Adventures of Supergirl is an Arrowverse tie-in comic-book starring Supergirl and set between Supergirl (2015) S1 and S2. The thirteen-issue-long digital version ran from January until July, 2016. A six-issues print edition began publication the following month, being collected in a trade paperback. It was written by Sterling Gates and illustrated by several artists.
It has been a while since Supergirl threw Fort Rozz into space, and she is still helping the D.E.O. neutralize off-world threats. Nonetheless, Supergirl learns someone is sending threats after her, deliberately striking her in different ways: attacking her physically and mentally, targeting her friends, jeopardizing her secret identity... and her mysterious enemy is somehow connected to her mother's past.
Tropes:
- Absurdly Spacious Sewer: National City's sewer system is large enough to work as a hideout/home for large aliens. While following Rampage, a whole search and capture team descends into the network and starts exploring the underground channels.
- Acoustic License: Inverted. Supergirl flies villain Facet to the edge of the atmosphere. Kara notes she cannot hear anything that Facet is saying due to the lack of air, but a blank bubble speech shows readers that Facet is indeed speaking.
- Battle in the Center of the Mind: Psi tries to put Supergirl in a neverending sleep by trapping her in an endless maze of nightmares, dream battles and utopian fantasies. Supergirl fights off and rejects illusion after illusion until she manages to find Psi, and demands to be released.
- Beast of Battle: During a dreamscape battle, Kara Zor-El rides a giant, armored white cat called Mar
while fighting an army of wolfmen. - Big Bad: Facet manipulates several aliens into threatening Kara and her family.
- Bullying a Dragon: Facet spends months trying to ruin Kara's life until Kara loses patience, takes her to the upper atmosphere and lets her go, lampshading how dumb is to taunt someone who can fly:Supergirl: "But here's the thing about messing with people who can fly when you can't... They choose how you land."
- By the Hair: After knocking her down, Rampage grabs Supergirl's hair to pull her up and drag her to her lair.
- Canon Discontinuity: The third printed issue introduces Psi, a Supergirl enemy originating from her Supergirl (1982) book. The show's third season would introduce Psi, reimagined as a completely different character, making no mention whatsoever to the one who had previously showed up in the comic.
- Car Cushion: During their first fight, Rampage sends Supergirl flying with a punch. Fortunately, Kara's landing is cushioned by a car which was parked near the stadium where they were duking it out.
- Crater Power: In order to escape from the D.E.O., Rampage punches the ground so hard she makes a crater which reaches National City's sewer system, letting her leaping into the hole.
- Dual Wielding: Kara wields twin sabers during a battle in a snowy dreamscape.
- Evil Plan: Facet sends different super-villains after Superman in order to toughen her up by challenging her physically and mentally.
- Failed a Spot Check: While looking for Rampage in the sewer network, Supergirl and her sister walk past the huge, angry alien without noticing she is hiding underwater. Supergirl says she cannot hear Rampage because every sound is being muffled by the noise of rushing water, but her super-vision should have easily spotted her.
- Fantastic Measurement System: Kara mentions that Alex weighs 31 Sulls, but she is too busy at the time to calculate the equivalent in pounds.
- Funwith Acronyms: Vril Dox who tries to deceive Kara Danvers by pretending to be a digital personal assistant named Virtual Remote Integration Logistics.
- Gamer Chick: Kara mentions she loves games and used to play arcade games back in Midvale.
- High-Altitude Interrogation: At the climax, Supergirl grabs Facet, takes her to the edge of the atmosphere and demands answers. When Facet refuses to give them, Kara lets her drop.
- I Know Mortal Kombat: Supergirl knocks Rampage down during their first fight by using an uppercut move that she learned by playing an arcade game named Street Kombat Six.Supergirl: She's ready for every single one of my punches. She barely even flinches at most of them. But like I said, I never had to learn how to fight on Krypton. One of my first lessons at Midvale High, though...? Belinda-the-Bully's surprise uppercut. She'd always use it to beat me on Street Kombat Six. She'd score a T.K.O. every time. I loved that game.
- In Medias Res: The first issue opens with Supergirl's face being grabbed and smashed into National City Stadium's bleachers by Rampage. In the aftermath of the battle, Supergirl flashes back to how their fight began.
- The Man Behind the Man: While fighting a string of hostile aliens, Kara catches several hints and clues which eventually lead her to figure out her enemies are being goaded or manipulated by another villain called Facet.
- Mythology Gag: It has its own page.
- Not the Fall That Kills You…: Discussed. As she rushes to catch a falling aircraft, Supergirl ponders that she must be careful and mindful of air resistance, negative acceleration, her and the object's speed...or she will crush it and everybody inside.Supergirl: Catch a human too fast, the whiplash can kill them.
- Obligatory Earpiece Touch: Kara reaches up with and touches her earpiece whenever she communicates with other D.E.O. agents.
- Patricide: Caren (Rampage) and Moyer Falqnerr were heiresses to their father's thriving business; though, Moyer did not want to wait any longer to take over the family enterprise, so she talked Caren into poisoning their parent. Unfortunately for them, they were immediately found out and imprisoned.Rampage: "It was assumed that my sister Moyer and I would take over my father's business. One day, we'd become as well-respected across the planet as he was. We didn't want to wait for 'one day', however...so on the eve of his 50th birthday, Moyer poisoned— [...] As I was saying... My sister wanted to be rich. Well-respected. I was young and stupid and willing to help. She poisoned our father... Our police force founds out out immediately. I don't know how. Murder is the most grievous sin we have on Byr. Patricide? Doubly so."
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: When Kara becomes fed up with Rampage treating her as a punching bag, she states:Supergirl: "Okay, fine. You wanna make this a punching contest? I can oblige."
- Punched Across the Room: Rampage punches Supergirl out of a baseball stadium, causing her to crash into a car.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: When Supergirl decides she needs to fight Rampage seriously, she lunges at the villain saying:Supergirl: "You. Will. FALL!"
- Raised Hand of Survival: Supergirl heroine gets smashed into a building together with the aircraft whose freefall she was attempting to halt. Her sister Alex is searching the wreckage, desperately shouting Kara's name, when one hand emerges out of the debris and gives a thumbs-up.
- Revenge by Proxy: Rampage wants to kill Supergirl because Kara's sister Alex is responsible for the death of Moyer, Rampage's own sister.Rampage: "I heard Agent Danvers in the tunnels, "Supergirl". She said my sister was dead. Which means so are you!"
- Shockwave Clap: Since Supergirl's eye beams ensure that Rampage cannot get close to her easily, the super-strong alien tries to weaken Kara via a deafening thunder clap.
- Shoryuken: Supergirl knocks Rampage out by hitting her with a rising uppercut, a move she learned by playing an arcade called Street Kombat Six.
- Shout-Out:
- Back in high school, Supergirl used to play an arcade game called Street Kombat Six.
- The third printed issue is titled Nightmare on El Street, a pun on Kara's family name.
- When Kara and Alex are ambushed by Rampage, the villain knocks the former out and throws the latter into a drainage channel. Rampage then picks Supergirl and leaves, assuming Alex has drowned. However, Alex emerges out of the sewer waters while snarling furiously "My turn", right like Wolverine did in The Dark Phoenix Saga.
- Supergirl responds to Psi's boasts by calling her Gozer the Gozerian.
- This Is Gonna Suck: When she first fights Rampage, Kara is trying to reach out to the D.E.O. when she notices Rampage towering over her. Supergirl has time to mutter "Uh-Oh" before being punched out of a stadium.Supergirl: "Uh, guys? I think I made her mad! Any ideas here? Guys? Can you hear—?"
Rampage: "Rampage Hurt!"
Supergirl: "—Uh-Oh." - Waking Up Elsewhere: While searching around the sewers network by Rampage, Supergirl is ambushed and knocked out by her would-be prey. When she comes around, Kara finds out she has been dragged to Rampage's lair and thrown into a cage.
- You Can Always Tell a Liar: When Alex asks Kara what is eating her, her sister replies "Nothing". Unflappably, Alex points out she knows that stare (since Kara has done it since they were kids), so she should stop lying and spit it out.
- You Killed My Father: Rampage wants to kill both Supergirl and Alex because the latter is responsible for the death of her sister Moyer. She forgoes her revenge, though, when she learns Moyer's death was an accident.
