Supergirl: Red Daughter of Krypton (Comics) | Review

Living up to impossible expectations takes a toll. Supergirl has spent years being Superman's cousin, the last daughter of Krypton, the hero who's supposed to smile through trauma and pretend Earth feels like home. Red Daughter of Krypton finally lets her stop pretending.

This 2014 crossover event takes everything you know about Kara Zor-El and sets it on fire. The premise is simple: a Red Lantern ring finds her at her lowest point and offers unlimited power fueled by pure rage. She doesn't hesitate long. The storyline bridges directly from H'el on Earth and reshapes Kara's character for years to come.

Michael Alan Nelson (28 Days Later: Gangwar, Supergirl: Sanctuary) and Tony Bedard (Spider-Man: Breakout, Supergirl: Crucible) write the Supergirl portions while Charles Soule (All-New Inhumans: Global Outreach, Superman/Wonder Woman: Power Couple) handles Red Lanterns.

Artist Mahmud Asrar (All-New, All-Different Avengers: Family Business, All-New, All-Different Avengers: Magnificent Seven) provides primary artwork with Alessandro Vitti (Red Lanterns: Atrocities, Red Lanterns: Blood Brothers) and others contributing to Red Lanterns issues. The collaboration creates tonal shift between titles.

Kara Zor-El is done playing nice. After losing her home planet, watching her cousin refuse to understand her pain and feeling isolated on a world that will never be hers, Supergirl's rage reaches a breaking point. A Red Lantern ring finds her and offers exactly what she craves.

The transformation happens fast. One moment she's Supergirl trying to be the hero everyone expects. The next, she's vomiting blood plasma and wearing the Red Lantern Corps uniform. The ring doesn't corrupt her. It amplifies everything she's suppressed since arriving on Earth.

Guy Gardner and the Red Lanterns don't welcome her with open arms. They're brutal, savage warriors who've embraced rage as their defining characteristic. Kara doesn't fit their mold initially. She still has traces of heroism fighting against the red ring's influence, creating internal conflict that becomes the story's emotional core.

The crossover spans Supergirl and Red Lanterns, with each handling different aspects of Kara's journey. Supergirl focuses on internal struggle and reactions from supporting cast. Red Lanterns explores integration into Guy Gardner's team and violent missions testing commitment.

Superman appears but can't reach her at all. That's the gut punch. Clark represents everything Kara is rejecting: the perfect immigrant story, the beloved hero, the Kryptonian who found his place. Watching him fail to connect with his cousin highlights how the Red Ring has completely rewired her priorities as well as sense of identity.

The real antagonist isn't a super-villain. It's Kara's own internal war between the hero she was raised to be and the angry, traumatized survivor she's become. The Red Ring amplifies her worst impulses but it also validates feelings she was taught to suppress for appearances.

Judge Sheko and other Red Lanterns provide great contrast here. They're pure rage personified, having long ago surrendered their humanity to the red light. Kara still fights to maintain her core identity though, even while embracing anger. That resistance creates friction with her new teammates and raises some serious questions.

The crossover explores what anger means for someone with Kryptonian power levels. Supergirl was always holding back, afraid of hurting people. The Red Ring removes those inhibitions completely. Watching her cut loose without restraint is both thrilling and deeply unsettling.

Earth's heroes try intervention. The Justice League sees her as a threat. Former friends don't recognize the person she's become. These confrontations force Kara to defend embracing rage, articulating grievances she never voiced. The Red Ring didn't create new problems entirely.

The ending doesn't provide easy answers. Kara's journey with the Red Lanterns permanently changes her character in ways that ripple through subsequent storylines and arcs. Whether she fully escapes the red ring's influence or simply learns to control it becomes a truly defining question for her development moving forward.

The emotional core remains consistent: grief and rage are valid responses to trauma but they can't be your only responses. The crossover doesn't condemn Kara for her anger. It asks whether she can integrate that rage into her identity without letting it consume everything.

Michael Alan Nelson and Tony Bedard handle the Supergirl issues with writing that makes Kara's transformation feel earned rather than forced. Her anger doesn't come from nowhere. It's the culmination of grief since leaving Krypton behind. They understand her psychology well enough to justify this dramatic character shift.

Charles Soule's Red Lanterns portions lean harder into the Corps' brutal warrior culture. Guy Gardner acts as unlikely mentor, understanding rage but recognizing Kara hasn't committed. The contrast between her heroism and Red Lanterns' savage approach creates tension.

Mahmud Asrar handles the primary Supergirl art with dynamic, expressive work that captures both the character's power and vulnerability. His depictions of Kara's transformation sequence are visceral and unsettling. You see the exact moment the ring takes hold, watch her body language shift from heroic to predatory instantly.

Alessandro Vitti and others contribute to the Red Lanterns issues with a grittier, brutal style that matches the Corps' savage nature. The contrast between Supergirl's brighter aesthetic and the dark, violent Red Lanterns world emphasizes how far Kara has fallen from heroic roots.

Red Daughter of Krypton doesn't reach the iconic status of major DC events but it accomplishes something arguably more difficult: it fundamentally changes an established character in ways that feel authentic and earned. This isn't a cheap gimmick designed to boost sales for three months before everything resets.

The crossover's greatest strength is respecting Kara's anger as legitimate. Too many superhero stories treat rage as something heroes must overcome and villains embrace. This arc argues anger can be a valid response to trauma when channeled properly, even if destructive.

If you're invested in Supergirl's character development, this is essential reading. It represents a turning point where she stops trying to be Superman's perfect cousin and embraces her own messy, complicated identity. The Red Ring saga affects her characterization for years afterward.

The execution stumbles occasionally when balancing two different titles with distinct tones and audiences. Some Red Lanterns issues feel disconnected from Kara's emotional journey, focusing more on generic Corps violence instead. But when the story centers on her internal conflict, it delivers powerful character work that resonates.

You can read Red Daughter of Krypton as Supergirl Vol. 5: Red Daughter of Krypton collected edition, available in print through local comic-book shops, bookstores and online retailers. Digital editions are also offered on Amazon Kindle, ComiXology and DC Universe Infinite.