Supergirl #16: Super Force

El Caldero has become the Kryptonite Kingdom after a Kryptonite meteor hit Earth and made Green K the most abundant resource in the world. But when the Kryptonite King gets his hands on a Kryptonite Crystal, it’s up to Supergirl to stop him. To do this, she brings together a team to save Kryptonian history from the worst place on Earth for a Kryptonian. Supergirl #16 is part one of the epic twelve-issue event Kingdom of Zod. Lois Lane gets a call to come to El Caldero. Knowing it’s an obvious trap, Supergirl brings together the Super Family and her team, Super Force, to accompany Editor-in-Chief Lane to the Kryptonite Kingdom. What they don’t know is they are about to find out where Lois got her Kryptonian powers from, and what the heck quantum physics is. Was this team ready for the fight? And what does General Zod have planned for world domination? 

There’s something wonderfully chaotic about Sophie Campbell’s Supergirl run. It has never felt particularly interested in keeping Kara in a neat little box, and Supergirl #16 doubles down on that philosophy by throwing her into the middle of DC’s latest Superman Family crossover: “Kingdom of Zod.” And honestly? If you’re going to launch a massive Superman crossover in a Supergirl book, this is probably the way to do it. With Zod now in charge, Supergirl puts together a decidedly unconventional strike team to infiltrate the country and take him down. The lineup includes Superboy-Prime, Conner Kent, Tomorrow Man, Steel, Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Natasha Irons, Princess Shark, and several other members of Kara’s increasingly bizarre, but incredibly fun, supporting cast. That lineup alone tells you what kind of comic Campbell is making. This isn’t simply “Supergirl fights Zod.” It’s a superhero team-up filtered through the weird, colorful, occasionally ridiculous world that Campbell has spent the last year building. The result is an issue that feels considerably more like Supergirl than a generic crossover chapter.

Joe Quinones is a particularly good fit for this series. His artwork brings the same sense of energy and personality that Campbell’s writing has established. A book with this many characters needs an artist capable of making each one visually distinct, and Quinones’ expressive approach fits the colorful cast extremely well. More importantly, the artwork doesn’t make the issue feel overly grim simply because Zod is involved. That’s an important distinction because the “Kingdom of Zod” event could very easily have been presented as a dark, militaristic Superman story. Instead, Supergirl #16 retains much of the playful energy that has defined Campbell’s run. The characters still feel like characters rather than interchangeable action figures, and that gives the book a personality that many crossover openers lack. The result is a comic that can deliver the spectacle expected from a Superman Family event without sacrificing the charm that makes Supergirl stand out.