“Cretaceous mosquitos can get wrecked.”
Ever since Power Girl began, Leah Williams has taken a number of strides that have dually brought Power Girl back to her roots while pushing her forward with uniquely ambitious angles in terms of her supporting cast and humorous tone. However, a handful of issues have been less than stellar due to a lack of development for many of the new characters, and this issue unfortunately suffers the most in that area. The nonlinear structure of the story is hampered by focusing on characters that so far haven’t been built up as well as the more personal threat of Symbio.
Though Baldeon’s art is perfectly fitted to the tone and style of Williams’ writing, the currently underdeveloped new antagonists leave much to be desired, and the Asgardian supporting cast with its accompanying storyline—particularly the romantic interests—merely feels disruptive to the existing dynamics of the book that have driven it thus far. If any of you have read the manga Nana, I’m sure you understand the frustration of unfulfilled chemistry.
Ultimately, I feel the main crux of Power Girl’s less-than stellar moments as of late has to do with the introduction of the Asgardians. While I appreciate Williams and her usage of Wonder Woman concepts, they haven’t truly added anything to the title’s structure aside from delivering a charming romance story back in issue #12. They will never be the Crush and the Holliday Girls.
The team is trapped, courtesy of DC Comics.
Additionally with Paige’s trauma, Williams is leaning too heavily into horrors that Symbio hath wrought upon Power Girl. Namely the addition of Paige having claustrophobia, which comes across as an unnecessary reminder that Symbio is, indeed, the main villain of the series, but a plot beat that is brief and doesn’t add much to this current storyline. As for the response to Paige’s panic attack, it is brushed aside quickly by Omen and Steel (the other one) in order to further the plot. There is a lot to be said about Paige’s trauma but this doesn’t add much to that conversation, serving little relevance. The fact that this claustrophobia was triggered by being enclosed in such a massive space makes the beat feel a bit random.
Williams did have a slight comeback with this installment’s comedy, namely between Mariposa and the Asgardians. They’re charming and definitely functioned as the highlight of the issue, which was thankfully the main focus of Williams’ sitcom-esque style. However, I feel those jokes didn’t drive up the overall comedic quality of the issue, seeing as that much of the comedy from the main trio didn’t come off as natural as it usually does. This was particularly glaring with the Void Three as their comedy became increasingly more dry as the issue went on, somewhat confusing the tone of their presence.
Though the two previously introduced members of the Void Three are lacking, Bruin, the third and latest addition to the trinity, stuck out the most this issue because of his usage of sign language. Between his striking design from Baldeon and his intimidating aura, it created a unique presence for his introduction that greatly overshadows his peers. Regrettably, he is the most redeemable character in this issue save for Mariposa.
In conclusion, Power Girl #18 was a beautiful issue but had a very wonky script. Williams didn’t stick the landing in this installment in spite of her best efforts. Bruin was a fun addition and Mariposa made for a charming comedic through-line, however not much can be said for the character development between our main heroes. Hopefully, Williams and co. can successfully regain momentum before the arc concludes.
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