Warning: Contains Spoilers for Power Girl #12!There are a lot of romances throughout the history of superhero comics, including forPower Girl. For some fans, romance is the sole reason to read a comic: to be able to “ship” two beloved characters together in a new way. Superhero stories usually only leave room, however, for brief love affairs in between alien assualts on earth, and not a lot of time for the real stuff of romance: dumb cute dates, like Power Girl’s with Axel Gust.
Power Girl of the Superman Familyis doing this romance thing right. InPower Girl#12by Leah Williams and Travis Moore,she takes her relationship with the magical hero Axel Gustto the next level - Valhalla, that is.
After a sweet day of adventuring where nothing else happens in the comic except their own dating life in a mythological realm, Paige Stetler and Axel Gust advance their relationship andcollapse, kissing in the snow, in such a realistic way that no superhero has ever gotten right.
Power Girl chooses her new secret identity name, Paige Stetler, earlier in the run by writer Leah Williams.
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Paige Gets a New Boyfriend
There are plenty of romances that have garnered fan attention in DC and Marvel. There’s Vision and Scarlet Witch, there’sNightwing and Starfire (and romances just like them), and there’s Batman and nearly every female villain he’s faced. The commonality between all of these romances is this:they are either superheroes falling in love with superheroes, or superheroes or failling love with villains. A kiss often happens in the midst of battle, and someone inevitably dies. It’s high fiction, and it’s a cliché.
Power Girl does the unthinkable in superhero circles and actually goes on dates.
Power Girl has a surprising new superpower: realism. Instead of falling in love with a Justice League coworker, Power Girl does the unthinkable in superhero circles and actually goes on dates.Paige may just be the only DC superhero to have a regular dating life.It’s not her fault that her new boyfriend just happens to be from Asgard. Like attracts like, but at least they do cute things like get dinner and go to the aquarium.Batman could never. He prefers to fall in love with assassins.
Power Girl Dates Not Like a Superhero But Like a Human
Power Girl and Axel Gust Share a Sweet Moment
A superhero that actually goes on dates and assigns relationship labels at appropriate times is a rarity. The reality of a dating life is cringey, because two people in love often look stupid to outsiders. Most superhero romances are showy affairs meant to impress fans - butPower Girl and Axel Gust even have the cute kissing-and-banter down pat. It’s a fantastic moment that corresponds exactly to the real life dating world, told through a Kryptonian hero andher super-spy love interest.
Sometimes fans want to see two heroes kiss farewell over an exploding planet, but sometimes fans want to see two heroes deciding to become boyfriend/girlfriend in a simple, cute manner. In the comic world where heroes don’t exactly like labels,Power Girland Axel Gust are the newest power couple. Love comes simply, and when it does, it’s powerful.
POWER GIRL #12 (2024)
