Warning! Contains spoilers for Knight Terrors: Superman #1!The long and complex history of Supergirl has come back with a vengeance. As nightmares continue to dominate the DC Universe, Kara Zor-El’s bizarre history becomes a living torture for the Maid of Might.
In Knight Terrors: Superman #1 by Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly, the entire world has just been hit by a wave of terrifying power. The metahuman villain Insomnia has plunged everyone into a world of nightmares, and even heroes as powerful as Superman are unable to avoid it. As Clark is hit by Insomnia’s Nightmare Wave, he falls into an upside-down Metropolis terrorized by a figure known as the Super-Reaper.
Thankfully, Superman isn’t alone in the Nightmare Realm. After getting away from the Super-Reaper, Superman runs into his cousin Supergirl. Though separated by an astral barrier, Kara punches her way through and reunites with her cousin. The heartwarming moment is short-lived, however, as Kara informs her cousin that she’s being pursued by her own gang of tormenters: an army of zombified Supergirls from various points in DC history. Earth-2 Supergirl, Post-Crisis Supergirl, Red Lantern Supergirl, even and Linda Danvers’ Girl of Steel all make their way to attack the Kryptonian cousins.
Every Supergirl Ever Has Been Turned into a Terrifying Zombie
The DC Universe has dealt with some scary threats over the years, but nothing as frightening as Insomnia. The villainous metahuman took control of the body of Doctor Destiny and amplified his power to cast a powerful sleep spell all over the world. As DC’s heroes and villains alike fall under its spell, they’re all being tormented by their worst fears and memories. As Insomnia searches for a powerful relic, he’s using everyone’s past and anxieties to torture them for his own sick amusement.
Supergirl has dealt with a lot of trauma over the years. But rather than visions of Brainiac or losing Krypton, Kara’s worst nightmare is manifesting itself as the various forms Supergirl has taken over the years. Some of them represent Kara’s past, like her brief stint as a Red Lantern. But other undead Supergirls featured in Knight Terrors: Superman #1 are characters that are distinctly not Kara Zor-El, such as the Silver Age’s Earth-Two Supergirl or the Matrix version of the hero. While she’s not the only DC character with a complicated history, Kara’s nightmare could indicate she has some deep-seated fears regarding her past.
Supergirl is Literally Haunted By Her Past Selves
While reboots have attempted to clean up Kara’s history over the years, recent multiversal shake-ups in the post-Infinite Frontier era have made more or less everything canon. While that’s good news for most characters, this throws a bit of a wrench in Kara’s past. If everything is canon, then that means every part of Supergirl’s history happened, including every fix to it. While Kara has never outwardly expressed anything negative regarding her history, she seems to be suffering internally over every experience she’s been through. From dying to being erased to being transformed into a ravenous monster, the stressors in Kara’s life have undoubtedly taken a toll on her, giving Insomnia the perfect material to craft a terrifying nightmare out of.
Fans can see more of Supergirl’s bad dream in Knight Terrors: Superman #1, on sale now.
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