Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Synopsis/Review
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Ruthye's father murdered by Krem of the Yellow Hills
She gives eloquent speeches and talks a big game for a kid, but
no one takes her seriously. Ruthye serves as narrator.
Krem ambushes Supergirl and shoots her and Krypto with arrows in a brutal fight.
Supergirl fights despite being in a weakened state and Krem gets away.
Ruthye is disregarded by aliens on the space bus until Kara stands up for her.
Multiple stories ensue of Kara's bravery both with and without her powers. Showcasing her strength and willpower. Krypto, near death needed a sample of the poison Krem used to synthesize an antidote.
A major event occurs in Maypole, Supergirl learns the blue people are rather friendly, but in a fake sort of way. That there was segregation between blue people and purple people and no one will tell her why, or where the purple people are now. Signs read "no purples" and people only acknowledge how nice, clean, and perfect things are and how they have always been "blue."
After being attacked, Supergirl confronts the mayor before patrolling the planet to find the ruins of Purpletown, and the bodies. She confronts the police and learns about how the Blues were wealthier and more abundant, the purples were considered less than and were treated as a lower class.
The Brigands arrived. It is explained that the Barbond's Brigands have a long history of holocaust. They travel planet to planet enjoying themselves. Krem was in jail in Maypole when he recommended the Blues could pay to not be genocided, then allow the genocidaires to destroy the purples, and spare the blues.
This is the first moment where Supergirl and Ruthye realize they're too big, and we're too small. There's so much out there, so much evil and they're just two people.
They travel planet to planet, chasing the genocidaires, always arriving just too late. To rescue survivors and witness the aftermath of death and destruction. Supergirl flies into the sun and screams, a powerful image.
They catch up to Krem who unleashes a Mordru Globe, a magical item that requires a lot of death to create. It teleports Kara and Ruthye to a planet with a Green Sun, which weakens Kara. We learn this planet and the creatures that inhabit it were created to kill Superman and he only lasted 45 minutes before he was rescued by the Justice League. Supergirl would have to last for hours until sunset, when Supergirl's powers would return. Ruthye, during this time realizes there is water, but that the monsters would also go there to drink. So Kara advised they hide in the outskirts despite the need for sustenance. Kara was weak and dying. Ruthye somehow summons the strength to slay many beasts with her sword, defending Kara, buying her time. This is a pivotal part of the comic, showing great strength through little training, but how desperation and luck allowed Ruthye to prevail.
Supergirl catches up to Krem, who deploys another Mordru Globe, Kara manages to outrun it on the back of Comet, her trusty white horse in a beautiful and intense display of speed across space, barely outrunning almost certain death.
A flashback to Argo City, of Krypton plays out. Kara realizes everyone is dying of cancer due to radiation beneath the city from the destruction of Krypton. She lines the planet with lead and hammers it in. For hours she hammers away as others give up to exhaustion. Remember, she has no powers here, but through pure willpower and desperation to save what remains of her people she hammers away, beyond the strength of any mortal, for over 80 hours. Later, this proves to be futile and her parents send her away on a rocket. This serves as an exploration of her trauma, at the loss of her people, TWICE. Never finding a home or a family, even on earth, even with Kal-El.
The epic finale ensues with the capture of Krem, where Kara keeps him tied to a tree on the beach as Ruthye is tempted to kill him for vengeance, but doom Krypto to a poisonous, slow death. Kara board the Brigands ship and an epic battle in space ensues as Ruthye talks to Krem, unleashes him, leaves her family sword between them on the beach, and a duel begins.
As Supergirl battles a ship full of genocidal killers leaving her beaten and bloody, Ruthye defeats Krem, and is unable to deliver the killing blow of vengeance. She misses repeatedly.
Supergirl arrives, grabs the sword and marches toward Krem. Ruthye reminds her of Krypto but Kara admit she made all that up, just so she could join Ruthye, hunt down Krem, who only Ruthye knew what he looked like. Supergirl explains how Ruthye wouldn't listen to her, she would be stubborn. She wouldn't learn that killing is wrong by Kara saying it is wrong. She would waste her life chasing Krem as Kara dreams of Krypton. She had to show her, but she admits that Ruthye has learned nothing. Kara still dreams of Krypton, and just as she is about to swing the sword and behead Krem, Ruthye screams "I learned it!"
Because Supergirl kept fighting as Krem fired arrows into her chest & into Krypto. Because she stopped and showed Ruthye how to wash her hands on the Spaceship. When they witnessed true evil and genocide on Maypole, and every other planet thereafter, Supergirl offered her shoulder to cry on. When the sun raged against Supergirl, taking her strength, she still fought. When she outran magic, whispering that it had no control over her. Even now, with a ship of devils above, she felt no fear knowing Supergirl was amongst them, defeating them. Ruthye realizes enough killing has been done, good and evil will always exist and there will always be a woman like her, and like Supergirl to stand against it. People will always fight, people will always survive. It's too big, and we're too small.
Decades later, Supergirl returns to visit and old Ruthye, in her last moments. She shares that Krem has been in the Phantom Zone, reformed, remorseful, broken, by years of imprisonment and he begs for forgiveness. Ruthye kills him and thus the story ends.
