By Bekah Terry
Why the world does not need a SuperGirl.
This statement, printed in bold type on the front of the latest issue of "Supergirl, No. 34" -- which was released in October -- is the catalyst for a new story of an old hero.
It asks the question, if we already have a Superman, why would we need a Supergirl?
Cleveland County resident Sterling Gates, author of "Supergirl," co-author of "Superman: New Krypton Special" and author of January's comic, "Faces of Evil: Prometheus," begins to answer this question in his comics.
"I think it's an important question to answer," he said, "why the world needs a hero."
Gates was quick to address it.
"Superheroes are there for you to latch on to and for you to be inspired by," he said.
Gates -- who graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in art and film studies -- worked at Norman's Speeding Bullet's Comics while attending school. He said he has been surrounded by capes and tights most of his life.?
"My parents owned a comic book store when I was a kid," he said.
He said he would walk into his family's garage, grab a stack of comic books, return to his room and read for hours.
So when Gates moved to California after graduation to pursue his love of movies and writing, he was surprised by a job offer from comic book writer Geoff Johns.
"He [Geoff Johns] has been really instrumental in my work," Gates said. "He taught me what comic book storytelling is."
It is this type of storytelling that Gates has incorporated into his writing of "Supergirl."
But why Supergirl? Why should the public latch onto this superhero? In Gates' words, "What makes Supergirl special?"
Well, she is an alien for one.
Supergirl, or Kara Zor-El, like her cousin Superman, was sent to Earth by her parents from the planet Krypton.
Unlike her cousin though, Kara did not arrive on Earth as a baby, but as a teenager. As opposed to Superman, who grew into his powers as he grew up, Kara found a new home and new powers upon arrival.
But, her response to this event is what makes her unique. It's not Supergirl's alienness which makes her special, but her humanness. She's not an alien girl in a new world; she's a new girl in an alien world.
"She's just as human as you or I," Gates said. "She's a teenager."
Just because she has the power to rip you into pieces, freeze them into human ice cubes and fly these cubes to the Sahara desert to make ice water for thirsty camels, doesn't mean she will. Like Superman, all Kara wants is to use her powers for is to help others.
The comic incorporates a new thread, first shown in "Superman: New Krypton Special."
In the Superman comic, a team effort by writers Johns, James Robinson and Gates, 100,000 Kryptonians arrive on Earth. All of them have powers to equal those of Superman and Supergirl. It would be like having a Superman for each city, Gates said.
If, according to Gates' definition, "A superhero is someone who has powers and abilities beyond the capabilities of man," then what happens when thousands are endowed with super powers?
Are they all superheroes?
If they are, couldn't someone else take Supergirl's place?
"She has been given the option to be a normal person," Gates said.
She is, in Gates words, being pulled two different ways. She can choose a life of supernatural struggles or conventional calm.
Whatever her decision, it is clear that what sets her apart is not her ability to plant a semi-truck in a baseball field.
To reiterate Gates' words, "What makes Supergirl special?"
The answer's simple. She's special because she could do whatever she wants, but she chooses to help others.
Kara, the insecure but powerful teenager, just wants to make her new world better.
And it is for this reason, Gates said, that the world does need a Supergirl.
