Supergirl's Epic Solo Series Comes Full Circle In Brutal Final Fight
Warning: spoilers ahead for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #8!
In a preview for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #8, Ruthye’s character arc comes full circle in a blood-soaked final battle. Issue eight marks the finale of Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s Supergirl series. Readers, throughout the entire series, have been treated to a story of endless adventure, albeit full of tragedy. Supergirl traveled to a range of previously unseen worlds on the edge of the known universe, discovering a whole new corner of the DCU. The series’ version of Supergirl is one the darkest iterations of the Girl of Steel as she hunts down the man who killed Ruthye's father and poisoned Krypto the Superdog.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow began with Supergirl off-world celebrating her twenty-first birthday. There, Supergirl ran into Ruthye, a young alien determined to get revenge on Krem - a worker who had killed her father in the comic's sci-fi homage to True Grit. After Supergirl refused Ruthye’s plea to team up and kill Krem, tragedy struck the Girl of Steel. Krypto the Superdog, Kara’s best friend, was attacked by Krem, and he stole her spacecraft. This is where Supergirl and Ruthye’s adventure across the universe began - ostensibly so Kara can learn which poison was used on Krypto and save his life, but increasingly possibly so she can make Krem pay for the terrible crimes they've discovered in his wake.
DC Comics has released new preview pages for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #8, shared by AIPT Comics, which showcase Krem getting a lesson in morality, as well as a physical beating from Ruthye. The panels are quite shocking when thinking back to how Ruthye was introduced and portrayed earlier in the series. At the start, Supergirl was always the one delivering the action, while Ruthye tagged along. Now, distracted by Krem's new allies, Supergirl has been forced to leave Ruthye with their prisoner, leading the young woman to instigate a brutal final fight.
Krem was introduced as an utterly ruthless villain, and he's only become worse as the two have chased him across the galaxy. Although Supergirl is clearly more powerful, he is almost always a step ahead of her and doesn’t have the restraint of a moral compass. In the case of Ruthye, Krem always saw her as an easy victim, but he couldn’t get to her just yet due to the obstacle of Supergirl. However, in this preview, Ruthye is finally Supergirl-less. He should be able to easily beat Ruthye, but she is a changed person. Krem is in serious trouble, especially when Supergirl returns in this issue, as she has witnessed his barbarism, and already surprisingly allowed the execution of his ally on a planet they had previously attacked.
Ruthye and Krem’s story has come full circle as Ruthye, in the preview pages, compares their situation to the night that Krem killed her father. Ruthye realizes that if she were to murder him while he's defenceless, she’d be just like him - a ruthless killer with no morality. Throughout their journey across the universe, Ruthye has learned lots by watching others, including Supergirl, which has all led to this very moment. Ruthye’s final test, one of physical strength and morality, will take place in the pages of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #8 when it releases on February 15 in comic book stores and on all participating digital platforms.
Source: AIPT Comics