Action Comics #644 (August 1989)
Action Comics #644 (August 1989)
Superman vs. Supergirl, who is looking quite… different now. That’s her up there on the cover, with the grey costume, red eyes and distinct lack of boobs. And you can’t see it due to the poor lighting, but she even has a beard.
A little recap: Waaaay back in Action #591, Superman traveled to a “Pocket Universe” where the only superhero of Earth was a younger version of himself, Superboy. Superboy died, some evil Kryptonians took over the planet, and then Pocket Universe Lex Luthor (who is good) created a Supergirl out of a pink goo called protoplasm. Superman stopped the evil Kryptonians (permanently), but in the process Supergirl was reduced back to pink goo and her entire planet died (in Superman #22). Superman then asked Ma and Pa Kent to take care of Supergirl, who slowly regrew herself into human shape and started calling herself “Matrix.” Eventually Matrix began impersonating Clark Kent because she thought that’s what Ma and Pa wanted, and it was kinda funny for a while, but then Matrix/Clark touched a Kryptonian relic called the Eradicator that Superman brought from space, and it exploded in her face.
Next thing you know, Matrix really thinks she’s Clark and starts terrorizing people in Smallville thinking she’s fighting bad guys as Superman. And that’s where this issue starts.
Matrix thinks the real Superman is a double who is threatening her family, so she takes Ma, Pa and Lana Lang to an old abandoned quarry. To make matters even more confusing, Matrix now has some sort of psychic link with Superman thanks to the Eradicator, so it’s kinda hard to sneak up on her. Matrix and Superman fight for a while, until Matrix accidentally hurts Lana and then tries to kill Superman.
This makes Matrix realize she may not be completely right in the head after all, and in a moment of clarity, she borrows a move from Superman and decides to exile herself to outer space, where she can’t put more innocents at risk. (Or not human innocents, at least.) Meanwhile, Superman is like “Wait, no, don’t go… oh, shoot, she’s already all the way over there. Well, what are you gonna do.”
Character-Watch:
And that’s the last we’ll see of Supergirl/Matrix for a good while: her space exile lasted a lot more than Superman’s (like three years), but by the time she’s back her head will be a lot clearer and she’ll settle in her Supergirl form for good, and no one will ever mention that time she was a dude with a beard and hairy pecs.
Plotline-Watch:
The abandoned place where Matrix takes the Kents is the Simonson Limestone Quarry, the place where Superman fought the Legion of Super-Heroes in Superman #8, at the beginning of the Superboy/Pocket Universe story. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but it’s fitting that this whole mess should end in the same place where it started.
There’s a page where Kitty “Rampage” Faulkner of S.T.A.R. Labs is trying to contact Superman on behalf of Starman (in his ‘80s mulleted incarnation), who needs his help for something. That’s a teaser for a Superman guest appearance in Starman #14, which… I have not read, actually. I never had any interest in that series, even though it was written by Roger Stern and Kitty was apparently a regular. Should I check out that issue, Tumblr?
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