DC’s Got a Brand New Kryptonian Superhero (But There’s a Catch)

Kryptonians are some of the most powerful beings in all of DC. Just one of them has the capability to alter the course of an intergalactic battle, or protect a planet like nobody else can. Superman is the world’s greatest hero for a reason, after all. One of its other greatest defenders is Supergirl, and she recently fought hard to prove she was who she said she was in her old home of Midvale. The end of that adventure directly led into the introduction of a brand new Kryptonian superhero, and while that is an incredible addition to the forces of good on Earth, the catch is that she is the supervillain that Supergirl spent the entire last arc taking down. Lesla-Lar is Luminary, and she is the world’s newest hero, for better or worse.

Luminary, the Probationary Hero

After the chaos she caused in Midvale, Lesla was taken back to the Bottle City of Kandor to be judged for her crimes. Supergirl, deemed a bad influence on Lesla, was tried as well. Supergirl was sentenced to community service that she already did, but Lesla was to be locked away for years. Instead, Supergirl argued for Lesla to serve her sentence making up for her mistakes. She offered to serve as Lesla’s probation officer as she did hero work on Earth, and the Science Council agreed. The two Kryptonian girls headed back to Earth, and Lesla decided on a brand new identity to fight alongside her idol and former-rival; Luminary.

Supergirl and Luminary flew around Midvale, saving buses and rescuing people from fires, but neither woman was comfortable with the arrangement. Kara wondered if she could be a proper mentor to someone, especially someone who had no idea how to be a hero. She remembered how strict Superman was with her, and sees herself doing the same overbearing teacher she hated when she was younger. Lesla, meanwhile, believes that she’s totally unworthy of working alongside the legendary Supergirl, especially after everything she’s done. Supergirl stuck her neck out for her when she had been given every reason not to, and as much as Lesla wanted to repay the kindness, she was sure she was too incompetent or worthless. Both women felt they were going to fail the person that was supposed to rely on them, but they decided to put that fear behind them when Lena Luthor suggested that they all attend a party at Midvale’s local goth club.

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Dancing With Danger

The three women gave themselves some goth makeovers and headed over to the dance, hoping to give Lesla some perspective on humanity and show Kara a new side to the town she thought was boring to its core. They tried to get into the music, but Lesla saw the local douchebag Howard harassing Luna Lustrum, yet another alliterative L-name for the cast. Lesla scared the drunk off, and tried to make a new friend in Luna. Kara, meanwhile, immediately wound up falling for a strangely familiar looking man on the dance floor, but trouble brewed before she could learn his name. Howard tried to hit Lesla for roughly throwing him off of Luna earlier, and to compensate for her ability to turn his head into playdoh, she covered her fist with some thought activated super-substance she snuck out of Kandor. It cushioned her punch, but unfortunately the goop got into Howard’s mouth, and immediately reacted to his drunk rage, transforming him into the monster called Decay.

Supergirl and Luminary battled him while Lesla apologized for already breaking her probation by keeping some of her super-substance. Decay kept absorbing people, and Luminary realized that the goop was responding both to Howard’s anger and the civilian’s fear, which only made him more unstable. Kara decided to let herself be absorbed to counteract their negative emotions with her positive ones, and with some extra assistance from Luminary’s belief in the Girl of Steel, Supergirl rescues everyone from Decay. In the end, Luna becomes Lesla’s friend and is discovered to have psionic powers. Unbeknownst to everyone, they failed to gather all of the super-substance, and a little cat swallowed a little bit. This comic reads like a Silver Age slice of life, and frankly, I love it for what it is. Let’s just hope Lesla’s hero arc lasts!

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