Comic Book / The Hunt for Reactron

Cover of the 2018 edition

The Hunt for Reactron is a Superman Family crossover published in 2009. Greg Rucka and Sterling Gates shared writing duties, and Diego Olmos and Jamal Igle illustrated the storyline.

The conflict between Earth and Kandor is heating up, and a war between both planets may be approaching. Supergirl has gone back to Earth to find Reactron, her father's murderer, who has persistently eluded capture, at the same time as Chris Kent and Thara Ak-Var -a. k. a. Nightwing and Flamebird- are trying to find and disable all spy cells planted by General Zod across the planet. However, General Lane has successfully used the "Codename: Patriot" Operation to depict himself as a hero who is protecting Earth from the Kryptonian threat while framing up Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird as terrorists.

Sam Lane's machinations force the three heroes to work together to clear their names and avoid an inter-planetary war even though Chris and Thara yet don't understand their new and mysterious powers, Thara is still uncertain about the nature of her esoteric visions, and Kara does not trust Thara at all.

Crossover issues:

• Superman: Secret Files 2009 #1
• Action Comics #881
• Supergirl (2005) #45
• Action Comics #882
• Supergirl (2005) #46
• Supergirl (2005) #47

---

Tropes:

• Alas, Poor Yorick: After her father's death, Kara holds the metallic skull of one Brainiac drone which raided her city, before slamming it into the floor and heading out. Her friend Thara picks the skull and keeps staring at it as flashing back to the early days of their friendship with Kara.
• Aliens Speaking English: Kara and Thara speak English in a flashback sequence set in Krypton, decades before either of them even hears of a planet named "Earth". A footnote specifically informs that their speech is being translated from Kryptonese.
• Alliterative Title: One of the alternate names for this storyline is "Friends and Fugitives".
• Angry Collar Grab: During one argument, Supergirl grabs the collar of Flamebird's suit as shouting her before punching her into a car.
• Antagonist Title: "The Hunt for Reactron" is about Supergirl and her allies chasing the super-villain Reactron.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Even though the JLA has met gods, and Superman himself has bumped into the Kryptonian goddess Cythonna, Kara believes Krypton's top god Rao to be a fairy tale and her Raotian friend Thara Ak-Var a fundamentalist nutjob. She changes her tune when Thara becomes the incarnation of the goddess Flamebird.
• Being Watched: When Lois slips the surveillance team assigned to her, they realize Lois guessed she was being watched, and she does not want them to know who she is meeting up with.
  Unnamed Lieutenant: ...Slipped the surveillance roughly half hour ago, nothing since then. [...]
  General Lane: She's a smart girl. No question she suspects that we're watching her.
• Big "SHUT UP!": As they are heatedly fighting over Zor-El's death, which Supergirl blames Flamebird for, Kara shouts a loud "Shut Up!" when Thara tells she loved him like he was her father.
  Flamebird: You stupid babootch. You think I don't beat myself up every day about his death?!
  Supergirl: (muttering) Shut up.
  Flamebird: You think I didn't love him? Zor-El was a father to me in that damn bottle! He loved me like I was his own—
  Supergirl: Just SHUT UP!
• Blood Oath: When they were young, Thara saved Kara's life from a bird of prey. Since Thara had cut her finger with the crystal-like petal of an alien plant, Kara grasped her hand, mixing her blood with hers, and swore she were bonded as blood sisters from that point on.
  Kara: Here— Mix my blood with yours.
  Thara: What're you—?
  Kara: I don't know if it was voices or Rao or luck, but you saved my life. As did this flower. As long as we each hold onto a piece of it, we'll be sisters.
  Thara: Sisters?
  Kara: Blood sisters. Bonded... Best friends. Forever. No matter what.
• Breaking the Bonds: A Science Police K-Squad tries to use a neuro-disruptor electrical net to capture Supergirl. Supergirl manages to overcome the pain, break the net and shake off the agents surrounding her.
• Burning with Anger: Thara bursts into flame when Reactron attempts to kill her boyfriend and best friend.
• By the Hair: A rare male example. As fighting the Kryptonian trio, Reactron grabs Nightwing's hair to pull him upwards.
• Cape Busters: The Human Defense Corps, which were formed by Lex Luthor during his presidenty to fight super-human threats, are made part of General Lane's Project 7734, along with the K-Squad, a squad specifically aimed at ending "the Kryptonian threat" and -officially- capture the Metropolis Three.
• Cassandra Truth: Subverted. After stealthily scanning Lana, Thara tries to warn Kara there is something foul about her surrogate aunt, but Kara dismisses Thara's words as a religious nutjob's nonsense (even though Thara clarifies she did not mean Lana was evil or sinful or something). Later, after they have made up, Kara finally listens to Thara and confronts Lana about her odd illness.
• Clear Their Name: Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird must find and capture Reactron to uncover who is the main culprit behind the death of Mon-El and the terrorist attack which targeted Metropolis' water dam.
  General Lane: Right now, the whole world believes they murdered Mon-El, that they sabotaged Metropolis's water supply. We need to keep it that way. The only move left to them is to prove their innocence. They're going to try to hunt the hunters, try to get a confession that'll clear their names.
• Conservation of Ninjutsu: The Science Police Squads are armed with anti-Kryptonian weaponry and outnumber the trio of heroes; even so, they get their butts kicked every time.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Reactron is a trained soldier, but he is nothing but a snivelling coward without his Kryptonite-powered armor. When Thara turns into Flamebird, Reactron quickly learns his Kryptonite is useless against a goddess as Thara makes very quick work of him.
• Curse Cut Short: When Kara realizes she and her companions have been surrounded by a K-Squad, she utters "Oh, son of a—" right before the end of the chapter.
• Crystal Prison: After capturing Reactron, Supergirl and Flamebird shrank him and put inside a crystal shard in order to transport him to New Krypton where he would be trialed.
• Deceased Fall-Guy Gambit: After framing Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird for Mon-El's murder and the latest terrorist attack in Metropolis, General Lane tasks Reactron with killing the trio before they have a chance to clear their names.
• Dog Pile of Doom: In the battle of Paris, six members of Perseus Hazard's K-Squad jump on Supergirl to overwhelm her, but she breaks free easily (and angrily).
• Dynamic Entry: While Kara, Thara and Chris are paralyzed like a deer in the headlights after learning they have been framed by murder, the Guardian introduces himself with a double flying kick aimed at the back of Nightwing's head.
• Eiffel Tower Effect: While Supergirl and two friends are staying in Paris, Kara and Thara get into a fight during which the former gets accidentally slammed into the Eiffel Tower.
• Evil Former Friend: Subverted. Kara believes her ex-friend Thara Ak-Var has gone nuts and attempted to kill her, but Chris helps her realize that Thara has been framed by the real villains.
• Evil Is Petty: Reactron is utterly and creepily obsessed with hunting Supergirl because many months ago, he started one fight with Kara, and Kara won.
• Exact Eavesdropping: Justified. Flamebird is using her Super-Senses to listen to different conversations all over Paris when she overhears Nightwing and Supergirl talking about her; the former saying he really likes her, and the latter calling her a nutjob who cannot be trusted.
• Exact Words: When Perseus Hazard protests against Reactron joining his K-Squad because he will see their mission to capture "The Metropolis Three" and bring them to justice as a hunting party, General Lane reassures Hazard that "Reactron will follow [Lane's] orders." Too late, Hazard realizes Lane's orders were "Kill the Kryptonians and eliminate Hazard's Squad, too, if they find out too much."
• Faking the Dead: When a mob breaks into the Reactron's trial, Alura takes advantage of the ensuing chaos to fake his death in order to throw him into a cell and interrogate him.
• Fantastic Flora: Kryptonian Blood Bloom Plants vaguely look like a rounded Earth cactus... except that their buds are made from a hard crystalline substance and secrete inflammable fluids.
• Fantastic Measurement System: In old Krypton, distances were measured in "sesats".
  Thara: Anyway, it's a thirteen-sesat hike. We'll see the Falls with our own eyes soon enough.
• False Flag Operation: Reactron and Metallo disguise themselves as Supergirl's friend Thara Ak-Var -Flamebird- and attempt to kill her. As Supergirl seeks and attacks the real Flamebird and Nightwing, Metallo and Reactron attack and appear to kill Mon-El in front of a multitude disguised as Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird so people blame his murder on the heroes.
• Forgot to Gag Him: When Supergirl, Flamebird and Nightwing are captured by the Science Police, they convince the squad leader that they were framed up for the Metropolis' water reservoir's destruction... and Reactron was foisted off on his squad because Sam Lane wanted the Kryptonian trio murdered, and all witnesses eliminated.
• Frame-Up: General Lane has his minions Reactron, Metallo and Mirabai murder Mon-El, blow Metropolis' water dam up, and frame Supergirl, Flamebird and Nightwing for both crimes.
  Flamebird: Everyone thinks we murdered this Mon-El person.
  Nightwing: But we didn't—
  Flamebird: No, but it looks like we did. Someone is working very hard to get us out of the way.
• Friendship Moment: After spending several months bickering and fighting, Kara and her childhood friend Thara Ak-Var make up with each other and renew their friendship with a tearful, warm hug.
• Giant Flyer: When Kara and Thara went on a hike to the Fire Falls, they were accosted by a larger-than-a-human man-eating bird of prey which vaguely resembled a giant black crow with a serrated beak and lizard tail.
• Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Kara stabs her forefinger at Thara when her friend tells she cannot explain why she was not around when Kara's father got murdered.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: When Reactron is about to kill her best friend, her boyfriend and her mother's boyfriend, Thara Ak-Var's pupils disappear and her eyes go electric golden right before her rage triggers her transformation into Flamebird, which lets Thara crush Reactron mercilessly.
• God Is Good: Supergirl isn't feeling particularly pious after her father's murder, and she deems her friend Thara -who has come to believe Rao's daughter Flamebird is bonded with her- a nutjob. Yet still, Kara is saved by literal divine intervention when Thara transforms into Flamebird and stomps Reactron. Later Kara apologizes and confides to Thara that she's feeling hopeful now because if their Kryptonian gods are real, it means her deceased father is in a better place.
• God of Fire: Thara Ak-Var is the vessel of Flamebird, Kryptonian goddess of fire and light.
• God of Light: Flamebird is a goddess of fire and light.
• Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Parodied when Lois Lane utters "Oh Snap", eliciting an incredulous reaction from Lana Lang. Lois mutters she got it from Jimmy Olsen.
  Lois Lane: "Oh Snap! [...]"
  Lana Lang: "Did you... Did you just say "Oh Snap"?
  Lois Lane: I heard Jimmy saying it.
• Gotta Get Your Head Together: Supergirl grabs her head with both hands and screams when she is hit by a sonic weapon.
• He Knows Too Much: Reactron murders a whole Metropolis Science Squad when they discover it was Sam Lane who blew the water reservoir up and Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird are being framed.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: In the battle of Paris, a member of Perseus Hazard's K-Squad plants a white dwarf grenade on Nightwing's chest. Nightwing takes it apart with his telekinesis, unintentionally setting it off. The ensuing blast knocks the K-Squad soldiers out and away and lets the three heroes escape.
• Home Base: After taking Nightwing and Flamebird to her Parisian safehouse, Kara reveals she has a lot of little secondary "Fortresses of Solitude" all over the world. She readily admits she stole the idea from Batman.
• Ignored Expert: Thara, who used to be Alura's chief of security, states several times that taking Reactron to Kandor at Alura's behest is a bad idea, and Alura should be keeping one eye on General Zod instead. Kara takes Reactron to Kandor anyway, and Alura ignores Thara's warnings, which leads to massive casualties.
• Just Following Orders: When Reactron is taken down by Flamebird, he claims he was just following orders when he slaughtered Kryptonians, and he shifts all the blame to his superior General Lane. Aware that he carried out every order gleefully, neither Flamebird nor Supergirl are impressed.
• "Just So" Story: In Superman: Secret Files (2009), Thara Ak-Var tells Kara that, according to the myth, Krypton's Fire Falls were created when the god Rao cried tears of flame for a hundred nights after being tricked into imprisoning the goddess Cythonna.
• Kangaroo Court: Zigzagged. Thara does not want to take Reactron to Kandor because there is no way that he is given a fair trial. And indeed, when Supergirl brings him to Kandor, her mother Alura coldly informs him that he'll be judged, found guilty and executed. However, Alura intends to put him on trial rather than lynching him, unlike most of the Kryptonians. However, during a preliminary hearing a judge questions the trial's legality since Reactron hasn't been extradited lawfully, and Alura dismisses his concerns. However, when a lynch mob breaks into the building, she protects Reactron.
  Alura In-Ze: You have been brought to New Krypton to face criminal charges. Namely, the murder of some fifteen Kryptonians during your raid of our Earthbound city some months ago. Casualties including our leader, Zor-El. Tomorrow, you will be put on trial. You will be found guilty. And you will be sentenced.
• Kill It with Fire: In a flashback sequence, Kara and Thara are attacked by a giant bird of prey during a hiking trip. Thara splatters a Blood Blossom plant, whose juices are inflammable, on the bird's back, and Kara uses her soldering tool to set it on fire.
• Knuckle Cracking: When they are deciding their strategy to engage Reactron, Flamebird says she "will go high", Nightwing says he "will go low", and Kara says she "will kick his butt up the middle" while cracking her knuckles.
• Kryptonite Factor: Reactron tries to use Golden Kryptonite to depower the Kryptonian heroes in order to destroy them easily, but he is rendered helpless when Flamebird crushes his chunk of rock.
• Kryptonite Ring: The Science Police K-Squads are equipped with powered armors, fire plasma bursts, sonic weapons, neuro-disruptor energy nets, shoulder-mounted sonic screamers, white dwarf gravity grenades... to take Kryptonians down.
• Leave No Witnesses: When General Lane foists Reactron on Perseus Hazard's K-Squad, which is tasked with capturing Supergirl and her companions, he secretly orders the villain to kill both the Kryptonians and the whole K-Squad should they discover the heroes have been framed. Reactron even attempts to murder Lane's daughter Lois when she discovers him, something not even Sam Lane would have approved of.
• Let's You and Him Fight: Reactron kills Supergirl's father and Superwoman frames her best friend Thara Ak-Var (Flamebird) for his murder. Both friends come to blows.
• Made Out to Be a Jerkass: Sam Lane frames Kara, Chris and Thara for murder and acts of terrorism, sends Science Police K-Squads after them, and then gets his minions to record and broadcast the battle, framing it as the K-Squads defending themselves from the Kryptonian menace.
• The Man Behind the Man: When Kara and her friends finally defeat Reactron, the villain confesses he framed them because he was following General Lane's orders.
• Man of Kryptonite: Reactron had been rebuilt as a Powered Armor-clad cyborg, complete with a Golden Kryptonite heart that could temporarily cancel Kryptonian superpowers. After spending months hounding Supergirl thanks to his K-powered suit, though, Flamebird destroys his chunk of Kryptonite.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": Kara, Thara and Chris get horrified stares when they realize that they have been framed by Mon-El's murder.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: During a flashback, Thara is praying when she suddenly knows that Kara is in danger, and she suddenly knows how she can efficiently use a rare plant to save her friend from a giant predator. In the aftermath, Thara is wondering how she knew what she had to do, and Kara states she does not care whether if their god Rao subtly influenced Thara (which, given later revelations, is an actual possibility) or her friend got lucky or whatever. The only thing that matters to her is that Thara saved her life.
  Supergirl: I don't know if it was voices or Rao or luck, but you saved my life.
• Monumental Damage: Flamebird puts a dent in the Eiffel Tower when she smashes Supergirl into it.
• Morality Chain Beyond the Grave: Kara feels greatly tempted to stand aside and let Flamebird kill her father's murderer; but she talks Flamebird down because her father Zor-El would want justice, not revenge.
  Supergirl: No, don't! Don't kill him!
  Flamebird: This is the creature who murdered your father, Kara Zor-El.
  Supergirl: Yes, he did. And countless others besides. But my father would want justice, not vengeance. Thara... Flamebird... Spare him, and I will take him home, to answer for his crimes.
• My Greatest Failure: Thara, who was Kandor's chief of security when it was raided by Reactron and Metallo, reveals she will never forgive herself for the security breach which let Reactron murder Zor-El, whom Thara loved like a father.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The Fire Falls have been a staple of Krypton lore since Superman's Return to Krypton.
  • Thara calls Kara a "babootch", a species of three-eyed monkey of the Pre-Crisis Kryptonian folklore.
• Neck Lift: Several times Reactron grabs Supergirl by the throat and hoists her aloft with one hand during their final battle.
• Newhart Phonecall: Lois' attempt to call her father is thwarted by a soldier who will not let her speak to General Lane.
  Lois Lane: — No, Lane, Lois Lane— Yes, that's right, exactly like General Lane!... Because he is my father! Let me talk to— Because I'm his damn daughter! Now either find him or get someone who can, and— Excuse me? He hung up.
• No-Sell: Reactron learns his Golden Kryptonite-powered blasts are useless against Thara Ak-Var when the young Kryptonian woman turns into the goddess Flamebird and proceeds to utterly crush him.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Perseus Hazard grudgingly agrees to allow Reactron to join his K-Squad to capture Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird on General Lane's orders. However, when he manages to round the three heroes up, they reveal they have been framed up by Lane, and Reactron hasn't been foisted off on him to reinforce his squad but to eliminate witnesses. Hazard gets a horrified stare right before being burned to ashes by Reactron.
  • It also happens when Supergirl realizes they have been surrounded by a K-Squad while she and Flamebird were fighting.
    Nightwing: Guys! Guys, c'mon, stop! Someone's gonna see us—
    Perseus Hazard: Little late for that. Squad K— Take them down!!
    Supergirl: Oh, son of a—
• One Hero, Hold the Weaksauce:Thara cannot be harmed by Kryptonite when she transforms into Flamebird, which she shows when she contemptuously grabs and crushes Reactron's piece of Golden Kryptonite.
• Only Sane Man: Chris "Nightwing" Kent is the only who remains focused on investigating who framed them and his companions for Mon-El's murder while Supergirl and Flamebird spend the whole time arguing or fighting. At least two times Nighting has to break up their fights and remind them they need to lie low.
• Pedestrian Crushes Car: When they first fight, Kara smashes Thara into a car which becomes flattened junk upon impact with Flamebird's invulnerable body.
• Playing with Fire: Thara "Flamebird" Ak-Var, has pyrokinesis in addition to standard Kryptonian powers. She can harness fire even if being stunned by kryptonite, red sunlight, or some other Kryptonian weakness.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Reactron finally gets Thara Ak-Var angry enough that she transforms into Flamebird and kicks his armored butt.
  Flamebird: Little human— Little nothing in your shell— You shall not hurt them! Not ever again.
• Punched Across the Room: Thara punches Kara across Paris, smashing her into the Eiffel Tower, when Kara goes too far with her insults.
• Put Their Heads Together: During the final battle, Reactron neck-lifts both Supergirl and Nightwing and smashes their heads together.
• Rage Breaking Point: Thara Ak-Var had been under great pressure even before Superman rescued Kandor from Brainiac and enlarged the Kryptonian city. When Brainiac stole Kandor, she became separated from her parents forever. She was adopted by her best friend's family, but they treated her as a nutjob only because she is religious. Then she starts having incomprehensible visions and developing strange powers, and her family will not help her out because they think she is a deluded fundamentalist. Then she fails at her job as security chief, her adoptive parent is killed, her adoptive mother becomes a cold monster, and her best friend declares her friendship over. Thara quits her job and starts hunting General Zod's spies down, even though she is branded as a traitor to Krypton because she is protecting the very humans who hate her because of her Kryptonian lineage. Then the very villains who invaded Kandor and killed her father frame Thara for his murder and several more terrorist acts. She manages to convince her ex-friend of her innocence, but Kara continues to put her down constantly because of her beliefs and her inability to protect her father Zor-El. Then, Reactron, the villain who murdered Zor-El, attempts to murder both Kara and Thara's soulmate. Thara finally snaps, becomes the incarnation of Flamebird, and completely trashes Reactron.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • Lois Lane gives Catherine Grant a very scathing - and very accurate - speech, calling Cat out on having become a war-mongering tool.
    Lois Lane: Are you even a reporter, Cat? Don't you have a shred of integrity? Or is pandering with lies and innuendo just that much easier for you? This isn't journalism! It's PROPAGANDA! And that makes you a tool. How you can stand to look at yourself in the mirror, Cat?
  • Reactron begs for mercy when he is being beaten up by Flamebird. Flamebird mercilessly denounces him as a coward, unrepentant bully who mercilessly and smugly preys on the weak but grovels when he is facing a superior foe.
    Reactron: Stop... Please...
    Flamebird: No. Murderer of my people. You deserve no mercy. You show no remorse, no pity. The sincerity of your words is birthed of cowardice and hatred, nothing more. And I shall not suffer you to exist.
• Repeating So the Audience Can Hear: Lois Lane tries to convince a soldier into letting her speak to her father, confirming that "— No, Lane, Lois Lane— Yes, that's right, exactly like General Lane!..."
• Revenge:
  • General Lane tries to ruin the Kryptonian heroes' reputation as part of his revenge against Superman, and to kill Supergirl in revenge for his daughter Lucy's death.
  • Reactron is obsessed with taking revenge against Supergirl for breaking his special life-support armor suit, never mind she was trying to survive his assassination attempt.
  • Supergirl has been ordered to capture her father's murderer by her mother Allura. Thara warns Kara that Allura does not want to justice but revenge, but Supergirl does not much care for throwing Reactron to the wolves.
  • Finally, the goddess Flamebird wants to kill Reactron in revenge for all Kryptonians murdered by him, but Supergirl asks her to stop because she wants justice, not revenge.
• Revenge Before Reason: Supergirl has been tasked by her mother Alura with capturing her father's murderer Reactron. Nevertheless, Flamebird tries to dissuade her friend Kara from dragging Reactron back to Kandor, on grounds of Alura being out for his blood after her husband's murder, to the point of refusing to listen to reason.
• Sensory Overload: During one battle, a K-Squad member uses a "Screamer" -a shoulder cannon weapon which fires ultrasonic waves- to shoot Supergirl and Flamebird down.
• Series Continuity Error: A flashback shows Kara and her friend Thara to go camping on Krypton, and depicts Kara as someone who enjoys tinkering with machines. Still, in Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom, published less than one year before, Kara is constantly complaining that she is a city girl who is not used to spend time outdoors, and at one point she states she barely understands machines. Possibly justifiable, since Supergirl (2005) #34, published between both storylines, established that Kara's memories and emotional stability had been messed up by undiagnosed Kryptonite poisoning.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: When Reactron grumbles Lois Lane would not know a real man if she met one, Lois replies Reactron is no man whatsoever.
  Lois Lane: Monster!
  Reactron: Monster? Your problem, lady, is that you don't know a real man when you meet one.
  Lois: Sure I do [Karate chop to the neck]
  Reactron: AAAHHH!
  Lois: —You're just NOT him!
• Skeptic No Longer: Kara didn't believe in Rao until Thara transformed into Flamebird right in front of her to save her from Reactron.
• Slasher Smile: After being chastised by commander Perseus Hazard, Reactron grins widely behind his back, a hint that he was already planning to kill Hazard.
• Slumber Party: Back when they were teenagers, Thara stayed at Kara's house while the latter's parents were away. Kara reprogrammed a robot butler, so it said they were sleeping in bed if her parents called, and she and Thara went on a camping trip to the Fire Falls.
• Slumber Party Ploy: Back when they were in their early teens, Kara and Thara wanted to go on a dangerous camping trip which their parents would never allow. So Thara tells her parents she will be sleeping over at Kara's home (while the latter's parents are away), Kara tinkers with an android so it says they are sleeping in bed if someone calls, and both girls set out towards the Fire Falls.
• Smug Snake: After spending several arcs gloating about being unstoppable, Reactron right away surrenders, begs for mercy and claims he was just following orders when his suit gets crushed by Flamebird.
• Son of an Ape: During a violent argument, Thara calls Kara a "stupid babootch", a babootch being a Kryptonian three-eyed monkey.
• Standing Between the Enemies: Chris stops the first fight between Kara and Thara by flying between both girls and calming Kara down.
• Surveillance as the Plot Demands: Downplayed. Project 7734's monitoring systems can track Supergirl, Flamebird and Nightwing down in Metropolis and other cities, but they lose sight of the trio when they fly out of US territory.
• Taking the Bullet: During the final battle, Thara throws herself between Supergirl and Reactron's Kryptonite blasts.
• Talk to the Fist: During an argument, Thara finally snaps when Kara says her father got killed because Thara was too busy praying to a figment of her imagination to perform her job, and she punches her friend through one wall.
• Tears of Joy: Kara cries in happiness when she is finally reconciled with Thara after several months arguing and fighting bitterly.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Supergirl and Flamebird's teamwork is strained because they cannot stop bickering and even fighting...mainly because Kara blames Thara for her father's death, and because she is unable to respect Thara's beliefs.
• Teeth Flying: Discussed twice. When Thara notes there is something wrong with Lana Lang, Kara -who does not want to hear anything bad about her adoptive aunt- suggests Flamebird to stop talking if she wants to keep their teeth. Later, after hearing Cat Grant warmongering on TV, Lois Lane states she would love knocking some teeth out her mouth.
  Supergirl: Thara, the only reason you're not eating your teeth right now...is that Lana asked me to keep the apartment in one piece. So now would be a good time for you to stop talking.
• Teleportation Sickness: After being teleported to Metropolis by Mirabai, Nightwing and Flamebird feel so tired and sick that they collapse. Nightwing openly states he feels like crap.
• Tempting Fate: Reactron reassures General Lane that, even if the Kryptonian trio managed to capture him, they will never get a confession from him. Shortly later, Reactron is stomped by Flamebird and blurts out absolutely everything about Lane's plans.
  Sam Lane: They're going to try to hunt the hunters, try to get a confession that'll clear their names.
  Reactron: (smugly) Not from me.
  Sam Lane: I'm not worried about your loyalty, Major.
  * later*
  Reactron: (pleadingly) No, please, it wasn't me— Mon-El's alive! He's alive! It was the witch, Mirabai, she did it, she disguises me and Metallo, she used magic— even the bomb, the water, it was all General Lane's idea!
• This Is Gonna Suck: When Nightwing realizes he and his companions have been surrounded by the Metropolis Science Police after being framed by murder and terrorist acts, he quietly mutters "Uh oh."
• Toothy Bird: The giant Kryptonian bird of prey which attacks Kara and Thara during her camping trip has a set of teeth.
• Tragic Keepsake: Doble subversion. When they were children and Krypton still existed, Thara Ak-Var used an inflammable Blood Bloom plant to save Kara from a predatory bird. Kara caught one crystalline petal of that plant and kept it with her when since then as a memento of their deceased friend. After rescuing Kandor, Kara finds out Thara is still alive. However, Thara would die to save her several months later. Kara keeps her petal to remember her.
• Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Thara finally gains full access to her Flamebird powers when Reactron attempts to murder her best friend and her boyfriend in front of her. In her rage, Thara becomes wreathed in flames and expresses her intent to burn Reactron to ashes after delivering a savage breatdown.
• Trespassing to Talk: When Lana Lang goes back home, she finds Kara and her friends have sneaked into her apartment to ask for her help.
• Untrusting Community: General Lane manages to chase Supergirl and her allies out of Metropolis by framing them for acts of terrorism.
• Unwitting Pawn: Guardian, Perseus Hazard, the squads of Metropolis Science Police... are fooled into believing they are hunting dangerous terrorists by General Sam Lane, who has framed Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird and now seeks to destroy them. Hazard only realizes that they are being manipulated, and Lane foisted Reactron on him to not leave loose ends, shortly before Reactron burns him and his squad to ashes.
• Villain Teleportation: After tricking Supergirl into fighting Flamebird and Nightwing, Mirabai teleports the three heroes into an alley in the middle of Metropolis.
• Villains Want Mercy: When Thara transforms into Flamebird and crushes Reactron, the villain grovels for mercy right away. Flamebird angrily replies there will be none.
  Reactron: Stop... Please...
  Flamebird: No. Murderer of my people. You deserve no mercy. You show no remorse, no pity. The sincerity of your words is birthed of cowardice and hatred, nothing more. And I shall not suffer you to exist.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Kara and Thara used to be like sisters until the manipulations of the villains during the New Krypton and Who is Superwoman? storylines ripped them apart. Chris thinks Kara and Thara just don't want to admit they still love each other. So, when Lois Lane wonders why Kara and Thara seem to be constantly fighting, he answers they are good friends. He would later be proved right.
  Lois Lane: Thara is with Kara right now?
  Nightwing: Should be.
  Lois: Is there a reason every time I turn on the news they're beating on each other?
  Nightwing: Uhmm. I think it's because they're best friends?
  Lois: Ah.
• Warrior Monk: Thara Ak-Var is the super-hero Flamebird and a devout follower of the Church of Rao.
• We Used to Be Friends: Subverted. Kara had broken up with Thara -who was Kandor's chief of security- when she failed to protect Zor-El. Their relationship got more strained when the villains tricked Kara into believing Thara helped to kill Zor-El and tried to kill her. Their relationship remains strained even though Nightwing convinces Kara that her ex-friend is blameless, but both girls finally are reconciled when Thara becomes Flamebird to save Kara's life.
  Kara: We're NOT friends, Thara. Not anymore. Not ever again. You let my father die. You stay away from me. I'm done with you. Forever.
• Wreathed in Flames: Thara's whole body is covered in bright orange blazes when she transforms into Flamebird at last.
• "You!" Exclamation: In the very beginning, Kara sees Thara right after Mirabai has tricked her into believing Thara attacked her. Kara shouts a very loud "YOU!" before punching her into a car.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: General Lane orders Reactron to work alongside Perseus Hazard's K-Squad to hunt Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird down, giving him secret instructions to kill Hazard and his men as soon as they have succeeded in capturing the Kryptonian trio.
• You Killed My Father: Kara, who was tricked into believing her friend Thara helped the villains murder Zor-El, still believes Thara murdered her father, and even when she is proved wrong, she still blames Thara for failing in protecting him as was her duty (since Thara was chief of security). It took a while until Kara understood Thara was not to blame.
  Supergirl: He was my father and you killed him!
• You Monster!: Lois calls Reactron a monster when he is beating Supergirl and Nightwing ruthlessly and gleefully. Reactron replies she does not know one man when she sees one, prompting Lois to reply she definitely does, and Reactron is no man at all.

---