When The Symbioship Strikes - TV Tropes

And so, as Krypton died, two infant children were speeding awawy from its surface in starcraft. One destined to have a swift, safe journey to Earth where he would become a legend...and the other destined to have a somewhat longer trip...and a far stranger one.

When the Symbioship Strikes! is a Supergirl story published in Showcase #97-99 (February-April, 1978) by Paul Levitz and Joe Staton. It told the origin of Power Girl for the first time.

Power Girl, a.k.a. Kara Zor-L of Earth-Two, who is yearning for doing something on her own after being Superman's secret weapon-in-training for a while and working with the Justice Society of America'' as a public hero for almost a year, has started operating around the Gotham City area. However, she is being constantly hounding by journalists who don't want to get her non-subtle hints that she doesn't like interviews...or interviewers. Including Andrew Vinson, a particularly -and annoyingly- persistent reporter of the Daily Globe, who is certain that he can get a good story out of Power Girl.

Kara cannot deal with crowds, though, so she often heads towards the outskirts of Gotham, where she hid the Symbioship which brought her to Earth, to relax and remember her past life. On one occasion, Andrew Vinson comes too near to the Symbioship as tracking her down, and suddenly the alien ship turns him into its vessel to attack Power Girl. In the aftermath, Power Girl finally tells Andrew her history: she is Superman's cousin, and just like Kal-L she was rocketed from Krypton when she was a baby. Nonetheless, Zor-L's rocket was way slower than his brother Jor-L's, so that Kara's father buit a Symbioship, an AI which would put Kara in suspended animation as controlling and slowing down her aging processes during her six-decade-long travel. So that Kara didn't go crazy, the Symbioship put Kara in a long artificial reality. Unfortunately, the Symbioship's AI has gone crazy after being separated from Kara, and believes it is his duty to keep her physically and mentally trapped.

Her ordeal with her childhood's remnant convinces Kara that it is time to create her own secret identity: software expert Karen Starr, working for Gotham's "Ultimate Computer Corporation", the world's largest computer service corporation.

In the meantime, Brain Wave, an old enemy of the JSA, whose schemes Power Girl has been accidentally but consistently ruining, is seeking revenge against both the Last Daughter of Krypton and the Justice Society.

This story arc was meant to gauge interest in a Power Girl solo, but DC Explosion and Implosion in 1978 resulted in the cancelling of many ongoing titles, therefore there was no place for a new book. Nonetheless, this origin remained canon until Secret Origins (1986) #11 (February, 1987), when DC's "there can only be one Kryptonian" policy forced writers to reinvent Power Girl as the ten-thousand-year-old granddaughter of an Atlantean sorcerer. Power Girl's origin as Golden Age Superman's cousin was later restored in Power Trip (2005).

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Tropes:

• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Kara's rocketship was equipped with an AI whose job was to put Kara in suspended animation, combined with an artificial life simulation, to keep her sane during her long journey to Earth. After Kara arrives at her destination, awakens and leaves her ship, though, her Symbioship doesn't understand its mission has concluded, and is determined to entrap Kara and force her into its simulation again.
• Apologetic Attacker: Andrew Vinson, who is being forced to serve as the vessel of the Symbioship-turned-powered-armor when it attacks Power Girl, apologizes to Kara as she is being blasted by the Symbioship utilizing his body.
• Battle in the Center of the Mind: The Symbioship's computer attempts to entrap Kara permanently in an artificial simulation of fake life growing up on Krypton. Kara tries to fight the assault of artificial memories flooding her brain by rejecting the illusions or counteracting them with her own fake scenarios. She manages to snap out of the illusion -and the ship- when a friend of hers creates holograms of Krypton which confuse and overload Kara's Symbioship.
• Bullet Catch: When a bullet ricochets off Power Girl's body, heading towards a random bystander, Kara hurtles after it in less than a millionth part of a second and catches the bullet before it hits the man.
• Clark Kenting: After befriending Vinson, Kara creates her own secret identity: software expert Karen Starr. She only wears a conservative, business outfit which completely conceals her figure, in contrast with her fanservice super-hero suit which ensure that nobody looks at her face for long.
• Death Glare: Andrew Vinson clings to Power Girl's cape when she is taking off, insisting he wants answers, he is going to get them, and obviously Power Girl will not dare to drop him. Kara's heated sidelong glare hints she is feeling sorely tempted, though.
• Exposition Beam: Kara uses a "Memory Teacher" Amazon device to beam into her head everything there is to know about software and computers in general.
• Fling a Light into the Future: When Zor-L realizes that miscalculated, and there is no time to build a ship large enough to house his full family during the journey to trip, he builds a smaller ship to carry Kara. He and his wife will shall with their planet, but their daughter will go on living.

  Zor-L: "Kara can escape. There's enough time to build a small ship to carry her...and luckily, most of my special planning was for her benefit. I was afraid it might come to this. We shall die with Krypton, my darling— but our daughter shall live on— in the stars—"

• Homeworld Evacuation: Power Girl's father Zor-L believed his brother Jor-L's warnings, but ran out of time to build a rocket large enough to house his family, so he built one smaller rocket for Kara, which kept her in suspended animation for 60 years while she aged only 20 years during her travel to Earth.
• Instant Expert: Kara, who knew nothing about programming, uses a "Memory Teacher" and her total recall to become a software expert in less than one week.

  Kara: A week ago I didn't know what "software" was— Now, thanks to a Memory Teacher that Wonder Woman brought me from Paradise Island, I'm an expert on the subject— and on computers in general.

• Leave Me Alone!: After spending several decades in suspended animation, Kara is unable to deal with crowds, getting easily anxious, flustered, and above all angry. So, when she is accosted by a mob of reporters, Kara yells them to stay out of her way, and jumps away and out of the city just to be alone.
• Lotus-Eater Machine: During her sixty-year-long trip to Earth, baby Kara's ship's computer put her in a meticulously-crafted artificial simulation where she grew up, spent time with her parents, went to school, made friends, dated boys, graduated, reached maturity...until it reached Earth and Kara woke up. Though, the Symbioship doesn't understand its mission has finalized, so it attempts to capture to Kara and put her in its dreamworld again.
• Media Scrum: After catching a band of technology thieves, Kara is mobbed by a throng or reporters who are eager to get a story out of the mysterious super-hero who has recently appeared. Kara -who on top of being unable to deal with crowds after her decades-long space trip is feeling annoyed at their demands-, retorts she doesn't owe anybody any explanations and jumps away.
• Neck Snap: Villain Brain Wave snaps a cop's neck as infiltrating the Gotham Police's vault to steal confiscated technology.
• Origins Episode: The second issue tells the origin of Power Girl, how she survived the demise of Krypton and arrived on Earth.
• People Jars: Brain Wave abducts and imprisons Green Lantern, Flash and Power Girl, Brain Wave in transparent spheres, specifically fasioned to counteract their powers.
• Poorly Disguised Pilot: The story was meant to promote Power Girl, in the hopes of releasing her own title. Though possibly well-received, the DC Implosion resulted in the cancelling of many of the ongoing titles of the company. It was no time to launch a new title.
• Powered Armor: The Symbioship transforms itself into an armor, forcing Andrew Vinson to become its vessel, to attack Power Girl.
• Really 700 Years Old: Kara's rocketship puts her in suspended animation, slowing her aging down during her long space trip. So, Power Girl may look in her late twenties at best, but she is over sixty.
• Relocating the Explosion: Power Girl has just caught a crook whose vest is loaded with nitroglycerin which will blow up as soon as they touch the ground, so Kara rips his vest off, throwing it in the river.
• Secret Identity Change Trick: Karen Starr's boss Dr. Ginsberg is showing her around her new workplace in Gothanm's Ultimate Computer Corporation, when another employee suddenly warns that the whole of Keystone City just vanished from their network. Karen quickly excuses herself, stating she shouldn't keep him from dealing with an emergency, and leaves to change to Power Girl, while a very confused Dr. Ginsberg wonders why she is in such a hurry suddenly.
• Shockwave Stomp: Kara is being hounded by journalists for the second time, even though she clearly told she wanted to be left alone. After giving a scathing speech to the reporters hounding her, Kara stomps the ground firmly, causing a shockwave which knocks the crowd over.
• Shooting Superman: Power Girl meets a gang of technology robbers who seems to be aware of who she is, but somehow still hope that their bullets work.

  Thief 1: "What's the matter with you guys? Can't the four of you handle one lone dame? Do I have to do everything myself?
  Thief 2: "I'm trying, man— but the bullets just bounce off!"
  Power Girl: "Amazing! Here I've been working with the Justice Society for almost a year now, and there are still crooks who haven't heard of me! Let's set the record straight, gentlemen— The name is Power Girl— and your little pop guns are absolutely, 100%— useless!"

• Sleeper Starship: Kara was sent from Krypton when she was a baby. Her journey to Earth lasted decades, during which an AI called Symbioship watched over her growth and development as keeping her mind asleep and dreaming a life simulation.
• The Slow Walk: A gang of technology thieves assaults Gotham's Police Headquarters to break into the property vault. When they are interrupted by Power Girl, two crooks shoot their laser blasts at her. Kara actually flinches, but she keeps striding forward, one step at a time, struggling against the beams of energy until reaching and crushing her targets' weapons.
• Take a Third Option: When Power Girl, Green Lantern and the Flash are about to capture Brain Wave, the villain points out that Keystone City is still in a dimensional limbo, and he will only bring the city back to its proper universe if they promise to let him go free. The heroes opt for imprison Brain Wave and figuring out a way to restore the city on their own.
• Third-Person Flashback: Kara's flashback to the final days of Krypton includes scenes featuring her father which she was not involved in (moreover, she was still a baby when Krypton exploded).
• Trainstopping: Kara stops a train which is blocking her from chasing after a crook's vehicle.
• Transforming Mecha: Power Girl's rocketship is able to transform into a powered armor fit for a human being.
• Trapped in Another World: Brain Wave uses a teleporting device to trap Power Girl, Flash, Green Lantern and the entirety of Keystone City in a dimensional limbo.
• Undead Tax Exemption: Power Girl is helped by her journalist friend Andrew Vinson to create her software expert Karen Starr secret identity. It's unclear how Vinson pulled it off, since he had to create from scratch an identity for a twentysomething woman who does not legally exist; and even so, her new boss is asked to not make personal questions.
• Unknown Rival: Villain Brain Wave is obsessed with taking revenge upon Power Girl, deeming her as a thorn in his side who has foiled his plans more often than any other member of the Justice Society. Power Girl, though, didn't even know that Brain Wave was behind the gang of tech thieves whose heists she was busting...not that Kara would have cared anyway, since to her Brain Wave is just another evil loser who the JSA occasionally tangles with.
• Unwitting Pawn: When Andrew Vinson accidentally stumbles upon Power Girl's Symbioship, he is grabbed and used as a vessel by the mad machine to attack Kara and force her to return to its life simulation.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Kara interferes with a gang of tech thieves, who fire their fire blasts at her to try to disintegrate her. When Kara simply crushes their weapons, the group flees towards the exit, only to find Kara already blocking the door.
• Villain Teleportation: Brain Wave builds a teleporting maching capable to abduct heroes like Power Girl and the JSA, teleport troops around, and even move the whole of Keystone City from one dimension to another.

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