Clark Kent’s Superman–one gets a very wholesome and valiant message from her larger goal of running around with Ruthye in this story. In an efficient montage of events from the series, Evely draws seven panels with each one showing us a moment and a kind of lesson from a previous issue. It gives the entire series a new perspective which also serves as a good reminder of what an incredible adventure these characters have gone through.
Close one!
Credit: DC
In a few different ways, this series has felt like a celebration of life, which is ironic since much of it takes place on alien worlds. That’s largely due to Evely’s incredible lines, which bring a lot of movement to everything from Supergirl’s torn cape to the wispy clouds above Ruthye’s head as she spars with her enemy. There are also interesting layout ideas, like Ruthye’s moment to decide if she wants to execute her enemy as the gutters turn to black with the panels loosely spaced. There’s a cinematic element throughout as well with wider panels that allow for more environmental details and more control over the “camera” in each scene.
Lopes’ colors continue to impress too with cool green and blues in the final scene used as if to convey things are cooled off for our characters and at peace. The golden blonde hair of Supergirl is incredibly alive, with hues and touches of light that give it a vibrant spark.
All this said and I didn’t even mention Comet, Supergirl’s horse who took a fatal wound in the last issue. This subplot adds another layer of loss to the larger story as well as effectively puts Supergirl in a questionable state of mind. It does sort of feel forced a bit with it becoming an afterthought once Ruthye’s awakening begins, however.
It’s not easy ending stories, which is probably why so many continue on as if the adventure may never end. Here though, King and Evely have captured the essence of a life well lived, and how we can become blinded by things that don’t actually matter in the grand scheme of things. This issue delivers a satisfactory resolution while adding to both Ruthye and Supergirl’s journeys. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow shows how a life well lived is itself justice in the face of the injustices we experience.
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