“One would think that machines are above mortal frailties like feelings or flaws, but in truth they are our creations. And they mimic us; even our flaws. Maybe especially our flaws.” — Dr. Paige Stetler
The band aid has been ripped off. In Power Girl #1, our hero boisterously debuted her new civilian identity in Metropolis; an event which could’ve gone better. But with that out of the way, it’s time for her to make time for the real stuff: a journey through the daily life of Dr. Paige Stetler. She’s navigating reporter duties, hanging with her telepathic roommate, and dealing with a persistent mystery man who wants to recruit her for something (he very likely works for the CIA) – all while preparing for a deeply personal heroic mission. Power Girl continues to be plagued by prevalent doubts about the authenticity of her very existence, but hey, what else is new?
Before delving into the nitty gritty of things, it’s worth mentioning that this feels like what the first issue maybe would have benefitted from being. While this isn’t to knock the previous issue, Power Girl #2 drastically shifts the tone, putting the pacing comparatively back on track with what Williams has written prior to the start of this ongoing. In the wake of learning about a mysterious virus tracing back to her alternate version of Krypton, Paige is feeling especially vulnerable. Already haunted by a past made up of false memories, piling onto that is an indistinct feeling that the past may be back to poison the real life she’s built for herself.
There is nothing scarier than not knowing what’s happening. In this case, there is nothing scarier than being aware that something from your past is coming back for you even when you’re not sure what it is; especially when you’re not sure. Our dashing but awkward protagonist finds herself in a situation that threatens her identity as a Kryptonian, the lives of innocents, and her family, thus straining her already fragile sense of belonging and responsibility.
Following the first issue, we’re brought back into the off-beat comedy atmosphere Leah Williams and Eduardo Pansica have created as we explore just who Dr. Paige Stetler is: a science writer for the Daily Planet who uses her influence on the industry to try and heal the tech world, all the while including delightful callbacks to her time as CEO of Starrware Industries. However, as she continues her daily life after the attack in the first issue, her world slowly becomes unrecognizable as her new foe Amalak becomes infected with an unusual symbiotic plague.
As previously said, there is a lot of improvement coming off of the first issue. Williams appears to be channeling the now-classic Power Girl Special #1 with medium pacing focused on advancing the story in a natural and engaging manner, one which supplies a lot of laughs through ovipositor simulations and strange government agents, all while adding to the current unknowns of the overarching narrative.
Something that has caught our eye with Williams and her writing style is that her work feels more at home with characters such as Power Girl since she’s allowed to play with the comedic and emotional elements that her and Supergirl have leaned on since the 1980s; not to mention their ties to underground comix. She’s had these sensibilities since her days working in the X-Offices and uses them as callbacks to the early days of Power Girl’s publication. This especially shows as she continues to play with Omen’s newfound purpose as the lax comedic relief with a heart of gold, which grounds Paige like nothing else can. All that really suffers from a writing perspective is an ending that is somewhat abrupt and perhaps lacking in some context, but not nearly to the degree that it profoundly impacts the quality and intrigue of the story.
Williams isn’t just succeeding at pacing, she’s also returning to the horror atmosphere she’s introduced all the way back in Knight Terrors: Action Comics while hinting at a potential payoff of that two-part saga Paige went through in the dreamplane. Truly, that is what makes this installment stronger than the first, as Williams returns to a narrative style that is less action-heavy and more relaxed in nature. This allows the story to take shape in a fashion that allows the writing to become more intimate with the readers and in turn allowing more character driven scenes to take hold of the story rather than feeling shoehorned.
Pansica’s art also adds to this in a brilliant way. Despite being known more as an action-heavy comic artist, Pansica makes the normal everyday struggles and boredom feel as mundane and familiar as they should be which allows both writer and artist to paint a perfect picture of how Paige and Lillith’s lives outside of superheroing can be: normal. Pansica also has the strong benefit of doing wonders with series colorist Romulo Fajardo Jr. and his inker Julio Ferreira, allowing the trio to bring a fun and brilliant visual to the world of Power Girl.
All in all, Power Girl #2 is a massive jump in quality from the debut issue. The nature of this chapter plays to the strengths of all the creatives involved: Leah’s affinity for off-beat character drama, Pansica’s mundane and action-packed pencils and layouts, and Fajardo Jr’s strikingly moody and whimsical coloring that elevates the diverse set of visuals to the fullest. With the story on track and the groundwork for a mystery laid, we have faith that this team has a strong enough handle on what they want to do with the book that will keep readers coming back.
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