Decades later, Zardoz continues to haunt my days.
What They Say:
A blast from the past! The alien Vartox has come to Earth to claim a wife-and her name is Power Girl! PG may have wanted a boyfriend, but not quite like this!
The Review:
With the style of humor employed in Power girl, I guess I really shouldn’t be all that surprised as to what this issue is all about. It takes the humor in the right direction, has some neat little tweaks in it and yet provides for some good action as well. Gray and Palmiotti are able to tie it all together rather well, even if a number of things are kept slim, and Amanda Conner sells it all with ease through her style, especially in how she handles Power Girl’s face throughout the book. While many guys obvious only see her for the boobs, Conner has made her such a distinct personality through the expressive nature of her face that the focal point has most definitely turned from where it was at the start of the series. Sadly, she manages to capture the Zardoz-esque nature of the alien in this issue far, far too well.
The focus of this issue is on an alien named Vartox who just scored a victory over some opposing foes on his home world and saved his people. That is, until he discovers that they planted a contraceptive shield over the only city his people live in and now except for him they’re all sterilized. So in order for the species to continue, Vartox has to find himself a new mate through which to repopulate his world. A single mate, apparently, which is definitely a whole other problem. Speaking continually in the third person, he settles on our Power Girl because she’s hot, powerful and has survived the extinction of an entire universe which makes her prime material for starting up his own species again. And what Vartox wants, Vartox gets.
Little surprise that when Vartox does arrive on earth in a wonderful full panel spread that has him riding in an oversized mechanized skull that Power Girl just wishes a normal nice guy would drop out of the sky. The banter between her and Dr. Midnite is spot on here in tweaking the sexuality of it all and being aware of it. To make matters worse, he essentially uses a super-cologne musk to try and woo her, which doesn’t work, and then proceeds to try and use one of the most destructive newly created alien monsters in the DC Universe with the Ix Negaspike. And he intends to win the fight against it and woo her heart by doing so through a fake fight with it. As can be expected when Power Girl gets involved, events go from bad to worse and strange people end up dying. Such as the fourth tier villain she and Dr. Midnite were fighting, the Blue Snowman, who is actually a woman. It’s such a strange moment to see that, similar to other deaths in the series. It simply doesn’t fit.
Digital Notes:
This Comixology edition of Power Girl contains only the Amanda Conner covers as there are no variant or incentive covers made for this issue.
In Summary:
This issue the type where you have a grudging admiration for it as you really don’t want to see a story with a Zardoz knock-off yet you have to admit that all the parties involved captured it just right and made it fun. Connor really nails the visuals here and every panel has me watching Power Girl’s face just so I can see how diverse and comical her expressions can be with it. Palmiotti and Gray use a tried and true storyline to good effect here and have the right amount of nod and wink to the reader about it. With clean artwork, smooth writing and a good sense of fun and action about it, it’s a good issue that leaves you smiling, but you can’t help but want to have a little more meat to the meal as well.
Grade: B
