Random Happenstance

I think I picked up a big, random pile of recent Supergirl comics the other month; and not unlike Green Arrow it appears to have pivoted to bring in some aspects from the CW show. This issue also has Kara's dad as the Cyborg Superman, for...um, reasons? Well, this is what happens when you come in late. From 2017, Supergirl #6, "Reign of the Cyborg Supermen: Finale" Written by Steve Orlando, art by Brian Ching.

As is pretty typical for DC in recent memory, every time somebody or something from Krypton shows up that's not named Kara, Kal, or maybe Krypto; it goes full fascist in short order. The Kryptonians were depicted as cold and unfeeling in the Byrne reboot, but have reverted to megalomanical jackbooted thugs since, with little love or compassion for anything not of Krypton. Zor-El intends to save Argo City at any cost, even his daughter's life. He mentions Superman as "Kryptonian in name only," seeing him as contaminated by being raised on earth; but can't understand why Kara, who was more a product of their culture, would turn against him. Turning the other Argo City survivors into Borg-like zombies could've done it too, maybe.

Imprisoned in a previous issue, Kara had learned how to overload Zor-El's tech, and we see Catherine Grant verbally berate a broadcast competitor into sending the signal to disable the Kryptonians, bringing down the floating Argo City into the ocean and rendering Zor-El powerless. The next day, while Kara manages to cover for her absense at CatCo with help of a semi-friendly work rival (which Grant sees through, but still lets it go) a sub approaches the sunken Argo City, and Dr. Henshaw is given the go-ahead to investigate. (Hank Henshaw was the original, pre-New 52 Cyborg Superman, and I was pretty sure he had appeared since? He might've gotten his ass retcon'd in some GL thing.) Supergirl visits Zor-El, in a tube at the DEO under Chase, and tells him she won't give up on him. 

I thought this was alright, even if I felt like I had seen the Kryptonian invasion bits before; and I'm only a casual Super-reader anymore. It's a well that's been gone back to many times; although I see how they would have to do it for Supergirl too.