Kara has been infected by evil. She’s got a strong will, though. She wants to help people. She wants to be a hero. So why is she fighting Wonder Woman? And why is Wonder Woman saving her life from deadly government robots? There are so many questions for the young Kryptonian to struggle within Supergirl #39. Writer Jody Houser continues the multi-issue “I’m the Bad Guy” storyline with an issue that rather deftly balances the superpowers of three major forces clashing as Kara deals with internal struggles all her own. Primal aspects of super-heroism are explored in an appealingly simple issue-length struggle drawn by Rachel Stott. 

Wonder Woman holds the lasso of Hestia. She has ensnared Supergirl with it. The magic of the lasso is turning back the infection that has turned Kara to her darker side, but the infection is too strong. She escapes. The two heroes resume their fight until US government tech arrives. The military has mobilized massive kryptonite-shooting androids confiscated from Lex Luthor after his last arrest. Now Wonder Woman must protect the girl she had been fighting from certain death. This is all a bit much for Kara to try to wrap her mind around, but there ARE innocent civilians who are put in danger by the conflict and she IS there to help them. 

Houser is doing a remarkably thoughtful bit of scripting for a story that could have easily turned into a cheap, superficial crossover. The altruism of Wonder Woman’s heroism is cleverly drawn against the cold brutality of Supergirl under the influence of her infection. Kara’s inner conflict is delivered to the page with power and clarity. There isn’t a whole lot of narrative complexity to what’s going on this issue, but Houser weaves together an admirable amount of sophistication in conflicting views of heroism that come together on relatively isolated farmland in Smallville. 

The visual design of this particular evil Supergirl is remarkably silly. Rachael Stott manages to temper the silliness with the power of totally earnest drama as the events of the issue play out. Stott gives Kara’s vision of evil an impressive range of emotion. Contrasted against this, Wonder Woman comes across as a beautiful vision of selfless determination. Action shoots across the page fluidly. The first three pages of the issue aside, this issue is the story of a single battle. Issue-length battles run the risk of feeling dreary and repetitious, but Stott does make it all move cleanly from cover to cover.

The multi-issue Wonder Woman crossover is proving to be the perfect approach to Supergirl-as-super-villain. Her brief encounter with Batman and Superman at the beginning of her current journey didn’t have a strong enough emotional component to make much of an impression. Wonder Woman’s specific flavor of altruistic compassion makes for a very meaningful contrast against super-heroism gone wrong. Supergirl #39: I’m the Bad Guy Part 3” is one of those rare instances where the weight of a superhero crossover is more or less equally shared between both heroes. 

Grade: B+