Earth-15, a world that could have been a perfect earth according to Superboy Prime. He then proceeded to explode the planet so maybe we shouldn’t take his word for it. This was an earth that had virtually no crime and its initial group of heroes had been able to step down and the next generation to take over. This world has heroes like Jason (Batman) Todd, and Donna (Wonder Woman) Troy.
Throughout the comic appearances of this universe there is not a Supergirl that’s shown although the world does feel populated by more metas than what we see. The few appearances of this universe feel, to me, as if the Crisis never happened and the characters of the Pre-Crisis era were allowed to continue on their stories and the sidekicks and younger heroes were to step into their mentors shoes. With this mindset, I bring you Kara Danvers Superwoman. Superwoman is the protector of Chicago, the city she was operating out of before the Crisis and her costume is based on the Pre-Crisis Supergirl with slight changes.
As with all my Supergirl in the Multiverse posts, this is my own artwork and depicts Superwoman floating in the foreground with her cape held in both hands. The background shows clear skies and and the skyline of Chicago. The top right has a motif of Superwoman’s symbol and a number 15 on top of it.
The subject of this week’s blog post is perhaps my most unique item of my Supergirl collection; the Press Packet released for the 1984 Supergirl movie staring Faye Dunaway, Helen Slater, and Peter O’Toole. I am a huge supporter of this often ridiculed movie and as such have acquired a small collection of memorabilia and other products related to the film that I plan to cover in later blog posts.
The press packet included these 2 documents from Allied Advertising Agency informing the recipient of the packet on where and when the film will be showing and the specifics on how the press should submit their reviews. As I am not a member of the press and got this packet secondhand I don’t entirely understand all the specifics of this information, but I do enjoy their inclusion and, for me, it adds to the novelty of the kit.
The packet also includes a selection of portraits of the main characters as well as the director and producer. In order the pictures are; Helen Slater as Supergirl, Faye Dunaway as Selina with Helen Slater as Supergirl, another portrait of Supergirl now as a wide shot, Peter O’Toole as Zaltar, Faye Dunaway as Selina, Hart Bochner as Ethan, the director Jeannot Swarc, and the producer Timothy Burrill. Each of these images are printed on glossy photo paper with Tri-Star and Supergirl branding along with a brief blurb mentioning the legal requirements if the press were to publish any of these photographs along with their reviews. Each photo also includes a small slip of paper that lists the name of the character, the name of the actor, and a brief explanation of what the character is like.
In addition to the 8 portraits, the kit also includes 6 images from the movie. These pictures depict some of the actors that have smaller, supporting roles like Mia Farrow and Simon Ward as Alura and Zor-El. These images also have caption cards that now describe the scene depicted as opposed to the character traits as the last set did. All together the kit includes 14 black and white photos. While none of these images feel exclusive to the kit they’re still very exciting to have and make an excellent addition to my collection.
The most interesting part of this kit, however, is this blue booklet. This booklet opens with a full cast and crew list and the normal legal dialogue about ownership of the Supergirl character by DC Comics. The booklet then goes into a 10 page synopsis of the movie that also touches on the characters present, the thoughts of the producers, and some of the special effects utilized to bring Supergirl to life. The book ends with biography pages for Faye Dunaway, Helen Slater, Jeannot Szwarc, Timothy Burrill, Ilya Salkind, and Alexander Salkind.
While the biographies of the director and producers are fairly by the books, the biographies for Faye Dunaway and Helen Slater are quite interesting because they have quotes from the actresses. The biography for Slater is particularly interesting because this was her first film so it explores more so how she approaches this character with “Amazonian proportions” as she puts it.
As I mentioned at the top, this is one of my most unique pieces in my Supergirl collection. My partner works at a used book store and this press packet, along with a couple others, came in with a collection someone was selling. I immediately knew I wanted it for my collection having no idea what it was. I’m glad I jumped on it when I did because when looking around online for press packets for this movie since acquiring it I have not seen anything close to as complete as the kit I have. This little blue folder is such a great look into the history of the film and I’m glad to be able to share it on my blog.
Thanks so much for reading my blog! If you have any thoughts, questions, comments, or corrections about any of my posts feel free to contact me via email at blogofsupergirl@gmail.com
Earth-14 is perhaps the least explored universe in DC’s current local multiverse having just one appearance. Superman vol. 4 #15. The basic premise for this universe seems to be the amalgamation of the Justice League and Suicide Squad called the Justice Squad. The Justice Squad is quickly eliminated just moments after their introduction by the Gatherers and their leader The Prophecy as they attempted to kidnap Squad Superman of their universe. Since this world is largely unmapped, there is not currently a Supergirl present.
The Superman of this universe seems to be the only hero with superpowers which implies the potential for a Krypton-14 that would exist in the universe. With the potential of a Krypton comes a potential for a Supergirl. This Supergirl, Squad Supergirl, has a similar powerset to Squad Superman and takes some design elements from him and his Justice Squad compatriots. For her civilian name, we are once again at a loss due to the lack of depth this universe. As such I will go with a classic, Linda Lee. After witnessing the attack on the Justice Squad, Linda (Squad Supergirl) Lee realizes she can no longer stay as the secret weapon of her cousin and must instead jump into the spotlight and become the prominent hero of Earth-14!
As with all my Supergirl in the Multiverse posts, this is my own artwork that depicts Squad Supergirl in the left foreground crouching with a pair of high tech binoculars to her eyes. Her costume includes red shorts, red boots, and a silver and gray body armor over her torso and arms. The sun i s setting in the background over a desolate city. A motif in the top right depicts the Squad Supergirl logo with a 14 on top.
In a new feature of my blog called “Supergirl Surprise” I will go to my Supergirl comic boxes and pick an issue at random to read and talk about. My goal for these posts is to explore the issue on its own and on its own as a collection of paper and staples. As such I will be taking pictures of the comic as opposed to finding digital screenshots of the panels. I will also bring in pictures of the ads or letters pages if there’s anything that catches my eye.
Supergirl #5 has the cover date of January 1997 and is written by Peter David and has art by Gary Frank and Cam Smith. The story opens with our heroine visiting her, at one time, adopted parents Jonathan and Martha Kent.
This interaction gives some nice closure to Supergirl’s life before the new status quo introduced in the vol. 4 iteration of Supergirl. This Supergirl, Mae, is a protoplasmic clone from another dimension. More recently, when this comic had come out, Mae had merged with the dying human Linda Danvers. Showing her interacting with her past life in a way that feels almost alien to her as Linda now was a nice way to respect where the character was before and allow for the character to start anew.
We then fly from Smallville back to Leesburg, the home of Linda Danvers. Here we are briefly introduced to the new Dick Malverne who says “sometimes you recognize people’s souls from previous incarnations” which is of course a clever nod to the pre crisis Supergirl and Dick Malverne. To find out more about Dick Malverne take a look at my blog post about him here.
Meanwhile, in the background, a b-plot has been brewing that involves Chemo reforming in a lab in Leesburg. The A and B plots come together and result in a fight between Supergirl and Chemo. This fight results in a dialogue between the two where Supergirl tells Chemo he isn’t alive because he’s a collection of chemicals and the result of a freak accident. This conversation ends the fight and Chemo dissipates into the sky but Supergirl is met with a crisis of conscious wondering if she is alive or not when she is also just a creation that wants to be more and wants to be human.
This issue is a great look at Supergirl and her transition from the Matrix Supergirl into something more and helps further build the new world of Linda Danvers and Leesburg. This issue is the first appearance of Dick Malverne in the post crisis universe and has been reprinted in Supergirl Volume 1 TP from 1997, Supergirl by Peter David book 1 from 2016, and will be reprinted in the upcoming DC Finest: Supergirl – Body and Soul that realeases in October. This issue also came bundled with a Supergirl action figure based on Linda’s later white t-shirt costume that came out in 2005.
None of the ads really caught my eye but were mostly advertising PlayStation and Sega Saturn games. The letters didn’t intrigue me much aside from this one that called this new Supergirl title “Supergirl Vertigo-style” and “Twin Peaks on Kryptonite”.
The letters page also came with a little blurb that briefly caught readers up on the previous 4 issues of the title.
Thanks so much for reading my blog! If you have any thoughts, questions, comments, or corrections about any of my posts feel free to contact me via email at blogofsupergirl@gmail.com
Arcane Supergirl comes from the magical dimension of Earth-13. Earth-13, as depicted in the game Infinite Crisis, is home to a collection of Arcane superheroes who use their magical powers in the multiversal battle against the oncoming Infinite Crisis. Earth-13, also known as Earth Arcane, is a desolate place ravaged by the magics of the Shadow League. The universe is briefly explored in the game and tie in comic, Infinite Crisis: Fight for the Multiverse.
Kara Zor-El, Blessed of Rao, is the Arcane Supergirl. Zor-El, as she is most often called by her companions, is the last daughter of Krypton and Herald of Rao. Saved by the magical Flamebird before the Black could fully consume Krypton, she now possesses the powers of the Flamebird which she uses to fight back against the Black.
As with all my Supergirl in the Multiverse posts, this is my own artwork and depicts Arcane Supergirl in front of the Diurnal Sphere. The Diurnal Sphere is the information hub of Earth-13 and looks like a giant glowing globe surrounded by sorcerers. Arcane Supergirl, in the foreground, is hovering and projecting flame bursts from both of her outstretched hands. A motif of Arcane Supergirl’s S Symbol is in the top right with a 13 on top of it.
The Daring New Blog of Supergirl 